For A Few Movies More

Man, I love movies! I probably don’t love movies half as much as the people that read this, but I really do love movies! I probably only loved one out of the last ten movies I’ve seen, but I love movies! I probably only watch one movie a week, which makes that second probability even more exclamationable, but I love movies!! Why? I guess there is the escape; the entertainment; the freedom; the imagination; the discussion; the elitism, but most of all the connection. And I’m not talking about the connection one might have with a film – I’m talking about the connection we have with each other about movies. Because it’s not just me who loves movies – it’s everyone.

Don’t believe me? Who doesn’t like movies? Immediately I think of my grandparents. They never go to the cinema and like most old people they have a disdain towards today’s pop culture. But that doesn’t mean they don’t love movies. Just because my granddad scorned at The Lord of the Rings (yes, I do intend to mention LotR in every article I write) because it was  impossible to understand doesn’t mean he doesn’t like other movies. He’s got cable TV and I’m sure when the three 24 hour news channels get fuzzy and the Country Music Channel is playing back to back Miley Cyrus Marathons he flicks over to Movie Greats and finds himself engrossed in The Magnificent Seven.

Last night we went and saw Unknown. Despite not being exactly as the trailer promised (Taken 2) it was still a relatively entertaining thriller. But like most in its genre it was a good 90+ minutes of that feeling that it wasn’t really ever going to be great. It is one of those movies where you imagine that somebody three years ago was reading the book intensely, they were engulfed in the twists and turns, the mystique of the characters and the gripping narrative and they thought to themselves: “This would make a great movie!” Almost simultaneously you imagine somebody else in some cinema of some other part of the world, somebody who had had similar experiences with the book some years ago. They find out that it had been turned into a motion picture. They go see the movie and at the end they say: “The book is better.” So these thoughts got me thinking, and you know what happens when I get to thinking… Blog time!

On face value one would assume that a movie is a much better experience than a book. You have this epic screen flashing pictures in front of you with fully imagined scenes. Characters come to life as they talk in surround sound, depicted by talented actors, directed by visionaries, chosen from countless takes by skilled editing teams, adapted by skillful screenwriters, mixed by specialist sound mixers, edited by specialist sound editors – sorry, carried away by the recent Oscar season. All this is given to you to enjoy in a neat two hour package that presents a start, middle and end of an entertaining story. Everything is perfectly prepared for you; just sit back, relax and enjoy the show!

Alternatively, you have a book with words on a page that you have to read yourself…

My girlfriend and I have recently moved into a new apartment. And by new I mean it is a new place for me to live – the apartment itself is very old. There are cracks in the walls, rusty bathroom fittings, volatile stoves and loose cupboards. Basically its age gave way to its price which fit neatly in my budget. This budget is the reason why our TV is still the 15 year old 15 inch hand me down from my friend when he bought his new HDTV. Complete with stereo sound and one AV channel for the turn of the century DVD player, this cubic badboy was set to be my home entertainment system for many years to come. However, we invited some friends around who are also renting couples on tight budgets. We asked them to bring a few movies to choose from and when they came we learned that they had the standard CD pouch of illegal downloads and, more significantly, a projector. After some fiddling around with seating arrangements and plugging some yellow cords into the projector and red and white ones into the TV (gotta use that awesome stereo sound) we suddenly had the makings of a home cinema.  A few borrowed pirated DVDs and a look on ebay at some $250 projectors later and I started imagining leaving the old C Ray tuber on the curb and organising movie marathons at Eden’s Cine Plaza.

To be honest, I’ve never been a huge fan of short films. I can understand the appeal of making them, and that they can be a great stepping stone, but as an audience member, I just can’t get excited about them. I’m a big fan of great characters and interesting stories and well-written dialogue. Short films – obviously! – don’t really give you much time to expand and do those things that I like best. It means that the format may work quite well for some genres, and do nothing for others. Comedy is perfect – you can tell a joke in a few minutes and get a laugh. Drama however, relies on spending time with a subject or character to make you feel something and connect with what you’re watching (my opinion on this coming through clearly in the recap below — most of my faves were funny ones).

But I decided to put all my personal feelings aside and get excited about Sydney’s own World’s Largest Short Film Festival – Tropfest. It’s no wonder that short films have kicked off they way have, in our world of YouTube and short attention spans. Everything is bite-sized, and that includes our entertainment. A short film festival – as much as I’m probably coming across as hating them – is a good idea though. Being outdoors with friends/family, having a picnic, and in a couple hours you’ve experienced over a dozen different stories. After experiencing it firsthand though, I must admit I’ve warmed up to short films much more. My only complaints are related to my personal people-hating habits  — smokers sitting nearby, drunk people stepping on your blanket, (super annoying) people talking too loudly during the screenings — so I don’t really have any faults with Tropfest itself. I’m not sure I agree with established/professional filmmakers being allowed to compete. It seems a bit of an unfair advantage as they — arguably — have access to more money, better equipment, and ‘good’ actors. But after seeing some of their work and finding it generally underwhelming, I guess I’ve found myself disproving my own theory (more on that below).

In short (pardon the pun) I had a great time and would definitely go again. Check out my humble opinions on the finalists. And grab a free DVD with this weekend’s SMH, or try finding them online, and tell us what you thought. Here’s to Tropfest 2012!

I feel that when it comes to watching films of a sub-standard nature, I have a pretty high tolerance. For some reason I can happily throw on a crappy B-grade slasher film any day of the week and effortlessly enjoy the bad acting, weak story and nonsensical plot lines unfolding before my eyes. However, amidst these fun guilty pleasures, every now and then I stumble across the sort of film that I simply cannot, nay, refuse to endure. The kind of film where every aspect feels flawed and/or rushed. A film in which both the teams working behind the scenes and in front of the camera form some sort of unholy alliance to manufacture an awful film of such magnitude that the only way to escape its wrath and to preserve one’s soul is to either switch the film off, or leave the cinema before it can inflict further damage. Now, in my time as a film geek, I have only ever walked out on or wilfully switched off a film midway a handful of times, but after my recent viewing of the 2010 Sci-fi/Action flick Repo Men, I’m going to go ahead and up that tally to a handful and one.

So to give you a brief insight into what I expected of Repo Men compared to what it delivered, allow me to give you a brief overview of the film. Repo Men is set in a not-too distant future where through the miracle of science, the prospect of replacing any damaged body part/organ is no longer science fiction. This miraculous act of replacing living organs with artificial ones is unfortunately undermined by the fact that the uber-shady corporation known as The Union sells this technology at such an unaffordable price, that it’s practically impossible for any average working class schmuck to afford the repayments. Thus enter the Repo Men, individuals assigned the messy task of reclaiming these organs by literally slicing them out of the unfortunate customer. Jude Law steps into the shoes of the character Remy, the toughest Repo Man on the block who is unlucky to find himself an unwanted recipient of an artificial heart courtesy of The Union after a disastrous accident. And surprise, surprise, after discovering he now suddenly has a conscience and is unable to continue with his Repo duties, Remy finds himself on the run from his former work colleagues. Now this admittedly enticing setup seems ripe with potential, it’s just a shame that I never found what would come of it seeing as how I couldn’t even make it past the 45 minute mark of the film…

I’m not going to sugarcoat it, looking back upon it, 2010 was not a good year for movies. The majority of releases fit in one of three categories. Either acceptably enjoyable, a sound disappointment, or simply not worth your time. However, littered throughout the year were some genuinely great titles that more than made up for the relative lack of quality elsewhere. I don’t think anyone can deny that a number of films released this year will be lauded as must-see classics in the years to come (Inception anybody?). But as is always the way, with the good must come the bad. And 2010 harbored some real stinkers (Last Airbender anybody?). So with no further delay, the For A Few Movies More team has banded together to create a comprehensive list comprising of our favorite films of the year along with our picks for the worst of the year. Have a safe and happy New Year and we’ll see you in 2011!

‘Tis the season — to watch movies that is! Whether you’re sweatin’ out the Christmas, or freezing your ass off, chances are you got some time off from work/school. So what better way to put that downtime to use than to catch a movie or two (or ten). We all have different ways we spend holidays or special occasions, and it’s my firm belief that you can always find a movie that will fit right in with whatever feast you have, with whatever crowd you have (be it family or friends), or with whatever cause you’re celebrating.

You might be after some sentimental yuletide spirit, or you might actually be ready for the 26th already, but either way, a good Christmas movie will almost guarantee an improvement on the day. So this year, after you pig out on your Christmas lunch or dinner — or even any time during the day really, because we don’t have to celebrate Christmas to enjoy a Christmas movie! — sit back on your sofa as you loosen your jeans, gather your loved ones, and check out one of these flicks. Judging from this year’s picks though, there won’t be no silent night in your house… Merry Christmas from A Few Movies More!

We all have that moment (or gradual acceptance period) in our life when we realise the horrible truth that Santa isn’t real. Like one of the rights of passage out of childhood and into the teenage years – hopefully by thirteen/fourteen you have realised – it is an acceptance that the world isn’t quite so magical and innocent. Instead it begins to form as this land of half truths, hard lessons and harsh realities. We learn to rebel and to doubt and often the seed planted from losing faith in Santa grows into a distrust of more holy religious figures. But fear not, this is no philosophical diatribe on growing up. Tis the season and I would prefer look at how Hollywood repeatedly transcends the linear progression to adulthood by tempting us back into believing in that Jolly Fat Man who brings so much happiness once a year.

I was channel surfing the other day and stumbled upon a cheap TV-movie-looking movie on TV. It was the 1989 film Prancer in which a girl finds an injured reindeer and, believing him (her?) to be the Prancer she attempts to hide him away in her barn until she (definitely she) is once more able to line up next to Vixen. It was a terrible, terrible movie and I continued surfing on the second ad break but not before it got me thinking about the tendency in film to allude to Santa as a reality. And beyond that: as a reality in a realistic world such as our own which has grown so disbelieving of the concept. A world where everybody has grown up.

It’s a funny thing when one minute a certain element of pop culture is all the rage and then suddenly it is not so hot. But it isn’t really a sudden swing; it just becomes apparent that a counter culture has long been in the works looking to undermine the popularity of whatever the masses are celebrating. The backlash is like the evil twin of the cult fanbase. When a movie is undeservingly dismissed or overlooked there are a special few who stay dedicated to bring this joy to the world; while the backlash is spawned out of spite and jealousy and self righteous opinions.

That’s what I thought before researching this article (i.e. asking my friends for examples of a backlash) but I think most of the time the backlash is a self induced phenomenon or a corrective procedure for the plastic surgery of cinema – hype. Either way it is funny to watch the evolution and devolution of popularity in the business that desires it above all other things, so I have listed a few different noteworthy backlashes…Enjoy.

The Backlash Hypocrisy – Avatar

This movie had more hype than any movie could ever possibly have ever. Ever! A director with an impeccable history of blockbusters; an incredible history of groundbreaking technology; a story 15+ years in the making; an epic budget; a revolutionised format of film making. This was the movie that everybody in the world must see – and apparently we all did.

Initial reactions were almost unanimous: That was AWESOME! This carried through on a wave of unflinching box office success and culminated in a Golden Globe for James Cameron. But during this time there was a hint of an undertone of a rumble of disgruntled viewers. I’ll admit I was a little jaded when someone pointed out the likeness to Pocahontas and other stories and sure, Cameron called the stuff Unobtainium like he had lost a bet or something but I just have to think about the crazy visuals, the spirituality of the Na’vi and the badass army commander.

But alas, it started to become cool to flip sides and be on the counter culture of Avatar. The backlash had begun. People seemed to hate on Avatar because it was too popular. They then folowed the trend of rebellion. They were like Goths who try to break conformity by all dressing the same. In the end the backlash was so timed that it lost Cameron the Oscar. But at the same time it may just live fonder in our memories for not winning what it deserved.

Harvey Dent, Gotham’s White Knight, is the city’s new District Attorney and he always has his game face on when prosecuting crime. In a city where the mob bosses are so far up the crime chain that no one can ever touch them, it is a blessing that this incorruptible force, this enforcer of law, is willing to take the fight to them face to face.

Dent is everything Batman can’t be. He is a tangible face fighting for Gotham’s citizens. A face they can look to for inspiration. A face that lives a strong, untarnished life within the bounds of the law. While Batman masquerades around the streets breaking countless laws, sporting a cape and hiding behind a mask, Dent is able to campaign for the good faith of the people. Batman shines a symbol into the cloudy night sky to put fear in the hearts of criminals; Harvey puts his face on the billboards and posters to inspire the hearts of hard-working citizens.

One thing I love about Harvey Dent, and most of the characters of Gotham is that their origins stories are so interesting. For all that goes on in Dark Knight between The Batman and The Joker, it could easily be looked at as one big Origins of Twoface story. Harvey is one of the first reactions to the work done by Batman. Harvey rose to the DA position after investigating police corruption through internal affairs. He has a guilt-free conscience in the fight for justice, and he applies this moral standard with the strength of his convictions.

The second thing I love about Harvey Dent, and most of the characters of Gotham, is the awesome symbolism — and Harvey Dent is some of the simplest yet compelling symbolism around. A District Attorney should be sure of himself, he should possess an unflinching desire to do good. What Harvey has is a coin he flips on every important decision. ‘Heads – yes; tails – no.’ But the trick is his coin has two heads on it (two faces you could say!) In the fight for justice Harvey Dent cannot be compromised.