Tinkergoth |
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Okay. Sorted my film festival picks for the year.
Can't be bothered linking them all individually, so here's the site: Canberra International Film Festival 2014
If you're interested in any of the movies I'm listing you'll find more details on the site:
- A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night - Iran, black and white vampire film
- Afterlife - Hungary, comedy
- Appropriate Behaviour - USA, Comedy (suspect comedy drama, but the site just says comedy)
- Fantail - New Zealand, Drama
- Goal of the Dead - France, Horror Comedy
- Hippocrates - France, Comedy Drama
- Housebound - New Zealand, Horror
- In Order of Disappearance - Norway, Sweden & Denmark, Thriller (has Stellan Skarsgård, had to go on the list)
- Listen Up Phillip - USA, Comedy
- Love Is Strange - USA, Drama (has something like a 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Apparently John Lithgow and Alfred Molina are amazing in it)
- Maps to the Stars - Canada, Satirical Drama (Cronenberg film, automatically on my list)
- Nightcrawler - USA, Crime Thriller (this is the free screening for members this year, but it looks great so I'm happy with it)
- Starred Up - UK, Drama
- The Congress - Israel, Germany & Belgium, Sci-Fi
- The Dead Lands - New Zealand, Action (Centerpiece film for the festival)
- The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her - USA, Drama (one of two films telling two sides of the same story)
- The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him - USA, Drama (other side of the story)
- The Green Inferno - USA & Chile, Horror (based on Cannibal Holocaust, apparently a comedic but still stomach churning take on it. I fully intend to not eat anything much before this, or I'm likely to lose it during the film)
- The Salvation - Denmark, Western (Mads Mikkelson. No more need be said)
- When Animals Dream - Denmark, Supernatural Drama
- White God - Hungary, Drama (Canines revolt against man! Won the Prize Un Certain Regard and the Palm Dog Award at Cannes this year)
- Why Don't You Play In Hell - Japan, Action Comedy
Films that I might get to if I can figure out a way to get time to see them, but I'm pretty sure their sessions conflict with others on my list:
- Abuse of Power - France, Drama
- Hector and the Search for Happiness - Germany & Canada, Comedy (as a Simon Pegg movie this one should have been on my initial list, but I somehow missed it until I had bought my tickets... though I'm told it is meant to get a wider release here, so I should still be able to see it)
- My Mistress - Australia, Drama
- Queen and Country - UK & Ireland, Romantic Comedy
- Tom at the Farm - Canada & France, Thriller
- Winter Sleep - Turkey & France, Drama (given that it's over 3 hours long, I don't think I'll be able to fit this one in anywhere)
It's going to be a packed few weeks...
Judy Bauer Associate Editor |
Appropriate Behaviour - USA, Comedy (suspect comedy drama, but the site just says comedy)
Just saw this, and enjoyed it a lot! There's some drama, but it's kept pretty light by how tactless and awkward the main character is. It's not exactly the same characters as in the director's web series The Slope, but some are similar, so it'll give you a decent sense of things.
Tinkergoth |
Tinkergoth wrote:Appropriate Behaviour - USA, Comedy (suspect comedy drama, but the site just says comedy)Just saw this, and enjoyed it a lot! There's some drama, but it's kept pretty light by how tactless and awkward the main character is. It's not exactly the same characters as in the director's web series The Slope, but some are similar, so it'll give you a decent sense of things.
Awesome, thanks for the heads up Judy. I'll check it out.
One of these days I'll have to go through the list from last year's festival and pull out my full list of recommendations from it, but for now I'll go with the ones that really stuck in my head:
- My Sweet Pepperland - Kurdish Western, was a last minute choice and ended up being one of my favourites
- Filth - An adaptation of Ian Irvine's novel of the same name. Rockets back and forth between hilarious and confronting, and is sometimes both at the same time
- Only Lovers Left Alive - How a romantic vampire film should be done
- The Priest's Children - Very funny, and at times very dark comedy about a priest trying to boost birthrates on his island parish by sabotaging contraceptives
- Short Term 12 - Touching drama comedy about the staff at a halfway house for at risk teens, brilliant performance from Brie Larson
- Intimate Parts - Russian comedy about the sex lives of a bunch of people living in Moscow, looks at the problems with sexual repression and so on
- Blue Ruin - Revenge thriller where the protagonist isn't an invincible action hero, and everything spirals out of control
- John Dies At The End - Worth watching just for the weirdness of it. Been meaning to pick this one up to rewatch
- What Richard Did - Irish film about how making a simple mistake, like throwing one punch, can throw the lives of a whole community into chaos
There's a bunch of films on the program that I didn't get to see last year that I'd still like to track down and watch, like Broken Circle Breakdown, Drinking Buddies, Ain't Them Bodies Saints, All Is Lost and Kill Your Darlings.
Tinkergoth |
First round of Canberra International Film Festival 2014 reviews is up on The Grassy Gnoll!
It includes reviews for In Order of Disappearance, Why Don't You Play In Hell, The Salvation and The Congress.
Round 2 of reviews will go up on Wednesday, I'm doing them in groups of four so I've got one more to go before I can post that. Next up will be Appropriate Behaviour, Afterlife, The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him and The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her.
Tinkergoth |
Tinkergoth |
Will do! Glad you're enjoying them. Next round will be covering:
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night - Iranian B&W feminist vampire film (first Iranian vampire film as well)
Goal of the Dead - Basically Shaun of the Dead with football (soccer) in France
Maps to the Stars - A satirical drama/comedy about life in Hollywood by Cronenberg
Fantail - New Zealand drama (with a bit of comedy) about a young women who identifies as Maori working towards her dream of taking her brother to find their father.
Tinkergoth |
So I'm behind on my reviews due to life and work getting away from me (nothing new there), but I was a guest on a local radio show to talk about the festival last week. If anyone wants to have a listen, the recording can be found in the archive (Episode 27):
To save confusion for those who aren't aware, my real name is Keegan. Obviously I don't go by Tinkergoth on shows like that :P
Tinkergoth |
That's no good Comrade Anklebiter. Moar films!
I dunno what the occasion is, but one of the cinemas here is showing a whole bunch of films from around the world at the moment. Unfortunately quite a few of them are on a day where I'm heavily booked with birthday events and engagement parties (seriously, I have to put in appearances at 3 birthdays and 2 engagement parties in one day, what the hell is with everyone choosing the same day?), but I should hopefully be able to catch a couple of interesting films the following day. Will probably be back on the radio show I mentioned before, Reel Time, to talk about any of them that I see.
Vo Giap, Ambassador of Bachuan |
Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons
This was really, really good. I had never heard of it, but all D&D fans should watch this if they haven't already.
Even had a useful lesson for all the shy boys and girls on how women can make the first advances.
Don Juan de Doodlebug |
Movies I watched thus far with my hawt NY commie schoolteacher girlfriend on our erotic Christmastime vacation:
Was really kinda surprised to discover exactly how much of my schtick has been modeled on Alvy Singer even down to (unknowingly) paraphrasing the Sylvia Plath joke and, hours before watching it, paraphrasing the "polymorphously perverse" bit to la Principessa. Huh.
"Don't make me put bass in my voice!" was a line repeated throughout the week.
Later in the week, we had a big, emotion-invested tear-session about our differing opinions on the desirability of reproducing. "Well, you know," I whispered, holding her close, "I don't make a lot of money." "Well, you know, I do" she replied. Later I made her watch Breakfast at Tiffany's. "You're horrible" she whispered on the couch.
One of the few times that we left the house, we went to see Mockingjay and, honestly, we would've been better off staying home.
A Fantastic Fear of Everything which I totally missed somehow. I thought it was pretty awesome.
At some point, over my objections, we were going to watch Good Bye, Lenin, but then Mr. Comrade solved the problem by breaking the DVD. At another point in the weekend, la Principessa downloaded The Final Programme for Mr. Comrade, but in an ADD-fit of ingratitude, he, and thus we, never watched it.
Don Juan de Doodlebug |
Best part (well, one of the best parts) about a new love is rewatching all of your old favorite rom coms.
"Shut up and deal."
One of hers, too: PCU
"Pack up your rape culture and take a hike!"
Tinkergoth |
I watched this last night and it was a great horror story.
I've been meaning to watch that. I'm always interested when an Australian film gets widespread popularity. Will have to shift it up my list of priorities.
I watched The Interview and Horns recently.
The Interview was, as expected, a fratboy style comedy with a bit of political satire thrown in. I'm assuming the point of Franco's character was to be as irritating as possible, so props to him for managing that. Rogen was much more enjoyable as the straight man to Franco's over the top nature. Randall Park was fantastic as Kim Jong-un. Overall, enjoyable but not amazing. Takes a bit too long to get going, and it feels like it takes them ages to actually get to North Korea. Once they're there things pick up nicely, and the end is funny for how over the top and surprisingly gory it gets at times. But certainly not a classic film. Don't get me wrong, it was a lot of fun, I think part of the problem for me was that I'd started subconsciously hyping it up for myself during the whole controversy over the release and so on. That said, the cameos, particularly those from Eminem, Rob Lowe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were freaking hilarious.
Horns is fantastic. I loved Daniel Radcliffe's performance as Ig, and while it obviously had to change aspects of the story and characters from the novel, it did so in a way that still kept true to the spirit and premise of the novel. For those of you unfamiliar with it, it's based on the novel of the same name by Joe Hill, and follows Ig's attempts to discover the truth behind his girlfriend's murder (which he was a prime suspect for) when he wakes up one day and discovers that he's grown horns that give him strange abilities. Highly recommend this one.
Brother Fen |
There's an old Finnish version of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings called Hobbitit which despite being completely in Finnish, is quite easy to follow and absolutely fantastic to look at with the costumes and characters. I got a DVD from a convention years back so I'm not sure where one would even find a legit copy.
Caineach |
Caineach wrote:I watched this last night and it was a great horror story.I've been meaning to watch that. I'm always interested when an Australian film gets widespread popularity. Will have to shift it up my list of priorities.
I watched The Interview and Horns recently.
The Interview was, as expected, a fratboy style comedy with a bit of political satire thrown in. I'm assuming the point of Franco's character was to be as irritating as possible, so props to him for managing that. Rogen was much more enjoyable as the straight man to Franco's over the top nature. Randall Park was fantastic as Kim Jong-un. Overall, enjoyable but not amazing. Takes a bit too long to get going, and it feels like it takes them ages to actually get to North Korea. Once they're there things pick up nicely, and the end is funny for how over the top and surprisingly gory it gets at times. But certainly not a classic film. Don't get me wrong, it was a lot of fun, I think part of the problem for me was that I'd started subconsciously hyping it up for myself during the whole controversy over the release and so on. That said, the cameos, particularly those from Eminem, Rob Lowe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were freaking hilarious.
Horns is fantastic. I loved Daniel Radcliffe's performance as Ig, and while it obviously had to change aspects of the story and characters from the novel, it did so in a way that still kept true to the spirit and premise of the novel. For those of you unfamiliar with it, it's based on the novel of the same name by Joe Hill, and follows Ig's attempts to discover the truth behind his girlfriend's murder (which he was a prime suspect for) when he wakes up one day and discovers that he's grown horns that give him strange abilities. Highly recommend this one.
I should note that if you are looking for gore, Babadook is not the movie for you. It is all about paranoia.
Tinkergoth |
Tinkergoth wrote:All good I knew it wasn't a gore fest. That's usually not what I'm looking for in a horror film. Unless it's horror comedy in which case roll on the buckets of bloodNot film but have you caught Danger 5 Season 2 - buckets of blood....
I've never even heard of Danger 5, but I'll check it out.
The 8th Dwarf |
The 8th Dwarf wrote:I've never even heard of Danger 5, but I'll check it out.Tinkergoth wrote:All good I knew it wasn't a gore fest. That's usually not what I'm looking for in a horror film. Unless it's horror comedy in which case roll on the buckets of bloodNot film but have you caught Danger 5 Season 2 - buckets of blood....
Oh my gosh.... SBS should still have season 1 on catch up TV.
Tell me you have seen Italian Spider-Man.... It's by the same guys and also free on YouTube.
Tinkergoth |
Tinkergoth wrote:The 8th Dwarf wrote:I've never even heard of Danger 5, but I'll check it out.Tinkergoth wrote:All good I knew it wasn't a gore fest. That's usually not what I'm looking for in a horror film. Unless it's horror comedy in which case roll on the buckets of bloodNot film but have you caught Danger 5 Season 2 - buckets of blood....Oh my gosh.... SBS should still have season 1 on catch up TV.
Tell me you have seen Italian Spider-Man.... It's by the same guys and also free on YouTube.
Italian Spiderman? I'm there!
Most of my TV time lately has been taken up with the various comic book adaptation shows, as well as a few others I'm catching up on like Peaky Blinders, Orphan Black and Hannibal.
Doodlebug Anklebiter |
One of my union brothers was telling another, Britishiznoid national, union brother about Danger 5 and I got to look very smart and cultured and awesome because I know about all the cool shiznit, but, in reality, I've never seen an episode and only know about it because I've read Comrade Dwarf's posts on it in the past.
Thank you, Comrade Dwarf, for helping me keep up my street cred.
The 8th Dwarf |
One of my union brothers was telling another, Britishiznoid national, union brother about Danger 5 and I got to look very smart and cultured and awesome because I know about all the cool shiznit, but, in reality, I've never seen an episode and only know about it because I've read Comrade Dwarf's posts on it in the past.
Thank you, Comrade Dwarf, for helping me keep up my street cred.
No problem Comrade.
Doodlebug Anklebiter |
La Principessa had taken Sunshine out on Netflix but then didn't watch it for months and months. "I've paid enough to own that DVD," she complained, so I made her watch it and send it back.
Fell asleep about halfway through, but I've already seen it a couple of times.
Also watched some pirate movies over the past couple of months that I don't think I listed:
Doodlebug Anklebiter |
Took my mommy to see The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies because I love my mother.
Man, I wished I was high...
Judy Bauer Associate Editor |
Also watched some pirate movies over the past couple of months that I don't think I listed:
Have you seen Legend of the Tsunami Warrior (also known as Queens of Langkasuka)? It's a Thai pirate film set in 1580s Malaysia, and features an international pirate coalition, colonialism, and heroes and villains with quasi-druidic (in the Pathfinder sense) powers. Recommended! (Esp. if you're playing through Skull & Shackles...)
Tinkergoth |
Been watching a lot of movies lately for the radio show, both recent ones and old ones (for when we discuss classics and obscure films).
Quick list off the top of my head...
Recent stuff:
- Birdman - Amazing film, and outstanding performances from... pretty much everyone, but especially Michael Keaton, Edward Norton and Emma Stone
- Kingsman - If you liked Kick Ass, you'll probably like this
- Mortdecai - While critics panned it, I sniggered pretty heavily the whole way through. Paul Bettany's role as the womanising thug of a manservant Jock was my favourite part, but Ewan McGregor was excellent as well. Johnny Depp is hamming it up as usual, but given that he's meant to be playing an upper class British twat, it works well
- Penguins of Madagascar - I loved it so much. So very much. So much pun!
- The Imitation Game - While broadly historically accurate, many of the specific details are altered (Turing's personality is far more abrasive than in reality as an example) for the purposes of making an entertaining film... while I would have preferred certain elements to be more accurate, it was still excellent.
- Horns - Film adaptation of Joe Hill's novel, great performance from Daniel Radcliffe and a beautifully filmed movie. Stays true to the spirit of the book, but does have to condense and gloss over certain aspects to stay within the 2 hour run time.
- American Sniper - I didn't really enjoy it. Technically well made film, performances were fine... but I couldn't get into it.
- The Water Diviner - Russell Crowe's directorial debut, about an Australian man travelling to Gallipoli after WWI to try and find his sons remains to bring them home. Heartbreaking, but somehow uplifting at the same time, and sweet without being cheesy
- Paddington - This was the best kids movie I've seen in ages. I mean actual kids movie, not the hyperactive action fests that are more common these days (not that I don't enjoy those, Big Hero 6 and Penguins were both great). This was like watching the kids movies I grew up with, just with better CGI and general production values. It had it's moments of action, but it was at it's heart just a sweet story about a lovable talking bear finding a new family in London... though Nicole Kidman as a taxidermist was a pretty goddamn dark villain for a film like this.
- Big Hero 6 - Proof that Disney are capable of taking a Marvel property and turning it into something kid friendly and amazing.
Old stuff:
- The Crow - My pick for the next classic film section. My favourite movie of all time.
- Taffin - Old Pierce Brosnan film that's absolutely terrible in a way that makes it oh so much fun to watch (look up "Taffin Maybe You Shouldn't Live Here Anymore on youtube for an idea of what I'm talking about). Will be used for my section on films you may not have known about that have well known actors (we're trying to come up with a snappier title :P)
- True Romance - Also on my list of films that contain actors you may not have realised, since a lot of people don't realise it has Brad Pitt and Val Kilmer in it.
Doodlebug Anklebiter |
Vacation Movies!
This one was the shiznit, son! This scene, in particular, had me and La Principessa talking for a while
In addition to everything else, La Principessa looked up Harvey Pekar's obituary and realized that she probably shouldn't be on Wellbutrin if it lowers her threshold for seizures.
Tinkergoth |
Only seen two films in the last fortnight (been a slow one for me).
Jupiter Ascending - I enjoyed it. A lot. Reminded me of a space opera RPG campaign, just felt like it'd been turned into a movie. May explain why I liked it so much when my non-RPG playing friends from the radio show hated it.
Focus - Loved it. Everyone in it was just perfect. Particularly enjoyed Gerald McRaney's performance.
Judy Bauer Associate Editor |
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What We Do in the Shadows: A delightfully awkward and oddly adorable mockumentary about a group of vampire flatmates in Wellington, NZ, with a bunch of the people from Flight of the Conchords and Eagle vs. Shark. As special bonuses, it explains all the weird medieval art of animals with human faces, and includes a coming-out-as-a-vampire scene between two people who're terrible at having feelings in public!
Tinkergoth |
What We Do in the Shadows: A delightfully awkward and oddly adorable mockumentary about a group of vampire flatmates in Wellington, NZ, with a bunch of the people from Flight of the Conchords and Eagle vs. Shark. As special bonuses, it explains all the weird medieval art of animals with human faces, and includes a coming-out-as-a-vampire scene between two people who're terrible at having feelings in public!
I was so upset I missed seeing that at the cinemas here. Will have to get hold of it and watch it.
I saw Infinitely Polar Bear a couple of nights ago, and loved it. Mark Ruffalo is an amazing actor.
Tonight a friend is taking me to see The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them, which I'm intrigued by because I've seen The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him and The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her, so I'm looking forward to seeing how the story works as a whole rather than having the two separate viewpoints. My prediction at the moment is that the separate films will be the preferred way to watch the story play out.
Doodlebug Anklebiter |
Been a television gluttony binge for me lately, doing the whole first season and a few episodes of the second season for both Buffy the Vampire Slayer and 30 Rock. A lot of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, too. There was a funny joke about Adam Sandler and Leon Trotsky from one of the more recent episodes, I think.
Tinkergoth |
1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Scored an invite to the media screening of Wild Tales last night, as part of the leadup to this year's Spanish Film Festival.
I seriously can't recommend this film enough. It's an anthology film, featuring six short stories with nothing to link them other than the common themes of violence and revenge. Darkly comedic and very twisted.
Also, huzzah for media screenings! My friend didn't tell me that it was an actual press event, not just our usual "hey, if you want to review this film here's a couple of free tickets" situation... so I was really surprised to rock up and be handed a glass of red wine and be waited on with some delicious Spanish dishes. Ah, the luxurious life of being a community radio film critic :P
The 8th Dwarf |
I watched the 1989 Punisher movie.... It was so bad it's excellent.... Dolph Lundgren, and Louis Gossett Jr. Filmed in Australia at the end of the Ozploitation period in Australian film.
For more on Ozploitation I recommend the Documentary "Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008)" you can find the whole documentary on YouTube... I won't link the Documentary or trailer there is lots & lots of horror violence and nudity even in the trailers.
I also watched the Gene Kelly 3 Musketeers Movie.... Total classic I you are looking for cool sword fights or how a dancer like Gene Kelly could own an action movie, I totally recommend it.
Tinkergoth |
I watched the 1989 Punisher movie.... It was so bad it's excellent.... Dolph Lundgren, and Louis Gossett Jr. Filmed in Australia at the end of the Ozploitation period in Australian film.
For more on Ozploitation I recommend the Documentary "Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008)" you can find the whole documentary on YouTube... I won't link the Documentary or trailer there is lots & lots of horror violence and nudity even in the trailers.
I also watched the Gene Kelly 3 Musketeers Movie.... Total classic I you are looking for cool sword fights or how a dancer like Gene Kelly could own an action movie, I totally recommend it.
I've been meaning to watch that. I heard about it when I saw the remake of Patrick. Love me some Ozploitation films. Have you seen Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead?
The 8th Dwarf |
The 8th Dwarf wrote:I've been meaning to watch that. I heard about it when I saw the remake of Patrick. Love me some Ozploitation films. Have you seen Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead?I watched the 1989 Punisher movie.... It was so bad it's excellent.... Dolph Lundgren, and Louis Gossett Jr. Filmed in Australia at the end of the Ozploitation period in Australian film.
For more on Ozploitation I recommend the Documentary "Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008)" you can find the whole documentary on YouTube... I won't link the Documentary or trailer there is lots & lots of horror violence and nudity even in the trailers.
I also watched the Gene Kelly 3 Musketeers Movie.... Total classic I you are looking for cool sword fights or how a dancer like Gene Kelly could own an action movie, I totally recommend it.
No but I can recommend some of the classics like Howling III The Marsupials, Houseboat Horror (the worst Australian film ever made), Razorback, and Turkey Shoot.
The doco is a must watch.
Tinkergoth |
Tinkergoth wrote:The 8th Dwarf wrote:I've been meaning to watch that. I heard about it when I saw the remake of Patrick. Love me some Ozploitation films. Have you seen Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead?I watched the 1989 Punisher movie.... It was so bad it's excellent.... Dolph Lundgren, and Louis Gossett Jr. Filmed in Australia at the end of the Ozploitation period in Australian film.
For more on Ozploitation I recommend the Documentary "Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008)" you can find the whole documentary on YouTube... I won't link the Documentary or trailer there is lots & lots of horror violence and nudity even in the trailers.
I also watched the Gene Kelly 3 Musketeers Movie.... Total classic I you are looking for cool sword fights or how a dancer like Gene Kelly could own an action movie, I totally recommend it.
No but I can recommend some of the classics like Howling III The Marsupials, Houseboat Horror (the worst Australian film ever made), Razorback, and Turkey Shoot.
The doco is a must watch.
Heh, I picked up all the Howling films (except for the reboot, which was barely related and was terrible) for about $5 each at JB. The Marsupials is easily my favourite of them.
Long Weekend is a classic Australian horror film. The 2008 remake on the other hand is utterly forgettable. There's a local film maker we interviewed for the radio show recently, whose name I am utterly blanking on at the moment, but he's working on a sci-fi horror film called Terror Australis that has a very similar theme to Long Weekend.
Kajehase |
Pulp: A Movie About Life, Death, and Supermarkets was on TV today, ad my verdict is that if you like movies made by people who like people, you should watch it. Also if you like watching someone who looks like a 50-year-old Geography teacher dryhumping a loudspeaker this is the film for you. But yeah, I was chuckling the whole way through, and with it being a movie about Sheffield and Pulp, there's some great music in it as well.