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FRANK (Brian Cox) is a lifer in a tough London jail, where a vicious bastard named Rizza (Damian Lewis) runs the show, dealing drugs and enforcing the criminal pecking order while the guards turn a blind eye.
When he learns that his daughter is critically ill, Frank decides to stop playing the model prisoner and make a break for it. He enlists the help of a few well-chosen cellmates (including a menacing Joseph Fiennes) and they set about planning their daring escape.
There’s more of a sense of claustrophobia and fear in The Escapist than in many other jailbreak movies, and the acting is good, particularly from British screen stalwart Cox, who sinks his teeth into a rare starring role.
An impressive feature debut from director Rupert Wyatt, it may have you climbing the theatre walls as the story hurtles towards its somewhat startling conclusion.
BASED on the novel of the same name by Nobel Prize-winning author JM Coetzee, Disgrace is a brutally honest look at post-Apartheid South Africa, as seen through the eyes of a disillusioned university professor.
After getting into trouble for seducing one of his students – and refusing to apologise – David Lurie (John Malkovich) leaves his home in Cape Town and goes to visit his daughter Lucy (Jessica Haines) on a remote farm. Following a sickening crime, David tries to convince Lucy to seek relative safety in the city, but she refuses to leave, even when it transpires that her new neighbour (Eriq Ebouaney) is harbouring one of the perpetrators.
Although Malkovich’s accent falters, it doesn’t make his understated performance any less powerful, and Haines is a revelation in her first movie role. Disgrace is a confronting film with family values at its core, and a portrait of a country that still has a long way to go.
FIVE years ago, Aussie writer/director Adam Elliot won an Oscar for his short claymation film Harvie Krumpet. Now he’s back with his first feature-length movie and an all-star cast of voice talent.
Toni Collette is Mary Daisy Dinkle, a lonely eight year old living in a small Melbourne suburb who finds an unlikely pen pal in Max Jerry Horovitz (Philip Seymour Hoffman), an obese 44-year-old New Yorker with mental problems and a passion for ‘chocolate hotdogs’. As Mary grows up, Max remains the only constant in her life and the pair’s long-distance friendship sustains them both through tough times.
The claymation is terrific and Barry Humphries does a great job as the narrator of the tale, but don’t expect it to put a smile on your face. While there is some humour, Mary And Max is undeniably melancholy.
IN 1941, the Belarusian Bielski brothers took on Hitler’s invading army and managed to save more than a thousand fellow Jews from certain death at the hands of the SS and Nazi sympathisers.
Daniel Craig plays Tuvia Bielski, the leader of an ever-growing group of refugees and resistance fighters who take to the forest, determined to survive against overwhelming odds. When Tuvia’s more militant brother Zus (Liev Shreiber) disagrees with his methods, he leaves to join a band of Soviet partisans. The two groups form a loose alliance and continue the struggle for two years, not only against the Germans, but also against hunger, disease and the harsh eastern European winter.
It’s surprising that this incredible true story hasn’t been told on film before now, and it’s refreshing to see Jews being portrayed as heroes and survivors rather than just victims. Craig’s accent falters occasionally and the movie could perhaps be slightly shorter than its 136 minutes, but neither of those minor criticisms makes the tale any less fascinating
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FILMED during the lead-up to the 1975 Mr Universe and Mr Olympia bodybuilding contests in Pretoria, South Africa, the main reason this well-made documentary is considered a classic is because it features Arnold Schwarzenegger long before he became The Terminator and the Governor of California. At 28, he’s out to win his sixth My Olympia crown, and doesn’t mind talking up his chances: “I have no weak points,” he quips on the eve of the tournament. However, even through his extraordinary arrogance – and thick Austrian accent – you can see his star quality, and it transforms this honest little film about muscle men into a fascinating historical piece.
Although the focus is definitely on Arnie, many other notable bodybuilders appear, including another future actor in Lou Ferrigno, who went on to star as The Incredible Hulk on American TV and continues to work in Hollywood. Just as intriguing as the rivalry between Arnold and Lou is that which exists between Americans Mike Katz and Ken Waller, who battle it out for the amateur Mr Universe title. And then there’s Franco Columbu, a charismatic Italian who goes bicep-to-bicep with Arnie and impresses the crowd by blowing up a hot-water bottle like a normal person would blow up a balloon. It really is the ‘golden age’ of bodybuilding, and the fans lap it up.
I’ll let Arnold have the final say: “It’s as satisfying to me as coming is, you know? As having sex with a woman and coming. And so can you believe how much I am in heaven? I am like getting the feeling of coming in a gym, I’m getting the feeling of coming at home, I’m getting the feeling of coming backstage when I pump up, when I pose in front of 5000 people, I get the same feeling, so I am coming day and night. I mean, it’s terrific. Right? So, you know, I am in heaven
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FOR his directorial debut, Hollywood star and all-round top bloke Eric Bana picked a subject close to his heart – his first car. The result is an emotionally charged documentary about the Melburnian’s 25-year love affair with a 1974 Ford XB Falcon Coupe he calls The Beast.
With the help of his three best mates, Bana gets the machine ready to race in the daunting Targa Tasmania rally, but tragedy strikes, forcing him to think more deeply about what the Falcon really means to him. On hand for their insights and opinions are US talk-show legend Jay Leno (wait till you see his car collection!), Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson and TV psychiatrist Dr Phil.
The cinematography and music are great, and you don’t have to be a revhead to enjoy Love The Beast. It’s a real-life drama about passion and relationships that’s every bit as engaging as anything else Bana has done
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WHEN 15-year-old Michael Berg (played brilliantly by David Kross) gets sick on his way home from school in 1950s West Germany, a pretty 30-something tram conductor named Hanna (Kate Winslet) helps him. The relationship develops and the pair begins a passionate but short-lived affair that leaves the young man heartbroken.
Years later, Michael encounters Hanna again. He’s a promising law student and she’s accused of Nazi war crimes at the Nuremburg Trials. It’s here that Michael learns of a secret that has shaped Hanna’s life, and which will affect him forever.
Essentially a love story – with generous helpings of shame and guilt – The Reader isn’t for everyone, but it’s a beautifully made and well-acted film. Ralph Fiennes delivers a solid performance as the older Michael and Winslet is fantastic as Hanna – it’s easily the best work of her career
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BY THE early 1950s, people knew exactly what to expect from a western. The clean-cut good guy in the crisp white hat would inevitably defeat the snarling bad guy in the care-worn black hat, and there was always a raucous saloon scene somewhere in the middle featuring happy whores in frilly dresses and comedic drunks. High Noon is nothing like that.
Gary Cooper plays Will Kane, a weathered marshal who wants nothing more than to turn in his badge and start a new life with his new wife (Grace Kelly). However, when word spreads that a murderer Kane arrested (Ian MacDonald) is out of jail and on his way to town with vengeance on his mind, the marshal reluctantly changes his plans. Despite being urged to run by the fickle and disloyal townsfolk, Kane decides to stay and face the menace, and the countdown begins.
Loosely based on John W. Cunningham’s story The Tin Star, the movie was labelled ‘un-American’ when it was released because many saw it as an allegory for Senator Joseph McCarthy’s communist witch-hunts. Screenwriter Carl Foreman and actor Lloyd Bridges were consequently blacklisted by Hollywood producers and didn’t work for years. Technically, High Noon broke a lot of ground. The film progresses in real time, which director Fred Zinnemann cleverly emphasises with periodic shots of clocks and watches ticking down to noon, when the murderer’s train is due. The simple black-and-white cinematography works perfectly, and the carefully crafted suspense is almost unbearable at times
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WHILE it’s not really to my taste, Revolutionary Road is an effective story about real people that will resonate with a lot of viewers.
It’s too simplistic to call it a study in suburban dystopia. In fact, Richard Yates, the author of the 1961 novel upon which the film is based, has said that’s exactly what he didn’t want. His tale is more about the disparity between dreams and reality, wherever it may occur. Having said that, the movie does come across as a bit of an indictment of the ‘American Dream’.
It’s the 1950s and Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) and April (Kate Winslet) appear to have it all. They’ve got two healthy children and a nice house in a nice neighbourhood, yet they are irretrievably miserable. Frank hates his boring city job and April can’t get over her failure as an actress. When April suggests they pick up and move to Paris, their relationship is reinvigorated and life suddenly has meaning again. However, it doesn’t last long as circumstances put pay to their romantic travel plans, driving April to make some drastic decisions
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IF YOU haven’t worked it out by now, Zooey Deschanel is my favourite actress. I first became aware of her because she’s one of the only female celebrities who shares my love of the ukulele. Intrigued, I started watching her films, and I’ve enjoyed them all.
Yes Man sees Zooey perfectly cast as Allison – a free-spirited artist who enjoys combining jogging with photography. She meets boring banker Carl (Jim Carrey) shortly after he attends a motivational seminar that advocates saying ‘yes’ to any opportunity that presents itself. They start going out, but things go downhill when Carl’s unsustainable yes policy gets him into all sorts of trouble.
It’s a return to form of sorts for Carrey, who looks like he’s on his way to recapturing the comedy form that made him a superstar in the 90s. He delivers a slightly understated performance as Carl, and I think he’s become a much better actor since branching out into more dramatic roles. It’s still funny when he plays the rubber-faced clown, but he doesn’t necessarily need to do it anymore
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Comment by Cameron Murray
on How To Lose Friends And Alienate People
The Legless Critic
I fully expected the film to devolve into a typical romantic comedy, so it didn't really bother me.