Films: F

Feels stilted and would be much better on stage.

interesting Iranian film, esp with the subject matter. Nice performances.

Beautiful film, great story telling.

Great film about someone I didn't really know anything about. Great performance from Dillion.

Was skeptical about this but it's quite likeable. Great performances from Sharon Stone & Vanessa Paradis, while Woody provides some comic relief.

Stupid rom com. Caught on a plane. Not bad for a jet lag mind.

Watched in December 2010

When in a newspaper column Valerie Plame was named as a CIA agent her life changed dramatically. Up till now she had a secret life with only her husband and parents knowing she worked within the CIA, her friends thought she worked for a property developer. During the aftermath of 9/11 and the lead up to the Iraq war, Plame was among the some of the agents trying to discover what, if any plans to make weapons Iraq had and by all accounts it appeared there was none. When the CIA approach her husband to take a trip to Africa to look into a possible uranium sale, he discovers nothing and as the war starts to rage in Iraq, he writes an article dispelling the notion there was a sale. This lead to a the article which names his wife and with that she looses her job, her protection, begins getting death threats and faces the break down of her marriage.

Based on real events this is a fascinating film that highlights the very difficult nature of the period portrayed. Despite it's recent setting, the way the war begun, based on false information, is a horrid reminder of events that still cause death and destruction. It's also interesting to see the life Plame in her 'undercover' role where sometimes she has to even lie to her husband and the fact that her work could have led to very different circumstances. The exposure of her real identity is thrilling and for the most part the film is full of tension and intrigue and provides a brilliant insight.

It has fine performances from Naomi Watts and Sean Penn and some great location shooting adds to the story, the downside is there is some handheld camera work which seems to go from steady to shaky constantly which is very frustrating. It's also a shame that after a thrilling first two thirds the film fizzles and slows towards the end, but otherwise this is an interesting and exciting thriller.

Stunning. Brought me to tears on numerous occasions, the whole ritual and process that people go through is incredible.

MIFF 2007This is another film that I entered not knowing what to expect. It started of very slowly and many people left in the first 20mins. It did lack some momentum and I did think about joining some of the others leaving, but imp glad I stuck with it. Some of the moments between these friends were better than others, some were a little boring, and some were both, such as the scene where they do magic mushrooms. However the film changed dramatically when one of the friends takes his own life. The emotional impact on his closest friend, left me teary eyed. It was an emotional turnaround in the film, a pivotal moment, made all the more hard because the rest of the film had been so slow and quiet. Whilst this isn’t the best film, some of the hand held camera work made it more like a fly on the wall doco for instance, but there was enough in this film to make it worthwhile.

While the imagery is at times stunning, it otherwise falls pretty flat.

fantastic insight into the making of On The Beach

The last Hitchcock, is a light mystery, easy going stuff.

Actually didn't mind this, funny at times with a nice cast.

Epic, sprawling tale, touching and charming.

Pretty stupid action hero movie, effects feel cheap.

Charming tale, well made. Love the use of 'cuss' instead of swear words

Stunning film. Heartbreaking performances from Moore and Quaid. Amazing style and use of colour.

Charming, surreal and often touching.

Watched in August 2010

If you want to see a spy themed thriller, they don't come more spy themed than Farewell. Based on true events at the end of the cold war, it tells the story of one Russian man who sees an opportunity to bring an end the role of communism.

Using a middle man, who is French, the Russian relays information that the Soviets have gathered from the Americans. It is an intriguing film as we get a real insight into a world that was for all intents quite real. Spying on those who spy on you. The level of information gained by the Soviets was astounding and could have been utterly disastrous had it been put in the wrongs. Interesting also was the portrayal of Soviet life, the ideas of the West that are sort after by the Soviets, French champagne for instance.

As the film progresses, the situation deepens, especially for the French man who has been passing documents to from the Soviet to the French and subsequently on to the Americans, there is a fine tension filled scene as he along with his family try to flee over the Finnish border. The era is also very well created, with attention to details with costumes, cars etc making what appears to be Moscow look very 80's. As a thriller though it doesn't so much as thrill, but it does engage. With any 'based on true events' type film, there are points where one has to suspend disbelief in order to believe that everything we are presented with really happened. In Farewell, there are moments when the transfer of documents to both sides seems as if it was all too simple, they may as well have just met up and handed them over, still if you get passed this, the film offers good performances, with it's two leads showing an impressive use of French and Russian and an engaging story that plays well as a history lesson of an era so very different from our current times but which wasn't that long ago.

While it looks great with spectacular costumes, the story fails to ignite the interest fully.

brilliantly funny film. the accents alone are a highlight.

Really couldn't get into this- found it very boring.

Watch in 2006I pretty much enjoyed this, tho it was a little slow in some parts. There are some great cameos from Ethan Hawke and Kris Kristoffersen and Wilma Valderrama is very easy on the eye, not sure about Avril Lavigne though. Compared to Super Size Me, another expose on the fast food industry, this one made me feel less like eating hamburgers ever again. Infact many parts of the film made me feel so sick I had to look away from the screen. Having said that I did go to the supermarket after and buy meat...but it wasn't in a burger form.

Watched in October 2010

This is one those brilliant 80's films that paved the way for all those other copy cat films we are treated to. But this is a brilliant piece of film making unlike most of those that followed.

Performances from both Michael Douglas and Glenn Close are great, but Close is the real stand out, just remarkable as the seductress/jilted lover turned psychopath. She steals most of the scenes she is in. The film contains some standout scenes, that have remained part of film history. Many of the set pieces are superbly choreographed and edited and give the film a strong sense of tension. Scenes such as the on the rollercoaster or the fight in the kitchen or even the end one in the bathroom are directed so well and surprisingly with minimal music to create atmosphere. Even sex scenes are done well, the first, in the sink is actually sexy, unlike most sex scenes in films which are often just gross.

Of course one scene has remained to the day the films most famous and infact still stands out as one of the most memorable in film history. That of course is the bunny boiling scene. It is superbly done, with the slow reveal and then the frantic editing between the two discoveries, the wife finding the bunny in the bubbling saucepan and the daughter finding her rabbit missing. Brilliant stuff.

The film today may seem full of cliches, but only because we've seen it all before time and time again. But 20 years ago this would have been an original and excellent thriller that still holds itself up today.

Watched in 2006

There's something almost oddly beautiful about this Holocaust film. It is wonderful shot and acted and doesn't become to harsh to watch as some Holocaust films can be.

The scene where the inmates are made to stand for hours and hours and start swaying, is emotional and yet beautiful all at once.