All too often it seems as if audiences will choose to see one film over another not because of an intriguing premise or festival buzz, but because of the star power attached to the project. I’ll be the the first to admit that it’s difficult to be immune to that particular thought process, as it was the banner that read “From Writer/Director James L. Brooks” that drew me to the [...]

No one can deny the sheer film nerd excitement and anticipation surrounding the release of the Coen brothers’ take on True Grit, which rode into Australian cinemas last week. To have Joel and Ethan at the helm of a (Western) project starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin, it’s a nigh-on pants wetting excitement. Wondering what filmic magic the Coen brothers have in store for [...]

Yes, we have seen the “spunky young woman succeeds against all odds in new job/town/situation and lands a hot boyfriend” plot play out countless times before, but thankfully Roger Michell’s Morning Glory does it rather well. It’s surprisingly smart, funny and very entertaining. Not only is this due to a cracking, intelligently written script by Aline “The Devil Wears Prada” McKenna, it’s also a real credit to leads Rachel McAdams, [...]

If you’re like me, then you probably have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Christmas. Present-giving and copious amounts of food? Definitely the highlights. Not so wonderful, are the endless crowds and modern pop or rap interpretations of Christmas carols. Similarly, for every genuinely funny or heartwarming Christmas film release, there’s undoubtedly a Jingle All the Way or Christmas With the Cranks or anything starring Tim Allen. So, in this season [...]

“Hey man. Do you … have a cape I could borrow?”

That phrase was uttered, texted, Facebooked all day on Wednesday. As a person who isn’t a superhero and who doesn’t engage in Viking metal type escapades, I don’t generally have a need for a cape. As such, I was not sure how to obtain one. The reason, on that fine Wednesday afternoon of frantically trying to [...]

An Education is a coming-of-age tale centering around a British schoolgirl in the early 1960s, I think I would be safe to wager that a great number of audience members were able to identify in some way to the wide-eyed wonder Jenny experiences upon her entry to a world of jazz, restaurants and weekend jaunts to Paris, a world so far removed from essays, dorky teenage suitors and boring parents.

I chose this film for perusal at this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival simply because I had heard the (Venice Film Festival award-winning) cinematography was well worth the price of admission on its own. Call it seeking out inspiration for an upcoming filmic project. In this regard, I was not disappointed. Neither, did Paper Soldier fail to live up to the warning I had received before the screening, “EXPECT TARKOVSKY!”

For those not in the know regarding Soviet cinema, Andrei Tarkovsky can best be described through his constant and spectacular use of long, long tracking shots, of the most balletic nature, mostly devoid of dialogue. Paper Soldier however, is not directed by Tarkovsky, but rather Aleksei German. It’s often billed as the Russian Right Stuff (do yourself a favour if you haven’t checked out that particularly epic Tom Wolfe adaptation and devour it, please), but Paper Soldier is less bravado and gung-ho than balletic, thoughtful and grey. Really, where the similarities start and end is the fact that both films explore the space race between the two superpowers…and it seems fitting that both films seem to exemplify their respective schools of cinema; gung ho, epic Hollywood, and a rather more introspectively self-aware Soviet cinema. It’s certainly an unlikely way of telling the story of the Russian side of the space race – the entire period of history lends itself to all the fanfare and rousing chorus of a blockbuster. Cosmonaut training is barely touched on, in fact. Rather, the film fixates itself on the chain-smoking doctors of the mission.

My my Steven…how interesting you are.

The Steven I refer to is none other than Steven Soderbergh, truly one of those ever-reliable filmmakers. I guess at times I take this seemingly effortlessly slick, stylish filmmaker’s skill for granted, but he really is one of those ever-reliable directors (do I go as far as to call him an auteur? Perhaps not.) that continually makes film after solid, substantial film. The Girlfriend Experience is no exception.