Matt's Blog

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 04 October 2010

We’re only a month away from BIFF but there’s something to keep us occupied in the meantime.  This Wednesday, the Lavazza Italian Film Festival kicks off in Brisbane.  It runs for more than 2 weeks and there are more than 20 different films being shown.  It’s come at the right time too.  There are just 2 new releases in regular release this week.

I’m heading along to the Opening Night celebrations and hopefully the festival will be a great one.

The Palace Centro and Palace Barracks are hosting the festival again this year and you can find out more on the special website at http://www.italianfilmfestival.com.au.  Tickets are $18 to most sessions (cheaper for concessions) and there are a few special events with drinks/entertainment included.

I’ve been perusing through the festival guide and to help wet your appetite, here’s a sampling of what’s on offer…

La Nostra Vita

Barracks - October 6, 14 & 23

Elio Germano plays Claudio, a construction worker living on the outskirts of Rome with a wife he adores, two small kids and a third on the way. When a tragedy befalls the family, Claudio leans on his boss to give him his own construction site to supervise. In exchange, Claudio will keep a secret Porcari is covering up.  La Nostra Vita screened in competition at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival where Elio Germano collected the coveted Best Actor award.

The Double Hour

Barracks - October 8 & 16

Sonia, a young woman from Eastern Europe, has recently moved to the northern industrial town of Turin. She wants to find a boyfriend so she signs up for a speed-dating service - facing the blunt and the sleazy - until she meets Guido, an ex-cop turned security guard who has been making the rounds of the singles' scene for a while. Against all odds, the two hit it off and a romance quickly develops.  Ksenia Rappoport's magnetic performance and sheer screen presence earned her the Best Actress award at the Venice Film Festival, and Filippo Timi (who won Best Actor) oozes macho sexuality.

The First Beautiful Thing

Barracks - October 7 & 16

In 1971, at a popular beach establishment near the Tuscan port of Livorno, yummy-mummy Anna is roped into a beauty contest which she easily wins. Her jealous husband, Mario, is enraged by the attention from assorted wolf-whistlers, while 8-year-old son Bruno is horrified by the spectacle of it all. His younger sister Valeria is the only one enjoying the scene. Jump to the present, when Bruno gets an urgent visit from Valeria telling him their mother is sick. Bruno tries to wriggle out of going back to Livorno but finally agrees, the trip triggering bittersweet memories.  This is Italy’s entry in the foreign language category of next year’s Academy Awards.

The Man Who Will Come

Barracks - October 13 & 21

Winner of the Best Film Award at the David Di Donotello (Italian Academy) Awards 2010 and Rome's Grand Jury Prize as well as the Audience Award, The Man Who Will Come is a powerful and engrossing drama based on the World War II tragedy known as the Marzabotto Massacre, which confirms director and co-writer Giorgio Diritti as a major filmmaker in contemporary Italian cinema.

Loose Cannons

Barracks - October 8 & 19

Tommaso has a comfortable life in Rome as an aspiring writer and is in a steady relationship with his boyfriend Marco — a life he has kept secret from his family. When he's called back to his hometown of Lecce in Southern Italy to help run the family business, he decides to reveal his homosexuality to his conservative family and hopefully get out of his business obligations in the process. But when his plans are thwarted, Tommaso gets stuck on the path that he was desperately trying to avoid.

The Front Line

Barracks - October 12 & 20

Set during a turbulent period in 1970-80s Italy, Sergio joins the radical political group Prima Linea where he meets and falls in love with fellow member, Susanna. Pursuing an uncompromising cause as members of this notorious Italian terrorist organization, second only to the Red Brigades in membership and influence, they have become increasingly alienated from the real world. Their luck finally runs out when Susanna is captured and thrown in jail. Putting his life on the line, Sergio embarks on a radical plan...

Happy Family

Barracks - October 9 & 17

Academy award-winning veteran director Gabriele Salvatores (Mediterraneo) delivers a colourful tongue-in-cheek comedy about a writer holed up in his apartment in Milan one hot summer trying to punch out a story while the characters come to life around him offering their input on the direction they think the story should take.

What More Do I Want?

Barracks - October 10 & 24

Anna is a woman in her early thirties who works as an accountant at a large insurance firm. She lives with her long-time boyfriend Alessio, a nice guy who thinks they should settle down and have a child. Anna, on the other hand, feels like the excitement has gone out of their relationship and when she meets Domenico in her office, it isn't long before their clandestine chemistry turns into a fully fledged affair even though Domenico confesses to having a wife and two kids at home. The illicit lovers meet once a week for a few hours in a cheap motel, but soon it's not enough for Anna, who becomes increasingly needy.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 27 September 2010

We’re 9 months into the year and its time for the best films to step up and reveal themselves.  The awards season kicks off in early December and it’ll be a bloody battle right up the Oscars on February 27.

As always, the recent film festivals in Venice and Toronto have given the big studios a chance to showcase their contenders.  It’s kind of like a fashion show.  They hold onto their best stuff and launch it in glitzy style (with stars, parties) over the course of a single week.

A few films made an impact but the big talking point is a film which didn’t screen in competition at the two major festivals - David Fincher’s The Social Network.  You have only had to read a few news sites to see references to Citizen Kane.  I’m trying not to buy into the over-hype but it’s obviously leaving a mark on those who see it.  It’s the clear Oscar frontrunner.

The exciting news it that the release date has been brought forward here in Australia.  We’ll now have the chance to see it on October 28 and I’m hoping my media invite comes through very soon.

Columnist Jeffrey Wells provided a great summary of the Toronto Film Festival which you can read right here.  He speaks of a number of films in addition to The Social Network which I can’t wait to see.  They include Black Swan, 127 Hours, Let Me In, The King’s Speech and Biutiful. 

It’s been a long weekend and that’s all I’ve time for this week.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 20 September 2010

It’s been two weeks since my last blog as I’ve been off with the Queensland Colts golf team who were competing in the Australian Interstate Series at Wynnum.  It was a fun week with the team finishing second behind Victoria.  I’ve a bunch of photos from the week on Facebook for those who are interested.

As a result of being in camp, I went 10 days without seeing a movie.  I think it left me with withdrawal symptoms.  I don’t think I’ve gone that long without a trip to the cinema since I did a Contiki tour of Europe in 2004.  I made up for the shortfall by seeing 4 movies on Sunday (which also happened to be my birthday).  It was short of my record of 6 movies in a day but it was a decent effort anyway.  I’m now back on track and all is well in the world.

New Column

I’ve been lucky to meet some interesting people through Twitter and now I have one of them contributing to my website.  If there’s one area of cinema where I’m weak, it’s my knowledge of classic movies.  I spend so much time watching all the new releases that I struggle to find time to watch the great films from year’s past.

Peter Taggart is filling the Film Pie void by putting together a weekly column which reviews cult and classic offerings which you’ll discover at your local video store (possibly gathering dust).

You can access Peter’s column by clicking here and he’s starting off this week by looking at the 1975 documentary, Grey Gardens.  Hopefully you’ll enjoy his work.

Brisbane International Film Festival

Details have been out for a few weeks but I haven’t had a chance to mention them yet in my blog.  This year’s BIFF promises to be something different – there’s a new date, new venues and a new director.

The Festival will run from November 4-14 and will be shared between the Palace Centro, Palace Barracks and Tribal Theatres (the old Dendy George Street).  Richard Moore is at the helm this year and is a former director of the Melbourne International Film Festival.

I’m very keen to see the line up of films and I’ll be sure to keep you posted in future blogs.

Tomorrow When The War Began

In my review, I raised the question as to whether the marketing strategy for Tomorrow When The War Began would pay off.  The answer is a resounding yes.

The film has taken $8.97m so far at the Australian box-office.  It’s opening weekend of $3.8m was the biggest since Baz Lurhmann’s Australia in November 2008.  It’s also the first locally made film to top our box-office since Australia.

It’s great to see the Aussie public getting behind the film and hopefully it’ll fuel a few sequels in the near future.  Well done to director Stuart Beattie.

Toronto Film Festival

I say this every year but if there’s one film festival I wish I could attend, it’s Toronto.  Hundreds of films are shown and for many high profile releases, it’s the chance to kick start their Oscar campaigns.  I love reading the columns from bloggers in Toronto to hear which films have lived up to the hype.  This year’s festival finished up over the weekend.

I’ll provide more detailed coverage on this year’s Oscar contenders in an upcoming blog but I want to make mention of the very importance People’s Choice Award.  Previous winners have included Precious (2009), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), Tsotsi (2005), Hotel Rwanda (2004), Whale Rider (2002), Amelie (2001), Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000), American Beauty (1999), Life Is Beautiful (1998) and Shine (1996).  All went on to receive Academy Award nominations.

This year’s audience winner was The King’s Speech.  It boasts a great cast including Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Michael Gambon, Geoffrey Rush and Timothy Spall.  It tells the story of King George VI (the British monarch before Queen Elizabeth II) and how he overcame a dreadful stutter with the help of a speech therapist.  Reviews have been great so far and it seems a shoe-in for a best picture nomination.

That’ll do it from me for another week.  Over and out.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 05 September 2010

Is it ok to go to the movies on your own?

That’s a question that I’ve been asked many times.  I know some people who would say “don’t be a fool, of course there’s nothing wrong with that.”  I know others who think the complete opposite.  A good friend of mine (who falls into the later category) accidentally locked himself out of his unit once.  He reluctantly went to a movie all by his lonesome while waiting for a spare set of keys to arrive.  I don’t think he enjoyed the experience but maybe that because he was watching Nicolas Cage in The Ghost Rider.

For me, the answer to this question is simple.  I see more than 200 movies a year and for at least half of that total, I’d be on my own.  Don’t worry.  I’m not a loser.  I don’t think so anyway.  In my defence, I say (1) some previews are during the day and most of my friends work, and (2) some movies look that bad that I’d feel guilty dragging a friend along.  I now present The Bounty Hunter (with Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler) as exhibit A.

Maybe it’s just me but I also feel a lot of pressure when taking friends to see a movie.  Often running though my mind is “I hope they like it.”  I hate taking people to something they don’t enjoy.  They may as well of sat home and watched the X-Factor on TV.  Well, maybe not the X-Factor but you get my point.

If the film is a comedy, it’s easy to gauge someone’s opinion from the number of times they laugh.  For other films, it’s trickier.  I’ll often sneak a glance and check their body language to see if I can pick up on anything.  All is revealed on leaving the cinema.  I can put forward the same question every time – “sooooo… what did you think of it?”  Hopefully the answer is a positive one.

As I’ve spoken about before, there’s often a danger in hyping up a movie.  I took 5 friends to see Inception a few weeks ago.  I’d already been to the preview and given the film an enthusiastic thumbs up – my only A+ of the year to date.  Two of my friends hated it and another was unable to form an opinion (due to the amount of time he spent asleep).  I know it’s fun to argue about movies but I still felt somewhat deflated.  I wanted them to like it.  I wanted them to see it for the amazing cinematic achievement that it was.

There are other advantages to seeing a movie on your own.  Firstly, you can sit wherever you want.  Tony Martin and I are on the same page when he says the best seat is the one “away from the f***wits”.  I aim to sit up the back and near an aisle (trying to avoid the major crowd).  I have to make this request every time I go to Event Cinemas because of their reserved seating policy.  It’s good to be away from the bulk of the audience because (1) there’s less chance of having people talk around you, and (2) you can often spread out.

As much as I dislike reserved seating, it can be of benefit if you’re buying just a single ticket.  If a session is almost sold out, it’s pretty hard to find two seats together unless you’re prepared to take on the front row (guaranteed torture for any film with subtitles).  If on your own, you can sneak in at the last minute and nab that one-off seat in the back row.  Hopefully it’s not in between a guy who has smuggled in a kebab and a girl who spends the whole movie typing texts into her glowing iPhone.

Another big plus is that you can see a movie whenever you want.  If you’re trying to line up a group of friends, it can be tricky finding a time and day that fits snugly into their Outlook calendars.  This can be dangerous for movies only getting a small release.  If you wait longer than a week, you run the risk that it’ll disappear and be replaced by more profitable Hollywood fare (e.g. Sex & The City 2 running on an endless loop).

Above all else though, seeing a movie on your own can be a great way to unwind.  I’ve come out of many movies feeling a lot better than before I went in.  I’d hate to miss that awesome feeling just because I couldn’t find someone to see a movie with.

I confess there are times when I’ve felt uncomfortable sitting on my own in a movie theatre.  My case in point - seeing a film targeted at pre-teens.  To have a middle aged guy sitting on his own in the back of cinema full of screaming kids might look a little strange.  Thankfully, my sister sacrificed two hours of her time and saw The Spongebob Squarepants Movie with me in 2005.  I wasn’t so lucky with the Hannah Montana / Miley Cyrus 3D concert movie back in 2008.  It was embarrassing enough buying the ticket from the pimple-faced teenager at the counter.  I really think I need to start taking a pen and pad to these kind of movies.  I need to at least look like a critic.

When I’m waiting of a movie to start, I often peruse the audience to see if there are any other folk on their own.  You generally don’t see too many.  They tend to be more frequent in action films (I’m guessing the wife/girlfriend had better things to do).  Film festivals also tend to throw up more people willing to go it alone.  I guess their love for film outweighs the possible awkwardness that many perceive.  Nice to see.

Am I in the minority when I say yes, it is ok to go to the movies on your own?  I hope not.