What would you do for money? What excruciating and indescribable lengths would someone to go for money? A lot of money? Whether it be to support their family, to live comfortable, to avoid debt, anything. Director E.L Katz is curious of the answer with his feature début, Cheap Thrills. It’s depraved, it’s revolting, but is it any good as a film? Do we have anyone to cling onto amidst the madness? My review after the jump.
When India Stoker’s father dies in a car accident, an uncle she didn’t know existed comes into her life. Who is this man and why has he shown up now? Review of Park Chan-wook’s Stoker after the jump.
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When Jeremy Scahill, National Security Correspondent for The Nation magazine decided to investigate a night-time raid in Afghanistan which killed 7 people (including a police commander and 2 pregnant women) he tugged on a very long and tangled piece of string, which lead right to the heart of the United State’s covert war operations. Review of Dirty Wars after the jump.
If one were to glance at this review they’d come across the name Linda Lovelace several times; and at the risk of sounding presumptuous, their first thought would likely be, “Oohhh that actress in Deep Throat with that particular skill”. Does the film do anything to change that perception of Lovelace? My review after the jump.
Wikileaks is widely known as the organisation which released hundreds of thousands of classified US military and political documents. But how much do we really know about them and their founder, Julian Assange? In this documentary Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side, Enron: The Smartest Men in the Room) takes a closer look at the organisation and the surprisingly secretive Assange, in We Steal Secrets: The Stories of Wikileaks. Review after the jump.
Blackfish takes a behind the scenes look at Orca [or Killer Whale] shows at marine parks, chiefly those at SeaWorld. The film is framed around the lifespan of one whale, Tilikum. We follow Tilikum from his capture in the wild, through to the present day. Along the way we learn about an industry which shows shocking disregard for both animal welfare and staff safety. Review of Blackfish after the jump.
The Cannes Film Festival is arguably the pinnacle of the film year. It is here that we get the first real idea of what films might be the films to get excited about seeing in the next 12 months. There is glitz, there is glamour and there is money. There is also the commercial side where film rights are sold, and various deals are made. So what is it like to actually attend Cannes as a young filmmaker? I chatted with Ryan Unicomb, an Australian filmmaker, about his Cannes experience.
As expected May was not a very busy month film-wise for me. I managed 21 films (the same as April), with 12 of those at the cinema. It was an extremely strong month at the cinema however, with The Rocket, The Place Beyond the Pines and Only God Forgives all receiving 4.5/5 stars. Sadly The Great Gatsby was not one of the highlights. I had been looking forward to seeing it, however I found it to be a bloated showy mess, that lacked any real emotion punch. Only God Forgives was a personal highlight, as it was my most anticipated film for 2012 and subsequently 2013. Thankfully it did not disappoint. Check out my May film round-up after the jump.