tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post50762595141518623..comments2023-07-25T18:12:10.051+10:00Comments on Melbourne Film Blog: The Week in Review - 4/4/10Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-63930180261114279602010-04-09T08:12:32.497+10:002010-04-09T08:12:32.497+10:00The Earthsea books are fantasy of the highest orde...The Earthsea books are fantasy of the highest order with great depth. Absolute essential reading you won't regret it.iurgihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02921642262846959030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-12271341427703304722010-04-08T23:00:05.983+10:002010-04-08T23:00:05.983+10:00TLS, I pretty much indulge fully with both the Fre...TLS, I pretty much indulge fully with both the French FF & MIFF and then just do what I feel I can with the others. Or if there's a particular Focus season at Melbourne Cinémathèque I might blitz it (like the Isabelle Huppert season for example). There are so many good films that come and go that I miss - <i>c'est comme ça</i>. <br /><br />Thanks both of you for the Le Guin Paul Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-33852924892026196472010-04-08T13:13:29.788+10:002010-04-08T13:13:29.788+10:00Paul, I'm getting a little overwhelmed with fi...Paul, I'm getting a little overwhelmed with film festivals too. I shudder to think of the number of good films I have to let slip by. A good incentive to work towards retirement faster! Oh well, at least I should be seeing a couple of La Mirada films in the coming days. <br /><br />I join Jurguens and heartily recommend Ursula Le Guin - it should be part of every childhood. Start with The little_strangerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940798482789935538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-27215048693060006242010-04-07T17:44:29.837+10:002010-04-07T17:44:29.837+10:00Back to my guy at the Astor, my thinking was and i...Back to my guy at the Astor, my thinking was and is that a movie is a great 'in' to discuss serious issues with children. Obviously we want to protect them from inappropriate material, but drugs is something that comes up all the time in so many forms. By confronting issues in a movie, it's a great to come out of a cinema and be able to discuss contemporary issues in the context (orPaul Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-36197854155261017122010-04-07T17:38:46.518+10:002010-04-07T17:38:46.518+10:00The first book is called The Gift, then The Riddle...The first book is called The Gift, then The Riddle and now we've just started The Crow. I've got to say that I've had my reservations - and still do - because it's impossible not to see the connections with The Lord of the Rings. But those reservations have dwindled during the course of our readings as gradually the story builds its universe of its own. I suppose it's a bit Paul Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-79018189049093042162010-04-07T16:08:34.065+10:002010-04-07T16:08:34.065+10:00I should check out Alison's books, once I fini...I should check out Alison's books, once I finish the uni course this year. But I shall take note. Nevertheless, as much as I love fantasy books, I'm very critical of them, and I only find two authors who have written truly meaningful fantasy with great depth: J.R.R. Tolkien and Ursula K. LeGuin <br /><br />About taking your kids to the Astor... that's a great story and I wish that iurgihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02921642262846959030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-80679811523212070732010-04-07T15:55:35.318+10:002010-04-07T15:55:35.318+10:00David, fortunately new releases play only a minor ...David, fortunately new releases play only a minor part in my film viewing, because we're already over a quarter of the way through the year and there's only been one truly standout new release so far - <i>A Prophet</i>. There's been other films I liked a lot (like <i>The Fantastic Mr. Fox</i> and the about-to-be-released <i>The Most Dangerous Man in America</i>).<br /><br />ObviouslyPaul Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-82473609284266085402010-04-07T12:28:25.686+10:002010-04-07T12:28:25.686+10:00Tolkien's essay "On Fairy Stories" d...Tolkien's essay "On Fairy Stories" discusses this issue. Also, in the book that was published of his letters, there are various letters where the issue is mentioned. He, for example, regretted having published The Hobbit in the form that we know it because he wrote it for his kids when they were very little, but he never thought it would be published. Then he got an offer to publishiurgihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02921642262846959030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-61286406590046644262010-04-07T12:27:10.293+10:002010-04-07T12:27:10.293+10:00I'm with you Paul, I'm at the stage where ...I'm with you Paul, I'm at the stage where I have a hunger for as wide an experience in the cinema as possible, encompassing films from any country. At the same time I've probably never had a stronger interest in local cinema, predominantly from all the fantastic older films I've discovered for the first time and reviewed in the last year or two, as well as the overall increase in David O'Connellhttp://www.screenfanatic.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-16726683455553472512010-04-06T21:41:01.246+10:002010-04-06T21:41:01.246+10:00Jurguens, I take it you had the good fortune to se...Jurguens, I take it you had the good fortune to see <i>Tesis</i> on its initial release. I find it fascinating to discover a director when they already have a body of work behind them, and then go back and find all these films that one initially missed. I agree with your assessment of his films.<br /><br />I've not heard that comment about Tolkien but must agree, of course. I took 2-3 Paul Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-18609498777992726322010-04-06T20:33:42.357+10:002010-04-06T20:33:42.357+10:00I have to be brief but here I go...
I saw Tesis w...I have to be brief but here I go...<br /><br />I saw Tesis when it came out in Spain, and I thought it was a really well made thriller. I haven't seen it since, but I remember thinking that the film showed a confident director and Amenabar would do well. He's done really well and I've never been disappointed with any of his films. Some are better than others, but all good.<br /><br />iurgihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02921642262846959030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-79034241696918274982010-04-06T17:45:05.698+10:002010-04-06T17:45:05.698+10:00David, unfortunately Agua fría only has one screen...David, unfortunately <i>Agua fría</i> only has one screening at La Mirada, so your only chance to see it might be if MIFF picks it up.<br /><br />Each year, the French Film Festival seems to signal the start a long stretch of film festivals that doesn't seem to end until the end of MIFF. It gets pretty intense for me, because these festivals are important to me, even if many of the films Paul Martinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-40014411821399472692010-04-06T16:27:17.983+10:002010-04-06T16:27:17.983+10:00Thanks for the heads up about Cold Water of the Se...Thanks for the heads up about Cold Water of the Sea, Paul. It sounds like a really interesting film. For some reason I was thinking the La Mirada festival was actually this year's Spanish Film Festival itself. Glad to find out there's still a wave of Spanish films ahead of us!! Here I was dreading the thought of missing much of it before I was even aware of its existence. With the German David O'Connellhttp://www.screenfanatic.comnoreply@blogger.com