tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-348981842024-03-14T21:02:37.583+11:00Melbourne Film BlogFilm reviews, news and discussion by Paul Martin<br><br>
<i>"They come out with a strange, fantastic feeling and they can carry that, and it opens some little door or something that's magical and that's the power that film has."</i> - David LynchPaul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.comBlogger496125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-89785126928942084732010-11-26T11:53:00.002+11:002010-11-26T11:56:10.277+11:00DVDs for saleI'm saving for new things and letting old things go, including my DVD collection. I have some absolute gems, including many that are brand new and still shrink-wrapped. If you'd like to bid for any of these, they're going for a steal on eBay, which you can view here.Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-77924566898843565212010-06-12T18:09:00.000+10:002010-06-12T19:07:28.032+10:00Welcome backIt is apparent at times in all our lives that we come to a cross-road. Often times we just indicate and continue, and yet at other times we stall in trepidation or confusion. My absence of late is due to this phenomenon and so to update and return I say:My personal transformation and point of launch comes to me now like a rock off the overpass. While laying here in pain from being hit so hard, IPaul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com62tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-22730076683738218672010-06-06T21:34:00.002+10:002010-06-06T21:37:32.352+10:00Animal Kingdom winnersCongratulations to the winners of Animal Kingdom double passes:Greg C, David M, Catherine M, Chris K & Melissa GOnce you've seen it, please share your thoughts of the film at my original post.Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-34679035403229455962010-06-06T18:05:00.001+10:002010-06-06T21:35:19.194+10:00Animal Kingdom give-awayAs I posted previously, I consider Animal Kingdom one of the finest Australian films of the last two decades. It's now open in cinemas and I have double passes to give away to the first five readers to email me with "Animal Kingdom" in the subject field and your name and address in the body of the email (you'll find the email link near the 'About Me' section).COMPETITION CLOSEDPaul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-17173210200806896362010-05-02T20:36:00.004+10:002010-05-02T20:48:32.263+10:00Waleed Aly: a coherent voice of reasonAs I previously posted, this weekend saw Williamstown Town Hall host the Williamstown Literary Festival. Yesterday, I attended a number of events, bookend by my favourites: a screening of Paul Cox's The First Wife in the evening capped off a day that began with a discussion about current social issues between former Victorian Premier, Steve Bracks, and Waleed Aly. Aly is my favourite social Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-24385996591554426102010-04-27T23:59:00.000+10:002010-04-28T01:05:39.541+10:00Accidents HappenAccidents Happen (Andrew Lancaster, Australia, 2009)This film is quite an achievement, a very clever dysfunctional family black comedy. Its succeeds on at least two fronts. If you didn't know otherwise, there is almost nothing to suggest the film was made in Australia. It's set in Connecticut (as is the novel it is based on, by American-born author now living in Australia, Brian Carbee) and, Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-85102449764708544822010-04-26T22:47:00.002+10:002010-04-26T23:06:09.539+10:00Festival of German Films 2010 - 2It's been a Fatih Akin blitz this week, having watched his new comedy and two older films - a music documentary and his dramatic feature debut. I've also revisited The White Ribbon, the must-see film of the festival (though it has a cinematic release just after). All up, there's six films reviewed.Soul Kitchen (Fatih Akin, Germany, 2009)Das Weiße Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (The Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-77994139831867599992010-04-26T21:52:00.000+10:002010-04-26T21:53:48.338+10:00The Week in Review - 25/4/10My Week in Review will be short this time around - most of the films I've seen this week are from the Festival of German Films and reviewed separately. I'm also more time poor than usual.FILMS:Beneath Hill 60 (Jeremy Sims, Australia, 2010)Soul Kitchen (Fatih Akin, Germany, 2009)Das Weiße Band - Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte (The White Ribbon, Michael Haneke, Austria, 2009)Les parapluies de Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-18952789529773483442010-04-20T23:23:00.005+10:002010-04-20T23:32:47.274+10:00Animal Kingdom premiereI've already written about Animal Kingdom, the Sundance award-winning film that is one of the most exciting local productions in decades. It releases nationally on 3 June. For a chance to win a double pass to the film's 'red carpet' premiere (on 24 May in Melbourne or 25 May in Sydney) and attend the after-party, check out this site.Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-70241096256409031102010-04-20T22:01:00.002+10:002010-04-20T22:56:31.153+10:00Williamstown Literary FestivalI wouldn't normally post about what is for me a local festival, but this one may be of interest to readers here because it includes film and film-related events. I believe the Williamstown Literary Festival has been a regular event since 2005, but it's never been on my radar until now. I normally find out about it after the fact but this year one of my local bookshops sent out an email Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-92155003301625241872010-04-18T23:25:00.002+10:002010-04-20T16:36:39.066+10:00The Week in Review - 18/4/10Another week heavy with film - the stand-out is Man with a Movie Camera which screened at Melbourne Cinémathèque on Wednesday, an amazing film given it's place in history. Starting this week is a three-week season of films by (and one about) Jacques Demy, which I'm looking forward to - I've seen none of his work. My reviews of the two German films listed below can be found on my preview of the Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-66118457394622371332010-04-18T23:06:00.003+10:002010-04-18T23:16:31.038+10:00On refugees & asylum seekersRant warning ahead[beginning of rant] When John Howard was in office, he saw that the best way to head off the political threat of the redneck policies of Pauline Hansen was to outdo her at her own game. Now that Labour has no balls to stand up to the nasty political games of Tony Abbott, whose party makes chess pieces out of other people's suffering, Rudd is trying outdo the Libs at their Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-89718552459535278862010-04-18T18:27:00.001+10:002010-04-18T18:28:02.956+10:00Jafar Panahi under arrestWhile checking out the Cannes festival website, I was disturbed to stumble upon this article about the Iranian government's detention/imprisonment of renowned film-maker Jafar Panahi. The director of such celebrated films as The Circle and Crimson Gold, he is clearly a director of great integrity and social conscience. Given the widespread support that Roman Polanski received for his Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-76040867425340608392010-04-18T17:51:00.001+10:002010-04-18T17:53:35.114+10:00Cannes 2010 lineupThe following are the films and juries announced thus far for the Festival du Cannes 2010, running from 12 - 23 May. Any, in case you didn't know, that's Juliette Binoche featured in the official poster. For a serious festival, Robin Hood sounds like a joke as an opening night film but then, Cannes is all about controversy and commercialism as it is about art. There's a number of titles that Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-55437947215957744932010-04-17T16:24:00.003+10:002010-04-17T16:32:11.617+10:00Festival of German Films - Festival GuestsAs an addendum to my FoGF 2010 Preview, I thought I'd cut and paste a media release regarding the festival's guests:Famed Director SÖNKE WORTMANN & Acclaimed Feminist Writer ERICA FISCHER in Oz for AUDI FESTIVAL OF GERMAN FILMS 2010Now celebrating its 9th year, the AUDI FESTIVAL OF GERMAN FILMS returns in late April with its most dynamic line-up to date. Boasting more than 30 new movies – Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-25883778159517205032010-04-16T13:03:00.007+10:002010-04-26T13:16:31.711+10:00Festival of German Films 2010 - PreviewThe Festival of German Films 2010 opens with Fatih Akin's new comedy Soul Kitchen at the Como cinema on Thursday 22 April. The FoGF has gradually increased on popularity, and more by serious programming rather than populist. In fact, I suspect this has had an influence on the French Film Festival, which has until recently had too much of a focus (in my opinion) on popular mainstream cinema. Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-87764107499402913912010-04-12T18:18:00.001+10:002010-04-12T23:54:04.256+10:00Animal KingdomAnimal Kingdom (David Michôd, Australia, 2010)This debut feature by David Michôd, which won the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema at this year's Sundance Film Festival, is simply exhilarating. I'll go so far as to say that I think it's easily one of the top ten Australian films of the last two decades. To put that into perspective, the only films I’d place on that pedestal are: Everynight... Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-5831375909887257022010-04-12T11:49:00.007+10:002010-04-12T23:56:04.812+10:00Avatar and alleged 'Box Office Gross'I just received Screen Australia's latest email newsletter, Get the Picture, which states:Avatar is now the highest-grossing film of all time in Australia. Released on 17 December 2009, it had earnt $108,621,853 at the local box office by 7 March 2010, making it the first film released in Australia to earn over $100 million.It then provides a link to its website of the top-grossing films of Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-33197147410477017222010-04-11T22:51:00.005+10:002010-04-12T17:32:03.467+10:00The Week in Review - 11/4/10I can't believe I saw ten films this week. I'm not working at present and had four days where I saw 2 films each day. This was also partly due to Easter and partly because of the Festival of German Films preview screenings (I'm posting separately about these).The stand-out of the week is Animal Kingdom, which will definitely make my top 10 of the year. This film is going to sweep the AFI awards Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-507625951415186232010-04-04T22:30:00.001+10:002010-04-04T22:37:31.108+10:00The Week in Review - 4/4/10I haven't mentioned much yet about this year's La Mirada, one of my favourite local film festivals. I filled in a survey at the festival today at ACMI and for the question about what I like about the festival I put: [festival director] Rocio Garcia's passion and love for cinema (she introduces most of the films), the volume of door prizes, the atmosphere, the Almodóvar curated section and the Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-10264513114926265212010-03-31T14:18:00.003+11:002010-04-02T19:58:13.127+11:00Festival of German FilmsI had a quick look at the films screening at this year's Festival of German Films, and two titles stood out straight away: Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon and Fatih Akin's Soul Kitchen. I saw The White Ribbon at MIFF last year and have been wondering when this magnificent film will get a release. I'm a big fan of Haneke and The White Ribbon is perhaps his most mature and complex film to date.Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-63325201581205962502010-03-30T19:56:00.006+11:002010-03-30T20:13:20.488+11:00The Most Dangerous Man in AmericaThe Most Dangerous Man in America:Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers Judith Ehrlich/Rick Goldsmith, USA, 2009Errol Morris' The Fog of War is a brilliant study of the principals of war and how the US went wrong with its policies in the Vietnam War, as enunciated by its chief architect, Robert McNamara, with parallels applicable to the current Afghanistan/Iraq conflict. The Most Dangerous Man Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-7509636810052611462010-03-28T22:19:00.003+11:002010-03-31T15:27:37.962+11:00The Week in Review - 28/3/10The offerings at the cinema are so thin at the moment. I did a bit of research and worked out a few films worth seeing at the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, but couldn't work any of them into my schedule. Weekends I've been busy with family and weekdays the screenings just haven't been convenient times. So, I've resorted to DVD: three of them this week.FILMS:A Single Man (Tom Ford, USA, 2009)Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-77983183814623225262010-03-27T15:43:00.003+11:002010-03-27T16:00:48.505+11:00On moderationsA while ago I turned on moderation of comments on this blog. First for posts older than 14 days, then 4 days, then 3. Basically, I was getting spammed by fuckheads who know that no-one is going to read their bullshit cheap electronics, sex and other promotions but assuming (perhaps falsely) that Google web-crawlers would pick up their links and promote their website rankings on Google searches.Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34898184.post-83007008042018502882010-03-26T23:24:00.004+11:002010-03-27T00:01:26.550+11:00CosmeticsOK, Blogger have provided some new templates that allow much more flexibility to the design of a blog. I want to stick with green. Colour is important for me in many aspects of my life and with the passage of time, I've gravitated towards different colours. I 'see' colour, something I mentioned in my 'Change of Plans'. Even as a child colour was important to me and I have vivid recollections Paul Martinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10965628567103267009noreply@blogger.com3