17th Revelation - Perth International Film Festival preview highlights

Concrete Night

Fri July 4th, 6:30pm, Paradiso & Sun July 6th, 6:30pm, Luna

A Scandinavian co-production that features the year’s most striking cinematography, stunning visually poetic monochrome reminiscent of Francis Ford Coppola’s Rumble Fish; a portrait of adolescent angst that is both tender and raw, a muse on fraternity and the spectre of loneliness, again reminiscent of Rumble Fish. Johannes Brotherus is superb in the lead role as fourteen-year-old Simo, struggling to find his rightful place alongside his distant mother and his criminal brother, living in a cramped public housing apartment block in Helsinki, quietly aching for adventure, danger even. Concrete Night drifts with a dreamlike sombre tone, a hypnotic slow burn of coil and release.

 

Joe

Sat July 5th, 6:30pm, Paradiso, Mon July 7th, 8:30pm, SX, & Fri July 11th, 8:45pm, Luna

This is Nicolas Cage’s best movie in years, playing Joe, an ex-con trying to keep his head above water, still fighting his demons. He meets 15-year-old Gary (newcomer Tye Sheridan in an extraordinary performance), a tough lad with an even tougher father, a violent drunkard (non-professional Gary Poulter, a talented street bum who died shortly after shooting was completed), who is jealous of the bond his son makes with surrogate father Joe. This is one of those tales you know from the opening scenes is going to end frayed and torn, but just how the tragedy unfolds makes for compelling viewing. Director David Gordon Green and screenwriter Gary Hawkins (based on a novel by Larry Brown) have created a deeply moody (some of the scenes are as dark in palette as they are in tone) study of crooked redemption.

 

Palo Alto

Sat July 5th, 8:45pm, Paradiso, Sun July 6th, 2pm, SX, Thur July 10th, 9pm, Luna, & Sun July 13th, 6pm, Luna

The ridiculously talented James Franco published a book of inter-linked short stories about teenagers in the Californian township of Palo Alto (south of San Fran, north of San Jose). It’s the first feature directed and adapted by Gia Coppola (the daughter of Francis Coppola’s eldest son Gian-Carlo, who was killed aged 22, leaving a pregnant wife). Although there is nothing really knew on display, there is still a freshness, a deliciously listless atmosphere, similar to that of Bellflower, that lifts this rambling narrative above most others of its kind. It’s the three superb central performances from thoughtful Jack Kilmer (son of Val and Joanne Whalley), ingenue Emma Roberts, and volatile Nat Wolff that really drive this movie. Franco plays a support role (he couldn’t help himself) as a cradle-snatching soccer coach, whilst Val (whose actual home was used as one of the key interiors) makes a cameo as a stoned step-dad.  Dazed and Confused for the hipsters.

 

Wetlands

Fri July 4th, 8:30pm, Paradiso, Mon July 7th, 8:15pm, Paradiso, Wed July 9th, 8:45pm, Paradiso, Fri July 11th, 6:30pm, Luna, Sat July 12th, 9pm, Luna, & Sun July 13th, 6pm, SX

From the director of Combat Girls comes this astonishing celebration of bodily fluids as metaphor for psychological issues. Well, at the very least, it's a wild hybrid black comedy-romance-drama, based on the bestseller novel by Charlotte Roche. The story of Helen (Carla Juri), a young woman with an obsession with her sexuality in all its beauty and ugliness. But what it’s really about is Helen’s preoccupation with her parents broken relationship, and the effect it has had on her psyche. Filmed with the same kind of dynamically creative verve as Danny Boyle did with Trainspotting, it’s a circus of true ick and unexpected splendour, and simply unlike anything you’ve ever seen – or experienced – before. Taking the trophy for brazen originality, indeed, this is the kind of movie only the Germans could make, it’s brilliant in its outrageousness. Carla Juri is utterly fearless and utterly amazing. Wetlands soaks hard: an instant transgressive cult classic, but, please be warned, it’s NOT everyone’s cup of excretion! You will probably be put off pizza and avocado for a while,but hey, it's crazy, filthy fun!

 

Who Took Johnny

Fri July 4th, 6:15pm, Luna, Sun July 6th, 12.30pm, Paradiso, & Mon July 7th, 8:15pm, Luna

A disturbing reminder that the most powerful nightmare movies are often documentaries that delve into the hideous inhumanity that seethes below the surface of society. This riveting true crime story exposes (hell, we all knew it anyway) the truly heinous monster that is human trafficking. It’s an American horror story, but the bigger picture is indeed international in scope. Thirty years ago fourteen-year-old Johnny Gosch was abducted whilst on his paper route. The culprits have never been caught. Local police continue to insist the boy ran away from home and he is still listed as a missing person. Johnny’s mother has been on a crusade ever since, inexorably uncovering corruption and conspiracy every step of the way. This is a truly insidious darkness that stretches far and wide, and continues to be “covered” because many of the super-wealthy are evil. Who Took Johnny is an exceptional documentary; a hard, hard truth about the darkness that surrounds us.

Blue Is The Warmest Colour BD/DVD giveaway

Cult Projections in conjunction with the lovely folk at Transmission Films have some Blu-ray Discs and DVDs of hot French drama Blue is the Warmest Colour to giveaway! 

Drop me a message in my Letterbox and tell me your favourite gay-themed movie, and why. I'll pick the four best answers and throw a disc your way.

Don't forget to indicate your preference for either BD or DVD, and don't forget to include a mailing address!

This competition is only open to Australian residents. 

61st Sydney Film Festival reviews in brief

Ruin

I had the highest expectation from director Amiel Courtin-Wilson, as his debut feature, Hail, was one of my favourites from SFF2011. He’s sharing directorial duties with his producer from Hail, Michael Cody, and they’ve embarked on an Asian odyssey, telling the tale of two young fugitives in the desolate beauty of Cambodia. It’s an Australian production, but it’s by no mean an Australian story. In an admittedly perverse comparison, Ruin is an Asian True Romance, without the black comedy. Filled, once again, with the dreamlike visual splendour, at times impressionistic, and times abstract, that made Hail so mesmerising and memorable, but lacking the overt surrealism, and character fascination that made his debut so incredibly original. Ruin weaves like a rudderless canoe on a wild, dangerous river, then drifts into the tall reeds and is still as a crocodile waiting. I had difficulty grappling with feeling an real empathy for the two protagonists; even though Sovanna (Sang Malen)’s sex trade predicament is dire, she offers so little in terms of expression. But on a surface level Ruin was sumptuous. I loved the way it was filmed; the mood and rhythm, and the score was impressive, yet the movie’s narrative and characters left me feeling hollow and strangely irritated. I’d like to see Amiel tackling someone else’s screenplay.

Fish & Cat

Imagine if Jim Jarmusch, David Lynch, and Andrei Tarkovsky were seated in a strange smelling off-road restaurant. What would the conversation be like? What photos would they pull from their wallets? What would they order from the menu? How long would the pauses be between topics? Iranian filmmaker Shahram Mokri, who shot A Separation, sets about creating a study on the fissures that burn the fabric of time, the pot-holes in conventional narrative are filled with reflective water, and Mokri’s characters find themselves drinking déjà vu. Shot in a single Steadicam take, this two-hour plus is like the ghost of Samuel Beckett haunting a journey through a circular space and time. It is, quite simply, an exasperating, existential nightmare.

 

Love Eternal

Based on a Japanese novel called In Love With the Dead, about an orphaned young man who believes himself unfit to play his part in human society, a man whose desire lies deep in the darkness of his soul where life does not breathe. Ian (Robert de Hoog) is a man with a troublesome fixation on the intimacy of death. He is a borderline necrophile, and a few women will become part of his lonely predilection, most importantly, the grieving Naomi (Pollyanna McIntosh). Irish director Brendan Muldowney, who made Savage, tackles delicate and darkly fascinating subject matter, but unfortunately this potentially powerful drama dissipates in the second half becoming less the perverse thriller it could have been, and more a quirky coming-of-age melodrama. A shame, then, as the performances are strong, but the dark artful intent is ultimately squandered.

Babylon

Directors Danny Boyle and Jon S. Baird tackle the small screen with refreshing verve. With a tight-as-a-deadline teleplay by Sam Bain and Jesse Armstrong, two very funny writers responsible for the hilarious Four Lions movie and television’s Peepshow, this is a pilot to a new UK comedy-drama about life on the frontline for a London police force. Dealing with those making split-second decisions on the streets, to those deliberating behind the scenes in the offices higher up the ladder of the law. It’s a great ensemble cast, but the focus whizzes around new recruit Liz Garvey (charismatic Brit Marling), who finds the change from talking TED for Instagram to Metro Police’s Director of Communications comes with a its own tricky dealings. No yay or nay on whether a series will get the green light. 

 

In Order of Disappearance

I liked Zero Kelvin, nearly twenty years ago, and thoroughly enjoyed A Somewhat Gentle Man from several years ago, so I was very much looking forward to the new movie from Scandinavian director Hans Petter Moland. The always-reliable Skellan Skarsgard plays a Norwegian ski resort snowplough driver who finds his life turned upside down when drug dealers murder his young adult son. What follows is an uproarious comedy of manners/errors, as black as the midnight sun. The over-the-top violence only adds to the movie’s Coen Brothers-esque absurdity. The movie meanders in the second half, and by the time we reach the elaborate shoot-out finale the story has been stretched a bit far. Still, top marks for Pal Sverre Hagen’s drama queen villain, and great to see Bruno Ganz again. Original title, Kraftidioten, translates as “Bloody Fool”.


When Animals Dream

Marie (Sophie Suhls) lives in a small provincial Danish fishing village. She is an only child. Her mother is wheelchair bound, in a stupor. Her father administers a daily sedative, and Marie takes her for strolls down by the rugged ocean. But there is something swelling, not just the dark clouds and the ragged surf. There is something burgeoning deep within Marie. Puberty has come and gone, but her sexuality is on the rise, bristling like the dark hairs that have sprouted across the top of her breast. A lycanthropic coming-of-age thriller that can't decide whether it wants to bite like a horror movie, or howl like a provocative drama, so it perches in the corner growling. The establishing montage promised so much more than what it delivered in terms of atmosphere and a compelling story. Marie's hazy blood and fury bad dreams were about as intense as it got, but all too brief. Despite decent performances, the characters were all too familiar; the father and doctor in collusion, the wishy-washy romantic interest, the work bully. If only the mother and daughter relationship - and the movie's intriguing sub-plot - had been played more prominently, this movie might've been more of a contender. But, black comedy aside, this was no Ginger Snaps. 

Evil Feed BD & DVD giveaway!

Cult Projections and the lovely folk at Transmission Home Entertainment have got ten copies of the gloriously excessive black comedy action-horror Evil Feed (which I thoroughly enjoyed at last year's Monster Fest). Five Blu-ray Discs and five DVDs are up for grabs!

Drop me a line in my Letterbox and tell me what's the best cannibal flick you've seen and why? I'll pick the ten tastiest answers and send a copy of the movie your way. Don't forget to state BD or DVD preference and don't forget to include a mailing address.

Competition is only open to Australian residents, I'm afraid.

The Long Pig Restaurant is the ultimate underground restaurant sensation, where only the richest can taste the most refined meals and worldwide best…cannibalistic haute cuisine. Newly run Steven (Terry Chen) an overachieving son who delicately put his father to retirement by severing his head, the Long Pig has introduced novelty by capturing elite MMA fighters and then serving losers to their bloodthirsty customers. Perfect “Tendertainment!"

Jenna (Laci J Mailey), an aspiring stunt girl, is violently kidnapped with her friends by Triads and wakes up in the Long Pig holding cell waiting for her turn to fight in the Pit of Gore. In order to survive, she must fight her way out before being skinned alive and becoming the next main course. Throw in the Russian mob, competing cannibals, and a nymphomaniac masseuse; and you’ve got a crazy, over-the-top, sexy and bloody hell of a dinner movie!

Ender's Game double-pass giveaways!

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The lovely folk at Icon in conjunction with Cult Projections have five double-passes to giveaway to see the new science fiction young adult actioner Ender's Game for the lucky folk who respond to this question with a cool answer in my Letterbox! 

What is the most kick-ass alien invasion movie?

I will pick the five coolest answers and send them a double-pass in the mail. Just like that. Remember to include a mailing address with your answer. 

This competition is only open to Australian residents.

Based on the bestselling book of the same name the highly anticipated Ender's Game features an all-star cast including Harrison Ford, Asa Butterfield (Hugo), Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine), Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit), Viola Davis (The Help) and Ben Kingsley (Hugo).

In the near future, a hostile alien race has attacked Earth. If not for the legendary heroics of International Fleet Commander, Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley), all would have been lost. In preparation for the next attack the highly esteemed Colonel Graff (Harrison Ford) and the international military are recruiting and training only the best young children. Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield), a shy, but strategically brilliant boy is pulled out of his school to join the elite. Ender is soon ordained by Graff as the military's next great hope to lead his fellow soldiers into an epic battle that will determine the future of Earth and save the human race. 

TRAILER LINK:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtgpUK0woSk&list=PL0XnoGb6_BuGwtj6Ln21fPRFBbZh2bW-F

 

Machete Kills 5 x double-pass giveaways!

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The lovely folk at Icon Films in conjunction with Cult Projections have five double-passes to see the highly anticipated sequel, Machete Kills, starring the anti-hero-with-attitude Danny Trejo, and re-uniting him with maverick-with-the-most, director Robert Rodriguez, who gave us the brilliant modern grindhouse cult classic Planet Terror  and the amazing graphic novel adaptation Sin City!

 "Trained to kill, left for dead, Machete is back and this time he’s on the right side of the law. With gleefully gory comic book action, outrageously over-the-top characters and an absurd all-star cast including Jessica Alba, Sofia Vergara, Vanessa Hudgens, Amber Heard, Alexa Vega, Antonio Banderas, Cuba Gooding Jr. and Mel Gibson, plus Lady Gaga and “introducing” Carlos Estevez (Charlie Sheen) as President of the United States. 

Bigger, bolder and more badass than ever, Machete Kills is one of the coolest, gore-splattered, star-studded action films ever!"

Click here to watch the trailer

Drop me a private message in my LETTERBOX and tell me your favourite hardcore violent action movie. I will pick the five best selections and they'll get a double-pass to see Machete Kills, for a bit of hardcore violent Machete action on the big screen!

DON'T FORGET TO INCLUDE A MAILING ADDRESS! 

 

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 Machete Kills opens in Australia on Thursday October 24th

 

You're Next free movie tickets!

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Cult Projections and the lovely folks at Icon have five double-pass giveaways to see the new horror movie, You're Next, from splat pack director Adam Wingard. It's a severed-tongue in cheek home invasion flick starring hot new Aussie star Sharni Vinson. 

Drop me message in my Letterbox and tell me your favourite home invasion flick and why. I'll pick the five most entertaining answers and pop an in-season pass for two in the post. Don't forget to include a mailing address with your answer. 

IN CINEMAS AUGUST 29.

Trailer link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp2kMwyQh5E&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLDAACBB96D85D1D05

"One of the smartest and most terrifying films in years, You're Next reinvents the genre by putting a fresh twist on the home-invasion horror. This disturbing story follows the Davison family who have gathered at their secluded vacation home for a family reunion and find themselves the target of some creative and chillingly cruel killers. When the hapless victims seem trapped, an unlikely guest of the family proves to be the most talented killer of all. Starring Australia’s own Sharni Vinson, You're Next has screened at this years’ Sydney Film Festival and Melbourne International Film Festival."

Sorry, but this competition is only open to Australian residents.  

 

Upstream Color & Shane Carruth Q&A, Wednesday August 14th

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Popcorn Taxi presents one of the most enigmatic and resonant movies of the year, Shane Carruth's Upstream Color, plus an exclusive chat with him live from Paris!

Shane Carruth was inspired by Robert Rodriguez’s El Mariachi to create his first low-budget ($7000) film, Primer (2004), which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, and a host of other awards. It’s now considered a classic of the time-travel genre. He recently consulted on Rian Johnson's scrpt for Looper.

Shane is a former software engineer with a degree in mathematics, who brings a unique approach to feature filmmaking – directing, writing, acting in, producing, composing and editing his work. According to Carruth not a molecule of Hollywood touched his film. 

For more info: http://www.popcorntaxi.com.au/2013/07/events/upstream-color-qa-with-director-shane-carruth-live-from-paris/

Time: 7:15pm (sharp!), doors open 6.45pm

Date: Wednesday August 14, 2013

Where: Event Cinemas, Bondi Junction, NSW

Price: $23/21 concession

Tickets: enter now at www.popcorntaxi.com.au

For more information contact – Chris Murray - chris@popcorntaxi.com.au

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Monsterbox TV is here!

The dangerous and glorious misfits at Monster Pictures are seizing the future by the throat!

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MONSTERBOX.TV is the world's first horror and cult specific VOD platform. VOD is Video On Demand.

But they want your feedback! To get your fingers a’ twitchin’ and your mouths a’ droolin’ they’re offering rentals of any title in the catalogue for the once only, eye-popping price of one grimy dollar! One dollar? Yes just one piece of filthy lucre. 

So what's on Monsterbox already? The Human Centipede 1 & 2, The Woman, Manborg, Grabbers, Penance, Helldriver, and many more, with many more to come. 

For anyone who rents a movie and sends their feedback to info@monsterpictures.com.au, they will put your name in a draw to win tickets to MIFF, tickets to Cultastophe, a $100 worth of credit to Monsterbox TV, and five DVDs or Blu-rays of your choice.

They want your “I LOVE MY MONSTERBOX.TV” selfies posing with the Monster Pictures site so they can post them on Facebook for the enjoyment and pleasure of MonsterFreaks like you. They’ll be regularly picking the “best pics” [Ed: grimiest, more like!] and the winners will receive things like DVDs, tickets to events, Monster t-shirts, vouchers, fame, fortune, glory etc.

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As Monster Pictures says, "Be sexy, be silly, be crass, be covered in gore, be covered in shit, we don’t care really, just be yourself and be beautiful –  as long as we can see you and the MONSTERBOX.TV logo clearly, we’re happy!"

All you need to do is snap them send them in to info@monsterpictures.com.au and they’ll post them for you.

For more information visit the Monster Pictures site! 

Antiviral and Brandon Cronenberg Q&A, Monday July 29

Popcorn Taxi presents the only cinema screening of Antiviral in Sydney!

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"Antiviral is the debut feature from Brandon Cronenberg, son of Canada's king of visceral and existential horror, David Cronenberg. Dad ought to be proud because Antiviral will freak you out. It's creepy medical horror meets social commentary in a highly stylized debut. The film is set in a future world where obsessed fans can inject themselves with the diseases that their idols are suffering from. Starring Caleb Landry Jones and Malcolm McDowell, the film is a chip off the same gruesome block as Videodrome, Rabid and Naked Lunch. After the screening, Cronenberg Jr will answer your questions - live from Toronto." 

What: Antiviral and Q&A with director Brandon Cronenberg, live from Toronto

Where: Event Cinemas, Bondi Junction

When: 7pm sharp, Monday 29th of July, 2013

How much: $23/$21 concession

Link for more info: http://www.popcorntaxi.com.au/2013/07/events/antiviral-qa-with-director-brandon-cronenberg-live-from-toronto/

Only God Forgives double-pass movie ticket giveaways!

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Cult Projections in conjunction with the lovely folk at Icon Films have five double-passes to see the blistering new movie from modern master filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn, Only God Forgives, which just won the major film prize at this year’s Sydney Film Festival.

“Only God Forgives is a stylish east-meets-west thriller, set in the back alleys of Bangkok’s criminal underworld. Julian  (Ryan Gosling)  runs a Thai boxing club in Bangkok, as a front for his drug business.  When Julian’s brother (Tom Burke)  is killed, after savagely murdering a young prostitute, his mother (Kristin Scott Thomas), the head of a vast criminal organisation, arrives to collect the body. Crazy with rage and thirsty for vengeance she demands the head of the murderers from Julian; but first, Julian must confront Chang (Vithaya Pansringarm), a mysterious retired policeman - and figurehead of a divine justice. This sets in motion a range of events that leads to a bloody path of rage, betrayal, ultimate confrontation, and possibly even redemption.”

Drop me a private message via my site LETTERBOX telling me your favourite foreign thriller. I’ll pick the five best and send out the double-pass. Please remember to include a mailing address.

This giveaway competition is only open to Australian residents, sorry.

Only God Forgives is in Australian cinemas July 18.

Click on link to watch trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FP_zO9jQjVc