” MAGNOLIA “

PEDRO’S WORLD OF CINEMA

“MAGNOLIA”

dir ..P.T.Anderson…1999…USA

yeah missed this first time around,vaguely aware the Cruiser put in a good performance as sex-guru for put-upon loser-dudes…and that the same director did “boogie nights” + “there will be blood”,the former turgid,filled with vile ennui and the latter,supposedly a revelation,thanks to daniel day lewis in title role…

so first impression…there is a rain of frogs…not so much biblical as it reminded me of Joyce’s short story from “Dubliners”, “the dead” where its protaginist, Gabriel watches the snow fall down on dublin,his wife and friends,the living and the dead(esp. his wife’s former lover)…a unifying metaphor that embraces the nerve-ridden angst of the here and now and the long goodbye…here made flesh with a dying jason robards who is estranged to his son tom cruise ,the sex-guru who is led to the bedside by philip seymour hoffman as the male nurse as william h. macy, former child quiz star falls apart and turns to burglary to get braces (he’s in love with a gay barman with braces) only to be stopped by john c. reilly as a cop who falls in love with a druggie whose father molested her and turns out to be a child quiz master on TV where another young boy is feeling pressure to win his dad tons of cash…..wwwoooooooooooooooooo

get the drift?….many lives interweaving and commenting obliquley on them all…a bold ,stylised film with powerful editting and cut-aways often tied together by the musical score and in one montage where all the characters take turns to sing the sad,soulful song*…as most consider suicide…

cue the frogs SPLAT! SPLAT! SPLAT!

*Still not sure of that device–seemed to break down the 4th wall a little too much…still the milieu of burbank,tv studios,bars,apartments,neighbourhoods feels natural and anderson should be congratulated for his boldness…i mean some big studio (NEW LINE) ponied up all the money for the Cruiser+the frogs (and a wacked out julianne moore+alfred molina+jeremy blackman+john C. reilly)

2 SCENES STAND OUT

1…tom has been a gung-ho “respect the c*ck” motivator who has agreed to be interviewed by a nationalTV show and is interviewed by a beautiful woman…he’s carrying on like a dog-in-heat until she quietly challenges him about certain biographical lies…re: his mother and his father…suddenly the camera holds on his stone-still face,the eyes are burning and after what seems minutes, she asks what he is thinking…he replies “i’m quietly judging you”….one hurt little boy as we discover…

2…after the cop saves the burglar from the rain of frogs…and the dawn is breaking…he returns the money and they chat, macy’s face is all smashed in,he really needs dental work now…he blurts out that “he has love to give,he just can’t find the place to put it”…it’s an amazing true,raw emotional scene…sitting in an empty petrol station…2 saps struggling with life….

so much black humour and sadness yet cop returns to druggie,tom looks into loathed step-mom in hospital,quiz kid tells dad he needs to be kinder to him…i love this movie—it’s bold and has a wonderful cumulative effect as all the wounded souls intersect on a LA day…

4 1/2 **** outta 5

++++++++++++++

” BRIGHT STAR “

PEDRO’S WORLD OF CINEMA

“BRIGHT STAR”

dir Jane Campion….UK/Australia….2009

Looking at the 6 images above one may conclude that what we have here is another “bonnets+bodice” drama for sunday night TV…how wrong that would be…this is truly a stunning achievement…
Campion has created another world,period London and esp. Hampstead Heath in the time of the Romantic poets…Byron,Wordsworth and John Keats.A shabby genteel place of large messy kitchens,acres of clothes and bedsheet washing,candles,ink pens and social heirachies.The miracle in this love story is that the world is totally believable and endearing…before TV or hifi or blackberries…people entertained themselves with parlour games,recitations and singing…they cooked everything themselves..they wrote letters…they had fun…Fanny Brawne (played by a luminous Abbie Cornish) is a bold,flirty woman who adores fashion and sewing her own clothes (introduced in the stunning opening sequence celebrating the needle and the thread-set to the most gorgeous music),she comes from a lower middleclass old French family (maman played by Kerry Fox, speaks French) who seem to own a rundown place on the edge of Hampstead Heath…her father is dead and they are cultured but not at all well off…cue John Keats (played by a moody and melancholic Ben Wishaw) and his over-protective,literary buddy Mr Brown,who move in next door…2 poets who graft away “seeking the muse”…Fanny makes much fun of them and slowly wins the heart of Keats but not in a modern way,Campion has played a restraining game here…long,languid encounters,misunderstandings,sudden passion,rules of etiquette and of conscience…it is an organic relationship that is more powerful for the repressed desire…similar to Scorcese’s “The Age of Innocence” with Day-Lewis and Pfeiffer,theirs is a slow burning passion that is stymied by the fact that Keats is penniless and in no position to marry Fanny.Nowadays he’d be on the dole or a grant or be teaching adultEd and they’d shack up in some groovy inner city flat but back then it seems a big deal and frustrates the 2 lovers—simply,noone is buying his books of poetry.

The cinematography and musical score is superb,eg: the famous lilacs meadow scene where we see (from behind) Fanny read Keat’s love letter and collapse in a swoon,all billowing dress and blue fragrant flowers…the film features the natural seasons…spring,flowers,butterflies (amusingly caught to become a “butterfly farm” in Fanny’s bedroom)…winter,snow and logfires,coughing and sickness…Keats has lost his brother to TB and a lot of his melancholy is the result…but he lives to describe rapture and mystery and now to be with his “Minx”…Wishaw delivers a heartbreaking performance…you intuit he knows he’s going to die as well…caught between love and resignation…Cornish plays the girl as a headstrong lover of life,unafraid to appear foolish,certain of her heart’s affections…she does suffer.

so a deeply felt,unsentimental examination of a doomed
relationship by one of the world’s foremost directors at the very top of her game…interestingly enough in recent interviews, 52 year old Campion has discussed her life beyond “the relationship thing” but here she may be exploring her life and the heady days of young love…

highly recommended (fellas,take a tissue or 3)

5***** outta 5

” SIDEWAYS “

PEDRO’S WORLD OF CINEMA

SIDEWAYS

dir by Alexander Payne USA 2007

is a story about Californian wine, featuring 2 grapes…one called Pinot and the other Merlot.Pinot is a little bit thin-skinned and neurotic and Merlot grows everywhere, latching onto everything…they rub skins,bicker,fight,argue then both get crushed into a juicy deep finish.

fun film.

(and yes fellas,Merlot shows us how to chat up chicks—secret–pay attention to them –who’da thunk that?—-pay compliments but don’t rush in with something too personal,say something about how they uncork a bottle or flip a flapjack for eg.—-then after 1st base you can bang on about their eyes or somesuch.)

the highlight? possibly the sweetest recorded message in Amreekan Cinema History…i felt a salty riesling drop cascade from my duct…magic)

oh Paul Giamatti plays Pinot and Thomas Haden Church plays Merlot.

3 ***…….SO WHAT DO YOU THINK ?

” AVATAR “

PEDRO’S WORLD OF CINEMA

“AVATAR”

director : james cameron ….Canada/USA 2009

…noisiest,most involved crowd i’ve ever been in,a socially shared event,a reason that widescreen cinema is best viewed with friends+1,000 strangers.This film is a jaw-dropping action adventure with heart.I normally get bored with Bond films or STAR WARS after the character development is over and the big set pieces roll out but this film is a whole other world,every scene remains visually and emotionally compelling…this one “kicks in from the get-go!”

set up has sam worthington,a paraplegic marine travel to a distant moon called Pandora to help in a scientific assignment…mind-controlling his “avatar”…a DNA alien-human hybrid that can survive the different atmosphere and infiltrate the indigineous population.A people called the Na’vi who exist peacefully with the environment of flourescent plants,animals,birds…plants display amazing behaviour…6-legged horses look like dinosaurs…the design is amazing…yes,probably inspired heavily by roger dean and other SF fantasy artists…the CGI of the blue Na’vi people and sam’s blue avatar is a winner because of Cameron’s use of tiny cameras that capture the actor’s every twitch and blink for CGI purposes…thus the aliens are totally believable and compared to a leathery,chain-smoking sigourney weaver as the head scientist,are much softer+sexier.

don’t fear the future people,if our alien overlords are tall,slim+sexy(geddouttahere!!!)—with swishy tails toboot!

so the whole shebang relies on the chemistry of samW and the actress who was used to generate the warrior-princess he falls in love with…ok,it’s a broad romantic adventure that has to play in vladivostock,istanbul as well as alberquerque,so some of the dialogue is clunky “i gotta take this to a whole new level” and some of the characters are broad and cliched…the general in particular is a classic jar-head psycho…no,even he is cool…hhahaha….NO PLOT SPOILERS,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

check it out as you will go to a world of floating mountains,flourescent plants,flying dragons,generous wide-mouthed women,brave guys,trees that communicate electronically on a global scale…it’s got a green message bubba-louies (and a political one)…gunna enjoy reading some of the blog-takes on Cameron’s spiritual+political statements all played through character+story.Sam Worthington is a solid,economical presence,he’s a bit dumb but fearless,he wants another chance to feel alive since his accident that keeps him in a wheelchair….great leading man,like harrison,you can imagine he knows how to build a house…born in western australia,he auditioned for the role here,was asked to do more screen tests in LA so sold all his possessions and landed there with $AUD2,000________________i’m sure he’s got more now…but you can tell he likes a risk…you never get to see the actress playing the princess,Zoe Saldana* (?)…i guess she was african-american,a lovely warm beyonce-like voice+++can she shoot arrows hahhahahahha

(the stuff the army want is energy-rich Unobtainium—to power a dying earth………a small misstep,the name i mean…oh dear…but still_______________________easily)

4 **** outta 5

so what do you think?

www.pedro-tv.com

(though not everybody is impressed…..watch internet sensation critical review here:_______________

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAPyipuT-Jg

” ASTROBOY “

PEDRO’S WORLD OF CINEMA

“ASTROBOY”

Dir IMAGI studio Japan 2009

………..cool,retro titles… a techno world up in the clouds,think a floating singapore…clean,sterile,robot-slaves to do all the work,a bit soulless…astroboy,called ken or something…coulda been clive…smart…gets killed by dad’s war/energy thingy-not smart—and nic cage phones in the father’s voice role—sounds like a somnulant donkey….sorry nick,miss the brown eyes and muscles (his acting chops)….so kid becomes robot for grieving father…so pinocchio+frankenstein is referenced…not quite like the son…more like vigilante batman/boy—so is jettisoned to earth which all the junk goes to scrapped together by mutant children…think mad max3…fun time/robot wars melding into godzilla by time of last act

NO PLOT SPOILERS

animation by numbers/creaky plotting/silly voices except for astroboy which could be just a software program called PETULANT AMERICAN TEENAGER or PAT for short

still some sweet/funny/sad moments by gee whillikers…12 year old boy audience member was bored while his father (who is considering an upgrade to GRATEFUL SON BOT 09 or GSB o9 in SONY online catalogue www.letsplaygodwithourNerdyPreoccupations thought it was kind OK)

2 ** outta 5

so what do you think?
__________________

” THE COMBINATION ” + ” BLESSED “

PEDRO’S WORLD OF CINEMA….DOUBLEHEADER

THE COMBINATION

Dir david field australia 2009

…yeah, a searing drama set in western sydney amidst the lebanese community there…george basha wrote screenplay and stars as lead just outta prison,who comes to aid of gorgeous white girl…gang violence,ethnic tensions in the summer of the cronulla riots,drug deals…older brother trying to steer younger brother away from all this…

film begins with tracking shot descending,swirling arabic music,palm trees,we could be in tripoli..but trains,shops,hotels,islander kids,lebs,skips,soon remind us that we’re in multi-ethnic west of sydney…director david (oyster farmer)field is a renowned tough,nuggety actor and has delivered a taut,absorbing story…tradition V modernity,responsibility V crime, love V intolerance…it’s the combination of all these which is the answer…sample dialogue:

“we grew here, you flew here!”

“yeah, we came in planes,but you came in chains!”

4 ****

BLESSED

dir ana kokkinos australia 2009

..ok,another gritty,beautiful film that explores teenagers and parents,this time set in melbourne…structured in 2 parts….first we follow 5 kids as they wake…some are homeless,a couple will wag school…get in trouble,steal,perform degrading acts for money…tough street kids caught in a downward spiral….

next part is same day but seen from the mothers’ perspective…miranda otto,frances o’connor,deborah lee furness are all fearless in portraying adults who are not in control as they seem….the kids are not as tough as they seem…we get to see why the kids made their initial decisions…it’s heartbreaking stuff…otto is addicted to poker machines,o’connor has 4 kids from 4 different men,furness is in a loveless marriage with financial strain…she is hugh jackman’s wife in real life and here doesn’t look a day under 55 years old…none of the woman are glamourised…otto especially as she drunkenly dances alone in her house,in a new dress to THE ANGELS’ “she keeps no secret”….co-written by the guy who wrote LANTANA, andrew bovell,again it’s an absorbing,multi-layered story that as a parent was tough to watch…the gulf between children and parents…the words that wound…
highly recommended…

4 1/2 ****

so what do you think?

” BEAUTIFUL KATE “

PEDRO’S WORLD OF CINEMA

“BEAUTIFUL KATE”

dir rachel ward australia 2009

hen the nuclear family explodes … Maeve Dermody and Ben Mendelsohn in Beautiful Kate, which transfers the setting of an American novel to outback South Australia.

Cut! Time for a free kick for niche Australian movies and their makers
Rachel Ward
August 28, 2009
I went to my son’s rugby match last weekend. I saw myself and the recent crop of Australian filmmakers embodied in some small whippersnapper, who cradling the ball like a fragile egg, dared to duck and dive around snarling overgrown beasts on the field, almost making it to the try line, only to be laid flat by a succession of spoilsports who, one after the other, threw themselves on the lad, squashing the precious egg and all hopes of a rare victory.
I am beginning to perceive a campaign, conscious or otherwise, of criticising filmmakers like me who dare to lay their fragile, singular, Aussie films and run with them into the crowded, bullying market place.
I would rather not be the one responding to this campaign. I would rather not risk the response of sour grapes. But someone should put a few things in perspective and, although I know I speak for a small but very passionate sector that treasures these fragile films, I cannot a day longer hope someone else will do it for me.
I have a film now braving the marketplace. It does not comply with the dictates of mass marketing. It is not trying to be “entertaining enough for mainstream audiences”. It does not try to compete with the million-plus audiences turning on television for Packed to the Rafters and Underbelly. It cannot compete with the marketing budgets of US studio fare. But, I believe – and my distributors and funding bodies believe – that given a fair chance, there is a healthy audience for Australian films. Uneasy, complex, unsettling ones at that. Always has been.
If anything, Australian film made its name with them: Fred Schepisi’s The Chant of Jimmy Blacksmith and The Devil’s Playground, Bruce Beresford’s Breaker Morant, Nicholas Roeg’s Walkabout. New Zealand did it this way, too, with the likes of Lee Tamahori’s Once Were Warriors and Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures.
I don’t know whether filmmakers from other years have suddenly felt this insidious wet blanket of negativity for making films that demand and confront and haunt an audience (which is certainly my idea of entertainment) rather than providing simple escapism and the ubiquitous ”feel good” factor.
Feel-good films have their value and their place. Like a big, buttery box of popcorn, they have no trouble selling themselves.
But as the Herald’s film writer, Garry Maddox, went some way to point out, niche movies are dependent on how well they are made. They are also hugely dependent on an accumulation of great reviews, multiple stars, inordinate publicity by deeply committed actors and filmmakers, inventive and passionate distributors, inclement weather and robust word-of-mouth recommendations.
Removing any of those things can spell disaster. In other words, such films are extremely fragile beings.
I am not bleating for insincere reviews or coverage. I don’t need them. As with Samson and Delilah, The Black Balloon and Somersault, my film, my fragile, beautiful egg, is being propelled towards the try line (decent box office returns) by positive reviews and good word of mouth. Reviews are not the problem.
What I did not count on was a succession of last-minute spoilsports, dumping doom and gloom and threatening to squash my precious egg before those in the audience could make up their own minds.
Well, I’m calling a penalty kick for the niche product. Reviews of any movie without Paul Hogan winking, Hugh Jackman flexing, Muriel squealing or pigs flying seem to be limited to describing them as ”dark” or ”bleak” – but that does not mean they are.
Here are a few other adjectives with which film writers might broaden their Australian film vocabulary: enlightening, redemptive, inspiring, compassionate, beautiful, transformative, intelligent, human, engrossing, tender, confronting and, yes, entertaining.
Dark and bleak should be kept for describing the time when we did not have an industry, before the Australian film renaissance of the 1970s, or for the depressing time ahead when audiences have been scared off anything Australian that might have some guts.
Rachel Ward is the director of Beautiful Kate, now showing in cinemas.

oh stop wingeing woman(she’s in the herald everyday repling to letters to the editor…ok…i’ll go with the good wife and check it out—-well blow me down…bryan brown’s missus has crafted a powerful father-son drama told in flashback….starring brown and ben mendohlson as the writer son…boy,ben,he’s aged,puffy faced,sad eyed,gravitas…his best work may be in future..brown looks about 100 and is a bad tempered patriach of struggling sheep farm in the flinders ranges,he’s dying—

ben and city girlfriend drive back to farm and ben has to confront the ghosts of the past,some ,well nearly all he blames his dad for…oh the bland decor,flyscreen doors,religious pictures,vinyl furniture made me weep in recognition–so did tender/angry scenes between the 2 (my dad died 7 years ago,well not being a bastard,final words were hard to find)

the title refers to the twin sister of ben who died,a lively adolescent on the cusp of sexual dawning—a lot of the angry press/letters has been about taboo subjects/grim themes…but with the stoic help of a great subtle rachael griffiths as the surviving sister,the film is not pessimistic or nihilistic…behind the aussie sarcasm of the characters,lie deep tender truths…with SAMSON+DELILAH..what a year for oz films….the audience is growing…

ward coaxes out a subtle turn by the young girl sophie lowe who plays kate—treading a fine line..she has said she wanted an innocent,colt of a girl,not a knowing minx…it’s an amazing performance by a 15 year old…

4 **** 1/2 stars

also features moody music by louche rock dude tex perkins—–
__________________

” THE LIMITS OF CONTROL “

PEDRO’S WORLD OF CINEMA

“THE LIMITS OF CONTROL” by JIM JARMUSCH

ok dude with guitar case is isaac de bankole, playing a mysterious hitman somewhere in spain…actually madrid and country outside—-we first meet him doing tai-chi in a toilet cubicle in a spanish airport…he then meets 2 guys who ask “you don’t speak spanish do you?”

but i’m getting ahead of myself

PEDRO’S NIGHT OF 3 TAXI RIDES

…it all began with me catching cab with somali dude who talked non-stop on his mobile in his hand,played cool somali music though>>to pub in grungy waterloo for goodbye drinks for john de stage,my koori actor in GAS COIN…a snug pub with jukebox+pool table+beer…funtime then caught cab with pakistani guy to norton st cinema…talked of lahore/extremism/cricket/media perceptions…then waited for the K-man to arrive

back to film

well the jimster probly won’t win any new fans with this one unless they are attuned to slow,minimal,enigmatic cinema…it’s a simple “man on a quest” story as he continues to meet enigmatic characters and gets fresh instructions contained in matchboxes….they all riff on life,reality,perception…john hurt,tilda swinton,gael garcia bernal…”it’s all subjective” “i prefer the reflections of things” “do you like films?”…..

it’s like a more minimal european feel to GHOST DOG (if that is possible)….de bankole spends his time looking at paintings in madrid museum,resisting the charms of a perpetually nude actress,sleeps in his clothes…orders 2 espressos in 2 cups,eats his instructions,says little…

beautifully filmed by aussie christopher doyle,minimal music…hypnotic imagery/timelessness/enigma…..until he finally arrives at heavily guarded compound in desert….NO MORE PLOT SPOILERS

interesting to watch a black man in what i consider an anti-bond film—-no stopping to explain story to audience,a passive hero who doesn’t bonk totty on offer,his face is sculpturally as spectacular as a lot of the spanish locations—yes,you’ll want to travel to spain after this……………………

4 1/2 **** outta 5 (possibly because tom waits didn’t show up with his matchbox of instructions)

oh and has the most thrilling flamenco club scene in cinema history…
oh and amazing repeated mantra

“if you think you are bigger than most
just go down to the cemetry and see what life is
—a handful of dirt”

loved it as did K-man,we decamped for ales and a de-brief session…bastard could repeat “you don’t speak spanish,do you?” line back in spanish as gael garcia bernal spoke it..bastard

caught final cab home with old chinese guy—i was so tired but imagined i had the cool quiet manner of de bankole hahahhahahhahahhahahhahahahaa..bed….sleep_______ __________________________________________________ ___

” PHONE BOOTH”

PEDRO’S WORLD OF CINEMA

“PHONE BOOTH”

dir: joel schumacher USA 2006

brilliant! brilliant! brilliant!

….imagine the best episode of NY Hill St blues mixed with THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS+the best performance by a male lead in american cinema of the last 10 years (mickey rourke in THE WRESTLER not withstanding)…

colin farrelly plays a fast talking PR agent/bullsh*t artist,walking down a manhattan street IN REAL TIME …he stops using his cell phone to call a young actress for a potential adulterous fling,from a glass phone booth…hangs up and then ANSWERS THE RINGING PHONE…bad mistake for he now plays a cat+mouse game WITH A SERIAL KILLER SNIPER in real time as hookers try to get him outta their phone booth…their pimp intercedes…he can’t get off the phone OTHERWISE HE WILL BE KILLED…the sniper is serious as he blows off colin’s left ear …(telephones aren’t new,hitchcock passed on the concept,shumacher found a way to make it work—multiple screens,amazing art direction/cinematography….)…phone booth/confessional booth///farrelly is trapped like a fish in a barrell…his enemy just wants him to repent(or so he says)..he is a smart,courtly presence..messing with his mind…sniper kills pimp…wife..girlfriend see the BREAKING NEWS,come down to scene…enter the cop..

you know the film is gonna ramp up a few notches when not harvey keitel,bob de niro,rusty crowe swings out gracefully from the braking blue cop car,but forrest whittaker…it’s a thrill,unexpected but you know subtle,compassionate acting is coming…he’s good,smart,dogged,human…

back to poor old lying,potentially adulturous farrelly,an irish actor who began his journey as a dancer..playing a wannabe hipster suddenly his whole world collapses to the space of a glass phone booth…he is pushed to admit his sins to his wife…but in surely 1 of the greatest scenes,(it took 1 take), he is forced to bear his soul to his wife,the cops,the crowd,the hookers…its a scarrifying scene,he’s still holding onto the phone…the sniper thinks he got his way, but colin says “i didn’t do it for you”…colin knows he is going to die…the words were from a dying man to his wife…wooooo____________________

all this in real time…most cameras trained on lead actor…the sniper ,no,no more plot spoilers…yeah,i missed this on release..though knew farrelly had part…amazing cinema,acting,writing….shumacher is a genius…

5 ***** outta 5

(even the poster tagline is brilliant!!!)

(must watch “TIGERLAND” by same guy with farrelly…)

so what do you think?
__________________

” THE BIG LEWBOWSKI “

——————————————————————————–

PEDRO’S WORLD OF CINEMA

“THE BIG LEWBOWSKI”

dir the coen brothers USA 2003

….a slow-burning meditation on fate and chance as stoned man gets help from angry friend over a carpet getting soiled…there must be revenge,for the honour of the carpet….oh,and they indoor bowl a lot.

funny sporadically (mainly when john tuturro is on screen BUT complete and criminal under-use of
tuturro and steve buschemi))

1 * outta 5.

so what do you think?