MAN ABOUT TOWN

Whether I should stop wasting time on the internet and go to bed. Whether another stubby of cider is out of the question before bed. Will I participate in the National Day of Action for marriage equality tomorrow, or go and see Soderbugh's Che film in two parts at the Melbourne International Film Festival instead? Why so many gay Torchwood fans are still whining about the death of one particular character in Children of Earth . The writer has every right to kill off his own character you dickheads; just because you're gay and the character was queer doesn't give you any special right to demand RTD ressurect him RIGHT NOW! Jeeeesus. Have my regular blog readers noticed the sudden increase in film reviews in the last week that are unconnected with the film festival? (If you have, it's because I'm now handling film reviews for the paper I work on , as well as TV reviews, but I don't plan on posting the latter here just yet - I don't think the world really needs...

STARRING JOHNNY DEPP, MARION COTILLARD DIRECTED BY MICHAEL MANN A period gangster film set in the Great Depression, Public Enemies is directed by style-meister Michael Mann in a pointedly non-period way. Shot on high-definition video, cinematographer Dante Spinotti’s energetic and hand-held camerawork belies the carefully designed sets, costumes and colour palette from which the film is constructed. Nominally the story of bank-robber turned folk hero John Dillinger (Depp) and his mad love for his hatcheck-girl lover, Billie Frechette (Coitillard), the film seems more interested in exploring the rivalry between the gangster and Melvin Purvis (a tightly wound and internalised performance by Christian Bale), the United States Bureau of Investigation (later FBI) agent ordered to track Dillinger down. A scene in which the two man banter tersely from behind bars is expertly and subtly acted, although Mann’s obsession with style over substance means that Purvis – like too many ...

GAEL GARCÍA BERNAL, DIEGO LUNA DIRECTED BY CARLOS CUARÓN Rudo y Cursi reunites the stars and the writer (now writer/director) of the 2001 international hit Y tu mama tambien in a rags-to-riches story of two impoverished Mexican brothers who stumble into football superstardom thanks to an avaricious talent scout. Whereas the team’s first film was a poignant coming-of-age tale, Rudo y Cursi is a gentle comedic romp that delights in the faults of its unlikely heroes: Tato (Garcia Bernal), a tone deaf accordion player who dreams of success as a pop star; and his short-tempered, gambling-addicted half-brother Beto (Luna, seen recently in Milk as the suicidal Jack Lira). Narrated by the talent scout Batuta (Guillermo Francella), who discovers the boys when his sports car breaks down in their village, the film focuses on the brothers’ competitive, love-hate relationship and their damaging encounters with the trappings of celebrity. Wisely, it steers away from actually showing the on-field ...

VICTORIA BECKHAM: COMING TO AMERICA STARRING LES CHANTERY, RACHEL TAYLOR DIRECTED BY SERHAT CARADEE Love for an incarcerated brother – and aspiration for a lifestyle that is well out of reach – drive this story of money, drugs and machismo set in Sydney ’s Western Suburbs. Tarek (Chantery, in his first leading role) is a young panel beater of Lebanese heritage dreaming of a better life. With his incarcerated brother’s court case stalled for lack of funds, Tarek enrols in a friend’s plan to steal drugs from a criminal gang and sell the pills for profit. He also hungers after Amie ( Taylor ) and her privileged Rose Bay lifestyle, but with the vengeful gang out for blood, it’s not long before Tarek’s plans come tragically undone. There have been plenty of stories about drug heists, gangs and bloody revenge in Australian cinema in recent years (think Getting’ Square , Little Fish and most recently Nash Edgerton’s The Square ) but what differentiates Cedar Boys is ...

More short reviews from the 2009 Melbourne International Film Festival... MOON (Dir. Duncan Jones, 2009) As a fan of speculative fiction, I was delighted to see a science fiction film in the festival program that was firmly focused on content and concept rather than blockbuster-style special effects. Starring Sam Rockwell as an astronaut nearing the end of his three-year solo shift on a lunar base, and the voice of Kevin Spacey as the base robot, Gerty, Moon is a slow-moving and contemplative piece about what it means to be human. It's not an original theme, and nor is Moon an especially original film - it's clearly influenced by films such as 2001: A Space Odyssey , Solaris and Silent Running , while its visual aesthetic is clearly indebted to the lived-in and grungy look of Alien - but if you can relax into its minimal pace you'll find much to appreciate, from the performances through to the plot twists (which I'll say nothing of, because the less you know about this...

As in previous years, I'm trying to run a series of micro-reviews of every film I see at this year's Melbourne International Film Festival. I'm a little bit behind today, as I still haven't reviewed Sunday's films, let alone last night, so away we go! TYSON (Dir. James Toback, 2008) Ninety minutes of direct-to-camera reminiscences by former Heavyweight Champion of the World Mike Tyson - a notoriously troubled and troubling individual - might not seem like an especially fascinating subject for a documentary, but this film by director James Toback rises above its sometimes problematic subject matter to craft a fascinating portrait of the retired boxing superstar. A fat child who was often bullied, Tyson fought back for the first time in his life as a boy, after a neighbour had wrung the neck of one of the pigeon's young Mike bred. Thereafter, he says, he refused ever to be intimidated again. In this film, we glimpse that troubled child within, and come some way to...

TROUBLED WATER (dir. Erik Poppe, 2008) This contemplative, slow-burning Norwegian film explores grief, guilt and redemption in the lives of its two main characters: Jan Thomas (P ål Sverre Valheim Hagen) who has recently been released from jail on parole after serving time for the murder of a four year old boy when he was himself only young; and Agnes (Trine Dyrholm) the mother of the murdered child, whose path crosses Thomas' after she recognises him in the church where he has found a job as an organist. Initially the film is told entirely from Thomas' perspective, taking a sudden shift back in time at a key dramatic point to explore the same few weeks' events we have just witnessed from Agnes' increasingly distraught point of view. Hagen's performance as Thomas is superb: a model of restraint which hints at the seething emotions churning between his seemingly-placid surface; while Dyrholm beautifully conveys her character's ...

The opening night of any festival is always An Occasion - the opening night of the Melbourne International Film Festival especially so. Dapper gents in tuxedos and black ties, women in stunning gowns and shawls, filmmakers and actors and familiar faces in abundance spilling out across the many levels of Hamer Hall, and champagne flowing for all. This year's festival opened with the traditional but for once relatively brief speeches by an array of dignitaries, including the welcome announcement by Premier Brumby that the Victorian government was supporting Victoria University's East Timor scholarship fund to the tune of $300,000, which will enable 10-15 Timorese students to study at VU in the coming months. Speeches delivered, we sat back to watch the opening night film: the world premiere of director Robert Connolly's Balibo , a powerful account of a shameful episode in modern Australian history. On October 16, 1975, five journalists - Malcolm Rennie and Brian ...

The latest production at North Fitzroy's Store Room Theatre is a play which director Ben Packer has been trying to stage locally ever since he saw the original production at Sydney's Griffin Theatre in 2005. Written by Tommy Murphy, (best known for his beautiful adaptation of Timothy Conigrave's memoir Holding the Man ) Strangers in Between is the story of 16 year-old Shane (Aljin Abella), who has run away from Goulbourn in country NSW after being sprung in flagrante delicto with another boy by his violent older brother, Ben (Cameron Moore). But the play is much less about the fallout of that moment than it is about growing up, about how we construct new families for ourselves from the people around us, and about fear, friendship and love. Shortly after ending up in Sydney's notorious Kings Cross , Shane starts work at a bottle shop where he meets, in rapid succession, a handsome boy named Will (also played by Cameron Moore) and the considerably older Peter (a...

Squeeeee!!!! *Ahem* Sorry about that. Go here for more formal details of this breaking news. *goes back to squeeing around the flat in a state of wild fanboy excitement*

This is a list of all the sessions I've booked at this year's Melbourne International Film Festival . It's a good mix of drama, horror, documentary, music and more - 60 films in total. I won't get to every session I've booked, I know, but I'll have a damn good time trying... Friday July 24 KRABAT - ACMI, 2pm BALIBO - Arts Centre, 7pm Saturday July 25 TROUBLED WATER - Greater Union, 12.15pm THE COVE - Greater Union, 2.30pm EDEN IS WEST - Greater Union, 7pm THIRST - Greater Union, 9.15pm EDEN LOG - Greater Union, 11.30pm Sunday July 26 YOUNG FREUD IN GAZA - Greater Union, 12.15pm TYSON - Greater Union, 2.30pm ALPHAVILLE - Greater Union, 4.45pm EASTERN PLAYS - Greater Union, 7pm NO-ONE KNOWS ABOUT PERSIAN CATS - ACMI, 9.15pm Monday July 27 LITTLE JOE - ACMI, 4.45pm MOON - Greater Union, 7pm Tuesday July 28 HOME - Forum, 12.15pm RED RIDING 1974 - Forum, 4.45pm AN ENGLISHMAN IN NEW YORK - Kino, 7pm Wednesday July 29 LAND OF MADNESS - Forum, 2.30pm RE...

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Alan Rickman Director: David Yates Rating: Three stars Audiences have keenly watched young wizard Harry Potter (Radcliffe) growing up since his first on-screen outing in The Philosopher’s Stone (2001). Now, an older and wiser Harry – alongside best friends Hermione Grainger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) – must battle not only with evil, but also their own feelings: Ron and Hermione are beginning to acknowledge their growing attraction to one another, while Harry is equally, and awkwardly, drawn to Ron’s younger sister, Ginny (Bonnie Wright). Meanwhile, a dark pact between Harry’s student nemesis, Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) and sinister teacher Severus Snape (Rickman) threatens the safety of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Based on the penultimate book in J. K. Rowling’s mega-successful series, director David Yates struggles to match the tone of the previous instalment, The Order of the Phoenix , which he also helmed. De...

The program for the 2009 Melbourne International Arts Festival (MIAF) was launched earlier this week, and is already generating significant debate in the blogosphere. Over at Born Dancin' you can read the author's concerns about the apparent lack of cultural diversity in the festival program, and further thoughts about the festival's desire for exclusivity ; while the crew at Spark Online note how the new Festival Director, Brett Sheehy, comes with a certain amount of baggage ("The new Artistic Director’s bio carefully stresses the numbers, reading like a corporate profile," they write) and, like Born Dancin', they also note the "culturally homogenous program dynamic". Ultimtely, though, their conclusion is "We are not at all disappointed" with MIAF 2009. Over at Theatrenotes , Alison Croggon views the program in a far more positive light. "MIAF 2009 promises to be a really interesting festival, and will attract a wide range of peo...

The latest show from Melbourne’s Circus Oz serves up a dizzying banquet of clowning, juggling, slapstick and acrobatics that delights and excites in equal measure. A mix of old and new performers – including the outstanding Emma J Hawkins, a remarkable all-rounder who stands just over one metre tall – and the fresh eye of co-director Derek Ives, coupled with the vision of Artistic Director Mike Finch and the skills of the company’s existing troupe, ensure Barely Contained is a remarkably fresh show that belies the company’s age. Founded in December 1977, with its first performance season in March 1978, Circus Oz helped spearhead the new circus movement, which abandoned animal acts in order to celebrate and showcase human physicality in all its forms. In the 31 years since its inception Circus Oz has toured to 26 countries on five continents; and indeed, its latest show will shortly leave Melbourne to embark on a national tour, travelling as far north as Port Macquarie and as ...

Jack's memorial service was on Friday. I was the MC, and managed to hold it together right until the end. It was the final photos of Jack, taken on his and Dee's honeymoon and set to a Nick Cave song, that set me off. I was crying as I made my closing comments to the vast crowd that had gathered to celebrate a life lived to the full. That's something I took from the memorial, and from all the wonderful words that were said about Jack - that he seized the moment and lived every day like it was his last. Here's to doing the same. Last night was the program launch for the Melbourne International Film Festival . There's some fascinating films in the program (which will be made available to the public with The Age this Friday), and everyone will have their own favourites, but here are just some of the films that have caught my eye so far: The Red Riding trilogy, a film about the Yorkshire Ripper murders in 1970s-80s Britain, screening in a new package called Vengeance i...