This US documentary delves into the experiences of several teenage girls who were sexually assaulted by school friends while unconscious and the repercussions for them, their families and the perpetrators. It highlights a ‘rape culture’ in the US that shifts blame from male perpetrators to the victims. If you have teenage sons, I recommend you watch this film with them. Continue reading
Tag Archives: USA
Contemporary Color (2016)
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What a wacky wacky world. For a start, they moved the Planetarium. I had booked to see a Fulldome Showcase – short films projected on the planetarium dome – but didn’t check the venue location. Didn’t it used to be at the State Library? Probably not. Now it’s in Spotswood. Blimey, too far to walk. Too, too far. So I booked another one based on last minute availability and venue alone and so got to see Contemporary Color, a US documentary about color guard. About what? I didn’t know what it was either. Continue reading
Captain Fantastic (2016)
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I don’t want to put people off this film. It’s actually a pretty good, solid family film and I think it will be well-liked. Just look at that photo – quirky outfits, cute kids and Viggo Mortensen. It starts out well. We see Viggo (Ben) and his six children living in the forest, almost completely self-sufficient. They hunt, climb, make their own clothes, read and discuss world issues at a sophisticated level and follow the rigorous training regime of their father. We soon discover that their mother is not there, she is ‘sick’ in hospital, and this is the first sign that not all is well in their world. Continue reading
Madly (2016)
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Madly is six short films, each by a different director and based in a different country. They all explore some aspect of love and are stylistically and emotionally diverse. It’s hard to choose a single rating for six such different films and I struggle with the episodic nature of anthologies of short films; no sooner have you engaged with the story than you have to leave. They are all interesting, the first three – from India, Australia and the US (though directed by a Chilean Sebastián Silva) – are my favourites. Continue reading
Ma (2015)
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I knew this film was going to be different. The story of the Virgin Mary, without dialogue, as a choreographic piece and framed as a southern US road movie. And different it was. Writer, director, choreographer and star, Celia Rowlson-Hall attended a Q&A afterward which helped me understand this surreal, movement-based story. Though I’m still not sure why the members of the Village People were carrying motel room furniture across the desert. Continue reading
The Neon Demon (2016)
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Ah no. Don’t see this film. If you do and you find something to like about it, some hidden profundity, please let me know. Its directed by Nicolas Winding Refn who directed Drive, a film I really liked. The Neon Demon seems to be about the fashion industry and, more specifically, the obsession with female beauty. Every character is unlikeable, the men are all voyeurs or predators, the women are all narcissistic and monstrous. Continue reading
Green Room (2015)
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Have you ever decided to go to the cinema and just pick a film that you know nothing about? That’s what I did with Green Room, all I knew was that it was a horror (not my favourite genre), it was about a punk band and Patrick Stewart was in it. If nothing else, it was going to be interesting. And it was an engaging, if gory, ride. Continue reading
Midnight Special (2016)
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I had a really interesting conversation yesterday with a friend about the subjectivity of film reviewing and how the baggage you carry with you influences your judgement of a film. I’m not sure he totally agreed with me but we then watched Midnight Special and, for me, my bias was clear. My sister asked me to see this film as she wanted to talk to me about it’s metaphor and metaphorical it certainly is. At least it has to be otherwise it doesn’t really make sense. Continue reading
Thelma and Louise (1991)
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This year marks twenty five years since the release of Thelma and Louise so what better way to mark it than to watch it with my three daughters. I was twenty six when I first watched this, so that’s half my lifetime ago. I remember at the time loving it because it put women at the centre of the action, it was funny, the two stars were engaging, the cinematography was beautiful and there was a thrill in identifying with characters who didn’t do what they were told. Now, at 51, I can see that this film is even more than that. Continue reading
Zootopia (2016)
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Disney’s feminist polemic. I know right? What does Disney think it’s doing serving up this thinly veiled feminist propaganda? What are they trying to do, influence the minds of our courageous young boys and tractable young girls? I know what kind of barrow you’re trying to push Disney, you’re trying to tell us that girls can do boy jobs. In fact sometimes they can do boy jobs better than boys because girls are essentially moral and they always try and do the right thing. And if only those aggressive boys would just listen to those good girls they might learn something. Just as long as the girls don’t get too emotional. Or try to tell the boys what to do. And need saving when the going gets really tough. Continue reading
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