Killing Them Softly

September 24, 2012 By 2 Comments
Killing Them Softly

There were three or four occasions in "Killing Them Softly" when I had to turn my head away, due to the violence. I wasn't the only one, it seems, as I de-briefed with a combination of friends, colleagues and others as we attended the red carpet premiere of the new Brad Pitt film at Dendy Opera Quays. The first scene that I had to turn my eyes from was a fairly brutal bashing. There were several other scenes were people were shot and killed. There were quite a few occasions when I literally … [Read more...]

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The Sapphires

September 11, 2012 By 1 Comment
The Sapphires

It took me a while to get there - the film opened a few weeks ago - but on the weekend I finally got to see "The Sapphires". OMG, what a great film. I'd highly recommend it. The film concerns the real life story of a group of four young women from an Aboriginal mission in Country NSW (and their Irish-born manager) who entertain the troops during the Vietnam War. They're from the Cumeragunga Mission, which is interesting, because that's also where the great singer, Jimmy Little was born, … [Read more...]

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This American Life – The Movie

May 22, 2012 By 3 Comments
This American Life

Today I went to see a preview of the movie version of the "This American Life" radio program. A radio show as a movie? It's not too surprising, in some ways, because the program has a strong visual element to the story-telling. In some ways, the movie was like a snapshot of the program. There were monologues, there were interactive pieces, there was music, and there was some story-telling which I'll later describe as "reading out loud". As such, the movie contained elements of the radio show I … [Read more...]

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Fyra år till – Four more years

February 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Swedish parliament

Having seen Au Pair, Kansas the other day and all of its faux Swedish-ness, it was great to see a real Swedish film, as part of the Mardi Gras Film Festival. "Fyra år till" (Four More Years) tells the story of two Swedish male politicians with contrasting lives and viewpoints who fall in love. From the right-leaning Folkpartiet, there is David who is thought of as a potential future Swedish Prime Minister. From the left-leaing, Socialdemokraterna there is Martin who also has a bright future … [Read more...]

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Männer zum knutschen

February 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Frank Christian Marx

"I've been to that bar, I'm sure", I whispered in the ears of my friends as we watched "Männer zum knutschen" (Men To Kiss) at the Mardi Gras Film Festival. It was August 2008, I was in Berlin, and sitting in a bar there with the inspired name of The Sharon Stonewall. While there I met a couple of blokes sitting at the bar who I chatted to for quite a while. I’m sure they were both quite mad, but they were kind and friendly and invited me into their conversation. They also invited me to … [Read more...]

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A little bit of Sweden (and Norway) at the Mardi Gras Film Festival

February 26, 2012 By 3 Comments
Au pair, Kansas

The opening scenes to "Au pair, Kansas" feature a forty-ish woman and her two teenage sons standing at the airport of a small Mid-West American town holding up a Swedish flag. My friends and I all laughed out loud, because we knew the character they were meeting was actually supposed to be Norwegian. D'oh. The mother is played by Traci Lords, who everyone these days seems to remember from her teenage porn-star years, and yet I'm more familiar with her role on Melrose Place. The character she … [Read more...]

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