THIS
WEEK'S PREVIEWS
My two films this week are both
five star winners. I’ve seen Saving Mr
Banks twice and I just recommend it to everyone. Don’t miss it. And 12 Years a Slave I am about to see again
during its run at the outdoor cinema Sommerville. This one is a masterpiece. It’s exciting to see 2014 starting of with
such top films. If you are in Australia,
also don’t miss seeing Frozen or The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug or The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. There
is something for everyone at the moment and all worth your dollars.
(My movie Pick
of the week)
Saving
Mr Banks ★★★★★
Opens in
Australia: 9th January 2014
USA: 20th
December 2013
UK: 29th
November 2013
Other
Countries: Release Information
OUR THOUGHTS
Who doesn’t love Mary Poppins?
Seriously, is it not the most delightful film ever made? It so easily crosses
generations to please young and old even now. So, it may surprise you to know
that the true story behind the making of this Disney classic was not so sugar
and spice and that it took more than a spoonful of sugar for this movie to go
down.
It seems P.L. Travers, Mary
Poppins’ Australian author, was very protective of her “Mary.” In fact, she
considered the Banks and Mary her family. This is the story of how Disney (Tom
Hanks) after twenty years of pursuit, persuaded Mrs. Travers (Emma Thompson)—and,
please only call her Mrs. Travers—to, finally, allow him to make the film. Why
the film is called Saving Mr Banks
will only be revealed at the end.
In telling the story, we
alternate between the curmudgeonly writer of today and the imaginative, intelligent
child in outback Queensland living with her troubled father and mother. It’s
from the story of the past that we come to understand the complex woman who is
giving poor Walt a run for his money.
I’ve seen this film twice now
and I think I loved it even more the second time around. The tough-critic children enjoyed it too. It’s
a perfectly made film, with beautiful performances. Emma Thompson owns the
screen, and if she doesn’t get an award win for this then I am
supercalifragilistic-ing someone. Now, I am off to go fly a kite.
STUDIO BLURB
When Walt
Disney's daughters begged him to make a movie of their favorite book, P.L. Travers'
"Mary Poppins," he made them a promise one that he didn't realize
would take 20 years to keep. In his quest to obtain the rights, Walt comes up
against an, uncompromising writer who has absolutely no intention of letting
her beloved magical nanny get mauled by the Hollywood machine. But, as the
books stop selling, and money grows short, Travers reluctantly agrees to go to
Los Angeles to hear Disney's plans for the adaptation. For those two short
weeks in 1961, Walt Disney pulls out all the stops. Armed with imaginative
storyboards and chirpy songs from the talented Sherman brothers, Walt launches
an all-out onslaught on P.L. Travers, but the prickly author doesn't budge. He
soon begins to watch helplessly as Travers becomes increasingly immovable and
the rights begin to move further away from his grasp. It is only when he
reaches into his own childhood that Walt discovers the truth about the ghosts
that haunt her, and together they set Mary Poppins free to ultimately make one
of the most endearing films in cinematic history.
12
YEARS A SLAVE
PERTH LOTTERY
WEST FILM FESTIVAL
http://2014.perthfestival.com.au/Whats-on-by-Genre/Film/12-Years-A-Slave
Somerville 13-19 Jan, 8pm Joondalup Pines 21-26, 8pm
Somerville 13-19 Jan, 8pm Joondalup Pines 21-26, 8pm
Opens in
Australia: 30th January 2014 general release
Other
Countries: Release Information
OUR THOUGHTS
Expect this one to show
prominently in many categories when the Oscar nominations are announced on
January 16th. It’s the type of film the Academy likes.
This is the most authentic film I’ve
ever seen on slavery in the U.S. south and is based on an 1800’s memoir
by Solomon Northup. Thus it makes it a
very difficult film to watch at times. While I had heard the violence was
graphic I actually didn’t find that the case. What is graphic and probably more
horrific is the absolute belief by the land owners and those involved in the
slave trade that these people were chattel. There is no reticence in displaying
this on screen and that was the hard part to stomach. Some scenes involving a mother being
separated from her children are so heart-wrenching they hurt.
It’s a beautifully made film.
Some visuals are art in their framing. Everything means something, even just
the burning of a letter and the camera holding on the image until the last
ember has burnt itself out before the screen fades to black. It’s just beautiful
imagery.
Chiwetel Ejiofor as Solomon and Michael Fassbender as the cruel
slave owner Edwin Epps give everything to their roles, along with a multitude
of amazing performances. Nice little appearance by Brad Pitt and Paul Giamatti.
It’s a fascinating, ugly, amazing,
shouldn’t-be-missed piece of cinema. And if you are lucky enough to live in
beautiful Perth, you have the added benefit of seeing it at the incredible
outdoor cinemas Somerville or Joondalup Pines.
STUDIO BLURB
MORE THAN A POWERFUL
ELEGY, 12 YEARS A SLAVE IS A MESMERIZING TRIUMPH OF ART AND POLEMICS. Indiewire
12 Years A Slave is Steve
McQueen’s fiercely powerful rendering of the memoirs of Solomon Northup. A free
man in New York in the 1840s, Northup was tricked, kidnapped and sold into
slavery in the Deep South. At the inhumane hands of plantation owners, he faces
a monumental struggle for survival. Vivid and nuanced, 12 Years A Slave is one of the most widely lauded and hotly
anticipated films of the year.
PEOPLE’S CHOICE AUDIENCE AWARD Toronto International Film Festival 2013
BRITISH ARTIST OF THE YEAR, STEVE MCQUEEN Britannia Awards 2013
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