Cinema Lorosa'e Fundraiser

The Sun Theatre is the founding sponsor of Cinema Lorosa’e, a free, community based outdoor cinema program in Timor-Leste that opened in August 2011 and ran during the dry season in Dili and the districts. There are no cinemas in Timor-Leste and the first season of Cinema Lorosa’e was a huge success. Over the three month period the Lorosa’e team screened in Dili and throughout the districts to over 45,000 people and the response has been incredible with evenings of up to a few thousand people gathered together to see a film.

Sun Theatre is planning to continue the program this year with more screenings in the districts from May through to November. They have been running indoor screenings in Dili through the wet season with all proceeds directly supporting the operations of the outdoor screenings.

In their efforts to get the 2012 Cinema Lorosa’e outdoor program running, Sun Theatre will be hosting the Melbourne premiere of AFRICA UNITED as a fundraising event on Wednesday the 7th of March. Tickets for this event are $25 per person and include ticket, a glass of sparkling on arrival, popcorn and door prizes and all monies raised will be utilised in the Cinema Lorosa’e program for 2012. 

Releasing This Week

Here's a look at what's opening Thursday 8th of March;

AFRICA UNITED - a sweet story about 5 kids who beg, borrow and steal their way from Rwanda to South Africa to the Soccer World Cup Opening Ceremony. There are some serious themes disguised in this lighthearted comedy of errors. I really enjoyed it and will post a full review soon.

HEADHUNTERS - This film had sneak peaks over the weekend and has been getting some fantastic word of mouth. I'll be sticking my head in on this on Thursday to see what all the fuss is about!

JOHN CARTER - If you still want to watch this film after seeing the trailer then more fool you. It is as bad as it looks. 

THE AVENGERS - Trailer 2

WISH YOU WERE HERE - Review

Alice and Dave (Felicity Price and Joel Edgerton), married with two kids and another on the way, and Jeremy and Steph (Anthony Starr and Teresa Palmer) only a few months into a new relationship. Steph convinces her sister Alice to come on holiday with her and Jeremy partly due to the newness of her relationship and party so that Alice and Dave can have a bit of fun before the increased responsibilities a third child will bring. None of them know that much about Jeremy and what he does, other than importing items from Asia to Australia and making a hefty profit.

On their last night the two couples go to what I'm assuming is a full moon party, pop some pills and really let loose. Unfortunately for them, something goes horribly wrong on their last night and only three of them make it back. Or does it? Jeremy has in fact said that in the ultimate fantasy he would stay right where he was and never leave, so is that what he did? I don't want to say too much here because it's the mystery of this film that really carries you through, but the film transitions beautifully through the present day in Sydney and the very recent past, hinting at what might have happened, what could have happened and what shouldn't have happened.

The film is fantastically directed by Kieran Darcy-Smith, who co-wrote the script with wife and leading lady Felicity Price, and keeps you guessing simply by revealing tid-bits of information in seemingly random order, Edgerton, Price and Palmer (sounds like a law firm!) have done a splendid job with these characters and I really believed in what they were going through.

I'm going to say that if you enjoyed ANIMAL KINGDOM, you might well enjoy WISH YOU WERE HERE, while it's not quite as "blow you away" it is really well done, and got some good exposure at Sundance earlier in the year.

The ending is a little soft, and whilst it does tie up all the lose ends, I felt a little rushed and slightly disappointed. For that reason I'm giving WISH YOU WERE HERE 3.5 out of 5.

CARNAGE - Review

There's 18 year old liquor, un-smoked cigars, drowned cellphones, a dead hamster and a very impressive projectile vomit. This is a dark and twisted comedy and is by far the most fun I can remember having during a Roman Polanski film. It is just the right mix of awkward and funny and fascinating in an "I can't stop watching this train-wreck" kind of way. Polanski is not the first director you would think of for such a farcical comedy, however his two years under hours-arrest may have just given him the edge to capably and interestingly direct this one location film.

Based on the play God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza, this film is set within the confines of an apartment where we meet the Mr & Mrs Longstreet (John C. Reilly and Jodie Foster) and Mr & Mrs Cowan (Christoph Waltz and Kate Winslet). They have come together to have a civilised discussion about their sons, who we see get into an altercation during the opening credits. As the discussion continues, the film begins to descend into madness with each character breaking out of their restrained adult behaviour and fall just short of the monkey flinging his own poop.

At just 79 minutes this adaptation (completed by Polanski and Reza) gives each character just enough time to unfurl, without leaving the audience fidgeting and distracted as can sometimes happen with one location pieces. I'm not saying that it's believable that these characters would stay in that apartment for such an extended period of time, I for one would have left a damn sight quicker, but Polanski has done a good job of turning the Cowan's inability to leave into quite an amusing running joke.

I don't think a better team could have been found for this film than the four actors involved, and with such extensive careers behind them, I'm not surprised by their outstanding performances. Whilst I don't think there's many times you feel sorry for them, there's plenty of times you can relate and plenty of times you want to punch each of them in the face! And, I could tell that the rest of the audience felt the same, there was audible laughter and sighs of desperation and one guy even punched the armrest next to him out of what I can only imagine was frustration.

4 out of 5 for CARNAGE

And the Oscar goes to...

What a fun party the Oscars was this year! Some lovely wine, good company and the ceremony on the big screen. Sadly I didn't win any prizes, but I did get to have a quite chat with Oscar winner Adam Elliot and I bumped into Geoffrey Rush. Exciting times!!

I've listed the winners in green, and if I got it wrong, my prediction is still in pink. 

Best Picture
"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"The Help"
"Moneyball"
"War Horse"
"The Tree of Life"

Best Actor
Demian Bichir, "A Better Life"
George Clooney, "The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"
Gary Oldman, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt, "Moneyball"

Best Actress
Glenn Close, "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis, "The Help"
Rooney Mara, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams, "My Week With Marilyn"

Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Branagh, "My Week With Marilyn"
Jonah Hill, "Moneyball"
Nick Nolte, "Warrior"
Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"
Max Von Sydow, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

Best Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo, "The Artist"
Jessica Chastain, "The Help"
Melissa McCarthy, "Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer, "Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer, "The Help"

Best Director
Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Terrence Malick, "The Tree of Life"
Alexander Payne, "The Descendants"
Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"

Best Original Screenplay
Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"
JC Chandor, "Margin Call"
Asghar Farhadi, "A Separation"
Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, "Bridesmaids"

Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxton, Jim Rash, "The Descendants"
John Logan, "Hugo"
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, "The Ides of March"
Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian, "Moneyball"
Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughn, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"

Best Animated Feature
"A Cat In Paris"
"Chico & Rita"
"Kung Fu Panda 2"
"Puss in Boots"
"Rango"

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Bullhead (Belgium)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Separation (Iran)

Original Score
"The Adventures of Tintin," John Williams
"The Artist," Ludovic Bource
"Hugo," Howard Shore
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," Alberto Iglesias
"War Horse," John Williams

Best Original Song
"Man or Muppet," The Muppets; Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
"Real in Rio," Rio; Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown, Lyric by Siedah Garrett

Best Achievement in Art Direction
"The Artist"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in Cinematography
"The Artist"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"The Tree of Life"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in Costume Design
"Anonymous"
"The Artist"
"Hugo"
"Jane Eyre"
"W.E."

Best Documentary Feature -  I've only seen PINA so I chose it, but I can't really make a sound judgement here as I haven't seen any of the others!
"Hell and Back Again"
"If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front"
"Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory"
"Pina"
"Undefeated"

Best Documentary Short Subject - I haven't seen any of these at all, but I like the sound of TSUNAMI AND THE CHERRY BLOSSOM, so I chose that 
"The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement?"
"God Is the Bigger Elvis"
"Incident in New Baghdad"
"Saving Face"
"The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom"

Best Achievement in Film Editing
"The Artist"
"The Descendants"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Moneyball"

Best Achievement in Makeup
"Albert Nobbs"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
"The Iron Lady"

Best Animated Short Film
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Best Live Action Short Film
"Pentecost"
"Raju"
"The Shore"
"Time Freak"
"Tuba Atlantic"

Best Achievement in Sound Editing
"Drive"
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in Sound Mixing
"The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"
"Hugo"
"Moneyball"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"War Horse"

Best Achievement in Visual Effects
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Real Steel"
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"

So I didn't do too badly this year getting 14 out of 24 of the categories correct. There are a few winners that I didn't necessarily agree with including sound mixing and sound editing, but overall most of the winners were fairly predictable. 

RAZZIES 2012

Today is about the best and the worst for films, and below is a list of the Razzies nominations for 2012. Adam Sandler cleaned up this year (deservedly) and I'm pretty sure he now holds the record for the most nominations in one year...Other big names joining Adam include Katie Holmes, Sarah Jessica Parker, Nicole Kidman and Al Pacino.

2012 RAZZIE AWARDS: FULL LIST OF NOMINEES 

Worst Picture:  I'm not sure what to pick here...they are all soooo deserving!!

Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star
Jack & Jill
New Year’s Eve
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1

Worst Actor:

Russell Brand, Arthur
Nicolas Cage, Drive Angry 3-D, Season Of The Witch, and Trespass
Taylor Lautner, Abduction and Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part I
Adam Sandler, Jack & Jill and Just Go With It
Nick Swardson, Bucky Larson: Born To Be A Star

Worst Actress:

Martin Lawrence (As 'Momma'), Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son
Sarah Palin (As 'Herself'), Sarah Palin: The Undefeated
Sarah Jessica Parker, I Don’t Know How She Does It and New Year’s Eve
Adam Sandler (As 'Jill'), Jack & Jill
Kristen Stewart, Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part I

Worst Supporting Actress:

Katie Holmes, Jack & Jill
Brandon T. Jackson (As “Charmaine”), Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son
Nicole Kidman, Just Go With It
David Spade (As “Monica”), Jack & Jill
The Underwear Model (Aka Rosie Huntington-Whiteley), Transformers: Dark Of The Moon

Worst Supporting Actor:

Patrick Dempsey, Transformers: Dark Of The Moon
James Franco, Your Highness
Ken Jeong, Big Momma’s #3, Hangover Part 2, Transformers #3 and Zookeeper
Al Pacino (As 'Al Pacino'), Jack & Jill
Nick Swardson, Jack & Jill and Just Go With It

Worst Screen Ensemble:

The Entire Cast of Bucky Larson: Born To Be A Star
The Entire Cast of Jack & Jill
The Entire Cast of New Year’s Eve
The Entire Cast of Transformers: Dark Of The Moon
The Entire Cast of Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part I

Worst Director:

Michael Bay, Transformers: Dark Of The Moon
Tom Brady, Bucky Larson: Born To Be A Star
Bill Condon, Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part I
Dennis Dugan, Jack & Jill and Just Go With It
Garry Marshall, New Year’s Eve

Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel

Arthur
Bucky Larson: Born To Be A Star (Rip-Off of Boogie Nights and A Star Is Born)
The Hangover Part 2 (Both a sequel and a remake!)
Jack & Jill (Remake/Rip-Off of Ed Woods’ Glen or Glenda)
Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part I

Worst Screen Couple:

Nicolas Cage & Anyone Sharing the Screen with Him in Any of His Three 2011 Movie
Shia Lebeouf & The Underwear Model (Aka Rosie Huntington-Whiteley), Transformers #3
Adam Sandler & EITHER Jennifer Aniston OR Brooklyn Decker, Just Go With It
Adam Sandler & EITHER Katies Holmes, Al Pacino OR Adam Sandler, Jack & Jill
Kristen Stewart & EITHER Taylor Lautner OR Robert Pattinson, Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part I

Worst Screenplay:

Bucky Larson: Born To Be A Star, Written by Adam Sandler, Allen Covert and Nick Swardson
Jack & Jill, Screenplay by Steve Koren & Adam Sandler, Story by Ben Zook
New Year’s Eve, Written by Katherine Fugate
Transformers: Dark Of The Moon, Written by Ehren Kruger
Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part I, Screenplay by Melissa Rosenberg, from the novel by Stephenie Meyer

It's really hard to predict the Razzies, when I really just want to vote for everything that's been nominated!! I especially liked the nomination for Nicolas Cage and anyone sharing the screen with him in any of his 3 2011 movies! Quite amusing!

Full list of winners will be posted after the ceremony on April 1st.