Welcome to the Film Brief, your down-to-earth source for movie reviews, articles and pieces on cinema, politics, pop culture… basically whatever comes up.
Wish You Were Here
Four friends go on a holiday to Cambodia to forget their day-to-day responsibilities, and only three return in Wish You Were Here, a new Australian drama/thriller by actor-turned director Kieran Darcy-Smith.
Chernobyl Diaries Trailer
Three years after his sensational Paranormal Activity, director Oren Peli is back with Chernobyl Diaries, another creep-fest, this time about what looks like a couple of irritating American yuppies touring the contaminated area of Chernobyl. Clearly playing on the post-Fukushima paranoia that has engulfed much of the West, the trailers for Chernobyl Diaries make it seem [...]
Continue readingThe Dark Knight Rises Trailer
As the release date (July 20) of The Dark Knight Rises approaches, Warner Brothers is ramping up the trailers. So far they have been most pleasing — avoiding the trap so many studios fall into of just revealing the story straight-up, instead opting for a more atmospheric, intriguing and teasing nature. Here’s the latest trailer, released [...]
Continue readingOpening Scene Project #1: Back to the Future (1985)
Back to the Future was released in the year of my birth, and it was one of the first movies (along with E.T.) that really dazzled me, and got me hooked on cinema. I still rank it as one of the most entertaining science-fiction movies ever made. Released right in the middle of the Spielberg Golden Age — that era from about 1975 until 1995 in which everything he touched turned to gold, either cinematically or critically, usually both — Back to the Future smacks of the optimism and sweet naivete that makes 80s Hollywood science fiction movies so likable. And, what’s more, it has a great first scene. Here’s my dissection:
(Don’t) Look Deeply into my Eyes…
By Jonathan Fisher, April 15th, 2012 This review is not recommended for the sexually repressed. As I watched Michael Fassbender as Carl Jung satiate the libido of a former mental patient of his by spanking her, before returning home to purchase a house with his wife, I reflected on the way that modern cinema [...]
Continue readingPodcast: A Separation, KONY 2012 + Three Short Films
Welcome to the new-look Film Brief. Here is this week’s podcast, in which Tim Hoar and I review the Iranian masterpiece “A Separation”, discuss the phenomenon of KONY 2012, and review three short films proffered to us by listeners. Links to the movies reviewed below. You can also subscribe to the podcast via iTunes here.
Unappreciated actors: Mark Ruffalo
In this modern age of cinema there are very few truly breakthrough performances. Jean Dujardin’s performance in The Artist is not one of them. While his performance is one to commit to memory, he is already a very accomplished French actor. While Rooney Mara commanded the screen with ease in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, she already showed promise with her limited, yet fantastic performance in The Social Network. Performances like that make you wonder if they are great performers or just great performances. The longevity of an actor or actress is proven with what they do after their initial landmark role. “Breakout” actors and actresses rarely see prolonged success.
The Descendants: The (darkly) funny side of losing your wife
Alexander Payne’s The Descendants is, as we’d expect from him, about as dead-on a character study as you are going to get. George Clooney collaborates with the independent American film-maker for the first time, and it’s a logical fit. Clooney has a remarkable ability — particularly for a megastar — to look completely normal. Matt King, the character he plays in The Descendants is one of Alexander Payne’s classic everyman heroes (everymen?): witty, honourable, but also quite flawed. It’s one of his best performances, and even though we all know that the Oscars are irrelevant, boy would it be nice to see him win for this. Continue reading
The Best Films of 2011
10. Rango
– This dandy of an animated film by Gore Verbinski about a loner lizard (voiced byJohnny Depp) bursts with creativity and nuance. The world created in the townof Dirt is partly inspired by the weirdness of Terry Gilliam films and partlyinspired by, of all films, Chinatown.I loved this film for its offbeat sense of humour and impeccable animation. Ijust love the mariachi band that constantly reminds us that Rango will, infact, die. Continue reading