Monthly Archives: July 2011 »
Melbourne International Film Festival: 23 July 2011
In the second full day of screenings, and the first to fall on a weekend, the Melbourne International Film Festival wasted little time filling its many venues. With nine sold out sessions (including Werner
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Beautiful Lies
The latest in a long line of romantic comedies to grace screens this year, Beautiful Lies unravels an unconventional love triangle with a farcical twist, yet can’t escape its ever present reliance on contrivance and coincidence.
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Bad Teacher
There’s one word in Bad Teacher’s title that proves accurate, and it’s not the reference to educators. Sadly, the one-note film fails to engage or entertain, relying on viewer fondness for the “bad” premise.
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Special Treatment
Exploring the many parallels between prostitution and psychoanalysis, Jeanne Labrune’s Special Treatment may be amusing and moving, smart and sophisticated, and even humorous and heartfelt, however it feels somewhat insubstantial beyond its brief running time.
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
After a laboured penultimate effort based on one half of the final novel in the series, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 provides the beloved wizarding franchise with the send-off it deserves.
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Mozart’s Sister
Exploring femininity and family, period piece Mozart’s Sister weaves strength, sadness and speculation into a bittersweet biopic of the teenage years of the talented, troubled sibling to the musical maestro of the eighteenth century.
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Wu Xia
Impressively choreographed and intelligently handled, Wu Xia presents a compelling combination of police procedural and martial arts epic, yet distinguishes itself from the wealth of period pieces that recall the frenetic style of the apt title.
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Little White Lies
Whilst meandering and melodramatic, and also over-reliant upon the eclectic collection of ensemble characters often seen in such efforts, French feature Little White Lies offers a moderately interesting exploration of the half truths that fuel friendships.
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Blame
All arguing and little action, Blame may represent the latest hopes of the Western Australian film industry, however the end result is an average revenge thriller that meanders in motivation, mistaking talk for tension.
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Julia Leigh on ‘Sleeping Beauty’
A modern interpretation of the fairytale that gives the film its name, and an effort far removed from the Grimm’s narrative and the Disney classic, Sleeping Beauty marks the feature film debut of acclaimed author
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