Today is an interesting day for me. I am going to be hypnotised at the radio station CurtinFM and go on air under the influence of Matt Hale, hypnotist. I will have up the video and podcast by tomorrow sometime, so everyone can have a laugh at my expense.
My Audible book for Deadly Messengers released yesterday 30th March. The book is narrated by the amazingly talented Anne Johnstonbrown, who won the 2013 Audibles Female Narrator voice of the year. She has turned Deadly Messengers into an immersive experience
If you haven't tried an Audible version of a book, I highly recommend the experience. It makes the housework move along more quickly, keeps you entertained while driving, jogging, or simply anything. You could start with mine. Click these links below based on what country you are in and register for an Audible account and you will be able to listen to the book for free. You might love using Audible and decide to stay. They have a great membership for $14.95. However, you can easily cancel after listening to Deadly Messengers for FREE.
Australia: Australian Audible
UK: UK Audible
If you are in a book club and would like to listen to the Audible for a book club get together, I am really happy to Skype in to your club and discuss not only Deadly Messengers, but the process of creating an audiobook and working with an award winning narrator. It's quite fascinating. Just email me at: Yes, I have a book club and would love you to attend
Now I'm off to the wild blue yonder with Matt Hale...
... I'm back after the big hypnosis event. It was great fun and I must thank Matt for coming to the studio and putting me 'under'. Jenny couldn't stop laughing. There's always craziness in the studio when Jenny and I get together, along with some interesting film chat and insider news on movies and stars. Subscribe to my podcast and you will be notified when an episode is up.
This is the audio of me under hypnosis.
This is the audio of the film review part of the show.
LABYRINTH OF LIES ✪✪✪½ (opens March 31 Luna Cinemas)
The most American German film I’ve seen, this
is good follow-up to watch after the sobering, but extraordinary Son of Saul, so that you feel at least
some justice was achieved after the atrocities of the Nazi regime. It feels as
though it could have been directed by Ron Howard but is, in effect, helmed by
Italian Giulio Ricciarelli, who also co-wrote the screenplay. I enjoyed it and
found the history lesson fascinating. I would have given it 4 to 4 ½ stars but it
lost momentum in the middle, still a good, solid film and I highly recommend
it.
Film
Blurb
Based on the true events of the investigation that
lead to the Frankfurt Auschwitz trials. Germany, 1958: nobody wants to look
back to the time of the Nazi regime, so when young prosecuting attorney Johann
Radmann comes across sensitive documents that would bring members of the SS who
served in Auschwitz to trial, he is told to bury the past. However, against the
will of his superiors, he begins to examine the case and lands in a web of
repression and denial. He is sucked deeper and deeper into a labyrinth of lies
and guilt in his search for the truth, but what he ultimately brings to light
will change the country forever.
SHERPA:
TROUBLE ON EVEREST ✪✪✪✪ (opens March 31 Luna
Cinemas)
Since
Sherpa, Tensing Norgay, became one of the first two individuals known to reach
the summit of Mount Everest with Edmund Hillary on 29 May 1953, we have been
fascinated with this endeavor. The recent film Everest with its all-star cast,
had us scratching our heads and asking why? Now we know why some of the
summiteers climb. Sherpas are the unsung heroes of these Everest attempts. They
climb for a very understandable reason. They need the money.
Where a
climber will travel maybe four times over the dangerous ice flow area, these
Sherpas will climb back and forth dozens of times while carrying the necessary
supplies and equipment to camps higher up, in readiness for the paying
customer. Their jobs are beyond dangerous, but you don’t hear about Sherpas or
the injury and death they suffer. Yet they do. Every year.
Sherpa
is a beautifully filmed documentary, and the makers had the good fortune or the
misfortune of being on hand in 2014 when a controversial and tragic event
occurred, which changed everything for the business of Everest climbing.
I highly
recommend this documentary. It’s fascinating, enjoyable and puts you in the
middle of an historic Nepalese event with little intrusion or setup. Sherpa
tells the story of what really happened on Everest through the eyes of those
who know the mountain best.
Film
Blurb
A moving story of courage and greed,
set against the magnificent backdrop of Everest. This documentary was filmed
during the calamitous 2014 climbing season, when 16 Sherpa guides were killed
while moving across an ice-flow to aid Western climbers. Following the
disaster, climbers and Sherpas entered into a tense mountaintop stalemate. This
exhilarating film exposes many truths about money, Nepal, and the meeting of
first and third worlds atop this alluring, spiritual peak.
A PIGEON
SAT ON A BRANCH REFLECTING ON EXISTENCE ✪✪?? SWEDISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
ECU
Joondalup: Tuesday 29th
March—Sunday 3RD April
UWA Somerville: Monday 4th April –10th April
UWA Somerville: Monday 4th April –10th April
SUBLIMELY RIDICULOUS AND EXQUISITELY SILLY, THIS FILM OVERFLOWS
WITH LIFE-AFFIRMING SOUL.
There are no words for how
ridiculous this film is. It’s not ridiculous charming like the hilarious
imaginative Belgian film The Brand New
Testament. It’s I don’t know what the hell I’m watching ridiculous. On the
positive, the framing of the scenes is beautiful, but whatever point they were
trying to make was lost on me. It could be that this film is genius and that
wit is lost in translation, or it is just plain stupid. Most of the reviewers,
like me, walked out shaking their heads wondering what we had just seen. I
think it’s Nordic Monty Python.
Film Blurb
This series of quietly absurd, deadpan comic delights comes courtesy of Sweden, in a masterfully composed movie that’s like no other. Winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, A Pigeon... is the long-awaited follow-up to director Roy Andersson’s 2009 PIAF hit, You, the Living. But no prior knowledge is necessary as we recognise the pathos of being human via encounters with a pair of inept salesmen, a nervous flamenco student and King Charles XII of Sweden. Sublimely ridiculous and exquisitely silly, this film overflows with life-affirming soul.
This series of quietly absurd, deadpan comic delights comes courtesy of Sweden, in a masterfully composed movie that’s like no other. Winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, A Pigeon... is the long-awaited follow-up to director Roy Andersson’s 2009 PIAF hit, You, the Living. But no prior knowledge is necessary as we recognise the pathos of being human via encounters with a pair of inept salesmen, a nervous flamenco student and King Charles XII of Sweden. Sublimely ridiculous and exquisitely silly, this film overflows with life-affirming soul.
SPECIAL
EVENTS
WHERE TO INVADE NEXT
(Conversations on Screen)
(Conversations on Screen)
Date: Thursday April 7
Time: 6:30pm (check Luna Cinemas site for exact details)
Location: Luna Leederville Details and Booking
Time: 6:30pm (check Luna Cinemas site for exact details)
Location: Luna Leederville Details and Booking
The Conversations On Screen will be
hosted by Geoff Hutchison (720 ABC Perth Mornings presenter) with
special guests Patrick Kedemos; Honorary Consul for France, Perth, and Susan
Maushart; American author, journalist and broadcaster, discussing key
themes following the screening.Academy
Award®-winning director Michael Moore returns with what may be his most
provocative, subversive and hilarious film yet. In WHERE TO INVADE NEXT Moore
plays the role of ‘invader’, visiting a host of nations including Italy,
France, Germany and Tunisia to commandeer policies and ideas that will improve
prospects in America. What he finds is that the solutions to America’s most
entrenched problems already exist in the world—they’re just waiting to be
captured. The creator of Fahrenheit 9/11, Capitalism: A Love Story, Sicko, and
Bowling for Columbine is back with an entertaining and eye-opening call to
arms.
For instance, French public schools have chefs who serve students hour-long, multi-course lunches on china, featuring dishes like scallops in curry sauce. French 8-year-olds stare in absolute horror at photos of American school lunches. On an island prison in Norway inmates who’ve committed violent crimes are housed in very pleasant surrounds and rewarded for good behavior. We see prisoners in regular clothes doing wheelies on bikes, fishing, and sunbathing and they require very little supervision. 4 guards for 115 inmates. Norway has one of the world’s lowest murder rates, and its recidivism rate is about 20 percent, two to three times lower than in the U.S. They are treated with respect. In Italy, they are given double pay in December for Christmas and 8 weeks holiday leave. Finnish schools with no homework and the world’s best test scores, Slovenians going to college for free, and women seizing unprecedented power in Tunisia and Iceland when attempts were made to take it away.
For instance, French public schools have chefs who serve students hour-long, multi-course lunches on china, featuring dishes like scallops in curry sauce. French 8-year-olds stare in absolute horror at photos of American school lunches. On an island prison in Norway inmates who’ve committed violent crimes are housed in very pleasant surrounds and rewarded for good behavior. We see prisoners in regular clothes doing wheelies on bikes, fishing, and sunbathing and they require very little supervision. 4 guards for 115 inmates. Norway has one of the world’s lowest murder rates, and its recidivism rate is about 20 percent, two to three times lower than in the U.S. They are treated with respect. In Italy, they are given double pay in December for Christmas and 8 weeks holiday leave. Finnish schools with no homework and the world’s best test scores, Slovenians going to college for free, and women seizing unprecedented power in Tunisia and Iceland when attempts were made to take it away.
In The House (classics)
Date: Friday April 1
Time: Friday 7pm
Location: Event Cinema Innaloo Details and Booking
Tickets: Non Cine Buzz member tickets $12 Member Tickets: $10*
Friday 1st April - Highlander (M) starring Christopher Lambert (1986)
Date: Friday April 1
Time: Friday 7pm
Location: Event Cinema Innaloo Details and Booking
Tickets: Non Cine Buzz member tickets $12 Member Tickets: $10*
Friday 1st April - Highlander (M) starring Christopher Lambert (1986)
Friday
15th April - The Princess Bride (PG)
Friday 29th April - Blade Runner (M)
Some of cinemas most celebrated films are set to return to our screens in the 2016 season of ‘In The House’! Join the conversation on the dedicated In The House Facebook page and tell us what YOU want to see back up on the big screen here.
The 27thAlliance Française French Film Festival
Friday 29th April - Blade Runner (M)
Some of cinemas most celebrated films are set to return to our screens in the 2016 season of ‘In The House’! Join the conversation on the dedicated In The House Facebook page and tell us what YOU want to see back up on the big screen here.
The 27thAlliance Française French Film Festival
Date:
Opens 16th March–7th April
Time: Various Times
Location: Cinema Paradiso, Northbridge, Luna on SX, Fremantle & Windsor, Nedlands
Details and Booking
Time: Various Times
Location: Cinema Paradiso, Northbridge, Luna on SX, Fremantle & Windsor, Nedlands
Details and Booking
The 27thAlliance Française French
Film Festival will return to Luna Palace Cinemas in March with an exceptional
array of contemporary French cinema guaranteed to delight, stimulate and
indulge. Presented by the Alliance Française in
association with the Embassy of France in Australia, uniFrance Films and the
gracious support of globally renowned Principal Sponsor, Peugeot, the festival
will present a truly thrilling line-up of 48 titles featuring the best French
and indeed, worldwide acting talents. Nine evocatively named sections will
include highlights such as director Jacques Audiard’s 2015 Palme d’Or winning
masterpiece DHEEPAN, as well as A PERFECT MAN, LOVE AT FIRST CHILD, MARGUERITE,
MON ROI, FIRST GROWTH, TAJ MAHAL, UN PLUS UNEand VALLEY OF LOVE. Five of
France’s mostpopular
television shows will also appear.
LADIES
NIGHT
LOLO
Date: Friday APRIL 1
Time: 6pm Function
Film Screening at 6:45pm
Grab your girlfriends and enjoy a
glass of wine on arrival, delicacies and entertainment, followed by a screening
of Julie Delpy's latest romantic comedy LOLO.
Julie Delpy writes, directs and stars in this stupendously funny comedy
of a later life love affair thwarted by an extremely possessive adult son.
Delpy's fourth film as a director since 2 Days in Paris shows that she is among
the best of today's comic filmmakers, delivering constant laughs and tremendous
characters.
Delpy plays the neurotic Parisian sophisticate and divorcee Violette,
who while on holiday finds new love with an IT boffin, Jean-René (comedy icon
Dany Boon, Superchondriac - Festival 2015). When Jean-René joins her in Paris,
all seems perfect - but for the insistent campaign of sabotage by Violette's
19-year-old son, Lolo (a terrifically louche Vincent Lacoste, Eden - Festival
2015).
Also starring Karin Viard (Almost Friends -
Festival 2015) as Violette's happily brazen best friend Ariane, this
brilliantly paced film is full of plausibly awkward situations and witty
observations on family ties. Boon, himself a talented
writer-performer-director, plays straight to Delpy's hysterical hypochondriac,
and the film features surprising cameos from the likes of Karl Lagerfeld and
novelist Frederic Beigbeder. Equal parts
hilarious and honest; LOLO is a comedy highlight of the year.
Closing
night French Film Festival
Contempt
Date:
Opens Thursday April 7
Time: 6:30pm glass of wine & delicasies Film
Screening at 7:00pm
Join
us as we close the festival for another year with a one off screening of
CONTEMPT starring Brigitte Bardot. Tickets include one glass of wine on
arrival, delicacies and entertainment, followed by the film screening. Opening
with one of the most famous shots of the legendary Brigitte Bardot, CONTEMPT
remains a glorious experience made for the big screen. More than 50 years on
from its release, Jean-Luc Godard's film remains a touchstone for world cinema,
an incandescent work of intellect and passion, and a true film icon.
Godard
self-reflexively tells the story of a screenwriter, Paul Javal (Michael
Piccoli), who is working on a script of The Odyssey, directed by film giant
Fritz Lang (playing himself), and sure to be a box-office bomb. Art, commerce
and personal affairs clash as Paul courts favour with brash producer Jerry
Prokosch (Hollywood stalwart Jack Palance), and compromises his marriage to
Camille (Bardot).
ROYAL BALLET THE NUTCRACKER
Date: Friday April 1
& Sunday April 3
Time:
10:30am (check Luna Cinemas site for exact
times)
A Royal Ballet family treat, danced to
Tchaikovsky’s glittering score. Follow Clara (Francesca Hayward), a young girl
who is led on an adventure to the Land of Snow and the Kingdom of the Sweets.
Peter Wright’s enchanting staging retains exquisite surviving fragments of the
original Ivanov choreography, including the beautiful pas de deux for the Sugar
Plum Fairy (Lauren Cuthbertson) and her Cavalier (Matthew Golding).
Conductor:
Boris Gruzin. Choreography: Peter Wright. Cast: Lauren Cuthbertson, Matthew
Golding, Francesca Hayward. Duration approx. 1h38 including interval
MET OPERA: TURANDOT
Date: Sat April 2 & Sun
April 3
Time:
(check Luna Cinemas site for exact times)
Approx
RT: 3 hours 35 minutes incl.
intermission
Nina Stemme,
one of opera’s greatest dramatic sopranos, takes on the title role of the proud
princess of legendary China. Tenor Marco Berti is Calàf, the brave prince who
sings “Nessun dorma” and wins her hand. Franco Zeffirelli’s golden production
is conducted by Paolo Carignani. Conductor: Paolo Carignani
Production:
Franco Zeffirelli; Set Designer: Franco Zeffirelli; Costume Designers: Anna
Anni, Dada Saligeri;
Lighting
Designer: Gil Wechsler. Sung in Italian with Met Titles in English.
OUTDOOR
CINEMAS
Burswood
Outdoor Community Cinema
Details and Booking
Date: Runs to April 9
Time: Doors open at 6.30pm Film commences 7:45pm
Location: Burswood, Bassendean, Mandurah,
Murdoch
Run
by over 700 volunteers, they proudly donate all profits to kids charities. To
date we've raised over $6 million for kids in a health or physical crisis.
Films of note this week
The Good
Dinosaur
Charlie
Brown
Lady in the
Van
Hail
Caesar!
Camelot Outdoor Movies
Details and Booking
Date: Runs to April 16
Time: Doors open at 6.00pm Film commences 8pm
Location:
16 Lochee Street, Mosman
Park
Films of note this
week:
All the Oscar Films:
Spotlight
Hail Caesar!
Lady in the Van
Brooklyn
Luna Outdoor Movies
Details and Booking
Date: Runs to April 17
Time: Doors open at 6.00pm Film commences 8.15 pm
Location:
155 Oxford Street,
Leederville (tickets & entrance Luna Cinemas)
Films of note this
week:
Sherpa: Trouble on Everest
The Room (spoons supplied) Sunday April 3
LOTTERY
WEST FILM FESTIVAL
Details and Booking
Date: 23rd November
to 10th April
Time: Doors open at 6.00pm Film commences 8pm
Location: Somerville UWA & ECU Joondalup
Pines
Films this week:
A PIGEON
SAT ON A BRANCH REFLECTING ON EXISTENCE ✪✪?? SWEDISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
ECU Joondalup: Tuesday 29th March—Sunday
3RD April
UWA
Somerville: Monday 4th April –10th
April
SUBLIMELY RIDICULOUS AND
EXQUISITELY SILLY, THIS FILM OVERFLOWS WITH LIFE-AFFIRMING SOUL.
There are no words for how
ridiculous this film is. It’s not ridiculous charming like the hilarious
imaginative Belgian film The Brand New
Testament. It’s I don’t know what the hell I’m watching ridiculous. On the positive,
the framing of the scenes is beautiful, but whatever point they were trying to
make was lost on me. It could be that this film is genius and that wit is lost
in translation, or it is just plain stupid. Most of the reviewers, like me,
walked out shaking their heads wondering what we had just seen. I think it’s
Nordic Monty Python.
Film Blurb
This series of quietly absurd,
deadpan comic delights comes courtesy of Sweden, in a masterfully composed
movie that’s like no other. Winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film
Festival, A Pigeon... is the long-awaited follow-up to director Roy Andersson’s
2009 PIAF hit, You, the Living. But no prior knowledge is necessary as we
recognise the pathos of being human via encounters with a pair of inept
salesmen, a nervous flamenco student and King Charles XII of Sweden. Sublimely
ridiculous and exquisitely silly, this film overflows with life-affirming soul.
OUR LITTLE
SISTER ✪✪✪ JAPANESE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES
UWA
Somerville: Monday 28th
March—Sunday 3RD April
ECU
Joondalup: Tuesday 5th April –10th
April
This is the second to last film screening at
Lottery West Film Festival. Independent Japanese films are struggling to get
funding. I can understand why when they are contemporary stories. They are
masters of Manga and are pioneers in horror, but they’re dramas, well, they
just lack drama.
Our
Little Sister I liken to watching paint dry, but it’s exquisite paint. So if
you are prepared to spend two hours watching the Japanese version of A Country Practice or Neighbours, you will like this. In calling
it slow and plodding, I still enjoyed it. The setting and actors are just
stunning, and don’t get me started on the food. An exotic slice of Japanese
life that will linger with you.
Film Blurb
This subtle family drama with an
uplifting Japanese flavour is the latest film by master director, Hirokazu
Koreeda (Like Father, Like Son, 2014 PIAF). Set in a bright, warm summer in
picturesque Kamakura, the story concerns three sisters in their 20s who welcome
a 14-year old half-sister into their house after the girls’ errant father
passes away. The sisters’ friendship, as well as their battles, are acutely
observed. Our Little Sister is a cherishable summertime delight.
