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20/20 Filmsight - April 2008

2008 Spanish Film Festival in Sydney

April 30th 2008 03:07
Maribel Verdu Spanish Film Festival
This year's Spanish Film Festival comes to Sydney from the 7-19 of May, with a terrific roster of movies and events.

Opening Night is a fiesta with a screening of "Seven Billiards Tables", starring Maribel Verdu (pictured above), followed by tapas and live music from Watussi. Here's a little bit of Watussi:



Verdu is a familiar face in the English speaking world - after her role in "Pan's Labyrinth", she finally shrugged off the dirty looks from her lusty character in "Y Tu Mama Tambien". I know her from "Huevos de oro", one of the first movies I saw Javier Bardem in - and a movie that made me want to drop out of school to build massive, phallic skyscrapers. Luckily, the end of the movie turns you off all that.

The Festival has a few events, a tribute to Argentina, and a Mexican night, which means the Latin American fans will have something to gnaw on. The Mexican night promises to be a little fun, with a Latin house DJ spinning some dance-inspiring tracks. It's a festival with red blood coursing through the program, and I'm already inflicted.

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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Preview
   


Iron Man

April 29th 2008 00:18
Iron Man flying in the sky
Black Sabbath's haunting song, "Ironman", was about a man, sent from the future, made out of iron, who tries to help mankind, but because of his ghastly figure, the public fears and hates him. It's a chilling warning of the risks of intervention and the cruel tricks of time travel.

The latest comic book to be adapted into a film is Jon Favreau's take on Ironman, a Marvel comic that started in the 60s and has been a popular figure since, though not on the level of Spidey, Bats or the X-Men.

Favreau's "Iron Man" is one of the better adaptations, staying remarkably close to the origins of Tony Stark, the brilliant industrialist that owns a massive arms development corporation, then sees the error of his ways, building himself a suit of iron to save the world.



Robert Downey Jr. plays Stark, a fantastic casting choice, using his dry wit and playboy image to bring out the worst qualities of pre-Ironman, making his turn towards justice even more incredible. The only thing better than Downey is Jeff Bridges, otherwise known as "The Dude", who nails the role as Obadiah Stane, one of the board members of Stark Industries.

Bridges is the best thing about the movie - he's become even more natural as he's aged, playing Obadiah Stane with such casual ease that it rivals Lebowski. This is the man that Pauline Kael remarked "may be the most natural and least self-conscious screen actor that has ever lived'. Favreau frames both Downey and Bridges in closeup, a common trait of comic book adaptations, but a technique that flourishes here with these two capable actors.

"Iron Man" disappoints on many levels, all of them predictable, sadly. Like nearly every other comic book adaptation, there's the token romantic subplot, the fallen comrade scene, the overuse of CGI and the dialogue, which is witty, but ultimately one-dimensional.

"Iron Man" is elevated, though, despite these flaws, by touches that were perhaps brought on by Favreau, who is a fanboy's choice of director. The tone is definitely cheeky - though Stark surrounds himself with fabulous wealth and beautiful, objectified women, it's all rendered useless when Stark is captured and held captive in a cave in Afghanistan.

The original comic by Stan Lee was, apparently, an anti-Communist figure with a playboy flair, helping America defeat the North Vietnamese. Soon after, though, with the public turning the streets of D.C. red with anger, Lee turned Stark into a more complex character, burdened by his past.

It's a movie that takes advantage of the cinema setting, with fantastic action set pieces, larger than life materialism, and long-legged women. "Ironman" is definitely a cut above the average comic book movie; the destruction and the action will definitely keep fans well entertained.


I say: Better than a lot of other action movies, "Ironman" is a decent watch, though Favreau loses hold of the humanistic thread in the latter third of the movie. It's definitely the start of a trilogy. Personally, I'd save my money for one of the truly excellent movies coming out in Sydney at the moment.

See it for: I'm happy to watch robot-on-robot violence, but the CGI just irritates me. Still, there's enough humour in the movie to keep you laughing, especially as Stark tries to develop the suit.


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Americanas
   


The Wave (die Welle) @ The Festival of German Films

April 27th 2008 23:28
The Wave die Welle speech in auditorium with white shirts

Last Saturday, I managed to get rare tickets for a sold-out screening of "The Wave (die Welle)" for the Festival of German Films. A few of our friends were unable to join us as the tickets sold like free flapjacks at a morning carnival - the Festival of German Films is one of the most popular film festivals in Sydney.

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My mind on my money and money on my mind: an interview with Cibbuano

April 27th 2008 22:45
Little Green Frog sitting on a finger

I participated in an online interview with Neerav Bhatt, Sydney's hardest working blogger, about being a paid blogger. While I'm not on the same level of celebrity of the Hiltons and Spears of the world, there are still plenty of pictures of me wearing a dress with no panties.

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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: C'est la vie!
   


Turning "Another Stakeout" into a cult classic

April 24th 2008 23:59
Another Stakeout Rosie Richard Dreyfuss
It's a weird bit of meta-gaming the film industry... Paul Sheer and Andy McKay have teamed up and asked the internet community to make the awful "Another Stakeout" into a cult classic.

From Spoutblog
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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Bizarre
   


New Kids in the Hall sketch

April 24th 2008 22:16
Kids in the Hall wrapped in plastic

Big bam! The Kids in the Hall are getting back for a reunion tour, which has Canadian comedy lover, such as myself, up in a tizzy about getting more of that absurdist humour.

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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Short Films
   


A Realistic Jessica Rabbit

April 23rd 2008 00:39
Sure, I'll admit it - I like cartoon babes.

Yes, I know it's ridiculous, and ludicrous and strenuous and tenuous and all the other things that you're verbally spewing at me right now


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Kids in the Hall - Brain Candy

April 21st 2008 23:56
Kids in the Hall Brain Candy I'm Gay

On the heels of the announcement that legendary Canadian sketch comedy group The Kids in the Hall will be doing an American reunion tour, I thought it would be justified to review the only film that the Kids put together.

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Edge of Heaven at the German Film Festival

April 20th 2008 22:54
It's German cinema time in Sydney and Melbourne, with the impressive German Film Festival playing in both cities.

Unfortunately, I'm notoriously ignorant of German cinema, despite the excellent history and love of the medium in that country. For some reason, German films get much less attention than French or Spanish cinema


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Battle of the critics: Molly Haskell vs. Pauline Kael

April 17th 2008 22:58
There's a lot of film news on the blogs today. I can't be motivated to post any of it, even links. There's talk of a Indiana Jones 5, pictures of Scarlett from the new GI Joe movie, news about David Cross dating a younger girl.

It's just bland, tasteless pudding. Especially when you find a gem of a post on Spout Blog, transcribing a Moving Image Institute session, held by influential critic couple, Molly Haskell and Andrew Sarris
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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: C'est la vie!
   


The New York Times' A.O. Scott gives tribute to Roger Ebert

April 16th 2008 23:15
Russ Meyer and Roger Ebert

The above picture is of Roger Ebert, a newly minted critic, after the release of "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls", which he wrote with Russ Meyer.

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The Thing

April 14th 2008 21:41
Kurt Russell John Carpenter The Thing
"The Thing" is john Carpenter's 1982 of the original 1951 film "The Thing From Another World".

It recreates the premise of a group of scientists, stuck in the Antarctic, that find a hostile shapeshifting alien that has laid dormant for thousands of years in the Antarctic ice. As a shapeshifter, once it gets going, it learns to mimic the scientists that it murders, prompting wonderful scenes of confusion and paranoia


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Americanas
   


Sydney Street Stylin'

April 13th 2008 22:25
Longtime Orble blogger Trina sent me a message today - she's all connected in Sydney's hiphop/bboy scene and her boyfriend, a young filmmaker and bboy, made this fantastic short film illustrating the high-flying, dangerous-driving moves that these young cats flaunt with grace and style.

Using notorious Sydney landmarks, the QVB and the Pyrmont Bridge, the images are fast and frenetic, the lighting soft enough to obscure the sense of sleepy abandonment and vicious aggression that fills the CBD at night


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Short Films
   


Sunday Doubles coming back to the Chauvel Cinema

April 11th 2008 00:00
Woody Allen Diane Keaton Annie Hall

It was with great relish that I read about the Chauvel Cinema starting up its Sunday Double Features again...

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Alain Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo get into a fistfight

April 9th 2008 23:45
The two most visible icons of French cool have to be Alain Delon, who gave "Le Samourai" its cold, steel edge, and Jean-Paul Belmondo, who was Godard's faux-Bogart in "Breathless".

You'd expect, if they ever met in person and made contact, the universe would shear itself at that point, causing all of France to be pulled into a long strand of spaghetti


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Not One Less (Yi ge dou bu neg shao)

April 9th 2008 01:25
Not One Less classroom students
Last week, I reviewed "Raise the Red Lantern", a movie directed by Zhang Yimou that won accolades in the West and was prized as one of the greatest Mandarin films in recent times.

While "Lantern" is riveting with its use of colours and space, I don't think it captures the same human vitality as one of my favourite Zhang Yimou films, "Not One Less (Yi ge dou bu neng shao)
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Day of the Dead remake - leaked online!

April 8th 2008 01:23
A year and a half ago, I posted a sad little post on how George A. Romero's "Day of the Dead" was being remade, starring Ving Rhames and Mena Suvari. While the original is sometimes panned by zombieheads who preferred the satirical tone of "Dawn of the Dead", I quite enjoyed "Day", despite the awful 80s soundtrack.

It pointed at a future that Romero saw from the outset, where the zombies overrun the Earth, not by their own virtues, but by the inability of people to work together and stay unified. The same themes are present in "Day", but magnified: it takes place in a tiny, fortified bunker, with a group of soldiers and scientists holding out against the invasion


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It's a tough job market for executives...

April 6th 2008 23:21
This short by Screaming Frog Productions is a delightfully satirical look at how the US economy is going to cause some tough times.

It depicts a world so ravaged by recession, especially in white-collar jobs, that executives and accountants are forced to dress up and line-up for potential work


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Short Films
   


London to Brighton showing at the Chauvel Cinema

April 3rd 2008 22:35
London to Brighton
A couple of weeks ago, I reviewed the high-adrenaline British crime thriller, "London to Brighton", a wickedly frenetic low budget movie that was called the "best British movie of the year" by Peter Bradshaw in the Guardian.

I also managed to talk over the phone with the director, Paul Andrew Williams, about the movie, which is being released by Siren Visual on DVD here in Australia.
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An experimental short based on one atrocious scene from Full House

April 2nd 2008 21:38
Full House cast Olsen twins
Yeah, I used to watch Full House. I blame inner-city crime and a failing education system for pushing me down that dark alleyway.

Now, of course, I feel nothing but remorse.... remorse like an Atkins dieter, found passed out on the floor, mashed potatoes smeared all over their face


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Posted By: Cibbuano - Category: Short Films
   


Beyond the Beijing Olympics: bringing books to the Chinese countryside

April 1st 2008 21:29
There's a lot of fury over the Beijing Olympics and Tibet, with Westerners hollering for boycotts, protests being staged all over the world from both sides, and a lot of speculation over the fallout from the 2008 Olympics.

My own position would be exercise some reasonable thought when getting riled up... after all, it's hard to point fingers at China when Guantanamo Bay is still in operation, and the massacre in the Congo seems to carry on without anyone protesting or lifting a finger


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Thanks to all the new subscribers!

April 1st 2008 01:57
Chinese model throwing up yellow paint handbag

I checked my stats this morning and 20/20 Filmsight is getting over 5,000 readers every day! Sure, a great number of those are robots looking to spam content and porn-hungry internet vagabonds, but there are plenty of real people hidden in those stats, too.

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