LOUISE-MICHEL
3/10
The plot to this comedy sounded good – the story of a group of women who pool their redundancy payouts to hire a hitman to kill their ex-boss. However the style of comedy was one that for me just annoyed. I walked out after about 30 minutes, not seeing the humour in it at all.

THE HURT LOCKER
8/10
I was a little unsure about whether this film would be worthwhile. I’ve seen a couple of films about the Iraq war, and generally never been entirely enthralled with them. However, The Hurt Locker was an excellently made film which was a festival highlight. It’s about a unit in Iraq that dedicates itself to investigating potential bombings, and where possible defusing them before they explode. It really sucks you in, and makes you feel like you’re there, experiencing the pressure with the characters. Good stuff.

DEAD SNOW
8/10
I’m not really a fan of Zombie films, but I can say of the ones I’ve seen, this is probably my favourite. Mind you, I’ve not seen any Romero ones, nor the Evil Deads. I’m not much of a horror film goer. This is a gruesome comedy about a bunch of young Norwegians who go up to an isolated cabin in the mountains for a ski weekend. All the cliches are ticked here, including the old man who frightens them on their first evening and then goes on to tell them about the dark presence in the woods. Turns out that a bunch of Nazis never quite died, and are still pretty upset. Lots of blood splattering and spilling of intestines, but overall a good balance of laughs that leaves you happily entertained.

CHOCOLATE
Review to come

FOOD, INC.
5/10
Sorry Food Inc, but you were the straw that broke this camel’s back. During this film, I wanted to yell at the screen, which I suppose is a good thing in that it’s inciting a strong reaction in a viewer, but for me, I was doing so in disappointment of an opportunity lost. I think there’s a real story to be told here about the food industry, but I’m so tired of having documentaries that effectively come across as a liberal/left wing version of an ‘A Current Affair’ type story. It shouldn’t be necessary to do this in order to get their point across, but in Food Inc they really try and ram it down your throat.

For example, in one part of the film, they show us the story of a hispanic family who apparently can’t afford to buy decent food and are forced to eat $1 hamburgers at McDonalds. They show a scene of them wandering like they’re lost around a supermarket with comments along the lines of ‘Broccoli for $1.19? We can’t afford that!’. Are you eff star star kay eye en gee kidding me? Add to this, the father has diabetes at least in part because he eats so much junk food, which then costs the family hundreds of dollars in medicine.

They also found a mother whose son died from ecoli poisoning. As a father, it horrifies me to think of losing my child so I have total sympathy for her and her loss, but it came across as just another desperate measure to convince us in a direction that didn’t need such drama. A slight case of overbombing.

Oh yeah, and in the beginning of the film, we’re told that four multi-national corporations dominate the US food industy, but this information is presented, as if we’re meant to spit, based on those facts alone. Maybe we ought to be, but a) I don’t think that being a multinational corporation immediately means you’re an organisation with poor ethics, and b) splitting a large industry between four companies sounds a whole lot better than what’s been going on with the computer software industry for years…

I’m not a right wing thinker, but this documentary is so biased in its presentation that even I wanted to reject it as overdone. That said, there are points that still stand true – corporations respond to demand. If consumers demand to know where their food comes from, and start making better choices, such as purchasing organic produce and meat from farms that respect the animals (at least prior to slaughter) then we can change things. I know that I’ll be doing some research into milk now to see exactly what the difference is between the Puras and the Organic options, and also into the meat I buy when I do. (yeah, sorry, I’d love to be vegetarian, but bacon tastes too good).

BLACK DYNAMITE
9/10
And on the a lighter side of the film, we have Black Dynamite, a brain-resting comedy that is one of my highlights for the festival. Like ‘The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra’ from MIFF 2004, which was a glorious and hilarious tribute to b-grade 1950s sci-fi flicks, Black Dynamite nods towards the Blaxploitation films of the 1970s. I’ve not seen (m)any blaxploitation films, but you don’t need to know the genre inside out to have a ball. It’s about a real badass guy named Black Dynamite who is on a mission to find out who killed his brother and why. Set design is great, and the send-ups are done to perfection. I can’t wait to see it again when my brain needs a rest. Champagne comedy! Or, should I say ‘Anaconda, oooooooooh Comedy’?

IN THE LOOP
8/10
Based around the UK comedy ‘The Thick Of It’, (which apparently may be getting re-made into a US show soon), this political comedy was another highlight for me. Fast talking and quick-paced, it follows the story of a British minister who as a result of a botched radio interview, winds up becoming involved in talks between the US and the UK about invading Iraq. Peter Capaldi steals the show with his character, a foul mouthed Scot who doesn’t take shit from anyone. A real role model for us all :). If you think you’d like the result of mixing The Office, The West Wing and Yes Minister into one show, don’t miss it.

THE EXPLODING GIRL
7.5/10
When I booked this session, I wondered to myself whether the name of this film was a nod to The Cure’s b-side ‘The Exploding Boy’. I’m still not sure where the reference comes from, but this film was great in a low-key way. It’s about a girl who returns home to New York City from college for her summer break. She catches up with a (male) friend who she’s known for years, and the film goes on to show what they get up to. The story progresses as she has intermittent and somewhat awkward phone conversations with her boyfriend who is in his own hometown. A lot of it feels ad-libbed and the pacing is fairly languid, but there’s enough story to make it enjoyable. Imagine Mutual Appreciation, Funny Ha Ha or Wendy & Lucy (all shown at previous years of MIFF), but done right. The lead actress looks a little like Zooey Deschanel and looked really familiar, but wasn’t someone I’d seen before.

35 SHOTS OF RUM
6/10
A French film about a father who works on the railway. After his long days at work, he returns home to his adult daughter that shares his apartment. As the story unfolds, we find out more about the neighbours in their block and thus this ‘slice of life’ story goes. It was a nicely done film, but seemed a little unsure of what it was trying to say.

ART & COPY
5/10
A documentary about advertising which in itself was pretty much an advertisement for the advertising industry. In this film the subjects try to claim some credibility, suggesting that they’re helping the population and can hit levels of near-art (if not art itself) in their work. It was very well put together, and quite interesting, but ultimately the reality for me is that for every ‘good’ advert or billboard there are thousands of shite ones. I’d agree that for example that the iPod billboards are visually great and near-art, but we’re still stuck with erectile dysfunction ones. Worth a watch if it comes on TV.

TONIGHT OR NEVER
7/10
My ‘n’th film of the festival that stars Anna Karina, and admittedly, my favourite so far. This was the first starring role that Anna had which wasn’t directed by Godard. As always Anna Karina looked great :). It’s set in an apartment over one evening where a small party is held amongst a few friends, and the conversations that take place. In parts happy, others sad, others angry. It floats by but has enough plot to keep you watching. The print wasn’t very good quality, but I’m glad I caught it.

LETTER TO A CHILD
7/10
A Slovenian documentary (of sorts) about the various phases of life. It starts with an interview with children at a primary school, and then continues through interviews with people from older and older phases of life; some teenagers, then a young family, then a family whose children were much older, and so on, ending with a man who I would suspect was around 100. Interspersed throughout, the filmmaker ‘writes a letter’ expressing his own thoughts on life. It was interesting, from a perspective of finding out how different age groups define what’s important in their lives, and the lessons to be learned. Easily recommended if it comes on TV, but I wouldn’t suggest it as a necessity in the cinema.

FLAME & CITRON
7/10
This film is based on a true story of two Danish friends who formed part of the resistance against the Nazi invasion of Denmark in World War II. They’re given tasks by their superior to kill off key targets of the local Danish nazi sympathisers, but conflicts of interest on all sides mean that everything isn’t as black and white as it might otherwise seem. Well made film, that is a little slow at points, but enjoyable nonetheless. Mads Mikkelsen (as seen in After the Wedding at MIFF previously, and also in Casino Royale) does another fantastic job in his role as Citron.