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PEGGY GUGGENHEIM: ART ADDICT (not rated)

Fell asleep in this one. Not because of the film, I was just hitting a wall, from not enough sleep and trying to juggle work and MIFF. hat I did see was interesting, and I’d love to catch it if and when it shows up on a streaming service or TV.

7 CHINESE BROTHERS ★★★☆

Not sure what the title represents for this low impact American indie film about a guy (played by Jason Schwatzman) who lives dead end life… Not sure anyone would identify with a guy who lives the life he did, but it was passable.

BREAKING A MONSTER ★★★

A documentary that apparently would show the evils of the music industry, but which didn’t deliver. Competently made, but it didn’t really dig hard. There’s no doubt in my mind that the kids in the metal band Unlocking the Truth have the talent and style to be huge if the universe sees to it, but I would have preferred that the filmmakers spent an extra year or two on the film so it could end with a little more about what happened. At this point we’re yet to see whether they’ve fallen off the face of the Earth or will become huge. I’m not a fan of metal, but I hope they do (become huge that is)…

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another quick update

THE RULES OF THE GAME ★★★☆

Interesting French film about young kids us ain’t an agency to help teach them how to successfully seek employment.

COURT ★★★

An okay Indian film that demonstrates flaws in the legal system and how it can be used to silent protestors regardless of guilt. Kinda got its point across early, so could have been a little shorter for an overall better impact.

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Got to be short and sweet, I’m falling behind.

RAIDERS! ★★★★

Great documentary about the kids who spent seven years creating their own scene by scene recreation of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Years later they reunite to complete the one scene they couldn’t do as kids. Well made, and feel-good.

PAWNO ★★★☆

Australian film about a Footscray pawnbrokers. Nice effort for a first go, and good to see a local film that tries to do something a little different. One of the two ex-junkies looks so much like Mark Hammill, it’s strange. Worth a watch; think Clerks vs Smoke.

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THE POSTMAN’S WHITE NIGHTS <not rated>

Russia has a lot to answer for so far this year. Fell asleep about ten minutes in.

COLIN HAY: WAITING FOR MY REAL LIFE ★★★★

What a wonderful, warm-hearted documentary this is. I was a big fan of Men at Work when I was a kid, and re-discovered Colin Hay’s solo work through the Garden State soundtrack. A perfect mix of retrospective, and what Colin Hay’s life is like now. Truly a successful artist. Go listen to his new album now, I know I will be.

VICTORIA ★★★

I was hoping for great things from this film after having heard good thing. It wasn’t bad, but maybe I’d set expectations a little too high. It’s about a girl who’s new to Berlin meeting a group of guys as she leaves a club one night. It was certainly an impressive film in that it’s done in one long take for the entire story, and given the numerous locations, including inside cars and elevators, and shots outside during the day and the night, I regularly wondered how they did it. However, ultimately I had a hard time empathising with the main characters, and not feeling particularly involved when things did or didn’t go their way.

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DRUNK STONED BRILLIANT DEAD: THE STORY OF THE NATIONAL LAMPOON ★★★

Well produced, and well constructed documentary about The National Lampoon magazine and ongoing legacy to comedy – obviously instrumental in decades worth of American comedy. Somehow though it didn’t feel like the film paid off at the end. Maybe because the key players weren’t interviewed (in many cases because they’ve passed on). Worth a watch if it comes on TV.