Screened "Ides of March" Thursday 28 June 2012

6.30pm pre-screening drinks and nibbles
7.00pm film screens


The Ides of March


4.5 stars Margaret 3 stars David from ABC's at the Movies


A staffer finds his idealism and beliefs taking a back seat to backroom political dealings and manipulative power plays.

An American Presidential election is looming, and in the crucial Ohio primary contest between Democratic front-runners, small 'l' liberal Governor Mike Morris, GEORGE CLOONEY, looks like winning over his more conservative rival, Senator Pullman, MICHAEL MANTELL. Morris' staff include campaign manager Paul Zara, PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN, and press secretary Stephen Meyers, RYAN GOSLING, while Pullman's campaign is being run by Tom Duffy, PAUL GIAMATTI, who thinks Stephen would be an asset for his team.


Official website
http://www.idesofmarch-movie.com/site/



Classification: M
Duration: 101 mins
Genre: Drama
Director: George Clooney
Lead actor: George Clooney
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, Marisa Tomei
Language: English
Country: United States

Film changed to "The Skin I Live In" Thursday 17 May 2012

Doors open 6.30pm. Bar closes 6.55pm. Film starts 7.00pm


**** stars Margaret David from ABC's At the Movies and all other reviewers around the world

This film contains a don't tell twist that will seriously get under your skin.

Ever since his wife was burned in a car crash, Dr Robert Ledgard, an eminent plastic surgeon, has been interested in creating a new skin with which he could have saved her. After 12 years he manages to cultivate a skin that is a real shield against every assault.


In addition to years of study and experimentation, Robert needed a further three things: no scruples, an accomplice and a human guinea pig. Scruples was never a problem. Marilia, the woman who looked after him from the day he was born, is his most faithful accomplice. And, as for the human guinea pig ...

"Outrageous. In a class of its own." Nigel Andrews, The Financial Times

"Banderas is terrific. Almodovar at his obscenely entertaining and exploitative". Wendy Ide, The Times

Official trailer http://youtu.be/EolQSTTTpI4


Review http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s3374248.htm 


Classification: MA 
Duration: 120 mins 
Genre: Drama, Thriller 
Director: Pedro Almodovar 
Lead actor: Tony Banderas 
Cast: Elena Anaya 
Producer: Agustin Almodovar, Esther Garcia 
Screenplay: Alberto Iglesias 
Music: Alberto Iglesias 
Language: Spanish 
Country: Spain

Screened "Melancholia" Thursday 26 April 2012

5 stars Margaret
2.5 stars David


This film is certain to divide opinion if we go by ABC's 'At the Movies' star rating by Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton.

"Well now I think we're heading for a major stoush on the show ... " Margaret

In this beautiful movie about the end of the world, Justine (Kirsten Dunst) and Michael (Alexander Skarsgård) are celebrating their marriage at a sumptuous party in the home of her sister Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), and brother-in-law John (Kiefer Sutherland). Despite Claire’s best efforts, the wedding is a fiasco, with family tensions mounting and relationships fraying. Meanwhile, a planet called Melancholia is heading directly towards Earth… From acclaimed director Lars von Trier MELANCHOLIA is the most stunning and compelling film of the year. (Synposis courtesy Madman http://www.madman.com.au/catalogue/view/15425/melancholia)

Classification: M
Duration: 136 mins
Genre: Drama, Sci-Fi
Director: Lars von Trier
Lead actor: Kirsten Dunst
Cast: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alexander Skarsgard, Producer: Meta Louise Foldager, Louise Vesth
Language: English
Country: Denmark


Trailer http://www.melancholiathemovie.com/#_trailer


Awards http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1527186/awards

Next screening "Submarine" Thursday 22 March 2012

Submarine

"A perfect blend of cool, quirky comedy and warm hearted drama"

4 Stars Margaret 4 Stars David from ABC's "At the Movies"

A 15 year old boy wants to lose his virginity before his next birthday and reignite the spark between his parents.

SUBMARINE is the highly-acclaimed debut feature from Richard Ayoade (star of THE IT CROWD and NATHAN BARLEY), based on the hilarious, best-selling novel by Joe Dunthorne.

In his head, 15-year-old Welsh schoolboy Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) is a cool literary genius. In reality, he’s socially inept and unpopular. Oliver has set himself two tasks for the summer: to lose his virginity (before it becomes legal) and save his parents' marriage. Suspecting that his mother (Sally Hawkins) is having an affair with old flame, Graham (Paddy Considine), a mullet-wearing, capoeira-teaching, new-age evangelist, Oliver monitors his parents’ sex-life by charting their bedroom dimmer switch. To bolster his endeavours, Oliver forges passionate love letters on behalf of his unsuspecting father to his mother.

Meanwhile, Oliver attempts to woo schoolmate, Jordana. When a calculated attempt at bullying earns him Jordana’s affections, she introduces him to the thrills of pyromania and dictates to him what he should be writing about her in his diary. (Syposis courtesty Mad Man http://www.madman.com.au/catalogue/view/15650/submarine )

Classification: M
Duration: 97 mins
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Director: Richard Ayoade
Lead actor: Noah Taylor

Next screening

"L'amour, c'est mieux à deux - The Perfect Date" 
Valentine's Day 14 Feb 2012


The French hit movie is a  perfect date for Valentine's Day. Enjoy champagne, strawberries dipped in chocolate and nibbles.


Tuesday 14 February 2012
6.30pm pre-screening drinks and nibbles
7.00pm film screens

What would you do for the woman of your dreams?

Globetrotting aid-worker Michel (Clovis Cornillac from the Asterix films) dreams of that great romantic moment when fate brings two soulmates together. On the other hand, his best friend since childhood, Vincent (Coco’s Manu Payet) is a hotshot divorce lawyer who prefers an all-sex, no-commitment approach to relationships. But when Vincent's latest squeeze, Nathalie, dumps him and Michel finds out that Vincent had engineered his "chance encounter" with beautiful blonde Angèle, the two childhood friends realise they'll have to help each other out if they want to find lasting happiness with the women of their dreams. Will it all end in marriage, or in tears?

Theatrical Trailer

http://www.madman.com.au/catalogue/view/15103/the-perfect-date

Rated MA

Running time: 100 minutes

Language: French with English subtitles

Next screening "Incendies"

Thursday 12th January 2012
6.30pm drinks and nibbles
7.00pm film screens

*** Margaret
**** David
8.2 / 10 International Movie Data Base

The Academy Award nominated Incendies also won the Best Feature Film awarded by the jury at the 2011 Adelaide Film Festival. Director Denis Villeneuve responded by saying that "As a poetic sign of gratitude to [the] Adelaide Film Festival, I'll give the name of 'Adelaide' to one of my main characters in my next film. So thank you one thousand times to [the] Adelaide Film Festival!"

The Academy Award nominated Incendies is a masterful cinematic achievement - at once a tightly woven mystery; an epic, sweeping family drama and deeply affecting, profound and transcendent work.

At the reading of their mother Nawal's will, twin siblings Jeanne and Simon learn for the first time that they have a brother, and that their father, who they thought was dead, is in fact alive. Their mother's final wish is that the twins find them both to deliver certain sealed letters. Shifting back and forth in time, Incendies follows two parallel journeys, expertly interwoven: the twins' journey to their mother's Middle-Eastern homeland to unlock the past, and Nawal's journey some twenty years earlier to find the baby boy she was forced to give up. Both journeys shine an unsettling light on Nawal's past and culminate in a shocking final revelation.

To encounter a film of heart-wrenching drama, mythic proportions and sweeping visual majesty is rare, but such are the riches of Denis Villeneuve's Incendies. An incredibly powerful film that unfolds in such unique and unexpected ways, Incendies will floor you from the very first scene. It is one of those exceptional, extraordinary films that restores your faith in the power of cinema.

Trailers
http://www.hopscotchfilms.com.au/entertainment/out-now-1/incendies-dvd-1/

Awards
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1255953/awards


Director:  Denis Villeneuve

Featuring:  Maxim Gaudette, Mélissa Désomeaux-Poulin, Rémy Girard, Lubna Azabal

Rated:  MA 15+, Strong themes and violence

Run Time:  130 minutes

Country of Origin: Canada

Genre: Drama

Language:  French/ Arabic / English subtitles

Mid-August Lunch "Pranzo di Ferragosto"

Reels' Christmas party and final screening for 2011

Thursday 1st December 2011
6.30pm drinks and nibbles
7.15pm film screens

8 wins and 6 nominations in worldwide film festivals

This charmer follows Gianni, a 60-something Roman who lives with his tyrannical 93-year-old mother, Valeria, and suddenly finds himself forced to look after three other elderly ladies. As the late summer holiday of Ferragosto approaches, Gianni (director di Gregorio) is blackmailed by his building manager Luigi into looking after Luigi’s mother for two nights in exchange for forgiving certain tenant debts. But when Luigi comes to the apartment, he’s brought not only his mother Marina, but his aunt Maria as well. Soon after, Gianni’s doctor-friend Marcello pays a call, asking if he can leave his mother, Grazia for just one night. The aging women, each with her own strong personality, prove a handful while grudging host Gianni attempts to monitor their pill intake and pacify them with food. Debuting director di Gregorio’s combination of artistry and humanity avoids platitudes and exaggeration as he spins this warm-hearted, humorous tale.

Watch trailer http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s2820920.htm

Filming locations Rome, Lazio, Italy

Classification: PG
Duration: 72 mins
Director: Gianni Di Gregorio
Language: Italian with English subtitles
Country: Italy