Aussie Movie Bonanza

Found an article in the Sunday Herald Sun today. It discusses a collection of the upcoming Australian films. There were a couple of titles I hadn't heard of before (including new Gillian Armstrong. I've already discussed Ray Lawrence's Jindabyne (and will continue to do so, but not here) but I'll let you read the rest - I can't find the actual article on the website, unfort.

Footy Legends
ETA: August 3
The Buzz: Angus Sampson hit rock bottom last year with You and Your Stupid Mate, but works such as Thank God You're Here and Kokoda are earning him a reputation as a versatile and serious actor. It'll be interesting to see how he plays against Claudia Karvan and Peter Phelps in this story, set in Sydney's Western suburbs. The film is centred on Luc Vu, an unemployed Vietnemese-Australian obsessed with rugby league. With welfare authorities threatening to take away his little sister, Luc reunites his high-school league team for a competition that could change their lives. Watch for a cameo by former league star turuned TV pundit Matthew Jones

ed note: I've been saying for ages that one of the dumbest things the Australian film industry does is not make movies about sport. Australia is obsessed with sport, so wouldn't it make sense to make movies about them that could be successful? I'm not a rugby league follower, so I'm not the audience but there's a whole lot of them out there. But still, the thought of Claudia Karvan on the big screen could be enough to get me into the cinema

Hunt Angels
ETA: August 10
The Buzz: Ben Mendelsohn and Victoria Hill star in this non-fiction feature about Rupert Kathner and Alma Brooks who, in 1929, "began a movie-making spree that took on the Hollywood barons, a corrupt police commissioner and the cultural cringe in their passionate pursuit to make Australian films". Uses groundbreaking technology to insert the stars into real Sydney backdrops of the time.


ed note: Definitely sounds intriguing. This is one of those weird pseudo-documentaries like The Story of the Weeping Camel or Touching the Void. It has already been nominated for Best Documentary at the AFIs so I'll try and see it at the AFI Festival of Film.

2:37
ETA: August 17
The Buzz: What hasn't already been said about Adelaide film-maker Murali K Thalluri's debut feature, which screened at this year's Cannes Film Festival? Starring Theresa Palmer, the film follows six high-school students who face issues ranging from drug abuse and teen pregnancy to homosexuality. Gritty and powerful, it's a certain highlight of 2006.

ed note: Am looking forward to this one. I really loved Elephant and this is apparently similar. Could really be a surprise, but it's R18+ rating hinders it from it's target audience (which I would assume is teenagers, especially considering the director only finished high school several years ago)

Unfolding Florence
ETA: August 24
The Buzz: Gillian Armstrong rarely puts a foot wrong and given this docu/drama about flamboyant interior designer Florence Broadhurst - whose 1977 murder remains unsolved - was the only Aussie film chosen for this year's Sundance Film Festival World Documentary competition, it should be another worthy addition to a resume that already includes the likes of Oscar and Lucinda, Charlotte Grey and The Last Days of Chez Nous.

ed note: I thought people didn't like Charlotte Grey? Oh well. Wasn't nominated for Best Documentary at the upcoming AFIs but that could possibly be because of it's drama parts - but that Hunt Angels sounded similarly both documentary and drama. Oh well.

The Book of Revelation
ETA: August 24
The Buzz: No, not the follow-up to The Da Vinci Code, but rather an "erotic mystery" shaping up as the year's most controversial Australian film. Tom Long stars as a dancer who is abducted but three hooded women, raped and abused and released 12 days later. In lesser hands, such a plot could spell exploitation, but the director is Ana Kokkinos, who memorably steered Alex Dimitriades into dark waters as hustler Ari in Head On. Colin Friels and Greta Scacchi also star.

ed note: "memorably" because it was so bad? Okay, it wasn't that bad, but it certainly wasn't good. BTW Alex' character wasn't a hustler. Whatever. The great cast (Friels, Scacchi, Long, Deborah Mailman) makes me wanna see it, but... ugh. If I can see it for free at the AFI Festival of Film then I probably will then, but I doubt I'd wanna pay.

48 Shades
ETA: August 31
The Buzz: Nick Earls is one of Brisbane's most successful authors, blending pathos and personal reflection in slice-of-life tales that amuse and inspire. The film, based on 48 Shades of Brown, is about awkward teenager Dan, who goes to stay with his cool aunt while his parents are overseas, opening the door to a grown up world including ever boy's greatest wish - girls.

ed note: I didn't know about this movie before but now I am intrigued. It's obviously trying to go after the same crowd that made Puberty Blues a hit back in the day. But it's the cast mainly - Victoria Thaine (who impressed me in The Caterpillar Wish earlier this year, and Emma Lung who made a great debut last year in Peaches.)

Macbeth
ETA: September 14
The Buzz: If ever a play was made for ageless and endless reworkings, it's Shakespeare's Macbeth. With its intrigue, unrest, infighting and murder, it's been updated this time around by Geoffrey Wright (Romper Stomper) to Melbourne's modern-day ganglands, with Sam Worthington in the title role and Victoria Hill... as his murderous wife. Even Mick Molloy gets a look-in, but this is no comedy, with blood and betrayals aplenty.

ed note: this imdb thread makes me want to see it so much more. That guy is an idiot, it sort've figures that he's from the Australian Christian Fellowship Appreciation Society. SAY NO TO CHURCH AND STATE CENSORSHIP.

Opal Dream
ETA: September 14
The Buzz: Another feature with a homegrown link. Filmed in locations such as Coober Pedy, and starring Vince Colosimo and Jacqueline McKenzie, the story is about Kellyanne Williamson, whose best pals are invisible friends Pobby and Dingan. When they go missing, her life is turned upside down and her brother, Ashmol, rallies the whole town to find them. The quest could just mend the resident's rifts and rivalries.

ed note: Still not sure about this one. Is an Australian/British co-production. But it has VINCE and JACQUI!!!!

Other releases expected in October include Aquamarine, which stars Tammin Sursock (Home & Away), JoJo and Julia Roberts' neice, Emma; Irresistable, for which director Ann Turner's script was strong enough to lure Susan Sarandon to Melbourne (also stars fast-rising British actor Emily Blunt and Sam Neill); Boytown, Mick Molloy's creation of a successful boy band from the 1980s, which reforms in hope of a second shot at glory (also stars the hilarious Glenn Robbins).
George (Babe) Miller's animated feature Happy Feet is a family friendly tale of a group of emperor penguins, who find their soulmates through song. It is scheduled for a Boxing Day release and stars everyone from Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman to Robin Williams and Elijah Wood.
Also on the horizon are Suburban Mayhem and Like Minds. Release dates are subject to change.

ed note: Aquamarine is in no way Australia other than maybe it was filmed here. Irresistable is apparently shithouse, so it's script was "strong enough to lure [desperate] Susan Sarandon to Melbourne." Boytown and Happy Feet look good. I realised why Happy Feet and Rogue weren't entered into this year's AFI awards. They'll be released in December, which is too late (the awards are on December 7) and the Festival of Film, which allows eligable voters to see the films in contention is in August and they're either not ready or it's against the rules or something. Oh well. Some films they didn't mention, yet have been entered at least for the AFI awards are Kenny, Last Train to Freo and Em 4 Jay. Can't wait to see if they're any good!