Posts tagged Kryztoff.com
RAW: Creation – Film – 4K
Jul 15th
By Lucy Campbell
“You’ve killed God!” exclaims the earnest Thomas Huxley to an ill and burdened Charles Darwin as he enthuses of Darwin’s as-yet-unfinished ‘Origin of the Species.’ Thus begins the first real biopic of Charles Darwin, cleverly crafted in the hands of director Jon Amiel and actor Paul Bettany. Beautifully shot and recreated,
Creation speeds back and forth through time as Darwin comes to grips with the death of his daughter Annie, whilst at the same time struggling to finish his revolutionary theories. With quite a brilliant performance from Bettany, he’s well-supported by Jennifer Connolly as his deeply religious wife and Martha West as the precocious dead daughter Annie. But anyone hoping for an insight into Darwin’s theories, or how those twenty years were spent slowly deconstructing the Christian world’s entire existence will be disappointed.
This is not a film about Darwin’s theories, but about his personal life and his inner struggle between religion and truth. The few scenes of Darwin actually working seem sketchy to say the least: snippets of Darwin jotting down in a notebook, a seemingly brief encounter with a chimp and a bit of unexplained peering into a microscope. The film tends to sag a little in the middle under the considerable weight of Darwin’s family and personal life, and at its weakest when overly emotional, but through it all still keeps its course and satisfies us. Above all, Creation is a film of the power of individual thought, the repercussions of which we still feel today, and the unshakeable human desire for truth and understanding.
RAW: The Runaways – Film – 4K
Jul 15th
Reviewed By Lucy Campbell
For anybody with even the slightest of grasps of The Runaways music can probably guess that this film is a romped up biopic of Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, the infamous duo to front the all-girl rock phenomenon of the 70s. The Runaways centres heavily around the performance of the two leads; teen hype machine Kristen Stewart as Jett and child actor workhorse Dakota Fanning as Cherie Currie. Luckily both actors do a fine job as the superstar teens, with Stewart in particular proving she’s made of stronger stuff than the ‘Twilight’ bamboozle. The best performance goes to Michael Shannon for his acidic, aggressive and egotistical Kim Fowley; manager dash collaborator.
Runaways has all the plot one would expect from such a biopic: the inevitable drug problems, sex, alcohol abuse, relationship meltdowns and eventual breakup, and it suffers from hovering between too sexy, offensive and dark for a teen audience and a little too tame for the real rock n roll romp it should be. Nevertheless the film looks beautiful, and the time and place have been lovingly captured by writer/director Flora Sigismondi, with the relationship between Jett and Currie as believable, tangible and not overplayed. Despite the second half, which goes on far too long and focuses on the least interesting of the two rockers (Currie, whose Dakota Fanning saucer-eyes and drug-fuelled clichés lack the passion and energy of Jett) The Runaways is still an enjoyable if un-subtle glance into the world of 70s rock n roll, and to a lesser extent the role and influence of women in a male dominated industry.
Kryztoff Rating 4K
RAW: Bill Bailey Live – Thebarton Theatre
Jul 8th
People will probably know Bill Bailey from his appearances in TV shows such as Black Books, Spaced or Skins, but you can’t understand the depth of this guy’s talents until you have experienced him live. Bailey has one of those delightful minds which makes random associations between the oddest things, and has a charisma and presentation style that can make the mundane eye-wateringly funny.
The Thebarton Theatre was packed with appreciative fans from a wide demographic range; many who have undoubtedly been devotees for years and some who were experiencing him for the first time. Bailey is a quick witted, affable guy, who’s not afraid to engage his audience in banter. Over the course of the evening, we were treated to an enchanting mix of comedy, music and visual presentations.
Bailey is also a talented musician and incorporates music into much of his comedy. He always brings with him an eclectic mix of instruments. This time we got to experience the dulcet tones of the oud, as well as the delightful electronic machinations of a tenori-on, amongst others. His reinterpretation of the Leonard Cohen classic Hallelujah in the style of Kraftwerk, and his variations on the works of the likes of Phil Collins and James Blunt, were highlights.
In between songs, his account of what we can expect from the opening of the 2012 London Olympics was riotously funny and left one slightly concerned that he’d been privy to some IOC planning meetings. Barnacles also provided much merriment, including an auction relating to their penis to body ratio (we weren’t even close – Wikipedia says it’s up to 40).
Bill Bailey has a great reputation as an entertainer and did not disappoint his Adelaide crowd. They will undoubtedly be recounting stories of the evening to friends for years to come.
Kryztoff Rating 4.5K
RAW: Entertaining Mr Sloane – State Theatre Company
Jul 7th
Sloane (Renato Fabretti), is a good-looking young lad who has taken lodgings in the house that Kath (Jacki Weaver) shares with her father, Kemp (Dennis Olsen). Despite their age difference, Kath has designs on Sloane. Her controlling brother Ed (Sean Taylor) is not happy about the arrangement; until he meets Sloan and also finds the boy alluring.
As Kath, Weaver initially presents a vague and simple character that is mildly amusing and decidedly pathetic in her overtures towards the young Sloane. However, as the character develops in the second act it becomes clear that Kath is not just a ditz and that her psychological issues have a truly pathological and disturbing leaning. In these later scenes we see more of the talent for which Weaver is known.
Disappointingly, Fabretti (while undeniably attractive) has neither the appropriate look for Sloane nor manages to inhabit the role in any way that could endear him to the audience. The character was inconsistent and underdeveloped, with many opportunities to give it depth, and illuminate the motivations for his actions, sadly neglected. Taylor is suitably loathsome as Ed and, as the wretched and doddering Kemp, Olsen gives his usual, crowd pleasing, performance.
Overall, the show lacked spark. There were pace issues, particularly in the first act, and much of the dialogue felt like it was being said for no reason other than because it was written on the page. When double meanings were accentuated, they were met with appreciative laughter from the audience but, sadly, the majority of these opportunities were missed due to the lacklustre delivery.
Promoted as a black comedy, the script does have comedic potential but it also touches on some very serious, and unsettling, issues and so a delicate balance needs to be met. Regrettably, this production fails to achieve that happy medium and the result, while not completely devoid of merit, is a rather bland interpretation.
Kryztoff Rating 2.5K
RAW: Tim Burton – The Exhibition – ACMI Melbourne
Jun 30th
Any lover of modern, edgy media or graphic design will wish to make a bee line to Melbourne for Tim Burton – The Exhibition at the Australian Centre for Moving Image (ACMI) in Federation Square before 10th October.
This exhibition, straight from the Museum of Modern Art in New York, is the complete retrospective. To its credit, and what is usually rare from such a display, is copious material from his pre-fame days when growing up as the outsider kid in Burbank, Ca. The first two rooms highlight the array of Burton’s mental and physical doodling and concepts that would become consistent and now famous motifs of his work, all well before he carried studio support – the dark settings, the wiry fingers, arms and legs, the bits that stick out from heads, his love of black and white working together in rings and leafless, winter beaten trees.
Also fascinating is the almost child-like way he presents film concepts to producers and his, at times, very clever sense of humour. Certainly Burton has a distinctive personal artistic vision evoking humour, fantasy and nightmares, living often in between worlds. While some regress to child like stories and fantasy as a comfort zone, Burton says his films are not an attempt at recapturing a childish impulse but a way to make the world fresh and interesting.
While mentioning at the outset media buffs and graphic designers will wish to ensure they see it, a great many other starting points will also attract attendance. Kids will love it, though this is probably more for adults than may be expected, psychologists will have a field day and film buffs generally will be intrigued. Certainly, as much as Burton’s genius is front and centre in his films, one comes to appreciate there are standout performances that actually make those movies hits such as from Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice), Johnny Depp (various) and Jack Nicholson (especially as the Joker).
There is great deal to do on any weekend in Melbourne this winter but this should be a priority.
Kryztoff Rating 4.5K
RAW: Farewell – Film
Jun 30th
In the early 1980s, the Cold War for the Russians is being increasingly held together only by intelligence about western people, missiles and bases. Sergei Gregoriev (Emir Kusturica), in the Soviet intelligence services, has decided that should all change through sending back to the West all they know about them and the names of the Russian agents operating there. His mission is to make the Russian world a better place for his son, Igor. To do this, he enlists the help of Pierre Froment (Guillaume Canet), a Frenchman living in Moscow, in an operation codenamed ‘Farewell’.
This is a terrific espionage film, based on the factual account in the book by Serguei Kostine. Director and co-writer, Christian Carion, builds the tension silently but inexorably throughout until the last scenes are nearly unbearable to watch, so involved in the machinations and the lives of the players involved has one become.
Both the main actors do a great job and are well supported by Sergei’s ‘family’ (son, wife and mistress) and Pierre’s wife, Jessica (Alexandra Maria Lara). There is no James Bond or Jason Bourne in this drama and conflict between ‘duty’ to the cause and honesty and trust in the family is compellingly portrayed. Cliche portrayals of President Reagan and the CIA are upturned in the end as the real goings on get revealed.
Don’t miss it.
Kryztoff Rating 4.5K
RAW: Food Inc. – Film
Jun 29th
Food Inc is an unsettling and uncomfortable expose of the corporately controlled US food industry which no doubts has many parallels in Australia. As such it sits as an excellent companion piece to End Of The Line, the recent documentary about global fishing stocks.
Like EOTL, Food Inc wastes no time and nuance in quickly establishing who the villains are. Writer and director, Robert Kenner, names and shames in ways the US legal and political system no longer much allows it seems. Images of suffering animals due to pens, genetic modification or their food intake abound and the disconnect between consumer perceptions about their food and reality is hammered home.
However, again like EOTL, hope for the future is sustained, this time through the growing organics industry, (though no doubt the definition of this will be attacked and made meaningless over time such as the concept of ‘free range eggs’ is under at present in this country.)
These types of documentaries are at times glib, very biased in their view but they do get your blood boiling and make for compelling entertainment. Food Inc is one such in that mould but any kernel of truth that helps propel change is a good thing and the case for the power of the individual to make a difference keeps it interesting.
Kryztoff Rating 4K
RAW: Entertaining Mr Sloane – Preview – 2 – 25 July – Dunstan Playhouse
Jun 29th
Subversively slipping this Oedipal sex-farce past the ever-watchful eye of the British censor in 1964, play writer Joe Orton raised innuendo to new and thrilling heights. Almost fifty years later, the funny and sexy Entertaining Mr. Sloane continues to be revived all around the world.
The State Theatre Company’s production, which kicks off this Friday, will be directed by Artistic Director Adam Cook and will feature one of Australia’s best loved actors, Jacki Weaver, fresh from much acclaimed role in the movie Animal Kingdom.
Set in the 1960s on the cusp of the sexual revolution, it may be the swinging in London, but out in the suburbs, behind closed doors, Kath is lonely. Craving love and affection, Kath and her bachelor brother Ed are more than happy to accommodate the attractive young charmer Mr Sloane within their home and lives.
Both Ed and Kath become so infatuated with their shady tenant with a murky past that to win him, they will let him get away with anything, even murder…
Entertaining Mr Sloane promises to be a gloriously witty romp full of sly sexiness and racy naughtiness.
Cast also includes Dennis Olsen, Sean Taylor and Renato Fabretti