Lost AT E Minor

Gabriel

Drug addicted angels prostituting themselves, alcoholic angels, angels who work in soup kitchens, all trapped in purgatory. Read more

The Black Balloon

I don’t know what’s going on with me. My two favourite films of the last six months are about a bloke who can only move one eye and a suburban Australian family with an autistic son. I used to like action. Read more

Bicycle Film Festival

Now occurring in seventeen venues around the world, the Bicycle Film Festival certainly has its wheels turning and is well placed to ride into the future. Apologies for the terrible cliché. Anyway, the festival runs in Melbourne from Friday, Nov 21 until Sunday, Nov 23. There are seven programs of mixed films from around the world and bicycles are the only common theme. Read more

Waltz With Bashir

Long gone is the time when animation was for children, and the gritty style of Waltz With Bashir seems to have first reached a wider audience in the recent past with Scanner Darkly. That film, like Waltz With Bashir, adds a realism and depth through simple colours and uncompromising scenes, which it is difficult to achieve with real actors. The stunning opening of Waltz with Bashir, featuring a pack of rabid, rampaging dogs, with gleaming, yellow eyes is the ideal example. The film then tracks a veteran of the Israeli Army mission in the Lebanon War of the early eighties, as he tries to recover his memories of the conflict and the following slaughter of innocents. His empty memory is probably similar to that of many of us who have either forgotten or never even heard of this conflict. As a story it’s wonderful, as animation it’s beautiful, and as a piece of history, it shouldn’t be missed.

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

Narrated by Johnny Depp, who played Hunter in the film adaptation of the book Fear and Loathing in Los Vegas, this documentary covers the life of the enigmatic writer who invented Gonzo. The lines blur between reality and fantasy, as they did whenever Hunter was talking about his own life in his writing, but it is fascinating nevertheless as an insight into how he worked and the highs and lows of his life. Perhaps too long, it is understandable considering the amount of content to cover, from his first articles right to his famous suicide. As his fame grows, his behaviour becomes even more questionable and towards the end of his life Hunter becomes less coherent. And to the film’s credit it does not shy away from the less flattering aspects of his life. Perhaps the most entertaining parts are the interviews with artist and long-time collaborator Ralph Steadman, whose style evolved along with that of his famous muse.