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janebrownrigg
Reviews
From Music into Silence (2018)
Comfort and joy.
Beautifully shot story of Peter Robert's selfless career change to bring comfort and ease to those who are struggling with health. Naturally the soundtrack is wonderful too.
From Music into Silence (2018)
Comfort and joy.
Beautifully shot story of Peter Robert's selfless career change to bring comfort and ease to those who are struggling with health. Naturally the soundtrack is wonderful too.
Juliet, Naked (2018)
Nick Hornby is a treasure
It's not often that I laugh out loud in movies but I did while viewing Juliet, Naked. Having loved such films as Fever Pitch. I was not surprised to see Nick Hornby's name in the credits. He has a way with sympathetic characters that always resonates for me. Once again the soundtrack is full of artists I love. I would see this film again...
Strange Birds in Paradise: A West Papuan Story (2009)
Call someplace Paradise...
In this entertaining documentary Charlie Hill-Smith takes us on a journey of discovery in West Papua. Hill-Smith is an informative and engaging guide. His familiarity with Indonesia, built up through many visits, and his close ties with a family there, mean he can communicate well in West Papua, where years of Indonesian rule have made their language more widely used than the multitude of original Papuan tongues.
Hill-Smith focuses on the power of music to unify and strengthen West Papuans, both within the country and those in exile, particularly a small community in Melbourne, Australia.
Effectively incorporating sections of animation, this award-winning film casts a discerning eye on the realities of Indonesian occupation and the ongoing efforts for freedom in West Papua.
Winter's Bone (2010)
Compelling look at life in the Ozark Mountains
Featuring an assured performance by Jennifer Lawrence as 17 year-old Ree Dolly. Winter's Bone is a compelling look at the poverty and difficulties that face those Americans living in the Ozark Mountains in Missouri. Ree has dropped out of school to care for her ill mother and two younger siblings. Her dad, Jessup, is absent. Things go from bad to worse when the Sheriff informs Ree that if her father fails to show for a court hearing in a week's time her family home will be forfeit, as Jessup signed it over as part of his bail. Ree undertakes to find him, a task that is formidable and dangerous. Hers is a community where most share some degree of blood ties, however that doesn't make it close or in any way welcoming. The location and characters invite fleeting comparison with Deliverance. Ree's stoic perseverance is masterfully understated. She is steadfast in her love and support for her family as she pragmatically tries to prepare her young siblings for survival. Occasional generosity and assistance from sections of the community highlight the harsh code of Ozark life. Ultimately, reprieve arrives in the most unlikely and grisly fashion.
Ghost Town (2008)
laugh-out-loud funny
Ghost Town begins like an episode of the TV series 'Six Feet Under', as we witness the demise of philandering Frank Herlihy (Greg Kinnear). He used to live in the same building as dentist, Dr Bertram Pincus (Ricky Gervais), a misanthropic character not a far cry from Gervais', well-known manager from the TV series 'The Office', the show that first bought him to many people's attention. Pincus undergoes surgery that seems to have gone well, but upon discharge, he discovers that he now has the ability to see ghosts, and Manhattan has a lot of them. Enquiries at the hospital reveal that he actually died for seven minutes during his surgery but was able to be revived, so the hospital staff decided not to inform him of the fact! Ghost Town is laugh-out-loud funny in its dry exploration of trust, responsibility and regret. Herlihy enlists Pincus to intervene in his ex-wife Gwen's (Téa Leoni) life and Pincus' budding infatuation with her complicates the whole plan. This warm-hearted film is a joy in its slow awakening of humanity in the frosty Pincus.
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Slumdog Millionaire is a brilliant., genre jumping revelation
Slumdog Millionaire is a genre jumping revelation that comes across as bizarrely plausible when events that seem impossible are contextualised in flashbacks that illustrate the life of our 18 year-old hero Jamal (Dev Patel), an orphan from the slums of Mumbai. Jamal has entered the Indian version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" in an effort to contact his lost love Latika (Freida Pinto). Much is made of Jamal's lowly status as a chai wallah (tea boy) at one of Mumbai's many call centres.This underdog status helps him to win the hearts of the viewing audience but arouses suspicion from the show's host, who pulls strings and has Jamal arrested and savagely interrogated when the show breaks at the end of the day's episode. Slumdog Millionaire jumps back and forward in time illustrating the parts of Jamal's life experience that have taught him the information he needed to correctly answer questions on the show. Much kudos must go to the cast and crew for uniformly excellent performances, filmed in often harsh and immensely difficult circumstances. Resourceful and resilient, once orphaned at a young age in a religious uprising, Jamal and his older brother Salim (Madhur Mittal) travel widely in their quest for safety and survival. The boy's hair-raising, and often hilarious, exploits on Indian railways and at the Taj Mahal are played out against marvelous scenery. Slumdog Millionaire successfully combines many genres such as history, 'road' trip, crime, coming of age, romance and quiz. All are deftly handled and interwoven in a total package that is hard to fault. Stay through the closing credits and you even get a Bollywood style dance number! Brilliant.
Rock n Roll Nerd (2008)
WA musician and comedian Tim Minchin's rise from obscurity to international celebrity
Pieced together from footage taken over a period of three years, Rock N Roll Nerd follows WA musician and comedian Tim Minchin. Let down technically by low-quality footage this is nonetheless an engaging portrait of Minchin's rise from obscurity to international celebrity. His funny, personal story is told through behind-the-scenes footage, home films and interviews. It's a coming of age story for Minchin both personally and professionally as it documents the hard work, calculation and transformation of his stage persona that puts him on the road to success. After being awarded the inaugural Director's Choice award at the Melbourne Comedy festival Minchin is invited to take part in the Edinburgh Fringe and we follow the difficulties and eventual triumphs of the journey. Minchin is extremely candid. He documents his whole life and his thoughts in his complexly structured comic songs and brings the same honesty to the camera. Not one to shy away from controversy Minchin doesn't mind being offensive if he really cares about the (touchy) subject he's addressing. Minchin claims to have an insatiable craving to be affirmed by more people. I think this film will build his live audiences and help to achieve just that.
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts (2007)
an affectionate and intimate portrait of Glass
In July 2005, Australian filmmaker Scott Hicks started shooting a documentary about the composer Philip Glass to celebrate his 70th birthday in 2007. Over the next 18 months, Hicks filmed Philip across three continents - from his annual ride on the Coney Island "Cyclone" roller coaster, to the world premiere of his new opera in Germany and in performance with a didgeridoo virtuoso Mark Atkins in Australia. Born in Baltimore, Glass discovered music as he worked in his father's radio store. Hicks documents his early studies and the somewhat precocious formation of his own ensemble to make certain his unusual compositions had a chance to find an audience. The 12 parts of the film focus on different aspects of Glass's work and both public and private worlds. The rapport Hicks developed over the prolonged shoot is indicated by candid conversations in which Glass addresses the off-camera Hicks. This rapport results in an affectionate and intimate portrait of Glass. A recent visitor to Melbourne to perform Book of Longing, his collaboration with Leonard Cohen, Glass's works include opera, theater pieces, dance, film and song. Fan's of Glass's music will love this film and it offers a wonderful introduction for strangers to his oeuvre.