Ah summer!

There are certain events that happen every year which really mark the season in Melbourne. Cricket. Tennis. The Suzuki Night Market. Free music in the parks. And one of my favourites, outdoor cinema.

Every year I try to get to at least one summer movie screening under the stars – it’s still a novelty outing for me. Despite growing up in balmy Brisbane, outdoor cinema never really took off while I was living there. I think people were just used to hiding from the humidity inside air-conditioned multiplexes and the thought of sitting on a rug battling bugs to watch an old film didn’t really appeal.

Melburnians are a much hardier lot! Despite the freezing, blustery weather that greeted us for our screening of The Blues Brothers at Rooftop Cinema, it was a sold out session. We wore long pants, jackets, brought a rug and still needed to hire another rug ($5 and totally worth it if you don’t dress up in ski gear, like one movie-goer we spotted).

Despite Melbourne’s unpredictable and at times inclement weather, Rooftop Cinema is a magical experience. Have a pre-movie drink at the Rooftop bar or enjoy burgers, fries and ice-cream from All-Day Burger (courtesy of the folks behind Beatbox Kitchen).

Listen to the sounds of the city’s nightlife rise up amongst the rooftops. Watch the lights of the city glow glamorrously against the fading light.

Then sit back in a deck chair, curl up under your blanket(s) and sing along to ‘Rawhide’ in the ‘mission from God’.

I heart you Melbourne. Thank you for bringing us Rooftop Cinema.

Rooftop Cinema, 6/252 Swanston St, Melbourne

The Environmental Film Festival Melbourne is back again this year with more environmental themed films screening from 11-16 October at Kino Cinemas, 45 Collins St, Melbourne.

The aim of the festival is to increase awareness of key environmental issues by bringing together film-makers, experts, policy makers, politicians and the wider community in an open conversation about the world we live in. Click here to read an interview from last year with the director of the festival, Nicholas Aberle.

Thanks to the Environmental Film Festival Melbourne I have a double pass to give away to two films – Into Eternity and City Light.

Into Eternity is screening on Friday 14 October 8:30pm. Every day, the world over, large amounts of high-level radioactive waste created by nuclear power plants is placed in interim storages, which are vulnerable to natural disasters, man-made disasters, and to societal changes. In Finland the world’s first permanent repository is being hewn out of solid rock – a huge system of underground tunnels – that must last 100,000 years as this is how long the waste remains hazardous. Once the waste has been deposited and the repository is full, the facility is to be sealed off and never opened again. Or so we hope, but can we ensure that?

City Dark has its Australian Premiere on Saturday, 15 October 9:00pm. This is a feature documentary about light pollution and the disappearing night sky. After moving to New York City from rural Maine, filmmaker Ian Cheney asks a simple question, “Do we need the stars?”. Exploring the threat of killer asteroids in Hawaii, tracking hatching turtles along the Florida coast, and rescuing injured birds on Chicago streets, Cheney unravels the myriad implications of a globe glittering with lights. Featuring stunning astrophotography and a cast of eclectic scientists, philosophers, historians and lighting designers, “The City Dark” is the definitive story of light pollution and the disappearing stars.

If you’d like to win the tickets, just leave a comment below letting me know which film you’d like to see. The winners will be drawn randomly on Monday 10 October. Good luck!

You can buy tickets for these movies and other sessions here.  Tickets are $18 adults  $14 concession and multi-passes are available here.

A few days ago I went to see the new Mike Mills new comedy/drama Beginners on the strength of several recommendations from friends. I loved it! Funny, quirky, sweet and honest. I think the official film website describes the plotline the best:

Beginners imaginatively explores the hilarity, confusion, and surprises of love through the evolving consciousness of Oliver (Ewan McGregor). Oliver meets the irreverent and unpredictable Anna (Mélanie Laurent) only months after his father Hal Fields (Christopher Plummer) has passed away.

This new love floods Oliver with memories of his father, who, following the death of his wife of 45 years, came out of the closet at age 75 to live a full, energized, and wonderfully tumultuous gay life – which included a younger boyfriend, Andy (Goran Visnjic). The upheavals of Hal’s new honesty, by turns funny and moving, brought father and son closer than they’d ever been able to be. Now Oliver endeavors to love Anna with all the bravery, humor, and hope that his father taught him.

I have several 2 for 1 ticket passes for the season. You can use the passes Mondays to Fridays at participating cinemas. Here’s the trailer to whet your appetite.

If you’d like a pass, just include a comment below and the winners will be drawn randomly at the end of today. Good luck!

Pina in 3D is a 3D film about the German dance pioneer Pina Bausch by the director Wim Wenders. The film takes the audience on a sensual, visually stunning journey of discovery, drawing us deeply into the unique and inspiring art of Bausch. It must be pretty spectacular seeing dance in a 3D screen.

I have several 2 for 1 ticket passes for the Pina in 3D season which starts on 18 August. You can use the passes Mondays to Fridays during the film’s theatrical season in Melbourne at Cinema Nova and Palace Balwyn Cinemas.

If you’d like a pass, just include a comment below and the winners will be drawn randomly at the end of today. Good luck!

This year RM and I have selected the films for our 10 film mini-pass in a slightly different manner. In one way we’ve been constrained by the fact that we have a little baby, which means that we can only see films together if we can get a babysitter and we can’t see several films back to back. On the other hand, limited movie date nights together means that we’ve been free to go our on way with our cinematic interests.

So, here are the films that RM and I have chosen to see this year. Our leanings are towards international award-winning European cinema (me), music documentaries (him), feelgood films involving kids (me), Japanese films (him), Eastern European comedies (me), sports documentaries (him) and dark Korean films (me).

There are 200+ films on offer and your film-going tastes may not necessarily match mine – but as this year’s tagline says ‘only the best films make the cut’.

2014 – MY WEDDING AND OTHER SECRETS New Zealand audiences have embraced this charming, oddball comedy about the challenges of cross-cultural love.

5022 – NORWEGIAN WOODWith this adaptation of the best-selling novel by Haruki Murakami, acclaimed Vietnamese-French director Tran Anh Hung (The Scent of Green Papaya, Cyclo) has created a dark and strikingly haunting film about love and loss.

6024 – LIFE IN A DAYA historic cinematic experiment shot by thousands of people in 192 countries, Life in a Day is the true story of a single day on Earth.

3032 – 33 POSTCARDSAn inter-continental journey with a little girl lost and an adult looking to be found.

4046 – PRINCIPLES OF LIFE How hard can it possibly be to organise a family holiday?

2053 – KHODORKOVSKY “For me, as for anybody, it is hard to live in prison, and I do not want to die here. But if I have to, I will have no hesitation. What I believe in is worth dying for.” – Mikhail Khodorkovsky

1067 – SENNA “A high-octane bio of one of auto racing’s greatest figures.” – Variety

6074 – FIRE IN BABYLON “My bat was my sword.” – Vivian Richards

2078 – PROJECT NIM “Reminds us that while our close genetic relatives are as intelligent as they come, we can be the biggest chumps.” – Guardian

4083 – HOW TO DIE IN OREGON “A beautifully intimate look at terminally ill patients who choose to end their lives painlessly and legally.” – Variety

1090 – THE UNJUST “Achieves a happy marriage between commercial savvy and artistic integrity in its hard-hitting depiction of Seoul as a city of corruption.” - Hollywood Reporter

2097 – BEING ELMO “There are Piggy people in the world, and Kermit people, and Grover people, but Elmo people are everywhere.” – Variety

8105 – VIVA RIVA! Violent, kinetic and sexy, crime thriller Viva Riva! stares down the barrel of Kinshasa’s savage criminal underworld, shattering staid preconceptions of African filmmaking.

3112 – BEATS, RHYMES & LIFE: THE TRAVELS OF A TRIBE CALLED QUEST Hollywood actor Michael Rapaport brings the story of hip-hop’s finest to the screen with a fan’s devotion.

9118 – CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS Cinematic legend Werner Herzog presents an astonishing glimpse of our prehistoric forebears.

3128 – EXPORTING RAYMOND An attempt to export the hit US TV show Everybody Loves Raymond to Russia makes for a front row seat to a comedic culture-clash.

Down a dimly lit laneway we lined up as the clues to the film were slowly revealed to us. Men and women in yukata and kimonos. Fawning bath house attendants fluttering fans and bowing low. Creepy faceless robed beings moving amongst the crowd.

We were ushered into the dragon room of the first floor of the museum, a very apt reception point with silent grinning lion headresses leering down at you in the dim light.

Have a look at the pictures – can you guess what the film is?

Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, of course!

Please send your name and mobile phone number to joyce@melhotornot.com so you can be put on the door list.

Thanks again to Underground Cinema for sponsoring the giveaway.

The lovely people at Underground Cinema are great supporters of the blog ((see my review of their previous event) and once again they’re offering a free double pass to their next screening on Sunday 29 May at 6pm. This isn’t just a bog-standard double pass though – it’s a VIP double pass which includes a drink on arrival and is valued at $100!

This month’s screening has the following intriguing introduction:

Irasyaimase!

The theme is ‘magical’ and the dress code is Oriental/Magical/Harajuku – any guesses? The location is secret of course but I can tell you that it’s in the CBD….

To win the VIP double pass all you have to do leave a comment below by midnight Sunday 29 May.

The winner will be drawn randomly on Monday, just in time for you to work out your outfit. You can also buy tickets for this session and other sessions on Friday 27 May or Saturday 28 May via Moshtix.

Please send your name and mobile phone number to joyce@melhotornot.com with your preferred screening time so you can be put on the door list.

Thanks again to Underground Cinema for sponsoring the giveaway.

Happy Valentines Day!

Nothing is more romantic than a movie under the stars, so today’s giveaway is perfect for all you lovebirds out there.

St Kilda Openair Cinema screens new release and classic movies on the rooftop of the iconic St Kilda sea baths. It’s a pretty special atmosphere as you watch the sun set and listen to the waves lap below you, then snuggle into your deck chair to enjoy the show.

I’m thrilled that St Kilda Openair Cinema are offering 5 free double passes for blog readers to see any movie remaining in the 2011 season, which ends on 26 February. The selection of films is pretty eclectic, from Gallic rom-com Heartbreaker, childhood favourite The Neverending Story to 80s classic Top Gun.

All you have to do is be one of the first 5 people to email shannon@australianopenair.com.au with the film you’d like to see. You’ll then be put on the guest list for that film and on the night simply check in at the door.

Good luck!

K: “Umm…ok. I don’t really get it but it sounds intriguing…”

Intrigue is the key to the success of Underground Cinema. The premise is this  – you buy a movie ticket ($35). At the time of booking all you’re told is the theme of the movie – you don’t know the name of the film.  The location of the screening is also undisclosed (but generally inner-city Melbourne). You plan your dress-up outfit and a few days before the show you’re told where to meet. Turn up, enjoy the entertainment – and all is revealed when the opening credits start.

So why would you want to buy a ticket for an unknown film? Because Underground Cinema is not just about the movie, it’s about the overall experience. The sold-out screening that I attended had a 1920s/gangster theme and from 4:30pm Chapel Street was lined with red-lipped flappers in slinky dresses and feather boas, escorted by dapper men in tuxedos and trench coats. We entered the glamorous Red Bennies to the sounds of The Cairo Club Orchestra bopping out jazz tunes and big band numbers and admired the frantic swing dancers from Swing Patrol.

Now whenever there’s a dress-up party I’m normally the party-pooper who doesn’t turn up in costume. But in this case I did make a little effort and I’m glad that I did – because 99% of the crowd did get dressed up and it really added to the decadent Great Gatsby-esque atmosphere of the event. I really felt like I’d been transported back into the Jazz Age, minus the cigarette fog. Some people who paid more sat in booths and were served sparking by Moulin Rouge waitresses in feather head-dresses. I loved people-watching for the hour or so before the movie started and the fun foot-tapping music was right up my alley (though no Charleston for this pregnant lady).

And the movie? It was 1931 film Little Caesar starring Edward G. Robinson and Douglas Fairbanks Jnr. As you’d expect from an old black and white Hollywood film (even one nominated as culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant by the Library of Congress) the acting was a bit forced and the gangster accents were almost unintelligible.  I think most of the crowd gave up watching the film and just drank and chatted, occasionally popping a party popper or blowing a straw whistle. So be warned if you’re a diehard cinephile – if you go to Underground Cinema you’ll find it difficult to concentrate on the film and will spend a lot of time trying to shush people.

The Prohibition Speakeasy party was the last screening for 2010 but with the regular sell-out success of Underground Cinema I suggest you get on the mailing list to receive information about the 2011 screenings. It’s a really fun experience that is very far removed from your average sterile cinemaplex.

For more fabulous photos from the event, check our their Flickr set.

• Underground Cinema Prohibition Speakeasy Party, Red Bennies, 373 Chapel St, South Yarra +61 3 9826 2689

As you’ve no doubt noticed from the blog, I like parties and I like bikes. So there was no way that I was going to miss the opening party of Melbourne Bikefest, Melbourne’s celebration all things bike-related for the next 4 days based at 1000 £ Bend (note that my business CycleStyle is also a sponsor of Bikefest, but even if this wasn’t the case this is so my thing).

Bike valet parking – a great idea thanks to Crumpler for when you have that many bikes all congregating in one place. Look how many more bikes you can fit in the same space in a carpark.

Crazy bike riding antics in the carpark!

Hear a story and/or share your story about your experience with bikes at Bike Story. Stories collected at Bikefest will be posted at the conclusion of the festival.

Some of CycleStyle‘s products on display (and for sale) in the Bike Shop – colourful bells and skirt garters.

More Cyclestyle goodness – French bike satchel, reflective legwarmers, floral helmet and all sized bags for fitting on your bike.

Two of my VIP guests for the evening, Cheryl from Business Chic and Kealey from Thelma Magazine.

Cute Bikefest badges – I like the presentation too, using an old wheel.

There is so much more stuff happening in the next 4 days that I can’t list or describe them all here – so I suggest you go check out the program for yourself. And if you don’t ride a bike, no big deal – there’s something for everyone at the Bikefest. To read an interview with Pip Carroll, the director of Melbourne Bikefest, click here.

It all bodes well for the upcoming Melbourne Bikefest, a 5 day festival being held at 1000 £ Bend which will celebrate all things cycling related in our city. Today’s HOT Chat is with Pip Carroll, the director of Melbourne Bikefest. Thanks Pip!

Pip, tell me a bit more about your background and what inspired you to start Melbourne Bikefest?

My background is pretty varied, I’ve been running a business called Ambiguous Horse since 2006 that specialises in management, marketing and producing for the arts and cultural industries. So I’m always working on something different. Ambiguous Horse, supported by a volunteer committee produced the Melbourne Bicycle Film Festival from 2007 to 2009.

Earlier this year we decided to branch out from the BFF and create a new event designed especially for Melbourne – and Melbourne Bikefest was born!

We wanted to celebrate and support an emerging bike culture in Melbourne, one that is less focused on sport and recreation and more interested in bikes as a means of daily transport, integrated into other parts of life. The more people that choose a bike over a car, the better the road conditions will be for everyone, including motorists. For people to choose to ride however they need to identify as bike riders, and through Bikefest we hope to create something more people can see themselves being a part of.

What is Melbourne Bikefest all about? What can visitors expect to see or experience?

Melbourne Bikefest is about celebrating bikes in everyday life. This doesn’t mean that you need to ride one everyday to enjoy it though! In fact there are only one or two events in the entire program that actually requite you to be on a bike. Most of the program is devoted to other cultural activities – art, design, music, fashion, shopping, forums, workshops, and advocacy projects. Bikefest really is more of a cultural festival about bikes than a ‘cycling’ event.

The majority of our activities are held right in the middle of the city at 1000 £ Bend. We will offer Bicycle Valet Parking for anyone that rides, but it’s a very easy place to get to via public transport. Over 5 days the space will host events and activities from morning to night, all against a backdrop of art and interactive installations. Plus a bar!

At the end of the day it’s really just about having a good time and giving people a glimpse of life on two wheels.

What is your one must-do recommendation for Melbourne Bikefest?

I’m always reluctant to choose just one thing! We’ve programmed Melbourne Bikefest so that you have the opportunity to experience several different activities all in the one visit. However I would say that the Bikefest Great Debate will be a night to remember, we’ve got together some amazing local comedians to put a light hearted spin on the argument that ‘Bikes are the best form of transport’. It features Charlie Pickering, Hannah Gadsby, Bart Freebairn, Lawrence Leung, Harley Breen, Andrew McClelland and is moderated by Josh Earl.

My other recommendation, for those that like to dress up (and who doesn’t?) would be the Melbourne Tweed Ride. Leaving from the State Library steps, it’s a slow cruise in salute to times gone by. Hopefully it will help redress some of the crimes against Lycra we see all too frequently on the streets of Melbourne.

Why do you like cycling, and particularly in Melbourne?

Wow I like riding a bike for so many reasons, where do I start? First up would have to be sense of freedom I get riding. If I have a frustrating day, chained to the desk, feeling like I’m not getting anywhere, stuck in the treadmill of life, riding home just unravels all of that immobility and delivers a palpable sense of achievement.

I’m also one of those people that has subconscious punctuality sabotage syndrome – I think I can get anywhere in 20 minutes. Thankfully on a bike in Melbourne it’s mostly true.

And do I need to mention the great things it does for your butt?

Finally, what are your HOT tips for Melbourne where you like take your bike?

I like going to the Penny Farthing Espresso (206 High St, Northcote +61 3 9482 2246). It’s just up the road from my house and has a welcoming and relaxed vibe. The coffee is good, the food uncomplicated and satisfying and they always seem to be exceptionally well staffed with polite and good-looking Gen Y employees. What more could you ask for?

Down the road is The Movie Reel (69 High Street, Westgarth +61 3 9486 8866). It’s a great old school DVD hire place that’s good for a bit of eavesdropping on a Friday night. They have an amazing range. I reviewed some bike movies last year and they had every title I asked for. Plus they don’t mind if you tell them the fine belongs to your ‘housemate’.

I’m partial to popping down to the Ceres Organic Market & Shop (Cnr Roberts and Stewart Streets, Brunswick East +61 3 9389 0100) on a Saturday morning. It’s a lovely ride down along the Merri Creek and it’s great to see the chickens that have laid the eggs you’re about to eat. There’s also something very satisfying about whipping your credit card out in the open air.

Also nearby is Fowlers Flowers (488 Queens Parade, Clifton Hill +61 3 9489 9114). It’s next door to another favourite café, Mixed Business (486 Queens Parade, Clifton Hill +61 3 9486 1606). Their arrangements are simple and beautiful and inspire me to clean the house so the flowers have a more fitting backdrop.

Melbourne Bikefestt is being held from Wednesday 24 November to Sunday 28 November. CycleStyle is one of the sponsors – if you see me at any of the events or speaking on a forum, please come say hi! For more program information, click here.

Melbourne’s love affair with coffee and bikes continues with the new kid on the (laneway) block, The Little Mule Company & Cafe.

The Little Mule Company make colourful custom-made fixies in their small workshop and the bikes also provide eye-catching wall hangings for the airy warehouse aesthetic of their small adjoining cafe.

For bike and non-bike lovers, it’s a relaxing place to hang out, away from the bustle of Little Bourke Street and Melbourne Central, with a soundtrack of friendly barista banter and the occasional hiss of the coffee machine. There’s a high wooden communal table where people seem to like to hold casual office meetings, a couple of smaller tables and a cushy couch abutting one exposed brick wall. Water glasses and sugar receptacles are recycled jam jars. Really, it’s got ‘Melbourne laneway hideout’ stamped all over it.

I was lured to The Little Mule Company not just for the bikes, but because they were touting themselves on Facebook as having ‘the best milkshakes in town’. In their old-fashioned milkshakes ($5) they use syrup from Crows Nest Soft Drinks, a Queensland company that’s been making its drinks and syrups since 1903. Sadly, when I was there the one flavour I wanted to try, chocolate malt, wasn’t available – so I took a raincheck for next time.

I settled myself at the communal table and perused their simple lunch menu of toasted melts and sandwiches, baguettes and daily salad/soup (depending on the season), finally deciding on a baguette with smoked salmon, rocket, dill butter and avocado ($8). The menu also has a couple of breakfast options and all-day nibbly things like nuts and olives.

My sandwich came quickly and while simple, it was satisfying and fresh. Chock full of smoked salmon and with lots of crunchy greens stuffed inside. Nicely done.

The cafe also pride themselves in their coffee – sorry I can’t say anything about the coffee as I’m not a coffee-drinker, so if anyone has had the coffee would love to hear your views.

Finally, for the bike enthusiasts and cinephiles out there, The Little Mule Company are hosting Laneway Cinema as their offficial opening event (even though they’re already open). In conjunction with Melbourne Bikefest, they’ll be presenting the Australian premiere of ‘To Live & Ride In LA’  on Thursday November 25th, kicking off from 7:30pm with some pre-show entertainment followed by the movie at dusk. More information here.

• The Little Mule Company & Cafe, 19 Somerset Place, Melbourne +61 3 9670 4904

What better way to start off the week than to win some free stuff?

Specifically, I have some free passes to the new film Gainsbourg which tells the story of the iconic French singer, poet, writer and actor Serge Gainsbourg. Here’s a review of the film in The Guardian.

I have preview passes to admit two people for preview screenings this weekend Friday 29, Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 October (not valid after 5pm on Saturday). Once those are gone, I have some more 2-for-1 tickets valid for Mondays to Fridays from 4 November until the end of the film’s theatrical season.

To win, all you have to do is send me an email joyce@melhotornot.com with your name and postal address. Tickets will be allocated in order the emails are received, so be quick!

I’m still on Delicate Mayhem‘s mailing list, so I was quite excited to discover that some works from this London artist are now stocked exclusively in Australia, right here in Melbourne. While you can’t buy our wonderful Melbourne picture, you can buy other works from Delicate Mayhem and other artists in a gallery space/shop in Prahran called Signed and Numbered.

This week’s HOT Chat is with Jacqui Vidal, the 28 year old owner of Signed and Numbered. Thanks Jacqui!

Jacqui, tell me a bit more about your background and how you came to start your business Signed and Numbered?

Everyone thinks I must have studied art history or be an artist myself but nothing could be further from the truth. Before I started Signed and Numbered I was an event manager and avid traveller. It was whilst I was in Paris that I stumbled across a little gallery that displayed photos in hard-backed sleeves that allowed customers to flick through the offerings. I fell in love with this hands on approach to art and when I settled down in my home town of Melbourne, I decided to open up a gallery that looked and felt a bit like a record store.

How you select the artworks you sell and where do you source them from?

We ask for exclusivity within Australia, so it was a matter of getting out there to art fairs, gallery openings, hopping online and picking up great publications like Wooden Toy and Semi-Permanent to source new artist to contact. We’re really happy with the line up, which includes the likes of Vexta, Twoone, Kareena Zerofos and Kelly Smith.

Where do you turn for art inspiration?

The laneways of Melbourne. The amount of great art that’s out there 24/7 for anyone and everyone to admire for free is a testament to Melbourne’s street art scene and the City of Melbourne for knowing enough about art to classify it as a public service rather than vandalism.

What has been the most challenging thing you’ve faced in starting up your own business? What advice would you give to a small business owner?

I think the saying ‘you’re your own worst enemy’ rings true for most of us. I’ve had many panic attacks and periods of self-doubt along the way but I’m glad I forged ahead and believed in myself. Confidence in self is the key to making thing happen!

What are your next plans for Signed and Numbered?

I’m currently developing a leasing proposition for local cafes and businesses. I’d love it if my local café had different artworks for me to look at every week.

Finally, where are your HOT places to visit or things to do in Melbourne?

The Astor Cinema (1 Chapel St, St Kilda +61 3 9510 1414) – the best choc tops in the world – especially the arctic banana one.

Fawkner Park (65 Toorak Rd, South Yarra) – the best off lead dog park in Melbourne.

A Shop Called Milton (153 Greville St, Prahran 3 9529 5649) and Urban Jungle (155 Greville Street, Prahran +61 3 9533 8844) – unique home wares and accessories.

Sunday Morning Rotary Market in Camberwell (Station Street, Camberwell) – the best bargain finds as long as you don’t mind an early wake up call.

Your prescription: Hi Michael, it’s great to  hear that you’re doing your research in your quest to impress a girl! My suggestions for where you could take a classical musical fan are:

A concert by Melbourne Symphony Orchestra http://www.mso.com.au/cpa/htm/htm_home.asp
A concert at Melbourne’s traditional concert hall Melbourne Recital Centre https://www.melbournerecital.com.au/
Recitals which tend to feature young artists at Australian National Academy of Music http://www.anam.com.au/
My personal favourite, Classic Jam, which takes classical music out of the concert hall http://classicjam.org/

There are other options involving opera, both live and in HD cinema such as those of the Metropolitan Opera and the Palace Opera & Ballet series.

Good luck! Joyce

One of the most oft-asked questions for the doctor is a list of must-dos for a weekend trip to Melbourne.

When answering, I assume that most visitors are either aware of or have done the usual ‘touristy’ stuff. So here are my Melbourne Top 10 to do/eat/see suggestions which are slightly more hidden, in no particular order. Most of them I’ve reviewed before so you can find further info on the site.

1. Eat at Italy 1, MoVida Aqui, Cutler & Co, Grossi Florentino Grill, The European. You may need to book…

2. Wander down Centre Place, between Flinders Lane and Collins St then Degraves St. I recommend the almond chicken baguettes and crepes at Aix, the lunch food at Jungle Juice, Hell’s Kitchen for drinks, Body for subtle, Melbourne-esque clothing. Further on try Journal Cafe at the City Library or Journal Canteen (Rosa’s Kitchen) next door. Oh, and have a waffle at Waffle On for dessert.

3. Do the Characters and Spaces free guided walk, which covers a similar area to 2. You’ll appreciate new views of Melbourne that even the locals miss.

4. Do a free guided tour at NGV International. Guildford Lane has 2 independent galleries worth checking out – Utopian Slumps and Guildford Lane Gallery.

5. Shop at GPO, Flinders Lane, Lt Collins St, Brunswick St, Smith St, Gertrude St.

6. Walk in any of the parks. My favourite is Fawkner Park in South Yarra.

7. Poke around Queen Vic Markets (or any of Melbourne’s food markets), maybe buy some food for a night in.

8. See a movie at old-fashioned Astor in Windsor or The Sun in Yarraville. Lots of shopping/eating around those areas too – Windsor end of Chapel St in particular has great vintage and designer shops.

9. Have dinner one night along Southbank and ask for a table with a river view. I recommend Walter’s Wine Bar, Tutto Bene, Rockpool, Nobu, The Brasserie and Number 8. Also heard Bistro Guillaume is very good.

10. Lunch at St Kilda on a Sunday…Donovans and The Stokehouse are institutions by the water. Otherwise head to St Kilda East which is very cool and an eclectic Eastern European/Jewish area.

There’s so much more! What are your Melbourne must-dos for visitors?

Today’s HOT Chat is with Nicholas Aberle, the director of the inaugural Environmental Film Festival Melbourne being held at Kino Cinemas next week (16-19 September).

A disclaimer – Nicholas is a friend of a friend, but even if he wasn’t the festival is something I want to support – anti-bottled water, food waste and rescue, not using plastic bags, organic produce are all issues which are close to my heart. Plus I like films :–)

Nicholas, tell me a bit more about your background and how you came to be the Festival Director of the Environmental Film Festival Melbourne?

My wife and I had been living in the US for a few years, and some friends of ours had been involved in organising a new environmental film festival at the local university. Films are such a powerful way of getting a message across, and I found that everyone came out of the films inspired and motivated to try to make a difference. We saw Food Inc just before coming home at the start of this year, and I started thinking about showing it to a bunch of friends back here (this was before it starting screening around Melbourne).

Then I thought “oh, and there’s that other film I should show them as well”, and then it kind of snow-balled into organising an entire film festival. We roped in a few friends with the skills that we thought we’d need, and the rest is almost history.

What can audiences expect to see at the Environmental Film Festival Melbourne?

People are going to see some amazing films. These aren’t your David-Attenborough-nature-documentary kind of thing, it’s way better than that. These films are equal parts fascinating, terrifying and entertaining.

Some of the films are very hard hitting and paint grim pictures, like Climate Refugees and Sweet Crude – there’s no sunshine and lollipops when you’re talking about millions of people being displaced by catastrophic climate change or about the decimation of an entire region and its people by years of oil extraction. This is serious stuff and the film-makers don’t hold back from telling it like it is. Nor should they.

Others are more light-hearted, like Dive! and Bag It, which have their fair share of laughs, but still discuss very important issues. For example, until I’d seen Bag It, I had no idea just how much the plastics we use everyday affect our bodies in really bad ways. And that’s the key: all these films talk about issues that people should know about.

On top of the films, we’ll be having a discussion panel each night of the festival. The idea of these panels is to give the audience a chance to ask questions about the issues that come up, and to get an idea of what we’re doing in Australia to solve some of these problems. We want people to engage with these issues, and to become part of the solution. And if there is no solution right now, then let’s start a healthy and informed debate about what type of solutions we should be looking for, and how we’re going to get there.

Image from Sweet Crude

What is your one must-see recommendation for the festival?

Wow, that’s a tough one. I have a hard enough time narrowing it down to even a few. But since you ask, I’m going to say Climate Refugees, which is our opening night film. It is probably the most powerful film I have ever seen, because it gives a human face to what is the most pressing issue currently confronting human civilisation. It shows us people whose lives are being ruined right now by climate change, and it makes the very simple but critically important point that this is only going to get worse, and affect more people, including us here in Australia, unless we actually do something about it.

What do you enjoy most about working on the Environmental Film Festival Melbourne?

I enjoy being part of something that is going to simultaneously inform and entertain, and ultimately, I hope, contribute in a positive way to debates on important issues.

Most of these films haven’t been seen in Melbourne, or Australia for that matter, and so it has been really exciting getting them all together and thinking about what people are going to be talking about as they leave the cinema after having seen them.

Image from A Sea Change

What are some of the most interesting or challenging aspects you’ve encountered running a film festival for the first time?

By far the most interesting part has been watching all the films! There were plenty of great films that we saw that we just couldn’t fit in to our schedule, so it was a tough selection process. It has been a lot of work for our committee in pulling it all together, but so many people have been so enthusiastic and willing to help out. And we’ve had such great feedback from pretty much everyone we’ve spoken to about it, so it seems that this is something that Melburnians have been waiting for.

As for some of the challenges… well, lets just say it has been a steep learning curve. Doing a google search for “how to run a film festival” early on was a good move!

Finally, what are your tips for what’s HOT in Melbourne?

The Pinnacle (251 St George’s Road, North Fitzroy +61 3 9489 3044) – it’s that perfect blend of laid-back and very cool, plus its just around the corner from my house, so that makes it even better.

CERES Saturday market – so much better than walking around under the fluorescent lights of a supermarket, plus, you don’t get many live jazz bands in Coles.

The inaugural Environmental Film Festival Melbourne will be held at Kino Cinemas from 16-19 September 2010 – see you there, I’ll be watching Tapped, Dive! and Bag It. You can also find out more about the festival by joining their Facebook page.

Floria Sigismondi is the director of some of the most impressive music videos of the past fifteen years. Her dark, seductive work has accompanied music by the likes of Marilyn Manson, David Bowie, Interpol, the White Stripes and even Christina Aguilera; strangely, even if you don’t like the song you can be drawn in by the stunning visuals.

It’s no surprise, then, that she’s now moved into film direction — the only surprise is that it took her this long.

Sigismondi’s debut feature film is The Runaways, which chronicles the rise, and later fall, of the band of the same name. I knew little of the band aside from the fact that it featured Joan Jett and that they had the hit ‘Cherry Bomb’.  I certainly knew nothing of the lead singer Cherie Currie, or the fact that the girls were all barely fifteen when they rapidly shot to fame in their ‘manufactured’ all-girl rock ‘n’ roll fantasy group.

The film stars teen actors Kristin Stewart of Twilight fame (who captures teen Joan Jett amazingly) and Dakota Fanning (I am Sam, Charlotte’s Web) as Cherie Currie.  And, while Stewart does a stand-out job portraying Jett’s f*** you attitude and angsty stoop, it’s Fanning’s portrayal of Currie that really makes the film. What these girls went through at such a young age is truly mind-boggling, and Currie’s downfall, with the help of her drug addiction, is heartbreaking.

There are many great things about this film. It’s not going to make anyone’s top 100 or go down in history, but it’s beautifully shot and is thoroughly enthralling from start to finish. There are other great performances as well — Michael Shannon’s portrayal of the sleazy, eccentric band manage Kim Fowley proves very entertaining, and Cherie’ twin sister Marie is nicely played by Riley Keough.

The Runaways is highly recommended if you want to want to spend two hours in a movie without feeling bored for a second.

MIFF

The poster for I Love You Phillip Morris shows a gay couple with two pooches, Barbie-like hair and glowing skin. They carry the trademark smile that Jim Carrey is famous for. The whole thing beckons like a straight-up comedy from the wrapper, but the film’s deep and thoughtful handling of the true story of Steven Russell and Phillip Morris makes Ficarra and Requa’s film a highly enjoyable experience.

Steven Russell is a cop who does well and means well. On the surface, he is in a loving marriage with a religious wife who would make any Texan proud. But God wants him to come out, and so he does after a car accident forces him to reassess his life. He reveals to his wife that he is gay and he has been having affairs. He moves to Miami, gets a boyfriend and starts living the sex-and-the-city life.

However, as they mention in the film, being gay is expensive. Clever as he is, Steven beats the system with fraud and becomes a con man to get beautiful things for himself and his lover. All’s well until finally he gets caught and put in jail. This may sound like the end of the story, but actually, it is just the beginning.

His time in jail brings love to his life when he meets Phillip Morris, and for love, he’s ready to do anything. The following 80 minutes or so surprise, delight, depress and force the viewer into fits of laughter. This crazy, clever, romantic man does what he can to make sure they stay together despite their circumstances and to enjoy what life has to offer. It might just be the best romantic comedy for those who hate traditional romantic comedies as it is littered with dark themes that remind us we’re watching a true story.

With his performance as Steven Russell, Jim Carrey once again proves he is an actor with range. The Carrey we watch is not the same one we’ve seen in any of his screwball comedies; it’s closer to his performance in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. His trademark cheesy smile is still there, but his portrayal is inherently believable and convincing. Similarly, Ewan McGregor matches Carrey’s performance with his wide eyes, naiveté, and Southern accent.

The great performances of the leads are coupled with an astute script and effective editing that drives home the surprising tactics of this con man. At more than one occasion, I found myself as deceived as anyone else in the film.

I Love You Phillip Morris has the right amount of all things essential to make it a great film. This is one that shouldn’t be missed so go buy your ticket!

So RM and I were flicking through the MIFF program and he surprised me by saying that he wanted to see ‘a visual diary of Sara [Ziff]’s experiences within the sometimes glamourous, often controversial, world of an international fashion model.’ He said that he’d read some good reviews about the documentary, that it was a no-holds-barred insight into the exploitation and dark side of modelling and was particularly effective because some of the people who were filmed did not realise that they were going to be part of a documentary.

It was pleasant enough to watch pretty girls wearing pretty clothes for 90 minutes, kind of like seeing Vogue come to life. But the supposed ‘insights’ included:

• when you’re a model you get paid a lot of money to be pretty and on time, and after a while you can get used to the money;
• a model who jumped into a hot tub with a completely naked photographer and was surprised when he made a move;
• feeling annoyed because you often have to pay for your friends on holidays in St Barts because you earn 80-100k every time you work;
• you are often treated like a prop, your hair gets pulled, your skin gets burnt;
• backstage of a catwalk show is chaos and you have to get undressed in front of everyone, often within sight of the backstage photographers;
• working as a tall, thin coathanger means you get a warped sense of the ideal body shape;
• modelling and jetsetting around the world can be really tiring and the lack of sleep can play havoc to your skin and your emotions;
• after a couple of years of walking up and down in a straight line and posing for cameras, modelling can start to feel kind of empty and pointless and it’s a challenge to work out what you want to do next; and
• there are lots of too-young, too-skinny girls in the industry.

Yawn. I feel sorry for any young girl who is placed in a situation where they are likely to be exploited or even sexually assaulted, but Picture Me taught me nothing new about the modelling industry and it was boring.

I did like the opening credits though. They were pretty creative.

Picture Me Trailer

Picture Me | MySpace Video

Friends J+B were at the MIFF screening last night and thought that it was very funny and effective – a HOT. I have a preview pass to the film in August, so I’ll be interested to see whether my views agree with Yalin or J+B. Thanks Yalin!

Let me preface this review by saying that I do not lack a sense of humour but I don’t believe one can boil down the intricacies of home-grown terrorism into a comedy.

The truth is that Morris’ presentation of his characters in Four Lions does not constitute a dark comedy; it is just a bad film. It completely omits the psychological, social and religious background that would be necessary to develop the mindset of a terrorist. I urge anyone, who is inclined to find out, to read Shiv Malik’s article on the issue over at Prospect Magazine, which is well researched and written.

Morris, on the other hand, implies that the making of a terrorist is to be laughed at, which doesn’t make the situation any more tolerable or funny for that matter. It is just dangerous. As much as I love escapism, this is one film that is so disconnected from its characters and their community that it doesn’t just escape the issue but rather misrepresent it.

Morris’ TV background glares throughout the film and its handling of the central issue. It picks up with the assumption that the four main characters have decided to be jihadists and never bothers to explain why. This assumption and treatment may work well for TV productions, but it just doesn’t fly high on the big screen. Two-dimensional characters cannot exhibit the urgency required to sustain a feature-length film, especially one that deals with a tough topic like terrorism. Morris’ characters start and end the same. They do not learn or grow; they do not change for better or worse. They have no real incentive to have become who they are or continue down their path, nor do they exhibit any identity confusion or have any issues in their life that would push them to pursue jihad. All we know is that they are all rather stupid, except for Omar, played by Riz Ahmed.

Omar is the ‘brains’ of the group. He’s the one who edits their ridiculous videos, the abundance of which says more about their narcissism than their dedication to the ideals they are fighting for. The others are less rounded, if you can call Omar a well-rounded character that is, where their main character trait is their naiveté. They come off as simpletons frankly, and the viewer gets to find out nothing more about them. We have no idea about their families, what they do to earn a living, how they have come to be friends with Omar, etc.

The worst script flaw though is related to the 5th recruit, a young Pakistani guy whose first appearance in the film ignites a sense of thoughtful commentary. It is the only moment in the film where Morris says something, but then true to form, he later degrades this one single moment of potential revelation by having him become one of the jihadists.

Despite its focus on unintelligent humour, Four Lions attempts to pull some dramatic strings towards the end and show a hip attitude towards violence a la Tarantino, but what might be construed as a cool approach is actually just annoying. The film really feels like a Western attitude towards the complexity of a suicide bomber. If something’s too hard to figure out or understand, people tend to joke around it in an attempt to diminish its importance and their lack of understanding.

Four Lions really feels like it was written by four British friends at a pub, who have no idea about the Pakistani community, the confusion that 2nd generation immigrants face when growing up and how terrorist organizations feed off of this. It is ignorance at its best, and as Thomas Gray says, ignorance is bliss, but it has no part in good film-making.

Briefly, The Red Chapel follows two Danish comics, one of them a handicapped and both born in Korea, as they visit North Korea ostensibly to perform a comedy act in the name of cultural exchange. In fact, the director, Mads Brügger, is using them as a pretext to film the inner workings of a brutal, totalitarian dictatorship.

Over the course of two weeks, they are followed everywhere by their translator, party line-toeing Mrs Pak, are accidentally forced to participate in a rally and have their comedy act turned into a celebration of North Korea and Kim Jong-il.

The film wasn’t so bad that I would have walked out, but it left me with a rather distasteful feeling.  I’ve been pondering how to describe the many ways in which the film didn’t work for me and I think the summary is that it felt exploitative and was neither funny nor insightful. For example:

• The film made fun of the propaganda spouted by Mrs Pak and the way in which she followed orders. This is a woman who has been brainwashed all her life by the regime and is there to protect the Danes from potentially embarrassing or inappropriate behaviour which may offend citizens. Yet she is ridiculed for her English, for tearing up at a Kim Jong-il monument and for saluting at a rally. And for simply being in the film and exposing her country to embarrassment, Brügger has possibly threatened her safety.
• The Danes’ deliberately amateur and unfunny comedy act is turned into a set piece for North Korean propaganda by the North Korean director. Is it not so unlikely that polite hosts, North Korean or otherwise, and not wishing to embarrass themselves or their guests, would try to turn a bad show into something palatable and amusing for the audience? No matter how gauche the end product may seem to us
• We are taken on the Danes’ sightseeing trip, where they tour monolithic concrete monuments, military bases and are presented with displays of amassed children singing, dancing and clapping. How is this new or insightful? Anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of North Korea would know that of course this is the kind of thing you’re going to be made to see by the regime.

Throughout the film I had the same feeling as when I watched Borat, when Sacha Baron Cohen tricked himself an invitation to a southern dinner party. There he proceeded to offend his hosts and the guests, all apparently in the name of exposing their hypocrisy and intolerance, but in fact just exploitng the politeness, patience and goodwill they felt they had to extend towards this uncouth guest.

As Jacob, the handicapped comedian, says at one stage to Brugger ‘do you have no moral scruples?’. That pretty much sums out my feeling as I left the cinema.

Here’s a list of what else I’m seeing at MIFF this year.

Regardless of my groupie-dom, Teenage Paparazzo is an enjoyable film reflecting on the nature of celebrity, society’s insatiable appetite for gossip, why we care about people we don’t actually know…and what constitutes ‘good’ parenting.

Austin Visschedyk is 13 years old, lives in West Hollywood…and earns a living braving the paparazzi crush with grown men as he photographs celebrities. One day he shoots Adrian Grenier, who realises that this blond-haired kid isn’t just doing it for kicks – he’s a serious paparazzo.

So Adrian asks Austin whether he can do a documentary following Austin into the world of professional celebrity stalking. It’s quite unnerving watching this blond-haired kid talk like an adult, swagger like an adult and his determination and focus as he sprints across the city at all hours of the night staking out nightclubs and private residences. It’s also interesting to see Austin receive a taste of his own medicine as he becomes more famous and as a camera crew follow his movements.

Along the way Grenier explores a world obsessed with celebrities and fame – and at one stage he jumps to the other side, going undercover as a paparazzo for a day just to see why and how they do it. The documentary interviews celebrities, journalists, paparazzo, and most interestingly for me, Austin’s parents. Because the film doesn’t just talk about what it’s like to be a celebrity, or what it’s like to shoot celebrities – there’s a very interesting power balance between Austin and his mother, who believes that Austin should be allowed to be provided with the freedom to work as a paparazzo at 2am despite still being a teenager.

You’re not going to come away from Teenage Paparazzo with amazing insights, but it’s an entertaining film coming from someone who’s part of the celebrity game about the celebrity game.

Here’s a list of what else I’m seeing at MIFF this year.

So I was very excited to see that one of the free events being held as part of State of Design 2010, Victoria’s design festival, was a screening of The Red Shoes. Not just at any cinema though – a screening held in the wunderkammer workshops of shoemakers Preston Zly, where everyone was invited to wear their red shoes.

We arrived at the dimly lit workshop via a nondescript carpark off Smith Street and was greeted by the smell of popcorn. Each guest was given a paper bag of popcorn, a glass of pink sparkling and a little chocolate – so cute! We were all asked to take a full –length photo with our red shoes – mine were red suede pumps by Georgina Goodman which you may have seen before. All red shoes worn to the event will form part of a photographic installation.

Inside the workshop red shoes abounded in the cabinets, on the walls and resting eerily on silenced shoe-making equipment – very Victorian Gothic.

Being early birds, we claimed the best spot – front row of the seats, behind the big mattress and cushions set out for the latecomers. My low easy-chair even had a granny crochet rug, a necessity after a while in the winter night chill.

As for the movie itself, many of you may be familiar with the classic 1948 film so I won’t delve into details – but if you’ve not seen it, get it out on DVD! The acting is a bit OTT compared to naturalistic modern methods but it’s still a lovely journey into my favourite place in the whole wide world – the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden – and the dream of ballet.

On leaving, we were all presented with a gift bag – a pair of luxurious Leona Edmiston opaque tights and a gift voucher of $100 towards a pair of Preston Zly shoes form The Signet Bureau on Gertude St. Time for some more red shoes perhaps?

Tonight is the last screening of Preston Zly and The Red Shoes – there may still be seats so RSVP at info@prestonzlydesign.com or call +61 3 9417 2176.

• Preston Zly and The Red Shoes, Preston Zly Studio, Rear 219 Smith St, Fitzroy +61 3 9417 2176

The Melbourne International Film Festival is my favourite way to celebrate winter in Melbourne, and this year, like other years, I’ve invested in a 10 film festival mini-pass.

Selecting the 10 films is always a protracted process of creating a longlist, a shortlist and the final 10. It requires the negotiation of RM’s tastes, coordination of social and film  schedules and a prediction as to post-work energy levels.

This year I’ve had some requests to publish my longlist. I should state now there are 200+ films on offer over the three weeks, and your film-going tastes may not necessarily match mine.

Off the top of my head I am generally biased against films which will be seen on general release later in the year (researched with the help of IMDB), shorts, anything described as ‘slow’ or ‘meditative’ and films featuring endangered animals, zombies or orchestral accompaniments. I am generally biased towards selecting at least one French/German film, one Nordic or Eastern European comedy, one Korean horror film, a quirky documentary, something ‘feelgood’ or ‘uplifting’ and maybe an international festival winner from Cannes, Berlin or Venice.

As the tagline for this year’s festival says ‘It’s a matter of taste’.

The festival guide isn’t available to the public until Friday 9 July, so unfortunately I can’t link to the film descriptions yet.

Homegrown – Australian Cinema

Making It Handmade! – The punk side of craft in Melbourne.
Cane Toads: The Conquest – Because I’m originally from Queensland. And it’s in 3D!
Little Sparrows – Three daughters return to be by their mother’s side when she discovers she has breast cancer.
Blame – Justice, revenge and the perfect murder gone wrong.

International Panorama – International films

**The Messenger – a harrowing, insightful and surprisingly sensitive war movie. Winner of Silver Berlin Bear for Best Screenplay at 2009 Berlin International Film Festival.
Enter the Void – film using new shooting techniques and ambitious special effects and set in techno neon-coloured Tokyo.
Medal of Honour – dry, ironic, humorous Romanian film about a miserable curmudgeon.
The Trotsky – comedy about 17 year old student who believes he is the reincarnation of Leon Trotsky.
A Somewhat Gentle Man – minimalist crime-comedy from Norway.

Flawed Geniuses – The world’s greatest minds

**The Genius and the Boys – Doco about the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine…and unrepentant paedophile.

First Encounters – First time directors

The Day Will Come – dramatic psychological thriller about a secret 30 years in the making.
The Unloved – from actress Samantha Morton, a story based on her first-hand experience growing up in foster care.

Wild Things – Animals (yes I know I said I was biased against them earlier!)

Nenette – story of 40 year orangutan caged in a Paris zoo.

Neighbourhood Watch – Asian cinema

Hahaha – a comedy receiving the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section this year at Cannes.
City of Life and Death – Can I sit through 135 minutes of a film about the Rape of Nanking?
Like a Dream – Chinese man falls in love with the doppelganger of his recurring dream woman. Directed by an old school-mate of my mum’s, Clara Law.
**The Actresses – Six Korean actresses in a tongue-in-cheek mockumentary. An excuse to watch some beautiful women on screen.
**Au revoir Taipei – perky urban dramedy through the night markets and alleyways of Taipei.
**The Housemaid – a remake of a 1960 shocking domestic gothic thriller.

Docos

**La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet – French and ballet. Right up my alley.
**Picture Me: A Model’s Diary – apparently a hard-hitting expose on the exploitative world of modelling.
**Cooking History – 6 wars, 10 recipes, 60,361,024 dead.
Bananas! – court case highlighting First World practices exploiting Third World workers.
Catfish –  Twist-filled true story of a young man fooled by Facebook.
Osadne – charming, witty documentary following six village leaders of a tiny town in Slovakia, where even the cows are leaving.
**Teenage Paparazzo –  Because Adrian Grenier yes MAN HUNK VINCENT CHASE FROM ENTOURAGE is going to be in town to introduce his film about a 13 year old paparazzi photographer.
The Woman with the 5 Elephants – Follows a translator as she returns to the Ukraine since the war and muses on living under Stalinist persecution and Nazi occupation.

States of Dissent – Political documentaries

Petition – 12 years of secret footage telling the story of persecuted Chinese citizens with grievances.
**The Juche Idea – Faux documentary studying the North Korean dictator’s theories on filmmaking.
**The Red Chapel – filmmaker takes two Danish-Korean comedians on a tour of North Korea to expose the tyrannical regime for what it is. Winner of the Grand Jury prize at 2010 Sundance.

Night Shift – Late night sessions

Dream Home – Hong Kong property prices push a woman over the edge in this slasher film.
The Clinic – Psychological thriller based on true events about a pregnant mother who finds her baby has been removed from her body.
**Rubber – The story of a killer rubber tyre. Too ridiculous to miss!

Backbeat – Music docos

Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam – Doco about Islamic punk rockers touring America. ‘Bringing a new brand of punk to the mosque pit.’

I’m going to be spending the evening narrowing my choices down and I’ll put an asterix against those films that make the final cut – and if you end up at the same films please let me know what you think!

The Melbourne International Film Festival 2010 will run from 22 July to 8 August. Program will be available online and in The Age on Friday 9 July. Finally, here’s a useful list of films which will be getting general release, either in theatres of films.

One really great way Melbourne embraces its winters is to hold special exhibitions dubbed ‘Melbourne Winter Masterpieces‘. Over the years they have had some wonderful shows, but I think nabbing the Tim Burton exhibition from the Museum of Modern Art in New York is pretty high on the wow list.

I can’t say that Tim Burton is one of my favourite directors. But he does have an interesting body of work ranging from gothic stop animation to Hollywood blockbusters, which means that I’ve seen about 50% of his films. This retrospective is not just for film buffs or Tim Burton aficionados – it’s a comprehensive, multi-modal show for adults and children which charts the course of a very creative mind and gives a behind-the-scenes look at the film-making process.

No photographs are allowed inside the exhibition but here are my highlights:

• The first showcase as you walk down the stairs, a replica of the topiary deer from Edward Scissorhands;
• Burton’s early cartoons when he worked as an animator at the Disney studios and his funny drawing of ‘Mothera’ (his take on Mothra, the Godzilla arch-enemy). You can already see a fascination with exaggerated forms, the theme of ‘otherness’ and being an outsider, and a keen sense of humour;
• the teeny-tiny catsuit worn by Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman in Batman Returns;
• the film Hansel and Gretel, which was only aired once as it was deemed too scary and grotesque for middle America. It’s extremely entertaining and well worth a 30 minute sit-down;
• the puppets used in The Nightmare Before Christmas and Corpse Bride;
• the Mad Hatter’s intricate costume from Alice in Wonderland, complete with an ammo belt made from spools of thread; and
• the Tim Burton Carousel, introduced by a black tunnel lit with flourescent creatures and complete with creepy music from long-time collaborator Danny Elfman.

I spent about 2 hours in the exhibition and you could easily spend a lot more time there, inspecting all the details of his early drawings and watching every single film reel (apparently there are over 700 works on display). One of our party purchased the audioguide as well but said that he didn’t feel that the guide gave any more interesting insights than what you could already see and read. If you’re well prepared you can download the guide for free here.

Other than that, my only piece of advice is to get there early or to pre-purchase tickets online. We arrived at the opening time of 10am on Saturday and still had to line up (though not much). Once a certain number of people enter, you have to wait until the next 30 minute time slot, which is pretty frustrating if you’ve already had to wait in line to buy your ticket. By the time we left at around midday, the number of people inside meant that you kind of had to look at everything as part of a conveyor belt of people, and the ticket queue snaked out into the blasting cold of Federation Square.

The Tim Burton exhibition is accompanied by a program of talks, films and events. I’ll probably be going back for a screening of what many consider to be Burton’s masterpiece, Edward Scissorhands, which I haven’t seen since it was released in 1990.

NB I’ve found a blog post which actually contains photos of the exhibits! Check out Sea of Ghosts. Oh, and the Monster Mouth and all the other monster-y displays around the exhibition were made by Melbourne company BiGfiSh, impressive.

• Tim Burton:  The Exhibition, ACMI, Federation Square, Melbourne. From Thursday 24 June – Sunday 10 October 2010

I’ll be honest. I wasn’t expecting a lot from this movie. I’d seen a few reviews, and they weren’t great. That said, the last movie didn’t get great reviews either, and I enjoyed it for what it was — just a bit of fun.

That’s what I expected from round 2. But, unfortunately, I was way off mark this time.

Firstly, it was waaaaaaaaay too long. Two-and-a-half hours too long, actually. I spent the entire movie cringing. After we are witness to the gay wedding of the century (really, do we NEED to see Liza Minnelli gyrating in a leotard while singing ‘All the single ladies’? Umm, no), the real ‘plot’ (and I use the term loosely) begins to take shape. The (very basic) premise involves the four SATC girls — Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte — making their way to Abu Dhabi for an all-expenses-paid vacation.

And cue the ridiculous amount of thinly veiled racism… now.

I naively thought that the stabs at Muslim culture were going to stop after the early scene when the girls watched on in amusement as a woman in a niqab (full-faced veil) ate french fries. Unfortunately, they didn’t stop there. As my friend pointed out, one could write an entire PhD just about the later karaoke scene, when the camera panned around the room to women of different cultures while these white, ‘liberated’ Western women sang ‘I am woman’. And, yet, it still managed to get worse from that point on. I’ll spare you the details.

I don’t believe the film had a well-thought-out political agenda (at least, it certainly doesn’t look that way). But it did do its darndest to show us how much Muslim women desire to be as liberated as their Western counterparts. Will the SATC girls and their visit to Abu Dhabi improve Middle-Eastern relations in the slightest? I highly doubt it.

The laughs were few, but the cringes were many. The only marginally enjoyable element for me was admiring the decor of Carrie and Big’s New York apartment. The other women in the cinema seemed to enjoy themselves, but they did appear to have had quite a few cosmopolitans before entering.

For me, Sex and the City 2 was no piece of fluff to watch on a Friday night with your girlfriends — it was something I wished I had avoided. I want to forget this ever happened, and try my best to remember the hilarious and extremely clever TV shows.

The fourth and final instalment of the Shrek franchise doesn’t take any risks when it comes to its story but still manages to whip up an entertaining experience with a worthwhile new villain, who is as deviously funny as Lord Farquaad from the original.

[Spoiler alert] Shrek, Forever After essentially picks up where the third entry left. Shrek and Fiona are living ‘happily ever after’ in their swamp, but the film doesn’t lose any time to introduce the dull routine of their lives. Shrek, like any male human who finds himself in a marriage with kids, discovers that ogre males have the same psychology. He feels their world revolves around the kids and that he has no control over his life. He misses the days when he used to roam freely in his swamp scaring the wits off villagers.

A fight with Fiona and a magical contract later, Shrek finds himself in an alternate day when people still fear ogres. The fine print on the contract turns out to be a bit more tricky though as our new villain turns the tables on Shrek. He finds himself on a quest to save not only himself but everyone whom he has ever cared about. It’s a worthwhile premise for the franchise as the story goes back to its roots about true love, but a part of me still wishes that we could have accompanied these colourful characters on an all-new quest one last time.

Even though the Shrek sequels have never been as good as Toy Story 2, if there’s anything they’ve done well, it’s the villains. From Lord Farquaad to Prince Charming and the Fairy Godmother, the Shrek writers have always created screen-worthy bad fellas. The ‘bad’ ensemble adds Rumpelstiltskin with Shrek 4, who originates from a German fairytale. Wonderfully voiced by Walt Dohrn, who is also Head of Story on the film, Rumpelstiltskin is quite a character. From having different wigs for different occasions to fashioning the best evil grin to grace the Shrek films, he dominates the film despite his dwarfish size. Given the initial cliché of middle-age crisis, Rumpelstiltskin represents the creative side of the story. He tricks Shrek into the magical contract and gets the kingdom he has always been waiting for.

The original Shrek became a huge hit because it made fun of the age-old clichés of the animated world and brought a modern day take on fairy tales. From birds exploding by the princess’ song to the reality show treatment of picking a queen for Lord Farquaad, the original grew from its clever restatement of Disney classics.

As new sequels got added to the mix, the writers took off a different direction: the films became about the Shrek universe. The final instalment is a product of that transformation, where the film tries to stand on its own legs without resorting to ridicule of animated classics. It can achieve this to a certain extent as the characters are well-established and loved, but it is also obvious that the writers resorted to some quick and easy gags to fill the laughs.

At the end of the day, the Shrek universe is an off-shoot of the traditional animated world, and its admittance of that fact made the original so good. It’s valiant to see an attempt to create a new, standalone universe, but there isn’t that much new in the mix to support a fourth bloat completely.