Penne Ponders ...

Rich man, Poor man?

2012-01-26T19:54:00.000+11:00

I had no idea how this was going to turn out, cherishing a long love of Alec Guinness work. My memory of his 'Smiley' seemed unassailable and Gary Oldman a bit of an odd choice but if ever there was an actor who grabbed a role and ran with it, it is Oldman in this. He is surrounded by a stellar cast of English actors, John Hurt, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Tom Hardy and many more, moving

Big Brown Horse.

2011-12-27T14:52:00.000+11:00

My father is a cavalry man. I was raised with horses and learnt to ride in a rigorous school which had us jumping over obstacles with our hands held out horizontally. It taught you balance - it taught you how to get off too when you found yourself going round the arena underneath the horse. I will never forget the wonder I felt when he got on my unruly pony and took her round the field jumping

A Blast from the Past

2011-11-13T14:48:00.001+11:00

This is a case where the trailer for BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK gives you the insight you need to wet your appetite for it. Still, I was initially worried that the doco would skate along the surface of the fashion world in way that would not be very satisfying but when I realised that Bill Cunningham was in his eighties and following his obsession and profession on a BICYCLE, I began to focus.

Tiger Burning Bright

2011-10-18T20:46:00.000+11:00

Again with the sorrowful footage. Once more we see the sad film of the last Tasmanian Tiger in captivity, pacing its lonely cell and trying to escape the fate we had brought it to. The animal is so familiar to us, half dingo, half devil. What went wrong? Well nothing, for Willem Dafoe who slips as naturally into this role as a second skin. What isn't there to like for him? He is a sure thing

Black and White

2011-09-26T10:43:00.012+10:00

I first saw the trailer for 'The Help' waiting for another movie to start... of course. It immediately woke me up to the sixties again and the incredible neatness and weirdness of that world. Who would have thought you could 'back comb' your hair to a 'bee hive', spray it into submission and walk around like that?Well, here it is again. Not as bouncy as 'Happy Days' but initially, clean cut and

Cloud High

2011-08-27T13:39:00.015+10:00

There is of course one leading lady in Jane Eyre and Oh boy, does she do just that. Mia Wasikowska is a young Australian who began her acting career after an initial ballet fascination waned. When she first appears, it seems as if this creature from the New World has been an inhabitant of the old for centuries. Her face is very like Vermeer's 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' or any number of classic

HerStory

2011-08-13T14:16:00.009+10:00

We have a lot to be grateful to Robert Redford for. In setting up Sundance Film Festival, he gave Indie movies a launching point in America which set a fire under the audience that first watched 'Shine'. It led to world wide success and an Oscar for Geoffrey Rush. 'The Conspirator' has the most come hither poster with its title over the poignant face of Abraham Lincoln. It opens with his

Now and Again

2011-07-07T18:27:00.007+10:00

After the phenomenal numbers that watched 'Downton Abbey' it was wonderful to see a new Julian Fellowes work, 'From Time to Time' come on at my local. He has adapted and directed this WW2 ghost story but, as my father dryly pointed out, its territory that has been gone over before and to great effect.Of course, in such hands it doesn't let you down. The stunning cast includes Maggie Smith and

Keeping it Premium

2011-06-20T13:10:00.009+10:00

I know the 'Mao's Last Dancer' producers spent a great deal of money getting the best person available to make their trailer. Its a good investment but I am not sure what I would have done to change the trailer for 'Get Low'. Suffice to say that I did not want to see the movie. Looking back on it, I am not sure what they COULD have done but once I got there, all was well.It was one of those times

Blue Skies and Sorrow

2011-06-07T12:51:00.015+10:00

Turning up late to see a preview of 'Sunshine and Oranges', I found I could only get a seat a row from the screen. Urged on by a friend, I took it and sat through the movie with the action going on right up my nose so to speak. But I did it and I would do it again.This is a film you SHOULD see, not only because it will give you insight into a sorrowful time in our history but because you will

St Trinian's Strings

2011-05-17T13:14:00.011+10:00

Last night I dreamt I went to school again. Not a very good idea at the best of times but it is one of the fascinations of this beautiful documentary that you can compare schoolgirls now and then. There is probably not much to choose between us but it did surprise me how unkempt 'Mrs Carey's' lot were considering the amount of money their parents must be paying and the loving attention of the

The Lady Vanishes / Classics

2011-05-09T17:41:00.027+10:00

I saw this film in boarding school, projected on to a canvas screen decades after it was made. It had me from the title and still does. Looking at it now with its evocative music and astonishing opening scene shot in what appears to be Lilliput but is in effect an 'aerial' shot of a model village...and a pretty creaky one at that, I feel again the sense of pride and anticipation I always feel at

Living Large

2011-04-25T13:17:00.017+10:00

Gérard Depardieu is one of my favourite actors and I always thought it was because he was so attractive. Well, he is but there is a lot more of him than there was in say 'Cyrano de Bergerac', and still he shines. For one thing, he allows his ample person to be put into overalls which for a large man is a bit of a sretch. Another thing...he fills the screen. He is on for the entire movie and he

Elizabeth the Great

2011-03-28T17:29:00.019+11:00

Well, she's gone. She had been ill so long that we were used to hearing almost weekly about her trials but she seemed immortal and I will miss her. In the last years of her life she did not present a great or a very admirable figure but the sum of her achievements is huge.Many images of her near perfection bombarded us through the sixties and seventies. Her private life, fabulous jewels and love

Intestinal Fortitude

2011-02-24T10:06:00.028+11:00

I met a man who stonewalled me about 'True Grit'. He refused to think that the latest Coen Brothers movie was better than the John Wayne original. Oh Lord, where to start?First, the introduction we get to the American West through the marvelous set direction and costuming of this latest Jeff Bridges version, is stunning. The bleakness of the local town,with its no frills living and basic justice

Sad Birds

2011-02-20T19:39:00.015+11:00

Every time I ask people about this film they start gabbling. Its either 'great' or 'unspeakably great' or 'so true' etc etc. It made it a Must See but troubling afterward.I have seen a little of the Ballet world and, while the discipline is greater for dancing, there are similarities with Performance. The exploitation and obvious sexual predation seem less now but this is a whole new era where

Talk to Me

2011-01-20T16:31:00.009+11:00

My family had problems of the kind this beautiful film depicts. Stammering or stuttering is an insidious and devastating affliction - you never know how much you can feel for someone until you find you can not help them through a horrible ordeal. There are few public troubles worse than willing someone you love through a speech they seem unable to begin. God bless the ones who guide people out of

Small Arms Fire

2011-01-05T10:55:00.014+11:00

I saw the trailer for 'Life during Wartime' and immediately wanted to see it. The images of clean cut, sorrowful beings and their quirky cracks was compelling and not full of the leaden misery so many other tales of urban angst have. The poster was better and even the failure of the projector at the first screening could not stop me.Shirley Henderson is luminous and her spare figure is as close

Fair Spooks

2010-12-03T11:48:00.023+11:00

Two Australian actresses have appeared as spies recently and both covered themselves in glory. The first, Genevieve O'Reilly in 'Spooks' playing an American femme fatale ostensibly working for the CIA but with dark undertones which lead her to hurtle male mentors straight off balconies. This was such a shock that I had to rewind to see how it could have happened. Her calm impassive beauty is

Hop on board.

2010-11-24T15:17:00.025+11:00

I went along to see 'The Social Network' with the friend who introduced me to it, slightly nervous the movie was going to do a hatchet job but no. It is a forensic look at what started the whole new world of communication and to judge by the two noisy Zuckerberg nerds who shut up like clams as soon as the film started, compelling film making of the highest sort.The film tells us that people who

What's not to like?

2010-11-11T11:27:00.018+11:00

I hadn't realised how much I love being on set but shooting 'PURPLE FLOWERS' this week was the clincher. What's not to like really?You meet talented people from all over the world, get fussed over and made up, immerse yourself in another life, tea and coffee is brought to you and then you get paid. It is a bonus if you like the script, cast, director and production team.Shooting this beautiful

OH Boy!

2010-09-25T15:03:00.016+10:00

I heard very little about this before it was released and it came as a great swell of surprise when I saw it. Make or break for me is identification with characters - whether or not you are willing to take the journey of the film with them. The opening of this trailer will give you an idea how easy it is to go anywhere with this 'Boy'.James Rolleston was a late starter for the part. He turned up

To Be or Not to Be?

2010-09-04T10:53:00.009+10:00

When you first see 'Me and Orson Welles', you might wonder if you can accept Christian McKay as Welles BUT it won't take long before you think the man has come back to life. This actor had played Orson before and it certainly shows.From the credits onward this is an unusual film. The production originates from the Isle of Man - a small tax haven off the coast of England. The film itself is

Is She in Heaven?

2010-08-03T22:03:00.010+10:00

Last week was a big week for me. Not only a bit of a big birthday but a big surprise in the letter box. I got a thank you from one of the wonderful stars of 'The TREE' after we had all been to see 'Toy Story'. I had never seen any of those films and it was fascinating. A big charge to go with a young man in a black leather jacket and his beautiful sister.Gabriel is 5 now. He was four when I met

'Ello 'Ello

2010-07-27T16:22:00.014+10:00

I always wanted to see this film. Having heard an interview with the director Christian Caron, I wanted to see it even more. His description of the problems making 'Farewell' is enough to give any director, producer and 1st assistant the heeby jeebies.The original lead actor pulled out at the last moment, the part was recast with director Emir Kusturica in the lead role. For me, this worked so