# Off-topic Rants

This is a short Portuguese film about a drinking and smoking man who harasses a woman in his apartment. It was kind of entertaining to watch, as you didn’t know how aggressive this man would get, or whether maybe the woman was a “villain”, but the end was very anticlimactic. The production values were also relatively poor, with average lighting and average sound.

This is a really bizarre and comical film about the last performance of a fictitious radio variety show; before a Texas Company turns the old theatre venue they use into a multi-story car park. Full of singing, dancing, seriously bizarre and eccentric characters, and even an Angle from above, this film is really entertaining. The radio show manager was hilarious, as were some of the less major characters, such as the sound effects man and the stage manager. It had an almost documentary feel to it, as all the characters felt so real and natural. The chemistry between all the characters is also really good. Despite the fact I’ve never been a big fan of musical films, I really like this one. It had loads of colour and beautiful camera work, and a killer soundtrack and musical score. Well worth watching.

A tale of a butcher, a baker, a hunter, a dog, a cat, an apple pie and a series of misunderstandings and unfortunate events! This is a funny little animation that doesn’t have any dialog. The colours and look of the film are great – very bold and modern. Although the story is a bit hard to follow straight away, it proves to be a great little screenplay!

This is a great little fake English documentary about Siamese twins, who are groomed into becoming commercial rocks stars. The script is really well done, and you seriously feel like you are watching history – not fiction. All the acting is great, and each character is unique and fits the story perfectly. If you’re in the mood for watching a fake documentary, this is a great movie!

This is a really simple and slow movie that shows the lives of two small town workers at the local doll factory. It shows Martha, a middle aged woman, and Kyle, a young man, going about their mundane day to day lives as they exchange their thoughts, dreams and experiences over bad coffee and cheap fast food. Things change when a new and attractive woman called Rose starts work at the factory. Kyle is instantly attracted to her as she brings with her a change to his dull daily routine. Martha on the other hand, although she’s quite friendly towards the new kid on the block, knows that Rose possess the potential to destroy her perfectly organised world of small actions and repetitive complacency. When Rose is discovered murdered, the movie changes into more of a detective story, although the pace and style doesn’t change. The weird love triangle between the three main characters, offers some dark humour, but apart from that, it’s basically a snail-paced film that tells the story of bored and humdrum individuals.

This is a great fake documentary, about a group of people who make a fictional film about a terrorist cell that captures infamous former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. It mixes footage of the making of the fictional no budget film shoot (as the character are harassed by the authorities), with footage of a finished product (basically a film-within-a-film). This is a really gutsy and intelligent film, of which I have a lot of respect for. I can only imagine, actually making this film (the one I saw), was just as hard as what, as I viewer, I witnessed of the characters making the film. Despite the fact that it was constantly going from fictional “real life” to the actual film content, the movie was easy to follow. The characters were great, and the look of the film suited the style. But what made this film special is that the script/story is unique. It’s a really bold statement about the freedom of speech, which has been made tremendously well…

I honestly don’t know what to make of this film. It’s really bizarre! It tells the story through the eyes of a highly imaginative young girl, the daughter of junkies, who’s taken to the country with her father after her mother dies. When her father dies as well, her world comes even wackier as she gets to know her neighbours. This film has some great special effects, some really funny moments and some moments that truly stun you. It has everything from talking squirrels, to talking bodiless Barbie dolls, to train disasters. The opening scenes scared the crap out of me, as I have a great fear of needles, but I really loved the dream sequences. This is truly a unique and ambitious film that I just can’t really make sense of. The young actress that played the lead did an amazing job; she’s got some real talent!

Despite the fact that everyone who saw this movie with me hated it, I thought it was really intriguing. It’s a feature length documentary that is made up of home video footage captured by American television personality Rick Kirkham, over his lifetime. When he was fourteen he got a video camera, and basically has been filming his life ever since. He’s basically in love with being in front of the camera and captures everything (and I mean everything). This is a really self indulgent film, but at the same time, feels authentic and truthful. Rick’s life starts off full of excitement and success as he works as a national correspondent for the television show Inside Edition. But when his wife becomes pregnant and they get married, his life suddenly becomes far more complex. This film gives, what I can only presume is an accurate representation of Rick’s life. It shows his highs, and the moments when he hits absolute bottom. Rick’s life is truly a rollercoaster ride. One minute he’s on top of the world, the next, he’s fighting just to survive. Unfortunately drugs and depression play a huge part in Rick’s life, and it’s all caught on film. What’s so amazing about this film is that we really get an insight into this man’s life for better or for worse. We witness everything, from his fights with his wife, to his moving self confessions, to when the police take him away. Rick becomes completely and utterly obsessed with recording everything, which in the end contributes to his wife and children leaving him. This is not a happy film. It’s actually really depressing watching this man throw his life away. But it really does give you an amazing insight into the psyche of human beings. I don’t care what anyone thinks; I really got a lot out of this film. Sure the production values were crap, as it was shot on a dodgy handy cam. But the content was just so fascinating. Who ever edited this together did an amazing job. What would have been millions of hours of footage has been nicely compressed into a tight and effective story. This film also explores a generation obsessed with celebrity and technology. It will make you laugh, but more often than note, it will make you just think to yourself “why”! Human beings are so very complex and frustrating. This film proves it.

Rudy and Jacob are twin brothers who are best friends, yet totally different. Jacob is quiet, shy and has a nasty birthmark on his face (which obviously doesn’t help), whereas his striking brother is oozing with confidence and bravery. They are both friends with Malee, an intelligent and pretty only-child of a single mother, and Leonard, an overweight boy who lives in a household of food obsessed family members. When Rudy dies protecting his tree house, after a group of kids set it on fire (not knowing people were inside), Jacob, Malee and Leonard each deal with the tragedy in different ways. Malee, who believes she’s mature enough to deal with her own feelings, becomes totally obsessed and claims to fall in love with one of her mum’s patients (who is more than double her age). Leonard, who lost the ability to taste and smell due to the tree house fire, becomes passionate about losing weight, and forces his diet and exercise theories on his unimpressed family. Jacob, becomes fixated in making sure the boys who killed his brother, pay dearly for the pain they’ve put him and his family through. All of the young actors in this movie are truly amazing. You really feel their love and their pain. This movie offers some really sad moments, some really funny moments, and constantly makes you think about life and death. It’s a seriously powerful film, which is filmed beautifully. There was never a dull moment in the whole movie, and you are constantly fixated on the screen and the characters. I really like this movie.

This is a really cute animation, about the memories of some old Yallourn’s residents, brought to life with illustrations drawn by primary school kids. Listening to the voice over is quite interesting, and mixed with the unique drawings gives you a very interesting little insight into the past of the old town.