Read + Write + Report
Home | Start a blog | About Orble | FAQ | Blogs | Writers | Paid | My Orble | Login

The Astor Theatre

October 28th 2011 17:59
A once-grand lady, now withered and knurled with age, worn thin like an oft-washed chemise, print a bare impression, lace a suggestion of fraying strands – this is the Astor Theatre. She may be a dame of faded glamour but she’s lovely and witty and the stories she can tell..!

The Astor Theatre
The Astor Theatre


No-one can spin a tale like this holy art deco icon of Chapel. She may be a bit dingy, and her vertical neon signage isn’t always wholly a-blazing, but the charm of her musty, dignified, steadfastly ostentatious glory continues to appeal.

This is the place to go to see the black and whites and cult hits on the big screen. It’s the lair of cheap double-billings and new indie flicks, and is undoubtedly a favoured haunt of South-side cinema lovers.

Check out the brand new website (a huge improvement on the old haphazard one) to see what’s on, or take a look at this article by Joshua Samonini for all the information on next weekend’s marathon event – a special screening of the Back to the Future trilogy.

Michaelie Clark
29
Vote
   


Captain Planet: The Movie

August 14th 2011 05:02
By Cartoon Network and Angry Filmwork’s powers combined, here comes Captain Planet – the movie. Continuing the trend in making movies of nineties animated favourites, Captain Planet and the Planeteers is apparently in development to hit the big screen in live action.

Captain Planet The Movie
Go Planet! Image courtesy of cartoonbrew.com


A popular example of nineties educational entertainment for children, the show’s hero was a ripped man with blue skin and green hair who used his superpowers to fight the evils of eco-terrorists along with his band of multi-national youths, who each possessed a different power contained in a magic ring (Earth, Fire, Wind, Water, Heart!) Together they had the ability to put a stop to natural disasters, pollution, and AIDS discrimination.

With knock-you-over-the-head allegories and messages of social and environmental ethics, the show sought to educate children about the dangers of greed and getting on the wrong side of Mother Earth.

The original TV series was voiced by such well-known celebrities as Whoopi Goldberg, Martin Sheen, Jeff Goldblum, Meg Ryan, Tim Curry, Sting, Malcolm McDowell and Elizabeth Taylor.

Michaelie Clark
49
Vote
   


Based on David Lindsay-Abaire’s Pulitzer winning play of the same name, Rabbit Hole takes viewers through the dark tunnel of life after the loss of a child. Directed by John Cameron Mitchell, the film stars Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart as parents struggling to cope after the sudden death of their five-year-old son, Danny.

Rabbit Hole
Kidman and Eckhart in Rabbit Hole - Image courtesy of hollywoodreporter.com

Becca (Kidman) is angry and erratic, attempting to distance herself from the tragedy and memories of her son. After finding out that her sister, Izzy (Tammy Blanchard), is pregnant with an unplanned baby to her boyfriend, Auggie (Giancarlo Esposito), Becca’s unpredictable behaviour worsens until she finds solace with someone who shares her grief, and more importantly, her deep sense of guilt.

That person is not her husband, Howie (Eckhart). Desperate to keep memories of his son alive, Howie’s desire to hold on to the past clashes with Becca’s apparent need to erase it, causing conflict in the household and preventing the couple from healing each other’s pain. Instead, Howie turns to Gabby (Sandra Oh), a mother from a self-help group he attends, and her stash of marijuana.

Rabbit Hole
Becca and Jason deal with guilt and grief - Image courtesy of moejackson.com

While the cast is good (also includes Dianne Wiest as Becca’s mother), and the delineation of their grief is well portrayed, the stand out character is Jason (Miles Teller), the seventeen-year-old boy responsible for Danny’s death. Through him we see anguish from a different angle, that faced by an awkward teenager whose life is changed forever by a horrifying twist of fate.

NB: I very much enjoyed this film, though I saw it mid-air after too many hours without sleep and for some reason I was irrationally and repeatedly annoyed by the characters names – Becca, Howie, Izzy, Auggie? Tch! Don’t let that put you off.

Michaelie Clark
38
Vote
   


The Long and the Short of it All

May 12th 2011 01:55
While short film continues its resurgence in the arts scene, there is still a question of whether it has really made its mark in modern culture as something that is significant in its own right and not just something aspiring film-makers do because they haven’t the budget or backing for features.

While mainstream audiences may see shorts as the easy make, the reality is that short doesn’t mean simple. By definition, shorts have to pack a punch - immediately. There’s no room for the superfluous because every second counts. It takes skill to make a cinematic impact, and more so to do it succinctly


[ Click here to read more ]
29
Vote
   


The Inbetweeners: The Movie

March 20th 2011 05:44
The four misfit adolescent boys known as The Inbetweeners are set to hit the big screen later this year in a film that will no doubt be incredibly crass, scrupulously low-brow, steadfastly indecent and therefore endlessly entertaining.

The Inbetweeners Movie
The Inbetweeners: Image courtesy of guardian.co.uk

[ Click here to read more ]
38
Vote
   


Juicy Aussie Movie: Summer Coda

January 26th 2011 06:28
Well it’s Australia Day, so it’s about time for a review of Richard Gray’s fresh flick, Summer Coda. Set along the Murray River, in the orange groves of Mildura, we begin to unpeel the life of American girl Heidi (Rachel Taylor) who has returned to Australia for the funeral of her father. With just her violin and an air of spiky singularity, she sets off to hitch-hike her way to the Sunraysia region and soon catches a ride with Michael (Alex Dimitriades), a local fruit farmer. Michael is nursing his own secret sorrow, and a tacit bond soon grows as they make their way north.

Summer Coda
Image courtesy of dailytelegraph.com.au

[ Click here to read more ]
62
Vote
   


Easy Viewing: Top Ten Comfort Movies

November 27th 2010 06:14
If you have ever been depressed, hung-over or exhausted to the point of insanity, chances are you’ve found yourself fossicking about for a little cinematic comfort food to go with your family sized bag of M&Ms. Below are the flicks that always do the trick when I find myself feeling emotionally feeble:

Amelie: Provided you either understand French or you are in a fit state to keep your eyes open


[ Click here to read more ]
143
Vote
   


Apparently, I have a glass face. Everything I think and feel is evident to anyone watching me before I have even really worked it out myself. Without giving my mind the time to think something through, my face goes about heralding my initial reactions like a particularly gleeful small-town gossip.

Balancing Act
Image courtesy of artusa.com

[ Click here to read more ]
54
Vote
   


Having just watched Pride and Prejudice for the bazillionth time, I understandably therefore had to set aside an hour for my habitual post-Darcy state of delusion in which I vividly imagine myself as Elizabeth Bennet. In my own little mind I don my petticoats and frolic about Pemberley being witty and irresistible to handsome members of the landed gentry, only to be rudely interrupted some time later by the dishwasher beeping.

Pride and Prejudice
Mr Darcy and... me - Image courtesy of heraldsun.com.au

[ Click here to read more ]
75
Vote
   


Fresh 'Eyre' for Fassbender

October 31st 2010 03:33
Excitement abounds. The latest adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre is slated for release in just over four months, starring none other than Michael Fassbender as the moody, brooding (can we hope for denuded?) Mr Rochester. Brava, brava! This promises to be a supreme choice of casting, along with Dame Judi Dench as Mrs Fairfax – but what of the leading lady?

Michael Fassbender
Image courtesy of michaelfassbender.org

[ Click here to read more ]
126
Vote
   


That tall drink of water, Richard Armitage, has been cast as Thorin Oakenshield, leader of the Company of Dwarves (go figure) in Peter Jackson’s upcoming adaptation of The Hobbit, prequel to The Lord of the Rings.

Richard Armitage The Hobbit
Richard Armitage - Image courtesy of tinypic.com

[ Click here to read more ]
78
Vote
   


Interest is a-stirring for A Dangerous Method, the story of Jung and Freud and the woman who drove these sires of psychoanalysis crazy. Now, we all know Keira Knightley, who plays said woman, is prone to dividing her audience (for the record, I like her, though would have liked to drown her in Pemberley’s lake when she tried on Elizabeth Bennet) but when matched with the likes of Viggo Mortensen (stepping into the psyche of Sigmund Freud) and Michael Fassbender (exploring the consciousness of Carl Jung), with Vincent Cassel thrown in for good measure, you’d want your head read if you didn’t think it worth a trip to the cinema – or at least a session on the couch.

Viggo Mortensen
Oh Viggo! Image courtesy of heyuguys.co.uk

[ Click here to read more ]
151
Vote
   


A Trip Through the Mind of Tim Burton

September 14th 2010 09:34
Traipsing through the doors of the ACMI the weekend before last, I found myself becoming ever more curious to discover the secrets of the boy Tim Burton once was. While I admired Alice’s frocks, reminisced about the creepiness of Pee-wee Herman and delighted in a note from Burton to demigod Johnny, the part of the exhibition that really stole the show for me was the retrospective of Burton’s childhood and all its kooky accoutrements.

Tim Burton Exhibition
Image courtesy of timburtoncollective.com

[ Click here to read more ]
167
Vote
   


While The French Kissers – or Les Beaux Gosses (the original French title meaning ‘The Handsome Guys’) – doesn’t follow a well constructed plot as such; still, it is an enchanting rendezvous into the lives of a group of misfit teens from the north-west of France. The narrative tends to suit the protagonists, who have an aimless disinterest in most things in their lives, with the primary exception of relations with the opposite sex.

The French Kissers
Herve and Camel - Image courtesy of frenchfilmfestival.co.nz

[ Click here to read more ]
135
Vote
   


Moderated by Michaelie Clark
Copyright © 2012 On Topic Media PTY LTD. All Rights Reserved. Design by Vimu.com.
On Topic Media ZPages: Sydney |  Melbourne |  Brisbane |  London |  Birmingham |  Leeds     [ Advertise ] [ Contact Us ] [ Privacy Policy ]