It’s been two weeks since my last blog as I’ve been off with the Queensland Colts golf team who were competing in the Australian Interstate Series at Wynnum. It was a fun week with the team finishing second behind Victoria. I’ve a bunch of photos from the week on Facebook for those who are interested.
As a result of being in camp, I went 10 days without seeing a movie. I think it left me with withdrawal symptoms. I don’t think I’ve gone that long without a trip to the cinema since I did a Contiki tour of Europe in 2004. I made up for the shortfall by seeing 4 movies on Sunday (which also happened to be my birthday). It was short of my record of 6 movies in a day but it was a decent effort anyway. I’m now back on track and all is well in the world.
New Column
I’ve been lucky to meet some interesting people through Twitter and now I have one of them contributing to my website. If there’s one area of cinema where I’m weak, it’s my knowledge of classic movies. I spend so much time watching all the new releases that I struggle to find time to watch the great films from year’s past.
Peter Taggart is filling the Film Pie void by putting together a weekly column which reviews cult and classic offerings which you’ll discover at your local video store (possibly gathering dust).
You can access Peter’s column by clicking here and he’s starting off this week by looking at the 1975 documentary, Grey Gardens. Hopefully you’ll enjoy his work.
Brisbane International Film Festival
Details have been out for a few weeks but I haven’t had a chance to mention them yet in my blog. This year’s BIFF promises to be something different – there’s a new date, new venues and a new director.
The Festival will run from November 4-14 and will be shared between the Palace Centro, Palace Barracks and Tribal Theatres (the old Dendy George Street). Richard Moore is at the helm this year and is a former director of the Melbourne International Film Festival.
I’m very keen to see the line up of films and I’ll be sure to keep you posted in future blogs.
Tomorrow When The War Began
In my review, I raised the question as to whether the marketing strategy for Tomorrow When The War Began would pay off. The answer is a resounding yes.
The film has taken $8.97m so far at the Australian box-office. It’s opening weekend of $3.8m was the biggest since Baz Lurhmann’s Australia in November 2008. It’s also the first locally made film to top our box-office since Australia.
It’s great to see the Aussie public getting behind the film and hopefully it’ll fuel a few sequels in the near future. Well done to director Stuart Beattie.
Toronto Film Festival
I say this every year but if there’s one film festival I wish I could attend, it’s Toronto. Hundreds of films are shown and for many high profile releases, it’s the chance to kick start their Oscar campaigns. I love reading the columns from bloggers in Toronto to hear which films have lived up to the hype. This year’s festival finished up over the weekend.
I’ll provide more detailed coverage on this year’s Oscar contenders in an upcoming blog but I want to make mention of the very importance People’s Choice Award. Previous winners have included Precious (2009), Slumdog Millionaire (2008), Tsotsi (2005), Hotel Rwanda (2004), Whale Rider (2002), Amelie (2001), Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000), American Beauty (1999), Life Is Beautiful (1998) and Shine (1996). All went on to receive Academy Award nominations.
This year’s audience winner was The King’s Speech. It boasts a great cast including Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce, Michael Gambon, Geoffrey Rush and Timothy Spall. It tells the story of King George VI (the British monarch before Queen Elizabeth II) and how he overcame a dreadful stutter with the help of a speech therapist. Reviews have been great so far and it seems a shoe-in for a best picture nomination.
That’ll do it from me for another week. Over and out.