Greed

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Greed and the pursuit of capital has been a villainous theme in storytelling for centuries, with the hubris of those afflicted delivering satisfying emotional payoff for audiences of all races, ages, and genders. Even though one can absolutely guess where characters are heading in a film entitled Greed, the craftmanship and artistic direction of Erich von Stroheim’s 1924 silent classic still holds shock and cringe value for the modern audience.

The film follows quack dentist, Mac McTeague (Gibson Gowland) who falls in love with an extraction patient, Trina (Zasu Pitts) despite his best friend Marcus (Jean Hersholt) already being sweet on her. As a sign of friendship, Marcus gives Mac his blessing to court Trina, but changes his attitude when, shortly after their marriage, she wins five thousand dollars in a lottery. The sudden fortune starts to put a strain on Mac and Trina’s relationship as Trina hoards her winnings, even when Marcus forces Mac out of business and the couple begins to starve.

An adaptation of the novel McTeague by Frank Norris, Greed is credited as the first film to be shot entirely on location. Showcasing 1920s San Francisco, the film is an epic psychological drama that depicts the poisonous and corrosive nature of addiction. Rather than showing a terrifying descent into madness due to alcohol or narcotics a la Blow or Days of Wine and Roses, Greed explores how the fundamental need for capital can become a cyst that can fester and grow to the point where it destroys even the strongest relationships. Alongside the terrible ends that meet our heroes-turned-villains, we lament the death of the wholesome and sweet tone that the film begins with before Stroheim begins to torment us with disturbing and borderline erotic scenes that include starved and elongated limbs caressing mounds of gold.

The performances are all incredible with Gowland and Pitts both starting the film as likeable and upstanding people and then plummeting into a free-fall of manipulation, gaslighting, drunkenness, and violence.

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Considering that the original runtime was over nine hours, then cut down to four and, finally, to two, Stroheim manages to tell a very rich and disturbing story, mainly through his use of mise en scene and reflective metaphors. The shots of Mac’s pet birds that he presents as a wedding gift are particularly powerful in depicting the marital turmoil, beginning the second act as docile and loving creatures before shrieking and fighting some scenes later. We then have the increasing grubbiness of the costumes, set, and even the camera lens as the final scenes in the third act, set in Death Valley, take on a grainier and dustier look – aside from the shots of the bag of gold of course.

A film that claimed notoriety for its behind the scenes story as well as the one it enthrallingly tells on screen, Greed is captivatingly dramatic and disturbing.

Director: Erich von Stroheim, 1924

Cast: Gibson Gowland, Zasu Pitts, Jean Hersholt, Dale Fuller, Tempe Pigott, Sylvia Ashton, Chester Conklin, Franke Hayes & Joan Standing

Persuasion

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As a member of the human race who really enjoys movies, there is something very dispiriting when you go through a movie funk. We all go through them and they are never particularly fun – having that drive and excitement of curling up to watch a new movie severed or just no longer there. I’ve been going through one for the past couple of months, but I recently got to enjoy the uplifting feeling of randomly breaking it one day. I had a Saturday afternoon where I just really fancied curling up with a cup of tea and a new movie. The film of choice: Persuasion staring Dakota Johnson.

Witty and smart Anne Elliot (Dakota Johnson) was once in love but was persuaded by her family to break the engagement due to her beloved’s humble standing in society. Eight years later Anne is still unmarried and regrets that decision every day. But fate gives her another chance when Frederick Wentworth (Cosmo Jarvis), now an upstanding Captain in the navy, reappears in her life. Will pride, regret, and embarrassment prevent Anne from following her heart a second time?

Based on the novel by Jane Austen, this 2022 adaptation is a delightfully light and witty retelling of a classic love story. True to the narrative style of Austen, the film is filled with cheeky asides and fourth wall breaks, as well as an entertaining and memorable cast of subtly caricatured supporting characters.

We feel immediate sympathy and connection to Anne thanks to Johnson’s beguiling performance, which then goes through a compelling series of changes as she shares scenes with her ex. The morphing stages of the relationship are subtle, but very well acted out with Anne providing drama and comedy while Wentworth goes through scenes like a lovelorn puppy.

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There really isn’t much to say about a Jane Austen period romance that has not already been said before. We are instantly transported into another era, but still able to follow all that is happening thanks to the film’s modern camera tricks and actors’ engagements with the audience.

Persuasion is sweet and romantic, a very lovely little film to while away a cold winter’s afternoon with.

Director: Carrie Cracknell, 2022

Cast: Dakota Johnson, Cosmo Jarvis, Henry Golding, Ben Bailey Smith, Yolanda Kettle, Lydia Rose Bewley, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Mia McKenna-Bruce, Nia Towle, Izuka Hoyle, & Richard E. Grant

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

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I remember one writing an essay for uni about the various ways that filmmakers can tell captivating stories and deliver an immersive cinematic experience despite the confines of a designated timeframe. The details of the essay are lost to time, I was only reminded of it this morning after watching a very cute and quirky short film from Wes Anderson: The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.

Based on the short story by Roald Dahl, the short tells a lovely story about Henry Sugar (Benedict Cumberbatch) a rich and greedy man who discovers the means to see without his eyes. Using this talent for gambling, Henry quickly discovers the hollowness of accumulated wealth and determines to use his talents to bring some good to the world.

During the pandemic Taika Waititi and a bunch of friends, including Benedict Cumberbatch, recorded a zoom meeting storytelling session in which they sat about and read James and the Giant Peach out loud, complete with character voices and sound effects from various items from the house and garden. If you’ve not seen it, you can find it on YouTube and I would recommend it because it so lovely and wholesome.

Watching The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar reminded me a little of Waititi’s little story time. It’s a short film that celebrates the oral tradition of storytelling with the added modern joy of theatre. Aware of their own narrative nature, the characters tell the story as though they are reading it from the page, with comically deadpan delivery while stagehands are rushing about behind them changing the backdrop from jungle to London apartment. One would think that this would really disrupt the flow of the film, but because it’s a Wes Anderson movie the weirdness that sits behind the visual gags and painful symmetry within the mise-en-scene becomes rather delightful.

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Sitting at a just over half an hour, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar uses this gorgeous combination of oral storytelling and theatrical reenactment to tell a full and inspiring story that could easily fill 2 hours. It’s an Oscar-winning example of the concentrated power of oral storytelling that has been merely enhanced by theatre and playacting. The obviously cardboard sets rigged to slide away when a change of scene is required are a) a great exhibition of talent and b) bring an added celebration of the power of human hands and humanity’s achievements in storytelling.

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film and it’s not hard to see why. Anderson’s signature quirkiness mixed with Roald Dahl’s whimsy is a match made in Heaven and this short film that celebrates two of humanity’s strongest modes of storytelling is a delight.

Director: Wes Anderson, 2023

Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Ben Kinsley, Dev Pateel, Richard Ayoade, Jarvis Cocker, & Ralph Fiennes

Nosferatu

Image credit: IMDb

In my review for Last Voyage of the Demeter, I stated that I do agree with the argument that major studios are overdoing it with reboots and remakes. I am still of this opinion – there are so many good stories out there that could be turned into compelling films that might actually do well. The Invisible Life of Adie Larue could be the new romantic drama to replace The Notebook, The Scholomance series could easily become something like a new Twilight or Divergent series. But the more good remakes that I watch, the more I am inclined to ease off. At the end of the day, people are choosing to retell these stories because they are timeless and have a special relationship with people.

It's funny that the last time I talked about this was a vampire movie, a retelling of Dracula nonetheless, and that I’m talking about it again now with my review of Nosferatu.

Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp) has been haunted by nightmares since childhood. When her nightmares come back shortly before her husband leaves on a job that would secure him a promotion, it proves to be a dark omen indeed. Thomas (Nicholas Hoult) travels to meet with the esoteric Count Orlock to finalise the sale of a property in England. Thomas’ stay with the count lengthens as he mysteriously falls ill and begins to awake each day with strange bite marks on his body. Fearful for his life, Thomas manages to escape back to England and his wife, but it soon becomes apparent that their dealings with the sinister Count Orlock are far from over.

Based on the novel by Bram Stoker and a remake of the 1920’s classic Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie des Grauens starring Max Schrek, Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is a gorgeous American-Gothic horror film that breathes a new life into the classic tale.

Filmed with a cold colour palette, almost dark enough to be black and white, and favouring tantalising, lingering panoramic shots that stretch the nerves to their utmost extent in anticipation of a jump scare, the film is a return to supernatural horrors of the ‘20s and ‘30s where performances, camera techniques, and hand-crafted achievements in costume, set, and makeup design enthrall audiences. Whilst definitely adhering to the gothic-romance aesthetic, the film superbly mixes both modern and traditional folk horror, with culture clash and the differences in social evolutions of towns and countries proving to be the real villain. Afterall, what’s more terrifying than bringing an old horror from another country home with you?

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The captivating performances of Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Willem Dafoe and Bill Skarsgard ensure bums remain firmly planted in seats from reel one, with the story being just different enough from Dracula to keep you invested in the heroes’ goal to eradicate the monster. There is a romantic element to the tale and a unique relationship written in between Ellen and Orlock: a story of infatuation, loneliness, and the power of promise. Depp is graceful and gorgeous, almost ethereal when she’s not seizing or having blood gush from her eyes. And Skarsgard produces some good ol’ fashioned chills down the spine with his deep and painfully eloquent vocal work. But of course, the real stars are Sally Alcott and the incredible makeup department who so perfectly designed a modern monster from a different age. The makeup design for Orlock is incredible: scary enough to cause recoil, yet not completely masking the humanity underneath.

Nosferatu is a beautiful modern horror movie that feels like a classic and what’s most endearing about it is that the love for the story, the genre, and the medium can be seen and felt in every shot.

Director: Robert Eggers, 2025

Cast: Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin, Ralph Ineson, Simon McBurney, Bill Skarsgard, & Willem Dafoe

Spy X Family Code: White

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Feature films that further the narrative of the TV show are not something you see very often in Western entertainment, but with the ceaselessly slowing popularity of anime, it’s a phenomenon that we’re starting to come acquainted with. I think the most recent thing we’ve seen where television and cinematic universes collide has been in the MCU where the events of the show WandaVision were referenced in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.

A while ago Partner and I became rather enamored with a superbly adorable and fun anime called Spy X Family, which follows the day-to-day adventures of a sham family established by an organisation of spies to prevent war from breaking out between two nations. It’s a seemingly happy family, but each member has a secret about their identity that they try desperately to hide from the others. The father, Loid Forger, is a spy codenamed Twilight. The mother, Yor Forger, is an elite assassin known as Thorn Princess, and the daughter, Anya Forger, is a telepath. Cue hilarity.

Anyway, after absolutely falling in love with Spy X Family, we were very excited to curl up one evening and watch the movie.

Despite being four years old, Anya Forger is trying her best in school, to help her ‘father’ Loid Forger in his secret mission to save the world from war. But bullies, the stress of an exorbitant workload, and social concepts well beyond her understanding are making Anya’s goal of earning golden Stella stars almost unreachable. When she is given a special cooking assignment that could win her a star, Loid suggests making the teacher’s favourite dessert – a suggestion that takes the whole family on vacation to collect the ingredients. But along the way, Anya accidentally becomes the housing vessel for a tiny roll of microfilm that threatens the tentative peace between the two nations and is kidnapped by enemy forces. Loid must save his ‘daughter’ and retrieve the film – all without arousing suspicion and blowing his cover.

The vibe of Spy X Family is reminiscent of serial comedies of the 1960s and 70s, a la Get Smart and Starsky and Hutch, but with gorgeous and hilariously emotive animation. The simple narrative setting that allows so many endearing and hilarious misadventures to spring from it like fungus on a log, makes it a very delightful and digestible show that’s perfect for an evening after work when your brain’s capacity for absorbing content is diminished. In perfectly balanced half-hour episodes, it delivers action-packed escapades with heartwarming emotional stories, which then work to further the underlying narrative – the sham family starts to feel like a real family.

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The film is really just a feature length episode that tells a wonderfully funny story that starts with a simple goal but get increasingly and unbelievably complicated as it progresses. Like Death at a Funeral or The Birdcage, Spy X Family: Code White begins as a wholesome family vacation film, which then quickly transforms into an action-packed spy movie like a Bond or Die Hard.

I would highly recommend Spy X Family for your next popcorn binge regardless, but if you’re not up to date with the show, that does not actually hinder enjoyment of the film. As a standalone, Code White is a fun and exciting family movie that is easy to follow and promises a good hour+ of excitement and laughter.

Director: Kazuhiro Furuhashi & Takashi Katagiri, 2023

Cast (English dub): Alex Organ, Ben Phillips, Lindsay Seidel, Megan Shipman, Natalie Van Sistine, & Corey Wilder.

Bride & Prejudice

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Fresh and upgraded interpretations of a classic tale are always enjoyable; a testament to the cleverness, power, and longevity of the base narrative. While I certainly did not enjoy studying Shakespeare in English class, I cannot deny that the stories he came out with are timeless. It proves to be the same with Jane Austen, one of my favourite authors. For movie night a couple of weeks ago, best friend and myself settled in for a night of vibrant colours, costumes, music, and banter: we did Bride & Prejudice.

Lalita Bakshi and her sisters live happily with their parents in India. But there is a wider would out there with fortunes to be gained and security to be established. The marriage of a friend brings Lalita, Jaya, Maya, and Lakhi into the orbit of rich English and American developers and conflict ensues when cultural, socio-economic, and geographical preferences clash. Lalita draws the eye of William Darcy, and an unusual courtship takes place, fuelled by prejudice, pride, wealth, and cultural appropriation.

Celebrating the splendour of Bollywood, Bride & Prejudice is a fun and fresh retelling of a classic tale of romance, social conflict, and political standings. The fact that it’s a retelling of Pride and Prejudice works for itself and the film heightens this delightful story with an incredible wardrobe, breathtaking dance sequences, and a banging musical soundtrack.

The performances are all great, with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan being sassy, smart, and gorgeous as Lalita, Nitin Ganatra bringing new life to the Mr. Collins character, and Nadira Babbar delivers a brilliant portrayal of the mother.

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Filled with witty banter, amazing costumes, catchy tunes, and romance, Bride & Prejudice is a very fun and fresh retelling of a classic love story. If you’re a fan of Austen and Pride and Prejudice, then it’s worth a watch.

Director: Gurinder Chadha (2005)

Cast: Martin Henderson, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Nadira Babbar, Anupam Kher, Naveen Andrews, Namrata Shirodkar, Daniel Gillies, Indira Varma, Sonali Kulkarni, Nitin Ganatra, Meghna Kothari, Peeya Rai Chowdhary, Marsha Mason, Alexis Bledel & Ashanti

The Colour of Magic

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The troubles and perils of adaptations are an exciting and dubious part of human society. Sometimes it works incredibly well, e.g. Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, or it goes horrible wrong: e.g. The Golden Compass. I like to think that the world’s best adaptations are examples of shared interpretations, senses of humour, and textual understandings that can transcend generations. In a good adaptation, you can often see, feel even, the love for the original story that everyone working on the project has.

With all the reboots, and remakes, and piggyback films, and spinoffs that populate cinematic history, it’s always pleasant to come across an adaptation of a fresh, beloved work. I have just finished watching one such adaptation: The Colour of Magic.

On the back of a giant turtle swimming in space, stands four elephants that hold the Discworld on their backs. The Discworld is an amazing and dangerous place filled with all sorts of wonders and perils. Twoflower, the Disc’s first tourist, wishes to see all of these wondrous things and so he hires an exiled wizard, Rincewind, to be his guide. What begins as a hapless wizard’s con to get as much money as he can from the clueless tourist, turns into a mighty adventure across the Disc (and sometimes off of it) in which the unlikely duo ride dragons, get thrown off the edge off the edge of the world, interrupt a Druidic sacrifice, admire the clock sitting in Death’s hallway, and somehow save the world.

I can understand why there aren’t many adaptations of Terry Pratchett’s works. Film and distribution rights for one thing, but also (having only started reading the books in the Discworld series) there is a such a unique sense of humour to his works that definitely would not be picked up or understood by everyone. This might account for the only adaptations of any his works being British.

Based on the events of both The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett, The Colour of Magic is a fun and exciting two-part feature that beautifully depicts a medieval fantasy world with a lot of modern ideas and attitudes. Unlike the glamorised, rustic aesthetic of Rohan or the Shire, darkness, dust, muck, and dinginess make up the places in which the heroes find themselves in varying predicaments and the absence of a ‘Hollywood’ sheen only serves to better depict the world of the Disc.

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Sean Astin, sticking out like a sore thumb in knee-high socks with sandals and a loud floral shirt, is truly delightful as Twoflower, delivering a performance that is naïve, excitable, and overall just very sweet. David Jason as Rincewind does a delightful job of being the hapless, constantly menaced victim, that somehow grows to care for his charge. And Tim Curry is perfect as Trymon, a murderous and ambitious wizard who is out to gain all the power he can.

A two-part miniseries made for TV, The Colour of Magic is a delightful adaptation of a truly unique world and cast of characters, filled with action, adventure, and plenty of comedy.

Director: Vadim Jean, 2008

Cast: Sean Astin, David Jason, Tim Curry, Brian Cox, Jermey Irons, Geoffrey Hutchings, Roger Ashton-Griffiths, Michael Mears, Will Keen, James, Cosmo, David Bradley & Christopher Lee

Poor Things

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There are any number of things that make us want to go and see a particular film. The genre, the director, the actors, etc... One of the most interesting things in the world is when one reason to go and see a film cancels out a reason not to. I have this sort of relationship with Yorgos Lanthimos. While I do enjoy a strange and off-centre movie, Lanthimos’ works have often left me feeling unsettled and disturbed and this was the reason I put off going to see his latest for so long. But I do love Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe. The Favourite was the first film in which my love for the actors (Stone and Olivia Coleman) cancelled out my hesitation to sit through another Lanthimos film and now it has happened again with Poor Things. And I am glad that I decided to take myself to the movies and give the film a try because it’s truly a gem, absolutely deserving of all the great praise it’s been getting.

Poor Things tells the story of Bella Baxter (Emma Stone), a reanimated corpse brought back to life with the brain of her unborn child in her adult body. Found after her suicide by eccentric and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter, Bella is resurrected and then raised in his home with her mental faculties growing at a fascinating speed. When she begins to reach sexual maturity, Godwin decides that she should marry his assistant, but this plan is thrown into disarray when the lawyer hired to finalise the unique contracts becomes besotted with Bella and whisks her away to travel with him. As Bella sees more of the world and the way it works, she becomes fascinated, horrified, and inspired to leave her mark and make the world better, regardless of anyone says.

While Poor Things still has a dark and twisted edge that is very unique to Lanthimos’ films, I found that I was not so unsettled by this film, rather much more fascinated and curious to see where the story would take its compelling heroine. The outlandish setting, narrative, costumes, and cinematic techniques give it a particularly heightened sense of voyeurism, which in turn piques a delightful cinematic experience: bubbles in the stomach and a heady buzz knowing that you’re peeking into a world that you maybe shouldn’t. Lanthimos uses a fascinating fade-in from black and white, to sepia, to overbright colour to tell the various chapters of the story and mark the milestones of the heroine and the use of the fishbowl lens during particular scenes really heightens the sense that we’re peeping in at something that’s not for us. It’s devilish and delightful.

We then have these absolutely incredible costumes by Holly Wadington and set and art design, decoration, and direction by a team of absolute maestros that add to the eccentric vibe and make the film the visual treat that it is.

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But truth be told it is the performances that really snatch and hold the attention and wonder of the audience. Stone is phenomenal beginning the film as a sweet and naive child you want to protect and then transforming into a smart woman that you want to support. Throughout the film she retains this fantastic carte blanche that’s adorable when she’s in her child-brain stage and both hilarious and cutting in her adult stage. Willem Dafoe is very sweetly paternal and loving toward Bella and manages to express so much emotion that pushes past the impressive makeup that disfigures his face. This then adds a delicious layer of humour to his performance, as many of his scenes are delivered with a blunt and seemingly unfeeling, scientific, tone. Mark Ruffalo as the rakish lawyer is brilliantly hilarious and ridiculous, showcasing a fabulous fall from grace that really satisfies. Half the time you don’t know whether to slap him senseless or feel sorry for him.

Poor Things is a devilishly delightful film that I would thoroughly recommend. It’s a visual treat filled with romance, drama, and plenty of dark and twisted comedy. I loved it.

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos, 2023

Cast: Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, Mark Ruffalo, Ramy Youssef, Kathryn Hunter, Vicki Pepperdine, Christopher Abbott, Jerrod Carmichael, Suzy Bemba & Hanna Schygulla

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

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After reviewing Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes this morning and it being a ridiculously hot day in here Aus, I decided that there was no better time to finish watching the Hunger Games saga than today. So, I sat down after lunch and watched all four movies. At least I can say that I’ve seen them all now…if nothing else.

The rebels living beneath the rubble of District 13 have successfully extracted Peeta and the other hostages from the Capitol, but the victory is cut short when Peeta tries to kill Katniss. Brainwashed and broken into being an assassin, Peeta undergoes procedures to reverse the Capitol’s manipulation while Katniss makes a plan to sneak into the Capitol and assassinate President Snow. The war is in full swing and Katniss goes to the front lines to enact her plan, but as more and more people begin to drop hints not to trust President Coin, Katniss begins to wonder if she’s not just a pawn in another, bloody, game.

I have been reminded why I lost interest in these movies. As soon as they switched from dystopian to war movie, I was out. Without the drama of the arena, the characters all became pretty boring and the larger story of a reluctant girl becoming the voice of a revolution just doesn’t captivate.  I found nothing about this film interesting at all, it’s as if everything that it originally had going for it was left to peter out and all that was left was this uninteresting urban war film with the no more emotional payoff than a bar of soap.

The performances are all fine, though I felt that they too had been left to become flat, and by the end of the movie, I was still of the sound opinion that Katniss Everdeen is one of the most unapproachable and uninteresting heroines in film and literature.

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All this is not to say that Mockingjay Part 2 is a bad film, merely a boring one. It’s got action, drama, and a few plot twists that made the needle on the pulse machine twitch, but nothing more. I’m glad I can say I’ve watched them all, but I definitely won’t be revisiting them again.

Director: Francis Lawrence, 2015

Cast: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Julianne Moore, Willow Shields, Sam Clafin, Jeffrey Wright, Mahershala Ali, Jena Malone, Stanley Tucci & Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

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So, for a little bit of context: I never actually finished watching The Hunger Games series. I read the books and then gave up after the third movie. Not sure why, I guess I just grew out of it. As far as dystopian sagas go, there are more interesting works out there. But I recently got free tickets to the new Hunger Games film, Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and I thought why not? So, I got a group of friends together and we had ourselves a little movie night. All in all, it was very enjoyable, and I even rather liked the film.

Young Coriolanus Snow thinks himself a sure win for the Plinth Prize, academically outranking the rest of his class despite his poor home circumstances. But his hopes for the prize money and a better life are thrown into turmoil when his class his given a new last-minute assignment: mentor a tribute in the Hunger Games and come up with a way to get the public watching again. Coriolanus is paired with an outcast songbird from District 12 and as they work together, he starts to develop feelings for her. But the Capital is just as harsh a world as the outer districts and Coriolanus quickly learns that there might not be a way for him to have the life he wants and the love he wants.

The film is a disturbingly fascinating rise to power story of Coriolanus Snow, later President Snow; rising from humble beginnings with a moral and hopeful attitude that gets warped by ambition into power-hungry madness. Sort of a villain’s origin story, as most villains begin life trying to do what’s best for those they love and getting scorched in the process. The story is filled with betrayals, manipulation, and chapters of horrendous physical and ethical conflict and violence.

The Hunger Games have yet to become the great spectacle of Katniss’ time, here there is merely an empty arena dotted about with rusty pitchforks and axes and the ‘thrill’ of the game is seeing people commit savage brutality to stay alive. But the Hunger Games themselves only make up half the film. The remainder fills in the blanks of how Coriolanus became the heartless and evil person we know from the series. And there are heaps of terrible trials and betrayals that really leave you silent and staring.

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The performances are all brilliant, with Tom Blyth very alarmingly beginning the film a little wooden as the upstanding Capital citizen and falling into mad and savage frenzy during the third act. His performance in the second half really comes alive as his circumstance begin to reveal his true character. Rachel Zegler is instantly admirable and loveable as Lucy Gray Baird, from the first moment you see her, you’re instantly on her side. But I was all about Viola Davis as the delightfully twisted Dr. Gaul; she’s the type of villain you just want more of.

Hunger Games: Ballad Of Songbirds and Snakes is a disturbing character journey, but a pretty enjoyable film filled with action, violence, hope, a whole lot of drama. It might even have got me considering revisiting the series again and finishing it this time…

Director: Francis Lawrence, 2023

Cast: Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Hunter Schafer, Fionnula Flanagan, Viola Davis, Ashley Liao, Josh Andres Rivera, Jason Schwartzman, & Peter Dinklage

Last Voyage of the Demeter

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It’s a common argument and complaint right now that mainstream Hollywood and the big studios in general are plying audiences with too many reboots, and remakes, and piggyback films, etc. I agree with this; when you think of the wealth of original content that there is spanning human history why would you gamble in making another Indiana Jones or Pirates of the Caribbean? What percentage of literature is unfilmable, how much is horded by those who own the rights, and how much of it just scares the studio heads? This thought is in my head right now because I've just come back from seeing a very good film based on a tiny portion of Bram Stoker's, Dracula.

Last Voyage of the Demeter chronicles the journey of the most celebrated monster from Transylvania to England. The crew of the Demeter are a motley bunch, but staunch and hearty, bound for England with the promise of a nice bonus if they get there in record time. Their cargo is a bunch of crates. When a storm upturns one of the crates, a sickly woman is discovered and while the Doctor nurses her back to health, men start disappearing during the night watch. Fear and superstition runs rampant as glimpses of a strange creature are seen and one by one, the screw succumb to gruesome deaths.

The voyage of the Demeter in Stoker’s gothic classic is a very small portion of the book, nothing more a chapter and written as the captain’s log. The little substory certainly lends itself to cinematic interpretation and while it can be argued that Dracula movies have been done time and time again, this film manages to be original and a good example of all the tiny golden nuggets that are hidden in humanity’s wealth of literature and content.

The story we all know and we go into the film fully aware of what’s going to transpire within the next 2 hours. What the film does is create a cast of fleshed out and realised characters that get stories of their own before being eaten. From the stoic captain, to the religious cook, to the doctor who wants nothing more than to understand why the world works the way that it does, the crew of the Demeter become tangible characters and not just a number in the pages of this classic novel. While there is only so much you can do to bring a nameless pawn or henchman to life, the film manages to depict a compelling tale of a doomed crew that are forced to re-evaluate everything they believe in. The performances are all wonderful, everyone in every scene added depth and dimension to, what I remind you, is not much more than a single chapter in a book.

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The suspense and horror aspect of the film is achieved through an Alien style stalker use of the camera, very slow-moving shots, and stylistic closeups of the violence and gore. And then we have the villain himself. As it would be interesting but laughable to have Dracula as the captivating and charming, Gary Oldman style nobleman, the monster design returns to the classic horror of the 1920s with a Nosferatu monster with pointed ears, sharp talons, and spidery limbs. What I particularly enjoyed is the transformation that Dracula goes through on the voyage. Beginning the series of slaughters as weak, scrawny and feeble, he gains strength, shape, and even speech the more he feeds; finally regaining some semblance of a man by the film’s end.

While it’s not the greatest horror movie ever to slash its way onto a movie screen, Last Voyage of the Demeter is a fresh and creative depiction of a classic, playing on the tropes of the genre while also fleshing out a part of the novel that hardly ever gets remembered.

Director: Andre Ovredal, 2023

Cast: Corey Hawkins, Liam Cunningham, David Dastmalchian, Chris Walley, Jon Jon Briones, Stefan Kapicic, Woody Norman, Martin Furuland & Aisling Franciosi

Matilda the Musical

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There is nothing quite as upsetting as wanting to like something because it’s got everything going for it and ending up not liking it at all. It’s an unpleasant combination of emotions that come from such an experience: disappointment, the feeling of being robbed or duped, deflated, and sometimes even angry. I’m sorry to say that I experienced this recently, with Matilda the Musical.

Where most parents think their child is a miracle, others take a less romantic approach. Matilda Wormwood is born into a greedy and crooked family that cannot see what an incredible child she is. And she is incredible. With a mind so great, it absorbs everything she reads, as well as allows her to make up amazing stories and gives her the power of telekinesis, Matilda hopes that her talents will be better appreciated in school. While her teacher, Miss Honey, sees her potential, the tyrannical headmistress determines to treat Matilda as badly as she does the rest of her students, and Matilda decides that if so many people find her revolting, then revolt she shall!

Matilda is my favourite story by Roald Dahl and Danny DeVito’s film adaptation still remains one of my favourite movies from childhood. I also really love Tim Minchin who is responsible for the music and while I have never seen the stage musical, I have only ever heard great things. So, you can imagine how keen I was when I discovered Matilda the Musical on Netflix. While there is actually nothing wrong or badly done about this film, I was just overwhelmed by a feeling that something got lost in the translation from stage to screen.

It’s not uncommon for stage musicals to lose something when they’re put onto the screen. It’s tricky to try and keep that spectacle that comes from a stage show and have it produce the same visual experience when crammed into a box. Sadly, I don’t think up-and-coming director Matthew Marchus was up to the challenge. The film itself is very visual and satisfying with grand set designs for the larger musical numbers, a very bright colour palette, and over-the-top performances. ‘Stimulating’ is absolutely the best word to describe it. However, I could not help but feel that the wholesome magic of the story got replaced by the stage-like spectacle.

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And because I felt like something was missing from this story that I absolutely adore, I wasn’t able to get sucked into the film. I also found Emma Thompson’s resemblance to Ben Kingsley a little unnerving. On this note, I do have to applaud the cast because the performances were pretty stellar. Alisha Weir as Matilda is a rising little star and she played the role incredibly well, with sweetness and fire that was very endearing. Emma Thompson as Agatha Trunchbull is the epitome of tyrannical authority figures, a terrifying giant in the eyes of a child and I could feel the fun she was having with the role.

I love the story, I love the characters, I love Tim Minchin, and I love musicals so you can imagine how much I really wanted to love this movie. Sadly, the magic got lost or fizzled out, and I can’t bring myself to say that I was a fan. I guess I liked it fine, because there was nothing actually wrong with it, but I couldn’t bring myself to love it because it just fell short.

Director: Matthew Warchus (2022)

Cast: Alisha Weir, Lashana Lynch, Stephen Graham, Andrea Riseborough, Sindhu Vee, Winter Jarrett-Glasspool, Charlie Hodson-Prior, Rei Yamauchi Fulker, & Emma Thompson

Wuthering Heights

 

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Romantic tales, both tragic and uplifting, are a staple of cinema. While there are new rom-coms and dramas being written all the time, sometimes what you’re really after is a classic. And literature is full of them. It seems that I am now going on a bit of an iconic-literature-adaptation binge because this afternoon, to pass a few hours, I curled up with Robert Fuest’s 1970 adaptation of Emily Bronte’s gothic tragedy, Wuthering Heights.

Chronicling a love that begins when Cathy Earnshaw and adopted brother Heathcliff are but children, the film favours the romantic tragedy of the story as opposed to its more gothic nature. When Cathy comes back from a stay witch a rich family transformed into a lady, Heathcliff feels the sting of betrayal and while Cathy determines that all her choices are for the betterment of their relationship (including her marriage into the family who transformed her) disaster strikes again and again as the two grow further and further apart. 

Fuest’s adaptation focuses on the doomed relationship of the two lovers with money and social standing being the manipulative villain behind its demise. Both Cathy and Heathcliff (both of whom are horrible in the book, by my memory) are victims of the brutalities of society: their wild romance (depicted by their constant forays into the moors) being muzzled by money and the status that comes with it. While Cathy tries to manipulate this to their advantage, Heathcliff seeks to destroy it, which he does by gaining wealth himself and then reducing the family of Wuthering Heights to little more than beggars and savages. 

The film’s modest budget accommodates the power of the story and its allegorical aims perfectly with only costume, cinematography, and the cast’s performances to create the drama, romance, and despair. All of which is achieved incredibly.

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Timothy Dalton and Anna Calder-Marshall as the freedom-seeking lovers work wonders together with each performance standing strong and toe-to-toe with the other. There is absolutely no weaker sex here, and indeed the battle between the genders ends equally well/tragically for both of them.

Filled with drama, remorse, despair, and occasionally hope, Wuthering Heights is a captivating adaptation of story that’s iconic for a reason. 

Director: Robert Fuest (1970)

Cast: Anna Calder-Marshall, Timothy Dalton, Harry Andrews, Pamela Brown, Judy Cornewell, James Cossins, Rosalie Crutchley, Hilary Heath, Julian Glover & Ian Ogilvy

Emma

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 Everyone has their own guilty pleasures in absolutely everything: food, literature, movies, etc. Of course, these tastes are subject to change: they grow as we grow. Five years ago, if you asked me what my guilty pleasure was when it came to movies, I would have said something along the lines of Rock of Ages or some trashy rom-com. Times have changed. Nowadays I have discovered that my guilty pleasures when it comes to movies are Jane Austen adaptations. Whether it’s the stories or the period setting, something about them just makes me feel better when I am stressed or down. Last week, during a particularly ‘meh’ mood, I surfed a few streaming services and came across Hollywood’s 1996 adaptation of Emma. 

Emma Woodhouse (Gwyneth Paltrow) is a celebrated matchmaker, but soon finds herself in over her head when she determines to match up social nobody Harriet Smith to charming Mr. Elton. Against warnings from her family friend Mr. Knightly, Emma embarks on a little scheme to bring to the two together. But when things don’t go according to her plans, Emma’s own confidence in her kindness and her ability to read society are shaken; even more so when she discovers love for herself.

A classic and comedic tale of misread signals and romantic misinterpretations between the sexes, Emma is always going to make a good movie. Honestly, Jane Austen is kind of hard to screw up. And while this adaptation is indeed very enjoyable, it is by no means the most stirring of romantic comedies. 

The ‘90s was a strange period for period adaptations, especially romantic comedies. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there is something about period rom-coms that was just a little bit off. It’s as though the direction and some of the cinematographic choices were too modern to blend with the vintage setting and thus some weird feeling of modernity creeps into the mix, ever so slightly disrupting the voyeuristic vibe. 

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But this is not to say that this version of Emma is bad. The film has a very interesting cast, all of who give wonderful performances, the music is perfect, and the achievements in set and costume design steals the show.  All in all, this is a true and very entertaining adaptation of a classic piece of romantic literature, it’s sweet, and funny, and just mindless enough to make for a perfect afternoon-filler. 

Director: Douglas McGrath, 1996

Cast: Gwyneth Paltrow, Greta Scacchi, Denys Hawthorne, Jeremy Northam, Alan Cumming, Toni Collette, Sophie Thompson, Polly Walker, & Ewan McGregor

The Birth of a Nation

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It’s often enlightening and sometimes disturbing to watch a film from over a hundred years ago and realise that some things never change, and that aspects of modern culture continue to be influenced by it or follow in its shadow. For my afternoon it was disturbing, as I sat down to a film that is critically acclaimed for its innovations in cinema and socially disdained for its subject matter. Yep, I sat down and watched The Birth of a Nation.

Told in two parts the film follows two American families: the Northern Stonemans and the Southern Camerons. Part one follows them through the Civil War, beginning with the introduction of slavery to America and then jumping right in to the fighting, before ending on the assassination of Lincoln. Part two then follows the families through the Reconstruction era and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan.

Writer/director/producer D. W. Griffith makes a point of claiming his indifference to the racism of the subject material, the film being an adaptation of Thomas Dixon’s play The Clansman: An Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan, but that did not stop the film being absolutely reviled upon its release for its horrendous and disturbing depictions of the Ku Klux Klan as heroic saviours. It’s undoubtedly one of the most racist and shocking films ever made and yet it’s still studied to this very day. Why?

Here’s why. It was the first real cinematic epic, a film so artistically compelling that audiences would stay put for the entire three hours despite the shocking content. It was the birth of modern camera techniques with Griffith introducing dramatic close-ups and tracking shots amongst others as well as the birth of cinematic editing with the introduction of crosscutting, parallel action sequences, and more. A lot of modern cinema owes its very skeleton, consciously or not, to this film and while the artist did not agree with the message of his medium, he still put everything into making undeniable art. 

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It just goes to show that the ‘don’t shoot the artists’ mentality in cinema has been around for over a century and debates are still surrounding this piece. 

The Birth of a Nation is probably one of the rarest films ever, being both morally condemned and artistically celebrated. However it’s a film for people who love film; I most certainly would not recommend it to those who enjoy watching moves, but aren’t so invested in the inner workings of the medium. 

Director: D. W. Griffith, 1915

Cast: Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall, Miriam Cooper, Mary Alden, Ralph Lewis, George Siegmann, Walter Long, Robert Harron, Wallace Reid, Joseph Henabery, Elmer Clifton, Josephine Crowell, Spottiswoode Aitken, & George Beranger

20000 Leagues Under the Sea

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Book vs. Film is an interesting skirmish in the creative realm because it’s one where there are more than two sides. Some people are staunch readers before viewers. Others prefer to have some semblance of the story mapped out for them first, as reading is a harder venture. And then there are some, like me who stand behind the ‘circumstance’ banner: I do both depending on whichever piques my interest first. I recently closed the cover on Jules Verne’s 20000 Leagues Under the Sea and it was only after doing that that I was curious to see how it’s been adapted for film. So yesterday I sat down with Disney+ and 20000 Leagues Under the Sea. 

A pretty close adaptation, the film follows professor Aronnax, his apprentice Conseil, and harpoonist Ned Land, as they venture on a voyage to prove or disprove the existence of a sea monster that has been ravaging warships. When the monster attacks their ship, the three a thrown overboard and find themselves at the mercy of the monster: the monster being a giant submarine and its captain a bitter, eccentric genius that has washed his hands of civilised society. Prisoners aboard the Nautilus, the three heroes embark on a voyage around the world under the sea, all the while trying to make sense of their strange captain. 

When we think ‘Disney’ we think animation, musicals, we don’t think of science-fiction action-drama. Yet here we are. 20000 Leagues is a close adaption to Verne’s classic novel, though with a few narrative liberties taken so that there is more action and drama to the story. A solid action-adventure film, it’s got everything from majestic underwater shots to outdated, but still hugely entertaining creature effects and climactic fight scenes. 

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It’s also got quite an interesting cast behind it with Kirk Douglas as the hot-headed hero Ned Land and James Mason as the cool and calculating Captain Nemo. Mason is glorious, bringing great depth to an already complex character and Douglas ticks all the boxes for swashbuckling adventure on the high seas (despite the lack of pirates). 

It’s certainly a fun take on a classic tale and Disney does right by making it a close adaptation as well as one that the whole family can enjoy. 

Director: Richard Fleischer, 1954

Cast: Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Peter Lorre, Paul Lukas, Robert J. Wilke, Ted de Corsia, Carleton Young, J. M. Kerrigan, Percy Helton, & Ted Cooper.

The Witches

 

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It’s a very hard time for cinema right now. I don’t need to tell anyone that. But I was thinking the other day, about the specific ramifications that a pandemic has on the cinematic experience. While here in Australia, a complete lockdown has not really been a thing (aside from Victoria’s during their second wave) the cinema has most certainly been affected by the health restrictions, with no new films coming through at first, to only a certain number coming through now. The films that are hitting the big screens, rather than being released through streaming services, are definitely of a certain visual ilk. I definitely noticed this with the last movie I went to a cinema to watch (and honestly regretted): The Witches.

Set in 1960s Alabama, The Witches tells the story of a boy and his grandmother who, whilst vacationing in a swanky hotel, stumble upon a congregation of witches that plan to rid the world of children by turning them into mice. Despite overhearing the details of their plan, the boy is turned is captured and turned into a mouse, and soon he and his grandmother are racing against the clock to stop the witches before they leave the hotel and put their dastardly plan into action. 

I was a fan of the original The Witches (1990) growing up and honestly I was surprised that someone decided that, of all the classic Dahl tales, this was the one that needed a remake. While I will say that the film is visually quite pretty, definitely made for the big screen, I found myself struggling to decide who the intended audience was. The lighting, costumes, and childish script really make this look like a kids’ film, yet it has an M rating. 

There were also a number of casting decisions that I struggled with. Set in 1960s Alabama the leading characters are African American, which I initially thought was going to mean that there would be some social commentary going on, or the Grand High Witch as a character would be a metaphor for segregation or something clever like that. Nope. Nada. While Octavia Spencer and Jazhir Bruno both deliver great performances, I felt that this setting and casting decision didn’t bring anything to the story: a potentially great idea that just got left hanging. 

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I also have to say that the character of the Grand High Witch was also a bout of weirdness. Anne Hathaway did the role well and was a diva no doubt, but I felt that there was no substance to her character, other than that she was the villain and had a pointless gimmick of being hard to understand due to her thick Eastern European accent. 

But, to give credit where it is due, the costumes and set designs were glorious and the transformation sequences of the children into animals as well as the ‘monster’ effects of the witches themselves were pretty cool. I get the feeling that Guillermo del Toro had a hand in that. 

But ultimately my main response the remake of The Witches was “why?” It’s a visually pretty film, but has no real substance; just empty calories. I’d recommend waiting until it comes onto a streaming service if you’re curious. 

Director: Robert Zemeckis, 2020

Cast: Anne Hathaway, Jahzir Bruno, Octavia Spencer, Stanley Tucci, Codie-Lei Eastick, Kristen Chenoweth, & Chris Rock

Emma

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And so I am put into the most fairest and brightest of moods this morning because the film of choice with coffee and cake was a delightful romp of misinterpreted romantic signals, vanity, and hilarious consequences… I am of course referring to Austen’s most admired of all romantic comedies –indeed the matriarch of the genre itself – Emma.

The film follows Miss Emma Woodhouse (Kate Beckinsale), a sweet, but ambitious country heiress who finds no pleasure in personal romantic pursuits, but takes complete pleasure and pride in her abilities to match-make everyone else in her acquaintance. Her latest project is a pretty young woman of no consequence, Harriet Smith, whom Emma determines to set up with the village pastor. With one highly successful match under her belt, Emma is convinced of her talents, but karma rears its head when each and every one of her plans regarding Harriet Smith completely backfires.

Emma has to be one of the most timeless and celebrated romantic comedies. It’s been remade and remastered time and time again -each time as classic and hilarious as ever- and has always retained its incredible relativity, humour, and delightful irony.

This adaptation proves to be just as timeless and enjoyable as all those that have come before, taking on the tone of the most romantic of dramas –complete with in-film fantasy sequences and romantic nightmares. All set against a lovely rural backdrop depicting English country elegance of a time long past.

Kate Beckinsale as the titular heroine is absolutely delightful: though manipulative, she is completely sincere and not unfeeling towards her fellow sex and it’s lovely to watch unlikely friendships blossom despite the social standing. Backinsale is all elegance and charm with a slight cheekiness in her sophistication that makes her impossible not to fall in love with.

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Boasting a strange, but agreeable cast including Mark Strong and Prunella Scales, Emma is filled with wonderful humour, misdemeanours, and delicious disasters that all tie up neatly in the end. It’s the ultimate romantic comedy, virtually indestructible, and this adaptation proves to be a charming and faithful one.

Director: Diarmuid Lawrence, 1996

Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Mark Strong, Bernard Hepton, Samantha Bond, James Hazeldine, Dominic Rowan, Samantha Morton, Prunella Scales, Guy Henry, Raymond Coulthard, and Olivia Williams

Northanger Abbey

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Continuing on with my great Austen adventure, this evening was spent in the company of naïve sweethearts, flirtatious sociopaths, tyrannical patriarchs, and lustrous men… it could only be Northanger Abbey.

The film tells of the exciting adventures of young Catherine Morland (Felicity Jones) whom is requested to accompany rich family friends to Bath as their favoured companion. Excited and terrified to be introduced into society, Catherine’s innocence and naivety attract the attentions of two men, one of whom she finds herself holding a strong affection towards. But when her crush’s father invites her to stay with them at the infamous mansion of Northanger Abbey, Catherine’s overactive imagination, coupled a friend’s gossiping, and a passion for gothic romance novels, jeopardise Catherine’s already fragile footing in society.

I remember reading Northanger Abbey for my Gothic Literature course at university and absolutely falling love with it. Truth be told, I have a weakness for gothic romances, rather like the heroines in this film, which already earns this delightful adaptation a special place in my heart and film collection.

The novel itself stands aside from Austen’s other romantic dramas and comedies, as it dapples in the dream sequence and breaks up the narrative with tantalising bursts of adventure and active excitement. This film does the same, being just like any other period drama, but then broken up and made more exciting by the unexpected dream sequences of abduction, murder, rape, and patriarchal tyranny.

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Felicity Jones as Catherine is absolutely gorgeous, perfectly playing one of Austen’s more excitable and complicated heroines, as she is all smiles, sweetness, and gentility in society, but has fantasies of abduction and rape when alone at night. Jones is positively mesmerising from beginning to end and you cannot help but fall in love with her right from the start.

The debauched, degrading, and dark side of society is prominently displayed rather then merely alluded to, like some of the softer romantic comedies and, indeed, in more than one shot I was reminded of Hitchcock’s adaptation of Rebecca. It’s another classic Austen adaptation that I just adored!

Director: Jon Jones, 2007

Cast: Felicity Jones, Carey Mulligan, Sylvestra Le Touzel, Desmond Barrit, William Beck, J J Feild, Hugh O’Conor, Catherine Walker, and Liam Cunningham