After a team puts together a film has good as ‘Happy Feet’ then the whole world will be eagerly awaiting their new project… I know I certainly was and despite some harsh comments from people I have to admit that I was really impressed with their new film ‘Legend Of The Guardians: Owls Of The Ga’Hoole’… so much so that I will go out on a limb and say that the animation in it is some of the best that we have ever seen on the big screen – even better if you happen to see it in 3D.

‘Legend Of The Guardians: Owls Of The Ga’Hoole’ covers the first three books in Kathryn Lasky’s series of books and follows a young Tyto barn owl called Soren (Jim Sturgess – ‘The Way Back’, ‘Heartless’) and his brother, Kludd (Ryan Kwanten – ‘Griff The Invisible’, TV’S ‘True Blood’) who are captured by an evil militant group of Owls named The Pure Ones, led by Metal Beak (Joel Edgerton – ‘Animal Kingdom’, ‘The Waiting City’) and Nyra (Helen Mirren – ‘Red’, ‘Brighton Rock’). While captured Soren meets Gylfie (Emily Barclay – ‘Lou’, TV’S ‘Lowdown’) and Grimble (Hugo Weaving – ‘The Wolfman’, ‘Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen’) who tell him the only hope is for him to reach The Guardians and one Owl in particular – Ezylryb (Geoffrey Rush – ‘The King’s Speech’, TV’S ‘Lowdown’). Not a bad task for an Owl who hasn’t learnt to fly properly or is even sure whether The Guardians really exist.

Everything about ‘Legend Of The Guardians: Owls Of The Ga’Hoole’ works perfectly well thanks to great work from the team of screenwriters and director, Zack Snyder (‘Watchmen’, ‘300’). The animation in this film completely blew me away – the detail on the owls (right down to each feather) is phenomenal and while many criticized the fact that the Owls did movements that Owls can’t possibly do I was willing to over look it considering that these Owls also handle a range of weaponry which I’m pretty sure Owls in the wild can’t do either.

Story wise this film also works sensationally well although I do question whether this film is really for kids considering there are some really dark moments including an Owl being speared. Still the thing that impressed me the most was just how well this story held-up for adults. I found myself completely engrossed in the film and easily identified with (and cared for) the characters – so much so it was a little hard not to get emotional when some didn’t make it.

If you loved ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ you will love ‘Legend Of The Guardians: Owls Of The Ga’Hoole’… together those two are battling for the title of the Best Animated Film Of The Year. A terrific film that will be enjoyed by people of all ages.

Year: 2010

Director: Zack Snyder

Stars: Jim Sturgess, Ryan Kwanten, Joel Edgerton, Helen Mirren, Emily Barclay, Hugo Weaving, Geoffrey Rush

Classification: PG

Runtime: 97 mins

Rating:

Dave Griffiths

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Sometimes those analyzing a film miss the point of what the director was really trying to do. When you take a look at ‘A Heartbeat Away’ it’s worth remembering that its director, Gale Edwards (‘Aspects Of Love’, TV’S ‘Great Performances’) has a strong theatre background, and it’s quite obvious that Edwards has gone for campy-musical theatre feel for the film. And while it doesn’t work quite as well as what Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Moulin Rouge’ did, it certainly doesn’t deserve to be described as “one of the worst films” ever like some naysayers are saying.

Kevin Flack (Sebastian Gregory – ‘Accidents Happen’, ‘Beautiful’) is a young rock star who is trapped in a dead-end town that seems to have died decades early. His father, Edwin (William Zappa – ‘The Bridge’, TV’S ‘Underbelly Files: The Man That Got Away’) is the local Marching Band Leader who has been long remembered for his greatest failure – when the Band were washed out and lost a championship that should have been their own. Edwin has decided that it’s time to claim back the championship but when Kevin is distracted by the beautiful, Mandy (Isabel Lucas – ‘The Wedding Party’, TV’S ‘The Pacific’) he is late to pick up his father, something that results in Edwin being hit by truck. With Edwin out of action Kevin’s mother, the musically gifted Grace (Tammy McIntosh – TV’S ‘Sea Patrol’ & ‘All Saints’) urges her son to take control of his father’s band and see if he can lead them to justice. What she doesn’t count on is Mayor Riddick (Colin Friels – ‘Tomorrow When The War Began’, TV’S ‘Killing Time’) to want to sabotage her son in order to save a business deal.

The naysayers of this film should take something into account. Would seasoned veterans of Australian screen like Colin Friels and Roy Billing (TV’S ‘Underbelly Files: Infilitration’, ‘The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader’) jump on board a film if it’s script was as terrible as people are saying? No of course they wouldn’t, you only have to look at Friels portrayal of Mayor Riddick to see that the film has been written to be over-exaggerated and campy… and if that performance doesn’t convince you of the films intention, than the scenes of Kevin’s guitar playing at the Championships certainly should.

The only part of ‘A Heartbeat Away’ that deserves to be critcised is the acting performance of Isabel Lucas. She stepped up with ‘Daybreakers’ but takes two steps backwards here. She honestly appears like she is half-asleep for the most part and just dreams herself through the film. A shame really when you consider that the likes of Gregory, McIntosh and Friels really get into the spirit of the movie and seem to be having the time of their lives.

‘A Heartbeat Away’ is for those who want to go to the cinema and have fun. Light-hearted and over exaggerated this certainly isn’t a film to be taken seriously. However, screenwriter, Julie Kincade (newcomer) manages to get the serious point that big business is crushing small Australian towns across rather well and once again the audience gets to see that Sebastian Gregory is one of Australia’s most promising actors. Light-hearted fun that will you feeling happy and bubbly.

Dave Griffiths

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If you going to attempt to pull off a kooky film that mixes black comedy with drama then you better pray that your script not only works… but works to it’s absolute best. Luckily for new Aussie film ‘Accidents Happen’ it does work wonderfully well. And while I could sit here and write a massive article on how the inclusion of Geena Davis (TV’S ‘Exit 19’ & ‘Commander-In-Chief’) takes away the Aussie identity in this film and how I’d be willing to bet on the fact that Brian Carbee’s (‘In Search Of Mike’) original script wasn’t set in America until Screen Australia saw the big bucks flashing, but instead I’ll review this my what I saw on the screen… and that was a damn fine film indeed.

An accident one night leaves the Conway family devastated. One sibling dies and another ends up with brain damage. Mum, Gloria (Geena Davis) goes off the rails, Dad, Ray (Joel Tobeck – TV’S ‘Tangle’ & ’30 Seconds’) leaves the family and twin brother, Larry (Harry Cook – ‘Caught Inside’, TV’S ‘My Place’) becomes an alcoholic. That just leaves Billy (Harrison Gilbertson – ‘Australian Rules’, ‘Blessed’) to hold everything together. But when he and his friend, Doug Post (Sebastian Gregory – ‘Beautiful’, ‘Acolytes’) play a prank that results in killing Doug’s father Tiny (Troy Planet – ‘Ghost Rider’, TV’S ‘Stupid, Stupid Man’), the two boys once again find their lives clouded by tragedy.

The one thing that shines through clearly in this film is that Sebastian Gregory knows how to pick a good script. All the films in his career so far have been gems and he continues that streak here. Director, Andrew Lancaster (‘Syntax Error’, ‘In Search Of Mike’) has created something pretty special here. The black comedy and drama of ‘Accidents Happen’ blend in so well that it takes this film and places it in the realm of brilliant films like ‘The Safety Of Objects’ (dir: Rose Troche). The script works beautifully with the audience being drawn in the with drama around the tragedies that occur and also being given the odd moment were they can enjoy a cheeky giggle at some black comedy.

Lancaster has also brilliantly cast this film. Erik Thomson and Gregory shine in smaller roles while Harrison Gilbertson really announces himself into the Australian acting world. He is a joy to watch in an extremely difficult role to portray. He deserves a big congratulations. The only let down is Geena Davis who really doesn’t shine as much as she should. Being the big international star in this film should be something she relishes but she really doesn’t shine through as much as she should and she is out-acted by her younger cast mates.

‘Accidents Happen’ is a real surprise packet. It sneaks up on you and really announces it. With a terrific script this is one black comedy/drama that works sensationally well. This could be your guilty pleasure of 2010.

 

Dave Griffiths

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The key to a good horror that will truly terrify its audience is to make the horror at hand so realistic that the audience believes that horror could exist in it’s midst. That is exactly what makes new Australian film ‘Acolytes’ such a joy to watch. The horror at hand is so realistic that you will be eyeing off those who live in your suburb and wondering what secrets they keep.

Mark (Sebastian Gregory) and James (Joshua Payne) were only young boys when they fell victim to child-rapist, Gary Parker (Michael Dorman), so it is quite understandable that they are scared when Parker is released from prison and once again moves into their area. They decide to put their fear to the side and live a normal life with their friend, Chasely (Hanna Mangan Lawrence), with whom James is having a relationship and Mark has an intense crush on. Despite their decision James baits Parker by having the Police search his home and Parker once again comes after them. After discovering a backpacker’s corpse the three teens work together and discover that local man, Ian Wright (Joel Edgerton) is a serial killer. When they manage to confirm that decide to blackmail Wright into killing Parker… a very dangerous game indeed.

What makes this film so eerie to watch is that you can fully understand why these teens would want to use Wright to kill Parker. This added to the fact that Wright is not made out to be a hideous monster but is instead shown as your ‘typical-man-next-door’ and this film becomes very creepy with its intense realism. When you allow this to take full effect you begin to realise that director, Jon Hewitt has finally stepped up to the level that he promised with his second film ‘Redball’. Hewitt’s sense of eerie-realism is his true power and what makes ‘Acolytes’ a true masterpiece.

‘Acolytes’ is made even better by brilliant performances by both Dorman and Edgerton. Dorman shakes off any hint of the nice, Christian Hayden he played in ‘Secret Life Of Us’ with a terrific portrayal of the brutal rapist, Parker, while you literally forget that you are watching Joel Edgerton when the evil Wright graces the screen. Wright is right up there with characters such as Hannibal Lector for his evilness and it’s not over-reacting by comparing Edgerton’s performance to that of Sir Anthony Hopkins in ‘The Silence Of The Lambs’. Young actor, Sebastian Gregory also continues to show why he is to be considered one of Australia’s brightest acting stars.

With brilliant acting, great directing, terrific storyline and sensational soundtrack ‘Acolytes’ holds his own and is one of the finest horror-thrillers to be released this year.

Dave Griffiths

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When the word ‘romance’ is used to describe a film you rarely think the film will consist of a good storyline, wonderful acting and totally engross its audience. But that is exactly what happens with romantic-drama ‘Adam’. You can’t help but fall in love with the two main characters and for once you actually care what happens to them… now that doesn’t happen in many Hollywood films these days.

Adam (Hugh Dancy – ‘Confessions Of A Shopholic’, ‘The Jane Austen Book Club’) is completely lost. The Asperger’s Syndrome sufferer hates change so he is devastated by the loss of his father. His life is then thrown into further chaos when his boss, Sam Klieber (Mark Linn-Baker – TV’S ‘Perfect Strangers’) sacks him. Then he meets his new neighbour, Beth Buchwald (Rose Byrne – ‘Knowing’, TV’S ‘Damages’) a beautiful young woman who finds herself attracted to Adam. While Beth tries to learn more about Adam and his condition her parents Marty (Peter Gallagher – ‘The War Boys’, ‘Center Stage: Turn It Up’) and Rebecca (Amy Irving – ‘Hide And Seek’, TV’’S ‘Alias’) show their distaste for the relationship.

While so many people were eagerly anticipating ‘Two Lovers’ and predicting it to be the romantic-drama of the year it is simply blown out of the water by ‘Adam’, a film that not only entertains but also educates people on what it is like to live with Asperger’s Syndrome… not an easy thing to do. Director/screenwriter, Max Mayer (TV’S ‘The West Wing’ and ‘Alias’) manages to do this without the film becoming a cheesy made-for-TV melodrama, instead he lets ‘Adam’ play out as an intelligent drama that has the sophistication of a dramatic theatre performance.

Mayer is well supported by his leads; Hugh Dancy is magnificent in the role of Adam, and you can only wonder whether or not his demanding role may attract some Oscar-buzz. Meanwhile Rose Byrne shows the world what Australian audiences have known for a long time… that she is damn fine actress that can make any role her own.

If you are looking for romantic comedy then ‘Adam’ is not the film for you; instead this is romantic drama at its very best. Dancy and Byrne shine in a film that you can’t help but fall in love with.

Dave Griffiths

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