Hello All!

Firstly, a very, very big thank you to Clint for hosting this month’s club Moofie aboard the gorgeous  37ft Cruiser with-no-name from Cabarita Marina. What a spectacular day!  What a spectacular, potential love-nest of a boat! I think all of us agree that Clint has bagged his first “Best Location for  Club Moofie date” Moscar… (sorry Barbara!) and will potentially be very hard to beat in this category in the future. Thank you also for Clint’s hospitality, providing us with tasty treats after our day out,   and to everyone else who also provided nibbles along the way. 

Along with beautiful weather, the day was punctuated by visual treats aplenty – up-close viewing of the Baragoola (Sydney’s oldest Manly ferry, no longer in service and moored near Berry Island, remembered fondly by Andy), Cockatoo Island, Darling Harbour, the Harbour Bridge, Sydney Opera House, and a turn around Fort Denison, to name but a few. A quick zoom back towards Cabarita, at which point Clint kindly let a few others take the wheel for a moment or two to experience the rush of handling a boat for the first time (that rocked, Clint, I am hooked!), then stopping of the engine, allowing us to  float for a little while in the quiet,  all better to hear the soft lapping of the water and to appreciate the sunset.

Once back at the wharf we wrapped up the deck in it’s covers and hunkered down by torchlight for a feast, followed by discussion of our two chosen moofies for September. 

It was really interesting to follow the night’s discussion and reaction to the chosen moofies. It does seem that moofies that have ambiguous motives open to interpretation, or moofies that invoke a strong reaction – either positive or negative- provide the best fodder for discussion.  What do others feel? Please feel free to comment! This notion came up in the car on the way home, but would be interesting to pursue as a line of conversation at next Club Moofie, and when we select out moofies in future. 

Our two moofies were vastly different, yet as pointed out by Beck, did cover unusual forays into love in both. 

Our first moofie up for discussion was “State and Main“, directed and written by David Mamet. 

A satire on the moofie industry itself, and a rather sweet love story to boot, the moofie did not really provoke much reaction for most of the Club Moofie members. Most agreed that it was a pleasant moofie (clever in it’s concept), but the overall impression was that perhaps most people felt it was a bit unchallenging (would this be an accurate summary? ).  I personally really loved this movie, thought the writing and commentary on the industry was great, but then again, I can see how there wasn’t quite enough for the group to really sink their teeth into. 

Following are scores for this moofie: 

STATE AND MAIN 

Beck  -  2.5
Wendy  - 4
Sylvia  - 4
Andy – 2
Paul – 2
Clint – 3.5

Quotes: 

On Rebecca Pigeon:

“Umm, like…she was really cute!!!” – Andy

“I thought it was hilarious…but then again, I haven’t been watching much T.V. lately…” – Wendy

Also, for those of you who asked about David Mamet’s other films, here’s a few: “The Winslow Boy”, “Wag the Dog” (this is great!!), “Ronin”, “The Spanish Prisoner”, “The Edge”, “Oleanna”, ”Hoffa”, “Glengarry Glenross”. I do feel I must note that he is has a few films in pre-production at the moment too – one intriguingly titled “Joan of Barc – The Dog that Saved France”…!!!

The other film discussed was Jane Campion’s ” In the Cut”. This film provoked interesting reactions and proved a great film for discussion. 

Surrounded by controversy due to Meg Ryan’s departure from her good girl roles, and first foray into nudity and explicit sexual scenes on screen, this rather disturbing and bleak film was interpreted in different ways by the group  - as just  one example,  the main character can be  viewed as prey for the many male characters in the film, but at the same time  the proliferation of these same male characters can be seen purely as an excess of  red herrings.  The exploration of sex, loneliness and desire makes the film interesting , yet  the violent, thriller story line could also be seen as being  at odds with this exploration.  Just a few of the points raised in our discussion.

The frank sexuality of the characters  was also open to interpretation – the initial sex scene between Frannie and Detective Molloy resonated with some as an honest, un-hollywoodised, portrayal of sex on screen (and actually scores it’s own points), yet some of the scenes between Frannie and her sister rang untrue and forced, with an intentionally ambiguous sensuality. 

There’s much more to note about this film, but the consensus did seem to be that it is a deeply flawed film, with glimpses of potential to have been a much better moofie. Once again, feel free to comment!

Scores: 

IN THE CUT

Beck  - 0, but 4 for the first sex scene between Meg and Mark
Wendy – 2.5
Sylvia  - 0
Andy – 1
Paul – 1.5
Clint – 2.5

Quotes:

On the graphic depiction of fellatio at the beginning of the film: 

“We were having Vietnamese Spring rolls for dinner whilst watching this film . That’s really not the best meal for that scene…” – Beck

On Meg Ryan’s nudity :

“For all the controversy over the full-frontal shot, I wish it had been better lit. ” – Paulie

On checking that the film for review was “In the Cut”, prior to viewing:

“Is that the one with Jodie Foster?” – Beck

“If I could give this a minus score, I would.” – Sylvia (I have actually given a moofie a minus score before, but i will refrain this time…)

Other films by Jane Campion include: “The Piano”, “Sweetie”, “Holy Smoke”, “The Portrait of A Lady”, “An Angel At My Table”. 

Other films viewed and scored by members are as follows: 

District 9: 5 out of 5 from Andy

Inglourious Basterds: 5 out of 5 from Andy

Young Victoria: 4 from Andy

Coraline: 4 from Sylvia

Feel free to add more!

See you all at Paulie’s for our next session, with “Kiss of the Spider Woman” and a new release yet to be chosen…

Cheers for now, 

SB

Here are the quotes and scores from the night.

Star Trek Quotes:

Clint: I have a pet hate about the portrayal of engineers

On breaking the space-time continuum:

Clint: It broke all the rules for me.

On the romance between Spock and Uhura:

Sylvia: Did you like that?

Clint: No, that crossed the line too.

On trying to remember the hits and the duds from the Star Trek movie series:

Wendy: …the one with the whales.

Andy: [yelling from the toilet]… the one with the whales!

Beck: There’s an echo in this flat!

Citizen Kane

Paul: I thought Orson Welles was great.

Beck: Awesome Welles!

On the scary opening of Citizen Kane:

Beck: O, and then I thought it was going to be like … Michael Jackson [starts singing Thriller]

Scores:

Star Trek

Andy                5

Barbara            3.5

Beck                4

Clint                 3.5

Paul                  4

Sylvia               5

Wendy             3.5

Citizen Kane

Andy                4

Barbara            4

Beck                2.5

Clint                 4

Paul                  3.5

Sylvia               4.5

Wendy             4.5

Also:

Wolverine

Beck                0

Sylvia               -1 (yes, a negative score!)

Hi everyone,

Thank you Andy for hosting the latest Club meeting. The Marx Brothers’ Duck Soup (1933) and Park Chan-wooks’ Old Boy (2003) were the feature movies for the night but in no way did we restrict ourselves to these topics alone. Without a common filmic theme (or ‘arc’ as I like to call it <smirk>) , it was a free for all and a wide breadth of topics were covered alongside the movies themselves. Take for example, “Deformities in Film” – Did you know that Vince Vaughn lost the tip of his thumb in a childhood accident and has been compensating for it ever since?? (e.g. hiding thumb behind hand for the camera); Did you know that Val Kilmer has an abnormal growth (search for the word ‘elbow’ in this webpage) on his elbow after breaking it filming The Doors (1991)?? (get your DVD of Heat (1993) out again and have a look for yourself!); Did you know that Beyonce has the least-approved-of knees on the internet?! (google it!), closely followed by Victoria Beckham who reluctantly sports her own pair of wrinkly unattractive knees, tut tut!!; I for one would never have known!
And what about the riches to be found from office emailing? We reminisced about such internet classics as; Ken Lee (who makes a repeat appearance on this blogsite); Gin, the Canine Freestyler; Miss Teen USA 2007; Britains Got Talent Susan Boyle; Dogs attack Crocodile, Truck Rollover on the F4

Truck rolls on the F4

; Minority Report and the future-is-now keyboardless computer; plus many others come to mind; Epic Pong Shots; Beer Bottles Dominos; What’s your porn star name? (I’m ‘Soxy Doncaster‘);  and the Cardboard office.

Both the movies stretched us in different ways. Judging by the quotes and scores below, some perhaps stretched us in ways we’d never been stretched before and never want to be stretched again! Nevertheless, I feel richer for having seen them and the exploration of films we hadn’t seen before is what this club is all about. Our scores follow below. We see our first ever zero score, and also our first ever ‘abstain‘! Once again, don’t forget to scroll down for the memorable quotes, and the movies for next time!

Duck Soup

Duck Soup
Beck 0
Wendy 2.5
Sylvia 2
Andy 3
Paul abstain
Clint 2.5

Old Boy

Old Boy
Beck 2.5
Wendy 2
Sylvia 2.5
Andy 2
Paul 4
Clint 3.5

Quotes for Sat 18th April, Eclectic Mix-tape

Andy – “Anyone noticed the goiter on Val Kilmer’s elbow?“

On Duck Soup ,
Beck – “I was quite interested in the humour… if that’s what it’s called.“

On Duck Soup,
Beck to Paul – “Why don’t you slam your penis in a drawer, it would be about as much fun as watching Duck Soup“

Scoring Duck Soup,
Beck – “I can’t see why I’d watch it again, I can’t see why I’d recommend it to anyone, I see no redeeming features. I’m giving it zero“
Sylvia – “That’s our first zero!“

Scoring Duck Soup,
Clint – “I think 2.5 because it brings up good feelings … but not about the film“

On Juliette Binoche,
Andy – “She was great in Amelie!“
Beck – “her and Charlie Chan!“
(also see quotes for Jan 2009 and March 2009)

Clint – “I still like ‘Before Sunrise’ and ‘Sunset’“
Beck – “Now, you’ve got problems“

On Old Boy,
Wendy – “It’s a pretty f***ed up movie!“

On seeing depictions of incest in Old Boy,
Paul – “It wasn’t something you see often in film, so I was happy about that“

Old Boy, on the ending for Oh Dae Su,
Sylvia – “So after all that, his life is still shit.“
Paul – “…and he’s got no tongue!“
Beck – “...so he can’t even rant about it!“

Scoring Old Boy,
Andy – “2, sorry but I nodded off a bit, it’s a Jonny-boy score“

Next time:
Once again we have an older classic paired with a modern film. Is it really ‘the greatest film ever made’? The Moofie club decides on Citizen Kane (1941) by Orson Welles, the story of Kerry Packer and the difficult succession of his shrimping empire to his idiot son, Forrest…um… I’m getting this mixed up a bit… Our other film was left open ended – to be decided. By unanimous vote on the night our second film is Star Trek (2009) J.J Abrams – As a self-confessed trek-head myself (TNG), I am really really really looking forward to that one! Until next time, may you live long and prosper.

Spock Vulcan Salute

CJ

btw: wonderful to see the jelly-snakes back on the snacks menu again!

Jelly Snakes yum!

Hello everyone,

T’was a night of high politics and rigourous debate for the 7th March 2009 with the discussion on two films with a strong US political flavour, “Frost/Nixon”, and “Good Night, and Good Luck”. Coincidentally, it was also Mardi Gras night and as we converged at Beck and Jon’s, many of us witnessed oddballs in strange costumes on the streets gravitating downtown, adding to the slightly surreal carnival ambience in the air.

Thanks to Beck and Jon for providing the cozy outdoor venue under the night sky, and to little Florence for keeping us entertained while we all arrived (and for showing us the time on her new wristwatch). It was also a night of firsts for the club. We were delighted to welcome Paul T. for the first time (Paul is our newest Club Moofie member). It was also the first time that the enigmatic Jon joined the discussion (He has always been with us in spirit but we had not had the man himself until this night). Last but not least, the lovely Christine completed the group as our special-guest member for the night (Could she be Club Moofie’s first UK foreign correspondent??).

It was a high scoring night reflecting the quality of the two films. Our scores are listed below. Don’t forget to scroll down for the nights memorable quotes!

Frost/Nixon Poster

Frost Nixon
Barbara 4
Wendy 4
Clint 4
Jon 4
Andy 2.5
Paul 2
Beck 3.5
Christine 3
Sylvia 4

Good Night Poster

Good Night and Good Luck
Barbara 3
Wendy 4
Clint 4.5
Jon 3.5
Andy 4
Paul 3.5
Beck 3
Christine 4.5
Sylvia 5

Quotes for Sat 7th March, The Night of Political Intrigue:

Beck – “Amelie – is that the one with Juliette Binoche?“
(also see Beck’s quote from the Jan 2009 Club Moofie)

Beck – “A cheap analog…er…analogy“

on Kate Winslet’s propensity to go naked on film:
Beck – “she likes a bit of booby action!“

While Jon was ordering pizza for the group,
Andy – “I want something hot and warm!“
Jon – “I don’t want to be the one to give you something hot and warm. I know its Mardi Gras night tonight but…“

on Frost/Nixon:
Sylvia – “Did you enjoy the film?“
Jon – “I did enjoy the film. I did miss the middle of it“

on Good Night and Good luck:
Sylvia – “Did you enjoy the film?“
Jon – “I did enjoy the film. I missed large chunks of it“

Next time:
While this pairing was closely matched in theme, our next films cannot be further apart from each other in style and content. We have the oldest film we have ever reviewed, the Marx Brothers with the 1933 classic “Duck Soup”, followed by Park Chan-Wook’s dark and disturbing “Old Boy” (I tip my hat to my ‘droogs’ for keeping this one in the list – A brave selection given many had already declared their aversion to the old ultra-violence before we put in our nominations!).

ultra-violence

Should make for a very interesting session!

Until next time,
CJ

Hello once again, well, to complete our Moscars bonanza, we also voted for our 2009  viewing selection. There were some great nominations, many off which we all wanted to see. We have managed to keep quite a few, and we will also be adding a few new releases this year into the mix. Thank you Wendy for collating the votes. 

Here is our list for 2009, please note: blurbs have been quoted from various sources on the net. 

Happy Viewing!!

Date: Sat 7th March – please note, new date!

Good Night and Good Luck (2005)

Genre: Drama | History
Tagline: We will not walk in fear of one another.
Good Night, and Good Luck is a 2005 film directed by George Clooney and written by Clooney and Grant Heslov that portrays the conflict between veteran radio and television journalist Edward R. Murrow and U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, especially relating to the anti-Communist Senator’s actions with the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
It focuses on the theme of media responsibility, and also addresses what occurs when the media offer a voice of dissent against the government. The movie takes its title from the line with which Murrow routinely closed his broadcasts.
The film was nominated for six Academy Awards.

Frost/Nixon (2008)

Genre: Biography / Drama / History

Writer Peter Morgan’s legendary battle between Richard Nixon, the disgraced president with a legacy to save, and David Frost, a jet-setting television personality with a name to make, in the story of the historic encounter that changed both their lives. For three years after being forced from office, Nixon remained silent. But in summer 1977, the steely, cunning former commander-in-chief agreed to sit for one all-inclusive interview to confront the questions of his time in office and the Watergate scandal that ended his presidency. Nixon surprised everyone in selecting Frost as his televised confessor, intending to easily outfox the breezy British showman and secure a place in the hearts and minds of Americans (as well as a $600,000 fee). Likewise, Frost’s team harbored doubts about their boss’ ability to hold his own. But as cameras rolled, a charged battle of wits resulted.

Date: Sat 18 Apr

Duck Soup (1933)

The “anarchic” anti-war (?) comedy DUCK SOUP (1933) starring the Marx Brothers and Margaret Dumont …
“Maybe you can suggest something. As a matter of fact, you do suggest something. To me you suggest a baboon.”
“I held him in my arms and kissed him.”
“Oh, I see, then it was murder. Will you marry me? Did he leave you any money? Answer the second question first.”
“I’m in a hurry! To the House of Representatives! Ride like fury! If you run out of gas, get ethyl. If Ethel runs out, get Mabel! Now step on it!”

Old Boy (2003)
Oldboy is a 2003 South Korean film directed by Park Chan-Wook.
Genre: Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller
Tagline: 15 years of imprisonment, five days of vengeance
The movie follows the story of Dae-Su who is locked in a hotel room for 15 years without knowing his captor’s motives. When he is finally released, Dae Su finds himself still trapped in a web of conspiracy and strangeness. His own quest for vengeance becomes tied in with romance when he falls for an attractive sushi chef.
The film won the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival and high praise from the President of the Jury, director Quentin Tarantino, who could not persuade the members of the jury to give it the Palme d’Or over Fahrenheit 9/11. Critically, the movie has been well received in the United States, with an 82% “Certified Fresh” rating at Rottentomatoes.com. Film critic Roger Ebert has claimed Oldboy to be a “…powerful film not because of what it depicts, but because of the depths of the human heart which it strips bare” [from Wikipedia]

*****

Date: Sat 27 Jun

“Citizen Cane” (1941) – Directed by Orson Welles

Is it the best film ever made, as it has so often been claimed? What will….bamp, bamp, bammmm….CLUB MOOFIE say????

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033467/

“Considered by many to be the best film ever made, this is the story of Charles Foster Kane. The film opens with a long shot of Xanadu – the private estate of one of the world’s richest men. In the middle of the estate is a castle. We see, inside the castle, a dying man examining a winter scene within a crystal ball. As he drops it, it smashes, and one word is heard – “Rosebud…” What follows are pieces of newsreel-like footage detailing how Kane amassed his fortune, and turning around full circle at the end.”

+ a current release (to be decided)

*****

Date: Sat 29 Aug

State and Main (2000)

Directed by David Mamet, starring : Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Rebecca Pigeon and various other luminaries

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120202

“Chaos ensues for a film production in a small Vermont town after the discovery of one of the town’s landmarks burned down years ago. A moralistic screenwriter may have to put his career ahead of his principles. An authoritative director and his fast talking producer struggle to keep the production together, while the leading actors have their own problems. The leading man has a penchant for young girls while the woman has a problem showing nudity on screen.”

In the Cut (2003)
Directed by Jane Campion. With Jennifer Jason Leigh, Meg Ryan
Following the gruesome murder of a young woman in her neighborhood, a self-determined woman living in New York City–as if to test the limits of her own safety–propels herself into an impossibly risky sexual
liaison. Soon she grows increasingly wary about the motives of every man with whom she has contact–and about her own.
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2003/11/09/183827.php

*****

Date: Sat 31 Oct

Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)
William Hurt, Raul Julia, Sonia Braga
Director:Hector Babenco
Writers: Manuel Puig (novel), Leonard Schrader (writer)
Luis Molina and Valentin Arregui are cell mates in a South American prison. Luis, a homosexual, is found guilty of immoral behaviour and Valentin is a political prisoner. To escape reality Luis invents romantic movies, while Valentin tries to keep his mind on the situation he’s in. During the time they spend together, the two men come to understand and respect one another.
More: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089424/
Awards: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089424/awards

+ a current release (to be decided)

*****

Date: Sat 9 Jan

The City of Lost Children (1995)
Krank (Daniel Emilfork), who cannot dream, kidnaps young children to steal their dreams. One (Ron Perlman), a former whale hunter who is as strong as a horse, sets forth to search for Denree, his little brother who was kidnapped by Krank’s men. Helped by young Miette (Judith Vittet), he soon arrives in La Cite des Enfants Perdus (The City of Lost Children). A movie about dreams and nightmares that takes place in a world of dreams and nightmares.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112682/

Three Colours: Red (1996)

Genre: Drama

The final film of director Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Three Colours Trilogy, this is one of few films I would give 5 out of 5.

Valentine is a young model living in Geneva. Because of a dog she ran over, she meets a retired judge who spies his neighbours’ phone calls, not for money but to feed his cynicism. The film is the story of relationships between some human beings, Valentine and the judge, but also other people who may not be aware of the relationship they have with Valentine and the old judge. Redemption, forgiveness and compassion.

S.B. 30.1.09

Hello again folks, 

During our wonderful Club Moofie Moscars we also discussed the last two films viewed for 2008 – “Cache” and “Cinema Paradiso” – both provoking interesting and varied discussion, particularly “Cache”. 

Below are scores for  these films, as well as scores for “The Lives of Others” which was our first film for “Club Moofie”, nominated by Wendy J. I did forget to mention in my previous post that she accepted the Best Movie Award at the Oscars and is now in possession of the much coveted “Club Moofie Best Film” statuette, currently displayed under intense security in her bookcase at home. You too can be the next possesser of the golden statuette! Who knows who will nominate the 2009 Club Moofie Best Film!!!

Below are also some delightful quotes from the day, so please don’t forget to scroll down!

Scores are as follows:

“Cache” 

Andy – 3

Sylvia – 2

Beck – 2

Wendy – 3.5

Clint – 3

Barbara – 3.5

“Cinema Paradiso”

Andy – 2

Dear All, 

Well, what can I say? I personally think that our first awards ceremony was a raging success. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and by all accounts, you all did too. Thank you again to Barbara for a fantastic location and lunch, thank you to Wendy for organising all the awards – love the Kinder Surprises – and thanks to Beck for exemplary hosting.  And of course, thanks to everyone for  coming to Club Moofie and voting their little hearts out!!

Below are the results nominees and winners. Some surprises, some obvious winners!! Congratulations to all the winners!

1. Best Actor – Ulrich Muhe for “The Lives of Others” .

Other nominees included : Jake Gyllanhaal for “Donnie Darko”, the little boy in “Cinema Paradiso”, the little boy in “Children of Heaven”, Nikita Mikhalkov for “Burnt by the Sun”, Johny Depp for “Dead Man”. 

2. The “This Is Not a Bookclub” Award for Best Social Club – Wendy J. for “Club Moofie”!! Yay!!

3. Best Actress – Meryl Streep for “Sophie’s Choice”

Other nominees included: Bahare Seddiqi for “Chlidren of Heaven”, Martina Gedeck for “The Lives of Others”, Nadezhda Mikhalkova for”Burnt by the Sun”, Julie Delpy for “Before Sunset”, Maggie Gyllanhaal for “Donnie Darko”.

4. The “What Shall We Call It?” Award for Most Original Name for a Movie Club – Andrew B. for “Club Moofie” !! Yay again!!

5. Worst Actor – it’s a tie! : Peter MacNicol for “Sophie’s Choice” and Ethan Hawke for ” Before Sunrise”.

Other nominees included: Adam Goldbeg for “2 Days in Paris”, Swiss Guard in “J.S.A.”, Kevin Cline for “Sophie’s Choice”, Crispin Glover for “Dead Man”, Daniel Auteuil for “Cache”

6. The “Ethan Hawke” Award for the Actor/Actress You Would Rather Throw Off a Train Than Let Sully Your Person – Ethan Hawke for “Before Sunrise” and “Before Sunset” , voted for by Beck G. and Barbara G., accepted by the creator of this category, Maree P. 

Other nominees included: Julie Delpy, Peter MacNicol, ,Patrick Swayze, Adam Goldberg

7. Worst Actress – Julie Delpy for “Before Sunset”, “Before Sunrise”, and “2 Days in Paris”

Other nominees included: Melanie Pianka in “Sophie’s Choice”, Juliette Binoche in “Cache”, Weong ae Lee for “J.S.A”.

8. The “Before Sunset” Award for the Actor/Actress You Would Most Likely Get of A Train For – Juliette Binoche, voted for by Andy B. and Clint J., accepted by Clint J.

Other nominees included: Marco Leonardi  and Jaques Perrin (“Cinema Paradiso”), Martin Donavan, Johny Depp.

9. Best Soundtrack – and it’s a tie again! – Neil Young and Co for “Dead Man” and Various Artists for ” Donnie Darko” 

Other nominees included: Ennio Morricone for “Cinema Paradiso”, Marvin Hamlisch for “Sophie’s Choice”

10.  The “Rebecca G.” Award for Best Club Moofie Snack  - Sylvia B. for Jelly Snakes!! Yay!!!

Other nominees included: backlava from Andy B., Greek pastries from Maree P., Beck G. for whatever makes its way to her top for later. 

11. Best Script/Dialogue – and another tie! – Hal Hartley for “Trust” and Richard Kelly for “Donnie Darko”

Other nominees included: Julie Delpy for “2 Days in Paris”, Seon san Jeong for “J.S.A”, Jim Jarmusch for “Dead Man”, Guiseppe Tornatore for “Cinema Paradiso”

12. The “Is That A Prosthetic Camel?” Award for Best Club Moofie Quote – Rebecca G. for: “I was thinking – was that a prosthetic camel? What, like they pushed it up it’s bottom and then pulled it out?” on “Weeping Camel” (I reckon the camel would definitely be weeping if the above were the case – Sylvia B.)

Other nominees included: “Whistler had a lot of power over Puppy man” and “I dreamt I was eaten by a motorbike” also by Beck G., 

“Yeah, Cutie made Doggy-Boy a mix tape!” and “There’s nothing wrong with man-instrument love! – Andy B. 

“What is the lead character’s name in “Sophie’s Choice?” – Maree P.

13. Best Cinematography – “Dead Man”

Other nominees included: “Cache”, “Lives of Others”, “Donnie Darko”, “Cinema Paradiso”, “J.S.A.” 

14. The “My, Isn’t It Lovely?” Award for Best Club Moofie Location  - Barbara G. for “Kilcare Weekender” – thanks Barbara!!

15. Worst Film – “Before Sunset”

Other  nominees included: “Dead Man”, “2 Days in Paris”, Sophie’s Choice”, “Before Sunrise”, “Weeping Camel”

16. The “Mike C.” Award for Attendance  - Mike C., who could not be with us. This award is accepted by Club Moofie. 

17. and…………….. DRUM ROLLLLLLLLLL: 

Best Film for 2008 – “The Lives Of Others”

Other nominees inlcuded: “Donnie Darko”, “Children of Heaven” , “Cinema Paradiso”, “2 Days in Paris”

Interestingly: The highest scoring film for the year was actually “Donnie Darko”, pipping “The Lives of Others” by just a few points, where as “The Lives of Others” was a clear winner in the Moscar voting.

Thanks to all!!! See you in March for the start of Club Moofie, 2009!!!

Dear All, 

I’m back sooner than I thought as I remembered there were several questions about Hal Hartley and his other films. So I did some research! My goldfish-like memory was mildly jogged when I found the list of his movies on imdb.com. I seem to recall seeing “The Unbelievable Truth”, “Flirt”,  ”Amateur” and “Henry Fool” as well as a later short called “Kimono”, which I didn’t actually realise was Hartley’s work until I read the description.  Not quite as many as the “load” of films I remember seeing!! I think these were probably the ones that got commercial release here. Looking down the list, I don’t remember many of the others being shown here, except “The Book of Life” which is the religious one that I rabbited on about at our meeting and thought was his last film to date. In fact, that was in 1998! His most recent film is “Fay Grim” which is a follow on from “Henry Fool”. 

I’m not going to go into all of them because to be honest I can’t remember them sufficiently ( and that is no reflection on the quality of the movies), but I still vaguely recall “Amateur” – it’s tagline being “Accountancy, Murder, Amnesia, Torture, Ecstasy, Understanding, Redemption”, which kind of sums it up really and is probably the other one I would recommend out of the ones mentioned above. Quite different to “Trust”, but odd and quirky also. It is the first film I saw Isabelle Huppert, a rather Garbo-esque actress, still in films today. 

Which brings me to the last film I saw her in, which was in the rather weird but wonderful ” I Heart Huckabees”, with Jason Schwartzman, Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin, Jude Law, Naomi Watts, and Mark Wahlberg. Now this is definitely one for those who like non-linear, surreal, dark and original comedy.  To quote imdb.com : “ Determined to solve the coincidence of seeing the same conspicuous stranger three times in a day, Albert hires a pair of existentialist detectives, who insist on spying on his everyday life while sharing their views on life and the nature of the universe.” 

It’s well worth a look – and gets 4 enthusiastic but puzzled stars from me!

If anyone has seen this, I’d love to hear your comments.

Ta ta for now

SB

Hello All! 

Thanks for another great night of Moofie talk. This month introduced us to  (or re-familiarised us with) Chan-wook Park’s  ”J.S.A” ( Joint Security Area) and Hal Hartley’s “Trust”. 

Below are our scores for the evening, along with some memorable quotes and a link to both films on imdb.com, for those who haven’t seen them. See all next time for “Cache” and “Cinema Paradiso” and the inaugural  Moscars!!

SB

Scores: 

J.S.A                                                   TRUST

Beck: 4                                               Beck: 2.5

Andy: 3                                              Andy: 3

Wendy: 4                                           Wendy: 3.5

Sylvia: 4.5                                         Sylvia: 2.5

Clint: 3.5                                          Clint: 3

Maree: 3.5                                        Maree: 2.5

Barbara: 3                                         Barbara: 4 

On who-was-who, and what-happened-when in JSA:

Group: “..so there’s the ‘Whistler’, ‘Puppy-dog guy’, ‘Twitchy’ and ‘Cute guy’?“
 
Wendy:  “..and Twitchy’s sister went out with Cutie..”

Beck: “Whistler had a lot of power over Puppy man“

Andy: “Yeah, Cutie made doggy-boy a mix-tape!“
Beck: “oohh!“

On Trust:
Clint giving scores: “I generally liked it but I can’t remember much about it – I came away with  a ‘3′ feel“ 

J.S.A - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0260991/

Trust - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103130/

Two more recent film reviews from me:

Alexandra’s Project (2003)
Steve (Gary Sweet) thinks he’s in a happy marriage with 2 kids, but his wife Alexandra (Helen Buday) is desperately unhappy. She has saved all her hatred up and turned it into meticulous planning for her revenge, which she intends to serve cold. She leaves a videotape message for Steve on which she vents her spleen about everything shes had to endure during their marriage. The film takes place in the living room as Steve watches the tape, and we hear, along with Steve, what Alexandra has done, what she’s done with the kids, and why.
This film and everything about it is utterly unlikeable and preposterous. Worse so as it takes itself so seriously. The disproportionate cruelty of her plan made me sympathise for the husband (which I particularly resented) despite the fact that he was the abuser.
What is this film saying? I don’t think its directly advocating that abused wives get creative and destroy their husbands like this, but I do sense a clumsy pseudo-feminist overtone (i.e. themes of reclaiming control & power from overbearing husbands/men who treat them like property etc). So what then? Are we simply supposed to take enjoyment from watching this guy dissolving in Alexandra’s acid bath? At the end of the film, I felt like a dirty little voyeur who secretly tapes my neighbours and posts the videos on Youtube.
This film was about as enjoyable as having a liver biopsy.
0 stars.

(David Stratton actually liked this!…(read it here) – you’ve got to be kidding..)

Wolf Creek (2005)
British tourists Liz and Kristy, with aussie Ben are having fun touring the outback together. They stop at a meteorite impact crater “Wolf Creek” but when they come back they find their car has broken down. They’re “rescued” by Mick Taylor who offers them a tow back to his place where he’ll repair the car for them. The rest is fairly predictable. He ties ‘em up but they get loose, there is the fightback where Mick almosts cops it himself, you think he’s dead but he pops up again, he knifes ‘em, he shoots ‘em, The End.
Up to the point when Mick brings them back to his lair, the cinematography is fantastic and the mood is well set. Enigmatic landscapes, great build up of tension, e.g. spooky coincidence when all their watches stop – its all very “Picnic at Hanging Rock”. After Mick turns up however, its all fairly well worn territory. The killing and torture scenes were IMHO fairly predictable. Frankly, you see worse real-life stuff any day of the week on the internet. But, yes, I suppose its pretty violent and bloody so I’d imagine quite a few would watch the second half of the film through their fingers.
There doesn’t seem to be much in the way of ’social commentary’ or ‘message’. Its a pretty simple story without much layering or depth – apparently it was based loosely on the Ivan Milat Backpacker murders and the Peter Falconio murder. The film makers appear to be trying to create a new mythological character in Mick Taylor but I couldn’t help half-smirking whenever he did any Aussie ockerisms. I wasn’t scared of him at all. He’s just too likeable! Hannibal Lecter and Anton Chigurh have nothing to worry about in the ‘bad ass’ stakes.
1 star - mostly for the first half development & cinematography.

(BTW: Margaret & David both gave this 4 stars! Anyone else think M&D give extra stars to aussie films just because they’re Australian?)

CJ

20/10/2008