Category Archives: films and cinemas

Giveaway: Beginners

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A few days ago I went to see the new Mike Mills new comedy/drama Beginners on the strength of several recommendations from friends. I loved it! Funny, quirky, sweet and honest. I think the official film website describes the plotline the best:

Beginners imaginatively explores the hilarity, confusion, and surprises of love through the evolving consciousness of Oliver (Ewan McGregor). Oliver meets the irreverent and unpredictable Anna (Mélanie Laurent) only months after his father Hal Fields (Christopher Plummer) has passed away.

This new love floods Oliver with memories of his father, who, following the death of his wife of 45 years, came out of the closet at age 75 to live a full, energized, and wonderfully tumultuous gay life – which included a younger boyfriend, Andy (Goran Visnjic). The upheavals of Hal’s new honesty, by turns funny and moving, brought father and son closer than they’d ever been able to be. Now Oliver endeavors to love Anna with all the bravery, humor, and hope that his father taught him.

I have several 2 for 1 ticket passes for the season. You can use the passes Mondays to Fridays at participating cinemas. Here’s the to whet your appetite.

If you’d like a pass, just include a comment below and the winners will be drawn randomly at the end of today. Good luck!

Giveaway: Pina in 3D

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Hey dance fans!

Pina in 3D is a 3D film about the German dance pioneer Pina Bausch by the director Wim Wenders. The film takes the audience on a sensual, visually stunning journey of discovery, drawing us deeply into the unique and inspiring art of Bausch. It must be pretty spectacular seeing dance in a 3D screen.

I have several 2 for 1 ticket passes for the Pina in 3D season which starts on 18 August. You can use the passes Mondays to Fridays during the film’s theatrical season in Melbourne at Cinema Nova and Palace Balwyn Cinemas.

If you’d like a pass, just include a comment below and the winners will be drawn randomly at the end of today. Good luck!

HOT List: Melbourne International Film Festival 2011 picks

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YAY! It’s the time of year when I can bunker down in dark cinemas for hours on end during the Melbourne International Film Festival.

This year RM and I have selected the films for our 10 film mini-pass in a slightly different manner. In one way we’ve been constrained by the fact that we have a little baby, which means that we can only see films together if we can get a babysitter and we can’t see several films back to back. On the other hand, limited movie date nights together means that we’ve been free to go our on way with our cinematic interests.

So, here are the films that RM and I have chosen to see this year. Our leanings are towards international award-winning European cinema (me), music documentaries (him), feelgood films involving kids (me), Japanese films (him), Eastern European comedies (me), sports documentaries (him) and dark Korean films (me).

There are 200+ films on offer and your film-going tastes may not necessarily match mine – but as this year’s tagline says ‘only the best films make the cut’.

2014 – MY WEDDING AND OTHER SECRETS New Zealand audiences have embraced this charming, oddball comedy about the challenges of cross-cultural love.

5022 – NORWEGIAN WOODWith this adaptation of the best-selling novel by Haruki Murakami, acclaimed Vietnamese-French director Tran Anh Hung (The Scent of Green Papaya, Cyclo) has created a dark and strikingly haunting film about love and loss.

6024 – LIFE IN A DAYA historic cinematic experiment shot by thousands of people in 192 countries, Life in a Day is the true story of a single day on Earth.

3032 – 33 POSTCARDSAn inter-continental journey with a little girl lost and an adult looking to be found.

4046 – PRINCIPLES OF LIFE How hard can it possibly be to organise a family holiday?

2053 – KHODORKOVSKY “For me, as for anybody, it is hard to live in prison, and I do not want to die here. But if I have to, I will have no hesitation. What I believe in is worth dying for.” – Mikhail Khodorkovsky

1067 – SENNA “A high-octane bio of one of auto racing’s greatest figures.” – Variety

6074 – FIRE IN BABYLON “My bat was my sword.” – Vivian Richards

2078 – PROJECT NIM “Reminds us that while our close genetic relatives are as intelligent as they come, we can be the biggest chumps.” – Guardian

4083 – HOW TO DIE IN OREGON “A beautifully intimate look at terminally ill patients who choose to end their lives painlessly and legally.” – Variety

1090 – THE UNJUST “Achieves a happy marriage between commercial savvy and artistic integrity in its hard-hitting depiction of Seoul as a city of corruption.” – Hollywood Reporter

2097 – BEING ELMO “There are Piggy people in the world, and Kermit people, and Grover people, but Elmo people are everywhere.” – Variety

8105 – VIVA RIVA! Violent, kinetic and sexy, crime thriller Viva Riva! stares down the barrel of Kinshasa’s savage criminal underworld, shattering staid preconceptions of African filmmaking.

3112 – BEATS, RHYMES & LIFE: THE TRAVELS OF A TRIBE CALLED QUEST Hollywood actor Michael Rapaport brings the story of hip-hop’s finest to the screen with a fan’s devotion.

9118 – CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS Cinematic legend Werner Herzog presents an astonishing glimpse of our prehistoric forebears.

3128 – EXPORTING RAYMOND An attempt to export the hit US TV show Everybody Loves Raymond to Russia makes for a front row seat to a comedic culture-clash.

HOT: Underground Cinema Magic, Chinese Museum, 22 Cohen Place, Melbourne

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A few days before my trip to Underground Cinema, I was told that the secret location for the screening was the Chinese Museum in Chinatown. Hmm, the theme was Magic and the dresscode Magic/Oriental/Harajuku, yet the location was Chinese? Very mysterious.

Down a dimly lit laneway we lined up as the clues to the film were slowly revealed to us. Men and women in yukata and kimonos. Fawning bath house attendants fluttering fans and bowing low. Creepy faceless robed beings moving amongst the crowd.

We were ushered into the dragon room of the first floor of the museum, a very apt reception point with silent grinning lion headresses leering down at you in the dim light.

Have a look at the pictures – can you guess what the film is?

Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, of course!

Underground Cinema giveaway

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The lovely people at Underground Cinema are great supporters of the blog ((see my review of their previous event) and once again they’re offering a free double pass to their next screening on Sunday 29 May at 6pm. This isn’t just a bog-standard double pass though – it’s a VIP double pass which includes a drink on arrival and is valued at $100!

This month’s screening has the following intriguing introduction:

Irasyaimase!

お客様 A valued customer! いらっしゃいませ! Welcome! Welcome! So nice to see you Sir and it’s a pleasure to be in your presence Madam! Come in! Please come in! You have chosen a divine moment to visit our humble establishment, a divine moment indeed! Top shelf Sake in abundance and kaiseki-ryori, dumplings and wagashi fresh from the kitchen! We look after our clients! Yes, we look after our clients. You’re very important to us, yes very special indeed. This way! This way! Follow me, please, フォローミー.

The theme is ‘magical’ and the dress code is Oriental/Magical/Harajuku – any guesses? The location is secret of course but I can tell you that it’s in the CBD….

To win the VIP double pass all you have to do leave a comment below by midnight Sunday 29 May.

The winner will be drawn randomly on Monday, just in time for you to work out your outfit. You can also buy tickets for this session and other sessions on Friday 27 May or Saturday 28 May via Moshtix.

Underground Cinema giveaway winner

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The Kitchenaid of Fortune has spoken! The winner of the double pass to this Saturday’s screening of Underground Cinema is…Ming!

Please send your name and mobile phone number to with your preferred screening time so you can be put on the door list.

Thanks again to Underground Cinema for sponsoring the giveaway.

St Kilda Openair Cinema giveaway

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Happy Valentines Day!

Nothing is more romantic than a movie under the stars, so today’s giveaway is perfect for all you lovebirds out there.

St Kilda Openair Cinema screens new release and classic movies on the rooftop of the iconic St Kilda sea baths. It’s a pretty special atmosphere as you watch the sun set and listen to the waves lap below you, then snuggle into your deck chair to enjoy the show.

I’m thrilled that St Kilda Openair Cinema are offering 5 free double passes for blog readers to see any movie remaining in the 2011 season, which ends on 26 February. The selection of films is pretty eclectic, from Gallic rom-com Heartbreaker, childhood favourite The Neverending Story to 80s classic Top Gun.

All you have to do is be one of the first 5 people to email with the film you’d like to see. You’ll then be put on the guest list for that film and on the night simply check in at the door.

Good luck!

HOT: Underground Cinema Speakeasy Prohibition Party, Red Bennies, 373 Chapel St, South Yarra

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J: “I’m going to a movie this Saturday. I don’t know what the movie is or where it’s screening, but do you want to come with me?”

K: “Umm…ok. I don’t really get it but it sounds intriguing…”

Intrigue is the key to the success of Underground Cinema. The premise is this  – you buy a movie ticket ($35). At the time of booking all you’re told is the theme of the movie – you don’t know the name of the film.  The location of the screening is also undisclosed (but generally inner-city Melbourne). You plan your dress-up outfit and a few days before the show you’re told where to meet. Turn up, enjoy the entertainment – and all is revealed when the opening credits start.

So why would you want to buy a ticket for an unknown film? Because Underground Cinema is not just about the movie, it’s about the overall experience. The sold-out screening that I attended had a 1920s/gangster theme and from 4:30pm Chapel Street was lined with red-lipped flappers in slinky dresses and feather boas, escorted by dapper men in tuxedos and trench coats. We entered the glamorous Red Bennies to the sounds of The Cairo Club Orchestra bopping out jazz tunes and big band numbers and admired the frantic swing dancers from Swing Patrol.

Now whenever there’s a dress-up party I’m normally the party-pooper who doesn’t turn up in costume. But in this case I did make a little effort and I’m glad that I did – because 99% of the crowd did get dressed up and it really added to the decadent Great Gatsby-esque atmosphere of the event. I really felt like I’d been transported back into the Jazz Age, minus the cigarette fog. Some people who paid more sat in booths and were served sparking by Moulin Rouge waitresses in feather head-dresses. I loved people-watching for the hour or so before the movie started and the fun foot-tapping music was right up my alley (though no Charleston for this pregnant lady).

And the movie? It was 1931 film Little Caesar starring Edward G. Robinson and Douglas Fairbanks Jnr. As you’d expect from an old black and white Hollywood film (even one nominated as culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant by the Library of Congress) the acting was a bit forced and the gangster accents were almost unintelligible.  I think most of the crowd gave up watching the film and just drank and chatted, occasionally popping a party popper or blowing a straw whistle. So be warned if you’re a diehard cinephile – if you go to Underground Cinema you’ll find it difficult to concentrate on the film and will spend a lot of time trying to shush people.

The Prohibition Speakeasy party was the last screening for 2010 but with the regular sell-out success of Underground Cinema I suggest you get on the mailing list to receive information about the 2011 screenings. It’s a really fun experience that is very far removed from your average sterile cinemaplex.

For more fabulous photos from the event, check our their .

  • Underground Cinema Prohibition Speakeasy Party, Red Bennies, 373 Chapel St, South Yarra +

HOT: Melbourne Bikefest Opening Party, 1000 £ Bend, 361 Lt Lonsdale St, Melbourne

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As you’ve no doubt noticed from the blog, I like parties and I like bikes. So there was no way that I was going to miss the opening party of Melbourne Bikefest, Melbourne’s celebration all things bike-related for the next 4 days based at 1000 £ Bend (note that my business CycleStyle is also a sponsor of Bikefest, but even if this wasn’t the case this is so my thing).

Bike valet parking – a great idea thanks to Crumpler for when you have that many bikes all congregating in one place. Look how many more bikes you can fit in the same space in a carpark.

Crazy bike riding antics in the carpark!

Hear a story and/or share your story about your experience with bikes at Bike Story. Stories collected at Bikefest will be posted at the conclusion of the festival.

Some of CycleStyle‘s products on display (and for sale) in the Bike Shop – colourful bells and skirt garters.

More Cyclestyle goodness – French bike satchel, reflective legwarmers, floral helmet and all sized bags for fitting on your bike.

Two of my VIP guests for the evening, Cheryl from Business Chic and Kealey from Thelma Magazine.

Cute Bikefest badges – I like the presentation too, using an old wheel.

There is so much more stuff happening in the next 4 days that I can’t list or describe them all here – so I suggest you go check out the program for yourself. And if you don’t ride a bike, no big deal – there’s something for everyone at the Bikefest. To read an interview with Pip Carroll, the director of Melbourne Bikefest, click here.