Still Alice

I watched this film at the Dendy Opera Quays cinema in Sydney.

It tells the story of Alice, a professor of linguistics at Columbia University, who at around 50 is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers.  The film movingly portrays the impact on both Alice and her family (husband played by Alec Baldwin, plus three grown up children) as she moves through the years after her diagnosis.

Unbroken

I watched this film at the Dendy Opera Quays cinema in Sydney.

It is the story of Louie Zamperini, an american prisoner of war survivor in World War 2, and an Olympic runner (he competed at the Olympics in Berlin in 1936).

Lou was part of an aircrew that ditched into the Pacific during the war, leading to him and two colleagues being adrift at sea for over six weeks.  They were eventually captured by the Japanese and interned in a camp.  The film portrays the brutality of the camps very well, and Lou's strength of character in pulling through.  However, I felt there was something missing in making this a great film - hard to out my finger on why.

Felony

I watched this film on my iPad.  It is an Australian crime thriller focused on a police detective (played by Joel Edgerton) who on his way home from a police drinks do, knocks over a young boy on his bike.  He calls an ambulance but then denies that he knows anything about the accident.  The film unpicks the impact of this lie, mainly via interaction with his cynical boss (played by Tom Wilkinson) and an honest young fellow cop (Jai Courtney).

The film is played out at a pleasingly leisurely pace, carefully portraying the moral and psychological pressures of being in such a situation.

Red, White, Black and Blue

I watched this film on an Emirates flights between Dubai and Sydney.  It is a documentary, following a rugby team as they tour New Zealand.  The group comprises a boys team and a girls team, and they are from central Los Angeles.  Stuart Krohn, a teacher and former rugby player himself, leads the group, and is an engagingly gruff character.

The members of the squad are amazingly disciplined and focused on their rugby and their studies, with the aim of getting into the most prestigious colleges in the USA.  You get some glimpses of their family situations, which add colour to the film.

Overall, an endearing and thought provoking documentary

Boyhood

I watched this film on an Emirates flight between Venice and Dubai.  It tells the story of the joys and pitfalls of growing up over a 12 year period - the film was shot between 2002 and 2013.  It is shot through the eyes of a boy called Mason (Ellar Coltrane), his divorced parents (Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke) and his sister (Lorelei Linklater).  As each year passes, you get to share different experiences with the family:  family meals, road trips, birthday parties.

I found it an endearing and thought provoking film - all the actors' performances are good.

Before midnight

I saw this as a preview in NFT1 with Hilary (no popcorn!).  It is the third in a series of films, telling the story of the relationship between Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy.  The films are spaced roughly ten years apart, and there is a comfortable familiarity of style between them all, as they are essentially based on the relationship between the two main characters - there are very few other people in the films.  It is quite a tribute to the film-makers that the film includes several long 20 minutes scenes where Julie and Ethan are basically just talking to each other, or arguing with each other, and yet it remains captivating. I wonder if there will be one in ten years time....

Behind the candelabra

I saw this film at the nice new Barbican cinema near my office in London - comfy seats, nice range of bar snacks.  It tells the story of Liberace (= Michael Douglas), the bejewelled and fabulously costumed pianist performer of the 70s and 80s, and his young lover Scott Thuron, played by Matt Damon.  Liberace was so infatuated with Scott that he insisted Scott get plastic surgery, to look like Liberace (like you do!) - I liked the fact that Scott at least had the guts to ask the surgeon to give him a little dimple in his chin.  Very versatile performances by both Douglas and Damon.