LFS UPdate?

A Short Movie

MOVING ON: A Dangerous Idea, A Paradigm Shift

Capitalism: A Love Story: A Twist?

Now you do not have to approve of something to report it but it is sometimes interesting to simply report what is going on and see what role the moving images plays in it. This week Michael Moore wrote to 'the faithful' saying ... " This weekend over a thousand homes across America will be hosting viewing parties of my latest film, "Capitalism: A Love Story." I'd like to invite you to be part of this great shared event. And I will be there live, over the phone, at many of them to talk to you and take your questions ... MoveOn.org is launching a huge new campaign to take back democracy from the corporations and lobbyists" ... CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL TEXT

Today And Tomorrow (Hoy Y Mañana) Movie Review

A Movie About Principle And Valuable Moral Lessons

Mar 19, 2010 Ingrid Calderon A fierce look at an underground world of stakes and compromises: Director Alejandro Chomski takes us on an exhilarating yet saddening ride through impoverished Buenos Aires, Argentina in his movie Today and Tomorrow (Hoy y Mañana). Winner of the Havana Film Festival, Today and Tomorrow brings attention to a subject as taboo as prostitution and gives it a new light. Set in Buenos Aires, and starring Antonella Costa, Today and Tomorrow follows Paula, a struggling 24 yr. old actress, whom can’t get her rent paid or her bills in line.

While she is running around town stealing food while trying to ask for monetary favors from important men in her life, such as her father and uncle, coming up short. She is also propositioned in the theatre where she performs, from her mentor, whom sees her struggling to make ends meet, and asks Paula to sleep with him in order to pay some bills ... Click here to read more

The Boat That Rocked: March 29 & 31 Mar & 1 April

Coarse language, sexual references and nudity

U.K. 2009
Director: Richard Curtis
Featuring: Bill Nighy, Rhys Ifans, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Running time: 116 minutes Margaret: 3.5 Stars David: 3 Stars

Review by David Stratton: In 1966, Radio Rock, based on a boat anchored outside Britain’s three-mile limit, broadcasts the kind of rock ‘n’ roll the BBC largely ignored to an enthusiastic listening audience of mostly young people. Radio Rock is managed by Quentin, (BILL NIGHY) whose nephew Carl, (TOM STURRIDGE) expelled from school, is sent to live on the boat ... The broadcasters are a mixed bunch with a variety of problems and obsessions. Radio Rock has an implacable enemy in government minister Sir Alistair Dormandy, (KENNETH BRANAGH) who vows to shut it down ... Click here to read more

CLICK HERE FOR EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW

SKIN: Sometime Perhaps?

Skin English Movie South Africa

• Date of release : October 30th, 2009
• Director : Anthony Fabian
• Writer : Helen Crawley
• Starring: Sophie Okonedo, Sam Neill, Alice Krige, Tony Kgoroge, Ella Ramangwane
• Studio : Elysian Films
• Genre: Drama
• Rating: PG-13 thematic material, some violence and sexuality
• Runtime : 1 hour 47 minutes
• More Details: Click here

Synopsis : On Sunday, November 16th, I (freemovie bloger) attended a screening of Skin, an independent film directed by Anthony Fabian. This film was one of several featured at this year's St. Louis International Film Festival (November 13th - November 23rd). Skin is based on the true story of Sandra Laing, a biracial girl born to parents Abraham and Sannie Laing, both of whom are white Afrikaners, and is set in South Africa during the apartheid era. Sandra is biracial because of what's known in genetics as a throwback, an anomaly in which the black genes in her parents' ancestry never manifested until she was born. Nevertheless, Abraham (Sam Neill) and Sannie (Alice Krige) raise Sandra as a white girl.

Skin Hollywood Movie Review : The young Sandra (Ella Ramangwane) is tormented in school by her classmates, the teachers, and the principal, because of her appearance. Consequently, the government classifies her as Coloured (the South African term for multiracial), and she's .... click here to read more and see the trailer

Rani Mukherjee

• The ABC's Julie Rigg interviews Bollywood's Rani Mukherjee … click here to download or listen
• If you want to know more about Rani click here to read more and see her Photo Gallery

Séraphine de Senlis

Once in a while one has to say what one has to say. If you go to the movies and get freaking bored then why be polite and not say so. It’s understood that there is someone on the committee who sees it as their role in life to bring to Launceston “interesting movies for interesting people.”

Well, please no more of this boring stuff filmed in pretty landscapes, and Senlis' quaint and quirky streetscapes, that was Séraphine.

Maybe I am out of step. Maybe I’ve missed the point. Maybe I am just not an “interesting person.” The long and the short of it is that this movie was a waste of two hours. I stayed awake only because I did not want to be accused of being “uninteresting.” For much the same reason I didn’t leave the theatre.

The best bit about this movie is that it wasn’t some Hollywood blockbuster or other. But in a way, it was the worst thing as well. If it had been one of those, it would have been all right to walk out. You would get the "interesting" vote for that I suspect.

Thank goodness for mothers because they are needed to love ugly children. Blessed be the creators of pretty landscapes however. They save us a little boredom. And, heaven preserve us from those who aspire to be interesting people and who go out of their way looking for interesting movies to dish up to interesting people.

Len Meltien

Seraphine: March 22, 24, 25 (G)

Click here for a taste

Margaret Pomeranz says "Not having been a major fan of French films lately it was a joy to come across SERAPHINE, the Cesar-winning film about Seraphine Louis, played by YOLANDE MOREAU. SERAPHINE was a deeply religious, solitary and eccentric character who worked as a maid in the town of Senlis, north-east of Paris. A maid by day and an artist by night ... click here to read more

Rottentomatoes say " Rating:7.5/10 ... Consensus: Seraphine is a well-crafted French film that effectively captures one woman's experience with art, religion, and mental illness, and features a brilliant performance from Yolande Moreau ... Runtime: 2 hrs 1 min ... US Box Office: $557,682 ... Synopsis: Based on a true story, Seraphine centers on Séraphine de Senlis (Moreau), a simple and profoundly devout housekeeper whose brilliantly colorful canvases now adorn some of the most famous galleries... click here to read and see more

MOVIE REVIEW June 05, 2009 KENNETH TURAN, TIMES FILM CRITIC: "When we first meet Seraphine de Senlis, it's hard not to feel confused. This most ordinary of women, this overweight housekeeper trudging heavily through cobblestone streets in a shapeless black dress, she could not possibly be the subject of a major French motion picture, let alone one that won seven Cesars, including best film, best screenplay, best cinematography and best actress for star Yolande Moreau. There must be some kind of mistake ... click here to read more

CEDAR BOYS

BACKlink

FILM SHOWING: Sat March 20

SATURDAY 20th MARCH
6pm for 6.30pm start

SIR RAYMOND FERRALL CENTRE

Lecture Theatre 5,
UNIVERSITY OF TASMANIA – LAUNCESTON
NEWNHAM DRIVE, NEWNHAM

FILMS

BURMA VJ - Reporting from a closed country 2009 MA 15+, 1hr, 25mins

In dictatorships like Burma, journalism becomes a dangerous, illicit act. With foreign journalists barred from the country in 2007, a group of videographers risk their lives to record protests in the country & the violent repression that follows - to keep the world informed of events in Burma during a military rebellion. Includes footage by Toe Zaw Latt, Thailand Bureau Chief, Democratic Voice of Burma. Winner of over 40 international awards & Oscar-nominated documentary... click here to read more

$5 donations gratefully accepted for the Democratic Voice of Burma

ALSO

A Day with Fresh Xpress G 15mins 2006

A film promoting awareness of the transition to a new country & experiences of a local migrant youth group Fresh Xpress settling in Devonport, Tasmania. Filmed/edited by Jacob Gleeson; produced with assistance of Devonport City Council & The Zone - Youth Information & Access Centre

AND

The Secret Country – The First Australians Fight Back PG 1hr 20mins 1985

John Pilger uncovers & explores the rich diversity & ingenuity of a remarkable people – Australia’s Aboriginal people. He discovers a country affected by a shameful past that resonates from acts of colonial prejudice. 2nd prize Anthropology category, American Film Festival 1986

University of Tasmania
Wide Angle Tasmania
State Library of Tasmania
A Migrant Resource Centre North
Enquiries: Ph. 6332 2211,

Rite of Love & Death (1966)

Yukio Mishima (1925-1970) foreshadowed his own violent suicide with this ravishing short feature, his only foray into filmmaking, yet made with the expressiveness and confidence of a true cinema artist. All prints of Patriotism (Yžkoku), which depicts the seppuku of a army officer, were destroyed after Mishima's death in 1970, though the negative was saved, and the film resurfaced thirty-five years later. New viewers will be stunned at the depth and clarity of Mishima's vision, as well as his graphic depictions of sex and death. RUNTIME: 28:55 ... From ubuWEB Film

What About Bollywood?

CEDAR BOYS: March 15, 17, 18 (MA)

Emily Dunn & Elicia Murray ... July 7, 2008
WHEN Les Chantery accepted a role in the Australian director Serhat Caradee's film Cedar Boys, it meant turning down a possible future as the next Luke Perry or Jason Priestley. The Los Angeles-based, Sydney-born actor had completed a test for a character in 90210, a where-are-they-now spin-off of the '90s TV hit Beverley Hills 90210. However, he decided against further auditions when Caradee told him Cedar Boys had received a green light ... "I hadn't got the role [in the television series] yet but I was at a stage where you have to sign a contract, meaning you can't do other things in the meantime," Chantery told SiT from Maroubra, where he is halfway through the four-week shoot ... In the story of a group of young Australian Lebanese men ... click here to read more

Review by David Stratton

In CEDAR BOYS, Tarek, LES CHANTERY, a Lebanese-Australian, lives with his parents and little sister in Sydney’s western suburbs; his older brother, Jamal, BREN FOSTER, is serving a prison sentence for an unspecified crime and can’t afford the money for an appeal ... Tarek sees the chance to help his brother when his mate, Nabil, BUDDY DANNOUN, who works as a cleaner in a block of flats, observes some suspicious comings and goings and suspects an apartment is being used as a drug depot – Nabil persuades Tarek to help him steal the drugs. They enlist their drug dealer friend Sam, WADDAH SARI, to help move the pills and they start to reap the profits ... Meanwhile Tarek has met Amie ... click here to read more

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE TRAILER

Coco Avant Channel: Score

Perhaps this is one of those greatest untold stories that in the end was pretty much left untold. But as is often the case the landscapes scored well. It is possible that we need movies like this to fill out the program and put an edge on all those movies accused of being dark and riddled with angst. Rather than spell it out we'll leave you with the symbolism!

Save the Elephants: STOP BLOODY IVORY

Even if this is NOT YET a movie it is time to do something no matter how small

This week, two countries are seeking to break the worldwide ban on ivory trading, a decision that could wipe out whole elephant populations – and bring these magnificent animals closer to extinction.

But many African states and conservationists support extending the ban on elephant-slaughtering ivory trade. The decision will be made at a UN meeting in Doha on 13 March, and global public opinion could tip the balance!

Sign the petition now using the form below, then spread the word -- let's deliver hundreds of thousands of signatures to the UN convention before it's too late.

Tanzania and Zambia are lobbying the UN for special exemptions from the ban, but this would send a clear signal to the ivory crime syndicates that international protection is weakening and it's open-season on elephants. Another group of African states have countered by calling to extend the trade ban for 20 years.

Our best chance to save the continent's remaining elephants is to support African conservationists. We only have 5 days left and the UN Endangered Species body only meets every 3 years. Click below to sign our urgent petition to protect elephants, and forward this email widely. The petition will be delivered to the UN meeting in Doha: Click here to sign

Click here to watch an elephant video

Some perspective on all this

If you do not feel like being disgusted then do not click here

Does this make any sense?

You probably shouldn't click here either

This not this

Life In America

RUNTIME: 26:26

Michael Moore Says ...

Michael Moore says that "the best movie he saw this year won't be winning any awards tonight at the Oscars. It wasn't even nominated for anything. In fact, it wasn't even shown in the United States. Yet, I'm confident that, if you had had a chance to see it, you would likely agree with me that this is a brilliant film, a rare gem."

It's called Troubled Water and it is from Norway. Erik Poppe's 'Troubled Water' highlights two cinematic archetypes that have recently gained currency: the child murderer and the bereaved mother. But here, the two figures form equal sides of the same narrative coin in a brilliantly conceived, magisterially orchestrated drama ... read more of this here

Michael Moore's taste is just that, Michael Moore's taste but he has just put out his list of the 20 "best pictures" he saw in 2009. For what it is worth here is his list:

1. "Troubled Water"
2. "Everlasting Moments" - A wife in the early 20th century wins a camera and it changes her life (from Sweden).
3. "Captain Abu Raed" - This first feature from Jordan tells the story of an airport janitor who the neighborhood kids believe is a pilot.
4. "Che" - A brilliant, unexpected mega-film about Che Guevara by Steven Soderbergh.
5. "Dead Snow" - The scariest film I've seen in a while about zombie Nazis abandoned after World War II in desolate Norway.
6. "The Great Buck Howard" - A tender look at the life of an illusionist, based on the life of The Amazing Kreskin starring John Malkovich.
7. "In the Loop" - A rare hilarious satire, this one about the collusion between the Brits and the Americans and their illegal war pursuits.
8. "My One and Only" - Who would have thought that a biopic based on one year in the life of George Hamilton when he was a teenager would turn out to be one of the year's most engaging films.
9. "Whatever Works" - This was a VERY good Woody Allen film starring the great Larry David and it was completely overlooked.
10. "Big Fan" - A funny, dark film about an obsessive fan of the New York Giants with a great performance by the comedian Patton Oswalt.
11. "Eden Is West" - The legendary Costa-Gavras' latest gem, ignored like his last brilliant film 4 years ago, "The Axe".
12. "Entre Nos" - An mother and child are left to fend for themselves in New York City in this powerful drama.
13. "The Girlfriend Experience" - Steven Soderbergh's second genius film of the year, this one set in the the post-Wall Street Crash era, a call girl services the men who brought the country down.
14. "Humpday" - Two straight guys dare each other to enter a gay porn contest -- but will they go through with it?
15. "Lemon Tree" - A Palestinian woman has her lemon trees cut down by the Israeli army, but she decides that's the final straw.
16. "Mary and Max" - An Australian girl and and elderly Jewish man in New York become pen pals in this very moving animated film.
17. "O'Horten" - Another Norwegian winner, this one about the final trip made by a retiring train conductor.
18. "Salt of This Sea" - A Palestinian-American returns to her family's home in the West Bank, only to find herself caught up in the struggles between the two cultures.
19. "Sugar" - A Dominican baseball player gets his one chance to come to America and make it in the big leagues.
20. "Fantastic Mr. Fox" - A smart, adult animated film from Wes Anderson that at least got two nominations from the Academy
So there you go! What have you seen already?

LFS REALITY CHECK

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO CHECK FOR DEVELOPMENTS
09.03.2010 @ 9.33 am
A check revealed that old material had been restored to the site
and that as yet no new material had been added
except for this weeks review

REEL LIFE

IN CELEBRATION OF DICKHEAD WEEK IN LAUNCESTON

It turns out that the first week in March from this day forward will be known as, and celebrated as, DICKHEAD WEEK – with the first Monday in March being DICKHEAD DAY.

The story goes that an Alderman at a City Council meeting was behaving, well let's say in a way that was not being appreciated by another. To cut to the chase the latter interjected and called the former a "DICKHEAD" out loud.

The Alderman who brought all this upon himself protested bitterly but nobody seemed to hear who had called him a DICKHEAD – which by the way was not the name his parents gave him. There was all kinds of commentary about:

• The need for an apology or not;
• The extent to which the name was appropriate under the circumstances;
• Whether or not an ego could/should be wounded;
• Whether or not dickhead was a swear word or a colloquialism; and on and on and on
  

So from now on in Launceston the first Monday in March anyone can call anyone a "Dickhead" without hurting their ego and the press is very likely to continue to ignore it as it has done up until now..... read more here

Enjoy the movie!
It runs just over 10 mins

Coco Avant Channel: March 8, 10, 11

Coco Before Chanel (UK) (USA) Untitled Coco Chanel Project (France) (working title)

Rated PG-13 for sexual content and smoking.
Runtime: 105 min
Country: France Language: French
Color: Color Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix: DTS | Dolby Digital
Certification: Australia:M (DVD rating)
Filming Locations: Normandie, France more
... read and see more here

This is a beautiful little piece of French escapism that ... read more and see the trailer here

Despite its rave reviews, the latest biopic, Coco avant Chanel, proves yet again that the fashion empress has no cinematic clothes. Suspended ominously above critical acclaim from modish sources like the New York Times is a cloud of disgust, a combination of weariness blended with rage whose punch is as viscerally potent as the aldehydic clout of Chanel No. 5.

Chanel devotees in droves have been exiting darkened theatres midway through the movie. Fashion editors remain underwhelmed by ... read more here

A little girl who is sent with her sister to an orphanage in the heart of France, who waits in vain every Sunday for her father to come for her ... A cabaret performer with a weak voice who ... read and see more here

Last Ride: March 1, 3, 4 2010