When the Cheshire emerges...

This was one of the films of the year. I highly recommend you get your bum on a cinema seat for this one.

Argo (M)

WHILE much of the current focus on the Middle East remains on links within the US, an interesting sidenote remains that Canadian relations with Iran have not always been on positive terms. Their decision last month to sever all diplomatic ties with the country, not for the first time, has sparked political and international debate.

It's timely then that this film should be released, explaining for the first time on film some details behind their disagreements. The Canadians were responsible for harbouring six US embassy employees in Tehran during violent protests in 1979/1980, aimed at the US government for keeping their corrupt leader safe while on his deathbed.

Yes, the US is still involved. And here we see the story of how they were the unsung heroes of the operation to get the group out of the country. As cliched as it seems, this is very much a case of North American partners in crime, something rarely highlighted.

The six escaped to the Canadian embassy, where they stayed for more than two months before CIA exfiltration agent Tony Mendez (Ben Affleck) came on board to create their escape plan. A preposterous plan for an extreme situation, he creates buzz for a sci-fi film that will never be made.

Getting producers, stars and Variety magazine on board are all part of Mendez's plan to have a viable excuse for getting into Iran for location scouting and smuggle the group out as the remainder of his production crew.

Unravelling elements of what those in the business think Hollywood to be as Mendez develops his plan, Affleck the director makes a statement to say he has earned his place among his sort of the day.
His attention to detail and style is remarkable, long shots establishing the story's slow process and effectively ditching the crisp picture we've come to expect for that of 30-year-old quality.

George Clooney and Grant Heslov join Affleck as producers, and together they make a film about a fake film big. John Goodman and Alan Arkin as Mendez's Hollywood contacts are wry and cynical but great assets, and Bryan Cranston again makes an important appearance as CIA buddy Jack O'Donnell. Victor Garber returns to his roots as Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor, while Affleck himself has no conflictions about moving between the front and back of the camera.

Tony Mendez is a simple guy who's having family issues, but the focus never remains on him. The story is well and truly everyone's, something to remember and be able to share. Taking information from Mendez's autobiography The Master of Disguise and article Escape From Tehran by Joshuah Bearman, the film is smooth and engrossing in entirety.

Unlike many other films involving espionage and rescue plots, this story has true heart.

I was meant to see Hope Springs this week but after waiting for it to start for 25 minutes they told us there were technical issues that couldn't be fixed. Went back two hours later to see this.

Total Recall (2012)

CREATING memories from advancements in technology could well be the pinnacle of existence for many living in centuries to come. The concept of being able to live the life you want, however you want, would surely fascinate even those most sceptical. Philip K. Dick’s 1966 short story We Can Remember It for You Wholesale has already been explored once on film with Arnold Schwarzenegger in 1990, but a new generation and shifting economy called for an updated recall.

It is not primarily based on either Dick’s story or Paul Verhoeven’s adaptation, Wiseman and screenwriters Kurt Wimmer and Mark Bomback taking elements loved from both and blending them. While the key plot point of visiting Mars is abandoned, characters like the three-breasted woman make a return – and their futuristic world is still just that, where boundaries can be stretched.

Rating: 3/5

*Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post and Midstate Observer (Orange) from Saturday 25/8/2012

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Don't Look Now (1972)
 

Many of Daphne du Maurier’s novels have been adapted for the big screen and most famously so by Alfred Hitchcock. But this short story brought to cinema by English director Nicholas Roeg holds just as big an appeal to audiences with a different style of filmmaking and a cast not part of the Hitchcock clan.

Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie were both at a high in their careers when taking on the roles of John and Laura Baxter. The couple deals with the drowning of daughter Christine (Sharon Williams) by moving to Venice and forging a new life among the canals.

Meeting a pair of elderly sisters, one a psychic, they are swept into believing Christine is spiritually present but terrible things are about to befall them. Amid the dark, winding alleys and canals their paranoia increases to create high tension and general uncertainty.

 

The now-famous sex scene, the duo’s first scene together, still has to be denied as real by those there. But interest also comes from the general creepiness of the film, and Sutherland and Christie’s great performances. It doesn't bring many scares throughout, but with some smart flashbacks the film sets the audience up for a very unexpected outcome.