Will need to give short reviews on these as more there are more films to see today, and I'm running behind!

AFTER LIFE
6/10
This is a japanese film, and the story centres around a building where people go when they die. They spend five days there where they, with the help of an assigned counsellor are asked to decide on their favourite memory of their life. Then this memory is acted out and they carry it on to the after life as the only memory that is remembered. What I liked about this film was how strong the first 30 or so minutes were - I was enjoying it so much I thought we might have a best-of-the-fest coming. As I watched, I started thinking about what I would choose, and in doing this realised how many good memories there are - I thought the film was a great mechanism for making the audience consider their own happy memories and this as a result would generally leave people in a more positive mood. The problem is that the film contained extra story that were unnecessary and worked against it, and it felt way too long. For example, the new arrivals are given three days to consider their favourite memory, and the two days that are left are used to re-enact that memory on film. This is totally unrealistic, didn't even seem necessary, and in some cases would have been impossible or cheapened the actual memory itself. Ultimately the film dragged and was disappointing. It was a film with a good premise that doesn't quite deliver. But, do feel free to spend a few minutes thinking about what you'd choose if you could only pick one happy memory to take with you to the afterlife - it's not as easy as I'd have thought...


FOREVER NEVER ANYWHERE
8/10
This Austrian film was one that could have gone either way, and for me it went the right way. It's a comedy about three men stuck in a car; two who are brother-in-laws, and one who's a German 'comedian' that is picked by them on a highway at night. The car drives off the road and ends up in a spot that prevents any of the men from being able to get out the vehicle, due to a perfect storm of blocked doors and non-functioning windows/doors/etc. Most of the film is shot with the men in the cabin of this car, so is a little claustrophobic - as can be expected it involves a lot of dialog as the men get to know each other, create and resolve anxieties, and deal with the one boy who knows where they're stuck, but seems more interested in conducting experiments with them rather than running to get help. Had a good ending too.

VIVA
5/10
I like 70s paraphernalia, furniture, outfits, etc, and this film did a fantastic job at showing it - an amazing effort so far down the track to find everything that was used in this film - however, it had very little more to offer. The forced 'bad acting' grated on my nerves (unlike one of my festival favourites from 2004, The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra), and the plot didn't seem to be going anywhere. Just about everything was done by Anna Biller for this film; acting, writing, directing, producing, production design, editing and costume design. So, credit to her for trying, but next time, maybe someone should tell her to let go of the baby a little bit so that it can grow into something much better. This would have made a great short film.

MANUFACTURING DISSENT: MICHAEL MOORE AND THE MEDIA
6/10
Hold onto your seat as I prepare to rock your world. Ready? Here goes: Michael Moore edits his films and manipulates information and people to tell the stories he does in his films. Are you shocked? Do you need a hand to get up off the floor? You know how you thought all his stuff was in true documentary style showing 100% facts and telling both sides of a story fairly? Well it's not true! Yawn. Maybe this doco will be a shocker to the left wing folk who eat up Michael Moore's stuff without questioning, but I'm not one of them. I happpen to support most of Michael's viewpoints in his films, and I'm glad he's out there fighting for good causes. One of the best things I liked about his series 'The Awful Truth' was that he makes people question what they're fed by the media and the goverment. For anyone to take that opportunity and not start questioning Michael himself is missing the point, I think. So yes, basically he uses the same weapons as the right-wing media to get a message across, except he's one of the few doing with with left-wing ideals. So, get your own brain, stop believing everything you're spoon-fed from whatever source you choose, and try and find your own truth or beliefs if you can. Personally, I'm glad that gun control, health care, etc are being scrutinized more closely as the result of Michael Moore's films. And, I never really considered them as 'documentaries' given their obvious slant and over-simplification for the masses. So, if this film was meant to leave me disillusioned, it failed.

SEPTEMBER
7/10
My first Australian film of the year. Was nice enough, but I didn't feel the story was particularly original. And, the introduction consisted of a short funny speech by the sponsor (Holding Redlich lawyers) followed by what felt like four hours of thank yous by the films producer and director. Sheesh. Anyway, after that they finally started the film... It's set in 1968 and is about two young boys on a farm in WA; one's white and the other is aboriginal. They're mates, and yes, you guessed it, race becomes an issue which causes tension. I don't want to say too much as I don't want to spoil the film for those intending to see it - and it *is* worth seeing, but it just seemed a little too predictable to me.