ENTERTAINMENT By John Campbell
WATERING THE TREE OF LIFE! Many people know the horrible statistic that an area of forest the size of a soccer pitch is cut down every second, but feel powerless to do anything about it. Eight local women are carrying the banner for tropical reforestation by doing what they love – creating theatre. Tree of Life, directed by Philippa Williams of Theatre of Life, is a poetical soul journey celebrating our connection to nature and, in particular, to the Tree of Life, which spans time, culture and continent as a mighty image appearing in art, poetry, story, philosophy and religion. Texts range from the 6th century BC to contemporary Australian poet Judith Wright, and are seamlessly woven together with the stunning choreography of Tracie Crockford and music by Kaia Moon. Come along to the Drill Hall Theatre, Mullumbimby, on Saturday and Sunday at 7.30pm to plant a tree and watch a wonderful piece of theatre. Tickets $22 and $18 concession from the Mullumbimby Bookshop. Visit the website at www.theatre-of-life.org.
A TRIP TO MOROCCO WITH NADINE There’s nothing more frustrating then going somewhere and not getting past the tourist route. Local art lover and owner/ curator of Mullumbimby’s Art Piece Gallery spent much of her childhood with parents and grandparents in Casablanca. This year she returns to the streets, the houses and the ice-cream shops of her past and she wants you to come too.
Discover Morocco with Nadine Abensur; tour dates are from the 11th to the 26th November. Call Nadine for information: 6684 3556.
POETRY SLAMMERS Writers at the Rails returns to the Rails with their spring show this Sunday featuring two hot young poets. Popular hip-hop poet Daniel ‘Triple Nip’ Pearson and Lismore’s Rebecca Rushbrook, who won the coveted $2,000 Nimbin Performance Poetry World Cup this year. The afternoon show includes invited readings and poetry slam. Kick off at 2pm.
North Coast news daily: www.echonetdaily.net.au
ETHAN HAWKE IN PREDESTINATION
I held back from saying it after Jersey Boys for fear of sounding ageist. But if the great Clint Eastwood had not on that occasion made the movie of an old man, then the revered (and by some reviled) Woody Allen has most certainly done so with this sweet and flowery waffle. We are all familiar with Allen’s obsessions, the major one of which is death and his neurotic fear of it – he has made a career of exposing and exploring its non-negotiable certainty. Generally speaking, however, artists are more successful at teasing out life’s more profound questions when they stick to their practised medium. Their attempts at outright philosophy are clunky at best. Stanley (Colin Firth) is little more than the director’s alter-ego. A magician of renown with a brilliant history as an entertainer (like Allen), he is the ultimate pragmatist who, though he might ardently wish for there to be an afterlife, has taken pride in demolishing those charlatans who claim to have evidence of it. Sophie (Emma Stone) is an ingénue from the US midwest who is making a name for herself as a spiritualist among the odiously rich of the Côte d’Azur. Unable to resist a debunking, Stanley is enticed by Howard (Simon McBirney), a fellow illusionist, to travel to France and expose Sophie as the fake that she surely must be. The dialogue between the two antagonists is gauche and the tiresome predictability of a romance smouldering between them (younger women find older men irresistible in Allen’s world) is hampered by the couple’s complete lack of chemistry. Admittedly, the location is gorgeous, but escapist eye-candy only serves to fill the cracks of an over-simplistic script. It’s gratifying to see ‘our’ Jacki Weaver doing so well for herself, but Firth is atypically wooden and Stone half-hearted. Hearing the refrain of Cole Porter’s You Do Something To Me for the umpteenth time, it occurred to me that Allen has made what is in essence a pleasant little radio play with pictures.
TUESDAY
2 SEPT to
WEDNESDAY
PREDESTINATION
German-born Australian filmmakers Peter and Michael Spierig (they’re twins) had an unheralded success in the US with their vampire flick Daybreakers. With Ethan Hawke as leading man again, they have adapted a short story by iconic sci-fi novelist Robert Heinlein (Stranger in a Strange Land was perhaps the book of the 60s counterculture) for their latest brain-breaker. The phenomenon of Doctor Who is evidence of the ongoing appeal of time-travel, but in a movie it comes with the inbuilt problem of how can you change something that has already happened? Fate, after all, is unarguable – the first person you will see tomorrow morning will be the first person you see. But that hasn’t stopped the Spierig brothers from having a crack at the imponderable (and impenetrable) question of determining history through pre-emptive actions.
Travelling Flicks
There is a homegrown terrorist known as the ‘fizzle bomber’ whose blasts have been/will be responsible for the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians in America. Hawke, whom we first meet as a bartender, is a Temporal Agent who has been pursuing the bomber through different decades. A bloke who turns out to be the writer of a confessional column in a women’s magazine (Sarah Snook) comes in for a drink one night. They get to talking… and it becomes a feature of an
extremely convoluted narrative that there is regular need for a voiceover to explain what is happening, and who is who. Noah Taylor gets a start as Mr Robinson, the head of the bureau, and he is suitably creepy. I did my best to stick with the story and thought I was pretty much on top of it until about the three-quarter mark. After that I lost the plot and had no clear idea of what was going on. If you liked Inception (for mine, it was a wank) you’ll probably like this too. It is well done with a number of devious twists and Snook (bearing an uncanny resemblance to Jodie Foster) is terrific.
11 SEPT
MOVIE CLUB PRICES Adult $12.00 / Senior $8.50
Rated M
Accompany her to the spiritual capital Fes to cook in a secret garden, Marrakesh to visit designer workshops and artist studios, and cook fish and paint in Essoeria. Of course you will be expected to ride a camel. Nadine says, ‘We’ll focus on the rich and varied food, art and design culture and explore the places that were an important part of my growing up and still inform the person I am today. We will go the imperial city of Meknes, to Marrakesh, Volubilis, the best-preserved Roman site in Morocco, to Fes and to the Atlas Mountains, cooking our way around Morocco with some of the country’s top chefs and staying in beautifully appointed riads.’ This is an extraordinary place, made even more so in the company of an extraordinary woman.
MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT
clive owen & juliette binoche
a fred schepisi film ‘A truly witty romantic comedy with emotional depth’ – Deborah Young, The Hollywood Reporter
A & I HALL, BANGALOW
SAT 6 SEPTEMBER
Dinner 6.30pm Film 7.30pm Film tickets: $15/$13 at Mullum Bookshop | travellingflicks.com
OPENS THURSDAY
SNEAK PREVIEWS
20,000 DAYS (MA15+) (no free tix) Thu 4-Wed 10: 5:10, 9:15pm EXHIBITION - HERMITAGE REVEALED (CTC) Sun 7, Wed 10: 1:00PM TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (M) (no free tix) Previews Fri 5: 4:30pm Sat 6: 5:05pm Sun 7: 5:00pm Sat & Sun only! LEGENDS OF OZ-DOROTHY RETURNS (PG) (no free tix) Sat 6, Sun 7: 9:20am INTO THE STORM (M) (no free tix) Thu 4, Fri 5, Mon 8, Tue 9: 10:15, 5:00, 7:15, 9:10pm Sat 6: 10:15, 5:30, 7:15, 9:40pm Sun 7: 11:05, 4:20, 7:15, 8:30pm Wed 10: 10:15, 4:50, 7:15, 9:00pm MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT (PG) (no free tix) Tue 2-Wed 3: 12:10, 4:40, 6:40 Thu 4, Fri 5, Mon 8, Tue 9: 12:45, 2:50, 7:00 Sat 6: 1:15, 3:20, 7:30 Sun 7: 12:05, 2:10, 6:20 Wed 10: 12:35, 2:40, 6:45pm LUCY (MA15+) Tue 2-Wed 3: 5:00 Enjoy our licensed bar
Lavazza Espresso Coffee
SAT AND SUN ONLY
PREDESTINATION (MA15+) (no free tix) Tue 2-Wed 3: 10:10, 3:00, 7:00 Thu 4, Fri 5, Mon 8, Tue 9: 12:10, 2:20, 9:00 Sat 6: 12:50, 3:00, 9:35 Sun 7: 10:00, 3:00, 9:30 Wed 10: 10:30am, 2:40, 9:20pm THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY (PG) Tue 2- Wed 3: 11:50, 2:20, 6:50pm Thu 4, Fri 5, Mon 8, Tue 9: 10:15, 2:30, 6:30 Sat 6: 10:20, 2:30, 7:05 Sun 7: 2:30, 7:00 Wed 10: 10:30, 2:30, 6:50 THE INBETWEENERS 2 (MA15+) Tue 2-Wed 3: 9:50am, 5:00, 9:15pm Thu 4, Mon 8, Tue 9: 10:00, 4:25pm Fri 5: 10:00 Sat 6: 11:10am Sun 7: 10:10am Wed 10: 4:45pm BEGIN AGAIN (M) Tue 2-Wed 3: 10:40, 12:50, 9:00 Thu 4-Wed 10: 12:15 2D: THE GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (M) Tue 2- Wed 3: 2:10, 8:45pm All sessions are correct at the time of publication. Current session times: www.palacecinemas.com.au Gift cards are the perfect gift
Group Bookings available
108-110 Jonson Street, Byron Bay 6680 8555 | www.palacecinemas.com.au
The Byron Shire Echo September 2, 2014 31