ENTERTAINMENT deal with McCall and it is one brutal slaying after another from then on.
By John Campbell
The story is rudimentary, with McCall the cool, calm and collected vigilante sending crooks to their maker without raising a sweat. Washington is good, of course, as are those who play the repugnant villains and bent cops, while Mauro Fiore’s cinematography, particularly his nocturnal shots, is high-gloss seductive and Harry Gregson-Williams’s score complements each scene with the perfect aural tone. As an unabashed advocate that might is right, the film is an ugly reflection of the temper of the times – and I’m sorry to say I enjoyed it heaps.
LUCY THE GIVER
Once upon a time, the future dawned clear and bright. Mankind was presented with endless possibilities – progress meant that things could only keep getting better. Not any more. Pessimism, paranoia and the scurvy dog of cynicism have it that Tomorrow will be awful. There is, admittedly, not a lot happening Today to dissuade us of that notion, especially with our myopic leadership. So veteran Australian director Phillip Noyce’s latest effort, though deferring initially to the prevailing negativity, manages to work as a tonic by suggesting that humanity’s flaws and foibles might necessarily be co-habitants with our more angelic impulses. The apocalypse has come and gone and, in its wake, communities have evolved that are harmonious and peaceful but rigidly controlled by a ‘thought police’, which is represented by Meryl Streep in a Mary Travers wig (I couldn’t decide if I liked it or not, but it’s certainly very kinky). As in so many of these scenarios, youngsters are assigned a station in life upon reaching a certain age. In this instance, Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) is told that he will become the heir of the Giver (Jeff Bridges), who will impart to him, by grasping his forearms, all knowledge and memory of the past. Jonas’s enlightenment only makes him acutely aware of the barren nature of his brave new world, so he strikes out to rediscover and revive all that has been proscribed. After starting in B/W, most scenes are filmed with a bland, pastel palette, but in the pre-apocalyptic flashbacks through which the Giver exposes Jonas to what has been lost, we see Yesterday’s world in vivacious, high-saturation colour. It is a technique that introduces moments of awe and wonder, of unexpected beauty and heartbreak -
peasants dancing, a buoyant Nelson Mandela, that heroic protester in front of the tank in Tianenmen Square - it brings reality to the tale. Notwithstanding the needless religiosity of the final scene (the Baby Jesus reference was beyond the pale), I was uplifted and encouraged to think that maybe all is not lost after all.
THE EQUALIZER
A current theory among anthropologists speaks of the ‘survival of the nicest’. It argues that before the bull goose loony could seize power over the tribe he needed first to charm it with his ‘people skills’. It makes sense; populism and the jackboot are a potent mix - countless war cemeteries the world over testify to that. As one of Hollywood’s ‘nicest’ and most marketable commodities, Denzel Washington epitomises the type like no other actor. We loved him as an alcoholic, cocaine snorting pilot in ‘Flight’ and would probably turn a blind eye if he were to throttle Bambi. In this he is Robert McCall, a humble employee of Home Mart, living alone in a modest but fastidiously kept flat overlooking Boston’s docks. An insomniac, he recycles tea-bags while reading Hemingway at 2am in an Edward Hopper diner (on Chestnut St!). After another night owl, hooker Teri (Chloë Grace Moretz) is beaten to a pulp by her pimp, a foul-mouthed arrogant Russian with bad skin, McCall draws on his skills as a retired CIA operative to right the wrong. The Ruskie, rest assured, was asking for a bullet in the throat. It’s that type of movie, with director Antoine Fuqua taking unseemly pleasure in graphic, blood-splattered violence. A Mr. Big among Moscow’s burgeoning clan of top-shelf crims sends his most callous henchman, a sociopath who makes Liberty Valance look like Tiny Tim, to
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On the morning before I saw this film I received an image on my Facebook newsfeed. It was of Gaza. An old Arab man, wailing in despair, was holding something aloft for the camera to capture – for the world to see. It was the corpse of a child, charred black from an explosion. Her legs had been blown off. It reminded me of the photograph of that little Vietnamese girl running naked from her village – terrified and uncomprehending – after it had been scorched and obliterated by napalm. Tears welled in my eyes. When will it ever end? A few hours later, sitting joyless and bored beyond salvation among an audience that cheerily guzzled jumbo Cokes and stuffed their faces with popcorn as Scarlett Johansson ever so sexily blasted the brains and guts out of the bad guys in yet another sci-fi blockbuster, I could not help but wonder … what has caused the disconnect between the reality of carnage and the mindless consumption of it as entertainment? Scarlett plays Lucy (she’s back to being a blonde) who, after an abduction scene that involves a display of panting and whimpering that is embarrassing even by amateur theatre standards, is forced to be a drug mule for a really nasty Oriental crook. The contraband chemical (it resembles the blue meth that Jessie and Walt manufactured in Breaking Bad) turns her into a super-powered, omnipotent, timetravelling, god-like hornbag. Morgan Freeman is in the mix doing his usual wise-old-codger thing and Amr Waked, as the tough detective, is a sort of French Jason Statham (you can’t go wrong with a stubbled stereotype).There is probably meant to be a reference in the title to the Beatles’ classic song from Sgt Pepper’s, but if that is the case it’s only a desperate act of self-glorification. As for director Luc Besson’s pretentiousness and insistence on tarting up psycho-babble as profundity, his lamentable movie is in the same league as Terrence Malick’s risible The Tree of Life.
BILLY ELLIOT ON SCREEN
BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL – SCREENING A THE PALACE IN BYRON ON SUNDAY
One of the most celebrated, award-winning musicals on stage today, Billy Elliot has been dazzling London’s West End since 2005, and has gone on to captivate audiences around the world. In September–October this year, Billy Elliot the Musical will reach a whole new audience when it is broadcast live from the Victoria Palace Theatre in London’s West End to cinemas across the UK and around the world. With unforgettable music by Elton John, sensational dance and a powerful storyline, this astonishing theatrical experience will stay with you forever. Now seen by more than 9.5 million people worldwide, there’s never been a better time to see Billy Elliot the Musical. Screening at Palace Byron Bay Cinema on Sunday at 4pm. Tickets $20–25 on sale now at Palace Cinema or online at www.palacecinemas.com.au
TUESDAY
30 SEPT to
WEDNESDAY
8 OCT
MOVIE CLUB PRICES Adult $12.00 / Senior $8.50
Tix now on sale BYRON BAY
9 Oct - 15 Oct
GONE GIRL (M) (no free tix) Thu 2, Fri 3, Mon 6, Tue 7: 12:50, 3:40, 6:30, 9:25pm Sat 4: 1:00, 4:00, 6:50, 8:40pm Sun 5: 1:10, 3:25, 6:10, 8:50pm Wed 8: 1:00, 3:30, 6:20, 8:40pm
NT LIVE: MEDEA (CTC) (no free tix) Sat 4: 1:00pm Wed 8: 12:30pm BILLY ELLIOTT THE MUSICAL LIVE (CTC) (no free tix) Sun 5: 4:00pm THE EQUALIZER (MA15+) (no free tix) Tue 30-Wed 1: 1:35, 4:15, 8:25pm Thu 2, Fri 3, Mon 6, Tue 7: 1:35, 4:10, 9:00pm Sat 4, Wed 8: 12:30, 3:50, 9:30pm Sun 6: 12:55, 6:20, 9:05pm 2D PLANES: FIRE & RESCUE (G) Tue 30-Wed 1: 9:00am, 1:00pm Thu 2, Fri 3, Mon 6, Tue 7: 9:10am, 11:00am Sat: 9:00, 10:45am Sun: 9:25, 11:55am Wed: 9:00, 10:50am THE HUNDRED-FOOT JOURNEY (PG) Tue 30-Wed 1: 11:05am, 6:55pm Thu 2, Fri 3, Mon 6, Tue 7: 2:50, 6:40 Sat 4, Wed 8: 6:20pm Sun 5: 1:40pm Enjoy our licensed bar
Lavazza Espresso Coffee
THE BOXTROLLS (PG) Tue 30-Wed 1: 10:50, 2:50pm Thu 2, Fri 3, Mon 6, Tue 7: 9:40am, 10:50am Sat: 9:00, 11:00 Sun: 9:00, 11:10 Wed: 9:00, 10:40 WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (M) Tue 30-Wed 1: 5:00, 9:25pm Thu 2, Fri 3, Mon 6, Tue 7: 9:30pm Sat: 9:40pm Wed: 9:10pm THE MAZE RUNNER (M) Tue 30-Wed 1: 1:25, 6:00, 9:10pm Thu 2, Fri 3, Mon 6, Tue 7: 12:40, 5:10, 7:20pm Sat 4, Wed 8: 3:00, 5:10, 7:20pm Sun 5: 4:00, 7:35, 9:45pm TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (M) Tue 30-Wed 1: 9:00, 11:15, 3:50pm Thu 2, Fri 3, Mon 6, Tue 7: 9:00, 11:35am Sat 4, Wed 8: 9:00am, 11:00am Sun 5: 9:55am, 10:55am MAGIC IN THE MOONLIGHT (PG) Tue 30-Wed 1: 9:00am, 7:00pm All sessions are correct at the time of publication. Current session times at: palacecinemas.com.au
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Group Bookings available
108-110 Jonson Street, Byron Bay 6680 8555 | www.palacecinemas.com.au
The Byron Shire Echo September 30, 2014 31