Fun movie! ^
Here's what I've been watching lately:
The Vourdalak (2023) An incredible new French horror set during the 18th century in Eastern Europe with, as far as I can tell, zero CGI. Feels like a long lost 70's movie, and it's maybe the most black metal movie I've ever seen. Cool fucking puppet!
Love to Love You, Donna Summer (2023) Been a huge fan of her music for years but there was a ton of stuff in here I had no clue about and will forever change my perception of her music. Music doccos rarely impress me, I guess because you might already know most of the information already, but this one was engrossing as fuck.
For example that she never considered herself nor was considered by those who knew her as a sexual person until she dropped "Love to Love You Baby," which is crazy considering how she became one of the ultimate sex symbols of the 70's. She had to create the sexy character in her head and act it out (her words) on stage because she wasn't like that IRL.
Another is that, unlike a lot of pop/disco artists of the era, she was actually just as much a songwriter as she was a vocalist and "star." There's also a bunch of dark shit in here that really adds an extra shade of sadness to such vibrant music.
The Convert (2024) Lee Tamahori's new movie and it's
really good. Since Mahana in 2016 it seems like he's finally having a return to form, which is cool to see because Once Were Warriors is one of my all time favourites.
This new one is set in the 1830's and follows Guy Pierce who is an ex-soldier turned lay preacher that arrives at a burgeoning British settlement in New Zealand right as 2 huge Maori tribes are engaging in a vicious war. One of Guy's best performances in recent memory imho.
Then I decided to watch a bunch of Aussie films yesterday:
Backroads (1977) An early Phillip Noyce film clocking in at a lean 61 minutes and it's basically about a white fella and a black fella (the always great Bill Hunter and a very young Gary Foley) who steal a car and go on a petty crime spree across the country, fucking with hitch-hikers and arguing about race politics most of the time. This is a very Aussie film, and I've seen a lot of foreigners complain that it needed subtitles lol. Seen it many times, love it still.
The Plumber (1979) is one of those old hidden gem made-for-TV movies, this one's by Peter Weir. First time watching this one for me. It's a kind of black comedy/psychological drama about a larrikin plumber who decides to fuck with a rich couple. Imagine if The Cable Guy were instead about a burley ex-con plumber from Melbourne with a hateboner for posh people. Fucking rules!
The Magician (2005) is the mockumentary precursor to Mr. Inbetween. Last time I saw it that TV series didn't exist yet, so I thought I'd chuck it on and see how it holds up. Still fucking great shit, Scott Ryan plays a classic Aussie character so well and the whole 'following around a hitman with a camera' shtick, which sounds retarded on paper, just works really well. The contrast between his regular bloke banter with the cameraman and when he clicks into tough cunt mode is just as effective as in Mr. Inbetween.
