The Perks of Being a Wallflower (MA)
Directed by Stephen Chbosky
On his first day at his Pittsburgh high school, the extremely introverted Charlie (Logan Lerman) is saved from complete social embarrassment when two seniors let him sit at their lunch table. Openly gay Patrick (Ezra Miller) and extrovert-with-a-past Sam (Emma Watson) are step brother and sister and they actually end up welcoming Charlie into their lives. They also exist on the margins with their own production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show just one of their non-conformist activities. Thanks to his new friends and his English teacher (Paul Rudd), Charlie begins to emerge from the clutches of the depression and self-doubt that have held him for so long. But just when things start to improve, the narrative shifts from comedy to darker drama. This powerful coming of age film, based on the director’s 1999 novel, is brought to life by a brilliant cast. beautiful to watch. Enjoy!
Pitch Perfect (M)
Directed by Jason Moore
Beca (Anna Kendrick) really wants to be a DJ but her parents insist that she go to college. After she is discovered singing in the shower by Chloe (Brittany Snow), she finds her groove with the Barden Bellas. The Glee-like female acapella group milks all the stereotypes – the quiet girl (listen closely to what she does come out with), the control-freak, the sex maniac and the lesbian. An unlikely addition to the group is an uninhibited Tasmanian by the name of Fat Amy (Rebel Wilson) who steals the best lines and crude antics. Of course the rival group to beat in the singing competition is the all-male group The Treblemakers. No romance is allowed between the rival groups because… well this is America, but the musical sparing is pretty hot. This film has lots of laughs, great singing and feel-good resolutions for the festive season.
God Bless America (MA)
Directed by Bobcat Goldthwait
The other night, I was searching for a mindless television program that would help me unwind before bedtime and I got stuck with Big Brother. Instead of wondering how it was possible that such drivel was allowed to clog up our free-to-airwaves, my imagination took an indulgent turn by having someone drop into the compound with a machine gun and ridding our society of these annoying people. Likewise, Frank (Joel Murray) is having a bad day and imagines killing his annoying neighbours and puerile work colleagues. When he is diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour, he has nothing left to lose and targets a really odious reality television star. Twisted teenager Roxy (Tara Lynne Barr) becomes his accomplice, ridding a cinema of chatterboxes and mobile phone addicts. This modern day fable makes its point in the bloodiest of ways and is the opening film for Luna Outdoors on 13 December.
Samsara (PG)
Directed by Ron FrickE
It was 20 years ago that Ron Fricke brought us Baraka and I still have the image of the snow monkeys in the steaming pool in Japan burned on my brain. Ron Fricke has again taken his camera around the world and captured the most incredible images. Samsara is a Sanskrit word for ‘the ever turning wheel of life’ and is filmed over 5 years in 25 countries. It sure saves on air fares to sit back and be taken to some of the most exotic parts of our planet. Sacred places are juxtaposed with disaster zones, natural wonders with monstrous industrial complexes, pilgrims with prisoners and modern effigies with ancient ones.
As before, there is no dialogue and words are superfulous as the accompanying music allows you to become one with the screen and just meditate on life, the universe and the connections between humanity and nature.
