The premise: directed by Grant Heslov, The Men Who Stare at Goats, is based upon actual events which took place after the war in Vietnam, when the US was reassessing itself as a military power.
For a time the concept of noble, Samurai like, warriors gained traction in some quarters, and the army is said to [...]

The inaugural Australian Film Festival wrapped up last Sunday, 7 March, with The Spot Food & Film Festival, which took place on the streets outside the Ritz Cinema in Randwick, Sydney.
The Australian Film Festival
Unlike events such as the Melbourne International Film Festival, or the Sydney Film Festival, which present a mix of local and international [...]

The premise: let me come straight out and say it, Bondi Tsunami does not make for the average film watching experience.
Written, directed, and even largely filmed by Melbourne film maker Rachael Lucas, on an ultra low budget, this is a film that through music, split frames, and comic book inserts, aims to explore the Japanese [...]

The premise: set in Wellington and Berlin, Separation City is a wry yet insightful dissection of two faltering marriages, and love that was meant to be, yet wasn’t, written by Tom Scott, and directed by Paul Middleditch.
The play: Klaus (Thomas Kretschmann) an artist, and his wife Katrien (Rhona Mitra) a cello player, have recently [...]

The premise: originally produced in 1934, Alfred Hitchcock remade The Man Who Knew Too Much in 1956. He considered the latter version the more superior.
Set in Morocco and London, Dr. Benjamin McKenna (James Stewart), his wife Jo (Doris Day) a former Opera singer, and their son Hank (Christopher Olsen), are holidaying after visiting Paris [...]

The premise: based on the Lewis Carroll classics “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, and “Through the Looking Glass”, Tim Burton’s film Alice In Wonderland picks up the story of Alice (Mia Wasikowska) some 13 years after events of the novels.
Alice is now 19 years old and looks set to enter into a marriage effectively arranged by [...]

The premise: maths professor Venkat Subramaniam (Amitabh Bachchan), who struggles to find recognition for his mathematical theorems, concocts a formula that allows him to work out who holds the winning hand in Teen Patti (Three Cards), an Indian gambling card game.
And faster than he can deal a round of cards, four students and another professor [...]

The premise: a documentary made by Melbourne film-maker Emma Franz, Intangible Asset No. 82, traces the journey of her friend, Australian jazz drummer Simon Barker, who in searching for new musical influences, discovers the work of Korean Shaman and grandmaster musician, Kim Seok-Chul, and in awe of his style, sets out to try and meet [...]

The premise: originally a play, Birthday, as a result of its theatrical acclaim, was adapted for film by its South Australian writer and director, James Harkness.
The film’s Australian premiere took place at the Ritz Cinema, on 28 February 2010, as part of the Australian Film Festival.
The play: set in the South Australian [...]

I saw 60 per cent of the films I set out in advance to see in February, plus a few others that appeared after drawing up the plan. Let’s see how March goes, with this month’s list:

Alice in Wonderland
Green Zone
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Men Who Stare At Goats
Pandorum (should be a breeze [...]