Melbourne next cinematic week is awesomely retrospective. Reflect, nerd!
IN CINEMAS
New Releases
Of course, this week’s biggest new release is Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. Three and a half minute standing ovation at Cannes? Really? Whatever. Ain’t my type of hype. If they ever make it I’ll see you at the queue for House Party 4! Bilal! Oh, snap? For real? Damn. Opens wide, o’ course.
Goal 2: Living The Dream is some soccer film from the writer of, um, Goal. And Goal 3. Opens wide? Really?
Love In The Time Of Cholera. Oscar-winner Havier Bardem. You know Cusack has seen it. Most of the usual suspects: Nova, Kino, Como, Brighton Bay, and the Rivoli.
Not Really New Releases
Lots of things! ACMI’s Cassavetes retrospective concludes this weekend, with Gloria at 7pm and The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie† at 9:15pm on thursday night, the excellent dvd-released doco A Constant Forge friday at 7pm followed by minor early work Too Late Blues at 10pm, Minnie And Moskowitz saturday at 4pm followed by “his crowning centrepiece” A Woman Under The Influence at 6:30 and Love Streams at 9:15pm, big failure Big Trouble sunday at 4pm and closing with Opening Night on sunday at 6pm. (†=Note! A Note! They will be screening the post-theatrical-release 109 minute Jackie-Treehorn-himself-mandated version. Forewarned!)
Also big: Cinema Nova – as part of the Melbourne Italian Festival – are holding an Antonioni retrospective . They’re pretty much screening everything, too, but only once. Opens friday night with an invite-only Blow Up, then all weekend and mon/tue/wed/thurs nights.
The Spanish Film Festival also wraps up this weekend, with screenings all weekend at the Como and the Westgarth.
The Melbourne Cinematheque wraps up its Wajda retrospective with Ashes And Diamonds, the final part of his WWII trilogy, and post-Auschwitz ‘romance’ Landscape After Battle.
The Astor continues its sunday night western trip with The Wild Bunch, for anyone still not familiar. 7:30pm.
Time Capsules is screening George Romero’s excellent Martin on friday night. 8:45pm(ish). It’s licensed!
NGV is screening some version of Pabst’s 1931 film of The Threepenny Opera on friday at 1pm, but the details on their site are scant. Might be French, might be German… What is known: it’s a 98 minute version. There is no 98 minute version. It’s free, though!
AND, FINALLY
After speaking to a few people who hadn’t heard, here is the first 2008 MIFF preview. Also: no more ‘early bird’ tickets! They’re upgrading their membership system to include “generous ticket discounts and easier access to the Festival’s screening venues”. So do that instead.
