Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Director X Stars: Trevor Jackson, Kaalan Walker, Esai Morales, Michael Kenneth Williams, Lex Scott Davis, Andrea London, Jason Mitchell, Jennifer Morrison, Brian F Durkin, Big Bank Black, Antwan Big Boi Patton. This is a largely unnecessary remake of the 1972 Blaxploitation crime drama from director Gordon Parks jr, the son of legendary Blaxploitation filmmaker Gordon Parks, who gave us classic films like Shaft, etc. The original was a ground-breaking achievement as it one of the first films entirely financed and starring and Continue reading
MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2018 – reviews
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ALL REVIEWS WRITTEN BY GREG KING LAST UPDATED AUGUST 17, 2018 THE MAN WHO KILLED DON QUIXOTE. The struggles faced by idiosyncratic and maverick filmmaker Terry Gilliam in trying to bring to the screen his long gestating passion project about Don Quixote have been well detailed in the fascinating 2002 documentary Lost In La Mancha. That film told of the storms that destroyed sets, the lack of financial support and the ill health of its star, all of which combined to halt production within a week of the project starting physical production. Now some twenty years Continue reading
BOOK WEEK – interview with Heath Davis
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by GREG KING The sophomore feature film for writer/director Heath Davis Book Week has its premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival on August 15. It screens again on August 18. Book Week follows high school English teacher, Nicholas Cutler (played by Alan Dukes) who thinks his life is about to change for the better when he learns his trashy zombie novel is going to be published. But his life soon becomes seven days of hell. His novel is passed over in favour of one written by a precocious student he teaches. A girlfriend’s ultimatum, a student in trouble with Continue reading
LEAVE NO TRACE – interview with Debra Granik
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by GREG KING Leave No Trace is a powerful drama about a damaged war veteran (played by Ben Foster) and his daughter Tom (New Zealand newcomer Thomasin McKenzie) who are living off the grid in a remote forest until they are discovered, and their world is dramatically changed. The film is based on the novel My Abandonment written by Peter Rock, and has been adapted to the screen by director Debra Granik (Winter’s Bone, etc). Greg had a chat with Debra to learn more about the film. http://www.mediafire.com/file/dti3736l2ms8y65/230720_002.MP3/file Continue reading
MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2018 – interview with Al Cossar, Assistant Artistic Director
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by GREG KING The Melbourne International Film Festival runs from August 2 through to August 19, with an eclectic program of films both local and international. The programming team have sourced award winning films from some of the world’s best film festivals. The opening night film was Wild Life, the directorial debut of actor Paul Dano. There is a special section on African Film Rediscovered, the Fashion X Cinema program, a diverse section of Australian cinema and Premier Fund films, a retrospective of Italian crime films from the 60s and 70s, shorts programs, Continue reading
