Reviewed by GREG KING Documentary Director: Ray Argall. 1984 was a pivotal year for iconic Australian rock band Midnight Oil. Formed in the early 70s from Sydney’s vibrant north shore, Midnight Oil forged its reputation for energetic live shows in the pub rock scene, with front man Peter Garrett finishing their sets exhausted and bathed in sweat. The band defiantly forged its own path, refusing to play on tv shows like Countdown or following the usual music business norms of drugs and hard partying. The band was also known for its support of environmental and …
MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2016 REVIEWS
by GREG KING The Melbourne International Film Festival screens from July 28 through until August 14. There are some 300 features and documentaries screening, both local and international productions. The opening night film is The Death And Life Of Otto Bloom, starring Xavier Samuel, and the closing night film is David Mackenzie's contemporary western Hell Or High Water, starring Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine and Ben Foster. Throughout the festival we will keep you up to date with reviews and interviews. ALL REVIEWS BY GREG KING LAST UPDATED AUGUST 6, 2016 KILLING …
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HIGHLY STRUNG
Reviewed by GREG KING Documentary Director: Scott Hicks. "A quartet is a private thing," says Stephen King, a member of the renowned Australian String Quartet. But in this documentary from director Scott Hicks (best known for his dramas like the AFI and Oscar winning Shine and Snow Falling On Cedars, and the bland Nicholas Sparks romance The Lucky One, etc) it is no longer private. The quartet is laid bare here in a film that will mainly appeal to loves of fine classical music. Hicks began the documentary intending to look at the latest incarnation of the acclaimed …
THE WRECKING CREW
Reviewed by GREG KING Documentary Director: Denny Tedesco. Music lovers have been well served recently with a number of superb documentaries. The prolific Alex Gibney gave us a warts and all look at the rise James Brown, the "hardest working man in show biz", and there was also the informative and insightful documentary about the tragic Amy Winehouse. There was Muscle Shoals, about the hit making recording studio in Alabama where the likes of Paul Simon, Bob Seger and even the Rolling Stones recorded some of their best works. And there was the Oscar winning Twenty Feet …
AMY
Reviewed by GREG KING Documentary Director: Asif Kapadia. When she died at the young age of 27 in 2011, Grammy award winning British singer Amy Winehouse joined that small group of self destructive singers who also died an untimely death as their addictions got the better of them - Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain. This documentary is a revealing, warts and all look at the meteoric rise and spectacular fall of Winehouse, who has sold over 20 million albums and won numerous awards in her short career. And even though we know the outcome, it is …
KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON
Reviewed by GREG KING Documentary Director: Alan Hicks. One of the cinematic highlights of 2014 was the drama Whiplash, about the turbulent relationship between an aspiring jazz drummer and his volatile teacher who pushed his students to breaking point, and sometimes beyond. The marvelous documentary Keep On Keepin' On offers a marked contrast to that film, as it follows the wonderful friendship that develops between two jazz musicians - one a legend nearing the end of an eventful life and the other a jazz prodigy just starting out on his musical career. The beating …
MURUNDAK: SONGS OF FREEDOM
Reviewed by GREG KING Documentary Directors: Natasha Gadd, Rhys Graham. This locally produced documentary is both topical and timely. Murundak follows a group of aboriginal musicians, performing under the collective name of the Black Arm Band, as they stage a number of concerts aimed at raising awareness of indigenous issues. It follows the band from the concert halls of the Sydney Opera House to remote Aboriginal communities of the Northern Territory. The band was initially formed in 2006 as part of the Melbourne International Art Festival. They have taken …
DIG!
Reviewed by GREG KING Documentary Director: Ondi Timoner Like last year's superb music docos Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster and The End Of The Century: The Story Of The Ramones, Dig! is a fascinating portrait of the creative pressures and internal tensions that can shape a band's future. Filmed over seven years and culled from some 1500 hours of footage, Dig! is a wonderful warts and all exploration of the contrasting fortunes of two rival bands. Both talented musicians and creative songwriters in their own rights, Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor were …