Paper Planes:: Review and Giveaway (Australian film)

You know those rare movies where you sit down and you're transfixed for the entire film?

This is one of those.

Australian films have a real knack for tapping into authentic, innocent and inspiring stories - and Paper Planes did just that and so much more. It really captured childhood in rural Australia, and tells a simple story of 12 year old Dylan who falls in love with the art of paper folding - and it literally takes off from there. 

A brilliant Australian cast including Ed Oxenbould (amazing!), Sam Worthington (I really wanted to shake his character), Deborah Mailman (she is pure joy), Peter Rowsthorn (hilarious) and David Wenham, this is going to blow your mind! 

In fact, it wasn't just about me - my two kids really, really loved it, and so did Matt. This film is about dreams, the beauty in simplicity - and making something beautiful. And of course the surprise inclusion of Kelis' 'Milkshake'. It was magic. 

I came home from the movie and promptly started folding paper planes, to the delight of the cat and my kids. My cat particularly because he's pretty well mauled them.


If you haven't already seen it, you definitely need to - quick smart. 


I have two Paper Planes prize packs to giveaway courtesy of Roadshow. Each prize pack contains:

1 x double pass to Paper Planes
1 x Paper Planes - the novel 
1 x Paper Planes soundtrack 
1 x paper plane paper pack
1 x Paper Planes t-shirt (size M, youth)
1 x Paper Planes cap 

To win - all you have to do is tell me what one of your childhood dreams. 

Terms and conditions:
Entries open Monday 16th 10:00pm, and close Wednesday 10:00pm.
You must be an Australian resident.
Please ensure I can contact you - please include your email address in your comment.

Movie Review: The Little Death (Australian film)

Matt and I really love watching movies together. And since it's a rare day indeed that we get to go to the movies together - we're avid DVD watchers. 

It's well documented how much I love Australian film. And I really love funny Australian films. So how perfect, I thought - to share my review of this Australian film on Australia Day. BOO YAR! 

The Little Death (a reference to the French term for orgasm 'la petite mort') is big on laughs. In fact it's so big on laughs, I had to replay many of the moments because they just made me laugh. Not just haha, but belly laugh laughs. Like achingly funny laughs. 

A comedy about sex, love, relationships and rounded out by taboo, it's the kind of film you'll recommend to your friends in dire need of some laughs. It's not a shy film, by any means, which makes it all the more real, and a catalyst for conversation. 

Written and directed by Josh Lawson and nominated for six AACTA Awards in 2014, the cast is quality - a whole host of familiar faces, playing complicated, realistic and crazy-normal people. 

I have so many favourite moments from this film - and the trailer gives you a pretty succinct slice of what it's like - the whole way through. Fast paced, cracking and funny. My absolute favourite slice of the film features TJ Power as Sam who is hearing and speech impaired, calling up a sex call worker. Seriously funny and poignant too. 

I give it 8 stars!

The Little Death is now out on DVD and Blue-Ray. 

TRACKS:: Review and Reader Giveaway

We don't get out much. But when we do, we try and see a movie. 

I saw the trailers for 'Tracks' a while back, but a shortage in babysitter supply meant we just never got there. 

Matt and I got to watch it on Friday night, tucked up in bed together (I know, so old, so fogey). It was well worth the wait. 

Starring Mia Wasikowska and Adam Driver (my favourite!) and based on the story of Australian woman Robyn Davidson who set off on a nine month journey crossing the Australian desert, with only camels for company. 

The scenery and cinematography is completely breathtaking, the characters compelling. 

Directed by John Curran (The King's Speech) it's a story that will  have you glued to your screen, laughing, crying - and in complete awe. Mia plays the role beautifully, and Adam Driver - well I could never hate him. He's beautiful, gentle and intelligent as photographer Rick Smolan. 

Put in short, it's an inspiration to cram as much into your life, to believe you can, and to do it - even when there are doubters. 

To celebrate 'Tracks' going to DVD I've got three copies of the DVD and the book to giveaway to three lucky winners (each pack RRP $54.99). 

To enter all you have to do is tell me what's the most brave adventure you've ever taken on. And ensure I can easily contact you.

Entries close Friday 4th July at 5pm. 

I Can't Wait To See This

Mainly because I really love Adam Driver. But it looks pretty amazing. 

The Great Gatsby:: And The Countdown Is On

 

It's no secret - but I am so super excited about The Great Gatsby. Super. Duper. Excited.

I love Baz Luhrmann's films (well, except Australia, I didn't love that). So embellished, visually rich, well directed, and dense. You can watch his films a few times and still have something to chew on.

The sets, costumes, everything - all so lavish and luxe. Aye aye aye. I am so excited. It's been a long wait - not many sleeps to go (opens May 30).

I'm  going to organise a babysitter, take my man-friend and go watch this cinematic masterpiece, because I JUST CAN'T WAIT!

I love The Great Gatsby. I hope it does F. Scott Fitzgerald's book the justice it deserves.

Carey Mulligan:: The Great Gatsby. Give Me Some Sparkle. And a hairbrush

So the Sydney premiere of The Great Gatsby was tonight. And it rained. Boo hiss to the rain.

But while it was raining, and I am all for comfort, what happened to some good old fashioned razzle dazzle for the red carpet?! I can't help but feel a bit disappointed. Like girlfriend could have done so much more than this. Even with a tracksuit. Not even one bit of sparkle?! Come on Carey! It's the red carpet. We've been waiting for this for months!

I am quelle disappointed.

Puberty Blues:: An Interview With Glendyn Ivin

The highlight of my week is Wednesday - and it comes down to one simple reason.

Puberty Blues.

Matt and I schedule our whole night down to this viewing. By 8:25pm we're curled up on the couch and ready to be immersed in this other world.

I'm going to admit that I've fallen even more in love with the characters with this fresh interpretation of the book. I loved Debbie and Sue in the original film, but this time around, I feel like I've had a chance to get to know them better. And their parents.

Puberty Blues stirs up so many old emotions - and is true to that teenage experience of searching for where you fit in in the world (even if that means me screaming to Debbie "NO don't do it!"). It's a hard truth, but this series does it so well - it's gritty, it's real, but there's beauty to it too.

For me, delight also derives from the detail. The sets are incredible, those homes - the meticulous theming - the peacock chairs, macrame to the max, coloured glass; the costuming; the language, it all just reeks of our seventies childhoods. I can imagine walking into those homes, coloured with their daily lives and scouring for signs of Debbie and Sue.

I've been super lucky to score an interview with the exceptionally talented Glendyn Ivin. Glendyn has a wealth of experience directing Australian film (Last Ride, Beaconsfield, Cherry Bomb). Here he shares some insight into what it was like working on Puberty Blues.
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We all grew up knowing and loving Puberty Blues. Was it daunting making a new version of such a classic Australian film?

It was a little daunting, but any project feels daunting at first. I had total confidence in the the producers and the writers. I knew if we could maintain the brutal truth thats oozes from every page of the book we would be right. The Network was very supportive of what we were setting out to do. Everyone knew this wasn't going to be a sanitised, watered down version of Puberty Blues.

I was concerned that fans of the original film might be disappointed. But realised those fans saw the film when they were teenagers and would have been a huge influence on their lives. Seeing the story re-imagined and expanded might never seem right no matter how good it was. Kind of like reminiscing over a how good Pollywaffles were back in the day. Or wishing Wagon Wheels were as big as they used to be. But in reality, when you actually first fell in love with wagon wheels your hand was way smaller... have I got off track?

Regardless, fans of the book and the original film have mostly embraced the series. Mainly because even though it's different it shares the same honesty, spirit and essence of the original story.

 
What were some highlights from filming?

I love shooting so much it's all a highlight. But I guess I do love shooting the more intimate scenes between characters. Mainly because it's a chance to really explore very honest, awkward moments in relationships. Whether they are between the kids exploring sex for the first time or with the parents exploring the more complex emotional issues that appear later in life. Most of those scenes are filmed with only a few people in the room. They always feel very special to be part of.

 
The costumes are incredble, the casting sublime, what were some of the challenges involved with making Puberty Blues?

The key to the show was really in finding 'Debbie and Sue' once we had them everything from the rest of the cast to the houses and wardrobe formed around them. We did a lot research into clothes and details of the period. We set the date to be 1977. But the key I think is building up a world where everything you see if not from 1977, but from the last 10-20 years preceding it. If you look around your house it's rare that everything you have around you is from 2012. But rather a collection of objects from the past and present.

 
This series seems to delve more into the adult world than the original. As a father, does this change/effect how you tell the story?

Being a father of a daughter definitely made me shoot some of the scenes differently. Not so much in their content, but more from a point of view. I became very protective of the girls. Even though it was all 'acting' I would end up resenting the boys in their lives. Not the boy actors, but their characters. While shooting and while editing, I would look at Bruce Board and Danny Dixon and just think you horrible, horrible boys, stay away from MY girls.

My daughter is only five, but from doing this show I have had more than a sniff of what it's going to be like when boys coming knocking on the door, or heaven forbid, knocking on her window in the middle of the night...!


What's next for Glendyn Ivin?

I've just launched 'Flaming Youth' a book of photographs I took while directing Puberty Blues. I'm directing Tv commercials and reading and developing scripts. And... who knows another series of Puberty Blues perhaps ; )    
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Flaming Youth - Photographs from Puberty Blues 2012 by Glendyn Ivin - available here For more of Glendyn's work - visit Hoaxville
And you can follow Glendyn on Instagram @glendyn_ivin Tweet him here  

All images are courtesy and copyright of Glendyn Ivin.  

Puberty Blues is on Channel 10 on Wednesdays at 8:30pm. Or you can watch full episodes over here.

The Great Gatsby:: A DELAY!

Crumbs! Word on the street is that Uncle Baz has pushed back his film until later in 2013.

Such a bummer. I was waiting for Boxing Day to go see this beauty of a film. Now I have to wait even longer.

At least the wait is going to be worth it. Those costumes! That cast! I know it's going to be amazing.

Any excuse to post these beautiful images is fine by me. SWOONING!

The Great Gatsby: New Trailer - Can. Not. Wait.

But a small typo here. Ouch. Someone needs to get hit over the head with a dictionary.

Tres Excited! The Great Gatsby

Be still my beating heart!

As sure as I am PottyMouthMama, Baz Luhrmann is a genius.

I can not wait to see The Great Gatsby (out December 2012). Look at Gemma Ward. Look at those finger curls. Those feathers. The razzle. The dazzle. THE BOATER. That jaw line. Oh sorry - let me get back to Gemma. Woweeeee!

I've got butterflies just thinking about it. I love the visual feasts that are synonymous with Luhrmann films. The richness of the imagery. I love being swept away into another time and place. I love Luhrmann.

Now I'm going to curl up in bed and re-read my battered copy of F. Scott Fitzgerald's literary genius.

image via Fashionologie
you can see more shots here of Leonardo diCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan

Encouraging Children

The Doctor started Kindergarten this year. He likes it, but I'd never go so far to say he loves it. Lately he's been sick, and I'm not stretching the truth when I say we've visited the (medical) doctor five or six times in as many weeks. The Doctor has been sick for this long, missed out on long stretches of school, and in the last three school days, gone to sick bay and I've picked him up by 11:30am, three times.

And before anyone goes gangbusters - the reason I sent him to school is: when he wakes up, he's fine, so I think - great, time for school, and then he goes on that wave of feeling ill again. It's a tricky business deciphering true illness, and the lack of want to go to school.

Last night at dinner the Doctor told us that some kids were laughing at him.

This isn't the first time something's happened that made him feel sad at school. Earlier in the year two year six boys teased him, told him to "get lost" and kicked him. It was quickly nipped in the bud when we raised it with his teacher.

But last night's reluctant conversation about some other Kindy kids laughing. It took me ages to get it out of him, and it's a difficult road to navigate, I don't want to make too much of a big deal about it, but I want to learn the truth so I can help him out of it.

Finally he told me that they laughed at him, called him "Babykins" and so on, and on more than one occasion.

To you and me, this may be nothing much. Maybe a small thing, but remember when you were 5 or 6 and these things stung. And humiliated. I remember being in Kindy and while we were painting our Santa faces, I painted my nails red with the paint. My teacher came over, ripped my Santa up, threw it in the bin and said: "Did I ask you to paint your nails?" - 26 years later I still remember that and can still conjure those awful feelings. I remember going home silently, and my mum asking me what was wrong. I burst into the front door - and promptly burst into tears.

My little man is a sensitive soul. How to bolster that confidence when it comes to these situations? How to empower? How to make him realise - that it's not him - it's them with the problem - whatever that is?

A while ago I won a copy of Ruby Who (by Hailey Bartholomew) from the beautiful Jody at Che & Fidel. As well as being a short film about not wishing for things you don't have, it's also about revelling in who you truly are. It is truly a delightful film that engages the smalls and has a great message.

How do you help your kids assert themselves?

image via I Like To Be Me

The Ball

If you didn't catch The Ball (a film by Jessica Leski) on ABC on Monday night, I implore you to check it out online.

It is one of those films that is inspiring, funny, had me crying, joyful and just beautiful.

You can read more about it on The Design Files. And watch it here. Thanks to my sister for drawing my attention to it!

To run the gauntlet of an old cliche, if you only watch one thing this year watch The Ball. It's incredible.

Interview:: Glendyn Ivin

If you're loving 'Offspring', then you have to give credit to director Glendyn Ivin. He's directed episodes eight and nine (last week and this week), and here he gives some insights into his life as a director/filmmaker/photographer on the rise.

Father to two, husband to one, director of many and sure to be many more, he won the Palme D'or at Cannes in 2003 for his short film Cracker Bag, and last year released his debut feature length film Last Ride (a beautiful and memorable film).

PMM - You've just finished working on (Ten's) Offspring - what were some of the highlights?

I had never had any real interest in directing series TV. But after making 'Last Ride' I was keen to explore other territory. The light-hearted romantic comedy of 'Offspring' seemed like a challenge and a response to the hard drama I am naturally drawn towards. I had also worked with some of the cast before so it was an easy decision in the end. The cast is really amazing, and the producers gave me their trust, so even though it was not typically my style of story telling, I felt I could learn something new while still leaving my fingerprints on it.

Asher Keddie is a dream to work with. She is an actor who is truly focused on giving her best. She worked close to seven days a week, for five months making the first series of 'Offspring', yet she managed to make every day fresh and full of energy.

What made you want to go into directing?

I was always drawn to film-making and photography. When I was in high school there was no 'media' class, but I was obsessed with the video cameras. I would take the clunky VHS camera out at lunch time and just film my friends for hours. I had no real reason to do it, I just felt compelled.

I distinctly remember when I first edited two pieces of footage together. It was like an epiphany, I saw how two random images could take on a whole new meaning.

I'm still fascinated by that process now, I get really excited by it. There is always something new to learn and explore. I feel very lucky doing what I do. In many ways I'm still a kid filming my friends at lunchtime.

You have a young family - how do you balance a busy work schedule with family life?

I'm sure like any parent who loves the work they do, it's very hard to strike a balance between work and home. I work long hours, and even when I am at home there is always a phone call to take, an email to respond to and more work to be squeezed in after midnight. I'm sure it's a familiar story for many. There is always an excuse to be doing something other than being present with the family. I'm sure a lot of parents who really love what they do have the same problem. I have to be really conscious to make time and take time out, which is always easier said than do, (hence I am writing this as my daughter Rosebud (3yo) is calling me to watch her ride her pretend horse). But I find if I don't, home life isn't as fun and relaxing as it can be.

It helps that I have an absolute super wife, who is very understanding and supportive of me and my work. She is a super mum.

Do you think having kids has changed the way you make films?

It definitely changed the way I made my feature film Last Ride. It's a film about a pretty intense father/son relationship. When I first read the script I could read as a son, but also as I was a new father I could see it from the father's perspective as well.

Having children opens you up to a lot of different experiences and a whole new range of emotions. It helps you put things into perspective, to see the world differently. All these things can be beneficial to being a filmmaker, as being a director is about having your own perspective or take on the world.

What's coming up for you?

I'm working on my next films. 'Cherry Bomb' is a little like 'Puberty Blues' meets 'Bonnie & Clyde' and a horror film based on the book 'One Foot Wrong'.

I also make TV commercials and the call of the TV series is going to be there from now on as well.

I'm also working on planning a photographic exhibition for 2011.

Inspiration?

I find inspiration everywhere. From flicking through high fashion magazines to riding public transport and looking and listening to conversations. I like to find clues and ideas in and amongst real life.

I look at a ton of photographs. Online and in books. I find still images to be just as inspiring if not more than moving images.

I'm also obsessed with music. It helps me focus and relax. I actually think I'm a filmmaker, because I'm not a musician.

A completely random fact we should(n't) know about you?

I have the scariest addiction to talk back radio. It drives my wife Natalie nuts!

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To read more about Glendyn and his projects head to his website Hoaxville.

All images courtesy of Glendyn Ivin.