australia – NZ Film Freak

Malibu Crush

Director: James Pratt
Writer: James Pratt
Released: 2021
Starring: James Pratt, Demitra Sealy, Hayley Gia Hughes, Jessica Ross and Aiden Mckenzie

Inspired by the writing style of the Farrelly Brothers’ (Dumb & Dumber), Malibu Crush is a labour of love by award-winning actor and director, James Pratt.

It’s a quirky Indie film about two best friends from Pasadena who pretend to be highly acclaimed film school students in order to declare their love for an ex-girlfriend living in Sydney, Australia.

With the physical comedy gags peppered throughout the movie, I can not only see the Dumb & Dumber-inspired sketches, but I’m also reminded of Seinfeld‘s Kramer. (Which, automatically makes me a big fan!)

I think the only thing it’s missing is a punchy soundtrack to set it apart a little more from other indies.

However, you wouldn’t know this movie was completed on a small but respectable budget (at least in comparison to mainstream Hollywood films) or during Sydney’s heavy Covid restrictions. Its high-quality camera work takes centre stage, and the bright colours steal the show.

James Pratt is the star of Malibu Crush, both on and off-screen. He was born in Sydney and attended the acting school there. In 2012 he made a $200 short film in the outback of Australia, which was a finalist at the 2012 NBC Universal Shorts Fest in San Francisco. Since then, he has since won more than 23 acting and directing awards in Hollywood.

Malibu Crush is a must-see Indie Comedy. It’s scheduled for release in Australia and NZ on 7 September 2022, and in October across America and Europe. Watch the trailer below!

Jodie

Follow James Pratt to stay up to date:
Instagram: james_pratt7
YouTube: Jamesprattpofficial

This was a paid review.

Storm Boy

stormboy

Director: Shawn Seet
Writer: Justin Monjo. (Based on novel by Colin Thiele)
Released: January 2019
Starring: Geoffrey Rush, Jai Courtney, Finn Little, Trevor Jamieson, Morgana Davies and Erik Thomson
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Storm Boy is a story about a boy who rescues three pelicans in an isolated coastal area of Southern Australia called 90 Mile Beach.

Once nursed back to health and released into the wild, one pelican stays behind with the boy and never left his side.

Why is it called Storm Boy? Because according to Aboriginal beliefs, pelicans are the reincarnation of men who died at sea so every time a pelican is killed, a storm is bound to follow.

storm boy2.jpg

This is a largely unknown and only briefly advertised film, which is a shame. However, I think anybody who has read the novel or seen the 1976 Storm Boy film will adore it.

It’s essentially a slow-paced, emotional drama. Sadly, it lacks the grunt I was expecting of it. As the undercurrent of the story is habitat destruction, I was hoping for an Erin Brockovich sort of film with heated arguments about environmental law and protests in the name of the pelicans!

But none of that really happens, it’s just a quiet film about looking after birds.

My favourite character is the ‘oracle’ character in Storm Boy is an Aboriginal man named Fingerbone Bill (Trevor Jamieson) is a good anchor to the film. He’s the character who keeps the main character grounded and focussed. He also represents indigenous Australia, echoing the friction between Europeans and Aborigines as well as between man and nature.

My favourite actor though, was of course Geoffrey Rush. I became a fan of his after The King’s Speech. I loved the scenes where they showed his character remembering being a child on the beach, and they showed him sat next to his younger self. Such a tear-jerker!

I enjoyed it, but am not inclined to watch it again due to the lack of drama.

Jodie’s rating: 6/10

Baby Let Me Go – Smoking Martha

Stepping away from their more upbeat and rocky music, Baby Let Me Go by Smoking Martha is a soft rock acoustic song with dark undertones on their album In Deep.

Echoing the glamorous aesthetic of rock and roll singers from the deep south, surprisingly this band hails from Brisbane’s sunny coastlines.

This is the second song I have reviewed of Smoking Martha’s, and I didn’t even realise it was the same band because of how different this song is to the last one!

Baby Let Me Go is about death and grief, with the video using classic symbols of religion, angels and roses to represent the loss and acceptance associated with the song.

My only criticism would be that the song takes a long time to warm up with perhaps one too many verses before reaching the bridge. This plus the repetitive shots used in the video made the song drag a little.

This song in particular reminds me of the 2000’s Ashley Simpson and Avril Lavigne, with a rocky and smokey undertone beneath the feminine and melodramatic exterior, which I think would appeal widely to today’s younger generation. However, their back catalogue is far more typical of the classic rock genre.

Check out Baby Let Me Go on YouTube here.

Follow Smoking Martha on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The Dressmaker

The Dressmaker with Kate Winslet movie review

Director: Jocelyn Moorhouse
Writer: Screenplay by Jocelyn Moorhouse & P.J Hogan. Based on the book by Rosalie Ham.
Released: September 2015
Starring: Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Liam Hemsworth and Hugo Weaving
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What I thought was going to be a quirky, enchanting, and uplifting story, turned out to be a dark and twisted tale.

Despite Kate Winslet’s beauty and surprisingly accurate Australian accent, this story was far from a sweet and innocent drama. The Dressmaker is about a woman returning home from Europe to the rural Australian village she grew up in. She endeavors to discover the secrets of her childhood.

Who knew that the secrets would be so tragic and dark. I watched The Dressmaker while home alone, and I couldn’t get to sleep for hours afterward. The violence, black humour and horrifically tragic deaths that occurred scarred me!

Probably because I was expecting a light-weight drama, and didn’t foresee the horrors that unfolded. But it was still a tad sadistic, and I felt a little ripped-off because nothing good happens to the supposedly ‘cursed’ main character, Tilly (Winslet).

I am a fan of Kate Winslet, but the unfortunate surprises and twists in this movie were not pleasant. The Dressmaker with Kate Winslet movie review But then again, I’m not a fan of dark humour. Especially when the DVD cover in no way hints at the horror that unfolds. Good grief.

It’s not a poor movie, but it certainly wasn’t for me. So, I would say, watch The Dressmaker by all means! But be warned that this is not a rom/com/drama. It’s more of a horror/thriller/creepy kind of movie… You’ll never want to trust anyone again after seeing what the creepy villagers in the movie get up to.

Jodie’s rating: 6/10

Crazy Film Premiere at Cricket World Cup

Crazy Film Premiere at Cricket World Cup Yeah, this is a weird one!

On Pozible, a film fund raising site, there is a plea for help from a Norwegian cricket team. Their team is failing fantastically and hope to get in contact with a famous cricket player, Sachin Tendulkar, to ask him for his help and expertise.

Crazy Film Premiere at Cricket World Cup I don’t know of Sachin Tendulkar. But I hear he’s pretty famous…

If you’re like me and know nothing about cricket, this may not be of interest to you. However, I invite you to watch the plea they have made. It’s quite humorous.

This amateur team wants to raise $25,000 (USD) for flights to Adelaide where Sachin Tendulkar will hopefully be playing. They plan to present him with a ‘love letter’ in film form to ask for his help and support.

Why does this matter? Well. I think the fact that the failing cricket players have so much passion for the game, practising in the snow and darkness, is enough to realise they deserve the support.

Currently at almost $11,500, they have eight days left to raise the remaining $13,500.

If you want to find out more, go here.

Jodie.