BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID;X-RICAL-TZSOURCE=TZINFO:-//com.denhaven2/NONSGML ri_cal gem//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN VERSION:2.0 BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160208T104500Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160208T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160208T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3518 DESCRIPTION:Well it’s finally here – the film many have waited over 20 ye ars for. Episode VII – the story of what happens after the Jedi return. Unfortunately all isn’t going well for the Rebels as evil was only delay ed by the actions of Luke\, Han and Leia. 30 years on\, the Galactic Rep ublic is a democratic government to the galaxy\, but the First Order hav e risen from the fallen Empire to strike back and have some pretty evil plans of their own. The Resistance is fighting against them\, with the a id of the Republic and searching for a new hope with the missing Luke Sk ywalker.\n\nThe opening\, wonderfully familiar rolling text tells us tha t Resistance General Leia (a promotion from Princess?) has sent her best pilot Poe (Oscar Isaac) on a secret mission to find a map to Luke’s whe reabouts. He went into self-imposed exile after one of his students fell to the dark side and wiped out his brand new Jedi Academy. Unfortunatel y for the Resistance\, the new face of evil\, Kylo Ren (Driver)\, has al so heard about the location of the map.\n\nWe then follow the adventures of the resourceful and surprising Rey (Ridley)\, the newly reformed for mer stormtrooper Finn (Boyega) and the wonderfully human droid BB-8. I’m not going to ruin anything\, but there are twists\, old faces plus spec tacular highs and lows befitting a space opera. The effects support the telling and enhance it\; the fight scenes work wonderfully and John Will iams’s iconic music rises and falls as it should. It’s a fantastic movie without a Jar-Jar in sight and well worth your time if it’s the first\, second\, third or even seventh time you’re watching it. Luckily we also won’t have two decades to wait for the next one!\n\n\n- Steven Cain URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160208.html#film-3518 SUMMARY:Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Free Screening) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160211T104700Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160211T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160211T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3519 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nIn The Hunger Games: Mocki ngjay Part 1\, Katniss Everdeen (Lawrence) woke up in District 13 – long thought to have been destroyed by the Capitol. President Coin (Moore)\, leader of District 13 along with former gamemaker Plutarch Heavensbee ( Philip Seymour Hoffman)\, asked Katniss to become the symbol of their re bellion\, the Mockingjay. In her quest for revenge against President Sno w (Donald Sutherland)\, she reluctantly agrees – on the one condition th at they rescue Peeta (Hutcherson)\, who has been captured by the Capitol . In the haunting last scene of the film\, we learned that the Capitol h as brainwashed Peeta to attack Katniss whenever he sees her.\n\nPersonal ly\, I felt Part 1 was nothing but a setup for Part 2. It did not have m uch of a story and only served for the filmmakers to milk more money out of their loyal fans. That said\, I definitely think they made it up her e for the last film in the series. It was how I imagined things to be as I read the books\, but better!\n\nFollowing on from Katniss’s plan to f ree all of the Districts from the rule of Capitol\, she comes to the rea lisation that all the suffering has stemmed from one source: Snow. Once you remove him from the equation\, peace will inevitably follow. Will sh e achieve her goal? Will the rebellion succeed? Will Peeta ever heal and come to love Katniss again? And the biggest question of all – who will she choose\, Peeta or Gale? \n\nTo find out the answers\, you could read the books. Or\, come let the cinematic experience satisfy your hunger. May the odds be ever in your favour.\n\n- Xin Yi Tan URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160211.html#film-3519 SUMMARY:The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160212T103300Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160212T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160212T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3520 DESCRIPTION:JOSEPH GORDON-LEVITT NIGHT: Starting off as a child act or in films like 10 Things I Hate About You and TV’s “3rd Rock from the Sun”\, Joseph Gordon-Levitt has since gone on to appear in such hit film s as Inception\, Looper\, (500) Days of Summer and The Dark Knight Rises .\n\nA breathtaking and exhilarating take on the true story of F rench high-wire artist Philippe Petit’s walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on August 7\, 1974. Petit\, inspired by a picture of the Twin Towers in a magazine\, decided that his dream would be to c ross the immense void between the towers. He recruits an unlikely group of accomplices to help him achieve the highly illegal act. Together they battle many challenges including betrayal\, dissension and countless ot her setbacks to their wild plan.\n\nWith electrifying visuals\, the incr edible heights of the towers are both gut-churning and magical\, while t he bird’s eye view of New York City offer truly magnificent views. The f ilm is innovatively shot so that when Petit is up on the cable 400 metre s above ground and across a clear blue sky\, so are you.\n\nCarried thro ugh by the ever charming and very talented Gordon-Levitt as Petit\, The Walk is a polished gem full of comic energy high tension. Incredibly\, G ordon-Levitt was trained in tightrope walking by the real Philippe Petit \, and mastered the French language\, complete with Parisian accent\, fo r this highly acclaimed film from director Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future\, Cast Away).\n\nThe Walk\, dedicated to the victims of the Septe mber 11th attack\, reminds us that the pursuit of dreams is truly capabl e of overshadowing any form of terror.\n\n\n- Jasmine Li URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160212.html#film-3520 SUMMARY:The Walk LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160212T122400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160212T104300Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160212T104300Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3521 DESCRIPTION:After losing his parents in 2001\, Ethan (Gordon-Levitt) and his best friends Isaac (Rogen) and Chris (Mackie) start a tradition to s pend every Christmas Eve out in New York. Part of their yearly tradition is to try to attend the Nutcracker Ball\, the best Christmas Party in N ew York\, but they can never find the location.\n\nFourteen years later\ , as they enter adulthood\, they decide to have one final celebration to gether and end their tradition with a bang. Chris is now a famous footba ll player and Isaac is expecting his first baby – but Ethan\, who is dow n on his luck\, might not be ready for the tradition to end.\n\nJoseph G ordon-Levitt\, as usual\, is amazing. His comedic timing is spot on and he also has a flair for the dramatic. For those not familiar with Seth R ogen’s work\, it mostly consists of crude jokes\, smoking weed and outri ght slapstick ridiculousness\, but with a certain roguish charm. \n\nAsi de from the crude humour\, The Night Before is also intimate and heartwa rming\, thanks to the wonderful work of Director and Screenwriter\, Jona than Levine. Rogen\, Gordon-Levitt and Levine previously worked together in the 2011 film 50/50 (if you haven’t seen it yet\, I highly recommend it). \n\nThe Night Before loosely translates into a hilarious\, modern take on “A Christmas Carol”\, complete with a drug-fuelled visit to the past\, present and future. It is full of very funny people and goes beyo nd the ‘bromance’ genre to engage real emotions. I can see it becoming a Gen Y cult Christmas classic.\n\n\n- Elyshia Hopkinson URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160212.html#film-3521 SUMMARY:The Night Before LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160213T093300Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160213T080000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160213T080000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3522 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nI am probably one of the w orst people to ask for an unbiased review of this movie. Let’s see... I’ ve collected the comic books\; I’ve got a number of old “Peanuts” episod es on DVD\; I’ve got a huge poster of Charlie and Snoopy. I am also conv inced that the main Charlie Brown characters were used as the basis for the main characters in the Star Wars movies. Think about it.\n\nCharlie Brown is the Luke Skywalker of modern America. A leader trapped in the b ody of an overly anxious teen. Yet you know that he is going to go on t o accomplish impossible deeds (like finally talk to that Red Headed girl ). \nSnoopy just has to be Han Solo. A charismatic adventurer pilot who is extremely loyal to his buddy Luke. I mean\, Charlie. If anything goes wrong\, Snoopy will be there to save him (and the day). And of course S noopy is always aided by Woodstock\, a Chewbacca-type character who does not really say anything but makes up for it in noises and emotion.\n\nW hereas Star Wars is all spectacle and intergalactic battles of good vers us evil\, Charlie Brown is a hero of everyday reality. Will he kick the ball? Probably not. But what matters is that he still tries. Will his te am win a baseball game? Of course not. Yet somehow Charlie will convince his team to go out there and play another game\, even though they most certainly will lose. Just like when Luke led the X-Wing fighters to try to blow up that Death Star in a galaxy far\, far away. All in all\, fun for the whole family.\n\n- Christopher Patterson URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160213.html#film-3522 SUMMARY:Snoopy and Charlie Brown: The Peanuts Movie LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160213T120400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160213T094300Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160213T094300Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3523 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nWhen a film includes the n ames Spielberg\, Hanks and the Coen brothers\, you’re expecting somethin g special\, right? Thankfully\, Bridge of Spies doesn’t disappoint one b it. This American historical drama-thriller set in the Cold War period s ees Tom Hanks play James B. Donovan\, a lawyer who specialises in insura nce settlements. Much to his surprise\, he is appointed to defend a Sovi et agent\, Colonel Rudolf Abel (Rylance). Donovan is later involved as t he neutral negotiator in a tense spy swap for Colonel Abel set in the ra in and darkness of a frosty Berlin\, just as the Wall is being built.\n\ nThe film is a tad overlong and could have done with some tighter editin g to maintain tension but the production values are high and the film ha s been handsomely shot by Janusz Kaminski. Hanks is superb in a role tha t could so easily have been preachy and overblown. This is Hanks at his laconic best\, reminding us of his star turn as Jim Lovell in Apollo 13:  always ‘the standing man’ who keeps his wits and his principles under i mmense pressure. The film also works as a beautiful two-hander between H anks's Donovan and Rylance\, who is equally impressive as the Soviet spy .\n\nFor all budding legal eagles\, the film upholds the rule of law and returns to themes that are familiar to many of Spielberg's films – spec ifically\, the value of human life and the ability of an individual to m ake a difference.\n\n- Deborah Dawkings and Oscar Bosman URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160213.html#film-3523 SUMMARY:Bridge of Spies LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160216T101600Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160216T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160216T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3524 DESCRIPTION:In the middle of a cinema culture that centres on compromise and caution\, a film that is not immediately apparent in its narrative c an be either a confusing experience or a breath of fresh air\, depending on your experience of the medium. Film history is littered with these t ypes\, from Buñuel’s Un Chien Andalou through to Terry Gilliam’s Brazil and David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive.\n\nAnd so we come to The Assassin\, the film that won the Best Director prize for Hou Hsiao-Hsien at last ye ar’s Cannes Film Festival.\n\nOne of the briefs for writing these review s is to give a summary of the starting plot\, but I am not sure how succ essful I will be at that. It starts with intertitles explaining the vari ous regional rivalries in ninth century China. We then go into a black-a nd-white sequence introducing us to Nie Yinniang (Shu)\, a general’s dau ghter who has been in the care of a nun (Sheu Fang-Yi) entrusted with te aching her the ways of the assassin.\n\nAfter that… Look\, this film is one that has to be experienced first\, and then analysed later if it tak es your fancy. One thing I can say is that I am now a fan of Hou\, and w ill keep an eye out for future (and past) projects. This is hardly your typical wuxia movie. But it is perfectly framed and lovingly shot all th e way through. It is directed sensitively\, acted with subtlety\, and av oids melodrama. Not to be missed (particularly by fellow film buffs).\n\ n\n- Travis Cragg URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160216.html#film-3524 SUMMARY:The Assassin (Nie yin niang) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160218T103200Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160218T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160218T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3525 DESCRIPTION:The director-actor duo behind the fantastic Rush from a few y ears ago is back with their latest project\, a movie in which Thor meets Poseidon – well\, kind of...\n\nIn the Heart of the Sea is based on the true story of the Essex\, an American whaleship which sinks after it is attacked by a sperm whale in the Pacific Ocean in 1820 – the same tale said to be the inspiration behind Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick”. In the film\, we see a former crew member recounting the tale to Melville\, nar rating the adventures of the ship’s incompetent but arrogant Captain (Wa lker) and his skilful First Mate (Hemsworth). \n\nTheir journey hits a m ajor hurdle when a sperm whale attacks their ship almost as if out of ve ngeance. But while the protagonists of “Moby Dick” went on to hunt down the whale\, the crew of the Essex must deal with a very different afterm ath. Between storms\, starvation\, delusions and despair\, the crew find s themselves pushed to their very limits – physically and mentally – to stay alive. To do so\, they may have to commit unspeakable acts that wil l forever change their lives.\n\nDirector Ron Howard’s sharp eye for det ail is ever present throughout\, amazingly capturing on film the dynamic s of whale hunting like never before. Thrilling\, epic and gorgeously sh ot\, In the Heart of the Sea is old-fashioned cinematic spectacle at its best.\n\n\n- Aagam Shah URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160218.html#film-3525 SUMMARY:In the Heart of the Sea LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160219T103400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160219T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160219T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3526 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nThis screening of Jo y is proudly presented by Canberra Women in Business\n\nIn his t hird collaboration with ever-rising superstar Jennifer Lawrence after Si lver Linings Playbook and American Hustle\, director David O. Russell tu rns his attention to the story of Joy Mangano\, inventor of the miracle mop.\n\nWhile not the most obvious choice for adaptation\, the concept s erves as a great star vehicle for Lawrence\, spanning four whole decades of Mangano’s life: from childhood dreams of invention\, to hard-done-by divorcee\, to entrepreneur\, to matriarch. It's an empowering story abo ut persistence\, legacy and the American dream. \n\nSurrounding Joy is a motley crew of family and struggles. From her ex-husband (Édgar Ramírez ) who still lives in the basement\, to her estranged parents – Robert De Niro and Virginia Madsen – with their various eccentricities. Russell i s clearly an actor’s director\, and the cast are an all-round pleasure t o watch as they excel in their craft under his direction.\n\nIn the earl y 1990s\, Joy invents a more effective mop\, and begins to produce the d esign for sale on the mass market. Enter Bradley Cooper – another close collaborator of Russell’s – as an executive at QVC who brings her on boa rd for the early days of the Home Shopping network. As her business begi ns to show the fruits of success\, family drama rears its ugly head and threatens to undo everything Joy has worked so hard for. \n\nThe film is darkly humorous\, and effectively made – a must-see for fans of this ac tress\, this director and their consistent collaboration.\n\n- Josh Paul URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160219.html#film-3526 SUMMARY:Joy LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160219T121200Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160219T104400Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160219T104400Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3527 DESCRIPTION:Oscar-winning documentary maker Davis Guggenheim (An Inconven ient Truth) has made a revealing film about Malala Yousafzai\, the young est ever winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Malala was shot in the head fo r speaking out against the Taliban in her Northern Pakistan hometown. Sh e was transported to Birmingham for emergency medical treatment\, where she awoke from a coma and decided to launch her global peace and women’s rights campaign. The documentary also focuses on Malala’s relationship with her father\, Ziauddin\, himself an inspiring\, influential and brav e activist. He named her Malala after an important folk heroine (whose s tory is told here through an animated narrative\, complete with its own Disney soundtrack!).\n\nMalala’s story is an admirable and inspirational one about resilience and self-sacrifice. And the film goes to lengths t o show us that she is just an ordinary teenage girl\, with all of the us ual family squabbles and romantic dreams to go along with her acclaim. I t’s a small pity that not only does Guggenheim leave many questions unan swered with this film\, but he also leaves them unasked. A little deeper probing into her motivations would have helped this film feel less like a commercialised\, heavily edited advertisement for Brand Malala.\n\nNe vertheless\, this is a good introduction to Malala for those who know li ttle about her story\, and the inherent power of that story will mean th at watching it with a Film Group audience will only enhance the message – and probably prompt spontaneous applause at the conclusion.\n\n\n- Tra vis Cragg URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160219.html#film-3527 SUMMARY:He Named Me Malala LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160220T095900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160220T080000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160220T080000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3528 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nIn The Dressmaker\, glamor ous dressmaker Myrtle ‘Tilly’ Dunnage (Winslet) returns to her small tow n in rural Australia to care for her ailing mother. With her sewing mach ine and style\, she not only transforms the women of the town but also u ncovers the truth behind a mysterious death from her childhood.\n\nA fan tastic Australian accomplishment\, The Dressmaker is a lot of fun and de serves to hold its place alongside classics such as Muriel’s Wedding\, S trictly Ballroom and The Castle. This is a deliciously dark and comic dr ama with iconic\, larger than life characters that would be right at hom e in a spaghetti Western. \n\nWith her innate style and flawless Aussie accent\, there was never any doubt that Kate Winslet would take out the AACTA Award for Best Actress. Likewise for Judy David and Hugo Weaving f or their hilarious performances\, winning them Best Supporting Actress a nd Supporting Actor\, respectively. Liam Hemsworth provides plenty of ey e candy for the ladies\, and Sarah Snook adds yet another entry to the l ong list of the many good films she has appeared in this year. \n\nThere is also a long list of quirky characters played to perfection by a tale nted supporting cast including Alison Whyte\, Sacha Horler\, Shane Jacob son\, Barry Otto\, Julia Blake\, Shane Bourne\, Gyton Grantley and Rebec ca Gibney.\n\nThe Dressmaker marks the long awaited return of Jocelyn Mo orhouse to the director’s chair after nearly 20 years. She has delivered a film that will long be remembered as an Aussie classic\; a very styli sh drama and a darkly comic tale of love\, revenge and haute couture.\n\ n- Michael McKenna URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160220.html#film-3528 SUMMARY:The Dressmaker LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160220T121100Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160220T100900Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160220T100900Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3529 DESCRIPTION:Husband Brad and wife Angelina play husband Roland and wife V anessa in a memoir for those who have known the tepidity (or worse) of a long-suffering relationship. The study of this in itself makes the film worthwhile\, because you will only recognise the symptoms\, the avoidan ce and the despair all too well.\n\nThe splendour of seaside 1970s Franc e (though filmed in Malta) is juxtaposed to the staleness of Vanessa and Roland’s relationship. She is a dancer who no longer dances\, descendin g into lethargic pill-popping instead. He is a writer with writer’s bloc k\, descending into defeatist drunkenness instead. Will watching the you nger couple staying next door light a spark or lead to some painful disc overy?\n\nThe Pitts are clearly attempting to replicate something of the French new wave films of the ’70s. Consequently their film has a minima list style\, little character development and slight narrative. It is un deniably slow – almost ponderous – particularly in the first half. In ma ny ways the movie is much like the relationship it portrays\, and if thi s is intended then it scores highly. Certainly a plus side is that it as ks you to interpret what unfolds using your own life experience\, rather than spoonfeeding you\, something Hollywood is famous for. The only thi ng self-evident is the storyline’s resolution.\n\nNo doubt the jury will still be out on Angelina’s prowess as a director. On the screen\, howev er\, she’s still got it.\n\n\n- George Zuber URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160220.html#film-3529 SUMMARY:By the Sea LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160225T105800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160225T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160225T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3530 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nIn the aftermath of the ev ents of Skyfall and the beloved former M’s death\, we see James Bond (Cr aig) stripped of his licence to kill just as he uncovers a sinister inte rnational crime syndicate named SPECTRE. At the same time MI6’s new M (F iennes) finds himself in a power struggle with a slimy bureaucrat (Andre w Scott from “Sherlock”)\, who hopes to dissolve MI6 in order to merge a ll of Britain’s security into a new international surveillance service. These two plot points merge together so that ultimately Bond and MI6 mus t delve deeper into the mystery – a mystery that leads him straight to t he head of SPECTRE (Waltz)\, the master of all of Bond’s miseries.\n\nTh e fourth of Craig’s Bond films – and the 24th overall – kicks off with a spectacular single-shot opening sequence in Mexico City\, and continues the classic formula of fast cars\, big guns\, slick suits\, larger-than -life villains and beautiful women. It may even seem a little bit campy at times a la Roger Moore\, which could either be a yay or nay depending on personal preference. The women in Spectre features both Monica Bellu cci and the beautiful and talented Léa Seydoux\, who plays a doctor with a link to someone from Bond’s past. Could she be the one to finally rei gnite his cold dead heart?\n\nAll in all\, Spectre may not be as gritty or as compelling as Skyfall or Casino Royale\, but it’s still very enter taining with plenty of throwbacks to earlier entries that will definitel y please classic Bond aficionados. After consultations with my cat\, who is an intense film buff and critic\, I’m giving Spectre 3.5 out of 5 st ars.\n\n- Helena Sinn URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160225.html#film-3530 SUMMARY:Spectre LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160226T103000Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160226T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160226T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3531 DESCRIPTION:Einar (Redmayne) and Gerda Wegener (Vikander) are married art ists working in an art-deco era Copenhagen. When Gerda needs an emergenc y fill-in for an absent female model\, Einar dons a dress to become Lili . While Lili quickly becomes Gerda’s much-needed muse\, for Einar it mea ns rather more – awakening a yearning that has lain dormant since his ad olescence.\n\nLili soon becomes the true self and Einar the pretence. Th e transformation into Lili is far from easy\, however\, as societal and marital pressures bear down\, not to the mention the physical difficulti es of attempting to become the first person in history to undergo sexual realignment surgery.\n\nA heavily fictionalised account based on real l ife events\, The Danish Girl paints a beautiful if perhaps sanitised por trait of the transgender experience. Redmayne’s performance is strong as we have come to expect of him\, transforming seamlessly into the flutte ry\, demure\, graceful Lili. But even Redmayne is overshadowed by the so mewhat underused Vikander\, whose struggles as a woman watching her husb and slowly change are raw and heartbreaking. Director Tom Hooper gives t he film a languid pace that allows the narrative plenty of time to breat he amidst flawlessly composed frames.\n\nOverall\, The Danish Girl means well and does well enough. It delivers a thought-provoking\, inoffensiv e\, beautiful study on an important subject.\n\n\n- Tina Zhang URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160226.html#film-3531 SUMMARY:The Danish Girl LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160226T123800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160226T104000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160226T104000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3532 DESCRIPTION:The comedic chemistry between “Saturday Night Live” alumni Ti na Fey and Amy Poehler is undeniable. Anyone who has seen Baby Mama\, Me an Girls or the Golden Globe ceremonies they hosted will tell you that t hey both bring a level of comedy that can charm any audience. Fey and Po ehler – a match made in entertainment heaven – certainly do not disappoi nt in this film from Jason Moore\, best known for directing comedy hit P itch Perfect.\n\nSisters follows the antics of the two Ellis sisters as they are tasked with cleaning out their childhood bedrooms before their parents sell the family home\, giving way to over-the-top drama\, old en emies\, hilarity\, as well as a heartwarming reminder of the importance of family.\n\nThe film\, starring Poehler and Fey as the eponymous Ellis sisters\, features many other cameos from current and past “Saturday Ni ght Live” cast members\, including the hilarious Bobby Moynihan and char ming Maya Rudolph as an old childhood nemesis of the sisters’. Not to me ntion none other than the wrestling world’s John Cena\, following up on an equally hilarious turn in last year’s Trainwreck.\n\nEndlessly entert aining and surprisingly touching\, Sisters is a must watch for anyone wh o enjoyed “Parks and Recreation”\, “30 Rock”\, or is just in need of a l ight-hearted\, but not frivolous\, good-natured comedy.\n\n\n- Ellie Doy le URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160226.html#film-3532 SUMMARY:Sisters LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160227T094100Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160227T080000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160227T080000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3533 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nPixar released two films i n 2015\, both wonderful but completely different in their own special wa y. First up was the fantastic Inside Out: abstract\, colourful\, and set in the mind of a child. In contrast\, the vast and varied wilderness of prehistoric Northern America\, where nature’s extremes – electrical sto rms\, raging rivers\, mountain peaks and the looming heavy winters – pro vide the stark setting for The Good Dinosaur.\n\nThe film is set in an a lternate history where the giant asteroid destined to collide with earth – bringing about the extinction of the dinosaurs – misses\, thus allowi ng the dinosaurs to evolve and eventually work the land as farmers and r anchers\, while the human caveman remains primal and animalistic.\n\nThi s sweet coming-of-age film follows runt of the litter\, Arlo\, the son o f farmers\, who becomes lost in the wilderness. Alone and afraid\, he mu st struggle to not only come to terms with his physical and emotional li mitations\, but also to survive the harsh cruelty of nature and find his way home.\n\n- Elyshia Hopkinson URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160227.html#film-3533 SUMMARY:The Good Dinosaur LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160227T112400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160227T095100Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160227T095100Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3534 DESCRIPTION:Forget love triangles\, She’s Funny That Way has a love penta gon. \n\nThe director is married to the star but sleeping with the call girl who’s dating the playwright who just broke up with the therapist. B roadway director Arnold Albertson\, alias ‘Derek’ (Wilson)\, pays handso mely to put his decision to engage an escort behind him. But when the es cort/thespian Izzy (Poots) wins a role in his play their lives turn into a classic bedroom farce.\n\nIf you don’t like spoilers\, you might want to skip the next paragraph – but you just might need it to navigate the labyrinthine relationships in play.\n\nIzzy takes Arnold’s money then w ins the part of a call girl role in his play. The play stars Seth Gilber t (Ifans) who is infatuated with his co-star\, Arnold’s wife Delta (Kath ryn Hahn). Playwright Joshua Fleet (Will Forte) as previously mentioned is seeing the therapist Jane (Aniston)\, who is treating both Izzy and a respected Judge (Austin Pendleton). The Judge hires a private detective (George Morfogen) to tail Izzy with whom he is obsessed\, thanks to Jan e’s indiscrete revelations. That gumshoe also happens to be Joshua’s dad .\n\nIn summary\, everybody knows who everybody is in love with\, relate d to\, or trying to hide from. And everyone is pretty. It’s hilarious wh en it works and “A Grecian Evening”\, the play within the play\, provide s some delightfully Shakespearean recursion. You could try to fathom the deeper relationships and the plausibility of the characters or you coul d just sit back and have a giggle.\n\n\n- Julie Roediger URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160227.html#film-3534 SUMMARY:She’s Funny That Way LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160228T080000Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160228T070000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160228T070000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3535 DESCRIPTION:Join us on this night – 50 years to the day of the ANU Film G roup’s first recorded screening – to raise a glass to the biggest and be st film society in Australia and to celebrate the amazing achievement of our milestone 50 years in operation!\n\nOver the years we have screened thousands of films from the obscure to the biggest blockbusters\, but t o mark this special occasion\, only one film fit the bill: Dr. Strangelo ve\, our most frequently screened film over the past 50 years and the se cond film from our very first programme in 1966.\n\nKeep an eye out for the invitation to join us at our 50th birthday party\, as well as more i nformation on the event\, closer to the date.\n\n\n- URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160228.html#film-3535 SUMMARY:ANU Film Group 50th Birthday Party LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160228T093200Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160228T080000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160228T080000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3536 DESCRIPTION:Stanley Kubrick directs and co-writes\, Peter Sellers plays t hree of the primary roles. Two of the greatest minds in the history of f ilm\, both with a reputation for being erratic\, obsessive\, headstrong perfectionists. Dr. Strangelove was destined to be a glorious triumph… o r an unmitigated disaster. Luckily for audiences then\, now and for many decades to come it is most certainly the former.\n\nThe plot is simple – an insane US General orders an attack on Russia\, and no amount of ple ading from a British military attaché (Sellers) can convince him to reca ll the bombers. The US President (Sellers) is also powerless to stop the attack\, even when informed by his strategic advisor (Sellers) that the bombing will result in an automated retaliatory strike by the Russian D oomsday Machine\, which also cannot be stopped. What can be done to aver t the end of the world?\n\nWhat follows is hilarious\, farcical\, memora ble and bitingly satirical. The writing is supreme\, the performances wo nderfully overblown and the message unmistakable. A true classic of cine ma – and the most screened film in the history of the ANU Film Group – D r. Strangelove is a fitting celebration of 50 years\, so come along and join in on the end of the world fun!\n\n\n- Pedr Cain URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160228.html#film-3536 SUMMARY:Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the B omb LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160229T120000Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160229T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160229T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3537 DESCRIPTION:Hollywood has given the Film Group so many of our most loved\ , as well as some of our most loathed\, films over the last 50 years. An d what better way to tip our hat to Tinseltown than to (virtually) parta ke in the glitz and glamour of their night of nights – the Oscars – in t he company of fellow film buffs?\n\nThere will be tears\, laughter and s urprises\, as well as the usual overlong speeches\, awkward banter and e xuberant musical numbers that no Oscar ceremony should be without. We’ll also be preparing some off-screen fun and games too\, so be sure to com e along and join us for this special presentation of Hollywood’s biggest night – on the big screen!\n\n\n- URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160229.html#film-3537 SUMMARY:The 88th Annual Academy Awards LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160302T101000Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160302T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160302T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3538 DESCRIPTION:The Look of Silence is Joshua Oppenheimer’s companion piece t o the stunning 2012 documentary The Act of Killing\, which focused on th e Indonesian death squad killers of the 1960s. In The Act of Killing\, O ppenheimer followed the perpetrators of the crimes\, miraculously persua ding them to act out the murders they had committed. Here\, he focuses o n the victims. \n\nAt the centre of the film is Adi\, an ophthalmologist whose brother was killed by the militia just before he was born. Oppenh eimer has Adi confront and ‘interview’ the very killers that murdered hi s brother. In incredibly chilling scenes\, Adi tells them his story\, re ports the facts\, sometimes even fits them with glasses\, and then liste ns to them speak. Calmly paced and unnerving\, the interviews are laden with uncomfortable halts and pauses\, little silences\, as the killers t ry to defend themselves.\n\nThe Look of Silence has a more seemingly str aightforward and confrontational documentary structure than its forebear . It has less of the kind of detached\, surreal moments of The Act of Ki lling\, yet still holds the same piercing\, chilling tone. Oppenheimer c onfronts the savagery and inhumanity of the past in perhaps the only way he sees fit: by simply looking and listening. But what do we really see and hear\, he asks\, when we confront silence?\n\n\n- Tom Baily URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160302.html#film-3538 SUMMARY:The Look of Silence LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160303T104300Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160303T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160303T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3539 DESCRIPTION:With Rocky Balboa delivering a rather satisfying\, and seemin gly final\, end to the series\, first instincts would be to hiss and spi t at a new Rocky movie\, especially considering\, as the title suggests\ , it’s no longer a story about our hero Stallone/Rocky. \n\nLet me stop you right there and wash all fears and uncertainties away: this movie is not an insult to the Rocky movies\, and is still a very deep and person al story that shows Rocky in his twilight years\; the next logical step almost ten years after the events of Balboa. In short: this movie does n ot ruin the franchise\, and in fact\, takes it to a new level.\n\nCreed is the first movie in the series not to be written by Stallone\, and new comer writer/director Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station) lives up to expec tations. The movie follows a descendant of Apollo Creed\, Adonis (Jordan )\, an ego-driven young boxer who wants to prove himself and make a name for himself on his own terms. Relocating himself to Philadelphia\, he t racks down a now older Rocky to seek his training. The story is a perfec t mix of old and new\, with fans of the original movies never feeling sh orthanded\, and newcomers feeling like they haven’t missed anything inte gral.\n\nA truly canonical entry into the franchise\, the movie parallel s the underdog themes of the original\, with a beautiful mix of relation ships and character pieces\, making this more than ‘just another feel-go od sports movie’. Creed is a worthy entry in the franchise\, and a defin ite watch\, especially for those keen to see more of Rocky’s story.\n\n\ n- Stephen Gillies URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160303.html#film-3539 SUMMARY:Creed LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160304T110600Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160304T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160304T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3540 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nBased on the incredible tr ue story of survival\, The Revenant features Leonardo DiCaprio as fronti ersman Hugh Glass\, an explorer in 1823 who survives a grizzly bear atta ck\, only to have his companions abandon him for dead. Hampered by his i njuries\, but propelled by the instinct to survive\, Glass makes his way back to civilisation – one limping crawl at a time. \n\nThe title stems from an old French noun\; one that has come back from the dead to haunt the living. Thus\, the film takes on the classic form of a revenge-west ern. We see Glass’s struggle to survive play out in brutal fashion\, and we’re on side for him to track down the men that wronged him. But The R evenant is no mere genre flick – it stands out on account of the truly m asterful execution of the piece.\n\nThe world of The Revenant is a harsh but beautiful one\, and it is presented in carefully crafted shots that take advantage of modern camera techniques and capabilities. This is pe riod cinema as you’ve never seen it before. The camera is sweeping\, yet tightly focused. It moves fluidly through scenes of intense chaotic act ion\, and provides a sense of epic scope while keeping us close to our m ain character. The makeup\, costuming\, location shooting and visual eff ects all fuse together with the magnificent camerawork\, as well as a su perb performance from DiCaprio\, to create one of the best cinematic exp eriences of the entire year.\n\n- Josh Paul URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160304.html#film-3540 SUMMARY:The Revenant LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160305T095700Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160305T080000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160305T080000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3541 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nToday is Jack’s (Tremblay) birthday. He’s turning five and is looking forward to all manner of bir thday festivities with his Ma (Larson). Although this may seem perfectly normal\, Jack is no ordinary child. He has lived his entire life to dat e confined to a single room\, which he affectionately/euphemistically ca lls ‘Room’. This single space – with four walls\, a skylight and a few p ieces of furniture – is the only world Jack has ever known.\n\nThe reali ty of the situation\, however\, is far worse. Jack’s mother was kidnappe d as a teenager and imprisoned in a soundproof shed\, where she has been repeatedly raped ever since by Old Nick. Now\, seven years later\, Ma i s 24 and a mother\, and must continue to survive while attempting to rai se her child with as much normalcy as possible. But how normal can life be when food is granted or withheld on a whim\, and Old Nick pays her a return ‘visit’ every night? Will Jack and Ma ever see the outside world again? And\, if so\, how would they even cope?\n\nHaunting\, powerful an d unbearably tense\, Room is unique in today’s spectacle-driven cinemati c landscape: a rare film in which less is indeed more. It is tough viewi ng\, however\, and you will probably want to walk out in the first hour – but don’t. Stick with it and you will be rewarded with an unforgettabl e\, moving and honest tale of courage and enduring love\, featuring two of the best performances of the year hands down.\n\n- Adrian Ma URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160305.html#film-3541 SUMMARY:Room LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160305T115800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160305T100700Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160305T100700Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3542 DESCRIPTION:After the brilliant Oscar-winning 2009 Argentinian original\, El secreto de sus ojos\, I looked forward to the US remake with anticip ation and some little trepidation\, given Hollywood’s track record. The movie’s plot\, transported to Los Angeles from Buenos Aires\, is reasona bly faithful to the original\, in which here FBI agent Ray (the excellen t Ejiofor) obsessively pursues the brutal murderer of a young woman over thirteen years\, beyond his FBI service. The murder victim’s grief-stri cken mother is friend\, LA District Attorney’s Office Investigator Jess\ , played against type by a bedraggled Julia Roberts. The principal’s lov e interest is the Assistant District Attorney – later DA – Claire (Kidma n).\n\nThe main difference here is the original’s setting against the ba ckdrop of the rule of the Argentinian military junta\, which is busily ‘ disappearing’ thousands of Argentine citizens\, and where delivering jus tice for a murder victim is of no concern. The equivalent plot device he re ‘fits’ to a reasonable degree\, however the story’s frequent switches back and forth between the present and past can at times lack clarity. \n\nThe cast performs well with the material at hand and the denouement is similar\, but to me with not quite the impact of the original. Overal l\, however\, the movie is a watchable and entertaining journey. Come al ong\, then go see the original and make your comparisons.\n\n\n- Bob War n URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160305.html#film-3542 SUMMARY:Secret in Their Eyes LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160307T083000Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160307T070000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160307T070000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3543 DESCRIPTION:Put those concert tickets onto eBay. Give your apologies for your cousin’s wedding. Postpone that surprise overseas trip that your pa rtner has planned. These may seem important now\, but that’s only becaus e you aren’t aware yet that March 7th is the ANU Film Group’s Annual Gen eral Meeting for 2016!\n\nThe AGM is a chance to find out all about the inner workings of the Group that you love so much. You can ask questions . You can make suggestions. You can even run for a spot on the committee and earn your place in history as one of the committee members behind t he largest film society in the country in its golden anniversary year.\n \nGuaranteed to be the most entertaining AGM ever held at the Coombs The atre on a Monday evening in the first week of March for a group celebrat ing its 50th anniversary – or your money back. We look forward to seein g you there!\n\n\n- URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160307.html#film-3543 SUMMARY:ANUFG Annual General Meeting LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160308T102800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160308T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160308T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3544 DESCRIPTION:Knight of Cups is Terrence Malick’s latest film. For most fil m buffs that sentence alone is likely enough for them to decide whether they want to see it or not. The film is another exercise along the same lines as Malick’s acclaimed Tree of Life\; it’s the story of a man rathe r than a story about a man. Conventional plot and structure were never e ven in the room to let them be thrown out the window. The film follows i ts protagonists with beautifully shot\, dream-like visuals as the subcon scious thoughts of the characters narrate. Much like Tree of Life\, the big-screen experience is essential to appreciate the visuals and be hypn otised by the narrative.\n\nThrough a series of chapters\, each themed o n a different Tarot card\, Knight of Cups explores the different relatio nships in a particular man’s life (the titular Knight of Cups\, played s uitably dreamily by Christian Bale). That man is a successful Hollywood type\, not that it really matters – the important element is that he is someone outwardly successful but inwardly unfulfilled and in constant ne ed of change. Different chapters follow his relationships with the many women in his life over the years (played by Cate Blanchett\, Natalie Por tman\, Theresa Palmer\, Isabel Lucas\, Imogen Poots)\, his father (Brian Dennehy)\, his brother (Wes Bentley)\, and his friends (Antonio Bandera s\, Jason Clarke\, Joel Kinnaman\, Michael Wincott). Though it features a truly A-list cast\, the star of the show remains the film’s dreamy nar rative approach.\n\n\n- Adam Gould URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160308.html#film-3544 SUMMARY:Knight of Cups LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160310T104500Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160310T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160310T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3545 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nWant to see Star Wars agai n? Well\, wookie for you\, there is another... screening\, that is. And\ , no\, it’s not a trap. \n\nIn case you’ve been encased in carbonite or living inside of a Tauntaun\, The Force Awakens is Episode VII\, the hug ely successful next chapter in the beloved Star Wars saga. When a new ev il threat to the galaxy emerges\, only a ragtag group of heroes – made u p of scrappy newcomers and nostalgically familiar faces – can save the d ay and restore balance to the Force.\n\nThis is the Star Wars film you’r e looking for\, so whether you’re seeing it for the first time or the fi ftieth\, be a stormtrooper and come along. Plus\, come dressed up as you r favourite Star Wars characters and even prizes\, there may be. \n\nFor a full review\, Luke no father than the listing for our opening night s creening on Monday 8 February.\n\n- URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160310.html#film-3545 SUMMARY:Star Wars: The Force Awakens LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160311T111800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160311T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160311T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3546 DESCRIPTION:Quentin Tarantino is back in the old West – this time\, for a tightly contained epic\, as eight suspicious characters are confined to a stagecoach stopover in Wyoming during a blizzard. All have their secr ets\, and all are dangerous and not too far from a weapon. Tensions run wild and bloody retribution is probably not too far behind (the R rating is for high impact violence\, so you can guess what’s coming).\n\nEithe r you’re a Tarantino fan or you’re not. If you’re not… there’s probably something really good elsewhere in the program for you\, possibly with b onnets\, go read up on that instead. If you are\, you appreciate his abi lities with tense\, clever dialogue\, with iconic characters\, with impa ctful violent action\, and with a witty\, wilfully perverse sense of hum our.\n\nThe Film Group will not be showing the slightly longer 70mm vers ion of the film (as we don't have a 70mm projector – unless some kind be nefactor has ponied up the necessary dollars)\, but at the heart of this film is a long\, protracted standoff of the style Tarantino has been gi ving us since Reservoir Dogs. And that's a tension that holds true no ma tter how you see it.\n\nExpect top-line performances from performers bot h familiar to Tarantino (Samuel L. Jackson\, Tim Roth\, Michael Madsen\, Kurt Russell) and new (Jennifer Jason Leigh)\; a rich\, brand new score from composer Ennio Morricone (plus three unused tracks from The Thing) and a whole lotta blood.\n\n\n- Simon Tolhurst URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160311.html#film-3546 SUMMARY:The Hateful Eight LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160312T094800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160312T080000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160312T080000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3547 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nHere’s a rumour I heard al ong the grapevine: Captain America: Civil War is apparently going to req uire the audience to think during the movie. I’m not saying that that ma kes it a bad movie – definitely not. I’m just saying that if you don’t w ant depth in a movie then Deadpool would be a much safer bet.\n\nPlot wi se\, our ‘hero’ here is Wade Wilson (Reynolds)\, a former mercenary with multiple incurable cancers\, who’d much rather stay alive to be with hi s girlfriend. A secret organisation offers him a way out\, he takes it\, and he’s left with superpowers. He’s also left with disfigured skin\, a n unstable mind\, and ultra violent tendencies\, but that’s probably a f air trade off. \n\nIf nothing else\, Deadpool is a chance to see Ryan Re ynolds redeem the fan-favourite character from the mess that was X-Men O rigins: Wolverine\, and redeem himself from the tragedy that was Green L antern. At one point\, Deadpool even points out in his wise-cracking\, f ourth-wall-breaking style that he doesn’t want his suit to be green or a nimated. \n\nThis is a solid popcorn movie and exactly what you want on a night like this. But don’t bring your kids along. There’s bad language \, sex\, and graphic violence that’s just a bit too grown up. This isn’t your typical superhero movie.\n\n- Christopher Patterson URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160312.html#film-3547 SUMMARY:Deadpool LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160312T112200Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160312T095800Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160312T095800Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3548 DESCRIPTION:Tracy (Kirke) has just moved to a college in New York Univers ity but finds the vibrant campus life she’d dreamt of elusive. But she’s about to acquire a new\, 12-years-older stepsister named Brooke (Gerwig )\, who also lives in New York – right smack in the heart of New York\, and one night Tracy decides to shyly introduce herself. \n\nShe’s afraid Brooke might find her a drag\, but not a chance of that: Brooke is a bo rn extrovert\, delighted to have an audience – someone to try out all he r attitudes and ideas on. (The film’s title refers obliquely to Brooke b ut is based on one of her ideas: “Mistress America” as a possible name f or a modern-day superheroine in a TV show.)\n\nThe clichéd continuation from here would be this: Tracy would hero-worship Brooke\; then somethin g would disillusion her\, and she’d walk away sadder but wiser. Not quit e. Tracy\, while she certainly does hero-worship Brooke\, also sees stra ight through her\, right from the start. This story has something else i n store for us\, and Tracy is not the only character whose reactions are not what we might have predicted. \n\nThe film worked perfectly on me\, I think\, because Brooke had the same effect on me as on Tracy – I both saw through her and loved her at the same time. Even if you don’t love her\, she’s certainly a creation: Greta Gerwig wrote as well as acted th e role\, and she’s as real as she is phoney.\n\n\n- Henry Fitzgerald URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160312.html#film-3548 SUMMARY:Mistress America LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160317T101100Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160317T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160317T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3549 DESCRIPTION:In the first of our BACK TO THE FILM GROUP series of fi lms celebrating their decennial anniversaries this year\, we head back t o the swinging ‘60s with none other than the first big-screen incarnatio n of the Caped Crusader. Holy 50th anniversary\, Batman!\n\nBefo re Ben Affleck\, Christian Bale or Michael Keaton donned the cape and co wl\, there was once upon a time a live action Batman television series s tarring Adam West. Premiering in 1966\, the series soon became one of th e biggest crazes of the decade. Keen to capitalise on its extraordinary success\, a feature film was quickly put into production after the show’ s first season\, with the end result being this film. And now\, as both series and film – and the Film Group – celebrate their 50th anniversary this year\, their cult status and campy legacy lives on... and with good reason!\n\nIn the film\, Batman (West) and his trusted sidekick Robin ( Ward) must take on their most dastardly rogues gallery of villains yet\, when the Joker (Romero)\, the Penguin (Meredith)\, the Riddler (Frank G orshin) and Catwoman (Lee Meriwether) all team up with a plot to hold th e world ransom. Will the dynamic duo be able to defeat this formidable f oursome? Or have Batman and Robin finally met their match?\n\nBack on th e big screen for the first time in decades\, Batman: The Movie puts the ‘comic’ into ‘comic book movie’ like no other. Who wants dark\, brooding verisimilitude when you can instead have a catchy theme song (‘Na na na na\, na na na na…’)\, catchphrases (‘Holy [insert subject here]\, Batma n!’)\, Bat-gadgets and Bat-vehicles galore\, and those awesome fight sce nes (POW! BAM! BIFF!)? Regardless of whether you’ve seen this one a hund red times or never before\, make sure you come along for this very speci al screening. Same Bat-time\, same Bat-theatre!\n\n\n- Adrian Ma URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160317.html#film-3549 SUMMARY:Batman: The Movie LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160318T102800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160318T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160318T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3550 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nCATE BLANCHETT NIGHT : One of Australia’s most acclaimed actresses\, two-time Academy Award w inner Cate Blanchett began her career on stage in the early ‘90s and is best known for her roles in Elizabeth\, Blue Jasmine\, The Aviator and T he Lord of the Rings.\n\nCarol is beautiful. Carol is captivatin g. Carol is heartbreaking. There are a million adjectives to describe th e experience of watching this film. Not only is the cinematography maste rful and alluring\, but the actresses’ performances\, score and story ar e all flawless\, blending together to produce one of the greatest and mo st enchanting dramas ever made.\n\nCate Blanchett stars as the eponymous Carol Aird\, alongside Rooney Mara\, as Therese Belivet\, the younger w oman with whom she falls in love. Both actresses convey a subtle beauty to each of their characters that instantly enamours the audience\, and f abricates an almost ethereal glamour in the way they interact with each other.\n\nThe film\, based on Patricia Highsmith’s 1952 novel “The Price of Salt”\, eloquently delves into the story of their forbidden romance\ , and how it affects Carol’s divorce and legal plight for custody of her daughter. The enthralling and perhaps melodramatic tale of their relati onship is backdropped by a 1950s Manhattan Christmas\, lending to the fi lm a sense of wistfulness and aged beauty. \n\nNominated for six Academy Awards\, Carol has been heralded by critics globally as one of the best films of 2015\, with both Mara’s and Blanchett’s performances – both Os car nominated – garnering particular praise. Even the translation from b ook to film\, often a point of contention in such adaptations\, is here regarded as near perfect. Whilst the subject matter behind Carol may not invite a popular audience\, its artful mastery will leave a lasting imp ression on the audience it is lucky enough to attract.\n\n- Ellie Doyle URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160318.html#film-3550 SUMMARY:Carol LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160318T124300Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160318T103800Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160318T103800Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3551 DESCRIPTION:We are back in 2004\, in the thick of George W. Bush Jr’s re- election campaign\, where we meet Mary Mapes (Blanchett)\, producer of “ 60 Minutes Wednesday”\, as she approaches her supervisor with a new stor y. And it’s a bombshell: an apparently legitimate report that Bush recei ved preferential treatment from officials of the Texas Air National Guar d during Vietnam and that he in fact then went AWOL… at which point wack iness ensues!\n\nTruth was shot in Sydney at Cate’s request to be closer to her family but\, apart from a slew of familiar Aussie faces in most of the roles\, the movie definitely feels like it is set in ultra-Americ a: surrounded by the pomp of the Presidential campaign and the upper-wor kings of network television. The movie premiered at the 2015 Toronto Int ernational Film Festival but went on to become a bit of a box office dud : making a worldwide box office total of $2.47 million off of a budget o f $9.6 million. Why was that so? Perhaps because this issue is still ver y sore for American audiences\, who are also split (at best) on the vera city of Mary’s report about the then President. \n\nThe movie as it stan ds poses questions of truth: what it is\, how it should be used\, and wh ether one should be punished in the search for it. Cate is brilliant as usual\, as is the great ensemble cast\, which includes Dennis Quaid\, To pher Grace\, Elizabeth Moss and Robert Redford as veteran news anchor Da n Rather.\n\nPolitics aside\, the movie is solid filmmaking and a great invitation to start asking questions. 3.5 question marks out of 5!\n\n\n - Luke McWilliams URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160318.html#film-3551 SUMMARY:Truth LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160319T093400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160319T080000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160319T080000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3552 DESCRIPTION:This screening of Phoenix is proudly presented by the E mbassy of Germany\n\nPhoenix is based on French crime novel “Le retour des cendres”. The story takes place at the end of World War II\, when a young Jewish woman named Nelly returns home to a Berlin in ruins after having spent time in a concentration camp\, all the time suspectin g that she may have been betrayed by someone close to her. Disfigured an d covered in bandages\, she is given an opportunity to start a new life in Israel but all she wants is for things to be as they were. She goes i n search of her husband\, who does not recognise her\, but instead ironi cally asks for her help in playing the role of the wife he believes dead \, to assist him in inheriting her fortune.\n\nThis is not just a story about Nelly and her difficulty to\, as a phoenix\, rise from the past\; it is also about a country’s struggle to rise from its past. The film ha ppens to be set in Germany\, but the hovering between remembering and re writing history could have been told just as poignantly with many other countries as a background. This is not just a story about the past eithe r: it is a captivating reminder about the present\, and how societies de al with the stories that nobody wants to hear or be reminded of.\n\nDire cted with a deft hand by Christian Petzold\, the film is complex without being complicated. The narrative is clear and full of suspense. It is a thriller\, but the many themes covered also make it a psychological\, h istorical and even philosophical drama. Full of references to other movi es\, images and with an atmosphere reminiscent of ’50s film noir and Hit chcock’s finest – Phoenix is also a film about film.\n\n\n- Joelle Vande rmensbrugghe URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160319.html#film-3552 SUMMARY:Phoenix LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160319T112000Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160319T094400Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160319T094400Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3553 DESCRIPTION:A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence is an abstra ct sketch comedy from Sweden. Think “Monty Python's Flying Circus” but e verybody plays it straight and is a bit paler.\n\nThere isn't really a s tory as such\, although the sketches are segued into a sort of narrative and the film is anchored by a pair of despondent novelty goods salesmen \, whose unsuccessful business ventures and symbiotic relationship form the background to many segments. The film veers wildly\, though seamless ly\, from relatively straightforward but strange (such as gender-reverse d takes on things) to outright bizarre (well\, giving that side away wou ld spoil the fun).\n\nA Pigeon is the third film in a thematic trilogy b y writer/director Roy Andersson\, following Songs from the Second Floor and You the Living. I hadn't seen the others upon viewing this one and c an assure potential viewers that not having seen the earlier films will have absolutely no bearing on whether you will enjoy – or understand – t his. \n\nNothing would make this film make a lick more sense and it is a ll the better for it. This is a must see for anyone amused by being bemu sed\, and who doesn't mind the occasional philosophical question thrown at them to keep them off guard.\n\n\n- Adam Gould URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160319.html#film-3553 SUMMARY:A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160322T101600Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160322T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160322T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3554 DESCRIPTION:Maud Watts (Mulligan) is a hardworking mother and wife. Growi ng up in an exploitative working system in a laundry establishment\, she is intrigued by the idea that women could have a say in changing the ru les of the game and joins the early stages of the fight for women’s suff rage in the United Kingdom. Her involvement with the movement soon poses challenges both at home and at work\, all outrageously difficult to ove rcome with her unprivileged background.\n\nThe mostly female cast are pa rticularly powerful in delivering performances that help remind us that it was not all that long ago that women from the developed side of the w orld still had to fight for the right to vote. This is an important film that is not to be missed. \n\nKeep an eye out for Mulligan’s unrelentin g performance as Maud alongside the strong-willed Violet (Anne-Marie Duf f). Personally\, I find the reward system established by the movement ve ry interesting as it helped to keep the women steadfastly militant from one action to another. The list of countries shown after the movie where the fight still goes on is also a good reminder that the fight for equa lity is still a big issue in many corners of the world.\n\n\n- Retha Dun gga URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160322.html#film-3554 SUMMARY:Suffragette LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160330T103300Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160330T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160330T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3555 DESCRIPTION:In this sports drama based on a true story\, Will Smith plays Bennet Omalu\, a forensic pathologist who discovers an alarming occurre nce of the brain disease Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in playe rs of America’s National Football League (NFL) – with 87 former players found posthumously to have been suffering from CTE after premature death s. \n\nOmalu attempts to make the NFL aware of the disease and its direc t link to concussions suffered by their players on the field\, but his f indings are downplayed and he is persecuted because of the potential leg al and financial consequences facing the NFL. Not to mention the possibi lity of NFL fans losing interest in the sport after discovering the dang er it poses to its players.\n\nConcussion is directed and written by Pet er Landesman who is best known for his 2014 effort Kill the Messenger\, another film based on a true story of a protagonist fighting for the tru th amidst cover ups and threats. This too is a powerful David versus Gol iath story of one man battling a large corporation with near unlimited r esources at its disposal. \n\nThe film does an excellent job of humanisi ng Omalu and the plight of several former NFL players\, such as Dave Due rson\, the first ex-NFL player to have committed suicide as a result of suspected CTE-related long-term depression.\n\nWhile the setting of this film may be the testosterone-driven world of American Football\, the st ory carries a deeper message in its examination of corporate greed and p lausible deniability in the multi-billion dollar world of professional s ports as entertainment.\n\n\n- Robert Bourke URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160330.html#film-3555 SUMMARY:Concussion LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160331T102200Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160331T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160331T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3556 DESCRIPTION:This screening of Brooklyn is proudly presented by the Embassy of Ireland\n\nIt’s 1952 in a small Irish town where we m eet the young Eilis Lacey (Ronan). Quickly departing to the city of Broo klyn\, New York in search of a better future\, Eilis\, despite her incre dible homesickness\, soon settles into her new job and boarding house\, and eventually falls for a local Italian lad\, Tony (Emory Cohen). That is\, until matters in Ireland force Eilis to return and ultimately choos e between her two homes and the lives that exist within.\n\nBased on Col m Tóibín’s novel\, Brooklyn was shot throughout Ireland and Canada\, wit h Montreal doubling as the eponymous locale. The movie premiered at the 2015 Sundance Festival to critical acclaim and eventually received one o f the biggest distribution deals to ever come out of the festival. It cu rrently holds a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 98% for its trouble\, and has been nominated for three Oscars\, including Best Picture.\n\nThree disti nct colour palettes are used throughout the film\, signifying the protag onist’s changing psychology as she desperately searches for a home\; whe ther in the safety of what she knows or the bright\, uncertain land beyo nd. Simple as it is gorgeous\, Brooklyn deserves every accolade it has e arned. It delivers its themes of home and identity in a universal way: l ike Eilis\, we have all been young and gone through the necessary rites of passage to gain independence and a sense of identity by making hard c hoices – no matter the outcome. 4.5 out of 5 emeralds!\n\n\n- Luke McWil liams URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160331.html#film-3556 SUMMARY:Brooklyn LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160401T103200Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160401T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160401T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3557 DESCRIPTION:This is no life story docu-drama slog. Steve Jobs is a hyper- realised depiction of one man’s life\, elevated to operatic\, near Shake spearean tragedy. It’s a biopic on steroids. An action movie in which wo rds fly in place of bullets\, thanks to screenwriter extraordinaire Aaro n Sorkin’s wordy diatribes and director Danny Boyle’s penchant for contr olled chaos.\n\nThe film unfurls in three acts revolving around three ke y behind-the-scenes moments in the late Apple co-founder’s life. The fir st\, in 1984\, prior to the launch of the Macintosh computer\; the secon d\, in 1988\, as an exiled Jobs (Fassbender) prepares to launch his ill- fated NeXT system and plots revenge on those who booted him out of Apple \; and the third\, in 1998\, as he readies his triumphant return with th e launch of the iMac. \n\nSpanning 14 years\, the three periods – each f ittingly shot on different film formats from 16mm to 35mm to digital – s ees Jobs battling personal as well as professional demons\, from questio ns about his paternity of young Lisa\, to his leadership of the company he formed in his garage\, and his ever-changing relationship with fellow co-founder Steve Wozniak (Rogen).\n\nFassbender – while not a dead ring er for Jobs – channels the deified Apple head in what would be the role of a lifetime for any other actor\, and absolutely nails it. It doesn’t hurt that he gets to an A-list supporting cast to play off either\, incl uding Rogen\, Kate Winslet and Jeff Daniels. Steve Jobs is top-notch fil mmaking all around – an ambitious and breathtaking achievement that make s for essential viewing.\n\n\n- Adrian Ma URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160401.html#film-3557 SUMMARY:Steve Jobs LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160401T121600Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160401T104200Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160401T104200Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3558 DESCRIPTION:M. Night Shyamalan spectacularly rose to prominence as a film director with the “I see dead people” movie\, The Sixth Sense. Just as Alfred Hitchcock’s movies have a signature cameo by the director\, so to o do M. Night Shyamalan’s movies have a signature plot twist created by the writer/director.\n\nAnd indeed The Visit has a typical Shyamalan plo t twist. But where The Visit is atypical:\na) This is Shyamalan’s first ‘found footage’ film\, but he handles it with more finesse than most of this genre\,\nb) This is a perfectly balanced horror/comedy film (too mu ch comedy and it is difficult to take the horror seriously\, too much ho rror and any laughter is forced).\n\nThe setup of The Visit is straightf orward\; 15-year-old Rebecca Jamison (DeJonge) and her 13-year-old broth er Tyler (Aussie actor Oxenbould\, star of Paper Planes) embark upon a f irst-time week-long visit to their grandparents. Rebecca and Tyler joint ly film a documentary about their holiday with Nana (Dunagan) and Pop Po p (McRobbie)\, but they soon realise that their grandparents are idiosyn cratic and eccentric in a very unusual way.\n\nThe Visit cost US$5 milli on to make\, but has so far grossed nearly US$100 million worldwide. In my opinion\, a significant reason for its success was Shyamalan’s long a waited return to form alongside the innate charisma and lovableness of E d Oxenbould.\n\n\n- Richard Hills URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160401.html#film-3558 SUMMARY:The Visit LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160402T094200Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160402T080000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160402T080000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3559 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nIt’s been 15 years since D erek Zoolander (Stiller) redefined the art of male modelling\, saved the Malaysian Prime Minister\, stopped a ninja throwing star with the power of Magnum and established the ‘Derek Zoolander Center for Kids Who Can' t Read Good and Wanna Learn to Do Other Stuff Good Too’. \n\nNow he’s ba ck\, assisted (or more likely\, obstructed) by his former rival and now firm friend\, Hansel (Wilson) – this time to investigate why the world’s most beautiful celebrities are being killed\, all with Zoolander’s dist inctive look on their faces\, and to combat the insanely evil Jacobim Mu gatu (Ferrell) all over again. Can they crack the case? How many clothes can they wear? Can they remain really\, really\, ridiculously good look ing?\n\nCelebrity culture and the fashion world have only gotten sillier since 2001’s Zoolander\, so a return dip into the parody-pool is very m uch required. And with the addition of Penélope Cruz as a catsuited Inte rpol agent and Kristen Wiig as a demented fashonista plus the usual cava lcade of cameos (everyone from Justin Bieber to Benedict Cumberbatch to a random Kardashian or two)\, you should expect a whole heap of ridiculo usness with maybe a small smattering of social comment if you squint the right way.\n\n- Simon Tolhurst URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160402.html#film-3559 SUMMARY:Zoolander No. 2 LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160402T121600Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160402T095200Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160402T095200Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3560 DESCRIPTION:This action thriller from director Michael Bay (Transformers\ , Pearl Harbor) is based on the true story of the events of September 11 th\, 2012 – the 11th anniversary of the September 11th attacks.\n\nOn th at fateful day\, six security contractors find themselves making a despe rate stand to defend the American ambassador and his staff from radical militants when they attack the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi\ , Libya. The militants\, who were staging public demonstrations outside the grounds to cover their initial presence\, storm the building in a ch illingly well-planned attack that the Americans are not prepared at all for.\n\nThe movie reveals a lack of detailed security preparation for po ssible terrorist attacks\, and a number of key problems that led to the ambush\, including ignored warnings and delayed action due to bureaucrat ic red tape. The American State Department\, in particular\, were of the belief that a small embassy security team would be able to defend the e mbassy if it were ever attacked.\n\nThe ensuing 13-hour siege is depicte d with each harrowing\, passing minute in full-blown Michael Bay style. Bombastic explosions\, hyper-violent chaos\, slow motion action – it’s a ll here\, plunging the audience straight into the mayhem. If you like ac tion movies\, see this!\n\n\n- Matthew Auckett URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160402.html#film-3560 SUMMARY:13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160409T110400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160409T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160409T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3561 DESCRIPTION:So you may think that a movie called Youth that stars Michael Caine\, Harvey Keitel and Jane Fonda might just be taking the piss a li ttle bit…\n\nSet in a luxury Swiss Spa (in surely one of the most beauti ful locations in the world)\, Caine and Keitel play old friends Fred and Mick. Fred is a composer\, and is resisting coming out of retirement to play for the Queen of England\, as well as dealing with the recent marr iage break-up of his daughter Lena (Weisz). Mick is an active film direc tor\, and is trying to figure out an ending for his new film. They are j oined at the spa by various eccentric characters\, including a young act or (Paul Dano) who is starting to regret his choices of film roles\, a c ouple who don’t speak to each other at dinner\, and a morbidly obese Sou th American who is so famous\, no one has to speak his name.\n\nDirector Sorrentino made the wonderful Oscar-winning The Great Beauty and this f ilm is very much in the same vein. And\, despite the bleakness of the th eme (dealing with old age)\, it is surprisingly comical in parts (it has two of the big laugh-out-loud moments of the year\, although one of the m requires a passing knowledge of who Paloma Faith is). Not to mention F onda giving an Oscar-worthy performance\, despite being in just one scen e!\n\nYouth is an exquisitely shot and directed piece of art\, with a pe rfect balance of weirdness and beauty. Don’t miss it!\n\n\n- Travis Crag g URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160409.html#film-3561 SUMMARY:Youth LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160409T125700Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160409T111400Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160409T111400Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3562 DESCRIPTION:Millions of people tuned in worldwide to watch Lance Armstron g on Oprah admit to years of doping in order to win the Tour de France s even times in a row in what quickly became the biggest sporting scandal in recent history.\n\nWhile many people know Armstrong’s general life st ory\, Stephen Frear’s The Program\, based on journalist David Walsh’s bo ok “Seven Deadly Sins”\, offers an insight into Armstrong’s fraudulent c ycling career\; his struggle with cancer\, and his subsequent ruthless d esire to win.\n\nThe result is a finely made film that recounts the well -known story of how Armstrong fraudulently rose to the top of the sporti ng industry using performance enhancing drugs. The film parallels this w ith Walsh’s attempts to expose his illicit activities to the world\, as well as the concurrent story of Floyd Landis\, a member of Armstrong’s c ycling team who fell victim to his pressure to dope in order to win. Ben Foster shines as the ignoble Lance Armstrong\, bringing a nuanced heroi sm to the immoral character\, as well as a subtle sinisterness to the wa y he treats teammates.\n\nThe audience is afforded a journalistic tell-a ll biopic of not only Armstrong\, but of the people around him\; includi ng his team\, other racers\, his lawyer and the news team that fought to expose his drug habits. Though it takes a close look at the heavy drug use by the cyclists\, the film breaks up the dark topic with bouts of co medy too\, combining to create both an informative yet entertaining film about the cyclist who shocked the world.\n\n\n- Ellie Doyle URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160409.html#film-3562 SUMMARY:The Program LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160416T102800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160416T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160416T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3563 DESCRIPTION:Declan Shrubb\, the Canberra-based writer/director of h istory’s very first Oz-zom-com – along with other special guests involve d in the making of the film – will be joining us tonight for an audience discussion following our screening of their bloody hilarious film. Don’ t miss it!\n\nWe are introduced to loveable Aussie moron and tel ecom tradesman Darryl (played by Adelaidian comedy YouTube star Alex Wil liamson) as he travels via lawn mower to a telephone exchange to meet up with his co-workers Joel (stand-up comedy sensation Jim Jefferies) and Boss Roy to wait out the zombie apocalypse with sausage rolls\, indoor c ricket\, smokes and beer – where wackiness ensues!\n\nStarting life from the Screen ACT’s Producer’s Pod\, Me and My Mates is a Canberran horror -zom-com feature\, pulling in well-known Aussie comedians to star in the ir first feature length movie! Rude\, crude and nude\, we wait in with t hese larrikins as they use their (limited) intelligence to come up with a plan to\, not exactly save the day\, but to try and at least survive t his zombie apocalypse the best way they know how. It’s not long until di fferent characters come-a-knockin’\, all bringing their own contribution s and challenges. Before the night is out\, they’re all going to learn j ust a little more about themselves (maybe?) and each other as they face mounting obstacles to see another day. \n\nDespite myself\, I chuckled a long with the base humour and\, as rough as some scenes might be\, the w riting is something that stands out here. The local boys and gals did a great job and writer/director Declan Shrubb is sure to go on to bigger a nd better things from here. A fantastic inaugural work!\n\n\n- Luke McWi lliams URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160416.html#film-3563 SUMMARY:Me and My Mates Vs. The Zombie Apocalypse [Q&A EVENT] LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160419T105800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160419T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160419T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3564 DESCRIPTION:It’s Christmas Eve and Sin-Dee Rella has just been released f rom a short stint in prison. Catching up over donuts\, her bestie Alexan dra accidentally lets slips that Sin-Dee’s pimp/boyfriend has been messi ng around with a white girl. This sets the enraged Sin-Dee on a quest to track down her unfaithful beau\, dragging her reluctant friend on an od yssey through the streets of LA. Alexandra insists that she’ll only tag along if there is ‘no drama’ – but drama is Sin-Dee’s forte.\n\nTangerin e is unconventional on many levels – it’s a no-budget indie drama/comedy about transsexual sex workers and immigrant taxi drivers in a city know n for movies and moguls. Its unconventional focus on the street life of the city makes it a breath of fresh air. The film presents its character s without judgement\, and allows them free and frank reign in their live s. The result is a very real and human drama under all the comedy and fl air.\n\nThe film was shot entirely on an iPhone 5s (with additional lens es and camera rigging)\, and looks remarkable\; with bright colours and gorgeous vistas of Los Angeles in the sunset. The soundtrack and sound d esign are also excellent\, and cement the film as a bona fide cinematic piece. At its core\, Tangerine is a film with great vitality and heart. The characters are interesting\, and the dialogue is brilliantly done. T he film has a propulsive energy and revels in the chaos of its vivacious and forceful characters bouncing off one another.\n\n\n- Josh Paul URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160419.html#film-3564 SUMMARY:Tangerine LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160421T112700Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160421T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160421T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3565 DESCRIPTION:The second in our BACK TO THE FILM GROUP series of film s celebrating their decennial anniversaries is 1976’s highest grossing f ilm and Best Picture Oscar winner: Rocky. Featuring a star-making perfor mance from Sylvester Stallone\, this one’s a knock-out!\n\nWhat can be said about Rocky that hasn’t already been said before? This is th e seminal underdog story. Starring and written by Sylvester Stallone in the titular role\, Rocky presents the story of a down-and-out thug whose passion in life is boxing\, his pet turtles and his romantic pursuit of his best friend’s sister. \n\nOne day he is given the opportunity to pr ove himself when the boxing champion of the world\, Apollo Creed (Weathe rs)\, handpicks Rocky for an exhibition match. With the help of an old t rainer\, Mickey (Meredith)\, Rocky trains for what he believes could giv e him the shot at the title. \n\nOn the shallowest level\, this movie is just a boxing movie: a young guy who has a chance to prove to the world that he can go the distance. But at its core\, this is a deep character piece about relationships and hardship. It’s a story about love: for li fe\, for Philadelphia (by now everyone should know of the iconic steps)\ , and of course love between people. When the movie doesn’t follow Rocky ’s challenges in the ring\, it presents a beautiful story between Rocky and Adrian (Shire)\, and the almost toxic relationship they share with P aulie (Burt Young)\, Adrian’s brother and Rocky’s friend.\n\nRocky earne d Stallone a Best Original Screenplay nomination\, and went on – in true underdog fashion – to win three Oscars that year\, including Best Pictu re and Best Director. This is a perfect opportunity to see this undisput ed classic back on the big screen\, and serves as a great throwback for anyone who saw the latest film in the saga\, Creed\, which screens earli er this semester.\n\n\n- Stephen Gillies URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160421.html#film-3565 SUMMARY:Rocky LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160422T114000Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160422T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160422T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3566 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nOr the Big Steal. You deci de.\n\nSpoiler alert: At the end of the film\, the Great Financial Crisi s of 2008 happens. Billions of dollars are wiped off share markets aroun d the world. Millions are made unemployed and many governments are still trying to clean up the mess with stimulus packages even today. \n\nBut this is not a movie about that. For that\, see 99 Homes screening later this semester. This is a movie about how we got into that mess: how ban ks created dodgy financial products to make easy money and the few who f igured out what was happening before it happened. \n\nFortunately\, for those not in the know\, the movie takes the time to explain – visually\, thankfully – how the world market was manipulated into thinking the mor tgage bonds that they were being sold were safe\, when they were in fact about as stable as an Empire State Building sized Jenga tower.\n\nA top Hollywood A-list cast including the likes of Brad Pitt\, Christian Bale \, Ryan Gosling and Steve Carell all roll off their witty one-liners alm ost as if they are in some alternative heist out of an Ocean’s 11 movie – but in real life\, their counterparts were in fact just a group of ver y smart accountants in suits exploiting the near downfall of capitalism for a profit.\n\nNearly a hundred years ago\, some other very smart men also existed and saw the free world financial system collapsing around t hem. The time was the The Great Depression of the 1930s and the men were John Maynard Keynes and Harry Hopkins. But they did not try to profit from it – they tried to save it. What a different world we live in now.\ n\n- Christopher Patterson URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160422.html#film-3566 SUMMARY:The Big Short LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160422T132000Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160422T115000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160422T115000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3567 DESCRIPTION:“What is it to be human? What is it to ache? What is it to be alive?”\n\nIf you only watch one animated film this year\, make sure it is Anomalisa. Hailed as the ‘most human stop motion animation film ever ’\, this critically acclaimed drama is about an author who writes self-h elp books but finds himself struggling to connect with other people – un til one day he meets a woman who changes the way he looks at the world f orever. \n\nThe film is written and co-directed by Charlie Kaufman who w as also responsible for penning the equally distinctive cinematic experi ences that are Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind\, Being John Malkov ich and Adaptation. The Oscar-winning Kaufman has a reputation of narrat ing seemingly complex stories and Anomalisa is no exception with its see mingly straightforward yet introspective approach to storytelling. Thoug ht provoking and truly unique\, it is sure to stay with you long after i ts brief 90 minute running time is up – and is bound to grow on you even more as time passes.\n\nThe film took nearly three years to complete\, a fact entirely evident in the amount of effort\, detail and dedication contributed to the film’s incredibly realistic animation. With Anomalisa \, Kaufman and company have truly succeeded in forging a soulful connect ion with the audience\, giving a movie starring stop-motion puppets a ve ry human touch throughout – a rare feat that even live action films can be found increasingly struggling to accomplish these days.\n\n\n- Aagam Shah URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160422.html#film-3567 SUMMARY:Anomalisa LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160423T110900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160423T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160423T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3568 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nI have come to realise in the past couple of years that\, along with the courtroom thriller\, the crusading journalist movie is another archetype that I am a sucker for. The matriarch of this genre would have to be All The President’s Men fro m the 1970s\, but in recent times we have also had Good Night and Good L uck\, Frost/Nixon\, The Insider and (my favourite) Zodiac.\n\nSpotlight is certainly of the ilk and quality of all those movies. It is the saga of how the Boston Globe won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for not only exposin g decades of sexual abuse by Catholic priests but also uncovering system atic manoeuvres to protect the perpetrators by the church’s archdiocese. \n\nDirector McCarthy is known for wonderful but more low-key movies li ke The Station Agent and The Visitor\, but he takes a significant step u p both in scope and ambition here. That said\, it is not a movie that ca lls attention to itself with bombastic importance or heroic moments\, bu t rather unfolds in a quiet and yet intense manner. It helps that the ca st is uniformly strong\, particularly Ruffalo\, Keaton and Tucci.\n\nAt the time of writing this\, Spotlight is in a strong position to win majo r Oscars in the coming season – having been nominated in six categories as of this writing – and deservedly so. It is damning and inspiring\, de pressing and heartening. It is the aforementioned President’s Men for ou r times\, and was one of my Top Ten 2015 movies. Don’t miss it!\n\n- Tra vis Cragg URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160423.html#film-3568 SUMMARY:Spotlight LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160423T130200Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160423T111900Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160423T111900Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3569 DESCRIPTION:Freeheld is based on a true story and the 2008 Academy Award- winning short documentary of the same name. The plot centres on New Jers ey police officer Laurel Hester (Moore) who is diagnosed with terminal c ancer but can’t leave her pension benefits to her life partner\, Stacie (Page)\, because they are a same-sex couple. \n\nThe first half of the film focuses on depicting Laurel as a dedicated police officer who dread s the personal and professional ramifications of her colleagues finding out that she is a lesbian. The second half focuses on the couple's brave but bitter fight against not only cancer\, but the social and legal rul es which stand in the way of Laurel’s ability to provide financial secur ity for her partner. \n\nWhile Freeheld sometimes doesn’t quite know wha t it wants to be as a film\, seeing this will not be a waste of your tim e. Moore and Page are phenomenal\, as they often are\, bringing both a s ense of fight to their characters as well as genuine tenderness that cre ates some really endearing moments that will stay with you long after th e credits have rolled.\n\nThis film is also a reminder that the media/re ligious/moral conscious circus that surrounds so many of today’s big soc ial issues often just serves to distract us from the humanity that lies at the issue’s heart. Whether it’s the issue\, the people – or a simple desire to support the Film Group canteen during the interval – stick aro und (or come in) and give this movie a go.\n\n\n- Tamara Lee URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160423.html#film-3569 SUMMARY:Freeheld LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160428T105300Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160428T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160428T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3570 DESCRIPTION:Grimsby is Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest comedy. Yes\, the man b ehind Borat\, Brüno\, The Dictator and Ali G is back.\n\nThe film follow s two orphan brothers who were separated when they are adopted by differ ent parents as children. Now\, 28 years later\, Sebastian Grimsby (Stron g) has grown up to be one of MI6’s top assassins\, while Norman ‘Nobby’ Grimsby (Cohen) has become a simple-minded football fan and a father of nine kids living with his latest girlfriend (Wilson). Upon finally disco vering his long lost brother’s location\, Nobby decides to seek him out\ , unaware that he is about to interrupt Sebastian on a crucial mission a nd inadvertently put the entire world in danger. Now\, with both of them on the run and wrongfully accused\, the two brothers must team up to sa ve the world – whether they like it or not.\n\nGrimsby presents Cohen wi th yet another opportunity to display his ability to excel in awkward an d non-politically-correct comedy. Strong and Cohen have a good onscreen chemistry and work together to ably deliver several memorable comedic mo ments. As with most (if not all) of Cohen’s previous efforts\, this film has created some controversy for portraying the English town of Grimsby in a negative light by attaching its name to Cohen’s uncouth character. Perhaps the people of Grimsby should lighten up and enjoy the film for what it is: Cohen again making the audience both wince and laugh at the same time.\n\n\n- Robert Bourke URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160428.html#film-3570 SUMMARY:Grimsby LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160429T111700Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160429T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160429T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3571 DESCRIPTION:In the concentration camps of Nazi Germany\, the Sonderkomman dos were a select group of prisoners who were forced to assist the guard s in the mass extermination of Jewish people. Son of Saul portrays the H olocaust from the perspective of one of these prisoners. Saul’s job is t o collect valuables from victims before they die\, and clear the bodies away afterwards.\n\nWhen a young boy survives the gas chambers for a few more minutes than expected\, Saul adopts him as his son\, and sets out to give the boy a proper burial. In a world where Saul is pushed and pul led constantly from one place to another to work\, this small act of ind ividuality becomes a monumental undertaking.\n\nThe film also experiment s with many long takes shot using hand held cameras\, alongside the use of a 40mm lens with a shallow depth of field. This means that much of th e brutality and horror occurs slightly off-screen\, or blurred in the ba ckground. This doesn't detract from the horror\, but cements our perspec tive with Saul. Much of the film is spent looking at Saul's back\, or hi s stoic face.\n\nIt is a full-on film\; a confronting\, haunting experie nce that is difficult to sit through\; but it tells an important story\, and brings a sliver of hope and humanity into a dark\, dark place in hu man history.\n\n\n- Josh Paul URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160429.html#film-3571 SUMMARY:Son of Saul (Saul fia) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160429T132500Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160429T112700Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160429T112700Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3572 DESCRIPTION:This screening of The Lobster is proudly presented by t he Embassy of Ireland\n\nThe evening of Thursday 5th November 20 09: a small audience at the Canberra International Film Festival have a truly unique experience together\, the kind that compels you to turn to a stranger afterwards and discuss what you have just seen. The movie was Dogtooth and\, in one of the most bizarre moments in Oscar history\, th e film went on to score a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film that year.\n\nFast forward to Friday 23rd October 2015: I am in a cinema wat ching the new film from the same director\, Yorgos Lanthimos: The Lobste r. Two things I remember from that screening: (1) I was the only person laughing at many of the scenes\, which means it was a very different aud ience from 2009\, and (2) a fellow audience member asked me after the sc reening ‘Have you ever seen anything like that?’\, to which I responded ‘Well\,……’\n\nSo\, if you haven’t got the message yet\, The Lobster is v ery different cinema. And not just different in the way some people say ‘Oh\, Guardians of the Galaxy is a very different Marvel film’\; no\, th is is very different. And it is fantastic.\n\nThe plot? Well\, a bunch o f single people go to The Hotel\, where they have 45 days to find a part ner\, otherwise they get turned into an animal. So\, just your run-of-th e-mill story then…\n\nLast thing I have to say? Don’t be afraid to laugh during this film. Even when you think it might be inappropriate. Becaus e it is a comedy.\n\n\n- Travis Cragg URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160429.html#film-3572 SUMMARY:The Lobster LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160430T104300Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160430T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160430T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3573 DESCRIPTION:For most of the 1990s\, one name ruled the world of children’ s literary fiction: “Goosebumps”. Unabashedly playing off classic horror tropes with fun\, wit and imagination\, the immensely popular series ga ve young readers around the world (including yours truly) a reason to pu t down their Game Boy and pick up a book. Over 400 million books sold an d\, 20 years later\, “Goosebumps” remains today the second most successf ul children’s book series of all time\, behind only some wizard named Ha rry. And now it’s finally (and somewhat inexplicably) made its way to th e big screen!\n\nRather than a straight-up adaptation of one of the seri es’ many books\, Goosebumps constructs a clever meta-narrative that take s place in a world not unlike our own. The “Goosebumps” books exist as w e know them\, but the key difference here is that the monsters that lie within their pages are actually real and have been trapped within their manuscripts by none other than R.L. Stine (Black) himself. But when a ne w-to-town teen moves in next door\, strikes up a friendship with Stine’s daughter\, and inadvertently releases all manner of horrific creatures upon the world – from ventriloquist dummies to abominable snowmen\, were wolves\, vengeful gnomes and more – it’s up to Stine and company to get them all back where they belong.\n\nOffering exactly the sort of tongue- in-cheek thrills that made the books such a success\, Goosebumps goes be yond a cheap nostalgia cash-in to deliver a wonderfully weird and thorou ghly entertaining movie-going experience.\n\nViewers\, beware\, you’re i n for a scare!\n\n\n- Adrian Ma URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160430.html#film-3573 SUMMARY:Goosebumps LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160430T124000Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160430T105300Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160430T105300Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3574 DESCRIPTION:One of the best known classic romances of all time is Jane Au sten’s “Pride and Prejudice”. In it\, Mr Darcy and Miss Elizabeth Bennet overcome classism\, prejudices and personal pride to find their happily ever after. It is a story that involves drama\, love and weddings. Aust en’s tale of romance and drama has been adapted for screens both big and small over the years\, but weddings\, romance and drama aren’t always e veryone’s cup of tea. Some people find books and movies like “Pride and Prejudice” to be dull and yawn worthy.\n\nThis particular adaption\, how ever\, is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Based on the twisted adaptati on by Seth Grahame-Smith\, the film combines weddings\, romance and dram a with zombie-slaying. It follows the plot of Austen’s novel almost exac tly\, with a few added twists. In this alternate reality\, Britain is pl agued by the undead\, and the five Bennet girls and Mr Darcy are all hig hly trained and capable zombie slayers\, combining the Victorian drama o f the original with the bloody violence of the zombie genre.\n\nPride an d Prejudice and Zombies still has something for those who get teary eyed at weddings and happy endings\; it just adds a whole lot for those who start yawning without a bit of action and adrenalin.\n\n\n- Katie Maxwel l URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160430.html#film-3574 SUMMARY:Pride and Prejudice and Zombies LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160504T111300Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160504T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160504T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3575 DESCRIPTION:If you need only to look at the title to be able to guess at once what this documentary – screening on May the 4th\, no less – must b e about\, then obviously it’s the film for you.\n\nBut in case you need some prompting: Elstree is one of several film studios in or near London . Alfred Hitchcock’s first British films were shot there\, as were three films we’re showing this semester (most notably The Danish Girl). And\, in 1976\, one of the films shot there was Star Wars.\n\nThis is the sto ry of the little people involved in that 1976 Elstree shoot – or as dire ctor Jon Spira points out\, big people\, in little roles – literally big in the case of the hulking bodybuilder under Darth Vader’s cape (whose voice was unheard because George Lucas didn’t want Vader to sound like a n apple farmer). We also meet people such as the guy playing Greedo\, va rious extras and fighters\, perhaps the only recognisable female in the Cantina scene – and also\, in a fun bit of trivia\, the guy behind the B oba Fett mask\, who didn’t technically appear in the films until The Emp ire Strikes Back but was in Elstree in 1976 to film a single scene that ended up being cut from the original film.\n\nI won’t tell you their nam es here\, because in the course of the film we’re introduced to them pro perly – and we find out what happens when professionals just doing their job have small but pivotal roles in one of the biggest cultural phenome na of the 20th Century.\n\n\n- Henry Fitzgerald URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160504.html#film-3575 SUMMARY:Elstree 1976 LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160505T120100Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160505T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160505T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3576 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nIt’s been years since the events of Man of Steel\, and Superman (Cavill) is still struggling to fi nd his place in the world. While many now revere him as a god and are bu ilding statues in his honour\, not everyone shares this view. There are those who continue to see him as a threat\, an illegal alien (literally) in need of government control. Strongly in the latter camp is a concern ed Gotham City citizen by the name of Bruce Wayne (Affleck) who\, in cas e you didn’t know\, also happens to be Batman.\n\nSpurred on by escalati ng fears of Superman’s god-like powers being left unchecked – and harden ed and cynical after years of brutal crime-fighting – Wayne decides to t ake matters into his own hands to bring Superman down. Needless to say\, a clash of the titans ensues – all while\, behind the scenes\, eccentri c businessman Lex Luthor (Eisenberg) is also up to no good with a danger ous threat all his own…\n\nSomewhere amongst the fighting and superheroi cs\, Gal Gadot drops by as Wonder Woman and Jeremy Irons plays Batman’s trusty butler Alfred\, while Amy Adams\, Laurence Fishburne and Diane La ne also return. And did I mention that The Flash\, Aquaman and Cyborg al l show up at some point too? Blink and you’ll miss them\, but fear not – DC has mapped out their Marvel-like universe of films until 2020 so the ir solo adventures will no doubt be finding their way to a cinema near y ou soon.\n\nThough hopefully not Alfred: The Movie. That might be pushin g it.\n\n- Adrian Ma URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160505.html#film-3576 SUMMARY:Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160506T111500Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160506T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160506T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3577 DESCRIPTION:This double feature screening of The Bélier Family and Girlhood is proudly presented by the Embassy of France\n\nThis w as France’s most popular film of 2015\, and it’s not hard to see why.\n  \nThe Bélier Family follows the trials and tribulations of sixteen-year- old Paula (Emera) when she joins the school choir and discovers she has talent – talent that could prove good enough to take her away from her r ural home to study in Paris. The only problem is that her mother\, fathe r and younger brother are all deaf. Engaging characters in their own rig ht\, they rely on her as their indispensable interpreter in the running of their family’s dairy farm. It’s a loving\, close family and Paula fin ds herself in a dilemma choosing between her independence and family com mitment.\n\nThis is a coming-of-age film so\, yes\, there’s a boy\, and\ , yes\, there’s a best friend\; but both are neatly woven into the plot. And\, yes\, it’s a formulaic plot too\, but it’s deftly handled. The Bé lier Family is by turns funny and sad – but always enjoyable – with a fa ntastic lead performance by the young Emera and great supporting perform ances by François Damiens as the father and Karin Viard as the mother.\n \nThis is not just a feel good movie – it’s a feel great movie. Bring ti ssues. \n\n\n- Dallas Stow URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160506.html#film-3577 SUMMARY:The Bélier Family (La Famille Bélier) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160506T131800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160506T112500Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160506T112500Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3578 DESCRIPTION:When it comes to making films about childhood and adolescence \, one can either go broad to milk our nostalgia for easy laughs\, or ca n strike at the dramatic core of what it means to grow up (something we have all done) thereby transcending both the time and the setting to aff ect the audience deeply.\n\nGirlhood manages the second approach success fully. It centres on Marieme (Touré) who is at a critical juncture in he r life. Her school grades are poor\, and she is uninspired by the two fu tures immediately available to her: technical school\, or cleaning hotel s like her mother. Within a world that is mostly run by the opposite sex \, she finds herself drawn to a gang of women who have recently lost a m ember to motherhood.\n\nDirector Céline Sciamma has made a niche for her self making movies about girls growing up (we screened her previous film \, Tomboy\, in 2012). For this film\, she was inspired by teenage girls that she would regularly see hanging out in the vicinity of Paris shoppi ng centres and train stations. She scouted the streets for actresses\, a nd lucked out when finding Touré\, who brings innocence\, strength and a uthenticity to the central role.\n\nThe scene where the girls sing along to Rihanna’s “Diamonds” in stolen dresses almost sums up the whole movi e\, in how it presents their lives as both beautiful and dangerous. Girl hood is a true feminist film\, and it is hard not be sucked in by its en ergy and effervescence.\n\n\n- Travis Cragg URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160506.html#film-3578 SUMMARY:Girlhood (Bande de filles) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160507T104600Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160507T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160507T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3579 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nTHE COEN BROTHERS + GEORGE CLOONEY NIGHT: The relationship between writing/directing duo Joe l and Ethan Coen and George Clooney has borne particularly hilarious fru it in the form of films such as Burn After Reading\, Intolerable Cruelty and the two films featured here tonight.\n\nWhen Hollywood stud ios need something done\, they call on one man: Eddie Mannix (Brolin)\, a private detective turned ‘fixer’ whose job is to keep the stars in lin e and out of trouble. Scandalous affairs\, blackmail\, secrets and every thing in between – it’s all in a day’s work for Eddie. But his day is ab out to get a lot busier when Baird Whitlock (Clooney)\, the world’s bigg est movie star\, mysteriously disappears from the set of his latest film \, “Hail\, Caesar!”. With only a puzzling ransom note to go on – and an ever-growing list of suspects – Eddie’s definitely got his work cut out for him this time.\n\nAn outrageous ode to Hollywood’s Golden Age\, the Coen Brothers’ latest film plays almost like a greatest hits compilation of their best films. From the kidnapping mystery (The Big Lebowski) to the dogged detective protagonist (Fargo)\, zany supporting characters (B urn After Reading)\, musical numbers (O Brother\, Where Art Thou?) and e ven the period Hollywood setting (Barton Fink)\, fans of their work will find themselves in cinematic nirvana here. And that’s not even taking i nto account the A-list cast of Coen regulars (Clooney\, Brolin\, Frances McDormand\, Tilda Swinton\, Scarlett Johansson) and exciting new player s (Channing Tatum\, Ralph Fiennes\, Jonah Hill and even Dolph Lundgren) packing in so much star power you might be forgiven for thinking you wer e watching the Oscars.\n\nPart comedy\, part mystery\, all fun\, Hail\, Caesar! is a riotously entertaining film that is bound to delight fans o f the Coens – while creating all new ones in the process too.\n\n- Adria n Ma URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160507.html#film-3579 SUMMARY:Hail\, Caesar! LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160507T124300Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160507T105600Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160507T105600Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3580 DESCRIPTION:It’s the early 1930s and we’re in America’s deep\, deep\, dee p south – so deep that news of civilisation elsewhere in the world seems yet to have penetrated\; so deep we’re almost in mythological golden ag e standing outside time as we know it\, like Narnia\, but with yokels. I t’s entirely apt for the Coen brothers to choose this as the setting for a retelling of Homer’s “Odyssey”.  It’s like there’s an enchanted haze over the landscape\, heightened with glorious music\, songs you will fal l in love with\, even if this kind of music isn’t at all your kind of th ing (it wasn’t mine).\n\nAnd as if this weren’t enough\, the film is als o the Coens’ most hilarious comedy – the best kind of comedy\, based on the clash of stupidity and intelligence. Fast-talking convict Everett (C looney) escapes from a chain gang with his two thick-witted buddies (Nel son and Turturro)\, telling them of a fabulous treasure on the other sid e of the state which they must claim quickly\, before the land it’s buri ed on is flooded by a new dam. But Everett has a hidden agenda – or in t he words of the film’s tagline\, he has a plan\, but not a clue. He’s tw ice as smart as the other two\, which makes him half as smart as he thin ks he is\, which makes him—almost by magic—exactly as smart as he needs to be.\n\nNo film by the Coens is more purely pleasurable to watch. You cannot miss it.\n\n\n- Henry Fitzgerald URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160507.html#film-3580 SUMMARY:O Brother\, Where Art Thou? LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160512T112500Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160512T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160512T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3581 DESCRIPTION:Everyone’s favourite actor from “The Walking Dead”\, Norman R eedus\, teams up with Aaron Paul from “Breaking Bad” to play total bad-a sses in an epic heist film. Oh\, and Woody Harrelson’s here too. Need I say more?\n\nAustralian director John Hillcoat\, master of the outlaw/un derdog in such films as The Road and Lawless\, brings us this dark and e dgy crime thriller\, set in Atlanta where the cops are corrupt and the R ussian mob rules. \n\nTriple 9 follows a frantic group of criminals and corrupt cops who are being blackmailed by the Russian mob for their live s. The only way to deal with the mafia once and for all is to pull off a near impossible heist. The group hatch a desperate and drastic plan: to distract all of the cops in the city with 999 call – police code for an officer down – while they pull off the job. But when a rookie cop (Affl eck) inadvertently turns their plan upside down\, all hell breaks loose – and before long\, greed and revenge has become the name of the game.\n \nTriple 9 is intense and action-packed\, and is heightened by its impre ssive ensemble cast\, including Casey Affleck\, Chiwetel Ejiofor\, Antho ny Mackie\, Kate Winslet\, Gal Gadot and of course\, Aaron Paul\, Norman Reedus and Woody Harrelson. This film is epic in every way: with an epi c cast\, an epic heist\, and epic action. It is dark\, fast and will hav e you on the edge of your seat.\n\n\n- Elyshia Hopkinson URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160512.html#film-3581 SUMMARY:Triple 9 LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160513T112400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160513T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160513T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3582 DESCRIPTION:Long before the events of Snow White and The Huntsman\, the I ce Queen Freya (Blunt) suffers a broken heart and flees her kingdom. Fre ya\, who has the power to freeze her enemies (cough – Frozen – cough)\, spends the next few decade of her exile raising a legion of deadly Hunts men in the hopes of one day being able to build a kingdom of her own. He r Huntsmen are skilled\, feared and\, above all\, disciplined. That is\, until two of them – Eric (Hemsworth) and Sara (Chastain) – fall in love \, defying Freya’s number one rule\, and must face the dire consequences for doing so.\n \nFlashing forward\, Freya is enraged to learn of the d emise of her sister – the Evil Queen Ravenna (Theron) – at the hands of Snow White and The Huntsman at the conclusion of the previous film. In r etaliation\, Freya summons her remaining soldiers to bring the Magic Mir ror to her in an attempt to resurrect Ravenna\, so that she may once aga in rule the lands.\n\nUnsurprisingly\, after the former film’s leading l ady Kristen Stewart was caught in an affair with its director\, the two were not asked back for this film. But no matter – as this prequel/spin- off/sequel of sorts is just as epic and ambitious as ever in the hands o f Cedric Nicolas-Troyan\, making his directorial debut after serving as visual effects supervisor and second unit director on the first film. Ex pect a dark fantasy action-adventure tale with epic battles\, forbidden love and Thor’s gravelly voice and abs back in the mix!\n\n\n- Luke McWi lliams URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160513.html#film-3582 SUMMARY:The Huntsman: Winter’s War LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160513T130700Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160513T113400Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160513T113400Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3583 DESCRIPTION:The modern horror genre began with “Dracula” – which saw Bram Stoker take monsters from the past\, which the world thought it was don e with\, and unleash them on the present. Horror films have been mining that vein ever since\, so consistently that there’s now something specia l to be gained by taking a modern-style horror movie and setting it in t he past again. That’s the monsters’ home ground: it’s where they belong\ , where they’re strongest. Dracula lost only because he was up against m odern Londoners\; he’d had an unbroken run of success preying on backwar d peasants.\n\nThe Witch gives its characters no such advantage. It’s se t in a New England homestead in the 1630s\, where a Puritan family are f arming on the very edge of civilisation. One day their infant child myst eriously – impossibly – vanishes\, their crops start to fail\, and that’ s not the half of the creepiness. It seems they have been cursed\, and o ne of them must be a witch – so on top of everything else\, they start t o turn on each other. There’s no respite\, no escape from the constant f ear – and none for us\, either.\n\nThe cast\, all compellingly frightene d and utterly convincing as people born 400 or more years ago\, will be refreshingly new to you – assuming you’re one of the few people left in the world not to have seen “Game of Thrones”. (If so\, drop me a line\; it’s lonely here.)\n\n\n- Henry Fitzgerald URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160513.html#film-3583 SUMMARY:The Witch LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160514T104400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160514T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160514T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3584 DESCRIPTION:After sci-fi blockbusters\, dress-up period pieces and wizard movies\, the British film industry also does a good trade in films abou t eccentricity. The Lady in the Van is the most recent example. In this\ , Maggie Smith plays a homeless lady that lives in a broken down old van . The van gently rolls down the hill of a London street over a period of months and eventually lands at the bottom of the hill – at the house of Alan Bennett (Jennings).\n\nFor those who don’t know\, Alan Bennett is a comedy legend. While The Beatles were conquering America and the rest of the world\, Alan was a member of the British Comedy Fab Four that cre ated much of modern British satire. So when this lady shows up outside h is house\, he decides that instead of trying to get her to move on elsew here\, he would do what Thatcher would never think of doing and allow he r to stay in the van in his driveway for at least a few months. At least until she is settled so she can sort herself out. What develops is a un ique bond between two eccentric individuals over a period of 15 years.\n \nIf you enjoyed films like The Queen or The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel\ , then you will probably like this one. Bennett specialises in wit\, and the best of British acting were very happy to include themselves in thi s film if only for the chance to deliver some choice Bennett lines.\n\n\ n- Christopher Patterson URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160514.html#film-3584 SUMMARY:The Lady in the Van LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160514T123600Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160514T105400Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160514T105400Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3585 DESCRIPTION:Winning over watchers at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival\, th e refreshing and off-beat The Diary of a Teenage Girl by first-time dire ctor Marielle Heller offers an honest tale of teenagehood and all its tr appings. Relayed through the cassette recordings of 15-year-old wannabe cartoonist Minnie Goetz (Powley)\, the audience is privy to scandals bot h petty and provocative\, despite her proclamation: “If you’re listening to this without my permission\, please stop now. Just stop.” Set amidst the backdrop of the bohemian counterculture haze of mid-’70s San Franci sco\, the period atmosphere is rendered almost palpable by a rich colour palette of burnt oranges and denim blues and references to icons of the decade such as The Stooges.\n\nWeighted with the controversy stemming f rom an affair between the impulsive Minnie and Monroe (Skarsgård)\, the layabout boyfriend of her mother (executed by Kristen Wiig in a masterfu l performance)\, the story belies the conventional mild-mannered coming- of-age complication. Yet animated interludes of Minnie’s youthful imagin ings (courtesy of Sara Gunnarsdottir) soften the gritty realism and pay homage to the film’s source material\; a graphic novel by Phoebe Gloeckn er. Unlike the vivacious protagonist\, we are spared the rose-coloured v iew of Monroe and instead are drawn to the infectious personality of the young narrator. With her doe-eyed expression and Adrian Mole-esque draw l\, one cannot help but plunge into this strikingly intimate story with the voice of misguided youth at its heart.\n\n\n- Alexandra Stewart URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160514.html#film-3585 SUMMARY:The Diary of a Teenage Girl LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160519T110500Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160519T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160519T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3586 DESCRIPTION:In the last days of a dying logging town\, Christian (Paul Sc hneider) returns to his family home for his father Henry’s (Geoffrey Rus h) wedding to the much younger Anna (Anna Torv). \n\nWhile home\, Christ ian reconnects with his childhood friend Oliver (Ewen Leslie)\, who has stayed in town working at Henry’s timber mill and is now out of a job. A s Christian gets to know Oliver’s wife Charlotte (Miranda Otto)\, daught er Hedvig (Odessa Young) and father Walter (Sam Neill)\, he discovers a secret that could tear Oliver’s family apart. \n\nAs he desperately trie s to right the wrongs of the past\, his actions threaten to shatter the lives of those he left behind years before.\n\n\n- URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160519.html#film-3586 SUMMARY:The Daughter LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160520T113700Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160520T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160520T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3587 DESCRIPTION:So it’s ancient Egypt – but not as you know it. Not that you really knew it in the first place\, as it all took place over 5\,000 yea rs ago. Though I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it’s not as yo u know it (or if you do happen to be an immortal god-like being\, knew i t).\n\nThis Egypt is ruled by gods and Pharaohs\, but one god isn’t very pleased at how things are going. Set (Butler) is the God of Darkness an d true to form would like a bit more darkness in the world. To effect th is\, he’s taking over the place and ushering in a new era of chaos and w ar. \n\nRa (Rush) as the Sun God\, rather likes the light and puts Horus (Coster-Waldau) as God of the Sky to the task of making things right. B ut Horus can’t do it alone and enlists the help of young Bek (Thwaites)\ , a mortal thief\, to aid him in his quest. Maybe he should have chosen another God\, but Bek’s beloved was kidnapped by Set so he’s at least go t righteous fire on his side.\n\nDirector Proyas has given us another vi sually stunning film\, with plenty of gold and destruction rightfully de picting the glory of gods and men. I like the reimagined representation of the gods’ adornments as armour\, and the shots of Horus flying throug h the city as a man-falcon are quite amazing. Keep an eye out for some f amiliar Australian faces too\, as Proyas filmed at home in Australia (us ing most of the crew from Mad Max: Fury Road\, no less).\n\n\n- Steven C ain URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160520.html#film-3587 SUMMARY:Gods of Egypt LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160520T133300Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160520T114700Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160520T114700Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3588 DESCRIPTION:The genre is called urban fantasy\, and I remember it becomin g a thing – in literature – in the late 1980s. Books in the genre are st ill popular\, but films with magic in a big-city setting have really str uggled on the big screen – largely because they’ve tended to be so godaw ful. And yes\, I’ll admit we’ve screened a few of these ourselves. That’ s because we live in hope.\n\nSo this film\, not a success at the box of fice\, and taken by many as proof that Vin Diesel is of no interest to a nyone when he’s not driving a car\, came as a pleasant surprise to me.\n \nThe premise is that witches have been with us since time immemorial\, and several centuries ago they were all openly trying to kill us. But as with many ethnic groups who were at one another’s throats in the Middle Ages\, a peace has since been struck between witches and humans\, and o ne of its chief enforcers is an accidentally-made-immortal man from the old warring days (Diesel) – the title character\, who doesn’t hunt witch es so much as police them. We know he must be a softie at heart\, for al l his gruesome backstory.\n\nThe film has a B-movie charm\, without the insulting B-movie badness: the production values are strong\; the dialog ue doesn’t make us wince\; the characters are actually worth taking an i nterest in\; Vin Diesel and Michael Caine have an easy chemistry togethe r\, which I wouldn’t mind seeing more of.\n\n\n- Henry Fitzgerald URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160520.html#film-3588 SUMMARY:The Last Witch Hunter LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160521T103600Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160521T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160521T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3589 DESCRIPTION:Canberra-born filmmaker Jennifer Peedom joins us tonigh t for a Q&A discussion following our screening of her multi-award-winnin g documentary\, which has played at film festivals all around the world – including London\, Toronto\, Telluride and Sydney.\n\nAt 6:45 AM on 18 April 2014\, 16 Sherpas were killed in an avalanche at the Khu mbu Icefall above Everest Base Camp. This was the worst tragedy in the h istory of Everest. Canberra-born-and-bred filmmaker Jennifer Peedom was there. We are privileged to have Jen introduce her acclaimed film and pa rticipate in a post-screening discussion with the audience.\n\nAt last c ount Sherpa had screened at 19 film festivals including London where it won the prestigious Grierson Award for Best Documentary. The Jury statem ent said: “We are taken into the lives\, homes and families of the Sherp as who have for too long been overlooked and exploited\, dependent for t heir livelihoods on an increasing number of tourists who sometimes regar d them as little more than owned slaves. We’re left with an appreciation of the sacrifices the Sherpa community have made for over six decades. We applaud this impressive film for giving voice to a previously voicele ss community and we hope it reaches the wide general audience that it de serves.”\n\nI was lucky to see Sherpa when it opened the Stronger Than F iction festival last year. I agree completely with the jury and understa nd why they gave the film the award. I’m really keen to see it again\, e specially after seeing the big-budget Everest at Coombs last year. Don’t miss this very special evening.\n\n\n- Brett Yeats URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160521.html#film-3589 SUMMARY:Sherpa [Q&A Event] LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160526T111400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160526T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160526T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3590 DESCRIPTION:That’s not a film... In the third of our BACK TO THE FI LM GROUP series of films celebrating their decennial anniversaries\, we head into the Outback to commemorate 30 years of Mick Dundee and his und eniable impact on Australian film culture. Now THAT’S a film!\n\ nOriginally released in 1986 as an attempt to make a local film that wou ld appeal to American audiences\, Crocodile Dundee unexpectedly went on to become a massive box office hit – holding the record for highest-gros sing Australian film of all time for nearly 30 years until Mad Max: Fury Road took the crown just last year.\n\nThe romantic comedy stars Paul H ogan as Mick ‘Crocodile’ Dundee\, a bushman living in Walkabout Creek in the Northern Territory. Mick has achieved something of a legendary stat us after wrestling with and besting a saltwater crocodile. He lives his life drinking beer with his mates and going on walkabouts in the Territo rian bush. This is how Mick Dundee lives his life until a New York repor ter by the name of Sue Charlton (Kozlowski) hears of the legend of ‘Croc odile’ Dundee and travels to Walkabout Creek to meet the man himself. On ce there\, Sue’s fast-paced New Yorker attitude is immediately – and hil ariously – at odds with the slow and relaxed lifestyle of the locals. \n \nAs expected\, Sue and Mick bond in the rugged bush and fall in love\, and at the end of her trip\, Sue invites Mick back to New York with her. He follows her on his first ever visit to the big city\, and eventually finds himself getting into all sorts of trouble with his gregarious and laidback Australian attitude.\n\n\n- Katie Maxwell URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160526.html#film-3590 SUMMARY:Crocodile Dundee LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160527T110500Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160527T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160527T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3591 DESCRIPTION:There have been many good films made from short stories. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button\, Brokeback Mountain and Jindabyne are j ust some examples from the past decade. 45 Years\, adapted from the shor t story “In Another Country” by David Constantine\, is now up there as o ne of the best.\n\nWe are spending a week in the lead-up to the 45th wed ding anniversary celebrations of childless contented couple Kate (Rampli ng) and Geoff (Courtenay) Mercer. At the start of the week\, Geoff gets news of the passing of a former girlfriend\, and this brings to the fore front the doubts\, insecurities and jealousies that lay under the surfac e of this seemingly ideal relationship.\n\nDirector and screenwriter And rew Haigh brought us the wonderful film Weekend a few years ago. Simplif ied as ‘the gay Before Sunrise’\, this film showed that he had a handle on the beginnings of an intimate relationship. With 45 Years\, he shows that he also understands the complexities at the other end. Both Ramplin g and Courtenay give the best performances of their long and illustrious careers (both won prizes at last year’s Berlin Film Festival for these roles)\, mainly because Haigh trusts them to deliver without pushing the m into histrionics (all the emotions are played out on the actors’ faces ). And the ending is absolutely gutting.\n\nThere is little doubt that 4 5 Years will become a classic in years to come\, so make sure you catch it early.\n\n\n- Travis Cragg URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160527.html#film-3591 SUMMARY:45 Years LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160527T130800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160527T111500Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160527T111500Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3592 DESCRIPTION:The Nash family – hardworking young father Dennis (Garfield)\ , his young son (Lomax) and their scatterbrained grandmother (Dern) – ha ve fallen on hard times. Dennis’s construction work has dried up and bef ore he knows it\, they are evicted from their home by hard-as-nails prop erty developer Rick Carver (Shannon). \n\nThe family moves into a motel \, where they meet families in similar circumstances. Spurred on by thei r desperate situation\, a stalwart Dennis starts working for Carver\, wh o recognises and preys on his jack-of-all-trades talent\, hardworking na ture and loyalty. Determined to do whatever it takes to regain his home and redeem himself in the eyes of his family\, Dennis goes about doing u nto others (and empty homes) what was done to him and worse: knocking on doors\, pinning up eviction notices\, stealing and fraud. \n\nCarver is a philandering family man who lives an ostentatious life\, with no qual ms about anything\, and the square-jawed Michael Shannon plays him to pe rfection. If you haven’t seen Shannon before\, then you owe it to yourse lf to see his many underrated performances in such films as Take Shelter .\n\nWill Dennis turn into Carver’s protégé? Are there any repercussions to the kind of work they do? What types of people get that dreaded knoc k at their door? Be sure to watch this thrilling and devastating film\, and realise how lucky you are and how feeble your values and foundations could be.\n\n\n- Carol Christopher URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160527.html#film-3592 SUMMARY:99 Homes LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160528T103400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160528T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160528T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3593 DESCRIPTION:Opa! The long awaited My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 is hitting t he Film Group all geared up to entertain you. The original Greek Wedding was an unexpected blockbuster\, turning Nia Vardalos into a star and th e film into the highest grossing romantic comedy of all time – a record that impressively still stands 14 years on. \n\nIn the first film we fol lowed the Portokalos family as they prepared a wedding ceremony for Toul a (Vardalos) and her not-so-Greek fiancé\, Ian (Corbett). Fast forward a few years and this ‘greek-quel’ now sees Toula and Ian trying to keep t heir teenage daughter\, Paris (Kampouris)\, on the straight and narrow. Unfortunately\, life isn’t all olives and moussaka for Toula and Ian eit her\, who find themselves also facing marital problems. \n\nBut when To ula’s parents discover that the priest who officiated their marriage con veniently forgot to sign the paperwork\, it’s time to bring the whole fa mily together for yet another Greek wedding – even bigger and fatter tha n the first! \n\nThe entire cast is back. The romance is back. And the l aughs are definitely back in abundance too\, with all sorts of intergene rational awkwardness along the way. If laughter yoga really works\, you should have no trouble at all burning away a whole lot of calories seein g this film.\n\n\n- Tamara Lee URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160528.html#film-3593 SUMMARY:My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160528T122300Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160528T104400Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160528T104400Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3594 DESCRIPTION:Meet Michelle Darnell (McCarthy)\, a titan of industry and th e wealthiest woman in America who says whatever she wants and does whate ver she wants. It’s a life that has resulted in her having a lot of mone y\, but not a lot of popularity (okay\, pretty much none). \n\nOne day h er entire world comes crashing down when she is sent to prison for insid er trading. When she is released six months later\, she finds herself ha ving to start again from scratch. But what do you do when you have nothi ng\, no one likes you\, and you are sleeping on the couch of a former em ployee-turned-maybe-friend? You reinvent yourself! \n\nA chance epiphany at a Girl Guides meeting leads Michelle to embark on an all new busines s venture: the production and sale of brownies to raise funds for ‘chari table’ causes (specifically\, herself). Recruiting ruthless young girls and drawing on her years of big business know-how\, Michelle and her leg ion of ‘Darnell’s Darlings’ will stop at nothing for dominance of the ne ighbourhood brownie market.\n\nMelissa McCarthy stole the show with her loud\, obnoxious characters in hit films like Bridesmaids\, The Heat and Spy. And if we’re being honest\, her character here is along similar li nes too\, so if you aren’t a fan already then you might be better off st aying home and having some of your own Girl Guide biscuits with a glass of milk. But for those who ‘get’ her brand of humour\, you’re bound to h ave a great time with this one too.\n\n\n- Tamara Lee URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160528.html#film-3594 SUMMARY:The Boss LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160604T110400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160604T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160604T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3595 DESCRIPTION:Trumbo tells the story of Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumb o\, who was forced into exile by the barbaric witch-hunts of Senator McC arthy in late ’40s and ’50s America. Bryan Cranston plays Trumbo\, impre ssive in splaying out the Oscar-winning screenwriter’s shifting charisma as well as encapsulating much of the tension and neuroticism of Hollywo od at the time.\n\nTrumbo’s story is a compelling one. Having been black listed by the government and made unemployable by the Hollywood studios\ , he spent 11 months in prison and faced exile to Mexico. He assumed a v ariety of pseudonyms in order to continue writing and was not officially credited for his work in America again until 1960.\n\nWhilst Trumbo eng ages in mild Hollywood self-aggrandisement\, it thankfully manages to av oid the sentimental and the overly dramatic. The occasional dollops of h umour save the film from this potential to wallow in dread and misery. T he film marks a significant genre shift for director Jay Roach (Austin P owers\, Meet the Parents) but is in many ways just as much of a product of its diverse and intense cast: Helen Mirren plays columnist Hedda Hopp er\, John Goodman is producer Frank King\, and there are terrific accomp anying performances put in by Diane Lane\, Elle Fanning and Louis CK too . But it is Cranston’s enigmatic portrayal that has deservedly reaped mo st of the acclaim – including an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. \n\nAt its best\, the film is an engaging portrayal of one of the most shamefu l periods in Hollywood history\, as seen through the eyes of one of its more bracing participants (and rejects).\n\n\n- Tom Baily URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160604.html#film-3595 SUMMARY:Trumbo LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160604T125600Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160604T111400Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160604T111400Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3596 DESCRIPTION:In Dirty Grandpa\, Zac Efron plays Jason Kelly\, a conservati ve and uptight young man who is asked by his former Army General grandfa ther (De Niro) on the day of his wife’s funeral to accompany him on a va cation to the holiday spot he used to take her to every year. \n\nAlthou gh he is due to get married soon himself\, Jason is left with little cho ice but to dutifully agree. Though as the trip goes on\, Jason quickly d iscovers that there may be another side to his grandfather – a side that plans to party like there’s no tomorrow\, and to drag Jason along every step of the way.\n\nSay what you will about his role choices of late\, but De Niro gives it his absolute all here and shines in his role as the perverted\, depraved grandfather who is finally free to enjoy himself a fter the death of his wife. Efron\, on the other hand\, plays the straig ht man to perfection.\n\nFans of Efron’s are sure to be in for a pleasan t experience too\, as he displays plenty of flesh during the course of t he film. De Niro shows some flesh too (if you’re into that sort of thing ) putting on display a physique far fitter than one would expect from a 72-year old man.\n\nThe comedy here is without a doubt the most risqué o f De Niro’s career\, with the acting legend given the most outrageous th ings to do and say throughout the course of the film. But it’s all warra nted by the ‘go big or go home’ mantra that everyone involved has clearl y followed. So whether your demographic skews closer to the ages of Efro n or De Niro\, the central theme of the film – to enjoy life regardless of your age or circumstances – will no doubt resonate.\n\n\n- Robert Bou rke URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160604.html#film-3596 SUMMARY:Dirty Grandpa LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160611T105800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160611T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160611T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3597 DESCRIPTION:After Garry Marshall made Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve it seemed he’d run out of secular days celebrated in America\, at least on the assumption that Halloween and Independence Day were taken. (Are y ou asking\, what about Thanksgiving? That’s also already taken: Eli Roth is at work making a full feature version of the parody trailer we saw i n Grindhouse\, I kid you not.) \n\nBut… yes\, of course\, there was alw ays going to be Mother’s Day.\n\nThis one is a tougher sell than the pre vious two: a glance at the title and it’s hard to avoid thinking of pink doilies. Unlike New Year’s Day\, this is not exactly a day of celebrati on for all (less than half the world’s population can be a mother\, and not all of the remainder even wants to)\; and opportunities for romantic pairings are bound to be more limited. \n\nBut Marshall\, vulgar expert showman that he is\, won’t let that kind of stuff stop him. Like a bras sier\, lowbrow version of Woody Allen\, he weaves together half a dozen or so mother-related stories\, each one rom-commy to the hilt\, and he’s determined to make us enjoy this material in spite of ourselves. \n\nAl ong for the ride is\, as usual\, an all-star cast of staples of the genr e including Jennifer Aniston\, Julia Roberts\, Kate Hudson\, and more. A nd once again\, whenever anyone is constantly referred to but also const antly off screen\, it will turn out to be someone from one of the other storylines – you can amuse yourself trying to work out which one.\n\n\n- Henry Fitzgerald URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160611.html#film-3597 SUMMARY:Mother’s Day LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160611T131200Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160611T110800Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160611T110800Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3598 DESCRIPTION:Marianne Lane (Swinton) is an aging rock star in rest after a throat operation\, recovering on the evocative Mediterranean island of Pantelleria. Marianne is being nursed back to health by her partner Paul (Schoenaerts) and laments how the wild days of her youth now seem so fa r away. But this intimate and idyllic setting is soon interrupted by Har ry (Fiennes) and his daughter Penny (Johnson)\, who arrive and bring wit h them all manner of secrets and nostalgia.\n\nAn edgy psychological con test of wits soon develops between four characters\, each with their own unique agenda and starkly different traits. Fiennes is strong as loud-m outhed record producer Harry\, particularly when duelling with Swinton’s silent\, post-operation Marianne. Much of the enjoyment of this film co mes in trying to discern the wildly unpredictable motives of the charact ers. Who will end up with – or separated from – who?\n\nA Bigger Splash is a new take on Jacques Deray’s now-cult 1969 film La Piscine\, and dir ector Guadagnino does well to re-enact much of what made that film a cla ssic: the subtly erupting erotic tension\, the torpid Mediterranean sett ing\, the mystery. Yet\, this is no mere remake – Guadagnino has made a new and altogether different film\, stirring things up in much the same ways his sordid characters do in the film.\n\n\n- Tom Baily URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160611.html#film-3598 SUMMARY:A Bigger Splash LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160618T112400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160618T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160618T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3599 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nThe world’s first and most powerful mutant\, Apocalypse (Isaac)\, has just awakened from a long sl umber that has lasted thousands of years. Finding himself disillusioned with the world (a bit like waking up on a Monday morning right before wo rk\, am I right?)\, he soon recruits four highly powerful mutants – incl uding a low-lying Magneto (Fassbender) – to aid him in his quest to ‘cle anse’ humanity in the most biblical sense and bring about an all-new wor ld order.\n\nThe X-Men film series which started in 2000 was onto a good thing\, until Bryan Singer was enticed to skip franchises and jump ship to direct Superman Returns instead\, leaving Brett Ratner to wrap up th e initial trilogy with X-Men: The Last Stand – a film widely regarded as The Godfather: Part III of the series. \n\nNow\, after a new prequel se ries of X-Men films starting with X-Men: First Class\, director Bryan Si nger has returned to the director’s chair. And fortunately for him\, the events that concluded his most recent entry in the series – X-Men: Days of Future Past – has left Singer with carte blanche to reboot the entir e X-universe as he sees fit.\n \nApocalypse is the capper to the prequel trilogy and 15 years of X-films\, and much like the eponymous villain i tself\, sets out to ‘cleanse’ the series by restarting anew. There are e xciting\, younger actors taking on the key roles of Cyclops\, Jean Grey and Storm – all leading a mash-up line-up of old and new characters to t ake the X-Men into the future as the heroes they were always meant to be . Cue the blue and yellow suits already!\n\n- Luke McWilliams URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160618.html#film-3599 SUMMARY:X-Men: Apocalypse LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160618T132000Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160618T113400Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160618T113400Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3600 DESCRIPTION:The Olympics is a grand celebration of the best physical spec imens in the world – of pure sporting excellence. And then sometimes som eone slips through the cracks…\n\nEddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards (Egerton) wa s the first man to represent Great Britain at ski-jumping. This wasn't\, it should be pointed out\, because he was particularly good at it – mor e that there were no other British competitive ski-jumpers. His extreme far-sightedness (requiring him to wear glasses at all times\, which fogg ed up during every jump)\, his somewhat ungainly style and a general sen se of gormlessness made him an unlikely media sensation at the 1988 Calg ary Winter Olympics – winning the hearts of sports fans around the world .\n\nThe geek-movie-loving ‘Butt-Numb-A-Thon’ film festival in the US de clared Eddie the Eagle a surprise hit\, with a heart as strong as its ec centric sense of humour. The film features a wildly different performanc e from Egerton to his suave\, Bond-ian work in Kingsman: The Secret Serv ice last year\, but one that is no less enjoyable. Jackman\, too\, bring s his A-Game as Eddie’s charismatic and disreputable (fictional) trainer . \n\nWhile Eddie the Eagle tells a story that may be familiar but is st ill fun to see told again\, this is a film that can be enjoyed on a pure ly visceral level\, if only to see a fellow as underdoggy as someone cou ld possibly be manage to achieve things that amaze both himself and ever yone else.\n\n\n- Simon Tolhurst URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160618.html#film-3600 SUMMARY:Eddie the Eagle LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160625T103200Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160625T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160625T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3601 DESCRIPTION:Michael Mason (Richard Madden\, TV's Game of Thrones) is an A merican pickpocket living in Paris who finds himself in the hands of the CIA when he steals a bag that contains more than just a wallet. Sean Br iar (Idris Elba)\, the field agent on the case\, soon realizes that Mich ael is just a pawn in a much bigger game and is also his best asset to u ncover a large-scale criminal conspiracy.\n\nGoing against commands\, Br iar recruits Michael to use his expert pickpocketing skills to help quic kly track down the source of the corruption. As a 24-hour thrill ride en sues\, the unlikely duo discovers they are both now targets and must rel y upon each other in order to take down a common enemy.\n\n\n- URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160625.html#film-3601 SUMMARY:Bastille Day LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160625T122800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160625T104200Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160625T104200Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3602 DESCRIPTION:Richie Lanz (Murray) from Van Nuys\, California used to be a big deal manager in the music industry. But now he’s stuck on an enterta in-the-troops tour of Afghanistan with his last remaining client (Descha nel). \n\nAfter circumstances trap him in Kabul without any money and wi thout a passport\, an opportunity arrives with a young girl: Salima Khan (Leem Lubany)\, a Pashtun teenager who has a spectacular voice and drea ms of becoming the first woman to compete on national television in Afgh anistan’s version of “American Idol”. Will they succeed in making her dr eams come true? Will her traditional background and his sleazy opportuni sm threaten everything? Well\, is there a movie here if it doesn’t?\n\nT he mix of shallow hucksterism and sincerity shouldn’t work – except that this is exactly what Murray’s stock-in-trade has been for most of his c areer. And director Barry Levinson has a fine history in this kind of wo rk with films like Wag the Dog and Good Morning\, Vietnam deconstructing the thin line between doing the right thing and easy glibness. Both bri ng along with them a game cast that includes Bruce Willis\, Kate Hudson\ , Scott Caan and Danny McBride. A combination of wit and heart\, Rock th e Kasbah should tickle your funny bone and your social conscience in abo ut equal measure.\n\n\n- Simon Tolhurst URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160625.html#film-3602 SUMMARY:Rock the Kasbah LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160709T110000Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160709T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160709T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3605 DESCRIPTION:The Divergent Series: Allegiant is the first of two films bas ed on the novel\, “Allegiant”\, the final book in the best-selling young adult “Divergent” trilogy by Veronica Roth. \n\nAfter the shocking reve lations in Insurgent\, Tris (Woodley) and Four (James) along with their friends must undertake their most dangerous mission yet\, outside of the walls that have encased Chicago for as long as anyone can remember. For the first time ever\, they will leave their city and family in order to explore the new world that lies ahead\, to hopefully find an explanatio n and peaceful solution to their disordered city.\n\nWhat they find\, ho wever\, are even more revelations of the earth-shattering truths behind the enclosure of Chicago. Not to mention the discovery of a dire plan to erase the city of Chicago and its people once and for all. It is now up to our brave young heroes to save their family\, friends and home from an attack by the corrupt Bureau of Genetic Warfare beyond the walls.\n\n The stellar cast\, led by a brilliant Woodley\, also includes Octavia Sp encer\, Miles Teller\, Ansel Elgort and Naomi Watts\, all critically acc laimed in their recent work. With the film’s thrilling special effects\, non-stop action and its message about courage\, allegiance\, sacrifice and love\, Allegiant is a bona fide science fiction blockbuster.\n\n\n- Jasmine Li URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160709.html#film-3605 SUMMARY:The Divergent Series: Allegiant LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160709T125200Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160709T111000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160709T111000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3606 DESCRIPTION:British Colonel Katherine Powell (Mirren) leads a multination al anti-terror drone operation over Kenya. During a routine observationa l mission\, it is identified that the terror cell being monitored is pre paring to launch a suicide attack\, so the mission objective changed to immediately eliminate the target. \n\nAs he is about to pull the trigger \, Powell’s US military drone operator (Paul) identifies that a 9-year-o ld girl is in the line of fire and refuses the order. Powell escalates t he issue to Lieutenant General Frank Benson (Alan Rickman in his final l ive-action role) and has to rapidly navigate political and military forc es to decide whether or not to take action.\n\nA lot of viewers are prob ably going to be drawn to Eye in the Sky purely to see the final on-scre en performance from one of the finest character actors of a generation: the late\, great Alan Rickman. Thankfully he’s given plenty to work with here\, delivering a performance as nuanced and authoritative as ever.\n \nIt’s particularly good to see the once-promising director Gavin Hood ( Rendition\, Tsotsi) come back to creating the sort of fare he’s cut out for after some disappointing attempts at big budget effects schlock (X-M en Origins: Wolverine and Enders Game were hard to call anything but dis appointing). As always Helen Mirren steals the show – though the role of a tough\, pragmatic Colonel was really a gift that suited her range per fectly rather than something she had to steal in the first place.\n\n\n- Adam Gould URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160709.html#film-3606 SUMMARY:Eye in the Sky LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160716T112700Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160716T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160716T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3607 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nAfter yet another internat ional incident involving The Avengers results in collateral damage\, the leaders of the world decide to form a system of accountability by passi ng an act to regulate superhuman activity. The new status quo fractures the team into two opposing factions\, with Captain America (Evans) on on e side and Avenger-turned-friend-turned-foe Tony Stark (Downey Jr.)\, ak a Iron Man\, on the other.\n\nStill having trust issues after revelation s that his last employer\, S.H.I.E.L.D.\, turned out to be evil\, Cap mu st also contend with the fact that his long-lost childhood friend Bucky Barnes (Stan) – the amnesiac assassin otherwise known as the Winter Sold ier – is also caught up in the ensuing political fallout.\n\nForced to t ake sides\, the remaining Avengers and their allies – from Black Widow t o Hawkeye\, Falcon\, Vision\, War Machine\, Scarlet Witch\, Ant-Man and more – are left with little choice but to fight to survive in what event ually becomes an all-out war. Regardless of who wins\, you can be sure o f one thing: nothing is ever going to be the same after this.\n\nCaptain America: Civil War is the grown-up cinematic equivalent of taking your ‘good’ toys and turning them against each other when you were a kid. Rem ember that? Yes\, it’s that awesome. Featuring many familiar faces from the past twelve films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe – including some new ones\, one of whom may or may not be able to do whatever a spider ca n – this is THE superhero film of the year. Better luck next time\, Batm an/Superman!\n\n- Adrian Ma URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160716.html#film-3607 SUMMARY:Captain America: Civil War LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160716T133400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160716T113700Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160716T113700Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3608 DESCRIPTION:A heart-stopping disaster drama\, The Finest Hours is based o n the remarkable true story that is now widely regarded as the greatest and most daring rescue mission in US Coast guard history.\n\nOn February 18th\, 1952\, two oil tankers\, including the SS Pendleton\, are caught in the deadly path of a massive storm at the south of Cape Cod\, Massac husetts. With their ship ripped in half by the storm\, the remaining thi rty or so survivors at the stern have only mere hours before the vessel will sink. First assistant engineer Ray Sybert (Affleck) soon realises t he need to inspire his petrified men to work together as a team in order to survive.\n\nMeanwhile\, when news reaches the US Coast Guard station nearby\, a team of four men\, led by Coast Guard Captain Bernie Webber (Pine)\, are ordered to rescue the stranded crew. Poorly equipped with o nly a wooden motor lifeboat and minimal navigation tools – and facing th e extreme winter cold\, hurricane-force winds and colossal waves – they set out on a rescue mission that could not possibly be more dangerous an d life threatening for all involved.\n\nThis is quite possibly Australia n director Craig Gillespie’s most ambitious work to date. With an excell ent cast\, incredible special effects and gripping action\, The Finest H ours is another Disney adventure spectacular on an epic scale.\n\n\n- Ja smine Li URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160716.html#film-3608 SUMMARY:The Finest Hours LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160717T084800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160717T070000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160717T070000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3603 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nDisney has used this conce it only once before\, in the 1973 animated feature Robin Hood. But you k now the kind of thing from other cartoons\, children’s books\, direct fr om the pop culture aether if nowhere else: all the central roles are tak en by various different species of animal\, wear clothes and act just li ke humans (who themselves are absent). And you soon forget what species everyone is\, so you don’t ask questions like: ‘Why doesn’t Robin Hood\, a fox\, eat the rabbit citizens of Sherwood?’\n\nZootopia is set in a f ictional city with every species of mammal except Homo sapiens\, but the twist this time is we’re invited not to forget. There’s a little cheati ng – the story\, and civilisation\, would be over in a few minutes if th e foxes actually ate the rabbits – but with the minimal bending required to get cooperation off the ground\, natural enemies still dislike each other\, and all citizens of Zootopia remain vulpine\, leporine\, ursine and so forth in their personality traits\, hilariously so in the case of the sloths (for whom\, alas\, there is no Latin-derived adjective).\n\n Overlaid on this setting is a zippy race against time as a falsely accus ed fox teams up with a rabbit policewoman – policerabbit – policedoe – w hatever – to prove his innocence\, unmask a conspiracy and ensure that Z ootopia is governed by more than just the law of the jungle.\n\n- Henry Fitzgerald URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160717.html#film-3603 SUMMARY:Zootopia LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160717T104600Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160717T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20160717T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3604 DESCRIPTION:The Jungle Book was the final Disney animated film to be pers onally supervised by founder Walt Disney\, who died during its productio n. After its release in 1967\, the film has since gone on to become one of Disney’s most famous creations – not on the scale of masterpieces lik e Cinderella or Snow White – but beloved nonetheless.\n\nRecently Disney has been creating live-action remakes of its classic animated films to varying degrees of success. As with Alice in Wonderland and Maleficent\, this live-action remake of The Jungle Book relies as almost as heavily on computer generated spectacle as the original relied on hand drawn ani mation. Of the film’s characters\, only the protagonist Mowgli (portraye d by newcomer Sethi) is a real person. All of the animal characters – fr om Bagheera the black panther (Ben Kingsley)\, Baloo the bear (Bill Murr ay)\, Kaa the seductive python (Scarlett Johansson)\, smooth-talking ora ngutan King Louie (Christopher Walken) and fearsome tiger Shere Khan (Id ris Elba) – are life-like CGI creations.\n\nThankfully\, for all its ama zing visual splendour\, Disney has not neglected to retain the heart of what made the original film so special. All of your favourite songs are included here too\, along with some new ones\, and Bill Murray singing “ The Bare Necessities” with great oomph is a particular highlight.\n\n\n- Richard Hills URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20160717.html#film-3604 SUMMARY:The Jungle Book LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR