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:20170717T115900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170717T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170717T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3887 DESCRIPTION:It’s official: Transformers: The Last Knight is the best film of the year. Master director Michael Bay has made one of the greatest a ction/sci-fi films of all time\, up there alongside The Matrix\, Termina tor 2 and Aliens. Don’t be surprised to see Mark Wahlberg\, Anthony Hopk ins and Bay up on the Oscar podium come February…\n\nWho am I kidding? A fter 10 years of this stuff\, you know what you’re getting into. And if you don’t by now\, just stick to the bit above.\n\nThe fifth instalment in the hugely popular franchise (the last two grossed more than $1 billi on each) sees humans and Transformers at war. Inventor Cade Yeager (Wahl berg) joins forces with an English historian (Hopkins) and an Oxford pro fessor (Haddock) to locate the all-powerful staff of Merlin (I kid you n ot) that is key to ending the conflict and saving the world. As it turns out\, the Transformers’ existence on Earth dates back much further than we thought.\n\nThrow in copious slow-mo shots\, sunsets\, shouting\, ex plosions\, bombastic music\, banter\, and giant robots duking it out in semi-coherent yet visually arresting action sequences\, and you’ve prett y much got the gist. If nothing else\, Transformers: The Last Knight is sure to give you plenty of bang for your buck... which isn’t hard to do\ , given that this is a free screening!\n\n\n- Adrian Ma URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170717.html#film-3887 SUMMARY:Transformers: The Last Knight (Free Screening) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170719T111800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170719T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170719T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3888 DESCRIPTION:Tony Webster (Broadbent) is a semi-retired 70-something curmu dgeon living in London. He remains friends with his ex-wife Margaret (Wa lter)\, as they mutually support their pregnant single daughter\, Susie (Michelle Dockery)\, and sometimes meet to discuss their lives over a po t of tea. \n\nTony’s stable\, predictable life is interrupted when a sol icitor’s letter arrives unexpectedly informing him that he’s been bequea thed an old diary by the recently departed mother of an old girlfriend ( played in the present day by Rampling). The executor won’t forward the d iary\, however\, so it’s up to Tony to track it down.\n\nAll this takes him back to his life as a young adult with its challenges\, its awkward naivety\, its loves and friendships. Through flashbacks we see the past as Tony remembers it\, and then a slow realisation and personal resoluti on as the uncomfortable truth emerges. \n\nThis film is likely to be par ticularly understood by\, and resonate with\, babyboomers who lived thro ugh the 1960s and its mores and morals. That said\, this is an intellige nt\, thoughtful drama with intelligent\, thoughtful performances that wi ll keep you guessing. Much like our perception of the past\, opinions on this film vary widely\, so see it and make up your own mind.\n\n\n- Dal las Stowe URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170719.html#film-3888 SUMMARY:The Sense of an Ending LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170720T111500Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170720T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170720T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3889 DESCRIPTION:Every so often you get a movie that plays its cards very clos e to its chest. So much of the film remains open to interpretation\, and what you are left with is mood and sensation rather than a simple begin ning\, middle and end that guides you comfortably through its world. Suc h a film is Personal Shopper. It features ghosts and an obsessive stalke r... but it’s also a story of grief\, and of wanting to be anything but who you are.\n\nAt the centre is Kristen Stewart\, who plays an American in France whose brother has recently died. As they both believed in spi ritualism\, she’s looking for a sign that he’s still accessible in some kind of afterlife – but her quest for him leads her to find something en tirely different.\n\nDirector Olivier Assayas has been around since the early ’80s\, but his most recent films with Stewart (this and Clouds of Sils Maria) shows he’s lost none of his considerable edge. This is a maj or international work that’s getting its Canberra premiere at the ANU Fi lm Group. Don’t miss out.\n\n\n- Simon Tolhurst URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170720.html#film-3889 SUMMARY:Personal Shopper LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170721T111400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170721T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170721T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3890 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nChris (Kaluuya)\, a middle -class African-American\, is headed to small-town USA to meet the family of his Caucasian girlfriend\, Rose (Williams)\, at their isolated prope rty. The meet starts out well\, with Rose’s parents (Keener and Whitford ) almost too inviting to their newcomer. \n\nSomething doesn’t seem quit e right with her brother Jeremy (Caleb Landry Jones)\, however\, and the African-American family servants seem out-of-place. Eventually\, the ab undance of white bread small-town charm proves overwhelming when family friends descend on the property for an unexpected garden party – but by that point it is too late to get out.\n\nGet Out plays out like a modern episode of “The Twilight Zone”\, albeit with much higher production val ues and from the other side of the pond. Suffice to say that it is best to head into this movie knowing as little about the plot as possible to get the most out of it.\n\nWorking equally well as a black comedy and a paranoid thriller\, the film lampoons modern racial and class tensions w ith surprising subtlety\, particularly compared to the sketch comedy tha t writer-director Jordan Peele is best known for. Both the humour and pl ot reveal layer upon layer throughout the film\, with its twists taking viewers to a point they are unlikely to have predicted.\n\n- Adam Gould URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170721.html#film-3890 SUMMARY:Get Out LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170721T133500Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170721T112400Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170721T112400Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3891 DESCRIPTION:The Wiz is based on the award-winning Broadway show\, which r eimagined L. Frank Baum’s 1900 classic children’s novel as an urban fair y tale chronicling the African-American experience of living in New York City in the 1970s.\n\nAn incredibly creative and inclusive interpretati on\, the film features an entirely African-American cast\, made up of th e most spectacular artists of the time: Diana Ross plays Dorothy\, Micha el Jackson is the Scarecrow\, and the amazing Richard Pryor plays the Wi zard. \n\nI have fond memories of watching this surreal\, colourful clas sic as a kid (except for the creepy subway scene) and revel in the obscu re pop culture references that it has inspired in contemporary media\, i n everything from “Orange is the New Black” to “Family Guy”.\n\nA rare t reat for the senses with amazing set design and catchy and upbeat musica l numbers\, The Wiz is glorious\, campy and maybe a little trashy – but an absolutely iconic film to see on the big screen.\n\n\n- Elyshia Hopki nson URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170721.html#film-3891 SUMMARY:The Wiz LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170722T110300Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170722T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170722T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3892 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nJohn Wick: not a bad movie \, but pretty stock-standard fare. So I was unsure as to why so many fri ends were salivating at the thought of a sequel. However\, as it turns o ut\, not only is Chapter 2 one of those films that supersedes its predec essor in terms of quality\, it is also one of the best action films of t he decade!\n\nAfter coming out of retirement in the last movie to avenge the death of his dog\, John Wick (Reeves) is asked to repay a favour ow ed to a fellow assassin. However\, this turns out to be more complicated than he initially signs on for\, and he soon finds himself staring down the barrel of almost everybody’s firearm. \nBut this movie is not about the plot. It’s about the action set pieces\, and the aesthetics on disp lay here\, through the choreography and production design\, are quite si mply amazing. Returning director Chad Stahelski is almost certainly scho oled in the art of New Hollywood film movement of the ’70s. His staged f ight scenes are so beautiful and exciting that one is happy to forgive t he trope of “one assassin attacks at a time”.\n\nJohn Wick: Chapter 2 ma y not set your mind racing\, but it will certainly jumpstart your heart. \n\n- Travis Cragg URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170722.html#film-3892 SUMMARY:John Wick: Chapter 2 LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170722T125100Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170722T111300Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170722T111300Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3893 DESCRIPTION:It is the year 1997. Manhattan Island has turned into the lar gest prison in the United States\, with inmates left to fend for themsel ves in a feudal makeshift society. When the President (Pleasance) crash lands in Manhattan and is taken hostage\, there is only one thing the mi litary (embodied by Van Cleef) can do: send in the country’s toughest\, baddest mother-flipping outlaw\, Snake Plissken (Russell). \n\nWith 24 h ours to recover the President – and more importantly the nuclear activat ion device attached to his wrist – Plissken enlists the services of a ca bbie (Borgnine) as he shakes down every crook he knows in the joint to t rack down the man.\n\nEscape from New York is a strong contender for the greatest B-Movie of all time. It is well plotted\, knows precisely how ludicrous its premise is\, and fills that premise with surprisingly well constructed archetypal characters that manage to pull off serious drama and tension whilst revelling in their own absurdity. More importantly\, the action is first-rate despite the film’s relatively limited budget. It is a rare feat to pull off nudge-and-wink humour and maintain badass credibility\, but Escape from New York is a rare gem in every way.\n\n\n - Adam Gould URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170722.html#film-3893 SUMMARY:Escape from New York LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170726T112400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170726T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170726T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3894 DESCRIPTION:François Ozon can do anything with a light and graceful touch – even a movie about teenage prostitution (Young & Beautiful)\, and an excellent one at that\, which we screened in 2014. This time he works si milar magic on a story of loss after the First World War.\n\nIn Quedlinb urg\, Germany\, Frantz – killed in battle\, seen in flashback only – is still being mourned by his family and fiancé Anna (Beer). Anna begins to notice an unknown Frenchman (Niney) visiting Frantz’s grave. He then vi sits the family\, saying he knew Frantz before the war – and now the mem ory of Frantz becomes a bond between the two of them. But the Frenchman is holding back a dark secret. It’s best if I keep this secret. It may h ave been best if he did\, too.\n\nA technical note that may bore you\, b ut please indulge me: this film is in black and white (with occasional\, emotionally meaningful flashes of colour). For decades (’80s\, ’90s\, n oughties)\, black and white films tended to look dreadful\, because they were really shot and even printed in colour\, making them look like mon ochromatic mould. Frantz was also shot on 35mm colour film\, but graded digitally into the purest black and white. Non-technical version of this note: the black and white is creamy and fresh and wonderful\; it makes us feel as though we’re walking through a lost age.\n\n\n- Henry Fitzger ald URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170726.html#film-3894 SUMMARY:Frantz LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170727T114900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170727T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170727T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3895 DESCRIPTION:I’m not usually one to read film reviews before I see a film\ , which I guess is strange given I’m currently writing this review – but All Eyez On Me is different. I’d heard so many mixed reviews about it t hat I was curious to see how people could view a movie so differently.\n \nThe film takes on the difficult and dramatic life of prolific rapper\, actor\, poet and activist Tupac Shakur. We follow him from his early da ys in New York to becoming one of the world’s most recognised voices bef ore his untimely death at age 25. All Eyez on Me captures his story in a real and entertaining way that works for his legion of fans\, as well a s being accessible to those that aren’t very familiar with him or his mu sic. \n\nI don’t think any Tupac biopic would satisfy all of the people who claim to protect his legacy – this one took about 20 years of arguin g to get it to the big screen and some are still unhappy! But whether yo u’re a fan of the man\, or just enjoy his music\, I recommend this film. My highlight – other than the soundtrack – is newcomer Demetrius Shipp Jr.’s uncanny performance\, which is worthy of Tupac’s incredible talent and charisma.\n\n\n- Tamara Cain URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170727.html#film-3895 SUMMARY:All Eyez on Me LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170728T115100Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170728T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170728T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3896 DESCRIPTION:Diana (Gadot) is an Amazon princess\, living on the sheltered island paradise of Themyscira and being trained to be the ultimate warr ior. When American pilot Steve Trevor (Pine) crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world\, Diana becomes convinced the war is the work of Ares\, the God of War\, and that she i s the only one who can stop the threat. \n\nWatching Wonder Woman (who i s never actually referred to as such) be a true badass was a joy. Gadot’ s athleticism makes her a truly believable superhero\, but it’s her hear t\, her ability to care for others\, and her hope for the good of the hu man race that makes her a true hero. There are plenty of light-hearted m oments too – as Diana discovers many ‘cultural’ differences in the moder n world – that provide balance to the heavier tone of the war scenes.\n\ nIt is wonderful that we finally have a female-led superhero movie – and one that is actually good. My two girls’ eyes light up at the mere ment ion of Wonder Woman\, so it’s unfortunate that they are still too young to watch this movie.\n\n\n- Jacinta Gould URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170728.html#film-3896 SUMMARY:Wonder Woman (Free Screening) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170729T083000Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170729T070000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170729T070000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3897 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nDespicable Me 3 continues the adventures of Gru\, Lucy\, their daughters Margo\, Edith and Agnes a nd\, of course\, those little yellow bundles of crazy known as the Minio ns. \n\nNow a fully-fledged agent of the Anti-Villain League\, Gru (Carr ell) has put his days of supervillainy behind him in exchange for the qu iet life of a good guy. But he’s about to face off against his most form idable enemy to date when former child star-turned-supervillain Balthaza r Bratt (Parker) emerges from obscurity to seek revenge against Hollywoo d for cancelling his TV series from the 1980s. Armed with all manner of ’80s-inspired weaponry\, Bratt humiliates Gru in a heist that costs him his job.\n\nAlready in the midst of a major identity crisis\, Gru also l earns that his loyal Minions are unhappy with his lack of evildoing\, an d walk out on him. He then conveniently discovers that he has a long-los t twin brother\, Dru (also Carrell)\, who wants Gru to team up with him for a criminal heist and return to their family legacy of villainy. \n\n Will Gru rediscover how good it is to be bad? Will he be able to defeat the mullet-haired\, shoulder-pad-wearing\, keytar-playing Bratt? What ot her pop music hits from the ’80s will we nostalgically hear? The answers to all these and more await. If you enjoyed the previous entries in the franchise – or even if you didn’t – you’ll find plenty to laugh at here .\n\n- Matthew Auckett URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170729.html#film-3897 SUMMARY:Despicable Me 3 LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170729T105000Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170729T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170729T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3898 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nA new world of gods and mo nsters kicks off Universal Studios’ ambitious Dark Universe of interconn ected films\, drawing upon their long history of monster features – over 90 films between the 1920s and 1950s – and reviving them for a modern-d ay audience.\n\nShepherding in this new era of Universal horror is none other than Tom Cruise\, playing Nick Morton\, who is basically Indiana J ones without the fedora\, whip\, or PhD. We meet Nick in modern-day Iraq where he inadvertently stumbles upon an underground tomb. He hopes ther e’s a quick buck to be made from the discovery\, but fate – and a spirit ed archaeologist (Wallis) – has other plans.\n\nThe tomb houses a sarcop hagus containing the ancient corpse of Princess Ahmanet (Boutella)\, the power-hungry daughter of the pharaoh who murdered her way to the throne before being buried alive as punishment. Needless to say\, she didn’t d ie happy. And now thanks to Nick’s actions – and an unfinished pact the princess made with the evil Egyptian god Set – she may get her revenge y et.\n\nThe Mummy packs in a lot into 110 minutes: scares\, stunts\, anci ent artefacts\, zombies\, ghosts\, and lots of running (of course). Russ ell Crowe even shows up as Dr. Jekyll\, the head of a secret society ded icated to battling the supernatural. Just don’t get too wrapped up (ha) in silly things like a logical plot and you’ll have a fun time.\n\n- Adr ian Ma URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170729.html#film-3898 SUMMARY:The Mummy LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170730T112100Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170730T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170730T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3983 DESCRIPTION:Diana (Gadot) is an Amazon princess\, living on the sheltered island paradise of Themyscira and being trained to be the ultimate warr ior. When American pilot Steve Trevor (Pine) crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world\, Diana becomes convinced the war is the work of Ares\, the God of War\, and that she i s the only one who can stop the threat. \n\nWatching Wonder Woman (who i s never actually referred to as such) be a true badass was a joy. Gadot’ s athleticism makes her a truly believable superhero\, but it’s her hear t\, her ability to care for others\, and her hope for the good of the hu man race that makes her a true hero. There are plenty of light-hearted m oments too – as Diana discovers many ‘cultural’ differences in the moder n world – that provide balance to the heavier tone of the war scenes.\n\ nIt is wonderful that we finally have a female-led superhero movie – and one that is actually good. My two girls’ eyes light up at the mere ment ion of Wonder Woman\, so it’s unfortunate that they are still too young to watch this movie.\n\n\n- Jacinta Gould URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170730.html#film-3983 SUMMARY:Wonder Woman (Free Re-Screening) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170802T110200Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170802T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170802T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3899 DESCRIPTION:I absolutely fell in love with Heath Ledger when I first saw him in 10 Things I Hate About You way back in 1999\, and followed him th roughout his incredible career. Like pretty much everyone else\, I was d evastated at the news of his death in 2008\, but was equally blown away by his final performance as The Joker in The Dark Knight.\n\nI Am Heath Ledger is a feature-length documentary that celebrates the life of Ledge r as a man\, artist\, friend\, and father. It provides an intimate look at Heath Ledger through accounts of his friends and family\, and\, most tellingly\, his own personal home movies. Ledger\, it seems\, was never without a camera in hand.\n\nThe film follows not only the turning point s in his acting career\, but a true sense of the admiration and love tha t he attracted. His immediate family\, friends\, and colleagues all pay tribute\, not just to the star who burned out too soon\, but also to the kind and loving man they all adored. I Am Heath Ledger is a wonderful w ay to remember the incredible actor for who he was\, and how he influenc ed the lives of those around him\, including ours.\n\n\n- Elyshia Hopkin son URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170802.html#film-3899 SUMMARY:I Am Heath Ledger LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170803T113900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170803T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170803T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3900 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nThe fifth instalment in a franchise that was first inspired by a Disneyland ride\, this film reads as either a last hurrah for Captain Jack and company – or possibly a ce mentation of the franchise in the league of unending cinematic sagas. Es sentially a series of set pieces\, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Te ll No Tales is large in scope\, and still surprisingly creative in a Loo ney Tunes sort of way.\n\nIf nothing else\, the film’s visual style is f antastic. The villain\, Captain Salazar (Bardem)\, is not only dead\, bu t also appears to be perpetually underwater. The film is ever-surprising \, with interesting concepts and imagery pulled off with aplomb by its v isual effects artists. \n\nNarratively\, Dead Men Tell No Tales goes bac k to the franchise’s roots: a plucky young girl and a naïve young man ar e thrown together in an adventure that just happens to run them across t he path of Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp). This relegates Jack once again t o the role of side character – and it’s all the better for it. Wrapping up some loose ends from the original trilogy\, fans of the franchise wil l still find much to enjoy.\n\n- Josh Paul URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170803.html#film-3900 SUMMARY:Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170804T111200Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170804T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170804T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3901 DESCRIPTION:Mia Hansen-Løve has directed two earlier films I absolutely l øve (sorry): Father of My Children and Goodbye First Love. They seemingl y have completely different subjects\, and it was only recently I realis ed they’re about the same thing: people getting on with their lives afte r some form of abandonment.\n\nIn this film\, Nathalie (Huppert)\, a phi losophy lecturer\, finds her husband is leaving her for another woman – c’est la vie\, no drama\, and in any case both parties are adult about i t. But once alone\, Nathalie also finds she’s being abandoned on other f ronts. Her publisher is gradually becoming cooler\, and she’s being edge d out of the inner circle of academia\, which is brought home to her mos t woundingly when a former student she’s deeply fond of ever so subtly c onfirms her feeling that she’s yesterday’s news.\n\nThis is not a film t hat leads up to a climax. It’s about the passage of time healing wounds\ , and perhaps creating new ones. If you’re translating this in your mind as ‘sleep-inducing’\, you have the wrong idea: Hansen-Løve actually mov es briskly through her material\, and we’ve aged a little along with Nat halie before we realise it.\n\n\n- Henry Fitzgerald URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170804.html#film-3901 SUMMARY:Things to Come (L'avenir) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170804T125800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170804T112200Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170804T112200Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3902 DESCRIPTION:A group of friends in Rome are having a dinner party\, when o ne of them to suggest a ‘fun’ game for the evening: they will all place their mobile phones on the table\, and conduct all communication – texts \, tweets\, phone calls – in public\, with everyone else at the table he aring or reading every word. All but one of the guests agree. And the on e who doesn’t agree may well have the least to hide. Friendships and rel ationships will be strained to breaking point by the end of the evening\ , although new understandings will emerge.\n\nProlific director (and co- writer) Paolo Genovese is both professional and civilised in his approac h: we don’t get convoluted French farce\, and we don’t get bleakly misan thropic drama\, either. There’s even one series of revelations (one char acter’s conversation with his daughter) that’s surprisingly sweet.\n\nSi de note: I think there are two possible interpretations of the film’s co nclusion\, and I’d like to collect a vote from anyone willing to stick a round afterwards\, to see how many people else made my initial (and like ly mistaken) interpretation.\n\n\n- Henry Fitzgerald URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170804.html#film-3902 SUMMARY:Perfect Strangers (Perfetti sconosciuti) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170805T103500Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170805T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170805T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3903 DESCRIPTION:His name is Lazenby\, George Lazenby. The Australian model wh o landed his first-ever acting gig taking over the role of James Bond fr om Sean Connery was for years known more for walking away from the role than landing it. Fortunately\, the decades since have been kinder\, with Lazenby’s only outing as 007 – On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – now wi dely regarded as one of the best Bond films.\n\nBut becoming Bond is jus t one part of this surprisingly entertaining docu-drama-comedy about the mechanic-turned-car-salesman-turned-model-turned-actor’s improbable lif e. It turns out Lazenby is a bloody good storyteller\, as we discover fi rsthand when director Josh Greenbaum sits him down in front of a camera and asks him to tell us his larger-than-life story.\n\nAnd while Lazenby ’s story alone is worth the price of admission\, Becoming Bond doesn’t s top there. The film intersperses interview footage with colourful re-ena ctments of his crazy anecdotes\, enlisting actors like Josh Lawson and J ane Seymour to bring it all to life. But despite the film’s irreverence\ , Becoming Bond has much more going for it – as a celebration of life\, a mediation on the choices we make\, and a touching love story at heart. Not to be missed.\n\n\n- Adrian Ma URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170805.html#film-3903 SUMMARY:Becoming Bond LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170805T130700Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170805T104500Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170805T104500Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3904 DESCRIPTION:George Lazenby did Bond only once\, and it was this one: On H er Majesty’s Secret Service. An action epic with intrigue and actual esp ionage\, the film is one of the most loyal screen adaptations of an Ian Fleming novel\, untainted by any of those bonkers Q gadgets.\n\nAt the s tory’s opening\, MI6 doesn’t know where Bond is. The hunt for internatio nal criminal Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Savalas) has taken too long with no r esults. Just when James is to be pulled from the case\, he crosses paths with the beautiful (of course) and enigmatic Tracy di Vincenzo (Rigg)\, whose shady aristocrat father may be able to provide a vital clue to Bl ofeld’s whereabouts.\n\nPerforming all of his hand-to-hand combat stunts himself\, Lazenby’s physical prowess remained unmatched by any of the B onds\, until Daniel Craig came along. The Swiss Alps locations are jaw-d ropping\, and the ski stunts that occur upon it remain an exhilarating h ighpoint in Bond action to this day. And then there’s that final scene: arguably a turning point for the entire series. This is one of the best Bond films\, and all without that “other fella.”\n\n\n- Andrew Wilkinson URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170805.html#film-3904 SUMMARY:On Her Majesty’s Secret Service LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170808T110900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170808T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170808T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3905 DESCRIPTION:PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EMBASSY OF SPAIN\n\nThe Bas que language\, which doesn’t sound quite like any language\, is rarely h eard on screen. This delicate drama\, set in the Basque-speaking region of Spain\, shows how one seemingly innocuous item – a gift of flowers – can touch and change many lives.\n\nFlowers tells two intersecting stori es. First\, stuck in a passionless marriage\, construction site receptio nist Ane finds her life buoyed by an anonymous benefactor who sends flow ers every week. This someone is definitely not her husband. Then\, Beñat \, who works at the same construction site as Ane\, is killed in an auto accident. Ane discovers that her flowers stop arriving\, and she begins to bring flowers to the spot where Beñat died. The appearance of fresh flowers every week mystifies and worries Beñat’s wife\, Lourdes\, who be comes concerned that he may have been having an affair.\n\nThe simple ac t of bringing or giving flowers connects the two families and highlights some of the underlying problems in their relationships\, making for a q uietly powerful and affecting film.\n\n\n- Brett Yeats URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170808.html#film-3905 SUMMARY:Flowers (Loreak) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170810T115100Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170810T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170810T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3906 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nDiana (Gadot) is an Amazon princess\, living on the sheltered island paradise of Themyscira and be ing trained to be the ultimate warrior. When American pilot Steve Trevor (Pine) crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging i n the outside world\, Diana becomes convinced the war is the work of Are s\, the God of War\, and that she is the only one who can stop the threa t. \n\nWatching Wonder Woman (who is never actually referred to as such) be a true badass was a joy. Gadot’s athleticism makes her a truly belie vable superhero\, but it’s her heart\, her ability to care for others\, and her hope for the good of the human race that makes her a true hero. There are plenty of light-hearted moments too – as Diana discovers many ‘cultural’ differences in the modern world – that provide balance to the heavier tone of the war scenes.\n\nIt is wonderful that we finally have a female-led superhero movie – and one that is actually good. My two gi rls’ eyes light up at the mere mention of Wonder Woman\, so it’s unfortu nate that they are still too young to watch this movie.\n\n- Jacinta Gou ld URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170810.html#film-3906 SUMMARY:Wonder Woman (Encore Screening) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170811T110900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170811T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170811T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3907 DESCRIPTION:PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE HIGH COMMISSION OF CANADA\n \nA terminally ill writer – Louis (Ulliel) – returns to his tempestuous family home to announce his impending death to his family. He hasn’t bee n home for 12 years\, so needless to say\, Louis finds it difficult to g et the words out. \n\nHis mother Martine (Baye) is chirpy and excited\; his older brother Antoine (Cassel) challenges everything everyone says\; and his younger sister Suzanne (Léa Seydoux) is curious to learn more a bout this brother she never really knew. And then there’s Antoine’s eeri ly patient wife Catherine (Cotillard)\, who quietly observes everything until she understands what Louis is struggling to tell everyone\, long b efore he can say it out loud.\n\nXavier Dolan’s divisive winner of the G rand Prix jury prize at Cannes – and recipient of a boatload of French a nd Canadian awards – It’s Only the End of the World comes with suspense built in. It maintains an almost unbearable level of tension throughout its 99-minute running time\, as an A-list cast of French actors tear int o each other over long-simmering family conflicts. This is one of those dysfunctional family angst-fests that one finds either powerfully cathar tic or nigh-well intolerable. Which category will you fall into?\n\n\n- Jacinta Gould URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170811.html#film-3907 SUMMARY:It's Only the End of the World (Juste la fin du monde) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170811T130800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170811T111900Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170811T111900Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3908 DESCRIPTION:Gloria (Hathaway) is an out-of-work alcoholic who\, after get ting kicked out of her apartment by her boyfriend (Stevens)\, is forced to leave her life in New York and move back to her small hometown. When news reports surface that a giant creature is destroying Seoul\, Gloria gradually comes to the realisation that she is somehow connected to his far-off phenomenon. \n\nWith the current climate of remakes and sequels\ , Colossal is a welcome change that should be praised for its originalit y: it’s part comedy\, part drama\, part sci-fi\, and part plain weird. \ n\nBeing so used to predictable plots I was pleasantly surprised (and al so a little disturbed) by the twists and turns of the film as it moved a way from the path I was expecting. Both Hathaway and Sudeikis play again st type: Hathaway as the anti-princess with very few redeeming qualities \, and Sudeikis going from affable good guy to something darker. Just li ke the characters on the poster\, you may be left scratching your head a bout what you have just seen\, and will be up for plenty of discussion a bout what it all means.\n\n\n- Jacinta Gould URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170811.html#film-3908 SUMMARY:Colossal LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170812T104500Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170812T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170812T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3909 DESCRIPTION:In 19th century Cornwall\, Philip (Claflin) has been adopted as heir by his cousin Ambrose\, who spends every summer in Italy. One ye ar he starts writing effusive letters about their cousin Rachel. In shor t succession we hear that he’s married her\, that he regrets marrying he r\, and that Rachel may be trying to kill him. Philip goes at once\, to find Ambrose already dead and Rachel nowhere to be found.\n\nAfter he re turns to England\, Philip gets a letter from Rachel\, saying she’d like to visit\; and he is determined to get the better of her by forcing her to confess to Ambrose’s murder. It’s obvious he’s a complete mooncalf\; it would be hard to conceive of anyone he could get the better of – let alone the wily Rachel (Weisz)\, who quickly lulls his suspicions and ind eed induces him to fall in love with her. \n\nThe popular 1951 Daphne du Maurier novel was snapped up instantly by Hollywood and released as a f ilm the year after\, in black and white – in both senses. This film give s us vivid colour\, reigns in the lurid romanticism\, and plays up the m oral ambiguity\, with most clues pleasingly pointing in two directions a t once.\n\n\n- Henry Fitzgerald URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170812.html#film-3909 SUMMARY:My Cousin Rachel LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170812T122500Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170812T105500Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170812T105500Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3910 DESCRIPTION:After the success of Trainwreck\, Amy Schumer is back alongsi de Goldie Hawn\, who makes her first appearance on the big screen in 15 years! Turning 72 this year\, Hawn doesn’t look a day over 50.\n\nEmily (Schumer) is excited to go on a vacation to Ecuador with her boyfriend\, until he dumps her right before the trip. Unable to find another travel partner at the eleventh hour\, Emily asks her mum\, Linda (Hawn)\, to g o with her instead – promising her the ‘fun’ in ‘non-refundable trip’. Y earning to spend more time with her daughter\, Linda agrees to do so\, d espite her fears.\n\nIn Ecuador\, Emily is quickly won over by a guy she meets at the bar\, who promises to bring both Linda and herself on a da y trip to experience some of the country’s ‘culture’. They take the ‘sce nic route’\, and as the title might suggest\, they’re kidnapped. What fo llows is a slew of adventures as they attempt to escape their kidnappers and return home. \n\nPut aside the ugly truths of actual kidnappings fo r a moment\, and enjoy Snatched for its comedic intention. If nothing el se\, I related to the mother-daughter bickering\, and it’s comforting to know that others do it too.\n\n\n- Xin Yi Tan URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170812.html#film-3910 SUMMARY:Snatched LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170816T112800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170816T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170816T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3911 DESCRIPTION:PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EMBASSY OF ISRAEL\n\nInitia lly\, Richard Gere needs all of his ample charisma to make us like the p ushy title character of Norman\, a fellow who’s constantly forging deals – or trying to – schmoozing to the absolute limit with everyone he meet s\, using every contact he has to advance his esoteric business schemes. And what is Norman himself getting out of it all? We gradually realise he’s not in it for the money. He just wants to be... important? popular? useful? respected? It’s hard to tell.\n\nOne day\, Norman buys a pair o f shoes for Micha (Ashkenazi) – a down-and-nearly-out foreign politician visiting New York – scarcely blanching at the thousand-dollar price tag . Years later Micha becomes Prime Minister of Israel\, and when he visit s New York a second time\, he publicly embraces Norman. It’s the best da y of Norman’s life. It’s also the beginning of the end for him.\n\nI rec ognised the tone of this movie from another Israeli production\, Footnot e\, without realising it had the same writer and director. Both films ha ve the same assurance of someone completely in control of telling a stor y\; the same fascination with tiny\, perhaps irresolvable moral dilemmas \; and the same ability to make us feel deeply for the people who trip o ver them.\n\n\n- Henry Fitzgerald URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170816.html#film-3911 SUMMARY:Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170817T113600Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170817T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170817T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3912 DESCRIPTION:PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EMBASSY OF POLAND\n\nFrom t he title of this film\, I wondered why someone would want to tell the st ory of a Warsaw zoo in WWII\, in view of the German-occupied city’s utte r destruction during which many thousands of Poles died. However\, the f ilm is about more than the zoo animals. Zookeepers Antonina and Jan Zabi nski covertly worked with the resistance to save the lives of 298 Jews f rom the Warsaw Ghetto. It ranks up there as one of the rousing stories o f human courage in the face of probably the worst example of vile human bestiality ever witnessed: the Jewish Holocaust. \n\nThe plot pays much attention to trivial and fictitious domestic segments and depictions of star Chastain with her animals. However\, much of the movie is filled wi th emotion and tension\, fear and pain – with the Warsaw Ghetto scenes a spectacle of horror. The story of the people who risked their lives rep eatedly throughout the war is moving and important\, in and of itself. \ n\nYears later\, when asked why they did what they did\, Jan Zabinski an swered\, “I only did my duty – if you can save somebody’s life\, it’s yo ur duty to try.” If only we all could say that about ourselves.\n\n\n- B ob Warn URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170817.html#film-3912 SUMMARY:The Zookeeper’s Wife LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170818T112300Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170818T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170818T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3913 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nBaby (Elgort) is in debt t o criminal mastermind Doc (Spacey). A debt he is steadily paying off by acting as the getaway driver for heists planned by Doc and executed by h is gang of ruthless crooks. Unfortunately for Baby\, he is far too good at his job\, and as the end of his indenture is in sight\, Doc threatens the life of Baby’s new love Deborah (James) if he leaves the gang. Need less to say\, this doesn’t sit well and Baby finds himself fighting for their lives the only way he knows how: behind the wheel.\n\nBaby Driver is a cult film in the making. It moves to the beat of its own drum (lite rally at times\, with a magnificent soundtrack of pop and rock hits span ning the past half decade)\, turning a parade of cheesy B-movie clichés into something that feels fresh at every turn.\n\nLegendary writer-direc tor Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz\, Shaun of the Dead) has outdone himself\, br inging his trademark sense of style and fun to what could have been dark and drab material in any other hands.\n\n- Adam Gould URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170818.html#film-3913 SUMMARY:Baby Driver LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170818T130400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170818T113300Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170818T113300Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3914 DESCRIPTION:What would you rate in a list of cinema’s best shoot-outs? Cl assic film fans would almost certainly throw The Wild Bunch and Taxi Dri ver into the mix. The golden age of recent cinema gives us Heat and The Matrix\, whilst modern cinema lovers would talk about Inglorious Basterd s and John Wick. But what if almost the whole movie was just one long sh ootout scene? Well\, that’s the basic premise that director Wheatley has gone with in Free Fire.\n\nThe scene is set early\, with a deal between a couple of IRA soldiers and some gun dealers facilitated by a business woman. But a petty feud between two of the less intelligent backup muscl emen causes a spark that just escalates into the real show: one of the c raziest\, funniest and longest gunplays you’ve ever seen onscreen.\n\nTh ere’s so much to love about this movie. The characters are largely playe d for laughs. The gunplay is so anarchic that you will be doing well to keep track of who is where\, but that level of muddled-ness works so wel l. And the level to which some of these guys can stay alive despite the number of bullet and otherwise induced injuries they get is just absurd (in a good way).\n\nIf you like a bit of chaotic joy\, then don’t miss F ree Fire!\n\n\n- Travis Cragg URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170818.html#film-3914 SUMMARY:Free Fire LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170819T111300Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170819T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170819T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3915 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nAs a life-long Spider-Man fan\, this is a film I never thought would ever happen. Two major studio s – Sony\, rights holders to the Spider-Man franchise\, and Disney/Marve l with its Cinematic Universe (MCU) – putting differences aside to share their characters in an unprecedented move. Of course\, it probably didn ’t hurt that a Spider-Man film featuring The Avengers (or vice versa) is practically guaranteed to earn a gazillion dollars.\n\nAnd so comes Spi der-Man: Homecoming\, picking up immediately after last year’s Captain A merica: Civil War first introduced Tom Holland’s teenaged Peter Parker t o the MCU. Back at home in New York City\, Peter struggles to fall back into his daily routine at school. He’s gotten a taste of the hero life a nd is desperate to prove himself worthy to his new mentor\, Tony Stark ( Downey\, Jr.). Peter soon gets more than he asked for\, however\, when t he villainous Vulture (Keaton) emerges as a new threat.\n\nSpider-Man’s homecoming to the world he belongs is everything we could have hoped for – a fun\, inventive\, spectacular joy from start to finish. With Peter Parker\, the MCU gains something it doesn’t have in Captain America or T hor: an innocent\, relatable\, high schooler’s perspective on the world of superheroes. And the film as a result is John Hughes by way of a radi oactive spider bite. This is your friendly\, neighbourhood Spider-Man fi nally done right.\n\n- Adrian Ma URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170819.html#film-3915 SUMMARY:Spider-Man: Homecoming LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170819T130400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170819T112300Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170819T112300Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3916 DESCRIPTION:My idea of a rough night is probably one where my bed’s uncom fortable – but when you’re Scarlett Johansson\, about to be married\, an d have a bunch of crazy friends\, the definition spans a lot wider. \n\n Jess (Johansson) is running for public office and has a million things s till needing to be done\, with barely enough time to spend with her fian cé. She secretly dreads the bachelorette weekend that her best friend Al ice (Bell) has planned for her. Alice\, on the other hand\, is constantl y reminiscing about the good ol’ college days with Jess\, and has big pl ans for an unforgettable weekend involving tickets to a foam party. Of c ourse\, if that was it\, it wouldn’t be too rough of a night\, would it? No\, the formula for a night of epic proportions requires alcohol\, dru gs\, a stripper\, and maybe even murder!\n\nRough Night is a refreshing change of pace for Johansson. In the last few years\, she has pretty muc h only appeared in action flicks\, dressed in variations of tight clothi ng – think Ghost in the Shell or Marvel’s Black Widow – not that I shoul d be complaining about a bod like hers.\n\nTop tip: hang around after th e movie for bonus scenes during and after the end credits to obtain answ ers to questions you might not realise hadn’t been addressed yet.\n\n\n- Xin Yi Tan URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170819.html#film-3916 SUMMARY:Rough Night LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170822T112700Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170822T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170822T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3917 DESCRIPTION:After the Storm is the latest film by noted Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda\, whose last two films – Our Little Sister and Like Fa ther\, Like Son – also screened at the ANU Film Group. \n\nA thoughtful and moving meditation on family life and responsibilities\, the film ask s questions about what happens when our lives don’t turn out the way we imagined\; the sacrifices we make for family\; and what\, in the end\, m akes living truly meaningful. \n\nFeaturing strong performances by a num ber of actors that regularly appear in Koreeda’s films\, this is a class ically made Japanese family drama as only Koreeda can make. It takes pla ce over a few days in the life of former novelist and current private de tective Ryota\, chronicling his sometimes-tense relationships with his e x-wife\, son\, and elderly mother\, Yoshiko. Not much action occurs beyo nd the titular storm\, which results in the family sheltering together a t Yoshiko’s home for the night\, but in its quiet moments and conversati ons\, it captures the bittersweet and painful realities of life.\n\n\n- Kellie Takenaka URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170822.html#film-3917 SUMMARY:After the Storm (Umi yori mo mada fukaku) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170824T115600Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170824T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170824T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3918 DESCRIPTION:Clara (Braga) is a 65 year-old retired journalist and widow. She lives in an apartment on Boa Viagem Avenue\, where she raised her th ree children and has lived most of her life. Planning on developing new real estate in the area\, the owners of a construction company have alre ady acquired almost all units in the coveted Aquarius building – except Clara’s. Her refusal to sell the place she calls home sets off a series of threats intended to force her into changing her mind. \n\nAlthough th e real estate struggle is a current issue for many Australians\, this pa rticular story happens in Recife\, in Northeastern Brazil. The premise m ay remind Australian audiences of The Castle\, but Aquarius is no comedy : it is a film about empathy\, nostalgia\, and about learning – or not – and how to let go. \n\nAquarius was launched during political unrest in Brazil\, and much of the talk about director Kleber Mendonça Filho’s fi lm focused on his political views\, instead of the movie itself. Despite the polemic\, the movie has won awards at film festivals all around the world\, and was nominated for the Palme D’Or in Cannes last year.\n\n\n - Ana Paula Lacerda URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170824.html#film-3918 SUMMARY:Aquarius LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170825T123000Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170825T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170825T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3919 DESCRIPTION:Don’t you just love it when you can support something really cool and receive something great for yourself in the process?\n\nThat’s what’s awesome about our Annual Trivia Night. As a not-for-profit organi sation we really appreciate your help with our fundraising efforts\, but by coming along you also get a great night out. Use it as reason to cat ch up with friends\, or a chance to free up some space in your brain. Ei ther way\, it’s a win-win!\n\nWe have some amazing prize sponsors again this year. All you have to do to be in the running to win some great pri zes is just turn up\, and you’ll already stand a chance to win. And whil e at least some interest in movies and/or movie knowledge may be desirab le\, you definitely don’t need to be a film nerd to enjoy yourself. Win or lose\, we promise that you’ll have a great time.\n\nVisit www.anufg.o rg.au for more information!\n\n\n- ANU Film Group URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170825.html#film-3919 SUMMARY:Annual Trivia Night LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170826T084900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170826T070000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170826T070000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3920 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nWith fears of retirement a nd his racing days coming to an end\, anthropomorphic car Lightning McQu een (Wilson) comes to the realisation he may never be as fast as the new er\, flashier cars. After a spectacular crash during the final race of t he season\, McQueen discovers that he needs help – in the form an eager\ , young race technician (Alonzo) – to get him back on his feet (or wheel s).\n\nPixar clearly didn’t want to risk going onto the track and doing the same thing again\, so have changed gears by raising the emotional st akes for McQueen. The film delves deeper than previous instalments into themes of jealousy\, rivalry and the tall poppy syndrome experienced by many elite athletes on their decline.\n\nThe franchise itself may well b e approaching the final chequered flag\, but this is one Cars film truly worthy of the Pixar name. I suggest you bring your kids along to our sc reening to celebrate the spectacular racing sequences on the big screen for what could well be McQueen’s last lap around the circuit.\n\n- Nick Hetherington URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170826.html#film-3920 SUMMARY:Cars 3 LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170826T102900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170826T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170826T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3921 DESCRIPTION:Believe it or not\, this isn’t the umpteenth adaptation of Sh akespeare’s Scottish tragedy. Nor is it a Maleficent-style re-imagining told from the point of view of Lady Macbeth. This powerfully intoxicatin g British drama is actually an adaptation of an 1865 novella by Russian author Nikolai Leskov – “Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District” – albeit with a sensibly shortened (and more pronounceable) new title.\n\nIn Vict orian-era rural England\, 17-year-old Katherine (Pugh) has been sold by her family into a loveless marriage with a domineering man twice her age . Stifled by her frustrating existence\, she enters into a lustful affai r with an uncouth worker (Jarvis) on her husband’s estate. \n\nBut when she is expectedly reprimanded for her adultery\, Katherine doesn’t slink away into emotionally conflicted soliloquies a la the heroines of Bront ë and Austen. Instead\, she finds a powerful force awakened within her a nd is empowered to take whatever action is necessary to ensure her indep endence. Yes\, even murder.\n\nAt just 19 years of age\, Florence Pugh d elivers a sensational and electric performance that announces her as a m ajor talent to be watched. With nods to timely race and gender issues\, and an adrenaline shot of gothic melodrama\, Lady Macbeth reinvigorates a traditionally-stuffy genre and\, for that alone\, demands to be seen.\ n\n\n- Matthew Auckett URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170826.html#film-3921 SUMMARY:Lady Macbeth LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170830T113800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170830T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170830T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3922 DESCRIPTION:PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EMBASSY OF ROMANIA\n\nDr. R oman Aldea lives in a grim-looking block of apartments in Cluj\, Romania \, with his librarian wife\, and his pretty\, intelligent daughter\, Eli za. Eliza is about to take her vital graduation exams and a scholarship to Cambridge is only a confirmation away. On the morning of the exam\, h owever\, Eliza is assaulted\, robbed and almost raped. In fighting off h er attacker\, she breaks her wrist and fears that she will be unable to properly write her exams.\n\nAldea is fanatical about wanting his daught er to get out of the country he’s come to hate\, and to make a life for herself in the West. Everyone has an agenda\, and every character is red eemable in some manner\, but no one is innocent. Strip away the differen ces between their Romanian culture and our own\, and the film boils down to a father doing what’s best for his daughter. \n\nDirector Cristian M ungiu’s sympathy for all his characters forces us to recognise that ever yone\, no matter how corrupt or self-serving\, is just trying to make th e best of the life they’re given. A masterful look at the complex moral choices and compromises some people make when desperation takes hold.\n\ n\n- Brett Yeats URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170830.html#film-3922 SUMMARY:Graduation (Bacalaureat) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170831T114300Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170831T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170831T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3923 DESCRIPTION:The year is 1914. Mikael (Isaac) is an Armenian apothecary in a small mountain village\, who longs to be a doctor. To achieve his goa l\, he commits himself to a marriage pact with a local girl\, receiving a dowry that will allow him to attend medical school in Constantinople. Once in the big city\, he meets glamorous Armenian artist Ana (Le Bon) a nd sparks fly. Though as luck would have it\, Ana is already committed t o Chris (Bale)\, a famous American photojournalist\, who isn’t about to give Ana up without a fight.\n\nIf a love triangle isn’t complicated eno ugh\, all three are about to be swept up in something even bigger when t he Ottoman Empire enters World War I – leading to the Armenian Genocide\ , in which the Turkish government slaughtered more than a million Armeni ans. \n\nPart sprawling war romance\, part sobering reminder of the atro cities of war\, The Promise is a handsome\, well-made film. Director Ter ry George (Hotel Rwanda) may be in familiar territory\, but he’s no Davi d Lean\, and this ambitious historical epic can prove derivative\, even corny at times. If nothing else\, it’s a film that deserves important cr edit for shining a light on a crime that is controversially still being contested by some to this day.\n\n\n- Adrian Ma URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170831.html#film-3923 SUMMARY:The Promise LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170901T110400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170901T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170901T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3924 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nAt the 2017 Cannes Film Fe stival\, Sofia Coppola became only the second woman in the festival’s 70 -year history to win the Best Director prize. She did so with The Beguil ed\, which has also earned the most favourable reviews for a film by any Coppola since her own 2003 masterpiece\, Lost in Translation. \nThe fil m follows an Irish immigrant (Farrell) in 1864 who is desperately lookin g for a way out of the American Civil War. He ends up taking refuge in a n all-girls schoolhouse run by a devout Christian headmistress (Kidman). As its sheltered young women provide refuge and tend to the man’s wound s\, the house is taken over with sexual tension and dangerous rivalries\ , and taboos are broken in an unexpected turn of events.\n\nAt a runtime of just 94 minutes\, Coppola has stripped Thomas P. Cullinan’s source n ovel – the basis for a male-centric 1971 Clint Eastwood-starring adaptat ion – down to its bare bones\, and flipped it on its head. The end resul t is the most narratively structured film of her career\, and also the m ost conventionally entertaining. \n\nThe reliably brilliant Farrell and Kidman give impressive performances\, but it is Kirsten Dunst who steals the film as the lonely school teacher’s assistant. It is refreshing to see such fully realised characters with their own agencies and temptatio ns\, so much so that when Farrell’s character at one point screams\, “Yo u vengeful bitches!”\, it is as empowering as it is riveting.\n\n- Abdul la Rasheed URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170901.html#film-3924 SUMMARY:The Beguiled LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170902T112000Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170902T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170902T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3926 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nWar for the Planet of the Apes sets itself up as the most epic\, thrilling and heartstring-tugging instalment in the riveting Apes prequel saga. \n\nTwo years on\, weary and experienced ape leader Caesar (played once again in a stunning motio n capture performance by Andy Serkis) finds himself dealing with a divid ed society of apes\, along with his own personal demons. When their conf lict with the humans erupts into a deadly invasion of the apes’ abode\, Caesar is no longer able to preach tolerance and sets out to seek reveng e against the tyrannical military officer (Harrelson) responsible. To do so\, he embarks on an epic journey with a few trusted allies – and some new acquaintances – through the harsh winter.\n\nIn addition to the ret urning Serkis and other familiar faces\, the film also sees a number of new additions. Woody Harrelson is completely and brilliantly unhinged as the nameless Colonel\, while Steve Zahn also shines in a unique comic t urn as the goofy Bad Ape. \n\nThe stakes have never been higher\, with t he conflict – including within Caesar’s soul – propelling the apes and h umans to the ultimate confrontation. War has finally come as the Planet of the Apes trilogy reaches its epic conclusion\, so strap in for the ri de.\n\n- Thomas O’Meara URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170902.html#film-3926 SUMMARY:War for the Planet of the Apes LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170902T130400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170902T113000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170902T113000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3927 DESCRIPTION:I feel like Woody Harrelson is making a comeback in a really big way. Not that he ever completely fell off the radar\, but at the mom ent he’s absolutely everywhere\, walking the line between the blockbuste r and quirky indie film with ease.\n\nWilson is about a lonely\, neuroti c middle-aged misanthrope. He is energetic\, impulsive\, and far too hon est. He says things that people shouldn’t say\, with no boundaries. In h is thick rimmed spectacles he reminds me of Woody Allen in Annie Hall… e xcept more repugnant. \n\nWilson reunites with his estranged wife (Dern) and gets a shot at happiness when he learns he has a teenage daughter ( Amara) he has never met. In his uniquely outrageous and slightly twisted way\, he sets out to connect with her.\n\nBased on a graphic novel and directed by Craig Johnson (The Skeleton Twins)\, Wilson is quirky and fu nny – a little bit ridiculous\, but overall an excellent and heartwarmin g film. Woody Harrelson is absolutely astounding and if you enjoyed The Edge of Seventeen earlier this year\, you just have to see Wilson.\n\n\n - Elyshia Hopkinson URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170902.html#film-3927 SUMMARY:Wilson LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170905T111100Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170905T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170905T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3928 DESCRIPTION:PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EMBASSY OF DENMARK\n\nWorld War II has just ended\, and German soldiers in Denmark are readying to leave for home. But before they go\, the Danes want their beaches back – they’re demanding that the Germans stick around to remove the two milli on mines they buried in the country’s North Sea shoreline before they le ave. Sound fair? Unfortunately\, the German forces available for the tas k are no longer the ones who invaded in 1940\; they’re conscripted troop s from later in the war – no more than teenagers\, some of them not even that.\n\nA veteran (Møller) is put in charge of a group of these boys. There’s no love lost – not at first\, anyway\; after years of Nazi occup ation he’s not inclined to forgive these soldiers merely because they’re young. But nor does he want them to die\, and after a while he finds hi mself fighting for them\, worried that their nerves are gradually being worn raw by the constant\, underlying danger of a sudden explosion. Our nerves in the audience aren’t exactly spared\, either.\n\nThis is a quie t film (except when it is suddenly very loud)\, and one which finds huma nity in surprising places. One word of warning\, though: before watching \, you might want to visit an excellent website that was recommended to me: www.doesthedogdie.com. I believe it’s better to know.\n\n\n- Henry F itzgerald URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170905.html#film-3928 SUMMARY:Land of Mine (Under sandet) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170907T113900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170907T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170907T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3929 DESCRIPTION:PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ANU COLLEGE OF ASIA AND THE PACIFIC\n\nORIGINAL JAPANESE LANGUAGE VERSION WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES\n\ nShoko is a largely deaf student who is mercilessly bullied when she mov es to a new school\, and the worst of her tormentors is a boy named Shoy a. When the abuse becomes too much and Shoko has to change schools again \, all Shoya’s friends and accomplices turn on Shoya himself – the neare st available target\, and someone it’s possible to pick on and feel virt uous doing so at the same time. \nBy high school\, the teenaged Shoya is utterly alone\, guilt-ridden\, and flirting with suicide. Then he runs into Shoko a second time\, and wonders if he can somehow redeem himself. \n\nThis is the director’s third animated feature (already\, at the age of 32)\, but her first stand-alone work – as in\, the first that’s not j ust a continuation of a TV series. Accordingly\, she and Kyoto Animation have lavished extra care on it\, bringing a jewelled loveliness to the quieter moments. There are touches that might ordinarily be excessive – koi\, raindrops and cherry blossoms like you wouldn’t believe – but here seems scarcely enough for the characters’ wounded feelings\, and our fe elings for those feelings. The story (adapted\, with some liberties\, fr om an acclaimed manga some years earlier) does not simply follow lines o f least resistance\, and takes us places we don’t expect.\n\n\n- Henry F itzgerald URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170907.html#film-3929 SUMMARY:A Silent Voice (Koe no katachi) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170908T110400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170908T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170908T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3930 DESCRIPTION:In the back office of a factory\, foreman Peter (Mendelsohn) is confronted by Una (Mara). Fifteen years ago\, she knew him as Ray\; h e was her neighbour\, and they fell into a relationship that ended with an ill-conceived plan to run off together. Now\, still haunted by the fa llout\, Una wants to understand what went on and how she can move forwar d. But Peter has a new life\, one that seems safe and normal\, and Una’s yearning\, broken desire threatens it all.\n\nDavid Harrower’s stage pl ay (originally titled “Blackbird”) is brought to the screen by Australia n stage director Benedict Andrews\, making his film debut. But this is n o straight play-to-film translation – it uses tight\, claustrophobic clo se-ups\, flashbacks\, and glimpses of the outside world to add context t o this meeting of minds. It’s an adult film about how passion and obsess ion can inflict wounds that never heal. Incredibly confronting\, both ke y performers seize the opportunity to create real\, damaged\, dangerous people in a hothouse situation.\n\nDon’t come to this expecting easy ans wers or happy endings. Harrower’s play has divided audiences around the world\, and Andrews presents it uncompromisingly\, in all of its uncomfo rtable\, messy nature. If you bring your partner or a friend\, you will probably come out arguing about this film – so be prepared to be challen ged\, confronted\, and provoked.\n\n\n- Simon Tolhurst URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170908.html#film-3930 SUMMARY:Una LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170908T124400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170908T111400Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170908T111400Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3931 DESCRIPTION:C and M are a young couple moving into a house together. Afte r C (Affleck) dies in a car accident\, he awakens to find himself as a g host\, able to walk the earth and observe. He goes to his suburban home and watches M’s life continue as she mourns him.\n\nThe quirky hook of t he film is of course the rendering of the ghost. When I say ghost\, I do n’t mean some kind of computer-y creation\; A Ghost Story features an ac tual man (an Academy Award winner\, no less) in an actual white sheet. I t’s like the easiest Halloween costume ever\, but treated with all the s eriousness of a real ghost. \n\nAnd if you can swallow that schtick – if you can accept that this is the vision the filmmakers have set and run with it – A Ghost Story is a marvellous and rewarding picture. What appe ar to be cheap tricks and quirky gimmicks\, like the characters names or the ghost costume\, actually give way to an extraordinary and poetic fi lm that feels so complete\, focused and singular in its vision. \nUltima tely\, the film is something of a meditation on life\, on time\, on lega cy\, and our connections to people. It’s a slow burn\, seemingly meander ing in places\, but ultimately a satisfying poetic experience worth ever y minute on the big screen.\n\n\n- Josh Paul URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170908.html#film-3931 SUMMARY:A Ghost Story LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170909T105800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170909T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170909T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3932 DESCRIPTION:Mike Mills’s breakout feature\, 2010’s acclaimed Beginners to ld the semi-autobiographical story of his father. Now\, with 20th Centur y Women\, he takes on his mother’s story but instead of exploring the re lationship between an adult son and his ageing father as he did in Begin ners\, this film is inspired by his childhood.\n\nAnnette Bening plays D orothea Fields\, a single mother raising her teenage son Jamie (Lucas Ja de Zumann) in Santa Barbara\, California in 1979. Apart from the delight ful character that is his mother\, Jamie’s adolescence is defined by two equally colourful women: Abbie (Gerwig) and Julie (Fanning)\, who Dorot hea asks to help navigate Jamie through puberty. The film tracks Jamie’s coming-of-age story surrounded by these 20th century women. And like th e best coming-of-age stories\, the plot of the film just revolves around the interactions of these characters\, from the hilarious to the sad\, and silly to heartfelt. \n\nThe Oscar-nominated writing hits every spot that it aims for in the best of ways\, with an abundance of late ’70s li fe and liveliness to it. But the real winner of the film is the reliably brilliant Bening\, who takes the all-too-rare opportunity of a good fem ale lead role at the age of 58\, and revels in it. It is her best perfor mance since The Kids are Alright. Gerwig\, Fanning and Zumann follow her lead in highly\, if not equally\, impressive turns in delivering a stor y inspired by real people that unfolds like something out of a storybook .\n\n\n- Abdulla Rasheed URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170909.html#film-3932 SUMMARY:20th Century Women LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170909T130400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170909T110800Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170909T110800Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3933 DESCRIPTION:Clare (Palmer) is an Aussie photojournalist on a holiday in B erlin. There\, she meets with Andi (Riemelt)\, a charismatic local who a cts as a guide and takes her to many quiet\, abandoned\, but beautiful s ites around the city. There is an instant attraction between them\, and sexual tension soon gives way to passion – and then something unexpected when the romance takes a sinister turn. Clare wakes the following morni ng to discover Andi has left for work and locked her in his apartment\, and it wasn’t accidental. \n\nThis psychological thriller is a Australia n-German co-production with considerable Aussie contribution: interiors were shot in Melbourne\; it’s based on Aussie author Melanie Joosten’s n ovel\; and local Canberra girl Cate Shortland (Somersault) directs. But our best contribution is Teresa Palmer in the lead role. As an actress h er work (Hacksaw Ridge\, Wish You Were Here\, Warm Bodies) is always dep endable\, and nowhere near as recognised as it should be. In this film s he showcases her outstanding talent as much in her ability to convey her complex emotions\, as in the tension she builds for us. In the latter\, she is aided by Bryony Mark’s score\, both combining to create the nerv e-shredding tension required in a film such as this.\n\nBerlin Syndrome is a must-see for thriller lovers.\n\n\n- George Zuber URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170909.html#film-3933 SUMMARY:Berlin Syndrome LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170912T112600Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170912T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170912T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3934 DESCRIPTION:PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE SCANDINAVIAN AUSTRALIAN ASS OCIATION\n\nOve (Lassgård) – the name\, by the way\, has two syllables\; think of it as rhyming with ‘hoover’ – is a retiree who has settled int o the role of petty tyrant of his housing estate. Every morning he does the rounds\, noting every misaligned letterbox and unlatched gate\, with the aim of berating the poor sod responsible.\n\nIn these introductory scenes\, the film sets itself a challenge: to make us come to respect Ov e\, and even (no promises\, but speaking for myself) love him – despite this initially being made as difficult as possible. Two things work to c hange our minds. Firstly\, Ove gets new neighbours\, a young couple\, an d the wife – an adorable Persian woman named Parvaneh (Pars) – manages t o somehow neutralise Ove’s tendency to bark at everyone with the simples t of all strategies: she doesn’t even notice. And secondly\, we’re shown that this prickly old loner doesn’t have quite the past we’d expected. He was once married\, and his hair-trigger willingness to take on the wh ole world in a fight once had a noble and magnificent side. And who know s? Perhaps it can again.\n\nJust as Ove has more emotional complexity th an we’d suspected\, the codger-comedy-of-manners film we are watching do es\, too. It holds on to its comedic status\, but also becomes something richer and lovelier.\n\n\n- Henry Fitzgerald URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170912.html#film-3934 SUMMARY:A Man Called Ove (En man som heter Ove) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170913T110300Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170913T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170913T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3935 DESCRIPTION:PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EMBASSY OF GUATEMALA\n\nThe Mayan people of the Kaqchikel tribe in Guatemala are poor\, uneducated\ , and struggling to make a living off their land\, which so happens to b e on the side of an active volcano. The ‘ixcanul’ (which is Mayan for vo lcano) looms large in the film\, both physically and psychologically as barrier between the people of the village and the rest of the world. \n\ n17-year-old Maria is beautiful and bold\, living with her parents on a coffee plantation. An arranged marriage to the foreman is seen as a chan ce to improve the family’s circumstances but Maria\, like all the young people\, wants to escape the exploitation and poverty by finding a way o ut to the nearby United States. \n\nDirector Jayro Bustamante shows that Mayans are found at the lowest point of the social scale\, and the lowe st among the Mayan population are their women. In his stunning debut fea ture\, he has poignantly captured an intimate and honest depiction of a moment in time of a family caught in the crossroads of tradition and mod ernity. There are universal truths about the human condition that should resonate with the patient viewer. Much like our screening of Tanna last year\, this is rare big-screen opportunity which opens a window on anot her little-seen corner of the world.\n\n\n- Brett Yeats URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170913.html#film-3935 SUMMARY:Ixcanul (Volcano) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170919T111600Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170919T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170919T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3936 DESCRIPTION:PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EMBASSY OF BELGIUM\n\nJenny (Haenel) is a young doctor closing up her practice for the evening when an unidentified woman arrives at the clinic door requiring urgent medic al assistance. Explaining to her intern (Bonnaud) that an overworked doc tor is more likely to make mistakes\, Jenny refuses to re-open the pract ice for this woman\, and is subsequently horrified the next day when she finds out that the woman at the door passed away from her injuries late r that night. \n\nThe film details Jenny’s preoccupation with bringing j ustice to the deceased woman out of overwhelming guilt for not providing her with assistance before she died. Jenny sets forth to figure out not only the unknown woman’s identity\, but also her cause of death.\n\nFan s of directors Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne – who have made a name for t hemselves with socially-conscious dramas such as Two Days\, One Night an d The Kid with a Bike\, both previously shown at the ANU Film Group – as well as all those who like a good detective story\, have much to look f orward to in this film.\n\n\n- Mirella Connell URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170919.html#film-3936 SUMMARY:The Unknown Girl (La fille inconnue) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170921T111600Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170921T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170921T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3937 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nFrom May 26 to June 4\, 19 40\, the British Expeditionary Forces that had landed in France were cut off and surrounded by the German army on the beach of Dunkirk. The Germ an generals ordered the Luftwaffe Air Force to finish off the remaining British soldiers from the air. The situation was dire\, and as the Briti sh public learned more about the plight of their stranded soldiers\, cit izen ships were enlisted to aid in the evacuation of over 300\,000 men.\ n\nDirector Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight\, Inception) – with his c linical\, clean filmmaking and emphasis on epic scope and beauty – paint s a complete picture of events: of both the disastrous retreat and the m iraculous evacuation. Where previous filmic adaptations like Joe Wright’ s Atonement focussed on the mess and despair of the situation\, Nolan’s film is attuned to an different emotional rhythm. \n\nDunkirk is\, of co urse\, spectacular in its visual style. Nolan’s insistence on practical effects\, large cohorts of extras\, and the use of 70mm film contribute to a feast for the senses. He is primarily an ideas man: where his films may lack in character and emotional resonance\, they are always fantast ic works of craftsmanship with heavy thematic weight. This film offers d iffering perspectives from the land\, air and sea\, evoking despair\, fr ustration\, anger\, hopelessness\, hope\, resilience and even triumph.\n \n- Josh Paul URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170921.html#film-3937 SUMMARY:Dunkirk LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170922T111500Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170922T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170922T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3938 DESCRIPTION:It’s June 1944\, and Winston Churchill – the great man who ga ve courage to Britain and the Commonwealth in the dark days of the war – is being increasingly sidelined by Allied generals planning the D-Day l andings in France. \n\nHe is a relic\, for all he has done: a military m an from the age of 19\, war correspondent\, inventor of the military tan k\, Nobel Prize winner\, Navy Minister and then battalion commander in t he trenches of WWI. Now\, at 70 years old\, he is arrogant with his ance stry and pride in the British Empire\, and his sense of personal destiny . \n\nExhausted after five years of war and suffering a personal crisis\ , Churchill’s past triumphs and failures weigh heavily on him. Badgering the Allied generals and being soundly rebuked\, he falls into one of hi s deep ‘black dog’ episodes. The mechanism by which the film depicts Chu rchill rousing himself to make one of his last great speeches to the nat ion must be artistic licence\, but it’s effective.\n\nThis film is a goo d character study of a flawed-but-brilliant leader in a time of crisis. Its essence is dialogue\, and Alex von Tunzelmann’s screenplay engages a nd holds the audience throughout. The wonderful Brian Cox owns the role\ , and Miranda Richardson is superb as his long-suffering wife\, Clementi ne.\n\n\n- Bob Warn URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170922.html#film-3938 SUMMARY:Churchill LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170922T132200Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170922T112500Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170922T112500Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3939 DESCRIPTION:With the men away fighting at the Front\, opportunities arise during WWII that would not otherwise exist for women. Catrin Cole (Arte rton) finds herself hired by the British Ministry of Information’s film unit as a ‘slop’ scriptwriter – a writer of women’s dialogue for morale- boosting propaganda films. Catrin’s flair for her work is quickly notice d by film producer Tom Buckley (Claflin)\, who recommends her for a bigg er\, more important project.\n\nTom\, Catrin\, a quirky gang of actors – including ageing matinee idol Ambrose Hilliard (played with scene-steal ing aplomb by Bill Nighy) – and crew set about making a film about twin girls who filch their father’s fishing boat to help in the heroic evacua tion of Dunkirk. But their task is complicated when the Ministry for War want to use it as a vehicle to help bring the Americans into the war. T he film-within-a-film structure works well to show the immense collabora tive effort that filmmaking involves\, as well as revealing some of its conjuring magic.\n\nDirected by Lone Scherfig\, Their Finest is a funny\ , poignant and heartwarming film – a must-see or must-see again.\n\n\n- Deborah Dawkings URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170922.html#film-3939 SUMMARY:Their Finest LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170923T112100Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170923T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170923T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3940 DESCRIPTION:In the early 20th century\, Percy Fawcett (Hunnam)\, an exper ienced British military cartographer\, is assigned to map the border bet ween Brazil and Bolivia in an effort to settle trade disputes. Leaving b ehind his young family (Miller and babies)\, Fawcett teams up with wary explorer Henry Costin (a near unrecognisable Robert Pattinson) and the p air head deep into the rainforest. \n\nNavigating hostile natives and ba rking mad rubber plantation owners\, the pair hear tired stories of El D orado that they dismiss as fantasy. A fantasy they are forced to re-eval uate when they discover elaborate pottery strewn about the overgrown jun gle weeks later. Realising there are grains of truth to the myth\, Fawce tt develops a more plausible theory of a lost city that he calls ‘Z’ and begins a lifelong obsession with finding it. Over the course of decades his obsession strains his family relationships and sees his credibility rise and fall\, before ultimately leading to a legendary expedition fro m which he and his adult son (Holland) will never return.\n\nThe Lost Ci ty of Z is an ambitious\, epic tale of obsession that harks back to the adventure movies of Hollywood from half a century ago. Both in terms of its story structure and visual style\, this is a refreshing return to cl assic filmmaking.\n\n\n- Adam Gould URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170923.html#film-3940 SUMMARY:The Lost City of Z LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170923T133200Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170923T113100Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170923T113100Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3941 DESCRIPTION:It’s probably safe to assume that any “based on a true story” movie didn’t really happen that way. That’s true of Gold\, too – which in any case has to make some educated guesses about the motives and fate s of some of the people involved\, with public accounts murky and inconc lusive. But it’s worth knowing that while liberties are taken\, the film doesn’t exaggerate in any way. This really happened.\n\nMatthew McConau ghey gives the most out-there performance of his career as Kenny Wells\, a washed-up mining magnate – perhaps taking inspiration from Christian Bale in another I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-fiction movie\, American Hustle \, cultivating the same pot-bellied\, stringy combover look. He’s nearly bankrupt and almost a complete laughing stock\, but has managed to reta in the loyalty of a girlfriend (Howard) and a dozen staff\, and damned i f we can’t kind of see why. \n\nAnd he feels he has one last shot at red emption: he’s heard rumours of Michael Acosta (Ramírez)\, a legendary mi neral hunter\, raving about a hidden gold reserve somewhere in Indonesia . Acosta can’t get a gig\, and Kenny can’t get a gig\, but the two of th em together…\n\nThis is the story of a man who crawls through the jungle \, emerging to tackle another jungle head on\, and win – sort of. It’s e xhilarating scuzziness\, but with a heart of… well\, gold.\n\n\n- Henry Fitzgerald URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170923.html#film-3941 SUMMARY:Gold LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170927T111800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170927T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170927T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3942 DESCRIPTION:PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EMBASSY OF CHILE\n\nBefore he started filming on the Oscar-nominated Natalie Portman film Jackie\, director Pablo Larrain had actually completed Neruda\, but scheduling an d level of profile meant the Natalie Portman starrer got released first in most Western countries. Best known before this year for his political drama\, No\, Larrain is regarded as one of Chile’s greatest filmmakers\ , documenting the country’s history and current social structure with ex pertise and flair.\n\nPablo Neruda (Gnecco) was a poet but also a signif icant political figure in South America in the 1940s and 1950s. Neruda j oined the Communist Party\, and was essentially forced underground throu gh the policies of newly elected President Videla. Chief of Police Óscar Peluchonneau (played with considerable aplomb by Bernal) is tasked with hunting down Neruda. He is also the narrator\, and there’s obviously a bit of distaste for the lives of the wealthy and powerful. \n\nThis cat- and-mouse chase is witty\, intense and ambiguous. You aren’t quite sure what is fact and what is fiction\, but all the other elements\, includin g the stark visuals and perfect casting\, will keep you engaged. I am un familiar with the poet himself\, but I am assured through the reviews of others that this is a film that he would have approved of.\n\n\n- Travi s Cragg URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170927.html#film-3942 SUMMARY:Neruda LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170928T113000Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170928T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170928T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3943 DESCRIPTION:Kumail (Nanjiani) is a stand-up comedian in LA who supplement s his income by Uber driving. Emily (Kazan) is a grad-student who meets him when he’s her lift home for the night. Their chemistry strikes up a friendship that develops into a relationship\, and everything seems to b e going well. However\, Kumail’s strict Pakistani family want him to mar ry a Pakistani girl\, so he keeps Emily under wraps for fear of offendin g them. She then decides she can’t take the secrecy any longer and break s things off with him. \n\nBut when a lung disease puts Emily into an in duced coma\, Kumail encounters Emily’s parents (Hunter and Romano) for t he first time at her bedside\, and has to prove to them that the man who broke their daughter’s heart deserves to be in her life. \n\nBased on t he real events of how Nanjiani met his wife – the very alive Emily V. Go rdon (who co-wrote the script with him) – there probably are no surprise s in the plot of this. But\, as the saying goes\, it’s the journey that matters. Nanjiani has a truly generous sense of humour and the film has time for everyone in it to prove both comedic and dramatic chops. Romano is the surprise package here: a decade or so of “Everybody Loves Raymon d” reruns and Ice Age voiceovers hasn’t prepared you for what he’s capab le of as an actor. A surprise hit at Sundance and SXSW\, this captures t he best of independent comedy\, with heart and soul.\n\n\n- Simon Tolhur st URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170928.html#film-3943 SUMMARY:The Big Sick LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170929T110500Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170929T093000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170929T093000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3944 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nPRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP W ITH CONFLUX: CANBERRA SPECULATIVE FICTION CONFERENCE\n\nAlong with “The Lord of the Rings”\, “Harry Potter” and “Game of Thrones”\, Stephen King ’s best-selling eight book opus is widely regarded as one of the most im portant and influential fantasy works of the modern era. So it should co me as no surprise that a cinematic adaptation has been in the works for over a decade – and\, at long last\, it has arrived.\n\nThis gritty West ern adventure/fantasy follows Jake Chambers (Taylor)\, an 11-year-old ad venture seeker\, who is spirited away to an alternate dimension. There\, he encounters The Gunslinger – Roland Deschain (Elba) – who roams an Ol d West-like landscape in the hope of preserving his dying world by findi ng the mythical Dark Tower\, a nexus point between time and space that h olds the multiverse together. But his quest is complicated by a vicious sorcerer known as The Man in Black (McConaughey)\, who is hot on the Gun slinger – and now also Jake’s – trail. \n\nBecause of its revered cult s tatus\, there are exceptionally high expectations of The Dark Tower. Wor king in its favour is the magnificent screen presence of Elba and McCona ughey\, whose on-screen rivalry for the ages makes this the incredible e pic that King’s opus deserves.\n\n- Elyshia Hopkinson URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170929.html#film-3944 SUMMARY:The Dark Tower LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170929T131400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170929T111500Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170929T111500Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3945 DESCRIPTION:In the near future Jiang Fen (Huang) is an author with a succ essful career\, but an unsuccessful personal life. Upon breaking up with his wife\, he had the memories of his painful marriage surgically remov ed\, but the ensuing messy divorce has led to him having to have those m emories copied back into his mind. \n\nAs if that wasn’t enough of a has sle\, making matters worse\, a mix up at the lab has the memories of a s erial killer copied into his mind instead. Before he knows it\, Jiang is drawn into a police investigation into crimes that he can recall every detail of\, save for one crucial element: the identity of the perpetrato r. Or so he hopes\, at least\, as he’s beginning to have trouble telling which memories are his own.\n\nTaiwanese director Leste Chen has flip-f lopped between the thriller and romance genres in his films to date\, an d has made one that manages to cover both quite well here (albeit at the bitter end of the latter). The production values are Hollywood-grade bu t the story is both clever and original in ways that Hollywood seems no longer capable of. This stylish sci-fi thriller was deservedly a smash a t the box office in China and Taiwan\, and deserves to be discovered by an international audience before its inevitable remake in the West.\n\n\ n- Adam Gould URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170929.html#film-3945 SUMMARY:Battle of Memories (Ji yi da shi) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170930T104600Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170930T090000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170930T090000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3946 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nViceroy’s House in Delhi h as been the home of the British rulers of India for over 300 years. With British rule coming to an end in 1947\, Lord Mountbatten (Bonneville)\, great-grandson of Queen Victoria\, assumes the post of the last Viceroy of India\, charged with handing the country back to its people. \nIt is a job easier said than done\, however\, as he meets with conflict on a larger\, political and international scale – even within his own househo ld\, where Mountbatten\, his wife\, his daughter\, and 500 Hindu\, Sikh and Muslim servants live under the same roof.\n\nA joint English-Indian production\, this historical drama is directed by Gurindah Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham\, Bride & Prejudice)\, a Kenyan-born Indian who is no st ranger to orchestrating on-screen clashes of cultures. From her family’s own traumatic experience of Indian independence\, Chadha paints a visua lly stunning portrait of the time\, juxtaposing the chaos of the greater India with the apparent calm of the Viceroy’s House\, while still allow ing non-historic characters to shine. \n\nIf you have even the slightest sense of history\, the film will expand your understanding of the event s surrounding India’s independence.\n\n- George Zuber URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170930.html#film-3946 SUMMARY:Viceroy’s House LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170930T125500Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170930T105600Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20170930T105600Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3947 DESCRIPTION:Based on the story of the fascinating rise and fall of the fi rst popular Afro-Cuban artist of the French stage\, Monsieur Chocolat is an unmissable film for connoisseurs of quality.\n\nIn the late 1800s\, a former slave named Chocolat (Omar Sy from The Intouchables) finds hims elf making a living playing a tooth-baring cannibal in a provincial Fren ch circus – a novel spectacle for country people who have never seen a b lack man before. \n\nWhile there\, he impresses established performer Ge orge (James Thierrée\, grandson of Charlie Chaplin)\, who decides to tak e him under his wing. Together\, they develop a routine which catapults them to stardom\, glamour and riches as one of the main attractions of t he Nouveau Cirque in lavishly Belle Époque Paris. But the satisfaction o f success can only last so long as Chocolat’s desire for equality begins to take hold.\n\nAs entertaining as it is timely\, Monsieur Chocolat bl ends sharp and impressive physical comedy with moving compassion\, glori ously restoring the great legacy of this trailblazing artist.\n\n\n- Sho bha Varkey URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20170930.html#film-3947 SUMMARY:Monsieur Chocolat LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171004T101000Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171004T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171004T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3948 DESCRIPTION:PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH TENANTS' UNION ACT IN CELEBRATI ON OF INTERNATIONAL TENANTS DAY\n\nIf you’re the kind of person who gets easily nostalgic\, or who comes from a ‘dog household’\, then this is t he best film you will see in a long while. If you are new to the pet thi ng and can’t decide between a cat and a dog\, why not watch this to help make your mind up? \n\nA Dog’s Purpose follows a devoted dog who discov ers the meaning of its own existence through the lives of the humans it loves\, and is loved by in return. He finds himself reincarnated as mult iple canines over the course of five decades (with Josh Gad voicing them all): Toby\, Bailey\, Ellie\, Tino and Buddy.\n\nAll five lives show th at chance is a fine thing: from being part of an unwanted litter\, to be coming a working dog\, to living life to old age. The incarnations take different forms\, switching between gender\, and even different breeds\, from an athletic Alsatian to a cute corgi.\n\nDennis Quaid plays the ol der version of a human\, Ethan\, who loves and cherishes the dog through his various incarnations. Other humans feature as either kind or neglec tful people\; but thankfully most are in the former category. \n\nThis f ilm might be emotionally manipulative\, but it’s a testament to the life -enriching power of dogs as trusting companions. It doesn’t hide the big secret that their lives will inevitably be shorter than ours\, but it’s cathartic and will make you feel better for seeing it. Feel free to bri ng tissues.\n\n\n- Carol Christopher URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171004.html#film-3948 SUMMARY:A Dog’s Purpose LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171005T102000Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171005T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171005T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3949 DESCRIPTION:PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ANU COLLEGE OF LAW + FOLLOW ED BY PANEL DISCUSSION. FOR MORE DETAILS\, CLICK HERE\n \nIn 1994\, accomplished American author Deborah Lipstadt (Weisz) is giv ing a lecture about her latest book\, when a man stands up and loudly in terrupts her. Identifying himself as David Irving (Spall)\, an infamous Holocaust denier\, he challenges Lipstadt to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Holocaust actually occurred. Lipstadt declines and prompt ly has him removed\, but it doesn’t end there. Two years later\, she rec eives notice that Irving is suing her and the publisher of her book for libel\, on the grounds that her book has destroyed his reputation and ru ined his career.\n\nUnder British libel laws\, the onus falls on the def endant to prove that her statements about Irving were true: that he is a racist\, an anti-Semitic Hitler sympathiser who wilfully distorted hist orical record. Or\, in other words\, it’s up to Lipstadt to prove in a c ourt of law that the Holocaust occurred – which\, as she and her legal t eam soon discover\, is actually harder than it seems.\n\nBased on unbeli evable-but-true events\, Denial is a thought-provoking drama about the t ruth\, the Holocaust\, and the potency of the law. It’s all frighteningl y relevant and timely\, too\, in our age of alternative facts and fake n ews. It’s also surprisingly low-key\, with the film eschewing traditiona l courtroom histrionics for an emphasis on legal procedure and strategy. A top-notch cast – the always-dependable Weisz\, Wilkinson as the defen ce’s barrister\, and a show-stealing Spall as the infuriating Irving – k eep proceedings lively\, and ultimately do the story justice.\n\n\n- Adr ian Ma URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171005.html#film-3949 SUMMARY:Denial LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171006T101700Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171006T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171006T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3950 DESCRIPTION:Cory Lambert (Renner) is a wildlife officer in the mountain s tate of Wyoming\, tasked with killing predators that prey on local farm animals. While out hunting mountain lions\, Cory stumbles upon the body of a young Native American woman who has been raped and left for dead am idst the frozen terrain.\n\nThe FBI dispatches rookie agent Jane Banner (Olsen) to investigate. It’s immediately apparent that she’s all sorts o f wrong for the case\, and barely seems fit to survive in the wild\, let alone conduct an investigation there. Having lost a daughter of his own under similar circumstances\, Cory agrees to help Jane navigate the inh ospitable winter. Before long\, they uncover a slowly simmering concocti on of conspiracy\, crime and violence – which heats things up considerab ly.\n\nWith Wind River\, screenwriter Taylor Sheridan makes his director ial debut and concludes a spiritual trilogy that began with Sicario and Hell or High Water\, both of which he scripted to great critical acclaim . Sheridan appears to be carving out a niche for himself intricately exp loring flawed lives on both sides of the law\, and his latest film – wra pped up in a murder mystery – is no different.\n\nStylish\, potent\, and thrilling when it’s required to be\, Wind River also features a great p erformance from the estimable Renner\, a timely reminder of the two-time Oscar nominee’s acting prowess\, despite his relegation in recent years to superhero sidekick roles. Though Marvel fans will certainly get a ki ck out of seeing Hawkeye and Scarlet Witch team up on-screen again.\n\n\ n- Adrian Ma URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171006.html#film-3950 SUMMARY:Wind River LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171006T120400Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171006T102700Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171006T102700Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3951 DESCRIPTION:Harper (Sheridan) is an aspiring criminal lawyer who hates hi s rat of a stepfather so much that he is willing to pay a lowlife hitman \, Johnny (Cohen)\, to have him killed. At least\, he half is. \n\nWhen the hitman makes his offer\, we see the screen split in two\, we see Har per say both no and yes – and we then follow two separate narratives sho wing what would have happened next either way. (Important note: split sc reen is only used occasionally\, as effective highlighting\; we don’t ha ve to put up with it being overused.) The kicker occurs towards the end\ , when the two narratives collide with one another.\n\nSet in the seedy\ , sunny badlands of I-can’t-believe-it’s-not-Texas (actually shot in Sou th Africa)\, Detour might have been made on a bet to see how many neo-no ir clichés the writer-director could stuff into the one movie. But he’s done this for a reason\, to give the characters a kind of archetypal lif e\, and to make us feel how trapped they all are in their going-nowhere- fast world. \n\nThe brooding Harper and the volatile Johnny are dancing with another at a distance – and also\, at not so great a distance\, wit h Johnny’s stripper girlfriend Cherry (Powley\, whose exceptionally wide eyes must surely be hiding something). And – the genre being what it is – there’s of course a fourth character: Fate.\n\n\n- Henry Fitzgerald URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171006.html#film-3951 SUMMARY:Detour LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171007T095500Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171007T080000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171007T080000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3952 DESCRIPTION:This true crime film is based on the life of Barry Seal (Crui se)\, a former commercial pilot who became a drug smuggler\, before bein g recruited by the US government to provide intelligence against the eme rging communist threat in Central America. \n\nAmerican Made is the late st joint offering from Cruise and director Doug Liman\, following their collaboration on the excellent Edge of Tomorrow. People either love or h ate Cruise. I’m a fan\, so this film was going to be on my watch list ev en though I wasn’t familiar with the real story. What I did enjoy was th e intrigue and complexities of the interplay between the good guys\, the good guys who may be bad guys\, and the bad guys who are bad guys but i n a different way. \n\nFor the history buffs\, Seal’s covert government role led to his involvement with the Medellin cartel\, which ultimately embarrassed the Reagan White House after the Iran-Contra scandal became public. It’s funny how often truth can be stranger than fiction\, and wh ile no doubt this film is a mix of both\, it is certainly what makes thi s film all the more interesting to watch.\n\n\n- Tamara Cain URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171007.html#film-3952 SUMMARY:American Made LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171007T120000Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171007T100500Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171007T100500Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3953 DESCRIPTION:At the height of the cold war a priceless dossier has been st olen that reveals the entire active roster of British double agents. Age nt Lorraine Broughton (Theron) is the deadliest person on the payroll at MI6 and the obvious choice to head to Berlin. Paired with mild-mannered station chief David Percival (McAvoy)\, Broughton employs every deadly and/or sexy trick in the book to recover the MacGuffin and save the day. \n\nAfter the triumphant success of John Wick\, veteran stunt choreograp hy team-turned-directors David Leitch and Chad Stahelski went their sepa rate ways. Chad took the reins on John Wick: Chapter 2 and David looked for something new. That something new is Atomic Blonde: a spy/assassin f lick very much in the same vein as John Wick\, but this time putting an arse-kicking Charlize Theron in Keanu’s shoes. Much of the same formula is in place: first rate action buoyed by a solid\, uncomplicated plot an d style oozing from every pore. Like Wick\, a first rate support cast is along for the ride\, aided by a thumping rock score from Tyler Bates. \ n\nAtomic Blonde is an absolute blast to watch and a real glimmer of hop e that Hollywood action flicks could be back on the right track.\n\n\n- Adam Gould URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171007.html#film-3953 SUMMARY:Atomic Blonde LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171010T101900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171010T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171010T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3954 DESCRIPTION:Based on the 2013 Dave Eggers novel of the same name\, The Ci rcle follows the journey of Mae Holland (Watson)\, a recent college grad uate who secures a job at the titular corporation\, a super high-tech Go ogle/Facebook/Apple mish-mash\, which is presided over by its Steve Jobs -like CEO\, Eamon Bailey (Hanks).\n\nThe inventor and promoter of innova tive concepts – including ‘SeeChange’\, a miniature wearable portable ca mera that streams live and continuously to the Internet – the company pu rsues a philosophy of total transparency. Privacy is viewed as a selfish barrier to human progress\, resulting in a society of perpetual over-sh arers. As Mae rises higher in the company’s ranks\, she is confronted by the dangerous consequences of this ‘sharing is caring\, secrets are lie s’ philosophy – the world is a much more convenient place\, but at what cost? At the same time\, she becomes romantically involved with mysterio us co-worker Kalden (Boyega)\, and faces an anti-Circle adversary in her ex-boyfriend (Boyhood’s Ellar Coltrane).\n\nWritten and directed by Jam es Ponsoldt (The Spectacular Now) and buoyed by a strong cast\, The Circ le is a necessary exploration of pertinent themes at the nexus of techno logy and society. It is both a dystopian warning in the spirit of Orwell ’s “1984” and a satire of Silicon Valley’s political idealism.\n\n\n- Je ssica Lane URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171010.html#film-3954 SUMMARY:The Circle LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171012T102800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171012T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171012T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3955 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nLogan Lucky is about the L ogans\, who aren’t very\, well\, lucky. In fact they believe there is a family curse ruining their lot in life. In an attempt to reverse this su pposed curse\, siblings Jimmy (Tatum)\, Mellie (Keough)\, and Clyde Loga n (Driver) decide that they need $14 million dollars. As luck would have it\, this is the exact amount of the prize money on offer at the legend ary Memorial Day Coca-Cola NASCAR 600 race in North Carolina.\n\nBut Jim my\, Clyde and Mellie don’t know anything about heists\, so they turn to Joe Bang (Craig)\, who knows a lot about conducting heists – but is cur rently serving time because of it. Luckily the siblings have a plan to b ust Joe out of the slammer. However\, things might not go exactly the wa y they plan with Special Agent Sarah Grayson (Hilary Swank) on their tai l.\n\nDirector Steven Soderbergh – the Ocean’s trilogy – has come out of self-imposed ‘retirement’ to deliver a wonderful and incredibly enterta ining tale of making your own luck. Everyone in the hilarious cast is gr eat\, with Daniel ‘James Bond’ Craig completely stealing the movie as Jo e\, the hilarious redneck who loves his explosives. I guess you could sa y the film goes off with a Bang!\n\n- Steven Cain URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171012.html#film-3955 SUMMARY:Logan Lucky LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171013T104500Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171013T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171013T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3956 DESCRIPTION:When young Georgie (Jackson Robert Scott) loses his paper boa t in a stormwater drain\, he is lured down into the sewers by the local neighbourhood demonic shape-shifting clown known as Pennywise (Skarsgård ). He is lured by the promise of a balloon\, any colour he wants\, and t he assurance that “they float… and you’ll float too!”\n\nBased on the St ephen King novel of the same name\, this story of horror and nightmares is set in the 1980s in the fictional town of Derry\, Maine. When more lo cal kids start disappearing one by one leaving behind bloody remains – l ike our poor Georgie – seven of Derry’s more street-wise kids decide to fight back. They are all unified by their horrifying and strange encount ers with Pennywise\, which are usually preceded by an eerie floating red balloon. \n\nClowns are evil. Clowns are scary. We all know this. If yo u have any doubt\, do a Google search for ‘evil clown sightings’ and pre pare to be totally creeped out. King himself made a dramatic understatem ent in an interview during the time of the most recent sightings that “u nder the right circumstances\, clowns really can be terrifying.” Luckily we have the right circumstances for you: an ANU Film Group audience\, o n Friday the 13th… and free balloons\, any colour you want. They float…\ n\n\n- Nick Hetherington URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171013.html#film-3956 SUMMARY:It LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171013T122700Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171013T105500Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171013T105500Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3957 DESCRIPTION:Let’s cut to the chase: It Comes at Night is probably the sca riest film of the year. I say probably\, because (a) I have yet to see e verything released in 2017\, and (b) your definition of scary could be T he Emoji Movie (which we are not screening\, so be thankful). But this s parse psychological horror-thriller is indeed edge-of-your-seat\, embed- your-fingernails-into-the-person-next-to-you scary. \n\nThe plot is simp le enough: Paul (Edgerton)\, his wife\, and their teenage son live in an isolated cabin in the woods\, doing all they can to survive after a vir us has seemingly decimated the world. But their existence is thrown into chaos when a stranger (Abbott) attempts to break into their house one e vening. \n\nCaptured and interrogated by Paul\, the stranger claims he’s not sick\, and that he’s just scouting for food and water for his wife and young son. Figuring there’s safety in numbers\, Paul invites him and his family to stay in the house with them in one big\, happy\, post-apo calyptic family. And that’s when the fun begins.\n\nForgoing cheap jump scares and plot twists\, director Trey Edward Shults nevertheless manag es to wring an unimaginable amount of tension using the oldest tricks in the book: cinematography\, lighting\, music\, and a solid script. The e nd result is a film that easily joins the likes of It Follows\, The Baba dook and The Witch in the prestigious genre best described as ‘arthouse horror’. It’s in truly terrifying company.\n\n\n- Adrian Ma URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171013.html#film-3957 SUMMARY:It Comes at Night LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171014T090700Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171014T080000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171014T080000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3958 DESCRIPTION:PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EMBASSY OF SWITZERLAND\n\nO RIGINAL FRENCH LANGUAGE VERSION WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES\n\nI first saw th is delightful film at last year’s Melbourne Film Festival. It was then n amed My Life as a Courgette (an infinitely better title\, if you ask me) and it was on a whim. It hadn’t made my shortlist of films to see\, hav ing essentially been unheralded for most of its life up until then. I wa s instantly charmed by its gentle nature\, in the midst of some very ble ak themes. I was obviously not the only one charmed as it proceeded to r eceive many accolades\, including an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature.\n\nIt’s a depiction of life for children in an orphanage\, main ly focusing on one nicknamed Courgette. The children\, each of who will absolutely steal your heart\, are innocent victims of a more adult world \, and the absolutely beautiful stop-motion animation design is just one part of what gives these characters their soul. \n\nUpon reflection\, t hese children have a lot in common with Charlie Brown\, Linus and many o ther characters from the “Peanuts” comics. I sincerely hope that I have not in any way dissuaded you from seeing this film for fear of its serio us themes\, as it is a charming adorable little film that I am so glad t he rest of Canberra finally get to see on the big screen with an audienc e.\n\n\n- Travis Cragg URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171014.html#film-3958 SUMMARY:My Life as a Zucchini (Ma vie de Courgette) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171014T105600Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171014T091700Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171014T091700Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3959 DESCRIPTION:Dr. Jean-Pierre Werner (Cluzet) is an old-fashioned doctor\, who\, although at times brusque in his manner\, knows his patients intim ately and is completely dedicated to them. When Jean-Pierre is diagnosed with a life-threatening illness\, he refuses to accept his own physicia n’s advice to stop working – or even slow down – because he believes tha t no one can take his place.\n\nTo assist him\, the hospital sends recen tly graduated mature age doctor\, Nathalie Delezia (Denicourt). Jean-Pie rre is unconvinced that she will be able to meet the demands of a small country practice and he sets a number of unfair (but funny) traps for th e newbie. As Jean-Pierre teaches Nathalie the ropes\, a mutual respect d evelops and through them we get a firsthand and engrossing view of the d aily round of country doctors\, the challenges facing them\, and the uni que community they serve. \n\nIf the plot outline sounds a bit ho-hum an d quotidian\, well\, that’s really the point. As directed by doctor-turn ed-director Thomas Lilti\, The Country Doctor is an insightful\, moving\ , and funny character drama that is well worth your time.\n\n\n- Deborah Dawkings URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171014.html#film-3959 SUMMARY:The Country Doctor (Médecin de campagne) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171018T101700Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171018T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171018T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3960 DESCRIPTION:PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EMBASSY OF ISRAEL\n\nOvadia (Cohen) is a fierce bouncer in Tel Aviv’s edgy nightclub scene. Despite his brawny exterior\, however\, Ovadia is a family man at heart. In an attempt to conceive a child\, he and his wife have endured years of hear tache undergoing a variety of expensive and ultimately unsuccessful trea tments. Weighed down by his unfulfilled longing to become a father\, Ova dia accepts a proposition for fast cash from a seedy local gangster. He sees the work as a chance to pay for the best fertility treatment in the country. \n\nBefore long\, he finds himself hurled into a life of under world brutality as a debt collector for dirty deals gone bust. The actio n\, violence and Ovadia’s inner battle with his morality hit a fever pit ch as he finds he’s been pulled in a little too deep.\n\nOur Father give s a poignant insight into the life of a man conflicted\; battling for hi s chance to have\, and provide for\, his own family. Nominated for twelv e Ophir Awards (Israeli Oscars) and taking home two\, the latest effort from well-known Israeli filmmaker Meni Yaish is an affecting drama well worth watching.\n\n\n- Emily Menzler URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171018.html#film-3960 SUMMARY:Our Father (Avinu) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171019T101100Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171019T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171019T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3961 DESCRIPTION:Incisive seven-year-old Mary (Grace) is a mathematical prodig y. Following the death of her mother when she was six months old\, Mary has been raised by her uncle\, Frank (Evans)\, who wants his niece to li ve as ordinary and as happy a life as possible despite her intellectual advantage. Despite his best efforts\, a custody dispute arises when Mary ’s estranged grandmother (Duncan) attempts to gain guardianship of Mary and send her to a school for gifted children\, where she can be primed t o enter a career in mathematics.\n\nThe film ultimately brings up a wide r discussion about whether it is more important for children to enjoy th eir childhood\, or whether they should be pushed to their full potential – and whether there is a way for the two to occur at the same time. \n\ nCaptain America fans may appreciate the chance to see Chris Evans star in a different kind of film. However\, the real star of the film is chil d actress Mckenna Grace as the young prodigy\, whose on-screen chemistry with Evans is undeniable. Directed by Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man \, (500) Days of Summer)\, Gifted is ultimately an uplifting story about an unconventional family that I highly recommend to all.\n\n\n- Mirella Connell URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171019.html#film-3961 SUMMARY:Gifted LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171020T102800Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171020T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171020T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3962 DESCRIPTION:Action and comedy – my two favourite genres smooshed together in one movie. I pretty much knew I was going to love The Hitman’s Bodyg uard regardless of what anyone else says. \n\nThe world’s top bodyguard (Reynolds) gets a new client: one of the world’s most notorious hitmen ( Jackson). The hitman has come in from the cold to testify against a ruth less\, powerful and bloodthirsty dictator (Oldman). Clearly the murderou s dictator has other ideas and sends his minions (read: assassins – this isn’t Despicable Me 3!) to stop them in their tracks. After living tota lly opposite lives they must now work together to survive the journey to the International Court of Justice. \n\nAs you’d expect\, this isn’t ex actly going to be a relaxed scenic trip. On their way\, there are high-s peed car chases\, boat escapes\, gun battles\, and plenty of explosions as the deadly assassins pursue them. But a bodyguard and a hitman make a formidable pair\, and there are plenty of adrenalin-charged scenes to e ntertain and thrill. \n\nThe star power is there\, plus everything you’d expect from a ‘race against time’ movie with more expletives than I pre viously knew existed! Will they make it? Come and see.\n\n\n- Tamara Cai n URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171020.html#film-3962 SUMMARY:The Hitman’s Bodyguard LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171020T124100Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171020T103800Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171020T103800Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3963 DESCRIPTION:Sook-He has been trained since childhood to be an elite assas sin by a secret sect in Yanbian (think of it as the bit of Korea that Ch ina owns). When she gets the chance to escape that life and start anew i n South Korea she jumps at the opportunity\, but eventually her old life catches up to her and she has to kill a bunch of bad dudes and cause nu merous explosions\, car chases and that sort of thing – because it would n’t be much of a movie if she had just lived happily ever after.\n\nIt m ight have taken writer-director Jung Byung-gil half a decade to follow u p his acclaimed serial-killer thriller Confessions of Murder\, but it wa s worth the wait. The Villainess is guaranteed to be the most stylish ac tion flick you will get the chance to see this year if the splash it mad e at Cannes this year is anything to go by\, even up against the likes o f John Wick: Chapter 2 and Atomic Blonde. \n\nThe action choreography is spectacular\, mixing some amazing first-person action footage\, with tr aditional-looking smashes and crashes. And whilst you may have heard the story a hundred times before\, it holds the action together more than i t needs to. This is definitely one to catch on the big screen.\n\n\n- Ad am Gould URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171020.html#film-3963 SUMMARY:The Villainess (Aknyeo) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171021T072900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171021T060000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171021T060000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3964 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nBased on Dav Pilkey’s chil dren’s book series\, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie is about a s silly as it sounds. But the kind of silly that kids (and adults) will love. \n\nTwo imaginative primary schoolers – George (Hart) and Harold ( Middleditch) – take things too far one day when they accidentally hypnot ise their mean principal (Helms) into thinking he is Captain Underpants. An enthusiastic\, but not-so-smart\, comic book superhero who wears his underpants on the outside (as all good superheroes do) but not much els e\, Captain Underpants is a character of their own creation. \n\nBut eve ry superhero needs a nemesis\, and for Captain Underpants that is… wait for it… Professor Poopypants\, the school’s devious new science teacher. Professor ‘P’ wants to eradicate all laughter from the school and event ually the planet. Mwahahahaha! \n\nThere are plenty of likeable characte rs and over-the-top moments that will make you and your kids laugh out l oud. This one may not kick off a film franchise\, but will hopefully ser ve as a good introduction to the source material and get your kids to re ad more about these crazy characters. And that’s still success in my boo k.\n\n- Matthew Auckett URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171021.html#film-3964 SUMMARY:Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171021T102100Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171021T080000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171021T080000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3965 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nI was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed the first Kingsman film – a surprising mix of f un\, over-the-top action and endearing characters. Director Matthew Vaug hn gave us an instantly iconic ride and the sequel is in the same\, fant astic vein.\n\nNow a fully-fledged Kingsman agent\, Eggsy (Egerton) is g ood at his job. This doesn’t sit well with global entrepreneur Poppy (wo nderfully played by Julianne Moore) and the secret organisation known as The Golden Circle. So she takes it upon herself to attack Eggsy and his fellow Kingsmen at home\, destroying their rather nice mansion headquar ters and taking the world hostage.\n\nWith nowhere to turn\, Eggsy and M erlin (Strong) do the only thing you can do when you have nothing else t o lose: go to America. There\, they join up with their American counterp art\, the Statesman. Where the Kingsman are quintessentially British\, t he Statesman are quintessentially American\, and Vaughn illustrates thei r differences to hilarious effect\, as both agencies pool their resource s.\nKingsman: The Golden Circle retains the same tongue-in-cheek charm a nd well-crafted writing of the first film while upping the ante in cool spy gadgets\, stunning action sequences and hilarious cameos. \n\nIt’s j ust too bad that Eggsy’s awesome mentor\, Harry Hart (Firth)\, ended up being shot and killed in the first film\, making it hard to come back fo r the sequel. But never say never…\n\n- Steven Cain URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171021.html#film-3965 SUMMARY:Kingsman: The Golden Circle LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171024T102100Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171024T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171024T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3966 DESCRIPTION:PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EMBASSY OF DENMARK\n\nWhen architecture professor Erik (Thomsen) inherits a large family house afte r the death of his father\, he considers selling it due to high maintena nce costs. His wife (Dyrholm) convinces him to turn it into a kind of co mmunity\, inviting some friends to stay\, and even interviewing stranger s to share the house. Living in a group\, like a big family\, they have dinners\, parties\, and make decisions democratically. But the utopia ar ound this experiment begins to be questioned when a love affair shakes t heir small community.\n\nSet in Copenhagen in the 1970s\, acclaimed dire ctor Thomas Vinterberg (The Hunt\, Far From the Madding Crowd) immaculat ely captures the era in this serious-yet-amusing story about the clash b etween personal desires\, solidarity\, and tolerance. Communal living br ings challenges and opportunities in equal measure. \n\nNot all of them are easy to grasp\, and the tensions that go hand in hand with any socia l experiment quickly come to the fore. What is more important: the indiv idual or the collective? This is one of the questions that The Commune f ascinatingly tries to address.\n\n\n- Brett Yeats URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171024.html#film-3966 SUMMARY:The Commune (Kollektivet) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171026T102200Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171026T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171026T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3967 DESCRIPTION:I am a massive fan of the work of author Vince Flynn\, so I w as particularly excited to hear that his popular series of novels about counter-terrorism agent Mitch Rapp was coming to the big screen.\n\nBut it’s the casting of Dylan O’Brien (The Maze Runner) in the role of Mitch Rapp that most interests me. Having read all of Lee Child’s Jack Reache r novels\, I had built up a mental image of what the hulking former mili tary police officer should look like. Needless to say I was stunned when I found out Reacher was to be played on-screen by Tom Cruise (though I believe he plays the role well).\n\nAmerican Assassin\, as the first in an intended franchise of films\, gives O’Brien a chance to own a new scr een role. It sees Mitch as a young man who finds his holiday turned into a life-defining moment\, as an act of terrorism robs him of the people he loves most in the world. Have you ever wondered what could make an ev eryday college student become a black ops recruit who carries out covert counter-terrorism operations for the CIA? Well\, you’re about to find o ut on this adrenaline-fuelled ride.\n\n\n- Helena Beltrami  URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171026.html#film-3967 SUMMARY:American Assassin LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171027T102200Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171027T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171027T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3968 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nThis is the true story of the unlikely relationship that develops between Queen Victoria (Dench) a nd one of her servants\, Abdul Karim (Fazal). The Great Queen has been t he subject of another biopic\, also starring Judi Dench as the Queen: Mr s. Brown. The theme of both movies would appear to be that of the lonely widow\, starved of close relationships. \n\nAbdul Karim arrives from In dia to participate in Queen Victoria’s 1887 Golden Jubilee. The young ma n has been charged with the task of presenting a Jubilee Medal from Indi a to the Queen. He is told never to make eye contact with her – “Whateve r you do\, you must not look at Her Majesty” – but he does so\, and is s urprised to find favour with her. As Victoria questions the constriction s of her long-held position\, the two forge an unlikely and devoted alli ance that her household and inner circle try to destroy. As their friend ship deepens\, the Queen begins to see a changing world through new eyes \, joyfully reclaiming her humanity.\n\nVictoria & Abdul is as engaging as the wonderful Dame Judi’s previous work: a trouper who\, at age 82\, is still going very strong!!\n\n- Bob Warn URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171027.html#film-3968 SUMMARY:Victoria & Abdul LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171027T121300Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171027T103200Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171027T103200Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3969 DESCRIPTION:Washed up Hollywood movie star Bob Harris (Murray) is in Toky o to film a whiskey commercial for the Japanese market. He is struggling with a midlife crisis\, family issues and culture shock from being so f ar away from home. Staying at the same hotel is twenty-something Charlot te (Johansson)\, who is newly wed to entertainment photographer John (Ri bisi). With John out on assignment\, Charlotte is frequently left alone. Isolated\, she starts to question her life choices\, her marriage and h er identity. Both Bob and Charlotte are feeling lost in their current si tuations\, until they find each other. \n\nLost in Translation is one of my favourite films of all time. Writer-director Sofia Coppola makes a f ilm that finds the subtle beauty in everything\, making iconic use of in die music and spectacular cinematography. She cleverly – and incredibly respectfully – highlights some of the quirky cultural differences betwee n Western countries and Japan. If you have any interest whatsoever in Ja pan\, Bill Murray\, Scarlett Johansson\, romance\, comedy\, or independe nt film in general\, you will no doubt enjoy this film. It is delightful ly funny\, subtle and touching – and in my humble opinion\, Sofia Coppol a’s best film to date\, and one of the best films of the 2000s.\n\n\n- E lyshia Hopkinson URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171027.html#film-3969 SUMMARY:Lost in Translation LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171028T101700Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171028T080000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171028T080000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3970 DESCRIPTION:In the 28th century\, Valerian (DeHaan) and Laureline (Delevi ngne) are tasked with keeping order throughout the human territories of the universe. Sent on a mission to Alpha – an interspecies metropolis wh ere knowledge\, intelligence and culture are shared – they discover that dark forces are conspiring to endanger the entire universe. And only Va lerian and Laureline can stop them. \n\nIt’s been 20 years since Luc Bes son made The Fifth Element\, and we still haven’t seen a denser\, more w ildly\, insanely\, or amusingly strange sci-fi spectacular to match it. Perhaps until now. The source material for this ambitious new film is a series of French comics that ran from 1967 to 2010 and has inspired coun tless other comics and films: from the “lived in” future of Star Wars up to and including The Fifth Element itself\, which counted Jean-Claude M ézières\, the artist who drew the comics\, among its production designer s.\n\nValerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is officially the most expensive French film thus far (beating the previous record holder by a bout 150%)\, and promises true spectacle and imaginative adventure. Feat uring a strong international cast – including Clive Owen\, John Goodman\ , Rihanna\, Ethan Hawke\, Rutger Hauer\, jazz legend Herbie Hancock and Australian glamourpuss Elizabeth Debicki – this is the big-screen epic b lockbuster turned gloriously insane.\n\n\n- Simon Tolhurst URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171028.html#film-3970 SUMMARY:Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171028T121500Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171028T102700Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171028T102700Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3971 DESCRIPTION:A Monster Calls is the engrossing tale of Connor (newcomer Ma cDougall)\, a young British boy who is enduring a confusing time of his childhood. His mother (Jones) is dying\, he is being bullied at school\, and his grandmother (Weaver) is placing pressure on him to accept the i nevitability of his mother’s death.\n\nHelp to guide Connor through this period comes from an unusual and unexpected source: an old yew tree in a cemetery visible from his window. As voiced by Neeson (and what an app ropriate voice it is)\, the tree is there to tell Connor three stories. In exchange\, Connor will be obligated to tell the tree a story of his o wn.\n\nAs a tale of a young child dealing with emotional issues\, A Mons ter Calls rates up there with Inside Out. Where the Pixar classic dealt with anxiety and depression\, this film expertly and compassionately gui des us through grief and anger. You can’t help but be caught up with you ng MacDougall’s audacious performance\, and the supporting performances are great too: Jones will break your heart\, Weaver has a significant sc ene towards the end showing the reasons behind her motivations\, and Nee son is a terrific\, soothing\, strong storyteller.\n\nThis is a compelli ng\, cathartic and thrilling movie for all audiences.\n\n\n- Travis Crag g URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171028.html#film-3971 SUMMARY:A Monster Calls LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171102T102500Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171102T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171102T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3972 DESCRIPTION:PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EMBASSY OF POLAND\n\nIn Dec ember 1945\, young medical assistant Mathilde Beaulieu (Laâge) is in War saw\, Poland treating soldiers in the wake of World War II. After a nun approaches her and pleads for Mathilde to help her\, she follows her thr ough the snow to a convent. There she is asked to help a young nun – not unlike herself – give birth. When she returns the next day\, she finds more nuns\, most of whom are heavily pregnant after having been raped by Russian soldiers.\n\nMathilde wants desperately to treat these wronged women\, but must find a way to provide medical assistance to these nuns whilst simultaneously keeping the situation a secret from her fellow doc tors. Nobody can know about the pregnancies. \n\nBased on true events\, The Innocents is a French-Polish-Belgian co-production directed by Anne Fontaine (Coco Avant Chanel\, Adoration). The film may progress slower t han some would like\, but this is reflective of the gradual understandin g that Mathilde gains of the role that religion plays in the lives of th e nuns\, who all experience different levels of shame at having a physic al condition in contrast to their faith. Importantly\, the film also exp lores its subject matter with a certain degree of sensitivity\, and make s me feel optimistic that that hope and light can exist in even the dark est of places.\n\n\n- Mirella Connell URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171102.html#film-3972 SUMMARY:The Innocents (Les Innocentes) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171103T103500Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171103T083000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171103T083000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3973 DESCRIPTION:Terence Davies’s latest film manages to deliver a story that departs slightly from both what people expect from his films\, and how p oetry fans traditionally think of Emily Dickinson. I have to confess rig ht here that I am not an expert by any means on either subject\, but (a) my experience of the movies I have seen of his (The House of Mirth\, Th e Deep Blue Sea\, Sunset Song) leads me to regard Davies as a creator of visually stunning but gloomy films\, and (b) my research and limited ex posure to the works of Dickinson informs me that she is generally regard ed as a recluse and a mystery.\n\nNeither preconception is supported in the opening half of A Quiet Passion\, because Nixon and Davies present u s with a humorous\, sensitive and sharp Dickinson. As family pressures a nd the norms of society increase her isolation\, the film still holds Di ckinson and her decisions in reverence for sticking to what she believes .\n\nAs mentioned earlier\, I am no expert on Dickinson\, but this film made me believe that I have known her work somewhere. That may be true ( maybe in a fleeting encounter during secondary schooling) but\, even if it isn’t\, the feeling is a testament to the delights of the script and the performance of Nixon.\n\n\n- Travis Cragg URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171103.html#film-3973 SUMMARY:A Quiet Passion LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171103T121200Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171103T104500Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171103T104500Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3974 DESCRIPTION:Whenever I’m asked what my ideal job would be\, I always resp ond: a sinecure. Actually\, that’s not true – I don’t always say this\, not out loud. But our hero\, Checco (played by Zalone\, alter ego of Ita lian comic Luca Medici) does say so out loud – frequently and proudly. \ n\nHe’s an Italian civil servant with little to do but stamp permits and accept little gifts\, and it is legally impossible for him to be fired – provided he doesn’t resign\, which the Italian government would dearly love him to do. When the offer of a juicy redundancy payment doesn’t wo rk\, they try sending him to work in the worst places they can think of\ , although this only makes him dig his claws in harder. For Checco\, the work he’s willing to do in order to avoid having to do any work is far greater than the work he’s willing to do by simply working. Or not worki ng\, as the case may be. If you follow.\n\nIf you don’t follow\, you’re in the position I was often in: some of the in-jokes are opaque to non-I talians. But the big jokes are all universal\; or at least\, resonant in Canberra. I still giggle at the sight gags showing how Checco starts a typical day.\n\n\n- Henry Fitzgerald URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171103.html#film-3974 SUMMARY:Where Am I Going? (Quo vado?) LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171104T095100Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171104T080000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171104T080000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3975 DESCRIPTION:In 2010\, Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon teamed with filmmaker M ichael Winterbottom for a BBC series that featured the two comedians lar gely improvising while playing fictionalised versions of themselves on a tour of restaurants in the UK. Edited down and released in cinemas as T he Trip\, it was a big hit that saw Coogan and Brydon teaming up again i n 2014 for The Trip to Italy. And now the two amigos are back for their next adventure. \n\nIn the first scene Coogan calls Brydon and invites h im to go on a eating and sightseeing jaunt through Spain. Brydon looks a t his screaming newborn\, immediately responds with a “Yes!” and they’re off. As with the first two films\, there’s not much plot\, but it’s del ightful to eavesdrop on these two very funny\, very British comedians as they converse about their lives and eat delicious food.\n\nThe nice thi ng about the third film of a trilogy is you can safely assume you’re goi ng to get more of the same. With The Trip to Spain\, watching the previo us entries isn’t even necessary for enjoyment. You certainly won’t be di sappointed given the beautiful vistas and Coogan and Brydon’s fantastic impressions of everyone from Mick Jagger to Michael Caine\, John Hurt\, Robert De Niro\, Marlon Brando and half of the James Bonds. All over exq uisitely presented plates of chorizo\, anchovies\, flan\, and mussels. D elicious.\n\n\n- Tamara Cain URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171104.html#film-3975 SUMMARY:The Trip to Spain LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171104T115100Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171104T100100Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171104T100100Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3976 DESCRIPTION:Ali (Sami) is a dreamer with high hopes for the world. He’s t he warm-hearted son of a Muslim cleric (Hany)\, but despite his best of intentions\, the life he hopes for remains just out of his reach. He bec omes infatuated with a girl at school\, but as luck would have it\, has already been promised to another at his father’s mosque. \n\nThere’s als o the small issue that\, for all his life\, Ali has been groomed by his family to become a doctor. And to study medicine you need good marks out of school\, which he doesn’t have. So when Ali exaggerates his score to make his family proud\, it proves to be the first in a string of increa singly bad decisions.\n\nAli’s Wedding is an adaptation of lead actor Os amah Sami’s stranger-than-fiction real life story and has the proud dist inction of being Australia’s first Muslim rom-com. And though the film m ay depict the lives of a Muslim family in Melbourne\, its authenticity a nd warmth finds common ground in the stories of all families. \nIt’s a t ouching and humorous tale about reconciling multicultural communities wi th traditional family values and modern Australian attitudes\, while try ing to be true to yourself.\n\n\n- Steven Cain URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171104.html#film-3976 SUMMARY:Ali’s Wedding LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171111T100100Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171111T080000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171111T080000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3977 DESCRIPTION:It’s not every day that you get to play a real-life sports ic on and feminist hero\, while also receiving tennis lessons from the pers on you’re playing in preparation. But that’s just what Emma Stone got fo r her role as tennis legend Billie Jean King in this film.\n\nBattle of the Sexes is loosely based on the legendary 1973 tennis face-off between King and the retired Bobby Riggs (Carell). The tennis match came after much publicity\, when the misogynistic and self-promoting Riggs challeng ed King to face-off against him\, publically claiming that he could beat any female tennis player even at 55 years of age. In the end\, the matc h between King and Riggs became the most viewed tennis game in US histor y. \n\nDirected by the team behind Little Miss Sunshine\, this offers a similar type of adrenaline rush to the comedy and bruised family drama e xemplified in their Oscar-winning debut. Battle of the Sexes is highly e ntertaining\, inspiring\, and just the kind of progressive comedy-drama that we need today.\n\n\n- Abdulla Rasheed URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171111.html#film-3977 SUMMARY:Battle of the Sexes LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171111T120300Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171111T101100Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171111T101100Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3978 DESCRIPTION:What would you do if your life depended on a stranger? If tha t stranger was me\, then you’re probably doomed. If that stranger was pl ayed by either Idris Elba or Kate Winslet\, then you might just stand a fighting chance of survival. And maybe even falling in love.\n\nAfter th e cancellation of their flight due to stormy weather\, Dr. Ben Bass (Elb a) and photojournalist Alex Martin (Winslet) find themselves stuck at th e airport at a most inconvenient time. Both are in a hurry – Ben has pat ients that require urgent attention\, and Alex is getting married the ne xt day.\n\nBen decides to hire a charter plane to get where he needs to be\, and offers Alex a seat. But they get more in-flight entertainment t han they bargained for when their pilot suffers a heart attack mid-fligh t\, and the plane crashes in the winter wilderness. Injured\, ill-equipp ed\, and with no one knowing that they’re missing\, Ben and Alex have no choice but to rely on each other to stay alive.\n\nNo stranger to takin g audiences on a roller coaster ride of emotions\, Dutch-Palestinian dir ector Hany Abu-Assad (Omar\, The Idol) makes his Hollywood debut here ad apting Charles Martin’s novel. Part survival drama\, part romantic first date\, The Mountain Between Us truly puts its characters – and us – thr ough the wringer.\n\n\n- Adrian Ma URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171111.html#film-3978 SUMMARY:The Mountain Between Us LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171118T100100Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171118T080000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171118T080000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3979 DESCRIPTION:Three years after the relative commercial failure of his big- budget biblical epic\, Noah\, director Darren Aronofsky returns to the a rthouse-horror genre that put him on the map with Pi\, Requiem for a Dre am and Black Swan.\n\nmother! is ostensibly a movie about a couple whose relationship is tested when they are imposed upon by unwanted guests. H owever\, under the stylish visuals and mundane setup\, lies another trad emark psychological horror masterpiece. \n\nThis is the sort of movie be st enjoyed by knowing as little of the plot as possible before going int o it. So you’ll have to be enticed by its top-shelf cast and filmmakers: Jennifer Lawrence\, Javier Bardem\, Ed Harris\, Michelle Pfeiffer\, Kri sten Wiig\, Domnhall Gleeson and Brian Gleeson (who presumably come with a discount if you hire them as a set).\n\n\n- Adam Gould URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171118.html#film-3979 SUMMARY:mother! LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171118T114900Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171118T101100Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171118T101100Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3980 DESCRIPTION:More than decade after An Inconvenient Truth brought climate change and the energy crisis on this planet into the hearts and minds of popular culture\, comes a follow-up film that shows us just how close w e are to a real energy revolution.\nWhether you believe in Donald Trump’ s scepticism or the reality that Al Gore shares with us in this very nec essary sequel\, it is a film that needs to be seen to be believed. More than ever\, the Earth is facing dramatic climatic change\, manifesting i n various forms of extreme weather – tornadoes\, hurricanes\, typhoons\, floods\, tsunamis\, fires and earthquakes – all over the world.\n\nForm er Vice President of the United States of America Al Gore returns to con tinue his tireless fight\, travelling around the world to train an army of activists and influence international climate policy. Cameras follow him behind the scenes – in moments both private and public\, funny and p oignant – as he pursues the idea that the perils of climate change can b e overcome with human ingenuity.\n\nAn Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Pow er received standing ovations at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Come a long to see the facts for yourself and make up your own mind on this sub ject.\n\n\n- Shobha Varkey URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171118.html#film-3980 SUMMARY:An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171125T104300Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171125T080000Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171125T080000Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3981 DESCRIPTION:[This is a No Guests screening]\n\nWhilst on a case\, an LA c op named ‘K’ (Gosling\, whose deadpan style is far better suited to this than to musicals) makes a discovery that threatens to tear apart what’s left of society. His only hope is to track down a former member of the LAPD’s elite Blade Runner unit – Rick Deckard (Ford) – who’s been missin g for thirty years.\n\nReleased 35 years ago in 1982\, Blade Runner actu ally had a relatively tiny number of special visual effects shots. But t hey\, as well as the film\, became icons of science fiction. And now tha t shadowy\, hypnotising dream continues in this long-anticipated sequel. \n\nDirector Denis Villeneuve\, who cites Blade Runner as one of the rea sons he got into film directing in the first place\, is the auteur of fi lms like Sicario and Arrival. Cinematographer Roger Deakins (Skyfall\, N o Country for Old Men) has thirteen Oscar nominations. \n\nNeedless to s ay\, these ingredients and more combine to make Blade Runner 2049 an ind elible future-noir visual feast\, as well as a profound exploration of i ts themes. It will draw audiences into a gorgeously realised dream you m ay not want to wake from.\n\n- Andrew Wilkinson URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171125.html#film-3981 SUMMARY:Blade Runner 2049 LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171125T124300Z DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171125T105300Z DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20171125T105300Z UID:anufg.org.au/films/3982 DESCRIPTION:Those of us who were around back in the day may remember a fi lm from the 1990s called Flatliners. It was a highly original sci-fi hor ror film\, which starred an ensemble cast including Julia Roberts\, Kief er Sutherland\, Oliver Platt\, William Baldwin and everyone’s favourite ’80s icon\, Kevin Bacon. Fast forward to 2017 and – no surprise here – H ollywood is up to its old tricks once again.\n\nPart-sequel\, part-reboo t\, the new Flatliners again follows a group of medical students who sta rt investigating brain function after death. One by one they take turns stopping their heart for a period of time\, before being revived\, in or der to document their experiences of near death. The incredibly risky ex perimentation quickly becomes competitive\, with each of them wanting to see who can go longer and longer before being revived. Things take a tu rn for the worse when their repressed pasts come back to haunt them. \n\ nMuch like the 1990 film\, Flatliners is a thought-provoking look at med icine gone wrong\, trading in the original’s cast for a younger\, hipper version led by Ellen Page and Diego Luna – but not without the obligato ry returning familiar face. I really enjoyed the original\, and state of the film industry aside\, I am totally on board to embrace this 2017 ve rsion.\n\n\n- Elyshia Hopkinson URL:http://www.anufg.org.au/filminfo/20171125.html#film-3982 SUMMARY:Flatliners LOCATION:ANU Film Group END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR