Diverse range to suit everyone’s taste in cinema

By Rama Gaind

These three films are the best of those presently screening in Canberra.

Up: A delightful animated comedy escapade unfolds when a 78-year-old balloon salesman Carl Fredricksen fulfills his life-long dream of a great adventure after tying thousands of balloons to his house and flying to the South American wilderness.
Too late, however, he realises to his horror that he has an eight-year-old stowaway on board. Young Russell is an overly optimistic wilderness explorer, but their exciting journey sees them facing some precarious situations and coming into contact with some lovable creatures.
It features the voices of Ed Asner, Jordan Nagai, Christopher Plummer, John Ratzenberger, Bob Peterson, Delroy Lindo and Jerome Ranft.
This Disney-Pixar film from the Oscar-nominated director Pete Docter (‘Monsters, Inc.’) is a must to view!
Mao’s Last Dancer: Veteran Australian director Bruce Beresford draws out the best in a rags-to-riches story adapted from a best-selling autobiography by Li Cunxin.
The script by Jan Sardi (‘Shine’) captures the perseverance in Li’s remarkable journey.
Li Cunxin was plucked from a poor Chinese village at 11 years of age by Madame Mao’s cultural delegates and taken to Beijing to study ballet. With incredible determination, resilience and vision, he graduated to become one of China’s best dancers.
He was discovered by Ben Stevenson, one of the world’s most respected teachers, choreographer and the artistic director of the Houston Ballet as part of the first US cultural delegation to communist China. He became one of the first two cultural exchange students allowed to go to America to study under Mao’s regime.
In the early 1980s he defected to the US in dramatic circumstances and went on to perform as a principal dancer for the Houston Ballet. He then went on to become a principal dancer with the Australian Ballet, married an Australian ballerina, Mary McKendry, and moved to Melbourne, where he’s now a successful stockbroker.
Inglorious Basterds: Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, this is a World War II epic set in German-occupied France, which tells the story of two plots to assassinate the Nazi political leadership.
One of them is planned by a team of American solders called the ‘Basterds’, while the other is a young French Jewish cinema manager.
This is one of Tarantino’s (‘Pulp Fiction’) best.
 

“Elvis Costello is a legendary artist and a class act, I’m excited to see his fans coming out in droves to support him. He’s a true talent and so engaging on stage, Elvis solo will be something very special.” Michael Chugg.

ELVIS COSTELLO has followed his musical curiosity in a career spanning more than three decades. He is probably best known for his performances with The Attractions, The Imposters and his concert appearances with pianist Steve Nieve.

With a new album SECRET, PROFANE AND SUGARCANE just released, produced by T Bone Burnett, Costello has hit the road with an Australian tour this month.

This very special tour will feature Elvis, his guitars, his songs and his stories! Special guest support will be Australia’s own Shelley Harland who has just released her new album Red Leaf.

Costello has always been a favoured son in Australia having toured here many times since the late 70’s.

Boasting a back catalogue of over 40 albums including This Years Model, Imperial Bedroom, King Of America, All This Useless Beauty, The Delivery Man, North and Secret, Profane and Sugarcane, this concert will feature songs covering his entire career.

WHAT: Elvis Costello
WHEN: 14th OCTOBER at 8pm
WHERE: Canberra Royal Theatre
TICKETS: www.ticketek.com.au or 132 849

Review by Shanna Provost

Shakespeare’s works have been enjoyed by 16 generations since he put quill to paper: the Bard’s popularity over four centuries (and counting) could be put down to the many and varied interpretations of his works.

The Taming of the Shrew is often considered his most contentious piece due to its sexual politics and power dynamics that sees men making bets on their ability to browbeat their wives into subservience.

Bell Shakespeare Company commits to making Shakespeare’s work more accessible and palatable to as many Australians as possible. If the Twitters that flew around after Canberra’s opening night of ‘The Shrew’ is any indication, it has done its job well.

Beth Aubrey, Emily Brennan, Jeanette Cronin, Vanessa Downing, Judi Farr, Sandy Gore, Luisa Hastings Edge, Anna Houston, Ksenja Logos, Lotte St Clair and Wendy Strehlow join forces as women playing men, dressed as men in conflict with women playing women (dressed as women).

The sexist overtones in this farcical comedy could make post-feminist audiences squirm. The beauty of Shrew is that it can be held up by women (particularly feminists) at large for its casting a powerful light on sexism today.

Director Marion Potts has been very clever in enlisting an all-female cast. In our emancipated times, Potts knew that watching real men treat women so appallingly could alienate today’s audiences and distract from the real issues.

The overall feel of the play is quite sensual. The women playing women are very curvy and alluring, with the women playing men sitting comfortably in their ‘male’ bodies. We never lose sight of the fact that these women are clearly giving their take on an overtly chauvinistic script. (And the program makes for fascinating supporting material on the seriousness of their work).

The cast is strong with veteran actor Sandy Gore setting a high benchmark for her cohorts. It’s hard to pick favourites as they all do their job admirably, however Jeanette Cronin shines as the irascible Petruchio—a fortune seeker bent on breaking the will of the feisty Kate. Her commitment to the role sustains a high energy throughout and compels the audience to continually be engaged—a challenge for some audiences trying to grapple with the 16th Century language as it flies quickly around the stage.

The set is not as visually exciting as the company’s previous productions, but it serves the plot well in its simplicity. It’s refreshing to see The Playhouse pared back to bare minimum (no blacks on either side). The clock (which stayed resolutely at 5.50 throughout) was the only distraction aside from the bank of disco balls in the first act that sometimes created an unfortunate glare. Costumes were outstanding, particularly those in the ‘hat scene’.

The jury is still out for me on the karaoke interjects—they worked well to transition scenes, but I’m just not sure that they add much to the stage business really.

I would recommend this production to purists right through to those who haven’t been exposed to a great deal of Shakespeare. It is, in its deepest essence, a love story: a tale of two eccentric rebels who must fight and challenge each other before they will admit to being deeply kindred spirits—and in that process we (both men and women) get to re-explore our own positions on the power dynamics between our sexes.

I think younger audiences particularly will love this interpretation—in fact my Gen Y son says it is the best play he has ever seen, and believe me, I’ve dragged him along to a lot of productions in his 21 years!

WHAT: The Taming of the Shrew
WHERE: Canberra Playhouse
WHEN: Until 17 October
BOOKINGS: 02 6275 2700

Tony King and Kris Ralph are two of Australia’s finest Singer/Songwriters producing a beautiful blend of Soulful Acoustic Jazz, Folk and Blues.

The multi-award winning entertainers will be playing at the Folkus Room at the Italo- Australian Club, 78 Franklin St Forrest, Canberra on Friday 9th Oct.

If you want a night of joyful laughter listening to the highest quality musicianship, then you’ll want to be at this event.

Tony King and Kris Ralph produce acoustic music at its best, from hauntingly beautiful songs in the vein of Luka Bloom, to the exotic tones reminiscent of Cassandra Wilson to the Hendrix spiked and dirty New Orleans exhileration of a band possessed.
 

You can check them out first at http://www.makinwhoopee.com.au, http://www.beautifullymad.com, http://www.winemusic.biz or http://www.myspace.com/beautifullymad2

Doors open at 6pm.
Great Chinese food there in Tim’s Kitchen.

Show starts at 8.00pm.
For all bookings call the Italo Club on (02)62951588 (10am -10pm) or Bill 0407434469 anytime
TICKETS: $23 ($18 Concession)

DON’T MISS OUT!!!

Two leading local musical theatre companies have joined forces to bring to the Canberra stage one of the most popular West End musicals of all time. 

Miss Saigon, a modern adaptation of Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover.

Set in 1975 during the final days of the American occupation of Saigon, Miss Saigon is an epic love story about the relationship between Kim, a young Vietnamese woman, and Chris, her American GI. Kim works in a sleazy Saigon night club owned by a notorious wheeler-dealer known as ‘The Engineer’. John, an American GI, buys his friend Chris the services of Kim for the night. That night will change their lives forever.

The Phoenix Players and Supa Productions joint venture shows the level of commitment to a quality end product.

The production’s director Kelda McManus says that Miss Saigon is a major event for both theatre companies.

“Miss Saigon is such a big show from a financial and resources perspective that it made sense for us to join forces on Miss Saigon. We see ourselves as sister companies with a similar market share, and we use the same models and guidelines”, said McManus.

With opening night in November, sneak previews indicate that the show will be well produced, with very talented principal actors drawn from the Canberra pool. The artistic team comprises Director Kelda McManus, Musical Director, Andrea Clifford, Choreographer, Amy Fitzpatrick and Stage Manager, Garrick Smith.

“We ran a fairly intensive audition process for the principal roles with three rounds of callbacks because the calibre of talent was so high”, said McManus.

“We’re delighted with the response from the Asian community. This show has given so many people an opportunity to take part—we have actors and singers from the Phillipines, Thailand, China and Malaysia in the show.”

Jacinta Lee who plays Kim, lived in Vietnam for most of her childhood and has been exposed to the musical through her parents.

Grant Pegg, who plays Chris, the American GI who fathers Kim’s child and returns to the US, has been an avid musical theatre performer for many years.

“It’s a great opportunity for me. The music and story is so powerful, it has stood the test of time”, says Pegg.

Nominated for 11 Tony Awards in 1991, Miss Saigon is one show you won’t want to miss.

Goddard & Howse Small World Journeys, one of the sponsors for the Canberra production of Miss Saigon, has offered one place on a 17-day tour of Vietnam as a prize for seeing the show. For more details visit www.miss-saigon-canberra.com

WHAT: MISS SAIGON
WHERE: ANU ARTS CENTRE
WHEN: 12TH – 28TH NOVEMBER 2009
TICKETS: 6257 1950 or at www.canberrarep.org.au
Dinner & Show package: Teatro Vivaldi on 6257 2718.

Two weeks ago I signed up for a free trial with Quickflix home-deliver DVD. At that time I was required to provide my credit card details, just in case I didn’t return any movies etc. At 2am this morning I was billed for $26.95 for a month in advance.

I contacted Quickflix and was told that this was all part of the Terms & Conditions and that an email was sent 4-days previously stating that my free trial would be over soon. I found this in my spam folder. Turns out also you can do everything else but cancel online. So when they tell you this is an online service and that’s why you don’t receive a phone call warning that they are about to take money from you, they require you to phone them if you want to cancel.

I suggested that a phone call is generally a polite way of starting a business relationship and that I wanted to cancel. Quickflix refused to refund my payment. So when they say "…you can cancel anytime!" in their written material, they don’t mean cancel and be refunded. In contrast, I also started a trial with Bigpond Movies and not only received a phone call near the end of the trial, but when I told them a movie had not arrived, they apologised and re-commenced my trial. They said they would ring back again as the trial reaches its end. I received another call a few days later to confirm that the next movie had arrived!

Quickflix staff were arrogant and up themselves. Definitely recommend Bigpond over Quickflix! And they could have got my business at least at $10 p/month level, $120 p/a, for a simple 22c phone call…

And they end their spam emails with "…your friends," – what a load of rubbish!

Green Made Easy: The Everyday Guide for Transitioning to a Green Lifestyle
By Chris Prelitz
HAYHOUSE, RRP: $22.95
ISBN 9781401922849

FIVE MYTHS about Green Living:
1. Small changes don’t matter
2. ‘Green’ choices are expensive
3. It takes more energy to recycle than it saves
4. Keeping older appliances is better than buying new ones
5. There’s nothing wrong with buying plastic—they’re all recycled today

Going green is easy and inexpensive. Making small shifts in how we go about our daily routine translates to big changes in the planet!

Green Made Easy is a simple-to-use guidebook that offers tips on how you can make the transition towards a green lifestyle one step at a time.

• Green your personal-care products: use coconut oil for shaving cream
• Green your wardrobe: cold wash and line dry
• Green what you eat: go organic
• Green your pets: have them eat what you eat
• Green your cleaning supplies: use vinegar to clean your bathroom
• Green your garden: shrink your lawn
And lots more!

Author Chris Prelitz shares personal experiences, lessons learned and reflections that humorously touch the heart and lift the spirit. The chapter on ‘Green Myth Busting’ will sway even the most cynical person towards better eco-choices that will also save money.

The book will delight and inspire any and all who dream of making a difference and who wish to create a thriving, healthy future for generations to come.

Chris Prelitz is a pioneer of the green movement, heading a successful design-build firm with projects ranging from off-grid solar ranches to the first solar-powered restaurant and solar auto dealership in the U.S. He has served on environmental advisory boards at city, state, and national levels.
 

ASIO, the Army and Australian Federal Police have all applied to Rudd for increased funding. The Prime Minister decides to give them a test and releases a rabbit into a forest. Whoever finds the rabbit gets the cash.

ASIO goes in. They place animal informants throughout the forest. They question all plant and mineral witnesses. After three months of extensive investigations they conclude that rabbits do not exist in Australia but are an ever-present threat.

The Army goes in. After two weeks with no leads they burn the forest, killing everything in it, including the rabbit, and they make no apologies. The rabbit had it coming.

The AFP goes in. They come out two hours later with a badly beaten bear, who is yelling: "Okay! Okay! I’m a rabbit! I’m a rabbit!"