Returning: At The Movies

Beloved film critics Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton return with a new series of At The Movies from Wednesday February 13.

As always it repeats on Sunday nights at 6pm, plus ABC2 Fridays and Saturdays.

The first episode includes reviews of There Will Be Blood, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Dan in Real Life, Rendition, Definitely Maybe and Jumper. Hopefully there is a tribute to the work of Heath Ledger.

Press Release:

Episode 1
ABC TV – Wednesday February 13 at 10pm (repeat Sunday Feb 17 at 6pm)
ABC2 – Friday February 15 at 4.30pm, and Saturday Feb 16 at 8pm

THERE WILL BE BLOOD + interviews TBC – with Daniel Day- Lewis and director Paul Thomas A sprawling epic of family, faith, power and oil, There Will Be Blood is set on the incendiary frontier of California’s turn-of-the-century petroleum boom. The story chronicles the life and times of one Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis), who transforms himself from a down-and-out silver miner raising a son on his own into a self-made oil tycoon.

THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY – is the remarkable true story of Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric), a successful and charismatic editor-in-chief of French Elle, who believes he is living his life to its absolute fullest when a sudden stroke leaves him in a life-altered state. While the physical challenges of Bauby’s fate leave him with little hope for the future, he begins to discover how his life’s passions, his rich memories and his new-found imagination can help him achieve a life without boundaries.

DAN IN REAL LIFE – Dan Ashburn (Steve Carell) is a devoted single father and renowned advice columnist. When his entire extended family gets together for a reunion in a beachfront house, he unexpectedly meets Beth (Binoche), the woman of his dreams. She is smart, funny, beautiful and she just happens to be his brother’s girlfriend! In this heartfelt new comedy, the man with all the answers finds that the hardest advice to take is your own.

RENDITION – Isabella El-Ibrahimi (Reece Witherspoon) is the American wife of Egyptian-born chemical engineer, Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally) who disappears on a flight from South Africa to Washington. Isabella desperately tries to track her husband down, while a CIA analyst (Jake Gyllenhaal) at a secret detention facility outside the U.S is forced to question his assignment as he becomes party to the man’s unorthodox interrogation.

NIGHT – A stunning big screen event from award-winning director Lawrence Johnston, this epic and hauntingly beautiful film celebrates Australia at night, exploring the universal nature of night and how we experience it. Set to a lush and dramatic symphonic score from composer Cezary Skubiszewski, NIGHT combines arresting imagery of people and places, urban and rural, with Australians from all walks of life telling their stories of what the night means to them; the pleasure and pain, the reality and the fantasy, work and leisure, past and present.

JUMPER – David Rice always believed he was perfectly ordinary — until he accidentally discovered he possessed a “talent” that is nothing less than extraordinary. David is a “JUMPER” who can teleport himself to the streets of New York and Tokyo, the ruins of Rome, and the summit of Mt. Everest. He can see twenty sunsets in one night, whisk his girlfriend around the world in the blink of an eye, and grab millions of dollars in a matter of minutes. But David’s global odyssey takes a deadly turn when finds himself relentlessly pursued by a secret organisation sworn to kill Jumpers. Forming an uneasy alliance with another Jumper, David becomes a key player in a war that has been raging for thousands of years. As these world-changing events unfold, David begins to discover the secrets and mythology behind his incredible ability.

Episode 2
Wed Feb 20 at 10.05pm (repeat Sunday 24 at 6pm)
ABC2 – Friday Feb 22 at 4.30pm and Saturday Feb 23 at 8pm.

TALK TO ME – Petey is an ex-con who talks his way into an on-air radio gig in the mid-to-late 1960s in Washington, D.C., when vibrant soul music and exploding social consciousness were combining to unique and powerful effect. From the first wild morning on the air, Petey becomes an iconic radio personality, surpassing the popularity of his fellow established disc jockeys. Combining biting humour with social commentary, Petey openly courts controversy for program director Dewey Hughes (Chiwetel Ejiofor, American Gangster) and station owner E.G. Sonderling (Martin Sheen). As Petey’s voice, humour, and spirit surge across the airwaves with the vitality of the era, listeners tune in to hear not only incredible music but also a man speaking directly to the community about race and power during an exciting and turbulent period in American history.

THE BUCKET LIST – Two terminally ill men (Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman) try to fulfil their life’s wish-lists before each kicks the bucket. After they break out of a cancer ward, they head off on a road trip with an itinerary that includes racing cars, eating giant plates of caviar and slinging poker chips in Monte Carlo.

BELLA – a heart-warming film inspired by the true story of a day in the life of two people in New York City. Alejandro Gomez Monteverde’s debut feature took the Toronto Film Festival’s People’s Choice Award, a distinction which has put it in the company of films such as American Beauty, Hotel Rwanda and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

MARGOT AT THE WEDDING – Writer/director Noah Baumbach brings to life a sharply observed portrait of a family. This film is an unflinchingly honest story about coming to terms with one’s family and oneself, a comedic and heartbreaking journey. The film stars Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jack Black.

IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH + interviews with Paul Haggis and Charlize Theron. Directed by Paul Haggis. After serving in Iraq, Mike Deerfield (Jonathan Tucker) goes missing and is reported AWOL. On hearing the news, his father Hank (Tommy Lee Jones), a former military MP, and his wife Joan (Susan Sarandon) launch a search for their son. With the help of Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron), a New Mexico police detective, the evidence grows and as the truth about Mike’s time in Iraq begins to emerge, Hank is forced to challenge his long-held beliefs to solve the mystery.