MAO'S LAST DANCER REVIEW

MAO'S LAST DANCER
Directer: Bruce Beresford
Cast: Chi Cao, Bruce Greenwood, Amanda Schull
Screenwriter: Jan Sardi
Running time: 117 min
Rating: PG
***/*****

DESPITE IT'S FLAWS YOU WOULD BE HARD PRESSED NOT TO WANT TO PIROUETTE DOWN THE AISLES

Just when we thought all was lost, the Australian Film Industry is provided with a flicker of hope thanks to the release of Mao's Last Dancer.

The film chronicles the rise of Ballet star Li Cunxin. As the impoverished son of peasant labourers in Communist China, Cunxin is plucked from obscurity to attend The Beijing Dance Academy. Chosen to represent his country as an exchange student for the Houston ballet, Li soon begins to question the Communist dictates on which he has been raised.

Whilst Mao's last dancer is one of the best Australian produced movies to emerge in about a decade, it is not without it's flaws. Bruce Beresford's direction is rather hit and miss. Whilst producing many heart warming scenes coupled by beautifully shot dance sequences, many moments that should come across as highly dramatic fall somewhat flat with others feeling more contrived than organic. Screenwriter Jan Sardi's script consistently builds dramatic tension throughout, such as when communist party dictates begin to infiltrate the dance academy as well as Li's standoff at the Chinese embassy, only to have such story arch's be resolved with disappointing anti climaxes.

Despite the scripts faults, Beresford deserves a pat on the back just for tackling the project considering he had the unenviable task of finding a bilingual actor who could carry the picture, whilst needing to be one of the best ballet dancers in the world. His prayers were answered when he came across Chi Cao who not only bears a striking resemblance to the real Cunxin but also attended the Beijing Dance Academy where Li was taught his craft. Cao's acting inexperience is obvious in certain scenes, but his natural charm, screen presence and undeniable dancing talent makes him an extremely likable protagonist whom the audience longs to see succeed. The casting of Amanda Schull is rather more questionable. Thirty year old Schull, known mostly to audiences as Jodie Sawyer in Center Stage, is rather miscast as Li's eighteen year old love interest Elizabeth. Although Cao is also thirty in real life he is far more successful at pulling off Li's youthful naivety than Schull is at Elizabeth's. At one point in the film when she informs Li that she's a virgin you can't help but think... really? After watching her set the screen on fire with her dancing prowess in Center Stage it is almost cruel to cast her once again as a ballerina and not have her dance a single step throughout. The film possesses a strong support cast that includes Bruce Greenwood as Li's American mentor and Kyle MacLachlan as a savvy international law attorney. Their performances enrich the movie and add much needed weight to this independent production.

Mao's last Dancer is beautifully shot, particularly in it's dance sequences. Beresford uses a unique blend of live action and slow motion capture shots to fully encapsulate the performances. The cinematography by Peter James also assists in elevating the routines and is never so effective as when capturing the vivid Chinese landscape.

One of the best attributes of Mao's Last Dancer is the hauntingly beautifully and often rousing musical score of Christopher Gordon. It is rather criminal that more than likely Gordon will be overlooked at next years Academy Awards-mostly due to the fact that the film has yet to garner much attention outside of Australia- as his original music is amongst the most beautiful ever to be committed to celluloid.

Despite it's flaws Mao's Last Dancer is a thoroughly enjoyable piece of entertainment. This can mostly be attributed to the story of Cunxin itself, which is so inspirational and uplifting that it would be almost impossible not to leave the cinema without a smile on your face and a fervent desire to do a pirouette. THREE OUT OF FIVE STARS.

NEW MOON REVIEW

NEW MOON

Director: Chris Weitz

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner

Screenwriter: Melissa Rosenberg

Running time: 130 min

Rating: M

***/*****

WEITZ SAVES HIMSELF FROM A MAULING

Weitz delivers a solid and faithful adaptation of Stephanie Meyer's insanely popular novel. Whilst much of what was good about the book is kept in tact, many of it's faults were transferred over as well.

In New Moon Bella is left nursing a broken heart after her beloved Edward skips town. Fearing he was putting her in constant danger Edward decides to end their romance, leaving Bella's childhood friend Jacob Black to pick up the pieces. As their relationship grows increasingly complicated, Bella is amazed to discover tha Jacob is harbouring a secret of his own.

The Twilight novels were always destined to work better as films than as books, mainly due to the fact that we are spared Meyer's unfortunate habit of waffling e.g. Bella's miserable, for the next one hundred pages I'm going to keep baffling on about just how miserable she is in case you missed the basic idea of the concept. Screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg once again does a superb job of adapting Meyer's novels by snappily summarising the poorly paced book, mostly retaining the charm and skipping the yarn. Unfortunately like the book, the middle of the film seems to drag on, but this does seem unavoidable considering how true to events Rosenberg's script remained. New Moon is also flawed in the fact that, like the first film, many serious moments appear unintentionally funny which serves to dampen the quality of the picture.

After the relative Ishtar that was the Golden Compass, Chris Weitz has managed a return to form proving that he can be trusted with a big budget and beloved source material. Weitz manages to retain much of what was loved about the first Catherine Hardwick adaptation-snappy dialogue with a unique balance of light and dark moments-whilst putting his own visual imprint on the film. Also remaining from the first film are the cast which has a lot to do with Twihards acceptance of Weitz's vision.

Kristen Stewart once again pulls of the inordinate task of making the insufferable character of Bella from the novel like able. Stewart brings a certain strength to the character that is sorely lacking in the books. Robert Pattinson however is devoid of the charm and charisma that made his first outing as Edward so memorable. In Pattinson's defence the character is chronically depressed and mopey throughout the film. However, as you watch the gamut of his acting abilities range from a frown to a scowl and back again you can't help but get the impression that he doesn't really want to be there, and considering the constant hysteria and media attention that plagues the actor's personal life, perhaps he doesn't. This film was Taylor Lautner's time to shine and he makes the most of his opportunity. As Jacob Black he brings great warmth and likability (as well as some crazy muscles) to the role that makes him a real competitor for Bella's affections. As an audience member you almost dare to think the impossible- perhaps Bella would be better of with this quintessential boy next door than the perpetual sad sack she pines for throughout the film. New addition to the franchise Michael Sheen delivers a spot on performance as Volturi leader Aro whilst child prodigy Dakota Fanning turns in a suitably creepy performance as the sadistic Jane. The rest of the supporting cast once again do well to add most of the comic relief to the often bleak events the film depicts.

New Moon is visually stunning. Cinematographer Javier Aguirresarobe manages to give the dreary town of Forks a lush, almost otherworldly quality. The beautiful visual quality is emphasised when the story shifts to Italy and we are inundated by majestic scenery and vibrant colours. The only real disappointment are the quite poorly done CGI werewolves which looked about as real as Pamela Anderson's breasts.

All in all Twilight fanatics should be pleased with the latest installment whilst Summit Entertainment should sit back, relax and start counting the Benjamen's. THREE OUT OF FIVE STARS