New Year’s Eve I was scrambling to get a submission in for HEAVY Magazine which I have been contributor for since April 2017. I’m not always able to be as prolific as I would like but a chance to contribute as one of their film reviewers to a recap of the year’s films was too good to miss out on. Similar to how I feel honoured to contribute to end of year countdowns for X-Press magazine. I’ll of course be putting together my annual Favourite Films of the Year later on in 2019 but this will give you an idea of who is in the running at the moment for a Top 10 entry. You can find the post here https://heavymag.com.au/a-re-cap-of-the-films-of-2018/
I hope you enjoy and feel free to comment or give any social media love.
Heavy is an independent magazine and website that is all about the music and specifically heavy music and supporting the Australian music scene in general. Fortunately for me they do cover film as well and I have been fortunate to have a few things published there.
My sister and I on her wedding day. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Five years on from my very first post and how time flies. I’m very grateful for my blogging community which has grown my confidence and given me an outlet I desperately needed in my life. As is customary I am doing a quick recap at the end of the year. In 2018 a lot of old posts proved more popular than my new posts. The new posts for the most part act as links to where I am published elsewhere occasionally offering some behind the scenes info in a more informal manner. I will only be listing posts published this year.
America is still No.1 in terms of readership, Australia has retaken No.2 from the UK and Canada remains in fourth place as always. Cracking the Top 5 this year is India with newcomer Hong Kong making a strong showing in the latter half of 2018 and reaching No. 6. Germany which had a grip on N.5 for most of the year slips to No. 7 and Japan, New Zealand and Malaysia leave the Top 10. In No. 8 France returns to the Top 10, the Philippines makes if for the first time in No. 9 and holding on to a Top 10 position is Indonesia as the country with the tenth most views. Overall there were less views from the U.K. and Canada but more views from the rest of the Top 10 countries with all 10 cracking triple digits in number of views. Which I guess makes for a more diverse readership.
Top 10 Most Views by Country
The United States of America 9,519 Views
Australia 1,898 Views
The United Kingdom 1,714 Views
Canada 685 Views
India 361 Views
Hong Kong SAR China 200 Views
Germany 188 Views
France 113 Views
Philippines 108 Views
Indonesia 106 Views
Out of the 108 posts published for the year the following 25 got the most views. In 2015 the blog started to grow with 1,609 views, 333 visitors, 23 Likes and 30 comments. In 2016 the blog received 5,673 views, 3,206 visitors, 546 Likes and 751 comments. In 2017 this grew to 16,767 views (more than a third of which were for The Founder Review), 11,891 visitors, 1,240 Likes and 1,707 comments. In 2018 much to my surprise we stayed steady at 16,706 views and 12,185 visitors with the site receiving 1,091 likes and 1,046 comments. There has been a slight downtick in liking and commenting of posts which makes sense since my focus is less intense on growing my blogging community and some fellow bloggers have given the game away. One thing about the results strongly supports an idea I have of where to put my energies next. Overall I just want to say again how much it means to me to have my core group and how much I appreciate anybody who reads and enjoys the blog.
Karen and I with the cast of Aladdin. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
It has been very nice to see some of the posts that were enjoyed the most were ones that were very personal including about travelling to attend my sister’s wedding overseas and recollections of the Brisbane International Film Festival. I’m also glad that everybody seems to enjoy my list for the best films of the year and look forward to doing another one for 2018 around Oscar time. Also blogging about my first cover story for Scenestr has proven the most popular post on my blog for 2018 which is very gratifying. It was a lot of fun and a real privilege to do the interview with Jascha Boyce.
For Your Consideration
So here is the point where I urge you to consider some of the posts I’m most proud of. Most are already listed and have proven popular like my Rocket Man posts and review of Cher’s concert. I would ask you to consider my review for the movie First Man over at Scenestr which is perhaps my favourite of the film reviews I wrote this year. Any of the Scenestr cover stories I would highly recommend which included a profile on Chuck Norris, an interview with outgoing Adelaide Cabaret Festival Artistic Director Ali McGregor, with SNL star and stand-up Michael Che and with Jascha Boyce.
Well that’s it for another year so thank you so much to everybody who reads my humble blog and I would like to take this moment to thank my fellow bloggers for their continued support Pete, Cindy, GP, Don, Vinnie, Jay, Sean, Paul, Allen, John K, Michael, Jet, Eddie, Alex, Paol, Jordon, John R, SJS, DB, Emma, Jersey Dreaming, Robin, Eric and anybody else who takes the time to read these posts. It would be helluva lot less fun without you all.
-Lloyd Marken
Rosie and I on Opening Night of BIFF 2018 on assignment for Scenestr magazine. Copyright of BIFF from their 2018 Facebook site.
Another milestone reached, this time for the popular post Minor Roles That Had A Major Impact – Lucy From Going In Style. A mostly average film I saw with Karen in early 2017 attracted by the venerable star power of Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Alan Arkin and Ann Margaret. A stand out scene for me though involved the actress Annabelle Chow as a young girl named Lucy who won’t snitch out our heroes to the police out of respect for her fellow grand daughters. A classic example of a minor character having a huge effect on the plot and just making an impact in terms of the quality of the performance.
And now some stats for the sake of those who love stats. The post was originally published 30JUN2017 and closed out 2017 as the 3rd most popular post on my blog from 2017 with 187 views. It currently sits at 1,030 views having reached 1,000 views on the 12th of December of this year. The most popular month so far was July 2018 where it accumulated 101 views, the only time thus far it has reached triple digits in a month. That month had a daily average of 3 views. Most days there is at least one view on average. It currently has 11 likes from my fellow bloggers.
I don’t know if these posts appear silly, self-congratulatory or just embarrassing. But I never thought so many people might read any of my post when I started blogging five years ago let alone 1,000 so I celebrate the moments and move on. I hope you enjoy.
It’s almost been a year since I got published with X-Press magazine for the first time contributing to the best of the year lists for 2017. I count myself very lucky to feature on the list for 2018. While it includes my thoughts on Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool which was in the 2018 so far list from earlier in the year but it’s still published post and I’m still counting it towards my tally. My work with X-Press has included screeners and two preview screenings in Brisbane and I look forward to contributing in 2019 with them. This post can also act as an entry point for you to read the words of the other great writers who contribute reviews to X-Press Magazine. You can find it here http://xpressmag.com.au/x-press-top-20-films-of-2018/
This list has got me thinking about how my own Top 10 for 2018 is shaping up. Please note my Top 10 to feature here on this blog next year around Oscar time will go off films released in 2018 in the U.S. This list done by X-Press Magazine was based on films that were released in Australia in 2018 and do include some films from 2017. Heck I reviewed a delightful 2016 film from France for this year.
X-Press Magazine was established in 1985 and at one point was Australia’s highest circulating free weekly entertainment publication with over 40,000 copies reaching 1,0000 outlets every week. On the 24th May, 2016 Issue 1527 hit stands. Like many publications of its ilk X-Press Magazine is now foremost an online magazine engaged globally and making the most of the possibilities that new digital technology offers. It’s roots though are tied to its home city, love of local artists and productions and music which it supports wholeheartedly. Perth a capital city most isolated from all the other capitals is continuing to grow and develop culturally and artistically with its own identity and talent. X-Press has always been there to capture this growth and will continue to do so.
This is my fifth Top 5 for Heavy and my seventh Countdown. With the release of new season of Game of Thrones last year I went all out with a Top 10 Countdown where each piece averaged over 500 words and was published separately counting down to the telecast of the first episode. It was a lot of work that I was happy to do but can’t maintain as a side gig with all the other work I do. A Top 5 of Tom Hank’s best films followed which was a lot shorter and I decided doing something akin to that format was sustainable. It also appeared to be really popular. When it came time to do another Top 5 on Stranger Things Season 2 I found there was too much to choose from and decided to do a Top 10 instead. Top 5s have continued though with Thor: Ragnarok, Star Trek: Discovery, Blade Runner 2049 and now A Top 5 of the Best Things about the Rocky film series which you can find here https://heavymag.com.au/top-5-best-things-about-the-rocky-movies/
It’s been a while since I’ve published with Heavy magazine due to other commitments and time constraints but it is always a pleasure and I hope you enjoy. Feel free to comment on the site of what would be your picks. I look forward to doing a few more in the near future.
Heavy is an independent magazine and website that is all about the music and specifically heavy music and supporting the Australian music scene in general. Fortunately for me they do cover film as well and I have been fortunate to have a few things published there.
THE CAMERAMAN: I’m not an expert on Buster Keaton, having only seen The General many years ago at BIFF 2005 but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to check out another one of his films screening at BIFF 2018. Arriving solo on an early Saturday morning 20OCT2018 at the Gallery of Modern Art South Bank I quickly saw a line backed up outside the entrance to the 11am session. Clearly I was not the only who thought this was a good idea. On the 80th anniversary of The General I watched the great organ player Ron West accompany live, and here on the 90th anniversary of The Cameraman I was to see David Bailey play the gallery’s 1929 Wurlitzer which came up out of the stage just beneath the screen. The audience was amused by his inventive addition of the iconic Jaws theme amongst other playful choices.
The line for The Cameraman. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
David Bailey performing. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Where the opening party was held. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
The Cameraman was a crossroads for Keaton, the silent era was fading, he lost creative control in his ventures and his personal life was about to go through an upheaval. In some ways The Cameraman is the last great Buster Keaton film despite him going on for quite some time after. The audience was full of all types of people drawn to the opportunity to see something as unique as a silent film. The print had long been believed lost and the film survives today as a mesh between two old prints. In some ways Keaton’s old movie seems more grand now, in an era of CGI effects I heard one youngster marvel they must have built that whole set for such a short gag, Keaton’s stunt work and balletic grace remains impressive even if it is reported he was not allowed to do them all himself this time around. Some things have dated its true, you can see the construction of how we’re meant to feel but the reason why these films remain timeless is the same reason they had such broad appeal back in the day. The characters were archetypes, the story simple and the gags broad because that is what it makes them universal. Seeing The Cameraman at BIFF 2018 was a treat. Afterwards David Bailey received an ovation.
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IN THE AISLES: The next day Karen and I went and saw at 3:45pm at New Farm Cinemas In The Aisles which was in a way a choice made jointly by Karen and I after she got Arctic and I got Ash Is Purest White. From Germany and starring Sandra Huller, Franz Rogowski and Peter Kurth it tells the story of a night shift at a retail store in Germany. A few things came flooding back to me of my time working at BIG W as a young man, the veteran who knew all the good hiding spots, the jittery movements of using a power pallet jack for the first time. I didn’t know what to expect with In The Aisles a romcom that turns dark maybe but instead I got a powerful character piece about three people. There is so much care in every frame and shot of this film from Thomas Stuber that perfectly creates the geography of the store and being out of it. Delicate dialogue that says enough of the characters thoughts but not all of it and the way that the people who knew you at work know you in a way your family never will and vice versa. That they are a family of sorts. I don’t know if it will create the buzz needed but it would be no injustice if this received a nomination for Best Foreign Film at this years’ Oscars. I also noted that seeing a film at an old cinema like the New Farm Cinemas made it feel more like BIFF for me and reminded me the Old Regent Cinemas.
Rainy BIFF. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
New Farm Cinemas. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Gilda poster at New Farm Cinemas. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
BIFF 2018 for me at least will go down as a particularly rainy BIFF. Also my suggestion would be to move the dates back to the traditional late July Early August run rather than having BIFF running the same time as the Byron Bay Film Festival and I wouldn’t mind seeing Palace as one of the venue partners in future. However I saw some fantastic movies at BIFF 2018 which was a relief since there were so many good ones on offer. I didn’t cover the globe as much but I saw 7 films, two from Australia, three from Europe, an American classic and one from Asia. Only one of them bad. Still have not gotten around to seeing an Iranian film at BIFF yet and there were plenty on offer this year. I couldn’t help but notice there were lots of callbacks to earlier BIFFs and earlier films I had seen there, that is the nature of film festivals I guess. One thing I am very excited about is Artistic Director Amanda Slack-Smith continuing in the role and seeing what she comes up with next year.
TERROR NULLUS: We attended the Gallery of Modern Art at 6pm Wednesday 17OCT2018 to watch a free but sold out screening of Terror Nullius. This “film” made me feel really old, I’ve always slanted a little to the progressive side of things but as I get older I found more and more my tastes, politics and views are more and more out of touch. As a fat middle aged white male I can’t help but sometimes wonder why is there so much negativity attached to those things and feel a little targeted even as I acknowledge the traditional disadvantage of those who were not those things throughout history. Even that sentence feels so little limiting though, I guess I hesitate at the politics of division but want to support new opportunities and new voices to be heard. To that end I’m happy that Terror Nullius exists, I’m happy there are people out there with this viewpoint who put films like this out there. If it is for youth and the fringe dwellers and if I’m neither one of those now then so be it.
BIFF 2018 Billboard near GOMA. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Q&A for Terror Nullius. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Gallery of Modern Art. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
BIFF 2018 Billboard near GOMA. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Outside GOMA after Terror Nullius. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
GOMA at night. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Arriving at GOMA after work. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Q&A with Soda Jerk. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Arriving at GOMA after work. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
GOMA at night. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Outside GOMA after Terror Nullius. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Q&A for Terror Nullius. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Q&A with Soda Jerk. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
BIFF 2018 Billboard near GOMA. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Gallery of Modern Art. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
BIFF 2018 Billboard near GOMA. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Terror Nullius is a cutting together of old archival footage to present a new narrative, it is intended to reinterpret conventions of storytelling, cultural norms and to provoke. It is also meant to entertain I hope. Yet I rarely laughed, I found it one note and while some moments resonated in how they cleverly spliced together things (Mel Gibson’s abusive phone rant cut together with Charlize Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road for one), for the most part it felt repetitive and unimaginative. Like a kid thinking they’re a freedom fighter because they wearing a Che t-shirt at uni rather than say fighting and dying in the jungles of Central America for a communist guerilla. As a former arts student who railed against the policies of a conservative Prime Minister it s interesting to reckon with the passing of time and the challenging of norms that come from a culture I grew up in that has evolved into something new. The makers interviewed at a Q&A afterwards seem like intelligent, thoughtful and hard working people with ideals. If you enjoy their work I am happy for you and I wish them continued success. Yet for me Terror Nullius was boring, disrespectful and for the most part a wank.
