The good.film Goodies: March Edition
Flip your calendars to March and - surprise, surprise! - you’ll find us marching off to the cineplex to catch the latest and greatest in impact entertainment for another stellar month.
good.film
2 years ago
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The first ticket we’re keen to rip should appeal to any fans of Sam Mendes, Oscar-winning British director of past successes like American Beauty, Road to Perdition, Skyfall and 1917. Described by critics as “magical”, “genuinely evocative” and “one of the year's most beautiful and underrated films”, his latest is a glowing romantic drama about the power of human connection during turbulent times.
For a crew who’s always praising the magic of cinema, we’re extra excited - because Mendes’ Empire of Light takes place inside one, taking us back in time to the Empire Cinema of 1981 in the coastal town of Margate, Kent, England. It’s a time & place that crackles with racial tension as Olivia Colman’s bipolar Hilary and Micheal Ward’s charming Stephen begin to fall in love. What unfolds is a heartfelt ode to the magic of cinema, built on meaningful themes of mental health and racism. As The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw states, the film “doesn’t shy away from the brutality and the racism that was happening in the streets outside the cinema.”
“Movies are for everyone, and the theaters that house them can be a place of light for even the darkest of souls to escape. Black, white, damaged, undamaged, young or old… the movies are like our best friends; they like us no matter what.” ~ Dan Buffa
We can’t think of too many actresses better equipped to navigate a nuanced mental health condition than the fabulous Olivia Colman. Just think back to her Academy Award-winning role in The Favourite, playing a disaffected, raging royal shattered with grief over her many miscarriages. The London Critics Circle agreed, citing Colman as the British Actress of the Year for this film - to go alongside her Golden Globe nod for the role.
“Colman, her eyes darting between hope and devastation, is so lit-up and specific (and funny, a quality that doesn't seem to get mentioned enough) that she lifts nearly every scene.” ~ Entertainment Weekly
The plaudits didn’t stop there; Empire of Light was also tapped by the British Academy of Film & Television Arts in the Outstanding British Film of the Year category. Let’s recap, then: quality performances? Check. Stirring & impactful storyline? Yup. Beautiful cinematography? You bet. With all those boxes ticked, we’re planning to be first in the Empire queue to catch this one.
Empire of Light opens around Australia on March 2.
Want to see the film in cinemas cheaper? Grab a Good Tix voucher - read more below!
A.I.’s Wide Shut
There’s 26 letters in the Aussie alphabet (27 if you count that sound possums make when they’re night-fighting). But have you noticed there’s two letters that’ve gotten way more worn out than usual lately?
From ChatGPT to Google Bard and Microsoft’s new Bing alter-ego (codenamed “Sydney”), A.I. is all the rage right now. In fact wildfire looks like a bit of a slowpoke compared to how quickly ChatGPT has caught on. It’s inspired a massive rush of curiosity - creatives are using it to write jokes, music and poems. Coders are using it to write software. Teachers are fretting over how to properly test their students, now that a website can spit out a natural-sounding essay in seconds. And writers the world over are similarly freaking out - are their jobs about to get axed by an algorithm?
While we don’t have all the answers (okay, any of the answers), as always at good.film we turn to screen stories to help us make sense of it all. One of the amazing films that’s come flooding back to us with all this A.I. adoration is the Oscar-winning 2013 love story, Her…
Writer-director Spike Jonze’s impossible fairy tale of a quiet man who falls in love with his A.I. operating system is, ironically, imbued with qualities a ‘computer’ could only dream of: it’s warm, authentic and achingly human. As Theodore and his A.I. “Samantha” get to know each other, their relationship blossoms in delightful and complicated ways. They walk the city together, opening up on their feelings and discussing their existence. She is literally the supportive voice in his ear. By the time they double-date with a (real) couple, Theodore has fallen completely in love.
We won’t spoil this gorgeous film’s ending - let’s just say it’s not all smooth programming for Theo & Sam. And since it got us thinking about other titles that examine our rocky relationship with so-called “artificial intelligence”, we put a watchlist together - stories that see us humans embrace the possibilities of A.I. with joy, confusion and yes, even terror. Wondering if ChatGPT will somehow become our next SkyNet? Nah, surely that’s stuff’s just for the movies - right…?!
Her is streaming on Netflix and Binge.
Read more about Her, or check out our list of other immersive films that imagine AI in our lives.
Let the Good Tix roll!
So, did you feel the love in Feb!? As a loving member of the good.film community, you might remember that last month we got behind Self Love Day (February 13, if you want to mark your calendars for next year). It was important to us because every year around Valentine’s Day, online searches for ‘loneliness’ spike by over 400%. So we decided to fire an arrow through outdated fairy tales about love. Sorry, Cupid buddy, but a change was well overdue…
First up, we released an article series covering why showing yourself some Self Love is so important, along with some great movies that embrace the spirit of self-worth, and some ideas for how to put yourself first. Then, we invited people to go on a movie date with that one special person on the planet who gets them the most (hint: that’s you) by launching Good Tix: discount vouchers for cheaper movies that, in a cheeky twist, also give to charity. And we’re proud to say, it made an impact.
In the lead-up to February 14th, 22,000 people learnt how to love themselves through our article series, and 3,000 actively embraced Self Love Day across our social platforms. That’s an amazing start - but then we thought, why stop the self love there? So we’re keepin’ the good times rolling with Good Tix in March. Why not treat yourself to a cheaper time at the movies - oh, and treat your mates, your parents, your co-workers… invite the whole gang!
Buy your Event & Village Cinemas Good Tix here or your Majestic Cinemas Good Tix here - for great cinema savings across the whole month of March.
You’re receiving this as an early adopter at good.film (look at you go). Feel free to share this with a fellow movie-lover to help grow the community! The more people who find and share entertainment on good.film, the better Danny (our awesome algorithm) gets in identifying movies & TV shows that help everyone understand themselves, and the world, a little better.
