MIFF: The Spectacular Now

The Melbourne Film Festival is back for another year. Yay! My first pick was a hit at Sundance and from the preview a sure to be hit in my heart.

The Spectacular Now reads like any other coming of age film. Bad boys meets good girl. Against the odds they fall in love. Will he ruin her life or will she save him?

What make this movie different is the subtlety with which it's told. The characters aren't glorified for popularity and there is no makeover for the plain Jane.

Miles Teller (from Footloose remake fame) is brilliant as Sutter Keely. A boy on the verge of manhood and alcoholism, who appears to be the life of every party but whos empty smile would suggest otherwise. When the good hearted Aimee (Shailene Woodley) comes into Sutter's life I felt equally hopeful and fearful of where this would take him.

Not often does a American highschool drama make you care so much for the characters. The Spectacular Now makes you care for these people, about their well being and about their future.

Although the film plays to some high school stereotypes I couldn't help but love it, zits and all!

MIFF 2013

The MIFF program has finally been announced and I now find myself trying to pick the best of the best, the crème de la crème, the “OMFG did you see” movies to watch.

Having read and reread the program all weekend I think I have found my Top 5 Must See MIFF Movies! 

They are:
1. The Spectacular Now
2. Fruitvale Station
3. Prince Avalanche
4. Ain’t them Bodies Saints
5. Frances Ha

The Spectacular Now is a coming of age story, starring Shailene Woodley (of The Descendents fame) and Miles Teller (who danced into our hearts in the Footloose remake)  I think the preview says it all.



Fruitvale Station is this year’s Beasts of the Southern Wild, after being ‘discovered’ at Sundance this film is expected to be one of the big hitters come awards season. I feel I need to see it to be included…




Prince Avalanche had me at Paul Rudd and Emile Hirsch.

Ain’t Them Bodies Saints also premiered at Sundance this January and since then has had nothing but good things said about it. Casey Affleck is in it too, just in case it had you sitting on the fence!

Frances Ha premiered last year at TIFF and I missed it, so I won’t miss it this time! Although it does look like the type of movie I want to hate but can't, pretty much like every Sofia Coppola movie. In other words it looks self-indulgent.

There are so so so many other films to take your fancy, I can't be bothered naming them so look at the MIFF website instead!