Flick Picks: Lights! Cameras! Fornication!

LOVELACE is a fascinating biopic tracking ‘70s porn star Linda Lovelace’s swift rise to infamy, and a long, slow journey to the bottom of the barrel.

Runner Runner stars Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake.

What movies to watch this weekend with Leigh Paatsch.

THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTORS

A middling online gambling thriller, RUNNER RUNNER works up a fairly predictable tangle of doublecrosses and triple-threats. It’s the kind of junk that goes down well on a Sunday afternoon if you’re coming off a big Saturday night. Ben Affleck delivers his portrayal of a corrupt betting kingpin with a noncommittal shrug. It is such a static performance that the film around him rarely gets moving. Which is a shame, as the material covered here does have the potential to be quite compelling. It is left to Justin Timberlake, a moderate actor at best, to make the pace here, and though he battles valiantly throughout, the task remains ever so slightly beyond him. The exotic setting of Costa Rica sweetens the deal somewhat, as does the occasional shock insight into the shonky world of virtual casinos. Co-stars Gemma Arterton.

{General release.}

ONE BOOK, MANY MOVIES

With characteristic frankness, Australian author Tim Winton says he is “still trying to make sense of the damned book” he wrote in 2005, many stories from which serve as the basis for this unusual movie experience. How unusual? Well, 17 different local directors, casts and crews have been summoned to interpret different sections of Winton’s award-winning tome THE TURNING. The variety of styles on display is dauntingly diverse. The overall running time is three hours, including a welcome intermission break. Some instalments breeze by with little impact. Others stun by deploying short, sharp stabs of great emotional power. Sometimes, the whole thing can be a drag. Then The Turning can suddenly hit you with some of the best Australian filmmaking seen in years. The push-me-pull-you nature of the production will definitely prove to be a challenging experience for most viewers. A commitment is demanded to go with the erratic, elliptic flow of it all. The choice is yours: respond or resist. Stars Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving, Rose Byrne, Miranda Otto. {Selected cinemas — price of admission includes limited edition book covering all aspects of the film project.}

LIGHTS! CAMERAS! FORNICATION!

LOVELACE is flimsy, yet fascinating biopic, tracking ‘70s porn star Linda Lovelace’s swift rise to infamy, and a long, slow journey to the bottom of the barrel. The title role is played by Amanda Seyfried, a surprising casting choice considering she is still remembered in most quarters as Meryl Streep’s nice young daughter in Mamma Mia. Seyfried acquits herself well, in spite of spending the entire picture outside her usual comfort zone. While the production as a whole turns out to be a bit of a B-grade Boogie Nights, Seyfried keeps hustling for a better outcome throughout. The main story arc tracked by Lovelace follows Linda’s fraught and fractious relationship with husband Chuck Traynor (a convincingly sleazy Peter Sarsgaard).

{General release.}

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