Yes it’s that time of the year again, where Melbourne is host to it’s very own International Film Festival (MIFF). This 17 day event will be kicking off next Friday (25th July) and up run until July the 17th.

Since I’ve got a short attention span it took me a while to sort through the usual tedious arthouse listings, but the following is a list of the movies that I’ll be hoping to check out at the Festival. For a detailed list of film times & locations scroll to the bottom of the post.

First up on opening night is the Australian documentary Not Quite Hollywood, which follows the rise & fall of the Ozploitation movies that were released in America during the 70′s & 80′s. Best described by it’s director, Mark Hartley as containing “lashings of gratuitous sex, violence & fuel injected muscle car mayhem” it features interviews with Quentin Tarantino and sounds like an informative yet entertaining piece on a relatively unknown part of Australian cinema history.

If this doco whets your appetite then you’ll definitely want to head over to the ACMI which will be featuring a focus of six Ozploitation films. The 1971 horror Razorback, directed by Russel Malcahy (of Highlander fame), is a ‘nature gone wild’ film with a story that sells itself ‘a giant boar goes on a killing spree in the outback claiming an animal rights activist in the process’. Nuff said.

If this cult movies is too lowbrow for you then there’s the UK/Belgium produced In Bruges. This movie has been labeled by the Hollwood Reporter as “an audacious combination of old world grace & modern ultra violence”. Starring Colin Farrell & Ralph Fiennes this flick looks like it will deviate from the usual brooding hitman formula by combining both action and comedy (ala Shoot Em Up). Judging from the preview, this movie could be a lot of quirky fun (It features a midget punching someone in the balls. Funniest home videos eat your heart out).

There’s also the 70′s influenced The Bank Job, starring ever reliable Jason Stratham (just don’t mention the Transporter) which is described by Eye Weekly as “Chockablock with Cockney hardcases, bent coppers, kinky politicians, shadowy M15 fixers, black radicals. a Soho sleaze merchant and a bevy of topless birds”. Following in the vein of Guy Ritchie movies Snatch & Lock Stock, it’s story will probably contain more twists & turns than a set of plumbing pipes and should keep you puzzled long after the credits have rolled.

However the feature that’s got me most excited this year is the inclusion of the George A. Romero Retrospective. If you haven’t heard of this legendary horror director before (shame on you), then you should check out Dead On: The Life and cinema of George A. Romero. Featuring interviews with Stephen King, John Carpenter, Quentin Tarantino, Guillermo Del Toro & many more, this documentary should bring you up to speed with Romero’s previous body of work.

Horror fans are in for a real treat as the festival will be screening nine of his movies dating from the 1968 Black & White Night Of The Living Dead through to the 2007 film Diary Of The Dead which was fuilly filmed with HD cameras. Beneath the blood & guts storyline of the ‘Dead’ series Romero has managed to depict subversive themes capturing the American Zeitgeist. This includes the civil rights movement of the 60′s (Night Of The Living Dead), the capitalistic consumerism of the 70′s (Dawn Of The Dead), the big brother military paranoia of the 80′s (Day Of the Dead), the anti capitalism stance of the 21st century (Land Of The Dead) through to the media propaganda of today (Diary Of The Dead).

It’s therefore no wonder that this series has had such an impact on the horror genre and has also influenced a wide range of media including pop culture references in TV (Buffy, Simpsons), movies (28 days later & Shaun Of The Dead), video games (Resident Evil, Dead Rising) and even music (The Gorillaz have featured sample clips in their material).

The Crazies also looks like a lot of fun (yes I’ve got a weird sense of fun) and involves a toxic spill in the water supply which leads to an outbreak of aggression & death. To rectify this situation Washington sends in the clean up crew which results in an all out war between an infected community and the military (this apocalyptic storyline is really an allagory for the ’73 Nixon ethos).This film also seems to have influenced the latest M. Night Shyamalan flick The Happening as it includes some familiar scenes of chaos in the face of environmental disaster (like an old lady stabbing a rescuer with a knitting needle & a priest who sets himself on fire).

If you’re into cult movies you’ll definitely want to check out at least one of these classic films on the big screen during the running of the festival. Tickets can be purchased here or from the Forum theatre box office (crn Russel & Flinders Street).

If your planning on hitting the movies right after work and looking for a bite to eat, check out the 20% off Chinatown offers available here. To receive this great discount spend $30 or more at a number of restaurants in the CBD area.

Not Quite Hollywood
25th July (Fri) 7.30pm @ Hamer Hall
28th July (Mon) 9.15pm @ Hamer Hall

The Bank Job
26th July (Sat) 7.15pm @ Greater Union

Diary Of The Dead
26th July (Sat) 9.15pm @ Capitol
7th August (Thu) 9.15pm @ Greater Union

Day Of The Dead
26th July (Sat) 11.45pm @ Greater Union

Dawn Of The Dead
27th July (Sun) 9.15pm @ Greater Union
4th August (Mon) 9.15pm @ ACMI

Dead On:The Life and cinema of George A. Romero
28th July (Mon) 7.00pm @ ACMI
10th August (Sun) 5.15pm @ Capitol

The Crazies
28th July (Mon) 9.30 @ ACMI
10th August (Sun) 3.15 @ Capitol

Night Of The Living Dead
29th July (Tue) 7.00pm @ ACMI

In Bruges
29th July (Tue) 7.00pm @ The Forum
8th August (Fri) 5.00pm @ Kino

Razorback
6th August (Wed) 9.30pm @ ACMI