700 Hay Street
Piccadilly Arcade
Perth Western Australia 6000
(08) 9322 3577
http://www.piccadillycinemas.com/
Hours:
Mon-Sun 10:00 - 23:00
Let us rejoice - Perth only cinema left in the city centre is also Perth only heritage listed Art-Deco Cinema. Cinema one is really splendid, and will remind you of the Astor and Paradiso. The cinema is in the heart of the city and has the advantage of his discounted priced on special days.
In the last few five years, the Piccadilly has tried to revamp itself by changing their pricing policies and the selection of titles they show, to make the cinema more popular and profitable, but, by doing so, the magic of the Piccadilly has been progressively vanishing.
The movies shown nowadays are mostly average Hollywood blockbusters (bland romances, action movies, animation and popular comedies) and rarely good titles. It used to be the contrary, the occasional blockbuster was a rarity among mostly good films (the same as those shown at the Luna cinemas) although screened one or two weeks after they premiered elsewhere - which explained the super-duper prices at the time.
The increase in prices has not had a reflection in the managing and repairing of the cinema beyond what is strictly necessary. I just want to pinpoint a few issues that the cinema needs to address, as they are charging us full price for the movies at present. Here are some of the Piccadilly's peccadilloes:
1/ Most of the cinema rooms have their seats and/or upholstery in different state of decay, but, instead of fixing or replacing them, soft red cushions have been placed over the seats; still, the cracks in the upper part of some seats are clearly visible.
2/ The space between rows in cinema room 2 (what I call the steep room) is ridiculously small even for my tiny legs, so you can imagine how uncomfortable can be for a normal guy.
3/ The smallest cinema room seems to be in a better shape, however, their seats are flat on the ground, without any considerable gradation, so if somebody seats in front of you, you won't see anything, unless you are really tall. On the other hand, the first row is too close to the screen to watch a movie comfortably from there.
4/ Their toilets have been in need of an overhaul since ever, with some of their doors' locks being broken for months without being repaired - Piccadillian bottoms, rebel! The same can be said of their rusty rattling lift, which you feel is going to stop working right there right now; the only improvement has been the change in colour of the doors from an ugly tone of pink to an ugly tone of red.
5/ For many years the Piccadilly's website has been ugly-looking and badly designed - completely amateur and unfit for any cinema. Fortunately, they have relaunched it lately, and its design and aesthetics are decent. However, underneath the showing times they have added: "No responsibility is taken for the correctness of this information". It is ridiculous and disgraceful. Then, why are they bothering to display them?
6/No EFPTOS. Yes, you are hearing well. Only cash.
Their bar is OK, but has one of those high counters I hate, too short for me and for part of the staff behind it. The staff, on the other hand, vary in their level of friendliness, some of them are really friendly and easy going, while others seem to be a bit nosey.
If you are a movie lover, you will visit the Piccadilly rarely, for some isolated animated films and comedies you fancy. However, if you like just entertainment movies, Piccadilly will be your personal paradise in the city. Despite everything, I always enjoy visiting the cinema, per se, as I like the feeling of watching a movie like people do in the movies - in cinemas that are old and beautiful!
Let's stop rejoicing for a minute and let's hope that the much needed refurbishment and overhaul of the Piccadilly will bring us the splendour of the old cinema, and also a better selection of movies.
MIND
You can now buy tickets online via their website or just following this link. You can pay with credit card and Paypal, which is great.
MONEY TIPS
* There is a NAB cash machine by Target, in case of emergency.
* They have reduced prices all day long on Tuesdays.
* They have just started a Backpackers Monday special of 8 bucks all day long for 2D movies. The backpackers will need to show their International passport or student card. It is unclear if YHA, Nomad and other backpackers cards are accepted as their website doesn't mention anything about the most popular backpacker cards...
UPDATE 7/12/2013
Unfortunately, this Perth icon has closed down its door. The website is no longer working, and it a sad farewell. The place needed of a refurbishment and more care and enthusiasm, but it was lovely. There was some incidents with roofs falling down and asbestos scare mid this year, and I wonder if that is related to the closing down.
it is very sad. Big sigh.
The only cinema left in the city at present is Paradiso.
James Blake
Universal, 2011
http://jamesblakemusic.com/
"James Blake" is the acclaimed debut album by English electronic musician and song-writer James Blake. The album has been listed in most compilations of album of the year for 2011, and has excellent reviews. That was, precisely, what made me get it.
If I had to define the album in three words I would say: Chaos is beautiful. Indeed, the sound that Blake has created is a blissful retro-futuristic chaos, like a cohesive mix of the electronic experimentation of the 1980s, modern jazz improvisation, classic blues, and contemporary Indie sounds. Blake's sound sounds like the music of the humans of the 22nd century or the sound that mermaids and mermen listen to when dancing in their oceanic realms - enveloping, intimate, and wonderfully odd. It is not just the music. Blake's voice is very colourful and textured, very intimate, broken and masculine. An explosive mix.
Unfortunately, ignoring the lyrics of the album would be unfair in a review, as a song is, well, both music and lyrics. Simple, no? Read or listen to the lyrics of "Unlock", "The Wilhelms Scream", or "I Never Learnt To Share" (lyrics: "My brother and my sister don't speak to me, But I don't blame them" that is all), just to give you three examples. Can you ignore them when hearing the album? I cannot. In a way they help you to keep in trance. Blake has turned himself into a modern chanteur for disco-dance dervishes that need little wordiness and the melody to keep them dancing around entranced. He could have brought us there by just using his music and voice and emitting guttural lah-lah-lahs or oh-oh-ohs. It is the sound and colour of his voice what will captivate you, not his lyrics, as they lack not just in words, but also in emotion. In other words, Blake's wonderful sound doesn't transcend itself. In a way, it is a bit
narcissistic and even onanistic (with all my respects!), deeply beautiful, empty at times, with glimpses of a depth and lyricism that I would have liked developed and dug in.
Still this is a very good album that sets a foundation-stone for modern musicians and sound-makers. The sort of music that the future is waiting for.
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is a Miyazaki's animation feature based on his eponymous Manga. It is set in a post-apocalyptic future in which the land is divided in three remaining hostile kingdoms: the people leaving in the Valley of the Winds, the Pejites, and the Tolmekians. Nausicaa is the princess of the Valley, a especial young lady in tune with Nature, who respects and loves her people. The human kingdoms are always threaten by the Sea of Decay, an exuberant toxic jungle inhabited by giant prehistoric-like insects who react to human hostility with destruction, spreading the toxicity of the Sea to those who dare to provoke them.
Nausicaa's plot is action-packet, original, with weird creatures, lovable characters and a great lyric soundtrack. We find Miyazaki's usual animation landmarks: 1/ European landscapes and undefined time appearance (in this case Swiss-like, with a revamped medieval atmosphere). 2/ Prehistoric-like creatures (in this case, insects). 3/ A female heroine who fights like any man, but always has great femininity (Nausicaa always wears her red earrings). 4/ A heavy presence of catalytic women, presented most of the time as strong, wise, common-sensed and supportive characters (only the nasty princess of the Tolmekians contradicts this). 5/ A cute animal pet that is the hero's soul-mate and inseparable companion. 6/ A clear environmental and pacifist message and 7/ a wonderful detailed animation with subdued hues.
The drawing is very inventive and with a great attention to the detail, especially brilliant regarding the depiction of the Sea of Decay and the underground land below it, which are utterly beautiful. The Sea of Decay reminded me very much in style and spirit of the backgrounds and Bosh-like vegetation and fauna of Planet Fantastic, but more elaborated, exuberant and compact in Nausicaa.
Unlike many modern animation movies, Miyazaki's movies always have a perfect equilibrium between the artistry of the drawing/animation, on one hand, and the quality of the story, on the other. That is why a movie like this, made in the 1980s, is still as enchanting, fresh and though-provoking as it was in the past. The message of the film is that even the ugliest creature and plant has a purpose on earth, a purpose per se and as a part of the whole to which it is connected. The movie tells you that if you respect people and Nature, you get respect back, and that it is easier to live with yourself and the others if one understands and respect the environment. This is not my favourite Miyazaki movie, perhaps because it is too feisty for my taste, and because I thought the confrontation between the three kingdoms needed of more explanation than the one provided in the film.
This is a beautiful entertaining full-action movie, with a great environmental pacifist message, and Miyazaki's always beautiful drawing and magic universe.
Please watch it in Japanese with English subtitles, as the American dubbed version is too childish and far from the original interpretations.
Paul Conroy is a married truck driver working as a contractor in Iraq. After his convoy is attacked by insurgents, he wakes up inside a coffin, buried alive, with a Zippo, a cell phone, and a little whisky bottle. He will try to use the two first to get help and be rescued from the outside.
Buried is the second feature film by young Spanish director Rodrigo Cortés based on Chris Sparling's script, and produced and shot in Spain. Cortés got the script after it had been rejected by most film studios, and he found it to be a crazy challenge, worth of being filmed. From the very beginning, he wanted to shoot the film in the coffin, with no exteriors, and Ryan Reynolds to be the leading man. Reynolds thought that the script was impossible to shoot and said no; Cortés insisted and sent him his first movie and a long report about why the movie should be shot and, more importantly, why Reynolds should be in it.
The movie was filmed on a tight budget in Barcelona in over two weeks. The shooting of the film was very hard and challenging from the technical, engineering and emotional point of view, as the film has no exteriors, the filming happens inside a wooden box, and Reynolds had to play the movie alone, entirely in the coffin.
This is one of those movies that you have to watch in a cinema, with the lights off, so you can put yourself in Paul Conroy's shoes, both physically and emotionally, and feel what is like to be buried.
The use of camera and lighting are fantastic, very complex but very well executed.
The atmosphere is terrific.
The script makes very good points about how little American corporations and Government care about their employees/citizens in the Middle East, and also about the preconceptions that people in those areas of the world have about individual Americans being all rich and powerful not just working class employees.
Reynolds is brilliant in his performance of Paul Conroy, and it is a shame that he wasn't nominated for the Oscars that year; he really deserved it. This is Reynolds' best and most serious performance to the date, and shows the great actor he is; why does he keep accepting unsubstantial roles in Hollywood movies?! The voices heard through the phone were recorded after the shooting was finished; however, Reynolds needed a real counterpart to help him to get into character, so his acting coach played the different characters, live, and Reynolds heard her through a tiny earpiece.
The performances of the actors whose voices we hear are excellent and they transmit great emotion and feeling to the viewer, despite the viewer not being able to see them.
The main problems with the movie are, firstly, its tempo. The thrill is there from the very beginning, no rest, and although it goes in crescendo, the viewer can get tired of being over-thrilled. Secondly, it would have been better for the viewer seeing exteriors and the actors we hear on the phone, so the viewer gets a bit of relief from the claustrophobic settings. Thirdly, two of the main premises of the script are so wrong that make the rest is impossible to believe: 1/ If you are buried alive in a coffin, underground, and you lift your zippo, the flame is going to consume part of the very little oxygen you have, if you have any when you wake up, and you'll be dead quite soon. Moreover, once the oxygen is used, and less is left, the person buried will have stained air to breath, and his vital functions, strength and mental abilities will be weakened. Nothing of what happens in the movie would be possible. A torch would have been a better option, worked the same in the story, but made the settings credible. 2/ If you are buried with your cell phone, even if not very deep underground, your phone is not going to work, even if you have a powerful 3G/satellite network available, which is not the case in countries like Iraq or the Middle East, especially in isolated areas. I get that sort of problem in city underground settings in my city, can you imagine in you are buried in countryside Iraq? Not believable at all.
Having said this, this is a very entertaining experimental film that approaches the script in a very original and dazzling way, and has a terrific performance by Ryan Reynolds.
The film got a phenomenal positive reception at Sundance, but unfortunately his commercial release and distribution were very limited.
Shop WG.07, 140 William Street
Perth, WA 6000
08 9322 6008
http://www.ikusushi.com/
http://www.facebook.com/iku.sushi1
Iku Sushi is a tiny funky sushi place in the heart of the city that really deserves the good reviews it has everywhere. No wonder it is always packed to the rafters at peak hours, inside and outside.
Why is this place so popular? It is the quality and variety of their food - reasons for which any restaurant should be popular for. Iku Sushi's food is fresh, tasty, varied, good-looking, good-sized, and good-priced. It is up to you if you pack on individual rolls, one of their ready-made sushi trays or salads, add a side dish, or go for one of the hot options prepared in their kitchen. Whatever you order, you are going to like it and want more. Feel free to eat like a pig, after all is healthy food... unless you choose the unhealthy options like the fried sushi "burger" varieties (I found the filling good, but the whole thing sickening, truly).
Their coffee is good in general, although it depends on the barista!
The service is terrific, especially having into account the volume of people visiting the place at peak hours. The staff are a cool, friendly and smiley bunch of people. They are a bit flat out at times, so you have to ask them to clean a table for you if any is available, but, if that is the case, they will do so in a microsecond.
What else you want? I don't know you, but I would like them having a bigger seating area, so we don't have to pass by, find the place fully packed, and go elsewhere for our sushi.
Shops 13-15
15 London Court
Perth Western Australia 6000
(08) 9225 4141
Their Website
Hours:
Mon-Sun 8:30 - 17:30
The location is divine, no matter you seat indoors or outside, especially if you like to watch people passing by and small streets. The place indoors is very small, but with a good layout and decoration, and overall it feels very cosy and European in style.
Their coffee is one of those coffees so weak that, if you put sugar or sweetener in it, tastes of nothing. Even if you don't sweeten it, it is not very tasty, no matter the Segafredo cup! The also have a selection of iced coffees but I haven't tried them yet.
They have a small but good selection of breakfast and lunch dishes, especially appealing for gluten-free and vegetarian lovers. They have a great selection of gluten-free savoury cakes, fritters, and ready-to-order breakfast, plus a variety of salads, panini, sandwiches, cooked pasta, and a few sweets.
I tried the gluten-free breakfast and it was very nice and filling, with two eggs poached to my taste, wonderfully cooked mushrooms, two types of fritters, roasted tomato and avocado. It sounds good and tasted good, but unsalted. I missed a bit of olive oil dressing or at least having the fritters reheated and moist, which wasn't the case.
All their fritters, savoury cakes and panini look wonderful in the fridge, but, since they are already there, you know that they aren't going to be moist or as fresh as if somebody prepares for you on the spot. On the other hand, if they had to prepare everything on the spot it would take a while for your good to come out, so it is a matter, perhaps, of having the fritters prepared but uncooked, just to fry when the customer asks for them. The display of sweets was average and it did not tempted me to add anything to my main dish.
The service was OK.
The place is a bit pricey, gluten-free breakfast and coffee 21 Dollars.
South-Korean director Chan-wook directs an original story about friendship and love in a mental asylum.
Cha Young-goon (played by Im Su-jeong) develops a mental illness after her schizophrenic grandmother is interned and separated from her. Cha believes she is a killer cyborg and does not eat, and has been told that she has to master a cyborg's seven steps of perfection to get rid of her human psyche and be able to seek revenge on her grandma's captors - the men in white (paramedics and nurses). When interned, Cha meets Park Il-soon (played by Rain) a Ping-Pong player antisocial guy that steals other people's souls, who takes an immediate interest in her.
What makes this film so especial is that the movie offers the reality both as the insane see it, from their subjective point of view, but also as what it is, that is from an objective point of view. In fact, the real facts are used more to anchor the story and make the rest understandable than to focus on the reality itself. The craziness, manias and obsessions of the insane are presented as an essential part of their personality, not as an aberration of the same, therefore, the para-reality they live in becomes real and acceptable for the viewer. More importantly, the script does not try to redeem the characters from their insanity, but make that insanity meaningful and tolerable for their survival. It could have been really easy to present the insane as pathologically aggressive and nasty, as most movies about madness do, or like loonies without feelings or real human heart, but the script deviates from the obvious and presents a surreal world that is full of magic, pain, suffering and happiness, in which different people with a different pathology are able to tick and connect to a deep human level.
All the characters are treated with empathy, tenderness, warmth, naivety and a great sense of humour. The characters' studio combined with a light playful approach to the stories works perfectly on the screen and makes the craziness completely engaging. The movie is also a good reflection on personal identity and how important is the way we internally see ourselves to position ourselves in society and the world.
The film is extremely stylish and artistic, too, from the credits, to the cinematography, to the lighting. The beginning credits scene is fantastic as they are presented incorporated into the story, too. The initial scenes of Cha working in her factory before she tries to "recharge her batteries" are grand class: the contrast and sharpness of the colours and the camera angling and scene pacing create a wonderful eye candy moment that is a big contrast to the rest of the movie, dominated by pastel and white-ish colours. The movie has many surreal and dream-like scenes, beautifully filmed, which really help to convey the reality as perceived by the insane.
Although the movie is catalogued everywhere as a romantic story, to reduce this story to a romance is to devalue a film that has much more to offer. Romance is just another piece in the puzzle, the one that gives its magic to the story, the redemptive element of Cha's survival; it develops piano-piano, but is not cheesy but wonderfully quirky and special.
All cast members are good in their respective roles, and the main actors, Im an Rain (and the actress who plays the food-obsessed lady) are believable in their portray of their fragile but complex characters.
My main critique to the movie is its pacing, that is sometimes a bit too slow, and the cohesion among all the insane in the asylum, which is obvious in some parts of the movie, but it is not well explained or shown at times. I would have liked that the director used strong colours for the whole movie, which would have been much more intriguing and worked perfectly with the stories, instead of the expected asylum whites and pastels; still, this is a personal preference, not a critique.
This is a mesmerising movie for non-mainstream film lovers. It has something special and unique that will stay with you for a long time.
The movie won the Alfred Bauer Award at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2007.
The increase in prices has not had a reflection in the managing and repairing of the cinema beyond what is strictly necessary. I just want to pinpoint a few issues that the cinema needs to address, as they are charging us full price for the movies at present. Here are some of the Piccadilly's peccadilloes:
5/ For many years the Piccadilly's website has been ugly-looking and badly designed - completely amateur and unfit for any cinema. Fortunately, they have relaunched it lately, and its design and aesthetics are decent. However, underneath the showing times they have added: "No responsibility is taken for the correctness of this information". It is ridiculous and disgraceful. Then, why are they bothering to display them?
