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Territory (2024)
Magnificent, but...
There is much to admire in Territory. The acting is very good, the scenery magnificent and the guts of the story (generally) believable. But there are silly elements which undermine the overall story about the world's largest cattle station which is under deep financial pressure, and its neighbours which are trying to take it over or steal all its cattle one by one. There's no shortage of skulduggery and with the various participants trying to screw each other commercially (and literally) it kicks along briskly as the different factions within the Lawson family with different wants and ambitions fight for suppremacy. Indigenous issues are handled clearly and sympathetically, but not too heavily, as sometimes happens. The positives in Territory greatly outweigh the negatives.
The Substance (2024)
A bit long but quirky fun
There is a need to suspend disbelief throughput The Substance which runs 2 hours 20 and seems a little long as it drifts around looking at ageism in tv and film. The Substance takes a sci-fi / horror approach and there was a fair bit of laughing in my audience, and I'm not sure that was generally because of well placed jokes. Demi Moore is very good as Elisabeth Sparkle, a mature tv aerobics instructor who is in great shape, but sacked by a revolting tv executive (Dennis Quaid) and replaced by young and perky Sue (Margaret Qualley), but whose show is basically the same. Angry and frustrated, Elisabeth takes a mysterious Substance in a bid to regain her youth and career.
Ironically Moore has had a bit of work over the years which led me to wonder if she now regrets that, or is it the price one pays for success in film snd tv or the business world in general. The Substance seems to borrow some of its imagery from 2001: A space Odyssey and Little Shop of Horrors. In the end I suspect this may garner a cult following. Its good fun in its quirky weirdness.
All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt (2023)
Woof
Once in a while, a film comes along that is inspiring and an example of fine story telling. All Dirt Roads Taste Of Salt is not one of them. While it runs a tad over 90 minutes it seems a lot longer. I saw it at the Melbourne International Film Festival where we were invited by the emcee to 'let it wash over you'. Goodness me. I had to work hard to not drown in the many, many shots that seemed to last forever, and which were in semi darkness. Largely unhampered by a coherent script or storyline, this movie had a lovely soundscape of bugs chirruping, raIn and storms, but for me that was it. Once your mind is overcome with trying to figure out what is happening and switches to 'How long has this to go?' mode, all is lost. A number of people left, some quite early, and many more didn't wait for the director's talk at the end. Needless to say I was one of them. A movie should be able to stand on its own legs and not need explanation. Life's too short.
Buckley's Chance (2021)
Some sillyness, but not that bad.
Shot in the outback around Broken Hill in western New South Wales, Buckleys Chance captures some wonderful desert landscape and while the story has many cliches, it has been written for an overseas audience. An American widow and her son move to a remote sheep station (ranch) in outback Austrlaia to live with her late husband's father (Bill Nighy). They arrive by light aircraft at a remote airfield where no one is waiting, and as the plane lifts off behind her she spins around shouting "wait!" (probably a bit late). Later the term 'hog farmers' is used, and later again there appears a raging river (with waterfall! ) deep in the Australian outback which is desert and scrub. This isn't a bad movie - it's basically a western - and while it struggles at times it is fun to groan at some of its less good lines. I liked the main cast, Bill Nighy, Victoria Hill, Milan Burch and Kelton Pell. Ideally, this would be a movie for older children and young teens. It's on Netflix (June 2024).
Civil War (2024)
OK, but really a time killer...
I guess it could happen, but the idea of a rebellion comprising actual military forces, presumably National Guard, from
California, Texas and Florida fighting their way to Washington, with a small troop of soldiers executing the president is fanciful. Along the way a small group of experienced journalists pick up a young wannabe (using a film camera) and try to keep ahead of the military advance in a bid to interview the embsttled president as the war closes in, witnesses war crimes but get away with it and are ultimately in the room to see the president's execution. Good action and effects but, in the end, meh.
The Zone of Interest (2023)
Life goes on....
This is a film where the soundscape is as much a star as the actors. It's about business as usual, life goes on despite what's happening on the other side of the fence. It's subtle, and gives a different view of what happened in Germany and the countries it occupied during World War 2. There is no 'story' in the usual sense - a beginning, a middle and an end - The Zone of Interest is about vignettes involving the family of Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss, and his wife, Hedwig. For them it's business as usual, and this is where the film takes its unusual approach. Rudolf has aspirations and has a job to do. Helvig is there to support him and keep family life going, mostly disconnected from the concentration camp next to their house - life goes on. While we never see the camp let alone its victims, they're symbolized by the dispersed single gunshots that are heard, the artifacts of their existence - piles of shoes, fur coats obtained by the senior Nazi women toothpaste purloined by Frau Höss and requests for chocolate or other sweet things. For them the war is far away. We hear allied bombers rumbling overhead, but never see them or what they're doing. The family goes on picnics. The children go to school, and the household staff get on with the job of cleaning and cooking. Commandant Höss has meetings with his team just as any executive does. He discusses plans for increasing efficiency to meet his KPIs. To an extent. The Zone of Interest asks, really, "What would you have done?", and shows how despite what's going on around us, we just get on with it, because we've been trained to do just that.
Eric, Ernie and Me (2017)
Tired and turgid
I never liked Morecombe and Wise, so I came at this witha built in bias. I love Britsh comedy with Morecomve and Wise being one of only a few exceptions. This is a very slow going viewing experience, and while I got half way through, the slowness of the story, the lack of focus and the lack of humour for a 21st century audienc. This Is really 1920s/30s music hall humour so while it may have appealed to older people in tje late 70s, it doesnt work today. Other biopics and comedy doubles like Abbott and Costellaand Laurel and Hardy worked because the emphasis was on the relationship, not the laughs. This takes the other approach and as M and W's audience is mostly gone...it doesn't stand up.
Spycraft: High-Tech Surveillance and an Eye in the Sky (2020)
Ahead of its time?
Spycraft has good content covering many countries and challenging situations particularly covering the Cold War period.
It is spoiled by slow, droning narration that makes it hard work. If done differentlly, the total running time could have been cut significantly.
It seems the producers tried to use every case study possible, so the overall effect is an endless stream of short clips bashed together into a whole program, then a series.
If it's on as 'background noise' while you're doing something else, you can dip in and out and get a lot of mini examples from which the viewer could jump out and do their own research.
Even if that's the case, Spycraft is heavy going.
Three-Way Weekend (1979)
Very very nasty...and not in a good way
I imagine that if this was screened anywhere it was third of a triple feature at a drive inwhen everyone was asleep in the car or up to some sort of shenanigans. However if you're in to poor acting, bad dialogue and an inane plot...go for it. Perhaps it's a student prank, but basically two lesbians are out hiking and are stalked by a guy in a gorilla mask, while a psycho ranger stalks him. Another couple turns up there's some low level sex between the girls and later the couple and them. It's not great and I'm pretty sure it would not have been considered particularly raunchy in 1979. Three-way Weekend is on YouTube.
Submarine Raider (1942)
Quick and dirty
To be fair, Submarine Raider was conceived, written, produced and released within 7 months of the attack on Pearl Harbour. The special effects are not great by today's standards, but for a low budget production with little time, they are adequate and consistent with what came out of many studios at the time (and later), as is the script. The American cast's acting is isnt bad but the Japanese, particularly the aircraft carrier captain played by Italian born Nino Pipitone isnt great. Submarine Raider could be put in a 'worst movie' list, but the context - a quick response to the start of America's involvement in WW2 lifts it away slightly from that by giving the American public a bit of rah rah...and as the captain says at the end, 'Remember Pearl Harbour'.
The Green Glove (1952)
So much potential, but a let down
One star for Glenn Ford and a good cast, and another for it being shot in France in the early post war period before the start of large scale tourism. The Green Glove never really gets going. It's slow. It's ponderous. It takes a long time for anything to happen. And the story of an ancient relic with healing powers (the bejewelled glove) which is stolen from a church, a murder and the hunt for a killer and the glove is messy. A number of night sequences are shot in near blackness which doesnt help. Its very untidy. The music could come from a western.
I gave it four stars , which for a Glenn Ford movie is pretty low, but he does nothing in this. It's a shame. Go watch The Third Man or The Maltese Falcon instead.
The Recruit (2022)
Some silliness, yet worth a watch.
A talented young lawyer who has a penchant for adventure joins the CIA. Maybe it happens this way but it does stretch credulity that a 24 year old who's been on the job a matter of weeks becomes 'golden boy' to the agency's top legal counsel and is given the job of getting an important asset back into action against the Russians after being released from a US prison for murder. Of course, there is a serious shortage of skilled people, so maybe it could happen. Overall, an engaging thriller with occasional laughs and lots of underhand shenanigans as people try to protect their careers, or build them or get the job done.
Secret of the Incas (1954)
Maybe the first part of B Grade double feature?
If you like Charlton Heston, Secrets in the Incas might float your boat, but other than being shot partly at Macchu Picchu (which must have been quite an adventure in the early 50s) there's not much going for this. As others have noted, Heston is a bad version of Indiana Jones and it's clear Jones' costume is.modelled on Heston's ... leather jacket, hat, brown pants along with his ability to get into mischief. Heston plays a treasure hunter trying to find a gold Inca sun disk. There's a girl (Nicole Maury) who's attracted to ' bad boys', and perennial good guy and honourable archaeologist Robert Young, and the rest is ...predictable. Theres also a singer who's high pitch will have dogs howling for streets around you. Leon Askin (General Burkhalter from Hogans Heroes) plays a dodgy character trying to get the girl for his own nefarious reasons. Keep an eye out for a rather young Marion Ross (Mrs Cunningham from Happy Days) and the Australian actor Michael Pate who often played native Americans or in this case a Peruvian Indian. Perhaps watch the first 10 minutes and jump forward to the half way point and take it from there. Secrets of the Incas was directed by Jerry Hopper who began in Hollywood as an editor before turning to direction, so should have been able to tighten this one up.
Entebbe (2018)
Important story let down by trying to do too much
In the 1970s making a political point put hijacking an aircraft a serious option. In that decade there were 69 hijackings, nearly 4 times that of the preceeding decade and double that of the 80s. Seven Days In Entebbe is the story of the rescue of the passengers and crew of an Air France flight by Israeli special forces after the plane was taken to Uganda by pro-Palestinian terrorists seeking the release of comrades imprisoned in Israel. Nearly 50 years on, for many viewers this story might be new so at that level it might be of interest. Where the film is let down is the multiple storylines which arent really developed and dance sequences (a post hijack ballet telling the story) which are sometimes inserted at odd moments including during the raid to rescue the prisoners. The music at this point was pretty good and if used alone would have worked. The ballet at other times does work to link the different storylinesand it looks good but it is an unusual ànd jarring approach. The terrorists are sympathetically portrayed as misguided revolutionaries while the Israeli politicians are seriously underplayed to the point that there's as much tension as if they're planning a visit to open a kindergarten. While Israeli politicians in this period were busy dealing with frequent crises, I thought rescuing dozens of their citizens (and others) in a daring special forces raid might have raised a sweat. The passengers and most of the crew are effectively extras while the actual rescue is quick and easy and could have been drawn out somewhat as it really was a unique event that has not been replicated. Overall, not a great movie, but worth a look as an overview of an important event.
Hunger (2023)
Beautiful...eternal themes told in a new way
Nopachai Chaiyanam is terrific as cold and precise superstar Chef Paul who takes on a bright young thing, Aoy, (Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying) as a junior helper in his kitchen, having been spotted in her family's noodle house. Hunger is beautifully shot and measured. The title is more than just the name of a restaurant, it is the way to success, but here is the eternal theme of what goes up must come down and we ask what price fame? Ultimately, we are all pawns and reality and 'success' is only a matter of perspective. Loved it. Some will say the end is a little soft, but perhaps it's a juxtaposition, Loved it.
Deadloch (2023)
Forced and tiresome
I heard an interview with one of the writers before seeing this and it sounded promising even though I'd seen some of the earlier work and didn't like it. But promised a comedy fused with the idea of something like Broadchurch it sounded promising. Kate Box is really good as the local cop, a former detective who wanted a quieter life in a small country town. She plays it straight, an important role in comedy, but from there it goes down hill. We're supposed to think it's possible a detective would be sent 3500+ km from Darwin to Tasmania to investigate a death because all of the latter's detectives were tied up with a visit from Princess Mary of Denmark. The detective from Darwin (Madeleine Sami) is a loathsome over-hyped stereotype, the young inept cop Sven is a Gen Z trope and Box's wife (Alicia Gardiner) is self obsessed, weak and whiny. There is hope for the young female cop Nina Oyama) and I did rather like the footy club members showering the undertakers van with footies as the dead coach is driven away. This is beautifully shot, which does give the detective noir vibe, but it's a mish mash of styles and forced performance. Two episodes down and that's enough for me...
Silent Raiders (1954)
With monkeys like these, how did the allies win the war?
On YouTube. Written, directed,'starring'and co-produced by Richard Bartlett, Silent Raiders makes Ed Wood look good. It's the story of a seven man volunteer 'commando' team given the job that should be done by 70. In fact, it could be a training film about how not to raid a secret communications centre just before D-Day...make a lot of noise, move around in daylight, capture a goat because the boys might like some milk, dump your dead commander's body in the river rather than hide it in the undergrowth and release a German prisoner before the mission is completed. Look out for the scene in which three unarmed Germans are marching down an isolated country road. 0rdinary soundtrack including harp music. Runs 68 minutes. Makes Jungle Patrol look good.
The Big Lift (1950)
Fills an important gap in 20th century historical films
Available on YouTube. A fascinating look at Berlin, where it was filmed, shortly after the end of WW2 when the largely destroyed and divided city was still in ruins. Depicting a massive US airlift to get food, medicine and coal into the German capital, this film has a European rather than American feel for the most part, and being shot in black and white captures the city's bleak mood. It also seeks to recalibrate American attitudes to Germany by humanising the effect of the war on the population while addressing the big issues of responsibility and how a civilised people was sucked in to a disastrous period of history. Montgomery Clift and Paul Douglas play US Air Force personnel involved in the dangerous supply operation brought on by Soviet blockades, flying in all weathers Nd eith Soviet harassment. Clift is young and keen to explore the city but is limited at first by his mission, while ex POW Douglas has demons from his time in Germany just a few years before. Latvian Cornell Borchers is trying to get by in an increasingly complex environment by earning a living as a Trummerfrau, clearing rubble brick by brick. Germany's Bruni Löbel is great as a young woman raIsed in the Nazi period and trying to make sense of the difference between the US and Soviet systems while trying to reconcile the attitudes and behaviour of her boyfriend, Douglas.
The Big Lift has elements of documentary and looks at a little filmed but very important part of the post war period and certainly worth a look. For me, the only downside is the dreadfully cheesy closong sequence where real personnel who took part in the airlift are filmed standing to attention as the camera pans past them.
We Interrupt This Broadcast (2023)
Ouch...really really bad
I think the best that can be said for this is that it gave some writers, actors (calling them comedians would be a stretch) and crews some work for a few weeks. I came in at episode six, by which time you'd hope it had settled down. We Interrupt This Broadcast reminds me of some high school skits (with recorded laugh track and rather better sets) and while it takes a welcome pi5s out of "reality" TV, that's it..very repetitive. The ABC and Working Dog teams are safe in their respective production lines. Network 7 is to be congratulated for putting some local content to air, but OMG ...it runs for an hour!
Manto de gemas (2022)
A riddle, wrapped in a mystery, wrapped in an enigma...
Long languid shots...constant chitting of insects you can feel the heat. Visually interesting, but not beautiful. A bit like watching Shakdspeare in17th century English and having to let it wash over you while you pick up bits and pieces. Of course Shaksspeare has a story. This barely does. It's disjointed and the thread that ties it together is very thin. We asked someone on the way out what he thought hoping he was more knowledgeable. "It's a mystery," he said, without any sense of irony.... Yes. Mysterious.
The Enemy Below (1957)
Just fabulous.
If you like submarine movies this one captures the tension of the compressed undersea world and the terror of being on the receiving end of a depth charge attack. Curd/t Jurgens is a very believable but grizzled Uboat commander and Robert Mitchum is a novice destroyer captain playing a tense cat and mouse game where one false move could end it all for either of them, and their crews. While conventional in many respects, The Enemy Below is a cut above the rest. Watch out for the use of silence towards the end.
Sissy (2022)
A lot of potential. .
...but never really delivered. It is nonetheless a commentary, though extreme, on the impact of bullying and the bulltish of the influencer phenomonon. Described as a horror comedy, I wondered if the latter term was inadvertent. All that said, a very good cast...variously sweet (Aisha Dee and Hannah Barlow - great) and genuinely horrible (Emily De Margheriti, Daniel Monks and Grace Barrett, as a terribly unsympathetic psychologist).
Nope (2022)
Maybe there are 2 versions of this in market...one awesome and the one I saw
I was to take my boys to this at the local cinema but at $28 each I opted to the independant one in the next suburb for $10 a head. If I'd seen it art the first venue I'd have been really angry. This is an untidy story with some saying it's a UFO story while others say there are bigger themes about contemporary life, 'feeding the beast' and so on. I guess you could say the latter but TBH that's not my reading of Nope. At one level it's entertaining enough, certainly quirky, but gee I'm glad I didn't pay top dollar. I'd recommedn waiting to see it on Netflix or similar....and what's with the chimp??
Operation Mincemeat (2021)
Tell a big enough lie and they might just believe you
While many reports about Operation Mincemeat talk about it lifting the lid on a secret operation (it doesn't...it's been well know for decades) it's only downside is fitting fiction with history no doubt because there was a need for female actors in what was inevitably for the time a project led by men. Women did play a huge re in WW2 and perhaps we need to know more about them than making them the love interest. Jean Leslie, a secretary whose role is central to the (film) operation was a wee lass of 18 and unmarried, not a 30-something widow who'd been making her way in the world on her own for years. It's one thing to synthesise dialogue and events (to an extent) but to make up a significant part of the plot isn't great for a 'true story'. It undermines the truth and weakens the product. You might as well say 'based on true events or worse, The Vibe, the lowest form of history. That said, while it's not a documentary this is a great yarn in its wider scope. The real Operation Mincemeat could have gone wrong at multiple levels. Through attention to detail, good luck and knowing the weakneses and foibles of the other side Operation Mincemeat was a major factor that allowed an allied victory in WW2.
The Drover's Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson (2021)
Return of a quality Australian movie
A lot of (Australian) people don't like Australian movies. This one takes us back to the glory days with a solid story, good script, characters and across-the-board acting. With the broadest part of the germ of the idea picked from Henry Lawson's short story The Drovers wife (1892), it examines the life of a woman living an isolated life with her children in Australia's Snowy Mountains while her drover husband is away with the cattle. As the layers of the story unpeel the complexity of life on the frontier are revealed. Life is hard and Purcell's character, Molly Johnson, battles to protect and provide for her kids. Reflecting Henry Lawson's drover's wife she's their protector, but this is where the stories depart. This film looks at themes and issues, as current today as they were in the 1800s. Rob Collins is great as Yadaka an aboriginal man on the run, as is Malachi Dower-Roberts who plays Molly's son, Danny. He forms a friendship with Yadaka which helps build trust between Molly and Yadaka whose back-story is interesting and central to the film. Sam Reid plays Sergeant Klintoff who's come to the high country from the UK via South Africa with his wife, Louisa (Jessica De Gouw). He's a good man with a tough job in a small settlement and a vast territory to cover. This is a movie of secrets, about heroism and toughness, and ultimately is positive. Some will say some of the issues (black/white, male/female relations) dealt with are heavy-handed, but I don't think so. It's what happened and is put together to depict the realities of life on the frontier of 'civilisation'. Some of the key points are so subtle you don't realise it's happening until the horse has bolted and destinies are set. There are gaps in the story (for example, how does a very remote place with a minute population have a resident Magistrate let alone a Judge?), but they're not serious, and at the end you're left with an overall satisfaction and in my case, a sense of optimism. Written, produced, directed and acted by Leah Purcell - big job, well done.