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Reviews
Leave the World Behind (2023)
Starts of well, then...
The first ten minutes or so are great and then it goes downhill - the story telling is slow, overwrought and repetitive. How many times can we hear about the warning text messages Julia Robert's character received? And all that cryptic dialogue between the father/daughter interlopers - it's meant to be intriguing, but it just goes on too long and I lost interest. The soundtrack was either jarring or intrusive. I found myself fast-forwarding to get to the end so maybe I missed something crucial, but every time I stopped to see what was going on, nothing was going on. Pity, cause the actors are top calibre and the concept was good - it just needed a better script.
Downhill (2020)
Misunderstood movie!
I think people who' gave this film a low rating were expecting a straight comedy because of the lead actors but it's much more subtle than that and actually very funny in parts. My friend and I absolutely loved it. Wonderful nuanced performances. Highly recommended - just keep an open mind.
The Leftovers (2014)
Brilliant in parts but ultimately misguided
I'll admit straight off that after a slowish start, I got sucked into this series and stayed with it up until the end. There were many powerful, heartrending scenes perfectly written, acted and shot. I was entirely captivated, willing to trust the makers even after Kevin started visiting the seemingly cool-for-the-sake-of-it hotel for deadies. When he kept going back, I was intrigued as to how it would all resolve. By season 3 that was his thing, while Nora hooked up with a company purporting to send people to where the departed went. Several episodes focus on her dealings with this company and the whole time I'm worried it's a suicide mission - so it's a great twist when they reject her as a candidate. Are they bluffing? Is it a way of peaking her interest and ensuring her commitment to handing over the money? Why is she so hell bent on destroying herself? And then in the last episode, Nora actually GOES to the dimension where all the departed are - and comes back - and talks about it in a riveting speech that made me love her even more, if that's possible. We didn't follow her there, just heard about it. Then the series ended and I thought about it and came to this conclusion: what a massive missed opportunity! Why the hell did we spend so much time following Kevin in Hotel d' Dead when he could have been visiting the Departed Zone instead? It would have fed perfectly into what the series was actually about! Imagine if the last season had been devoted to Kevin, Nora and others travelling between the dimensions and reconnecting with the departed - who believed THEY were the leftovers and our characters had been the ones who vanished (as was alluded to in Nora's speech). Imagine the heartbreaking scenes to come out of those reunions - and ensuing acceptances, rejections, sacrifices. Instead we had Kevin running around pretending to be a spy, for no real purpose besides the ZAP POW of the unexpected. Such missed opportunities reminded me of 'Lost', another series which had me all the way through but didn't resolve in a truly satisfying way. Turns out its the same makers. That's twice they haven't kept their promise to me. C'mon guys, other series have done it! I want to give you another chance but it makes me kinda anxious too...
The Horizon (2009)
The Horizon entertains and educates
The Horizon is an honest look at the lives of urban Sydney gay/queer & alternative characters as they navigate their way through love, sexual politics and health issues in the post-AIDS crisis era.
Hard edged and tender, or both at once, The Horizon differs from other series in its heartfelt and humorous portrayal of engaging characters, and its contemporary storytelling.
The global western community is the first to live through the two-pronged reality of HIV today – on one hand, we're encouraged to protect ourselves from catching the virus; on the other, we're reassured that HIV is a highly manageable condition, with counselling and support offered to those who have caught it.
The Horizon explores what it means to live with these dual messages without focussing predominantly on HIV issues. The characters embody a range of attitudes that explore and define modern gay Sydney's culture and subculture.
Capote (2005)
Great performance, frustrating script.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman was amazing in the title role, as were the supporting players. The art direction and cinematography were first rate too. I really felt I was there, in the late 1950's and early 1960's (despite the anachronism's detailed in IMDb!) But I think the film is let down by the script. I wish we'd got a stronger sense of the love Capote apparently felt for murderer Perry. It would have made Capote's withdrawal after hearing Perry's disturbing personal account of the slaughter much more powerful. As it stands, Capote's feelings feel somewhat watered down and they needed to be stronger to give the story more push and pull. I liked it, but it won't stay with me.
The Wedding Date (2005)
A rickety staircase
Watching The Wedding Date is like climbing a rickety staircase - it's missing too many key steps! Kat hires escort Nick to be her date at her sisters wedding in England. The two spend a bit of time together, have a few conversations and then suddenly (after they have sex) we're expected to believe they're in love. They don't know each other at all! They didn't even sit next to each other on the plane trip over! They hardly talk at any of the events leading up to the wedding! Okay, they have fun at a dance lesson but it ain't enough! How could I care about them? (I didn't) Shame really, cause the actors are doing their best to make it work. Another script draft exploring why these two characters would fall in love wouldn't have gone astray.
The Stepford Wives (2004)
Started off well, lost the plot
What a shame "test audiences' got their grubby mitts on this movie. Apparently they wanted the robot wives to be human and persuaded the producers to do re shoots - but what you end up with is a confusing, weakened story. I wonder if the original version with Kathryn Ross had test audiences. If so, would they have insisted on changing that genuinely spine-chilling ending? Maybe the problem sprung from turning a thriller into a comedy. The original could afford its black ending; the remake, being much lighter, required something more consistent with the new tone. But did it have to be inspired by Scooby Doo? "Glenn Close! It was you all along?!?" "That's right! And I would have gotten away with it too if it weren't for you meddling kids!" Also, I think there were too many unanswered questions in the remake. If Nicole Kidman was never a robot, why did she feel the need to pretend to be? What happened when she and Mathew Broderick descended into the pit? Why did Bette Midler go back to that really unflattering "writer's" hairstyle? It all felt too convenient and it's a shame really, because the cast were great. They just needed to be in a film with a more intelligently crafted story.
The Delicious (2003)
I'm gushing - with good reason
I saw "The Delicious" last night as part of the 2004 Sydney Mardi Gras Queer Screen festival and thought it was brilliant. It's very well crafted in terms of writing, structure, visual expression - and absolutely hilarious! Scott Prendergast is definitely a film maker to watch. You saw him here first...