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jrisles
Reviews
Peaky Blinders (2013)
Needs more than just great costumes
I sort of binged watched this. Not so much one show straight after the other but one, two or three shows a week. The sets are great as are the costumes & i loved the sound track too. But what struck me is how repetitive the plots & sub-plots were in each seasons. Bad guy - create drama - shoot or kill someone -be a gangster hero. So not a deep show & details skimmed over for an outcome in the plot I thought. A show like Boardwalk Empire or Deadwood I'd watch again. This show I would not. Lacks substance.
Killing Time (2010)
Great Australian Drama at its Best
I have just completed watching the Killing Time series on the Soho channel on pay TV. I am not too sure how i missed this at time of release but so glad i caught the beginning of this show on its re- screening.
I won't go into too much detail other than to say this would have to be one of David Wenham' finest. I have always liked/loved David Wenham as an actor and i think the first time I ever saw him in a show were the "Sea Change" series that aired on ABC years ago.
The whole show is superbly cast but David Wenham is certainly convincing in this role. Diana Glenn also plays a magnificent long suffering wife role in this show.
I do hope it won numerous awards and if like me you haven't seen it before i certainly suggest you do.
An excellent show, excellent actors, excellent storyline/plot (i did not know anything about Andrew Fraser before i started watching this show). A must see for the acting alone.
Blue Jasmine (2013)
Cate Blanchett's Best Role Yet?
This isn't going to be a big review and no spoilers here. I didn't know much about this movie coming into it. I didn't even know that it was a Woody Allen movie to be honest. But oh my god what extraordinary acting by Cate in this role. Incredible realism brought to life by this pathetic, materialistic character she plays. The final ending scene was just fantastic. I was vaguely aware that Cate did win an Oscar for this role and so she should of. Cate is right up there with the likes of Meryl Streep & Judi Dench. The best actor period to come out of Australia IMHO. Sally Hawkins and Bobby Cannavale also played great roles. I rate the movie of 7 out of 10 - i don't think it reached the height of the potential it had but still a great movie and 10 out of 10 for Cates' acting.
Fireflies in the Garden (2008)
Great Acting
I have just finished watching this movie and i loved it from beginning to end. Then i thought i would come on here to see what it was rated and what others thought of this movie. During the movie i even said to myself i rated this an 8 out of 10. So you can imagine my surprise when i see that it has an average rating of 6.6. I read through the majority of the reviews and to be honest and i suspect to be expected i disagree with a lot of the reasons provided to mark it down.
Firstly the acting is first class. I was unfamiliar with Ryan Reynolds as an actor and i was gripped by his performance. It did take a little questioning throughout to keep up with the family structure and who was related to who - as the scenes changed from the present to the past for example. But once you sorted this out - the change of tense worked out well i thought.
I also really thought Willem Defoe played a great tormented character. The abuse dished out to his son is a manifestation of his own failings as well as in part the abuse dished out to him as he was growing up.
A lot of people spoke about "missing bits" or missing story lines. Which is the part i don't get. It is never straight forward why families are dysfunctional in the first place. I think these days viewers want absolutely everything spelled out for them or served on a silver platter before they are satisfied. I actually enjoyed the fact that the movie in some way leaves it to the viewers to form your own opinions about what may or may not have transpired during the years between the relatives. These opinions might come from your own experiences in your own dysfunctional family - or indeed other experiences from other real life situations. The underlying temptations and unhappiness of some of the characters. The character development was also well thought out.
Sure the movie could of been longer and no doubt it would of been an even better movie if it was. But I really enjoyed this movie and please don't be discouraged from some of the negative reviews on here.
If you are a type of viewer that needs to have absolutely everything explained to you - then yes you probably will be left wanting. However if you are a type of viewer that doesn't mind a movie with leaving some questions unanswered to give you the opportunity to write your own conclusions then i think you will really enjoy it.
Hunted (2012)
Gripping Stuff
++May contain Spoilers++
I will keep this brief. As i don't write a lot of reviews. I recorded this and within a year i have started watching it from Ep1 for the 3rd time. Usually unheard of for me. As i seldom watch anything twice yet alone 3 times. The series is fantastic i believe from start to finish. It is intelligent writing, intrigueing plots & compelling viewing. I am familiar with Melissa George as she is an Australian so i have seen her face a few times on some Australain shows. But this is for sure the best work i have seen her do. If she left Australia to improve herself then she has done that. I was quite surprised to see only an average rating of 6.9 on IMDb for this show. I love it. I love the plot, the intrigue, the interwoven themes. I also am a love or Spooks and the term Hourglass is mentioned in a couple of episodes of Spooks - and it is as if this whole show is an extension of other operations in Spooks - this operation taken a life of its own. It is quite clever how the two shows inter-relate.
I do hope this production team and writers put out a series of these shows.