Gum_Bercules Reviews

The Moodys (2012)

Well worth a watch

[9/10 · 1 December 2023]

The first time I tried watching this, I got about two thirds into the first episode and turned it off thinking it was garbage.

Fast forward approximately two years and my wife convinces me to give it another go.

After viewing the first ten minutes of the opening episode I honestly cannot remember or understand what I had against it the first time. The stories are well written, the characters are all people I can relate to, the acing is spot on, and the jokes are funny..

The situations are all completely off the wall and absurd, and yet are completely believable that such situations could actually happen in the real world.

The only two things I could suggest to improve upon it is I wish they had put more effort into changing the hairstyles and clothes to help differentiate the years, and as another reviewer already said, possibly made the episodes an hour each so they could flesh out the characters a bit more.

Patton 360 (2009– )

Does not capture the true essence

[4/10 · 18 July 2023]

Clearly piggybacking off the original Battle 360 (the story of the aircraft carrier Enterprise), this is a shallow attempt at a cash in on it's contemporary's success.

There was obviously very little to no real research done about the stories that it wants to tell. And considering this is an alleged documentary, it is beyond disappointing, it is actually quite insulting to the servicemen involved.

It is clearly a quick, cheaply put together effort, that makes no attempt to engage you like the first series.

I would strongly recommend watching the first Battle 360, however quit while you're ahead. There are so many more informative, interesting, and educational documentaries that you could spend your time watching rather than this.

Lancaster Skies (2019)

Don't waste your time like I did.

[3/10 · 24 December 2021]

The story was slow and disjointed. The score was mixed so poorly that the only choices were 'listen to the dialogue and be deafened by the music', or 'listen to the music and miss the dialogue'. The CGI was laughable. And the epilogue was almost lifted verbatim from the prologue from The Memphis Belle.

The idea for the movie is sound, but it falls short.. It promises so much, yet delivers so little. I definitely will not be falling over myself to watch this again.

Danger Close (2019)

The worst directing I have ever seen.

[4/10 · 19 June 2021]

I had such high hopes for this movie, but oh my god what a disappointment.

Every single piece of dialogue was so slow, stilted and forced that it was an embarrassment.

I know it was the direction as I have seen the actors from this movie in other things and they were fine. But in this? They were abhorrent.

I just hope the those three extra American people (who the slow speaking was aimed at) that watched this movie were worth the 10,000 Aussies who hated the faux John Wayne speak.

If you want to see a real portrayal of the Aussie involvement in Vietnam then watch The Odd Angry Shot. This is just pandering nonsense.

The Groove Tube (1974)

I feel embarrassed for the writers

[1/10 · 7 August 2018]

This is obviously America's answer to England's Monty Python, but Oh... My... God... !

This is the most unfunny piece of crap that I have seen in a long time.

Monty Python was subtle and obtuse. This is just abrasive and desperate.

There are one or two semi amusing shots (like when they crank out the sandwiches during the fiscal discussion) but mostly it just reeked of desperation.

Most gags went on for wayyyyyyy too long only to deliver boring, mediocre punchlines, and more often than not with no discernible punchline whatsoever.

It honestly was a chore to watch this.

The Big Bang Theory (2007–2019)

A laugh track on a broken record player

[1/10 · 21 March 2012]

Recently I attempted to watch an episode of this show, however I honestly couldn't even get to the ten minute mark. It was the most contrived and uninteresting thing I have ever attempted to endure. Every single line, no matter how mundane and innocuous, was greeted with a pause in acting so they could fill in the clearly recorded canned laugh track.

It was really quite painful.

'Hello'... pause... (laugh track) 'What are you doing?'... pause... (laugh track) 'I'm looking in the fridge'... pause... (laugh track)

And so on and so on, until you just want to kill yourself.

Despite all the spoon fed laugh track cues there are literally no real laughs to be had anywhere. Normally with a show this banal one can usually elicit a laugh by laughing AT the people who like it, however, in all honesty, I just feel bad for them. And it's not even pity, I feel embarrassed for them

The Animal (2001)

It's a slapstick comedy (for those who missed it). Enjoy it on it's own merits

[6/10 · 20 December 2011]

I'm not really sure why so many people seem to have a collective downer on this movie. It's a comedy for crying out loud. Are they really expecting Oscar winning acting, or expecting people to walk away shaking their heads in amazement? I personally believe the people that dislike this are people with superiority complexes whom don't know their ass from their elbow. How hard is it to sit down with a beer and relax, take something on it's own merits rather than make a conscious effort to try and feel intellectually superior to it. And whilst I agree I didn't love it, I still liked and respected it for it's own value.

The Nugget (2002)

What a waste

[3/10 · 14 December 2011]

This movie starts out OK, there are a few funny one liners and some likable 'average guy' characters. However, it grows stale from there. the bit players are extremely underdeveloped and underutilized. There are also pointless unnecessary characters given pointless unnecessary screen time for no discernible reason or addition to the story. As for the storyline, halfway through it starts to go off the rails with unfunny overworked cliché's, and then as if that isn't bad enough, it gradually gets worse before ending itself on such an unbelievable, farcical and ridiculous note that you half expect aliens to land somewhere (it would be more believable than what actually happens). This movie could of been great if it wasn't so badly handled. Such a shame considering it started out OK.

Without a Clue (1988)

Funniest movie - EVER!!

[10/10 · 23 November 2011]

These days, most people's favourite shows will get dulled to their senses thanks to easily accessible videos and DVD's. But I must have seen this movie over 400 times (literally), can quote it verbatim, and yet it is still as hilarious today as it was when I first watched it over twenty years ago.

The acting is sublime from all, especially Sirs Caine and Kingsley. They can both turn the simplest, most overworked gags into total hilarity with such underlined subtleness you can't help but laugh. A mere raised eyebrow can have you rolling on the floor in completely unsuppressed giggles.

I can honestly say I will never tire of this movie. The stellar performances from all involved means it will always stay fresh no matter how many times it gets viewed.

If you don't laugh whilst watching this movie, I'd advise you to check your pulse.

Don't Forget Your Toothbrush (1995)

Hate is not a strong enough word

[1/10 · 8 August 2006]

I gave this show a one out of ten purely because giving it a zero wasn't an allowable option. It was, still is, and always will be, pure drivel. This show's utter contempt for the word 'entertainment' makes me feel duty bound to record how bad it was so that future generations can learn from this mistake. Its only accolade is it was too horrible to bother feeling ashamed about. And what was with the bimbo host? Isn't it customary for the female host of a television show to at least be either attractive or talented? My only real relief is my knowledge that it will never ever be coming back to darken anyone's television ever again.

Bligh (1992)

absolutely awful

[1/10 · 22 July 2006]

Never have I been more ashamed of being Australian than when I look at this utter, utter garbage they allowed on television.

Do you realize that foreign business men, women and diplomats who came to Australia and turned on the television at night in their hotel rooms between business meetings were confronted with such rubbish? Does it not embarrass the rest of us as a nation that this is the dribble we have to offer on a professional level? I mean, this is not cable TV is it. It boggles the mind that is the sort of standard that Australian television sunk to. No wonder it only lasted one season.

We may not pay or budget as much as American television, but surely we could of come up with something better than this??

The only purpose this nonsense served was to validate the stereotype that Australians are mindless beer swilling idiots. No matter how far Australians go as a nation, we can always look back on this and hang our collective heads in shame.

May God himself have mercy upon us.

The Odd Angry Shot (1979)

Enlightening to say the least

[9/10 · 9 June 2006]

After reading some comments on this movie, I can't help but notice there seems to be some confusion between what is a movie and what is a documentary.

There are a number of technical flaws in this, but they are all fine with me. I like it just the way it is. There is no glorification, there is no immortal hero soldier on the 'goodies' side, there is no censorious look down the nose at war and the people in it. Instead there is a portrayal of volunteer career soldiers dealing with things in a real way. It doesn't deal with the 'nasho' (national service) civilian soldier, put into combat because his conscription number came up. It deals with real soldiers and attempts to portray them as such. This aspect impresses me most as the movie gives some working insight into minds of soldiers. And besides some small character building, there are no obvious transparent attempts to tug at the heartstrings. I'm being taken along for the ride with them instead of having the ride forced down my throat.

Being so numerically and financially overshadowed by the U.S. involvement, its often overlooked that Australia played a size-able role in Vietnam's struggle. Its good to see a movie highlighting other's involvement in that particular theater, be it Australian, South Korean, French, or even the South Vietnamese themselves.

You could nitpick technicalities about this movie for ever, but considering things like the budget limitation and location constraints, the only real thing that this movie lacks is Sam Neil and Mel Gibson. They would of been the right age at the time, and considering the other characters went on to great things, or at the very least stable careers, it seems sad that they don't appear somewhere given the timing and kick off points of their careers.

I highly recommend this as it entertains whilst staying as true to the truth as need be.

Romper Stomper (1992)

worth a watch (despite some poor back up acting)

[9/10 · 9 June 2006]

To be honest, I'm sorry I first saw this movie when I was 14 as a number of the references went over my head that I picked up on during later viewings. I found with this movie, as with all movies, subsequent viewings had less impact as I had seen all the shocking violence and whatnot that encompasses the movie.

For instance, first time around I missed noting things like the irony of Davey stabbing Hando with the very knife Hando actually paid for early on in the movie. And then there's all the intentional cheesy references to Kubrick's Clockwork Orange. There are plenty more, but you'll have to pick them out yourself.

I'm not looking for documentaries when I watch a movie, however as a teenager growing up in the same city at the same time this movie was made, I find all the shots hauntingly familiar. I recognize the time, the feel, place and era of every city scene. I can even tell the suburbs that certain scenes are shot. I personally feel that capturing an emotion on film rather than just a picture should be worthy of respect in anyone's books. Even the train stations made me feel 'at home' for Melbourne train stations were literally as dark, dank and grotty as depicted in the opening scenes.

My only real complaint is the bit character acting in the movie. It is absolutely abysmal. I feel for Crowe, McKenzie and Pollock. I may not be an actor, but from my own job I know what its like to work alongside completely useless twits. Its hard. Very hard. However, to their credit, in the face of adversary, all three acquit themselves in a way that only a true professional can, which probably explains why they have gone on (Pollock excluded for obvious reasons) to better things while the supporting actors are still too embarrassed to even show up as extras on homemade cable TV sitcoms.

I wont try and give you rubbish about lighting or cinematography or any other pious aspect that has no business at the consumer end of a movie (as so many try hard hacks on here seem to want to). I'll give you my judgment based on the fact that this is supposed to be entertainment, pure and simple. As long as its not done noticeably badly then they've done a good job.

If you want to learn something, go to school. If you want to judge something or someone, go to church. If you want to be entertained, then this is for you.

Worth a watch.