Change Your Image
westhamu
Reviews
The Black Balloon (2008)
debunking osmosis
Osmosis, I don't care whether you liked the film or not. That's a personal choice. Personally, I thought it was great. 'Fraudulently obtained' taxpayer money? Fraudulently obtained obviously because you didn't like it. It didn't fit into your box. Does a film that you like that I don't (that has been funded by Government Filmcorps) also fall into the 'fraudulently obtained' category. I'm guessing not. I've always been amazed at this line of thought. Money wasted you say. I'm quite happy to let Government bodies fund crap films until the cows come home. As long as about one in ten is a classic. Which usually happens. Good public money spent! And what is a quasi-plagiarist rip-off? You're either a plagiarist or you're not (no quasi about it) and plagiarist rip-off is the oxymoron of all oxymorons. And I've got to add: "Obviously the American Film Industry has been totally conned into believing our mainstream people have talent which explains the constant stream of ever worsening quality of films these days." That doesn't make any sense whatsoever. Do you mean the American Film Industry has taken all our talent so now there's no-one left and as a result our films are crap or do you mean that Americans are making our films huge box-office hits, through their naivety (being conned), and so we keep making the films you don't like. The latter premise is nonsense because our films don't make big Hollywood money whilst the first premise is self-evident by your logic. As Tarantino had Michael Madsen say 'I'm betting you're a big Lee Marvin fan'. I'm betting you're a big Crocodile Dundee fan. Not that there's anything wrong with that. I have it myself. But there's different ways to watch different films. I hate Elton John's music but I can understand why people like it. You obviously have an oligarchical problem with some film board. Script rejected?
Doing Time for Patsy Cline (1997)
Tale of Two Cities
I thought of Dickens and 'it's a far, far better thing...'. Yes, of course it comes across a tad corny but that's to set you up for the end. This is the film that got a country music hating pedophile into Patsy Cline and that can't be a bad thing. As for the comment about Mum and Dad being from either a beer commercial or the fifties, I can assure you I went on country holidays at grandma's sisters and second cousins' houses that could have been acting coaches for those two. It's also a film that gives you a real belly laugh about five times through it. Not many films that aren't marketed as full-on comedies give you that.
Bliss (1985)
Misconception
I lived in Lismore when this film came out and each week the local picture show had 'art' films on a Sunday arvo through night. Being arbitrarily schooled in film, to some extent, by a few of the local hippies I was not averse to 'art' films but for some reason this film came across as more arty-farty than most (reviews, AFI awards, Faustian premise) whilst the overtly religious hooded lady with the cross promotional posters also bode ill. So I stayed away. In 2001 Lantana was released and although the Dickensian coincidences are a tad over the top it still rates as one of my favourite films. But I still had an aversion to Ray Lawrence's first 'arty' film. I'm also eagerly awaiting Jindabyne not least because I think the Australian high country lends a different and preferable filming perspective than the one-dimensional Opera House/Harbour Bridge 'Tourism promo while we're at it' feel of a lot of bad Aussie films. But to the nub. The local video shop had a rare sale and I picked up the double-disc Director's Cut for $8. What a revelation! On this post there are stories of people walking out on this film when first released. I can't believe that. They must have walked out from places where independent films are screened so what did they expect? I loved this film. Sure, it's heavy handed in parts but it's completely and utterly not what I expected.