Category: Reviews

Views on books, movies or anything else

Ev’rybody was Kung-fu fighting…

China is everywhere at the moment. Resources boom in the newspapers; Olympic games teasters on the TV; and Chinese animal martial arts films at the movies.

Kung Fu Panda

A light-hearted, animated film about violent animals

Jack Black plays an animated panda that practices martial arts. What more do I need to say? It’s a little bit frightening.

But it’s mostly good fun. Think of a mix between Jackie Chan’s Drunken Master and Disney’s Mulan – it belongs to the tradition of martial arts films where the hero has a great weakness that becomes a martial arts technique. However all the characters are animated animals.

And the animation is well done. In particular the fight sequences are great to watch and the Chinese landscapes are amazing.

My rating: 3.5 stars
***1/2

Another trip to Narnia

It was time to see a movie again. And the last movie I’d seen was on a plane, so it didn’t count. Friday night had arrived, and we were after something light-hearted, so what better than the latest childrens’ fantasy blockbuster?

Prince Caspian

Like “Lord of the Rings” but without the elvish

It’s really a bit unfair. If only Weta Workshop hadn’t gone and done Lord of the Rings first, then C S Lewis’ childrens’ epic wouldn’t look quite so derivative. It’s a bit like A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court crossed with Fellowship of the Ring. British schoolkids transported into a land where there are dwarves and they must complete a quest to save Narnia, the country within Lewis’ fantasy land.

Unlike Tolkien’s fantasy land, this one has strong Anglican overtones, and English is the language everyone knows. It’s actually quite fun to spot the Christian references through the plot, but the whole work is done with such class that you can easily suspend disbelief and get caught up in the tale. The child actors from the previous Narnia film are back, and the whole cast is excellent. Peter Dinklage is particularly good.

If you’re a fan of fantasy, and the Narnia books in particular, this should be an enjoyable film. There is a fair amount of violence (like Lord of the Rings) so don’t expect a happy, Disney, bunny-rabbit of a film. But, it’s not very challenging, which is why is was the perfect choice for us that evening.

My rating: 3.0 stars
***

Oils Aint Oils

I hadn’t heard much about this film prior to seeing it. It sounded like it might give me an insight into the American oil boom and the life of wildcatters. Yes, I got that much, but I think I would’ve been better off reading about it in a book.

There Will Be Blood

Promises blood and delivers malevolence.

This film is beautiful. This film is well acted. It is a piece of art, but one I couldn’t manage to enjoy. Although I wanted to, as it had an interesting topic (the early days of the American oil boom and how prospectors built their empires), interesting themes (such as asking what is the price of ambition, and how do commerce and faith work together), and good actors (Daniel Day-Lewis was particularly brilliant).

However, there wasn’t a single important character that I could like, the sound track was mostly irritating, and the film seemed unnecessarily long. In fact, the film could have stopped around 20 minutes earlier and been a better work, I think.

So, I was clearly disappointed. The malevolent character Daniel Plainview, played by Day-Lewis, was so nasty and brutal that it is difficult to believe such a person would have existed and been so successful, casting doubt on the otherwise amazing historical authenticity of the movie. Just not the film for me, I guess.

My rating: 2.0 stars
**

Too cute for words. Almost.

Every year, the book club I’m in takes a month out to watch a movie instead. Last year we went to see Babel, also known as the most bleak movie ever made. So, this year we wanted to see something a little more perky. Wish granted!

Juno

A very cute coming-of-age movie.

Canadian director Jason Reitman made the great mockumentary Thank You for Smoking, and has followed it up with this cute Canadian tale of a sassy teenager who is dealing with a personal issue. Ok, it’s not telling you anything you don’t find out within seconds of the credits finishing, but the personal issue is that she’s pregnant.

Fellow Canadian Ellen Philpotts-Page plays the eponymous heroine, part of a stellar cast who can do no wrong. They take Juno’s situation and spin it into a cute and quirky tale that explores the question of who makes a good parent. It is sensitive and witty, and the dialogue sparkles.

And did I mention it was cute?

My rating: 3.5 stars
***1/2

Quite enchanted

To get out of the oppressive heat, the other night Kate and I went to the movies. At the flip of a coin, we chose to see this film (the other option was National Treasure, if you really must know). Afterwards, I would’ve been happy to go back in, and see it again, and not just because of the air conditioning!

Enchanted
Ironic Fairy-tale romance with a dash of New York humour

It is a little tricky to describe this movie as it twists the genres a bit. Perhaps I can say it is like The Princess Bride crossed with Stuart Little. Or maybe I can say it’s like King Kong crossed with Who Framed Roger Rabbit? I’m going to fail either way.

Well, I will say that never since Julie Andrews played a singing nun in The Sound of Music have I seen a character as joyful and naive beyond all reason as the heroine of this film, Giselle. And the fact that Julie Andrews lends her voice to this film as the narrator is just poetry. Giselle is not quite singing as the Nazis invade, but her singing is also catchy and yet clueless.

I suspect that a fair few audience members were not there to see Giselle but the character played by Patrick Dempsey of Grey’s Anatomy fame. Their loss – he is perfect with the stunned and tortured expressions he made famous in Grey’s, but he doesn’t have a taxing role here.

The contrast of fairy-tale plot logic with real-world New York grit is simply fabulous. It shows up quite how much disbelief we suspend when watching the typical Disney cartoon. However, it’s a Disney film regardless, and I had to love it. And left the cinema singing the songs.

My rating: 4.0 stars
****

Book Club Homework: complete!

A couple of hours ago I finished reading the last book for our book-club this year. It surprised me. For a literary novel – a genre which typically doesn’t excite me – it turned out to be enjoyable. Lucky, because the book-club only picked it on a re-count. And given the truculent and debate-hardened members of the book-club, it’s a wonder we managed to get someone to change their vote at all!

Anyway, before I discuss this with anyone else, or check out the publisher’s official book-club website, I thought I’d jot down my thoughts while I can claim that they are still mine.

The History of Love
A tangled history that I loved being caught up in.

This is a book about the intertwined histories of a number of quirky characters, all with Jewish ancestry, around New York, and their relationship to a book called The History of Love. It’s the second novel by Nicole Krauss, and I would not be surprised if she drew upon her own family’s history of Jewish culture and migration. Certainly, those details had the feeling of accuracy throughout the book.

Strangely, one thing didn’t quite ring true for me: the male voice of the character Leo Gursky, who we are introduced to through his narration in the first chapter. I must confess that I like to play a game when reading articles in the newspaper, trying to guess the gender of the author from their style, and usually it’s not too hard. However, finding out that Leo was male was a little unexpected. I assumed he was a Leonore or something. And once I’d identified that the male characterisation didn’t gel for me, I noticed that other male characters weren’t as well realised as the female characters. But it was a minor thing, really, and a little strange.

Something far more impressive was how Krauss maintained the half-a-dozen storylines through the book. To be honest, I was confused for most of the way along about which stories were “real”. And the stop-start manner of my reading this book didn’t help given the concentration required to keep track of what had happened and when. But perseverance paid off, and by the end I was thoroughly enjoying how it was all coming together. Not the sort of book I would’ve normally picked off the shelf to read, but glad that I did.

My rating: 4.0 stars
****

A timely warning about health care

Kate’s out of town, and as part of the decadent, bachelor lifestyle that I’ve adopted while she’s away, I went out to the movies. Ok, it doesn’t sound particularly decadent, but maybe it does when you realise that I bought a chili-chocolate choc-top icecream at the cinema. Alright, maybe not. Anyway, the movie’s what I really wanted to write about.

SiCKO

Michael Moore’s most polished doco yet, again showing America is a scary place.

Yes, he’s done it again. Another documentary examining the United States, hoping to affect the political debate over there. This time the theme is universal healthcare and the effects of turning the hospital system over to the private sector. The title, rather than referring to patients, appears to refer more to the system itself.

Moore looks around his own country, then heads around the globe to look at some other Western countries. The intent is to ask “if they can do universal healthcare, why can’t we?” But, while he effectively (and amusingly) shows that people there are making good use of their health systems, he fails to identify the cost of universal healthcare or whether those countries are trending towards a more American model.

Certainly here in Australia we are well on our way towards the scary situation he documents in America. Moore has developed a more balanced technique here, as he moves between American examples and foreign examples, and although he shows us emotional moments, he doesn’t linger on them as much as in previous films.

All up, it’s Moore at his most effective. I enjoyed the soundtrack, got sucked into the story, and left with concern for our own country’s future (and America’s present).

My rating: 3.5 stars
***1/2

No, it wasn’t French

Last night, we went to the movies. I thought we were going to see the French comedy My Best Friend. It seems I was the only one who thought that. The rest of my friends, and indeed the whole cinema, was there to watch the latest Australian film…

Romulus, My Father

Beautiful tension in rural Australia

This is Eric Bana showing how he can be the Everyman. You’ve seen him in Black Hawk Down, Hulk, Chopper and even The Castle. But here he’s not comic nor an action hero, simply the title character. Told through the eyes of Raimond Gaita, the young son of Romulus, who is trying to cope with life in the country when his family is quite insane.

Not quirky insane, actually insane. It’s quite tragic at times, and there are periods of sustained tension where you really don’t have a clue what’s going to happen next, but the whole film is quite beautiful. Australia (specifically the state of Victoria, or even the town of Maldon) is shown off very nicely indeed too.

Kodi Smit-McPhee, who plays Raimond, pulls off an impressive performance. The whole cast handles the themes with a dramatic yet sensitive touch. Expect some award nominations here.

If you want a comparison with another recent film, it is probably closest to Richard E. Grant’s Wah-Wah, which is also about a boy living in the bush and having to deal with some crazy family issues, although its setting is Swaziland rather than Victoria. It’s a good film too.

My rating: 3.0 stars
***

The Failure of Dreams

Yesterday was ANZAC Day, and it is a day that looms large in the Australian psyche. Why is it that we always retell the story of Gallipoli, an overwhelming Australian defeat in the first World War? In some way, while failure is pathetic, it is somehow heroic. And the recent book club selection had a similar message.

I Was Bono’s Doppelganger

A cathartic tale of musical dreams crushed.

This is Neil McCormick’s autobiography. We learn that from a young age, his life’s ambition is to be lead singer in a world renowned pop group. Although we all have crazy ideas, and our friends set us straight, McCormick has the misfortune to be school-friends with Bono. Yes, that Bono.

Since you’ve never heard of McCormick, it’s not giving anything away to say that he never became world famous. However, the story of his musical disasters set against the rising star of Bono and U2 is quite incredible. Even if you’re not a U2 fan, this is a very engaging book that quickly sucks you in with intimate and honest details of the band before its mega-success, behind-the-scenes in the record (as it was at the time) business, and the unbelievable bad luck that seems to follow McCormick.

I don’t normally make a habit of reading autobiographies, but this one had a special magic that attracted me to it. McCormick is not some star-struck U2 fan, but apparently a genuine friend of Bono’s, who writes the Forward in the book. His take on the rewards, ravages and addiction of fame is particularly well-informed, and left me with hope, despite his own failure.

My rating: 4.5 stars
****1/2

The websites listed at the back of the book have ceased working, but if you read the book, you really should listen to some of his music. It will allow you to judge for yourself if he had the stuff to make it really big. The following links are from the Internet Archive:

You may also want to check out his CD on Amazon.co.uk as it sounds like it would make a fine companion piece to the book. Ghost Who Walks is the name that he releases his music under, but the picture there is definitely him.

Queens of France and England

Why are we so interested in royals and Royalty? Is it their power, prestige or inbreeding? Certainly they live in a different world from the rest of us, and a couple of recent films make this point quite well.

The Queen

A watchable new take on the death of Diana.

This fictionalised biopic shows the early weeks of Tony Blair’s government in the U.K. and the development of his relationship with Queen Elizabeth II in the context of the death of Lady Di. The events of this film date back to 1997, so we’re talking almost 10 years ago now, but the impact still resonates today.

There are still unresolved conspiracy theories around Diana Spencer’s death. Blair is still in power and his government has led significant changes in the U.K. and on the world stage. The health of the monarchy in the U.K. continues to be debated. All of this stretches back to the material in this film, that weaves together fact and fiction seamlessly. We can really believe in this version of the characters.

The film also presents the massive contrast between the worlds of the U.K. Prime Minister and the U.K. Head of State. However, this is done with balance and a respectful touch. Both royalists and republicans will find something to enjoy in this.

I was surpised to find myself feeling considerable sympathy for Queen Elizabeth by the end of it all. Credit for this has to go in large part to Helen Mirren who carries the title role admirably.

My rating: 3.5 stars
***1/2

Marie Antoinette

Cinematic but slow.

Sofia Coppola casts Kirsten Dunst as the last Queen of France before the revolution. No, really. However, it’s quite clever, and together with a modern soundtrack lifts the historical Marie Antoinette character out of mythology (“let them eat cake!”) into a place where we can relate and almost empathise with her. This is the principle achievement in this period drama filmed entirely on location in France.

Coppola has based the movie on a book, but it could have been a picture book. There is little dialogue, but an emphasis on stunning visuals. Initially, I found this helpful to maintain the same sense of wonder than Marie Antoinette was clearly feeling at the same time. But as the film wore on, this feeling wore out. It all became rather dull.

Lost in Translation, Coppola’s previous film, has a similar feel, but it wasn’t as sparse and not as long. Marie Antoinette runs for two hours, and I was fidgeting a bit by the end. I think I would’ve preferred to flick through a coffee table book with photos of Versailles, clothing, shoes and food, rather than sit through a showing of the same images at the chosen pace.

My rating: 2.0 stars
**