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Reviews
Warnie (2023)
That's just not cricket.
An Aussie sporting icon as big as Michael Jordan. My expectations were low for this series. Knowing the family didn't approve of it, and seeing the promo material for it, I kept my expectations low.
I would avoid this series if you want something slightly meaningful to heartfelt. It's just a tabloid fiasco, badly acted , even more poorly set designed. Did the actor learn to bowl like warnie? Even remotely learning how Warne bowled. The team kits? Did they even bother to recreate them?
There is so much more to the king of spin than what was on offer here. Please don't support this appealing series. Stick to the doco and if you can hold back the tears revisit the warnie memorial tv event.
Rip warnie. The king.
Pig (2021)
Not what I expected but pleasantly surprised.
The trailers made out this was going to be Nicolas cage kicking ass and finding his pig. It's a movie about about grief and mourning and letting go. I was still waiting for the action scenes. But there was one scene where nicolas's character robin beats down a high profile chef, with words alone. More brutal than john wick gun hands or nobody bus fights . A well crafted movie about the agony of loss.
A Quiet Place Part II (2020)
We need more monsters said one producer probably to the writer who probably wanted to quit but likes money more than fighting for a good story
This didn't need a sequel. I was genuinely interested in this movie. As I thought the first film offered something fresh and exciting to the monster/horror genre.
But after seeing the sequel I quickly realised it was unnecessary.
I also think the writers forgot that suspends outweighs anything. Monster attack after monster attack made for a very boring movie. People doing stupid things, also why are the aliens, fairly stupid considering they've figured out interstellar space travel?
I feel like this movie cheapens the first movie somewhat, and makes me very dubious to ever watch another sequel ever again.
Dont bother with this film. If you haven't seen the first one, give it a go and move on to something else. You'll get nothing extra from this movie.
A Christmas Story (1983)
A Christmas movie I thought I'd imagined.
I must have seen this movie in the late 80s as a kid (born in 82). I had vivid memories of Santa kicking ralphitralphiehe slide and the other kid getting his tongue stuck to the pole. And that was it.
It wasn't until a few days ago, fast forward to December 2020 and I saw an Instagram post about this movie and realised this was the movie that was stuck in the back of my head for over 30 years.
I rented a digital copy and sat down and watched it that night.
This movie stirs up so much nostalgia, even for me born decades after this movie was set. Though I think growing up in the early 80s is closer to the 40s or 50s than today possibly is lile for children.
My family had 1 tv, a stay at home mum, were fairly poor, walked to school, I had a younger brother and i definitely dreamed of getting one specific toy each Christmas. The super soaker 50 springs to mind one particular year.
I think the Christmas message does come through in this film and its clear to me why this movie holds such a strong place to so many people especially the generationgenerations before mine. But I hope newer generations find something in this simple little story about growing up in hard times and figuring out the world and the people you look up to who you think have the world figured out. But even they really don't.
I will add this to my list of end of year movies forever now and I'm so happy I rediscovered it after all these years.
It's not a classic Christmas story like a christmas carol or its a wonderful life which are magical in their own rights. But a christmas movie paints a picture of a real Christmas lead up so many of us lived. Remembering back to being that age and having that expectation and wonderment for Christmas day. In its own way this movie is very touching and a nice coming of age story for ralphie.
I'm so happy to hear that a channel in America plays this for 24 hours straight.
Midsommar (2019)
Long and predictable
So the Swedish friend invited all the guys to his death cult to be part of the 9 sacrificed to their gods. Fair enough, decent enough premise. But meanwhile he was really trying to get his friends girlfriend along to be may queen, who was never told about the trip until basically they were leaving? Also they were trying to get him to break up with her?
Once I noticed that plot hole early on I was tapped out.
Occult and pagan rituals are very interesting but handled very oddly here.
Also why wouldn't the students doing phds in that subject be able to speak the language?
Writers need to learn some chops and not just glance at Wikipedia for notes.
Hereditary (2018)
This movie lost its head
Slow start.
Brutal middle, which became a very dark torturous family drama. Ripped apart by a very dark tragedy.
Movie was getting somewhere.
Then everyone died and someone became a lost king of hell.. for some reason.
I can tell the director loves paganism and it's symbology. That's cool, more movies need to handle that subject better.
But the end just got sloppy.
I would have preferred if the tiny people in the model houses were alive or it turned out the family was also just someone else's models that were being build and destroyed. Couldnt be worse than floating headless bodies.
What a waste
The Lighthouse (2019)
Poetry on screen
I was stunned by this movie. I have anticipated it for some time. Lighthouses have always been mysterious buildings to me. Always felt a sense of unknown nostalgia and wonderment to them, and the men who run and maintain them.
Firstly I was so happy this movie gave much of its thought and process to delving deep into the psyche of the men who devote their lives to working the beacons.
I was flawed by the ratio used which is 1.19:1 A ratio used on early sound movies. Also the use of black and white combined with the box format gave the movie the clostraphobic feel it needed in portraying this kind of storytelling of man's feeble mind.
The symbology used throughout the film and references to hp lovecraft, moby dick and various classic poets, makes it stand out to me as such a masterfully crafted movie, from script to set design, cast and cinematography, then editing.
The dialogue of poetry told by willems character was so gut wrenching it left the hairs on my arms standing for aboit an hour after seeing it, then beautifully yet grotesquely portraying Prometheus and his eternal perpetual rot to the gulls, in the final fading sequence into the fog.
Both actors take it on excellently but willem defoe somehow bends reality with his delivery of the poetic back and forth banter with his foe, friend, confidant.
I wish i left every cinema feeling inspired to write better poetry and script ideas.
It's how movies should make you feel.
I'll never look at lighthouses in the same "light" (sorry) again.
People will hate this movie for many reasons. But the ones it affects will love it for so many more reasons.