Change Your Image
natural_born_cynic
Reviews
The Locals (2003)
I have never forgotten this movie
Stunning. The twist... I admit, I watched this movie a LONG time ago, but it had such a profound effect on me... I can hardly explain it.
The ending... Where the locals end up being ghosts... and so are they... and they find their own bodies... thinking back on the section of the movie I'd already seen...
I'm just so glad I found this movie again, as I forgot the title. I honestly recommend this movie to be watched more widely. The title is quite tacky, and it really does deserve a better title.
I will now go buy this movie online, and wait patiently for it to arrive; because having it on my shelf will be a small sort of collector's achievement for me.
I Love You Too (2010)
I'm in two minds...
Overall, I enjoyed it. I actually did. I liked it for reasons that others may see as stupid, but I liked it. Beware though. There are things that just make me sigh when I think back on them...
After hearing about this movie getting SO hyped up on shows like Australia's The 7pm Project I expected it to be quite half-ass, because Peter Hellier is only moderately funny when live and hype is all this film could rest on later.
I'll admit, it's a bit self-serving (Hellier is the moron best friend) but his character, although a little flat for an Oscar nomination (why does everything have to be about the Oscars?!)is likable in a "What is going ON with this guy?!" sort of way.
It's fairly obvious that Hellier chose all his mates to be in this film (he actually states this at a couple of times) because the 'main' guy is so dull I honestly can't remember his name or the characters' name. Terrible choice of lead, that guy flat out will not have an acting career. The LEAST they could have done was shave him down.
A truly tried-and-true basic script, which is sad, but the 'little person' really brought a very dry comedic value to it that the deadhead Australian persona's portrayed bounced well off.
Actually, I'm changing my mind. yes, I'm stoked that this film isn't another heart wrenching family-falling-apart-drama or Aussie-battler- with-mediocre-win-in-final-credits movie like Australia is famous for, it was a pretty vague attempt at a movie that is probably best left for Hollywood to churn out.
Californication (2007)
Sentiently written, terribly acted
YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! THIS IS TERRIBLE! B-GRADE!
Did they record the sound separately from the pictures? Because there is something distinctly off about this production. David Duchovny, for a start, is anything but a comic genius. Don't get me wrong, acting outside his usual genre is 'different', but he fails spectacularly to convince me that he is a sex-crazed man. He fails at everything, he sucks at life in this role. Failed writer, yes, but smooth with the ladies? No.
Being wholly unattractive doesn't help- he doesn't even bring an element of sexual idolism to this role. It's like they've combined HOUSE and BUMFIGHTS to create his persona. Every good part of this show you can find in another popular show, and done better. The boobage and itinerant women? NIP/TUCK. The biting wit? GREGORY HOUSE, MD. The personal crises (that's plural for crises) and internal monologue? GREY'S ANATOMY. The snappy little girl? Pick a soap opera, any soap opera. I'm not saying that they should have come up with entirely new set of elements, but EVERYTHING IN THIS SHOW IS RECYCLED. POORLY.
The casting is utterly terrible and inappropriate at all times. The various girls in the show are fine, because they're just that- various girls whose names are rarely important, but the main actors? The little girl, his daughter? TERRIBLE. My God, it's like she wasn't taught to read properly, and she's reading from a card. She has no expression in her face, she shrugs and inflects her voice at all sorts of weird times, her eyes dart about the place and the haircut and style advice that the wardrobe department gave her was ridiculous. Sack them immediately, she doesn't create a statement of a girl that is growing up too fast, she looks like she's wearing her big sisters gear and posing.
I understand what people get out of it. He gets away with murder and people cheer him on, all the while wishing they could do the same from the safety of their armchairs, but that is SO unrealistic (don't argue with me that the show isn't supposed to be realistic when all his relationships are perfectly normal and he faces everyday challenges constantly, this show is supposed to be realistic) it's stupid! His character is naive, spoilt and fake. His situations are forced, unlikely and poorly developed. There is no preamble to most of the women, or how they got into his bed, and yes, A LITTLE BIT DOES HELP! There are a constant stream of unanswered questions and loose ends to all situations he gets into; and the ways he gets out of them are highly un-bloody-likely.
Terrible. Sometimes, it is made of great things- especially the script, but everything else just DOESN'T FIT. Everything about this strikes me as poorly produced. The only thing holding it afloat is the script, which is like a homeless guy wearing a diamond brooch. Give me scrubs for comedy, Grey's anatomy for stretched situations in real settings, HOUSE MD for intelligent script writing and brilliant portrayal of character, but scrap this garbage. This show actually put me in a bad mood. The only scenes I've ever enjoyed from this were the credits.
1.5/10