mulholland-lily Reviews

Ehrengard: The Art of Seduction (2023)

Shakespearean farce in a fantastical Denmark

[7/10 · 17 September 2023]

This was a witty, delightful romp, reminiscent of Shakespeare and with beautifully fantastical design and costumes.

Its European humour will be lost on many, but I laughed and chuckled my way through this gorgeous, gentle comedy from the Danes.

Based on the novel by Karen Blix, it is a tale of lust, beauty, honour and devotion. It's set in a fictional Danish court in the 1830s and makes great use of real-life Royal locations, provided by Queen Margrethe II.

I loved it even more after watching the behind the scenes doco, where I learnt the Queen was the driving creative force behind the production. She is utterly delightful.

XO, Kitty (2023– )

Cute, breezy coming of age rom-com

[7/10 · 29 May 2023]

If you've seen To All The Boys, you know this will be in the same tonal world. It's cute, breezy, fun and never takes itself too seriously in discussing the hormonal angst that drives teenagers, albeit through an American lens.

What I liked about this series:

• it's set mainly in Seoul and the location team and DP did a fabulous job showing off this beautiful city, with a small side serving of South Korea's beautiful forested countryside.

• there were nods to traditional Korean culture
• there were many new-to-me Asian actors and few non-white faces, which still is such a rarity in mainstream TV in Western countries
• there was lots of queer representation that both served the plot and "just was"
• the adult characters had their own issues that were relatable but didn't overshadow the main game-teen angst and big feelings
• there were genuinely funny scenes, even if they weren't entirely original
• this was a genuine attempt to explore the challenges of coming of age in a new setting.

This isn't on the same level as Heartstopper and Heartbreak High, but it's certainly a cut above the average.

An inoffensive 7 out of 10.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (2023)

A delightful cup of tea with a dash of peach brandy

[8/10 · 5 May 2023]

What a wonderful extension of the Bridgerton world. Shonda Rhimes cleverly develops the world beyond Julia Quinn's Regency setting and takes us back to the beginning of Charlotte and George's romance, love and royal partnership. But she does more than that: she continues to subvert race, gender, sex and power expectations and gives us fully developed characters, who are both familiar from the two (so far) series of Bridgerton, but fresh as we learn more about their personal histories and why they are the way they have become in later life. I was particularly impressed to see Lady Danbury and the Dowager Lady Bridgerton's characters tackle issues of marriage, loss and mature-woman sexuality. More of that when we return to Bridgerton please!

I'd also like to pay my compliments to the casting director-the younger cast were perfectly matched to their older versions.

Set and costume design is once again magical. This is high-quality, binge/worthy viewing.

8 out of 10 crowns.

Marry Me (2022)

Watch Me

[7/10 · 30 April 2023]

This film is adorable. Lopez and Wilson are charming and superbly watchable in this romance that hits all the right notes. This is so much better than most of the so-called romance movies available on the streamers. I'm loving the older, battle-hardened protagonists we're getting with Lopez. She deserves quality and she's finally getting it, even when they're dressed up in stilettos, sequins and hair pieces.

I think I particularly liked this one because it takes the tried and tested tropes of fake husband, opposites attract and forced proximity and gives us something that is both escapist and relatable. It's hard to get right, but I think they got it right here.

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022)

Emma Thompson shines in this sex-positive film

[9/10 · 10 August 2022]

It's a wonderful celebration of sex positivity, exploration of generation gaps, and a brilliant showcase for Emma Thompson's incredible acting. Highly recommended, especially for middle aged and older women.

Wedding Season (2022)

Cliched and slight, this romcom is paint-by-numbers.

[2/10 · 7 August 2022]

The premise is fantastic but for me it just didn't deliver. I wasn't invested in either of our romantic leads-there were no real stakes and the external/internal conflict felt manufactured. Possibly another movie playing for laughs at the expense of saying something meaningful-for example, this movie could have found something new to say about second/third generation migrants being caught in inter-generational crosshairs. Instead, it's really the fake relationship trope with nothing new to make it compelling or even interesting. I only made it to the mid-point before turning it off. I hope it's more appealing for other viewers, as it's great to see movies being made with and for people of colour.

Silent Night (I) (2021)

Black humour is the best humour in an existential crisis

[7/10 · 19 December 2021]

Here's another excellent British dramedy that uses black humour to poke fun at we the middle classes who've done nothing to address climate change and its inevitable consequences. I can imagine its tone won't work for American audiences but for Britons and Australians, who tend to enjoy farce and ironic humour, there is a lot to like in this film.

My husband and I enjoyed this as an updated take on Nevil Shute's On The Beach, the 1950s novel set at the height of the Cold War that saw nuclear fallout destroy human life on the planet, with southern Australia the last part of the planet to be affected.

A terrific cast takes us through a range of credible and incredulous responses to impending and certain death-while conceivably previously far fetched, now made all the more plausible by seeing the wild responses to a global pandemic.

Like DON'T LOOK UP, this is a movie for our times. The message isn't subtle but it's delivered in a horrifically entertaining package.

Uncut Gems (2019)

Unwatchable

[1/10 · 10 February 2020]

It's frenetic, it's shouty, it's a relentless spiral to the bottom with no redeeming features. If you enjoy a slide rather than a ride, this film's for you. For me, it's a resounding no.

Blue Night (2018)

How is this movie?

[3/10 · 18 June 2019]

I wasn't going to leave a review because there's not much good to say. But that awful kissing scene with the nameless drummer was just the pits. What were they thinking?

Aloha (I) (2015)

Horrible

[3/10 · 17 June 2019]

A stellar cast wasted in a ridiculous space wars flick. What were they thinking?

The Merger (2018)

Shoulda called it Bodgy Creek

[7/10 · 2 May 2019]

I mean fair shake of the sauce bottle. Missed a trick here, cobber. Shoulda called it Bodgy Creek and have done with it.

Great Aussie yarn for these times. All it needed was Briggsy and I reckon I'd of bumped it up to an 8 or a 9. #briggsforpm #bodgycreek #bodgycreekroosters

Sometimes Always Never (2018)

Not even my love for Bill Nighy could draw me in

[5/10 · 19 March 2019]

I so wanted to love this film. All the right ingredients but none of the pathos required to draw me in. Every time I got close to feeling something the film flashed up another Wes Anderson-esque quirk-with none of the meaning that so cleverly underpins his work-and made me feel like I was a spectator. Great ideas suffered from a flat execution.

The Favourite (2018)

Bizarre

[3/10 · 30 December 2018]

After rave reviews I had expected to be entertained by three great actors in Colman, Stone and Weisz. I hated it. The only thing I liked were the costumes and the horses. Everything else was excessive, overblown, tedious and gross. Even that I could have enjoyed if there had been any comedy (pure snark does not equal comedy), character development or a 'so what?' But no one changed, everyone was horrible and all received their just desserts in a vexingly predictable way. I did like Harley's wig. Three stars for costumes and design.