Change Your Image
Bogong-the-Magnificent
Ratings
Most Recently Rated
Reviews
AGE OF RAGE - The Australian Punk Revolution (2022)
More political than musical
As a fan of music from the mid 1970s to early 1980s, I really wanted to like this film. I wanted to hear from punk or semi-punk bands of the era like The Saints, Radio Birdman and a heap of others. I was hoping for a sort of documentary version of Dogs in Space. But I would have settled for pretty much anything covering Australian music of the time.
But instead this film is mostly angry political activists spouting disappointment with society and their lives. The musical coverage is minimal, but the film may be worth a watch if you are interested in informal counter culture politics of the mid to late 1980s.
Deadloch (2023)
It started off so well...
A murder mystery set in Tasmania. That seemed appealing. The Senior Sergeant in charge of the local police was credible, sure the other police seemed unusually dim, the locals were a bit too yokelish to be realistic and there were far more migrants from tropical countries than there are in any town in Tassie. But all that was fine, I don't need realism to enjoy a show and it established the town as a very non standard place.
But then we get a detective put in charge of the case from the other side of Australia. Okay, that never happens and is utterly absurd. But the increasingly obnoxious and irritating interloper detective, ignores evidence, insults all the locals and the show increasingly insults the viewers intelligence.
That was enough, I really wanted to like the shows and was planning to watch the whole series, but if one of the leads is simultaneously lacking in credibility, clueless and highly irritating, I won't be watching any more episodes.
The Man Who Liked Funerals (1959)
A fun caper comedy.
The man who liked funerals is one of those ultra low budget, "quota quickies" that the Brits used to make to maintain local content on a double feature with foreign films. Any number of these crop up on late night television around the English speaking world. Most were devoid of both inspiration and budget, but there are a few gems and this is one of them.
A combination of wry whimsy, occasional obvious humour and a touch of ham acting, it's a caper comedy that doesn't take itself at all seriously... and who can resist Leslie Phillips playing it straight fairly early in his long career?