Movies We've Just Watched discussion
Foreign Films
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Flicks from Down-Under
wow, that sounds good, tom. i'm going to look for this one.i see that my dvd fairy (stole this from sam, sorry, girl!) has currently come into possession of the square - an australian thriller sam had talked about long ago - we are slow to get certain "foreign" films over here. anyway, i'm interested to check it out; looks intriguing.
Tom wrote: "I saw ANIMAL KINGDOM over the weekend, and was very impressed with it. I think Jacki Weaver's Oscar nomination was completely deserved, and I'm very sorry she lost.I have a question though, fo..."
hey Tom ... you know I wondered about that myself - and drew the same conclusion as you - that the cops shot Baz to flush out Pope ... I've been meaning to watch it again - so when I do I'll keep any eye out ...
that said - Ariadna may have the answer for us
Phillip wrote: "wow, that sounds good, tom. i'm going to look for this one.i see that my dvd fairy (stole this from sam, sorry, girl!) has currently come into possession of the square - an australian thriller sa..."
Everyone needs a DVD fairy pg ...
I watched the square again myself a little while back ... still really enjoyed it
Thanks, Sam. I did a little poking around, and found a plot synopsis on wikipedia that clears up a couple things, not least of which the fact that Baz is not, in fact a member of the family. But yeah, it does look like Baz is disposed of to flush Pope out.
Tom wrote: "I saw ANIMAL KINGDOM over the weekend, and was very impressed with it. I think Jacki Weaver's Oscar nomination was completely deserved, and I'm very sorry she lost.I have a question though, fo..."
I am sitting here on the bus wondering a little myself now, Tom ... what did you like the most about the film? ... and aside from not pickin' up some of the plot details - what didn't you like?
after Jackie's performance - I think Guy Pearce's was my next favorite ... he played Detective Leckie
Sam, I liked pretty much everything about the movie. The plot was a little unclear, but I think it was at least partly because of the extremely heavy Australian accents. I think I was just plain missing some things. But I certainly got enough to get the main gist of the story and the relationships, and the excellence of the performances in general. Basically, I didn't have any problems with the film that a second viewing wouldn't resolve. I'll cop to feeling that the film could seem a bit tighter, somehow, but that's about it.The kid in the lead as J seemed like a bit of a drag in places, but a little thought had me realizing that he's supposed to seem a little slow and unemotional, as demonstrated in those remarkable two opening shots.
Guy Pearce was fine, but I was more impressed with Jacki Weaver and the actor playing Pope, who made a really dark impression without any overt posing -- he just was that awful, you know?
that would be THE Ben Mendelsohn ...he was really great at being awful ... loved itand I'm with you about J - the actor's name is James Frecheville
what accents???
Yeah, sorry, Sam, but to my Northeastern US ears the accents were a bit too heavy. Entirely my own problem, and it just means that I've got an excuse to see the movie again.A quick check on IMDB reveals that the great Jacki Weaver was in Weir's PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, as the maid Minnie.
ha ha - you know when i was in the states i'd get quite a few people look at me as if to say "now i know she's speaking english but what did she just say?" ... it's kinda cool being a foreigner with an exotic accent ;o)and yeeup - Jacki sure did ... Ariadna made a comment about that a little while back on this thread ... aside from her film list - she's also done a whole stack of wonderful theatre
Just a reminder that if you've become a fan of Jacki Weaver and Ben Mendelsohn...and don't mind a slightly "insane" comedy.... then you must see Cosi!
Candy is a brilliant film - the one with Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish in it. Beautifully made!
Watched Rogue last night with an Aussie sounding Sam Worthington and Michael Varten and probably they best killer alligator/crocodile moving there is. Great scenery too. I'm now looking for a copy of Wolf Creek.
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Watched Rogue last night with an Aussie sounding Sam Worthington and Michael Varten and probably they best killer alligator/crocodile moving there is. Great scenery too. I'm now looking for a copy of Wolf Creek....
Rogue was nice as I may have written before, but I am quite partial to the Lake Placid movies so I can't really say the best move ever. The script is really extremely unique and the characters nicely rounded which I guess would be lacking if you were to really critique Lake Placid but it's just that that was the first croc movie for me so...
Wolf Creek is creepy with the nice looking guy just cutting up girls like that chills and shivers....scary!!
after searching for it for a few years, i finally watched the year my voice broke - the prequel to flirting, a film that i like very much.i liked it, but it didn't seem to have the same flair as flirting, which felt like it was made by a more self-assured director - director john duigan made both films. there are some similarities - mishaps at dances, the main character, played by noah taylor, takes hard knocks from bullies ...
but i'm very glad that i saw it - now i want to see flirting again.
Phillip wrote: "after searching for it for a few years, i finally watched the year my voice broke - the prequel to flirting, a film that i like very much.i liked it, but it didn't seem to have the same flair as ..."
Tell me more about john duigan. I've just looked him up in imdb and only film i'd seen of his was Lawn Dogs, which i liked. Is there a must see of his films?
i think flirting is one of the best coming of age films out there ... check it out.
finally got my hands on ANIMAL KINGDOM and liked it a LOT. took me a minute to get into it, but really felt the tension and the acting was superb - very natural. my only real criticism was the music - disliked about 75% of it, because it just sort of overstated the wonderfully sublime descent into dread that was so finely expressed in the film. at the very least, i would have mixed the music down a lot so it was as subtle as the rest of the narrative.SPOILER STUFF
i read tom's question about why baz was murdered, and can't answer it. it's clear that the cops have their eyes on the family, and apart from drawing pope out into the open (as was suggested), it doesn't make sense. it helps to ensure the "good cop bad cop" line that they are constructing - guy pearce being the top of the good cop list, and the others are clearly dirty cops.
the more i think about it, this is the weak link in the chain - as tom says, the rest of the film is really superbly subtle and this kind of comes out of nowhere.
and yeah, that guy that played pope - amazing performance - whoa. i do not want to meet that guy in my reality system.
self assured is a really good descriptor for Flirting vs TYMVB PG ... both for director and characterthe actor who played Pope in Animal Kingdom was the boy who played Trevor in TYMVB ... Ariadna & I have swooned over him previously
glad you've seen them both ...
I walked away from ANIMAL KINGDOM thinking Pope was one of the great screen villains of the last several years.
Sam wrote: "self assured is a really good descriptor for Flirting vs TYMVB PG ... both for director and characterthe actor who played Pope in Animal Kingdom was the boy who played Trevor in TYMVB ... Ariadna..."
wow - i have to watch the year my voice broke again and look for that guy - did not recognize him at all.
Steve-O wrote: "I walked away from ANIMAL KINGDOM thinking Pope was one of the great screen villains of the last several years."absolutely! there was something in his swagger that reeked of a kind of ignorance that would suppress human kindness or compassion. what does burroughs call it? - dead, insect eyes ... ew, i'm getting shivers.
Steve-O wrote: "I walked away from ANIMAL KINGDOM thinking Pope was one of the great screen villains of the last several years."Still haven't seen this movie, but have seen Black Water, not at all creepy or even scary, as croc movies go and does have something new that the other movie didn't (the one with Radha Mitchell)
St[♥]r Pr!nc:$$ N[♥]usheen, pictures, pictures wrote: "Still haven't seen this movie, but have seen Black Water, not at all creepy or even scary, as croc movies go and does have something new that the other movie didn't (the one with Radha Mitchell)"ooh, Radha Mitchell made a giant killer croc movie? I gotta go hunting now. I have the worst crush on that woman...
As an aussie myself, my favorite Australian films of all time are: -Animal Kingdom
-Mary & Max
-The boys are back
All of them are sensational. The last two are so emotional and heart wrenching that it bought tears to my eyes, and I had to go out and buy the DVDS the next day.
i liked mary and max - saw it a few months ago and forgot to post on it.
re: Radha Mitchell...funny, Robert, because I've always shared your crush on her, ha!
★ Jessica ★ wrote: "As an aussie myself, my favorite Australian films of all time are: -Animal Kingdom
-Mary & Max
-The boys are back
All of them are sensational. The last two are so emotional and heart wrenching..."
The boys are back was excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
ooh, Radha Mitchell made a giant killer croc movie? I gotta go hunting now. I have the worst crush on that woman... lol don't know about that but I have seen her in a few and I will believe anything she likes to do in the movies I did see with her in the lead!!
Saw Somersault on dvd, starring Sam Worthington and Abbie Cornish. Thought it was beautifully done and had a great soundtrack as well.Abbie Cornish really impressed me with her raw performance. Liked her performance in Bright Star too.
Animal Kingdom was really good. The scariest character was Jacki Weaver as the mother--wow!
Saw Mary & Max too and loved it!
haven't seen somersault, but you're about the forth person that has raved about it - i'll look for it.
Some Aussie films I've seen in the pass few months:The Clinic starring Andy "Spartacus" Whitfield. I was immensely disappointed. The film was one of the most boring, slow paced "horror" flicks I've ever seen in a long time. Andy, of whom I'm a fan and wanted to see more of, was featured for all of 32mins if you add all his scenes together. The movie is about 1hr 29 mins long. His character was disappointingly underdeveloped and seemed to have been added to the script more as a prop rather than for any real purpose. I mean he wasn't required for any of the typical purposes of a hero: saviour/lover/conqueror etc. He was just there until it was convenient for him not to be. I seriously couldn't see what was the point of having him in the movie in the first place if his character was to be eliminated so anti-climatically.
The lead actress was as limp and unconvincing as you can get on screen (and to be fair, Whitfield's acting was a bit off as well, but not as bad as hers). After seeing this movie I'm happy his stint on Spartacus (provided he recovers enough from his illness to work again) will likely open doors to higher quality productions where he can showcase his talent because this movie was just ... bad.
Triangle - starring Melissa George from The Amityville Horror. I had no clue what to make of this film. I don't know if its because I watched it for the first time while I was tired and in bed, but this film did not make a lick of sense. It's about a group of holidaymakers on a yacht. The boat capsizes after a massive storm, leaving its crew stranded at sea. Then came a mysterious ship out of nowhere and rescues the survivors but there seems to be not a (earthly) soul on board. This is a good set-up for a horror/mystery/thriller, but then there's this bizarre twist with George's character that left me more confused than thrilled. Not good. I watched it a second time and still didn't get it. There was definitely a deficiency in both the script, the direction and the acting.
The Loved Ones starring Xavier Samuel. If you're a fan of the Twilight movies apparently he plays Riley in the film released last year. The movie itself felt very much like a low budget student film. Unfortunately I couldn't find one positive aspect about the movie to latch onto. It was just very poorly done overall.
Finally Animal Kingdom, I liked this. Really good gangster movie and the Australian setting (as opposed to US or UK) was really refreshing. I absolutely loved the performance of Jacki Weaver. She brought a very scary quality to role with the way she disguised her treacherous nature in that of the doting grandmother. I found the film itself a bit slow to begin with. I too was, and remain, a bit confused as to why Baz was eliminated. When I saw the flick I surmised it was perhaps a case of mistaken identity-- wrong place wrong time kinda thing-- since he was in fact the only legit member of the family. But yeah considering further I guess it could have been deliberate on the cops' part in an effort to flush out more corrupt family members.
As for J, most of the film he came across as shell-shocked and a bit stunned. He had this deer in head lights look on his face throughout the film. It got a bit static after a while, but for the most part I think the way he portrayed his character worked for the tone of the film since he actually had no clue what his family was all about. Overall, I enjoyed the film more for the performance than anything else. While I'm happy Melissa Leo won the Oscar for her supporting role in The Fighter had Jacki Weaver won I'd've been just as happy. She was brilliant.
Davina wrote: "Some Aussie films I've seen in the pass few months:The Clinic starring Andy "Spartacus" Whitfield. I was immensely disappointed. The film was one of the most boring, slow paced "horror" flicks I'..."
Triangle sounds a bit like Ghost Ship.
Triangle - starring Melissa George from The Amityville Horror. I had no clue what to make of this film. I don't know if its because I watched it for the first time while I was tired and in bed, but this film did not make a lick of sense.Triangle does require a great deal of attention, which is usually a good thing in a horror film (to me, anyway), but the payoff isn't really worth the effort you have to put into the film to figure it out. Still, it showed some cleverness, and I'm hoping for better things from the director as we go on.
The Loved Ones starring Xavier Samuel. If you're a fan of the Twilight movies apparently he plays Riley in the film released last year. The movie itself felt very much like a low budget student film. Unfortunately I couldn't find one positive aspect about the movie to latch onto. It was just very poorly done overall.
I found one: that Kasey Chambers song they keep playing. I hate country, but by the time I was through with that movie, I was quite a fan of the song. And there was some halfway decent acting, though not really enough to help the film be, you know, more than watchable.
I loved Animal Kingdom. Its one of my favorite films ever. The Loved Ones was interesting. Not good, but not bad either. I quite liked the art direction. If Lola in that pink dress, bloodied up, walking down the highway with the knife and singing 'Am I Not Pretty Enough' isnt iconic, I dont know what is.
very cool - some Aussie neat flicks I haven't seen and maybe a few to avoid i've been revisiting a few I've already seen lately (some more than once) - The Square, Animal Kingdom, Mad Max, TYMVB, Bright Star (I'm claiming Jane Campion - so there), The Piano, Proof and Beautiful Kate
i have a few questions (or just one - you choose) for those peeps that don't reside down under ... what is it that you think makes Aussie films distinct? what three words would you choose to describe them? what insight into our culture do you glean from watching movies made here?
Sam wrote: "very cool - some Aussie neat flicks I haven't seen and maybe a few to avoid i've been revisiting a few I've already seen lately (some more than once) - The Square, Animal Kingdom, Mad Max, TYMVB,..."
The thing that i like about Aussie films besides the majority of films are well done is that i understand the characters, they are people i relate to and understand.
Jim wrote: "... is that i understand the characters, they are people i relate to and understand...."i'm smilin' big here Jim ... any favourite characters in particular?
Sam, you didn't say whether you've seen Red Dog but it was a real surprise for me to see Loene Carmen and Noah Taylor together again so long after TYMVB.
Kim - I have to be honest and say I'm resisting Red Dog ... I am familiar with the story but somehow have no interest ... i think i am trying to avoid being disappointed - there's been so much hype ... so it's a surprise to me too ... what were they like?i have seen an interview with John Duigan and Loene - where John talks about a third movie where he reunites Danny and Freya ... he'd better hurry up ;o)
Well I guess it's typical that Aussies would make a movie about (and put up a statue in honour of) a dog who doesn't really do anything...and yet steals the hearts of those people in the outback,lol. If you liked "The Castle" then you will probably enjoy Red Dog. I'm more inclined towards dark, quirky humour such as In Bruges but I do agree that it's a warm hearted movie and let's face it.....I love my dog!It's such a different movie to TYMVB so the scenes with Taylor and Carmen are more humorous but they do play a couple in the film.
cool - sam shows up and a virtual party breaks out ... i would expect nothing less.y'all got a great vibe down there - it's familiar, as jim says, but it's different as well. i'm not going to be able to describe it. a certain grace that i don't think you get in american cinema ... i think it helps that you're down under where the world isn't gazing at you all the time - makes you a little less self-conscious - which is probably way off the mark, but that's how i see it.
and when you get into out-back cinema - there's a whole other world - films like WALKABOUT, THE LAST WAVE, or even herzog's WHERE THE GREEN ANTS DREAM (or RABBIT-PROOF FENCE) deals with indigenous themes that interest me.
Phillip, if the more brutal side of our filming doesn't deter you then the screen version of The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith is worth a look, along with the much older "Jedda".
i've seen THE CHANT OF JIMMIE BLACKSMITH ... indeed, more than worth a look, i'd say. i liked it. haven't seen JEDDA.
Kim Marie wrote: "Well I guess it's typical that Aussies would make a movie about (and put up a statue in honour of) a dog who doesn't really do anything...and yet steals the hearts of those people in the outback,lo...":o) sounds like that dog actually does a lot then
maybe i need to just go see it ... thanks Kim Marie
Phillip wrote: "cool - sam shows up and a virtual party breaks out ... i would expect nothing less.y'all got a great vibe down there - it's familiar, as jim says, but it's different as well. i'm not going to be ..."
i think you did a good job of explaining what you see pg ... the less self-conscious 'cos no one is looking is ringing a little bell for me
i found this cool little site a while back ... does a great job of listing Australian Aboriginal Films - and splits them by non-indigenous and indigenous directors ... it's great to see a marked increase in film being made about Aboriginals since the turn of the century ...
http://www.creativespirits.info/resou...
fantastic ... page now officially bookmarked
of course - that could mean we're terribly shy when someone is looking ... ;o)
Movies We've Just Watched
Books mentioned in this topic
The Slap (other topics)The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (other topics)
I have a question though, for those who've seen the film -----
SPOILER ALERT! BEWARE!!!
OK, so there's the crime family, the matriarch Smurf and the three brothers Baz, Craig and Pope. The events of the film really get going when Baz meets his brother Pope in a store, after which Baz is killed in his car by the cops. Baz is sitting in his parked car, clearly unarmed, and one of the gun-toting policemen says "He's got a gun!" and fires.
I was expecting an explanation as to why this happened. Why did the cops shoot Baz? There were hints about the armed robbery section of the police being shut down, and I thought it might have something to do with the cops killing off Baz in order to flush out Pope. Or something.
The rest of the film is so clearly laid out that I'm sure I missed what was going on here. Can anyone straighten me out on this?