nb99

Went into this fairly blind but the IMDB rating was good and it seemed an interesting story so I gave it a go. Then the movie started and I nearly didn't make it through the opening scene which I found self-indulgent, boring and quite annoying. Thankfully I didn't stop it there as what followed was totally unexpected - funny, thoughtful, a decent story, some excellent characters and a good ending (a rarity in Hollywood these days). It's a slow, gentle movie but it's going somewhere specific and it's a great journey there. Huge credit to Novak for writing such a great story.

I thought long and hard about mentioning 2 such iconic shows/movies in the title but I genuinely think this is right up there as one of the best series I've ever watched. Huge credit must go to the writers and producers for seeing so much potential in a very forgettable 2010 Australian movie. 75 top quality episodes with tremendous character development, story telling, action (just enough to keep it lively), fun and a strong cast.

The storyline is simple - we meet J, aged 17 whose mother dies of an overdose. He calls his estranged grandmother, Smurf, who invites him to live with her and his 4 uncles. And then 6 series of "what happens next" follows. The Cody family are gangsters, thieves and murderers. But the story is told from their point of view so we have to remind ourselves time and time again that these are the bad guys, because we often find ourselves rooting for them. The fact that the family is so large allows the story to follow characters individually at times but inevitably it leads back to the whole family and the story progresses. The character development is superb - no need to fall back to endless, irrelevant flashbacks (more on that later) to introduce new characters - they are drip fed in and immediately are part of the story.

Special mention for the Smurf character, brilliantly played by both Ellen Barkin and later (as the young Smurf) by Leila George. She's narcissistic, manipulative, selfish, ruthless yet at the same time beautiful and exciting and compelling. She has an incredible ability to manipulate the men around and ruthlessly exile any woman who dares to challenge her. I said the show avoided use of flashbacks, but from season 4-6 we do get a lot of Smurf's backstory - but by then we know the characters involved and it's a superb insight into how the older Smurf got to be Queen Bee. It's almost like a spin-off of the original show within the show itself and adds tremendous value to the overall story.

I think if I had any criticism it might be the fun of season 1 faded, returned for a bit in season 4 when we first meet the young Smurf, then faded again. It gets quite serious and intense at times. But overall, this is a superb series with a fine finale worthy of everything that went before it. 10/10.

It's rare to find a truly different cinematic experience and this, in my experience was truly different. I'm sure experts will be able to list all the other films shot entirely from a first person point of view but this is certainly the first I've seen. It immediately grabs your attention. At times, in the action scenes, it can be a bit disconcerting but at other times it's really impressively scary as the lead character runs along rooftops etc. I don't think I'd enjoy the POV perspective on a regular basis but for something a bit different, why not.

The plot is not about to rewrite history and don't look for much character development here. That said the film is well acted, some good humour, and most of all some incredible actions scenes. For 90 minutes of over-the-top action and gore, this is a fun film to watch and certainly brings something a bit different.