Reviews
North & South (2004)
A classic tale brought to life with passion and energy
*Contains Spoilers*
This is a wonderful adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskells industrial novel. Seeing the smoky industrial atmosphere leap from the pages and into life was a true treat. The casting was good, Richard Armitage being a perfect and broodingly handsome choice for John Thornton. Daniela Denby-Ashe was also a good decision for Margaret Hale, capturing that queenly yet innocent quality which the book strongly emphasises.
For some aspects of the series the producers used a creative licence. For instance, there is no description of John Thornton beating his workers in the book, however, beating workers was a common practise for industries of this time period, so it therefore a distinct possibility that John Thornton, had he been real, would have indeed beaten his workers. In the book Margaret Hale does not enter the factory at all, I am however glad they used the factory shots of the cotton mill as they were some of the most haunting and beautiful scenes in the series.
The only alteration from the story line for which I have misgivings, is the ending. Romantic? Yes. Realistic? No! A Mr. Thornton and Miss Hale kissing in such a public situation - a train station no less, would have been considered in those times as outright scandalous! I can understand the conveniance to the story as well as symbolism for having them meet in the trainstation and even the need to provide overall audience satisfaction with a kiss, however, I think it should have been more tastefully and realistically executed, perhaps them kissing for the first time once they had hopped on the train (this still would have been scandalous, but not as bad).
Despite this rather large flaw (as it is the ending) overall the series is enjoyable and true to the themes of the book. I highly recommend it to fellow hopeless romantics and anyone else looking for quality entertainment.
Enterprise (2001)
Pales in comparison to other series.
*Contains Spoilers*
I like Enterprise - it's a good show , but all who have watched it, especially those who have seen other series must admit it has flaws. However once you pick out where it went wrong, you can stop addressing it with blind aggression or worshiping fandom, and sit back and enjoy it for what it is.
Now, the series got a lot better for the most part in seasons three and four. It was the writing in the first two seasons which was a let down. It didn't intellectually engage us enough, I'm afraid they underestimated the intelligence of a lot of their viewers. There weren't enough episodes which addressed moral and social issues of our society. They also failed to create that comforting "the universe is our backyard" kind of feel, which is characteristic of the other series. Because this series was a prequel, it in many ways separated itself from the star trek universe we know and love. It could have been more successful if it was more carefully approached, but breaching continuity (Damn you Brannon Braga, you just had to have that Borg episode didn't you! .. I get angry every time I think about it) was a sure fire way of leaving startrek fans angry and disgruntled. Another thing I became very angry about was the exploitation of T'pol. The startrek universe is an idea of the future where humanity has evolved beyond poverty, racial descrimination and exploitation . Communicating these ideas, and then so blatantly and unrealistically flaunting T'pol's body about like a piece of meat equates into one big giant hypocrisy.
I was also very displeased in the way they handled the T'pol/Trip relationship. This was a relationship that needed to be approached veery tactfully in order to be realistic but still romantic in nature. The delivery was devoid of tact, class and realism, it was quite obvious that many of the Trip/T'pol stories were written by old, balding and sexually frustrated men - perverts! The only way I feel that the romance could have worked, was for Trip and T'pol to slowly develop and grudging admirations and respect for one another, and then for Trip to eventually grow to love T'pol, and her, though harbouring deep and beautiful feelings for him, unable to reciprocate his affections. Trip would then become tired of pursuing her and give up and move on to someone more attainable, leaving T'pol still deeply and secretly in love with him and perhaps in the finale, dies to save his life. Him leaning over her broken, dying body, and her squeezing his hand with a knowing look so that he finally realises she loves him - but then she dies. Classy, tactful, realistic (well.. more so than their storyline) and romantic. A little off track there, sorry... The thing is, they spent so much of season three and four building up their relationship, only to have it fizz and die out in a distasteful and unsatisfying way. The only way for me not to smash the CD in a torrent of disappointed frustration was to devise my own scenario.
The casting was another area which could have been improved. I'm all for Scott Bakula, Connor Trineer, Jolene Blalock, and the doctor, but all the other characters were weak. Take DS9 (my favourite series), You have Dax, Keira, Quark, Dukat, Kai Winn, Odo, Bashir, Garak, The Chief (my favourite character) and many more, all distinct, strong, unique who contrast and work together on screen brilliantly. Where as in Enterprise, you only really have four strong characters, leaving the episodes unvaried in nature - as the episodes which focus on minor characters, such as Travis, Reed and Hoshi *shudders at whining, nagging insufferable character who should have been shot to increase the ratings* are usually snores.
They should have had different uniforms as those ugly jump suits made them all look the same.
On a positive note, I really liked the exploration into vulcan culture in season four, as it hasn't been done in that type of depth in any of the series. Seasons three and four were very good and it is a pity that it ended as early as it did. I like the andorians! If it is watched, without previous viewing of any other startrek series, it would be considered by many to be pretty damn good. If other series have been seen however, many a viewer, including myself realise that it pales in comparison to all the other series which are uniquely brilliant. I still like it though, as I can look past its flaws and appreciate the good episodes.
The Silver Brumby (1993)
If you love horses - watch this. If not...
*May contain slight spoilers* The main motive for my getting out this movie is because it is Australian and because the front featured a large picture of a young and very hunky Russell Crowe.
It's a sweet story which horse lovers and young viewers would absolutely adore. However, while having an appreciation for horses, one and a half hours of what was mostly horses had me a little bored. To be perfectly honest, the Crowe to horse ratio was far too low. If you simply want to perve on Russell Crowe as I did, the best part of the film is when he is washing himself in the creek. Don't get your hopes up, there will be no more half naked Crowe after this. If your interest in this movie is purely to perve, then you may as well turn it off after the creek scene.
On a more positive note; some shots of the Australian alps were beautiful and the sound track was very fitting to the mystical atmosphere which the movie was trying to create. The horse chase sequence in the end had me in fits of laughter however, as it lasted for what felt like twenty minutes, the chorus of dramatic singing becoming more and more heightened. I was imagining people in the recording studio passing out.
I agree with other comments here, that the various parts showing mother-daughter storyline seemed to be a little out of place and at times didn't quite tie with what the story was trying to communicate. Their dialogue (not the overall narration), seemed to provide a very inadequate kind of commentary which cheapened or completely missed what it was essentially about.
I couldn't help but remember while watching this movie that horses are not native to Australia and are actually quite damaging to Australian ecosystems. I couldn't help but feel how unnatural their presence was. Towards the end I actually wanted "The Man" to catch the Silver Brumby and stop it from producing any more damaging offspring.
Another thing - if this horse has the ability to conjure storms and highly precise lightening bolts at whim, could it not have struck down both the enemy "Brolga" horse AND "The Man"? The camera work was pretty good, apart from one shot where Crowe is laughing manically, which was zoomed in so far you can actually see one of his fillings. Crowe did a terrific job of course, it was not his fault that the people who did the story board for this movie were amateurs.
Overall, it is a sweet though slow moving movie, which younger viewers and horses lovers should watch - not the best for Crowe perving however, for that I heartily recommend one of my favourite movies - "The Sum of Us".
Mrs. Winterbourne (1996)
A Terrible Adaption
*Contains spoilers*
I watched this movie in the middle of a Sunday, having never heard of it and no prior expectations what so ever, I was pleasantly surprised. The concepts which this movie presented were so original and unpredictable, I got the impression that this was a classic and well celebrated American story.
It was however the ideas in the story which had me captivated, that and the very attractive Brendan Fraser. It's hard to come by movies which surprise you. Having seen that it was based on the book "I Married a Dead man" by Cornell Woolrich, I managed to find it in the library, and I read it. Twice.
It is one of my favourite books, haunting, subtle, brilliantly crafted. Nothing like the movie. I'm sorry to say that "Mrs. Winterbourne" is an atrocious adaption of the book, it butchers all the complex and beautiful themes and even changes the ending. "I Married a Dead man" does not have a happy ending as the movie does, Bill and Patrice are left suspecting one another of the murder and cannot live in happiness.
Even when you have not read the book, the movie does not even really work as a stand alone romantic comedy. After having a complete character change which seemed to happen over night, Bill suddenly falls in love with Connie and marries her in what appears to be a few weeks after his brothers death. There is nothing to indicate the passage of time and it left me very confused as a viewer that they would so quickly move on.
The book I recommend - it is brilliant. The movie I do not, thank goodness Cornell Woolrich is not alive to see it, it would make him want to cut off his other leg. (He had to have one of his legs removed due to gangrene)
What Girls Learn (2001)
Pretty "darn" Average
I got out this movie because it has Scott Bakula, a talented actor, who for some reason ends up in terrible and cheesy roles. If you're looking for Scott Bakula eye candy, then this is not the best you can do - he has a terribly fake moustache and the only scenes he is remotely attractive in, is when he has a singlet on and you can only see his back. If you do watch this - keep an eye on his moustache, it changes size halfway in the movie, he must have lost his fake one and gotten a new one about twice the size. Very funny. Also take heed of his accent, it's constantly changing - bad Bakula, bad! If you are looking for Bakula candy, I suggest "Quantum Leap".
I suppose if you are a young teenager you may enjoy this. It has issues to do with growing up and "becoming a woman", and I found the sibling rivalry reasonably believable. The child actors did a pretty good job. I felt that the mothers relationship with her daughters lacked any chemistry, it was forced and didn't quite strike home.
A couple of scenes are halfway cute and some are tear jerker's, though the part of the movie I liked the best was when it ended. Although this movie was extrodinarily predictable, if against reason you watch it, do not read the blurb on the back of the case, it gives away the entire story. Casting could have been better - Scott Bakula was not meant for this movie. Frankly I don't know how it even made it to DVD. The only thing mildly entertaining about it is the changing moustache and accent.
The Sum of Us (1994)
Personable, Sincere and utterly Australian
This movie took me by surprise, it is personable, sincere and utterly Australian. It explores its themes in a beautiful manner, through the relationships between family, especially father and son. Don't be put off by Russel Crowe. I myself almost didn't watch it because he was in it, but I have to say, he did a brilliant job. He took the character and made it his own, and I feel no one else could have played the part any better. Take into account that this movie was originally a stage play, so there are various monologues and direct engagement with the audience. This at first is a little surprising and perhaps even uncomfortable, as we are so used to being purely observers when watching a movie. After initial surprise however I found the technique refreshing, it gave the film a more personable and intimate quality. I revel in how Australian this film is, the fact that I use the same brands of mustard and soy sauce which at one point appeared at the dinner table, made me unusually delighted and also pulled me into the realism which the film tries and succeeds in conveying. At risk of sounding patriotic, it almost made me proud to be Australian. This is probably one of my favourite movies, in its exploration of love and how it should not be dictated by the limits of our society.