In the hope of actually giving a much more thorough trek through my recent viewings, I write mini-reviews/thoughts/etc. of those movies I just don't have the time to devote to writing up as a longer piece. Once again, it's time for, "Blurbs":
A fairly standard documentary about the "Ozploitation" period between the late-60's and mid-70's that saw Australian genre cinema pushed to the fore. It's a bit too big a task for a feature to do justice to the sheer amount of material on hand, but interviews with Australian film critics and filmmakers, as well as frequent commentary from grindhouse aficianado Quentin Tarantino, really elevate the importance and urgency of the era as a period of discovery and innovation. And, finally, it sheds some light on the completely awesome ROAD GAMES with Stacy Keach and Jamie Lee Curtis, so hopefully people who watch this and haven't seen that movie before will pick it up.
Visually this is a stunning film. Reeds waving in the wind have never been this beautiful, or conveyed so many internalized feelings: lust, desire, jealousy, fear, etc. And, once the demon mask makes its appearance, it is a mystical wonder to behold, with even the mother-in-law who dons it moving in unnatural ways. A great movie that deals in tragedy.
A pretty funny movie that really gets bogged down in plot mechanics that, while amusing, sort of put a damper on the proceedings. But, there are plenty of inspired gags, and the first 40 minutes or so are absolutely hilarious. Also, Ricky Gervais has gigantic balls. Who else would slip the notion that religion can only exist in a world where people can lie to one another into a mainstream Hollywood comedy?
3 comments:
Has this concept ever been approached before? It seems so obvious for a comedy that it's hard to believe someone else hasn't already thought of it. Haven't seen it yet, but it sounds like it doesn't quite live up to the genius idea.
...Aside from Liar, Liar I mean. Which is also genius.
i think if the film has anything against it at all, it's that the first half hour are hilarious, but then there's a point that gervais tries to make that's valid, and the film's still interesting AND funny, but it just drops off a bit. i think gervais has a deft perception of comedy and how it works, but i think he's probably more successful at long format presentation right now, in shows like THE OFFICE and EXTRAS.
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