Melbourne International Film Festival 2010
We're not given any explanation for his behaviour, other than the fact that he is clearly a religious nut. This is one of the major flaws of the film - it's simply too easy (and predictable) to pass off homicidal mania as a by-product of religious extremism.
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Review by Stuart Wilson
Timing, they say, is everything, and yet it is unfortunately rare to see a film so wonderfully conducted as this one. Waititi allows his film a gently comic introduction that adroitly establishes time, place and milieu, before swiftly and surely introducing the crises that Boy must overcome, and then deftly pulling everything together to end in just 87 minutes.
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Review by Mark Lavercombe
A lot of the problem has to do with the script, which regularly requires a lot of faith on the part of the audience. Time and again, Blakeson asks us to believe a character would do something utterly against their nature, so that when they inevitably rescind, the audience isn't at all surprised.
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Review by Stuart Wilson
One needn't worry too much that this is a case of an action film exploiting World War II with little respect. The film does get across the futility of war, and the opening scene, featuring a young Russian soldier asking a psychic how soon before he will die, is a moment that cleverly balances the science fiction with real life tragedy.
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Review by Stuart Wilson
That Cattrall's accent is so bad and no-one seems to have realised during production is astonishing, and one wonders why Polanski didn't just throw in the towel and hire a British actress to play this British character.
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Review by Mark Lavercombe
This is a particularly striking film to look at, and the film's luscious appearance is a perfect match for the lifestyle on display: enough food is thrown out at the end of the day to feed a large family, and wealth is conspicuous in every room of the home.
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Review by Mark Lavercombe
The cast features a variety of exaggerated stereotypes - the drunken Scot being just one - but it's done across the board and with such love that it's never offensive. Every frame is lovingly crafted and the film as a whole is stunning - it's an ode to the forgotten art of both stage illusionist and a requiem for Tati himself.
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Review by Stuart Wilson
Moore and Bening are excellent, with each bringing very different women to life, both of whom have real flaws and foibles. Nic and Jules are very well written characters indeed, but both benefit from the skill of the performers.
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Review by Mark Lavercombe
I can't begin to describe how excited I was during the opening scenes of Lebanon. A movie entirely set inside an army tank? Awesome! We never get to see outside, except what the crew see through periscope thingy? Brilliant! Why has this film never been made before?
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Review by Stuart Wilson
Foster conveys all this and more in a facial tick, or a look that could break hearts the world over. Above all else he is required to be taciturn, and were it not for his great talent there is no way his character could be so successfully conveyed.
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Review by Mark Lavercombe
That several of his characters eventually do make the 'right' decisions is heartening, although this might be disappointing for those expecting this film to lay bare the consequences of misguided teenage hubris. Nonetheless, The Myth of the American Sleepover is a solid and realistic take on the rites of passage of American teens.
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Review by Mark Lavercombe
Perhaps most impressive is Hughes' restraint, and what appears to be single-minded determination to make the film he wanted to make. His characters are players in an epic tragedy, and one can only hope this is the first of many successes for this new local star.
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Review by Mark Lavercombe
The premise alone is enough to explain why sessions at this year's MIFF quickly sold out (and a further session was added): Rubber concerns a homicidal, telekinetic car tyre. That's right: an ordinary, abandoned car tyre that can make people's heads explode just by thinking it.
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Review by Stuart Wilson
The special effects are really quite incredible. There are many, many fantastic shots in Splice, and despite how many special features I have watched on DVDs, I still can't figure out how it was done. The majority of this work was courtesy of the group that provided the special effects shots on Natali's breakout film, Cube.
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Review by Stuart Wilson
Melbourne International Film Festival 2010 - Official Site
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