There are those for whom this tale of missed opportunities and regret will ring true. The wonderful lead performance of Ginnifer Goodwin should win the film many fans, particularly among those who loved the book on which the screenplay is based.
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Continue reading Something Borrowed
Red Riding Hood feels like it’s been re-edited time and again. There are abrupt changes of pace and strangely timed montages that hint at deleted scenes. All in all, it feels like this would have been a stronger film, but it was toned down and reshaped in a misguided attempt to make it more mainstream.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading Red Riding Hood
The film is a little too disciplined – holding back the court intrigue, the humour and the sex – when maybe it should have let such things flourish. By not doing so, the film ends up being a tad too dry – this was a situation where I almost wanted it to veer more into melodrama.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading The Princess of Montpensier
There are a couple of moments that betray the fact that this film has American studio interests at heart – firstly, we need a title to explain that we’re in Paris, France (you know, just in case those footpath cafes with people eating baguettes were actually in Texas), and secondly, the reading of a letter gets a corresponding voice over – twice.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading The Tourist
Whether we’re watching them plunge into love or we’re witnessing things falling apart, it’s impossible to point the finger at either Dean or Cindy. Without ever taking lazy narrative steps, it’s fascinating to watch elements of their relationship that are planted in the past grow to fruition in the present.
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Hoopla Factor: Continue reading Blue Valentine
It’s this poignancy that makes The Girl Who Leapt Through Time such an impressive film. The beauty of the matte paintings truly complements the touching coming-of-age tale. The animation itself isn’t as flashy as the usual big-time anime that makes it to the big screen here in Australia, but like all good animation, it hits the right expressions at all the critical moments.
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Hoopla Factor: Continue reading The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Miranda Otto’s performance carries the film, essentially, and it’s fascinating to watch such a shy, lonely and eager to please person as Meredith try to survive on a remote island with a population of exactly eight people.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading South Solitary
The setting – Verona, and surrounding Italian countryside filled with wineries and farmlands – is simply wonderful, and almost worth paying the admission just to watch in the background. Unfortunately, the film drags in parts and doesn’t quite maintain the energy that Redgrave, Seyfried and Italy itself generate.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading Letters to Juliet
The Secret in Their Eyes might remain somewhat elusive for foreign audiences who won’t have directly witnessed those troubles. This is something of a shame; while an explanatory voiceover certainly would have diminished the film’s effect, a more complete understanding of the era could well enhance it.
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Hoopla Factor: Continue reading The Secret in Their Eyes
David Caesar imbues his film with exquisitely animated fantasy sequences that put a lot of bigger-budgeted films to shame, but above all this is a story with heart. There aren’t a lot of surprises and we’ve seen this narrative before but it’s facilitated by a script that moves gracefully through the romance without ever disrespecting the characters.
Rating: Hoopla Factor: Continue reading Prime Mover