In keeping with our approach to a balanced life with a little fun along the way, we like to remind our staff and clients to make some time to do a few simple things like go to the movies, read a good book or even see a live concert. Here are a few we have reviewed recently.
Friday, December 23, 2011
2011 goes down as the year cinema was at a crossroads. While the independent sector produced some excellent films, commercially the industry was all over the place. Glutted with endless 3-D movies, mindless blockbusters and poorly conceived stories, the once thriving machine from Hollywood finds itself tarnishing its once rosy reputation. The local industry went great guns however with films like Red Dog – proving Australia can make films for broad audiences and garner critical praise – something hopefully to be built upon.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Having grown up watching the Peter Graves starring Mission Impossible TV series, it’s taken awhile for the movie version to grow on me. That it has is down to some fast plotting and great stunt-work the original could only dream of having. This fourth impossible mission continues this ethos as it flits across the globe in breathless style. With Tom Cruise again the star, the franchise shows no sign of slowing down with each high octane sequence as dazzling as the next.
Friday, December 16, 2011
A genre Hollywood loves is the ‘feel good’ movie. Easily identified by their refusal to wallow in any dramatics they deal with vaguely tough issues with a sugary sweet veneer. Fans lap these fairy-tale views of the world in droves while others avoid like the plague. A semi-follow up to Director Garry Marshall’s similar work ‘Valentine’s Day’, ‘New Year’s Eve’ is cast from this same fluffy mould. Whether that is good or not is up to others who may love this date even more after viewing or hide until it’s over.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
The Debt is a solid suspense thriller owing much to the works by John Le Carre and other noted espionage authors. With a screenplay filled with shadowy secrets it proves the genre has thrived since the end of the Cold War. It seems that era’s end signalled a more honest approach to spy films as the mechanics of how missions are created and conducted have been more effectively shown. There’s much of that in this remake of a 2007 Israeli movie of the same name, with sinister brinkmanship becoming the order of the day.
Thursday, December 08, 2011
The best aspect of watching animated movies based on literature is seeing how well writers twist established mythology. The Shrek films did this successfully with its bending of various fairy tales delighting big and small viewers. Spinning off from that series is Puss in Boots with the title character becoming almost as popular as Shrek himself. Adapted from the works by Charles Perrault Puss in Boots’ first solo outing is almost as enchanting as the words from which it first appeared.
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
With my enthusiasm for sport at the lower end of the range, watching a movie about the subject usually fills me with foreboding. Thankfully many recent ones have explored the sporting team dynamics with their interaction providing more drama than the game itself. Moneyball fits into the category with ease even if it charts the usual ‘rags to riches’ motif. With a decent cast and good script it made viewing less of a chore.
Thursday, December 01, 2011
Like most genres the ‘sword and sandal’ epics have returned to vogue. This renaissance could probably be traced back to 2000’s ‘Gladiator’ although it was ‘300’ which really revived it from its long dormancy. Since then many have attempted to re-capture the allure of the films from which actor Victor Mature gained his fame. ‘Immortals’ attempts to keep this flame alive as it emulates the fantastical realism on which it thrived.
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