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Reviews
Diana (2021)
Don't Knock It Until You Try It
Just about every review for this trashed it before I had a chance to watch it, so I went in with low expectations.
Is it cliche? Yep.
Is it cheesy? Yep.
Haven't we heard it all before? Yep.
Still, I enjoyed it.
Sure, it's no Phantom or Rogers & Hammerstein spectacular, but it's a boppy, kitschy, ninety-minute sing-fest through the royal family. And, really, there's only so much you can cram into a musical that covers 30+ years of someone's life, so don't go in expecting anything too deep and meaningful.
But it is a decent way to spend an afternoon, the sets are well designed, as are the costumes.
Ronny Chieng: International Student (2017)
Refreshing Australian Comedy
I can't tell you how much I love this show. Originally filmed as a single pilot episode in 2016, ABC showed this as part of its Comedy Showroom. Six pilots, one winner - and viewers got to vote on what became a full series. I'm so glad Ronny Chieng: International Student made it.
There are a heap of things I love about this: + shot in Melbourne, showcasing Melbourne Uni. I love seeing Melbourne represented raw on television. It's not dressed up and air-brushed, it's a university campus, warts and all. + yeah, some of the characters are stereotypes, we all knew that guy who was about forty but was still studying (why?). But it's an accurate part of uni life. + the comedy is on point, and topical. + cheaply made, but well polished.
I'm so glad I stumbled upon this back in 2016, and I look forward to more episodes.
Dirty Dancing (2017)
Missing magic, but still watchable.
Right, so I'm about to swim right against the tide. Maybe I'll get sucked under and drown, or maybe someone will hang on and float with me.
This wasn't that bad.
Sure, the original is one of those classic bastions of 80s cinema, and no one will ever, ever replace Swayze, I know. But, and I say this as I take a deep breath and bungee into the abyss . . .
This is almost scene for scene, line for line with the original; however,where the 80s film lacked in character development, this one made up for it. The audience is given insights into characters other than Baby and Johnny, particularly Baby's parents (hello, Bruce Greenwood). They're far more fleshed out than previous.
There were, however, a few cringey moments. This is treated as more of a musical than the first one, so you do get characters singing. I'm still undecided as to how I feel about the final scenes of the film, and it's definitely missing the magic and charm of the original but, overall, I might even watch this again.
100 Streets (2016)
Brilliant use of screen time
Following the lives of three central characters, 100 Streets takes you on a journey through central London, through lives, loves, and loss. Around those three characters, their satellites, who are all just as important as them, for they help shape and define their futures.
A film about snap decisions, the bigger picture, and what ifs, this is a great film in the style of Pawno (Paul Ireland, 2015). Very glad I picked this one up; you will be, too.
Joe Cinque's Consolation (2016)
Amazing: So many questions
Partially funded by Screen Australia, Joe Cinque's Consolation has no special effects and no epic sweeping soundtrack, at least not that I can remember, but what it does have is an amazing script and wonderful cast. The camera work is quite raw and unpolished, which adds to the feel of the film.
While the audience walks in with full knowledge of what is going to happen, what happens along the way still comes as a shock. A crescendo of mistakes, inaction, and enabling lead to Joe Cinque's demise. This leads to questions of morality and duty of care: why exactly did no one stop this from happening when so many people understood what Singh wanted to do? For me, what was horribly startling was the afterthoughts, the postscripts peppered before the closing credits; what happened, and to whom. If my eyes weren't leaking before that, they were by then.
The writing in the script is brilliant, it's the perfect mix of storytelling and foreshadowing. It's possible I picked up on this a bit more than I would have, having known a little about the case before hand. It's not a court room drama by any stretch. In fact, the only time we glimpse a court house is in the closing five minutes of the film. What we have is a desperate unraveling of a human being, and the pieces that toppled around her as she fell.