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Reviews
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Rosemary's Neurosis
First time i've watched this horror classic right through and i'm glad i did. This is the first of the big Devil inspired films. Next the great The Exorcist. Then The Omen etc. But i don't see this as a supernatural story. I see it as a film about a young woman having mental problems over her first pregnancy. Mia does it so well. It's like watching a documentary. Thank god for 60's minis too. She has great pins. She was only 22 when she was in this but she is brilliant. Everyone is. Polanski for all his faults does a great job directing. The dream sequences are manic. I shall watch this one again. Not just for Ms. Farrow's legs.
The Nightingale (2018)
Up there with my favourites
This is a brutal film but it's about brutal things. I'm a Aussie of Irish descent so i know there's more than a bit of truth in this one. There was a black war in Tasmania in the 1820's between aboriginals and the new settlers and also the old Irish/English kicked on over here too. When my parents were married in Australia in the late 50's my Dad of Irish Catholic stock and my Mum of more English descent was seen as somewhat strange. As to this violent film it's almost perfect to me. Great performances by all involved and with reality to it you don't see in a lot of films. This and The Proposition 2005 another Aussie colonial epic as my 2 all time best flicks.
The Searchers (1956)
Best of Westerns
I have to be honest. When i think of my best all time movie i say The Proposition 2005. But when it comes to straight Westerns this is the one. John Wayne was never better playing the conflicted Ethan. Damaged by the Civil War and war with the natives he knows how the Comanche war. The most successful of American natives because of their greatness on horseback. Revisionism downplays the violence and torture of those times but this film without being graphic shows the fear that farms would of felt when the full moon was out. Truly great cast in a legendary film. And i suggest the novel it is based on which is great too. John Ford's best. Sticks with me since when i first saw it as a child.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Surreal Fun
A mad film nearly as good as their Life of Brian. I remember walking into a local cinema as a teen and thinking that's different. If only more mad stuff like this one was made now in this humourless age. I think we in the 70's made fun of ourselves and things in general more. Less easily offended. I digress. This has it all-the killer rabbit,the Black Knight who won't give in, the Holy hand grenade,the filthy French not to forget Sir Not appearing in this film. Or Tim the Enchanter. Just watched it again this morning and pined for the happier day's of the 70's. This came out when i was 13. Bloody hell i'm old.
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
One of the best Westerns ever
I think this is Eastwood's best Western and one of the best ever. I put it up with The Good,the Bad and the Ugly. And his much lauded Unforgiven which is great too. Clint knew how to pick his actors for this one. Even the small parts stand out. Chief Dan George is great as the old native. Funny as. Basically a tale of revenge during and just after the Civil war it has great action as well as a good storyline that keeps you involved all the over 2 hour length. Everyone seems like they are of the time and just thinking about it i want to watch it again. Great 70's western. Up there with The Searchers my all time fave.
Life of Brian (1979)
One of the Best
After many years i've finally watched it today on Good Friday. So glad i did on this old DVD. This is prob Python's best work. Holy Grail is great too but this one nails religion and its grip on us. Actually it doesn't mock Christianity straight up-it even has Jesus himself doing some Sermon on the Mount and it's tastefully done. This is more about the herd mentality in us and the need for a charismatic leader and what's it all about. Funny all round but standouts for me are the mad Prophets,the stoning and the gender confused Loretta. I love Reg too. Even Spike shows up for a cameo. I'll have to make this a Easter tradition. Always look on the bright side.
The Furnace (2020)
No Proposition but decent
Like my title says this is no Proposition (2005) my favourite film but it treads kind of familiar ground. Set in Western Australia in a 1890's gold rush it concerns multicultural doings in the bush of WA. Without giving away the plot it concerns a crime and the repercussions like there always is. Pretty well done but like most revision of colonial days it past one section of Aussie culture as the villians. I'll not give it away. Well acted by all and believable. But in the future don't be biased about one lot. All groups have good and bad among them. Big shoutout to David Wenham's beard. Love your work mate.
Stand by Me (1986)
Like my childhood. Except the body
I think this film is so great is because a lot of people especially males can see echos of their own lives in it. It reminds me of when i was around that age with my mates. Playing in local creeks and the bush etc. I hadn't really watched it right through till recently in my 60's and even though it's in rural America it rings true. All 4 boys are good in it and the older kids especially Kiefer Sutherland play their parts well. There are many memorable scenes like the train and the leeches and the lard ass story is a good one. I like how it ends with the classic song and it's true that friendships around 12 can be the strongest of your life.
Arthur of the Britons (1972)
My Childhood Fave
This great show that helped guide me into history first came to Australia when i was 11. I was enthralled from the start. My cousin me and mates would be glued every arv it came on. It was before even colour TV here but we just loved the stories and the friendship and battles of Arthur and Kai and the rest. We would head out after and practice sword fighting and make spears. It was great to see Brian Blessed as Mark the Bull of Cornwall and even Tom Baker the future Doc Who turns up in a ep. This show talked about loyalty and sticking up for your own and i remember it fondly. To be honest,on a small budget i think this is how 5th century Britain would of been more like between the Saxons and the Celts.
Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo (1966)
the Ugly,the Bad and the Good.
First of all this is the real title because it starts with these credits and ends with them. This is the best of the spag Westerns i've seen. Sergio gets you from the beginning and you just follow the crazy story for it's near 3 hours. Each character basically lives up to his moniker. Clint is pretty good if a little greedy. Lee is the outright baddest of the group, And Eli is ugly but not as bad as Angel eyes. All the Western tropes are in there including the gunfight at the end but the Italian slant on it makes it new. There is even a take on the futility of war. The one to watch if you've never seen a spag Western before. Bravo.
The Proposition (2005)
Still my best. Ever
This has been my favourite film since i first saw it nearly 20 years ago on the first day it screened in Australia. Don't know why it took me so long to review it. This film says a lot about Australia. The divisions of the early days. How the aboriginal story was not black and white. No pun. Guy Pearce my favourite actor is at his best here. No wonder in a interview his said this was his best film too. He is disturbed in this one. Mainly by his psychotic older brother. Also played brilliantly by Danny Huston. Grittier than a Western and dirtier too as it would of been. I love John Hurt's small but impactive and comic role too. Please give my favourite film a go.
The Rover (2014)
Guy does it again
Guy Pearce is my favourite actor. Being a fellow Aussie probably helps. But he just does so many different rolls. My favourite of his is the Aussie Classic The Proposition {2005} where he plays a disturbed younger brother. In this one he is just mean. And just wants his car back. No spoilers here. This is like a grimmer Mad Max. Another fave. This film is like a alternate take on Australia. Our reliance on what we dig out of the ground. But what if it went wrong. Pattison is very good here too as a sometimes slow/sometimes quick witted youth. Everyone is good in this. All the secondary actors are great too. Time for another watch.
The Favourite (2018)
Was it really so?
Well it turns most of this film was how it really was. I'd seen this film when it first came out but must of been too drunk to appreciate its brillance. Everyone is good in it but i think Coleman as Queen Anne deserved her Oscar. Strips the royalty of any glamour and shows for all the grand houses and pineapples and rabbits they could have it really wasn't grand. I love the dark humour in this one and the girl's scheming. What people did to survive in those days rivalled our own. I only just watched it again because i'd just seen Poor Things. Another bewdy of the director but i reckon this is the way better film.
Shout at the Devil (1976)
A Comedy Cracker
I love this film. I first saw it on telly as a kid but never really got into it till i watched the uncut version on You Tube. It deals with serious subjects, colonialism, ivory hunting, war even infant murder but it's mainly the comedy of it all that gets me in. Lee Marvin has never been funnier and it's my favourite performance of him. He is better old. The duo of him, a Irish American poacher who tells a fib or two about himself and loves a drink or 10 and pucker pom Roger Moore who gets sucked in by him is classic. The funny thing is that Marvin wasn't much older than Moore at the time but plays his dad in law. I read the book which is dark because i love the film so much. Have a laugh.
Dune: Part Two (2024)
Fanaticism told well
I didn't think a big budget film would get the money to be made on this subject. Dune which i love as a book has now been made into a movie about what it's really about. The danger of religious fanaticism. The first part did well in setting up the background but this second half gets to the meat of the story. The battles are better and bigger and so are the sandworms. Chani Paul's girl is shown to be against the idea of Paul becoming their prophet and so is he until he gives into the inevitable. Our modern society is rendered by culture wars and like all good science fiction whenever it's set this film holds a mirror on us and our time.
Arrowhead (1953)
A ring of truth in this one
I remember seeing this on telly as a kid and years later finding there was truth in it. Revisionism these days want to paint most American native tribes as pretty pacific but really it was very violent. The Apaches the tribe in this one were driven West by a even more violent tribe the Comaches. Jack Palance is the villain of this piece and Heston is his enemy who grew up with him and saw him kill his deformed brother in childhood. Not graphic but pretty full on for a earlt 50's flick. Strange how now we strip the truth away and we have to look back before i was born to see a film that has even a little trith in it.
At the Earth's Core (1976)
More Classic McClure
Yes more classic Doug McClure. This time assisted by great,and funny in this one Peter Cushing and that English stunner Caroline Munro. This film was made because of the success of the other ERB inspired film The Land that Time Forgot that came out in '74. I saw that one at the local drive in but this one with mates at the cinema. Still has the clunky effects of Land but also thankfully has the same action and adventure. The Mahars are the villains of this piece. A all female telepathic reptile species that preform evil acts on our human heroes. But don't worry Dougie and Peter are there to win the day. Aah to be 14 again.
The Land That Time Forgot (1974)
Classic 70's flick
This movie got when i was taken as a kid to first see it at a Aussie drive in when i was about 13. I still love it for all its clunky Dinosaurs and old time special effects because it has action/adventure all through it that you don't get these days in the over produced bad cgi films we get offered today. It got me to read ERB's book and the other 2 in the series and was followed up the next year by another of the author's stories At the Earth's Core. I liked that one as well and a lot of the reason is because of star Doug McClure. That bloke entertained. Nostalgia for me about this one and the actress is a looker too.
The Lighthouse (2019)
Funny as
I first saw this blind drunk and didn't take it in properly under the circumstances. Once i got a little sober and got the blu ray i saw what a cracker of a film this was. Eggers first got me with his Witch one of the best horror films i've seen then he grabbed me with this comedy classic. I know the arty farty elite read a lot into this with it's referances to Myths and legends and i'm sure that's all here. I just got into the duo's comedy from fart jokes to wank toys. If this is toxic masculinity then we men can be funny buggers. Both leads are great but Willem wins it for me. Bravo Eggers keep making them my boy and keep the humour in.
Sredni Vashtar (1981)
Moody piece
Since no one else has reviewed this here i go. I first saw this when i was around 20 as a short before Blue Thunder in the days when you had shorts before feature films. This weird short horror stayed with me more than the main. I had never heard of Saki so this little movie set its own mood. It is a good horror because you see no violence just pick up that dark events have occured. I've got to be honest i don't think the boy's Aunt is evil just a bossy old bag. The strange boy and his ferret are the villains of the piece. I can recommend horror fans to watch it on You Tube like i just have. Atmospheric.
Man in the Wilderness (1971)
Best version of a old tale
Yes i know The Revenant from 2015 has a bit better bear attack than this one thanks to cgi but i still like the mainly real bear in this one. Overall i like this film better. I first saw it on telly in the 70's as a kid and it stuck with me and got me interested in the true story. Which is it did happen in the 1820's but Harris here is called Zach Bass instead of Hugh Glass the real attach survivor. As good as Di Caprio is in his version i prefer Richard Harris' take. Mainly doner with face and movement it sticks with me. And i love old Director sometime actor John Huston as grizzled Captain Henry. His crew is grand too.
The Innocents (1961)
My all time best Horror
Like i say in the title-my all time best Horror film. Where do you start with this masterpiece. For starters i have to say i go 100% with the Governess being mentally ill and not really seeing true ghosts. All in her head. Though i can see how people can just see this as a supernatural film. The mentally ill can see ghosts and even gods. Deborah Kerr is excellent in this. And what about the acting from the young kids! Miss Giddens is a sexually repressed woman with maybe schizophrenia and a attachment for the Uncle who is only in the one scene and a unhealthy liking for young Miles. This film shows how real Horror is in the mind. I can't wait to read the book now.
Conan the Barbarian (1982)
My childhood
I give this movie 10 out of 10 not because it's my all time favourite film but because it came to Australia first when i was 20 and after reading the Marvel comic books as a kid and reading some of Robert E. Howard's stories this made my day. It doesn't stick to the gospel of Howard's tales but it has all the sword and sorcery elements in it. Subutai is his great mate and Valeria his love and other offsider. James Earl Jones is a great Thulsa Doom and his 2 henchman aren't bad either. I even liked the wizard. I can't imagine anyone other than Arnold as Conan and the movie is of it's time. Well directed Milius. Also it came out the same year as another fave of mine The Thing. 82 was a great year.
Gallipoli (1981)
10 out of 10 Aussie Classic
I never saw this great Peter Weir film when it first came out when i was a teenager but first saw it on a Anzac Day where it portrays the real event. Like all great war films it's anti war and comes down to two mates who think they are on a great adventure. They learn. Mel Gibson is good in this you'd think he was a Aussie. Everyone is good in this one and i think it is Weirs best film and that's saying a bit. This was his entry into Hollywood as well as Picnic at Hanging Rock. I just wish he'd make more Aussie flicks. Gallipoli and Anzac Cove are Australia's first entry into the wider World and it's disaster is shown here.
1915 (1982)
The ABC gets it right
After Peter Weir's great movie Gallipoli i see this mini series as the best of Aussie WW1 shows. Better in it's treatment of what happened than in Anzacs which came out a few years later because it shows the Aussie troops warts and all. Billy and Walter are mates who have known each other in a country town in NSW since they were kids with Walter the better educated richer bloke and Billy the extrovert ratbag. You get to see the dark side of Billy and others and the damage war does to all involved. I didn't watch this series in the early 80's when it first came out but i'm glad i've seen it now. I'll be reading the book by Roger McDonald next.