Reviews

I urge you to check out early Australian movie "Wake In Fright" (1971)! Just re-released after apparently being lost and now found and remastered, "Wake In Fright" follows the two day path trod by small town school teacher John Grant, This is not the path of heroes by a regular guy who loses his way into a somewhat scary living nightmare where John Grant (played by Gary Bond) gambles his money away & penniless spends the weekend in a (newfound) mates-sponsored drunken weekend oblivion. This which includes 'roo (kangaroo) shooting -Great scene! but maybe disturbing to some-, womanising, and more drinking(!), & spouting philosophy.

He can barely escape the Yabba... "Wake In Fright" stands the test of time & is an interesting insight into a perhaps too common subculture of Australia... Gritty, disturbing but still a strangely rewarding film...

His 'mates are played by Chips Rafferty (in his last movie) as town cop Jock Crawford – you gotta see him drink(!), Peter Whittle & Jack Thompson play Joe & Dick, a pair of archetypal yobs. Al Thomas plays Tim Hynes who takes the broke teacher in, Sylvia Kay plays his daughter Janette. Donald Pleasence plays the voice of reason to the movie, academically questioning all that is on show. But he too still loves a drink.

Other Aussie stalwarts of the movies' era are here too - John Meillon, John Armstrong and Slim DeGrey.

Canadian Ted Kotcheff (lately has directed & produced many episodes of TV show 'Law & Order') does a superb job directing "Wake In Fright." This was about his 15th work by 1971. Maybe its due to him not being from Australia that he is somehow able to draw out many nuances of the environment of the Yabba and the country like making you feel the heat & vastness of the Australian outback. Some critics think this is a fact, like Brit Nicholas Roeg did with "Walkabout." Too, you have to admire or be intrigued by the tagline of the movie, stereotyping the Aussie male yobbo (bogan, chav, jock, redneck) culture "Have a drink, mate? Have a fight, mate? Have some dust and sweat, mate? There's nothing else out here." It may stereotype the culture but it is an interesting microscopic look at itself simultaneously.

See it for being Auststralian, a good film, you like movies that might mess with your head, or a good hard look at a part of a culture. Lost in time? Seriously though, check it out.

'The Darjeeling Limited' is a whimsical film. It is essentially a tale about three brothers and their searches, one for brotherhood, another for love & his writing craft, and the third for who he is in the world. Maybe I am wrong but it is my perspective and I ain't no English Professor.

Yes, it has a moral like most Wes Anderson films, i.e. The Royal Tenenbaums, and The Life Aquatic, but in 'The Darjeeling Limited' it is eased on to you rather than like some of his others, which I felt was like thick gooey syrup poured over you.

Francis (Owen Wilson), Peter (Adrien Brody), and Jack Whitman (Jason Schwartzman), are brothers. We meet them as their train trip begins, a trip that will traverse the country of India, to spend time together, share new experiences, and perhaps to 'become family again', as Francis hopes for.

Brother Francis is heavily bandaged about the head, that we discover is following a near fatal accident, has caused this reunification. The brothers, we garner across the movie, have not spent much time together since leaving their dysfunctional childhood home after college. He is quite a painful character in the extent to which he goes to in trying to arrange his brothers to get this 'togetherness to recur.

Schwartzman is perhaps the most endearing one. He is a writer but is unable to write originally. Is this since he had his failed romance? Or fathers death one year before? This 'dilemma' is not solved, meanwhile we are subjected to tidbits of his life, snapshots, in a written form (that we see recreated on film or during the course of the film) and we and the bros. are meant. Brody we learn is to be a new father, left his wife back home in America, and is struggling with this new phase of his life.

Bill Murray pops up here in a funny cameo in 'Darjeeling…' Along with Wilson, he is another in the Wes Anderson 'family', appearing in three of his films.

Sometimes I feel Wes Andersons films are like trying to compete at the Olympics in the 'most dysfunctional family' event. Like 'Oh, we beat the Simpsons, the Tenenbaums (and now the Whitmans - is that a pun or a 'homage' to the highly regarded American author?)'. 'The Darjeeling Limited' is an okay flick to see if you want a bit of fun, fluffy feelings, sightseeing, maybe a little cry, you might feel good after it, and see some of India too (shot on location). You might feel ill too. Enjoy.

By now you likely know the basic premise or something of Brokeback Mountain, i.e. It's about two gay cowboys. Well sort of.

Another story taken from E. Annie Proulx short tale is made into an epic film about Ennis Del Mar, played by Heath Ledger, and Jack Twist, by Jake Gyllenhaal, who are two cowboy guys. They meet while being employed by Joe Aguirre (Randy Quaid). Their job is to herd sheep, well fatten them up on public land on the quiet 'up on Brokeback Mountain' ready for sale the next season.

While on the job for so many months together alone the usually quiet Ennis opens up to the more talkative, sometimes rodeo rider, Jack Twist. The landscape is beautiful, from the opening shot though it's the everyday for them. After one particular conversation (Jack: thats the most you have talked in these months', Ennis: 'it's the most I've talked in years') and the ubiquitous rum, Jack is more amorous and a little forceful. One thing leads to another… This tale meanders across 20-30 years. After this encounter, the two fall into a lifelong addiction for each other, both afflicted in different ways. Both marry but Ennis still secretly pines for Jack & Jack pines back. But if Jack cant have Ennis then… what else is there? Their infrequent encounters become less infrequent until… Brokeback Mountain is held in high esteem by many and seen as not so good by many. It was a little of both for me. It's a long tale that took its sweet time looking at the great scenery as it goes, watching the life of Jack & Ennis take its ups & downs, and maybe it is a bit long for me. Check it out if you want an experience.

Someone I know would tell you 'it got 8/10 on www.IMDb.com' but I will only give it 6.5/10