Reviews
On the Beach (1959)
Perfectly paced and well acted, it keeps melodrama minimised
In an era (1959) and on a topic (nuclear war) that usually demands melodrama, "On the Beach" resists. In fact, the all-star principal cast and director Stanley Kramer seem to treat the topic as a stage play, focussing on the individual. And that is how such a story should be treated. Life on the northern hemisphere has been destroyed a defence mistake by one of the (then) two superpowers. Gregory Peck's nuclear-powered submarine was submerged at the time (they stayed under water for a hell of a long time in those days). The sub heads for Melbourne, Australia, which is one of the only places in the world not yet affected by radiation. But the radiation will come, and this is where the truth of the piece comes out.
The inhabitants of 'the end of the world' go through what you would expect: denial, anger, clinging to the thinnest hope, and finally, resignation. As I said at the start, this is clearly a story about the individual. Kramer knows this, and the cast of Ava Gardner, Tony Perkins, John Meillon and Fred Astaire play it with a reality that is all too rare. Even recent films like Final Impact fail to deliver on this count. The real joy of the film is the pacing, which gives the cast the chance to play it like it should be played. Astaire proves he is an actor, and only once slips into his raised eyebrow 'top hat and tails' mode. It is a well thought out movie without the Hollywood ending, but such is the art of Kramer that the ending is a good resolution, not just a funeral. The camera work is exceptional throughout, starting with the continuous shots in Peck's submarine. I don't know about the Waltzing Matilda music at the start, however. But it does work later in the piece, and makes it worthy of the Academy Award nomination it received.
Dingo (1991)
A breathing testament to the outback, passion and music
In many ways, "Dingo" can be thought of as a thinking-person's Crocodile Dundee. It tells the story of a young man who has lived in the Australian bush all his life, and had a cathartic moment at age 12 when veteran jazz-blues trumpeter Billy Cross (Miles Davis) lands his plane on the local airstrip and plays an impromptu jazz session. As Cross is about to leave, the boy tells him that the music is the best thing he'd ever heard. Cross then says that if the boy is ever in Paris, he should look him up. Twenty years later, and the boy has become a trumpeter who has always remembered this invitation. His wife and friends tell him he'll never get to Paris. The movie follows the man's passions, and with a spaciousness and sparcity that fits in well with the glorious outback. Colin Friels is perfect for the role.. playing the bush-bred trumpet-playing 'dogger' who is constantly after a dingo who will not be caught.. just as in his own life, he hangs onto that twenty-year old dream of going to Paris. In Paris there is salvation, both for him and the aging, damaged Billy Cross (played minimally, but effectively, by Davis). And the jam in the Paris nightclub must rank as one of the great filmed sessions in Jazz history. If you love jazz or blues, you must see this film. If you love the Australian bush, or wish to understand it, you must see this film. If you are in neither category, see it anyway.
Always (1989)
A touching piece
"Always" combines Speilberg's sentimentalism with an interesting scenario.. the ghost of a pilot who can't leave his earth-bound love. The casting is brilliant. Richard Dreyfuss plays the newly-departed with a charm and wit that's essential for the plot to work. Holly Hunter is charming, earthy, tough , yet fragile enough for us all to feel for her and with her. The movie, a remake of "A Guy Called Joe" works on a few levels.. it looks at the concepts of "inspiration", earth-bound spirits, and the meaning of it all. This film always makes us laugh and cry. And Audrey Hepburn's appearance (only months before her death)as a guardian angel, is a poignant piece of casting. It's a lovely film, not without some holes, but honest, caring and surprisingly lacking in Hollywood cliche. The last shot is beautiful.
I give it 9 out of 10.
The Avengers (1998)
Original and fun, unless you wanted Hollywood
The Avengers has been bagged... by the critics, by some of the cast and even, in my case, the woman who rented me the video.
So I expected something badly directly, poorly acted, and unoriginal.
It is none of these things. The direction was original and offbeat. The three main actors, Fiennes, Thurman and Connery all give worhtwhile (and very funny) performances in this very odd off-shoot of the classic 1960s TV series.
So we have to ask.. what were the critics expecting? Obviously a clear, linear, realistic plot. Well, we were never going to get this. A man in a 60's suit and bowler hat teamed up with a woman in a catwoman outfit, fighting a man who wanted to hold the world to ransom by directing the weather. No reality there.
There was never going to be reality.
Like Batman before it, this is a cartoon-type movie. If you are prepared for the offbeat, then you will like this film.. soak up the subtleties, the very funny aside lines.
It's a spacey film... no action-a-second here.. but when it happens, it's great... sword & umbrella fights... thurman/fiennes; fiennes/connery; fiennes/badguys.. and of course those great sets, cars.
This is a spoof... a take off of the original series, James Bond films, even a touch of Star Trek. It's not as obvious as Spy Hard, but a much better trip. The cinematography will stay with you long after you've finished watching it.
Leave your Hollywood expectations at home, and enjoy the ride.
Christabel (1988)
An important piece of work
Christabel's true story needed to be told. Not just because she was the wife of a man involved in the plot to assassinate Hitler, but because it shows the all-too-ignored German life during wartime. It shows the humanity and the doubts felt by many Germans, keeping away from the stereotypes so prevalent in many films about the era. The actors playing Germans speak in broad English accents, and this is a brilliant device, because they make the Germans identifiable characters. There is one scene when an older German man, in Nazi uniform, teaches Christabel's children how to salute Hitler. Because the German does it in English tones, you may be even more chilled. Elizabeth Hurley looks little like her current model self. Her acting attains everything the writers and director would've wanted, but without a brilliance. It was, it must be remembered, one of her first features. Overall, this is an important piece of work for the reality it gives. One of Hurley's best scenes is when she's sitting with an old German woman in the street just as the bombs start to fall. They cry together, and you may want to cry with them. This is an autobiographical film about good people put into extraordinary circumstances, how they thought, how they argued, and the choices they made. All through the piece you wonder whether you'd do the same things. 8/10
Mystery Street (1950)
An inventive, realistic murder story
A simple, clear plot that doesn't interfere with the power of the personal stories within. In its day it would've been shocking for showing the murder, and the discovery of the body. Good acting from a young Montalban.