When it’s a struggle to pick
the most outstanding out of a batch of stellar stories, you know you’re onto a
good thing.
"This second installment of the anthology series has been nothing short of outstanding."
Such is the welcome dilemma
of Redfern Now. Building on the
emotional powder keg of six initial episodes, this second installment of the
anthology series - with established characters and new - has been nothing short
of outstanding.
Ernie Dingo features in the Season 2 finale
It’s been said before but
though it’s a drama based on an urban indigenous society too rarely
seen in a more balanced light until recently, the situations and issues Redfern Now presents are relevant
universally on a very human level.
Grief of sudden death, middle-aged love
against adversity, domestic violence, a new mother’s newborn anguish, the
reverberating pain of abandonment, gambling addiction. All are treated
unflinchingly with dashes of welcome humour artfully in the mix.
But make no mistake, this is
uncompromising Australian drama – this week’s finale featuring Ernie Dingo in a
fierce neighbourhood conflict is sure to pack an emotional punch.
Here’s hoping Aunty commissions
Season 3. The Season 2 finale of Redfern Now airs tonight at 8.30pm (AEST) on ABC1 and you can catch up on previous episodes on iview.
Britons
reportedly spend a whopping £5 billion pounds (almost $AU9 billion) a year pampering
their pooches. But if that’s not evidence enough of their undying canine
devotion, the glorious bunch of nutjobs in this tongue-in-cheek ‘observational
documentary’ series from 2011 will have you believing.
In Episode 5, Katya primps and pampers her trio of poodles for a V.I.P (Very Important
Poodle) birthday party replete with Swarovski crystal necklaces and Brian May bouffant.
But that’s nothing next to dog boutique owner Louise who is chaperoning the seaside
‘honeymoon’ of her princess, Yorkshire Terrier Lola and the aesthetically-challenged
Chinese Crested, Mugly. That’s after blowing a cool £20,000 smackers (almost $AU36,000
today) on their ‘wedding’.
"The marketing material claims the real stars are of the four-legged variety but it’s their crazy owners who are top dog here."
The happy pupple
Meanwhile
there’s a freaky theme emerging with ‘doyenne of doggy dancing’ Richard planning
a ghoulish performance piece involving a sprung-loaded coffin (gulp) and some
fledgling canine psychics divine that a passed pooch enjoyed a variety of foods.
Spookily insightful.
And
standout doggy devotees, the barking mad radio show hosts Jo and Anna (slightly
dim Bulldog Matilda and flatulent Miniature Bull Terrier Molly are their ‘fur
kids’) bumble their way through controversy judging a provincial dog show.
The
marketing material claims the real stars are of the four-legged variety but just
like the splendid mockumentary Best In
Show it’s their crazy owners who are top dog here. Dog puns, out.
A Different Breed airs Friday at 8.45pm (AEST) on ABC2 and you can catch up on some episodes on iview.
Eight years on, is our
homegrown queen teen bitch still (to use her own parlance) Ja’miezing?
Ja’mie King was back in the
day. She was fresh, funny and fantastic when she burst onto our screens in We Can Be Heroes in 2005 and still had
it going on in the follow up Summer
Heights High as the ultimate grotesque with alter ego, the uber talented Chris Lilley
pulling the strings.
"There’s nothing really new in her school bag of tricks."
But take away the new pop
culture references and abbreviated teen slang and it’s as if time has stood
still in Ja’mie’s third outing Private
School Girl.
She’s still a fan of humpy
dance moves, still fires off abusive quips like a firecracker, still spoilt
rotten, still a cradle snatcher, still politically incorrect, still delusional,
still the ultimate grotesque.
There’s nothing really new
in her school bag of tricks.
And the laughs have become
scarce. They’re more like scoffs at just how horrible she’s become and just how
low she’ll go. Last week she concocted the ‘A Boy In Need Is A Boy Indeed’ program, shamelessly parading around her ‘povo’ African project Kwami and her Christian values in a
bid to win The Hilford Medal.
Twerk that Miley
Sure that was always the gag.
Lilley’s characters’ foibles most often shine a light on society’s own
prejudices. But with her own show, Ja’mie is pretty much in every scene and the
act is starting to feel as stale as last week’s ‘quiche’. Borrowed that term
too, Ja’mie.
It can’t be easy to find
something new in a well established, well loved character even if you are the exceptionally
talented Lilley, though Barry Humphries has managed to keep his Dame Edna Everage
endearing for well over half a century. You can’t help thinking that after the
mixed response to Lilley’s last project, the bold Angry Boys that he’s retreated to safer ground.
Miss King could well do with
another fish-out-of water interlude a la Summer
Heights High. Perhaps her mooted gap year in 'povo' Africa where she could
really get those bangs dirty, or a comeuppance in the cut throat world of PR?
Firstly, some disclosure. I've been a fan of Homeland from the beginning, engrossed in the twists and turns of intelligence and espionage that Homeland proved so adept at in Season 1 and parts of it's sophomore followup. I'd even hoped that Brody's pace-maker quid pro quo with Abu Nazir which saw the offing of Vice President Walden was simply an aberration. But now in Season 3, my patience is being sorely tested. For all the talk of Homeland starting afresh, sidelining
a headline character for almost half a season (to date) - however much the
storyline might dictate it - is either one hell of a bold creative move or a kamikaze
mission.
I hate to say that on this
season’s showing so far it’s the latter. The series’ scribes wrote themselves
and war hero cum senator cum suspected terrorist-on-the-run Nicholas Brody (Damian
Lewis) into yet another corner in what was admittedly a doozy of an episode. It
ended with our anti-hero seemingly succumbing to the drug-addled, colourful concrete
ghetto of Caracas’ ‘Tower of David’.
"Homeland scribes I implore you, bring Brody back sooner rather than later..... Otherwise you might as well shuffle Brody off this fictional mortal coil and truly reboot Homeland, thereby putting him and us out of our misery."
But that was one – count ‘em one - miserly episode out
of six so far. An integral protagonist M.I.A stretches the audience’s patience too like a rubber band. If there’s no pay off in sight, it may just snap.
Nick Brody: So far, so sidelined.
The good news is that Homeland can still be taut, gripping viewing with the
considerable power to induce pulse-racing, bum-on-the-edge-of-your-seat moments;
last week’s episode anointing a new terrorist baddie etched in blood, Iranian intelligence
high-ranker Majid Javadi (Shaun Toub) a case in point.
The bad is that for a series built on the verisimilitude
of the US War on Terror, Homeland
continues to stretch credulity, even if you factor in that yes this is after
all a fiction.
This season’s long-con twist tried to seduce us into believing C.I.A
caretaker Saul (Mandy Patinkin) had thrown bi-polar agent Carrie (Claire Danes)
under the bus - straight to the psych ward. And what are we to believe of
Carrie’s apparent pregnancy? Is Brody really the baby-daddy?
Pin the tail on the Brody
And I think I speak for all fans of the show when I
say enough of the melodramatic misadventures of troubled teen Dana Brody. Last
week, it looked as though she was leaving for good. Please writing Gods make it
so so that screen time can be allocated back to where it belongs.
With Brody still M.I.A (at least if episode seven’s promo is to be believed)
Homeland scribes I implore you, bring
Brody back sooner rather than later.
Otherwise, as Lewis himself has reportedly
suggested, you might as well shuffle Brody off this fictional mortal coil and
truly reboot Homeland, thereby putting
him and us out of our misery.
What’s
it all about? Brit comedian Russell Howard takes an irreverent look at the news of the week.
The
Verdict: The problem is it’s old news but Howard’s comic timing and rapier wit
makes it an entertainingly bawdy romp down recent memory lane.
4.0/5.0
Switch on this satirical news
programme and you might think you’re in a time warp; one month you could find Russell Howard, the boy-faced
British comedian with the wonky eye skewering the rescue of Chilean miners (2010),
the next the royal wedding of Wills and Kate (2011), the next Tiger Woods’ sex
scandal (2009).
That wouldn’t be so unusual if the show was in repeats but as a
free-to-air first run staple of SBS2’s recently relaunched schedule it’s just
plain bizarre. Perhaps the programmers over at SBS2 have been time tripping?
The good news is that even old news
is still well, good, and very funny when it’s wrapped up in the rapier wit and
crack comic timing of Howard who has written and presented the BB3 show since 2009. It’s part stand up, part Good News Week, part Funniest
Home Videos with the odd sketch thrown in.
Russell Howard takes a pot shot at the news
It's Brit-centric with Howard's quick fire lampooning of UK pollies and Old Blighty's inane talk telelvision but the comic regularly takes a pot shot at global targets too, including Australia - Karl Stefanovic beware. A highlight is Howard’s serving up
of some of the weirdest and wackiest news stories you’re likely to see. There’s
the Dutch artist who turned his dead cat into a helicopter (witness the footage
on YouTube), the dog who shot his owner in the buttocks and scientists’ theory
that dinosaurs farted themselves into extinction with 520 million tonnes of
methane gas.
Howard’s edgy, ribald and often
crass comedy won’t be to everyone’s taste but that’s not all he’s got in his
playbook. He’s a charming inquisitor in the ‘Mystery Guest’ segment and a good
sport – from grappling with a champion female sumo wrestler to breaking his
hand skylarking with a movie stunt man.
Rusty's sumo wrestling lesson gets real
Then, things change gear at the show’s end
with the unlikely inclusion of a genuinely feel-good news story that may just
have you welling up; like the young disabled girl given a new lease on life by
her assistance dog.
“I genuinely had a tear in my eye,”
admits Howard. “And I looked down and saw my dog licking his arse.”
What’s it all about? In AD 117, a band of Roman Centurions fight for survival in the Scottish Highlands.
The Verdict:Centurion isn’t perfect but if you can stomach the blood it’s a suitably slick and thrilling ride.
3.5/5.0 from me, David.
Based on a 2,000 year old legend that tells of the mysterious disappearance of the invading Roman Ninth Legion in Scotland, Centurion opens in AD 117 as the Roman Empire’s mass land occupation reaches a stalemate in Britain’s north.
A territory war is being waged between Roman armed forces and a vicious cluster of tribes known as the Picts and Roman Centurion Quintas Dias (Michael Fassbender, Inglourious Basterds) bare-chested and bound, is on the run from his Pictish captors.
"It may not be in the same league asGladiatorin terms of spectacle but Centurion prefers to travel a darker path with a focus on the relentlessness of survival. If you can stomach the blood, it’s a suitably slick and thrilling ride."
Saved by the Ninth Legion, led by General Titus Virilus (Dominic West, The Wire), Quintas’ loyalty is secured and he vows to lead the Legion’s few remaining soldiers to asylum after they survive a bloody attack by the Picts.
What follows is a game of cat and mouse as the small band of men fight for survival in the freezing, forbidding Scottish Highlands, the Picts, spear-headed (pardon the pun) by the cold blooded super huntress Etain (former Bond girl Olga Kurylenko) in dogged pursuit.
Does my bum look big in this?
While director NeilMarshall’s screenplay, brought to life amidst the spectacular Scottish wilderness, may raise questions of historical veracity ( Marshall freely admits he used his imagination to fill in the gaps), Centurion, unlike the more conservative Gladiator, pulls no punches in its portrayal of battle. Ultra violent and gruesome, this is bloodletting on a grand scale. As the endless crimson tide spurts, almost comically at times, you can’t help but think that along with the grisly veracity, Marshall (who proved to be a gore lover with The Descent and Dog Soldiers) is getting a kick out of the blood sport. Look out for the stomach churning arrow-through-the-eyeball scene.
The staring content went on for hours and hours........
But there’s more than blood on display here. Sure it’s a dark tale with imagery filtered in murky blues and greens but amongst the bleakness there’s ample suspense, a touch of humour and romance and some reasonably well rounded characters. Fassbender brings understated gravitas to proceedings while Kurylenko, whose Etain has been rendered mute by the Romans, does surprisingly well in conjuring up pure evil. Whether the history books concur or not, this is one poster girl for lethal girl power way ahead of her time.
Centurion isn’t perfect but Marshall does bring a fresh spin to the sword-and-sandals genre giving it a modern sensibility; from rapid-fire action sequences to no-nonsense parlance – “When will people learn not to fuck with the Ninth?” fumes Virulus – and a tongue-in-cheek sensibility.
The fire warden would surely be sacked
While it may not be in the same league as Gladiator in terms of spectacle (fear not role players, there’s sufficiently epic battle-porn on display) Centurion prefers to travel a darker path with a focus on the relentlessness of survival. If you can stomach the blood, it’s a suitably slick and thrilling ride.
This review was originally published on Trespass Magazine, July 2010.
What’s it all about? A young girl believes her late father talks to her through the branches of a giant tree.
The Verdict:Despite an unusual premise, The Tree is thoughtful, quite magical and charming.
4.0/5.0 from me, Margaret.
This charming if unusual Australian French co-production is another in Australia’s cannon of films depicting grief.
Yet, adapted from the novel Our Father Who Art in the Tree by Judy Pascoe, it’s just as much about life, filled with both sunny and somber moments.
After the sudden death of her husband Peter (Aden Young, Mao’s Last Dancer) Dawn (French import Charlotte Gainsbourg, Antichrist) is immobilised by grief, struggling to care for her four children including the wise-beyond-her-years Simone (Morgana Davies, The Hunter).
"A ruminative, universal exploration of grief and the life force that can flow from it."
Inside their rural Queensland house time stands still as domestic mess accrues and flowers of sympathy whither. But outside, something mystical is at play. Simone believes her father watches over them, that she can hear him whispering through the branches of a giant Moreton Bay Fig tree.
I hear dead people
But Dawn is unsure what to believe. Slowly emerging from her cocoon of grief, she begins a romance with local plumber George (Marton Csokas, The Debt) much to the indignation of Simone and the tree simultaneously flourishes, its roots and branches pervading the house.
No doubt a challenge for The Tree’s makers is how to have the audience suspend disbelief and engage with this eponymous, quaint centerpiece of the story as a nurturing if invasive force of nature, a conduit for healing and change. The production’s attention to detail helps no end; from the evocative sound design of screeching inhabitant bats to the luminous cinematography of bull ants scampering up the tree’s branches, amongst the rustic country of Boonah, Queensland.
That’s matched by uniformly impressive performances. Davies is the beating heart of the film, a natural performer (she was only seven at the time of filming) with a wealth of spirit. Gainsbourg is emotionally affecting while Young is a warm presence in his small but crucial role.
Dawn of the dead
French writer/director Julie Bertuccelli (Since Otar Left) unquestionably brings an intimate understanding of grief and single motherhood having lost her husband in 2006. But as she says, The Tree becomes more about living than death. It contrasts Dawn’s initial stricken state with the determined positivity of Simone.“You have a choice to be happy or sad,” Simone says. “And I chose to be happy.”
There is an earthy sense of humour too amongst the sadness and charmingmoments of childhood joy; from riding in the back of a ute wind blowing in hairto sucking on ice blocks on a sticky day.
The Tree is a ponderous film and may not be to everyone’s taste but it avoids the ‘kitchen sink drama’ tag through its original premise. It’s a ruminative, universal exploration of grief and the life force that can flow from it.
What’s it all about? The domestic ups and downs of a quartet of house husbands and their partners.
The Verdict: A predominately bright and breezy formula looks set for a shakeup as tragedy strikes. 3.5/5.0
Just when you think things are starting to feel a bit mundane for the House Husbands of suburban Melbourne - top loaders vs front loaders, petty male ego spats etc - the show’s writers throw an emotional grenade into the mix. The climax of last week’s episode, while a little clumsily handled was devastating none the less and marked an emotional depth for a show that sits closer to the bright-and-breezy end of the dramatic scale.
The boys are back
It’s been a mostly winning formula with a mix of contemporary domestic drama and lightheartedness – buoyed by cast standouts Rhys Muldoon and Julia Morris - if you can look past the cutesy kids and some over reliance on contrivance and happy endings.
That is, until now. As one of the house husbands faces unthinkable grief as series two hits the home stretch it’ll be interesting to see how the tragedy and comedy balances out. One thing’s a certainty; a box of tissues would best be kept handy.
What’s it all about? A political aspirant scorned plots his way to power on Capitol Hill.
The Verdict: A class act as self assured, knowing and provocative as its protagonist.
4.5/5.0
Kevin Spacey is no stranger to playing the bad boy but if in doubt of his Machiavellian credentials look no further than the opening of this intriguing political drama. Snuffing out an ailing dog’s life - unbeknownst to its owners - he looks into the camera and tells us that he’s a man willing to get blood on his hands, a man who’ll do the necessary when no one else will.
"Make no mistake, this is Spacey’s show. His cutthroat power broker is up there with some of Shakespeare’s most memorable villains."
Kevin Spacey gets his villain on
In House of Cards, Spacey is Frank Underwood, a “lowly” House Majority Whip in the US Congress with much greater aspirations especially after being sideswiped for the role of Secretary of State.
Like a wily predator he’ll get his revenge, striking when the time is right with acute precision. The character is based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Richard III so it’s no surprise that Frank is a master manipulator with no qualms about backstabbing, blackmailing or berating his way to the top. He’s arrogant, sardonic with a southern drawl and self assured. And he’s got quite the God complex.
Based on the 90’s British mini-series of the same name, this is a bracing introduction to what’s sure to be one of the best new shows of the year. We’re introduced at a good clip to the major players including Claire (Robin Wright) Frank’s chic wife and strident supporter in political ascendency; and young gun Washington reporter Zoe (Kate Mara, American Gothic) who secures a deal that will see her career trajectory tied to that of Frank’s.
The Ultimate Power Couple: Spacey and Wright
House of Cards is as self assured, knowing and provocative as its protagonist with classy direction from David Fincher (The Social Network) and a sharp script by writer Beau Willimon (The Ides of March) that’s much more accessible than the rapid-fire, sometimes smug dialogue of The West Wing. If there’s one element that takes some getting used to, it’s Frank’s “direct addresses” to the audience reminding us he’s the puppet master but it’s a play straight out of Shakespeare’s own playbook so here it’s fitting.
Spacey, who doubles as executive producer is formidable as is Wright.But make no mistake, this is Spacey’s show. His cutthroat power broker is up there with some of Shakespeare’s most memorable villains. The Bard would be proud.
The first three episodes of House of Cards air May 7 on Showcase at 8.30pm. All 13 episodes of Series 1 are available on Foxtel Go and Foxtel On Demand.
It’s hardly surprising that Hollywood would want to grab a piece of the Facebook pie, given its influence, global domination and ubiquitous infiltration of our lives.
The Social Network takes us back to 2003, to a weathered dorm in hallowed Harvard, as a baby faced loner hopped up on Redbull feverishly hacks and codes to create the template for a phenomenon. A budding anarchist, the vision of Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg, Zombieland) was to create a network of virtual social voyeurism.
"Wherever the truth lies, The Social Network is an innately compelling, beautifully crafted insight into the emergence of a global phenomenon."
His only real friend, Eduardo Saverin (a brilliant Andrew Garfield, Spiderman) finances the venture but in Facebook’s rise from college to global domination – apparently under the guidance of Napster founder, the nerd turned hedonistic hipster Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake bringing a swag of charisma) – Saverin alleges he was sidelined. He sued Zuckerberg as did Ivy Leaguers the Winklevoss twins (Mirror Mirror’s Armie Hammer and Gangster Squad’s Josh Pence assisted by some digital trickery) and their associate Divya Narendra (Max Minghella, Agora) who claimed Zuckerberg stole their idea.
Scientists would recoin social ineptitude as 'Dart in Mouth' disease
But the truth proves to be a tricky mistress. West Wing scribe Aaron Sorkin weaves, Rashomon style, all three differing accounts into the film. He wants the audience to decide and debate just who is the truth teller mining a grand and rich vein of drama and pathos, a hotbed of conflict and betrayal. From the beginning, anyone remotely familiar with The West Wing will know they’re in Sorkin territory – namely, dialogue that’s thick and fast in a witty, frequently funny screenplay.
Director David Fincher (Fight Club), better known for his visual prowess and masterful storytelling than word-fests such as this, delivers all of the above with precision and evocatively summons the heady atmosphere of this recent time expertly.
Making billions was no laughing matter.
Portrayed as socially inept, ruthlessly ambitious and acid-tongued, Zuckerberg is hardly painted with a flattering brush, in fact it’s a pretty defamatory one; “You are going to go through the rest of your life thinking girls don’t like you because you’re a nerd,” says his soon to be ex-girlfriend (Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) in the film’s opening scene. “I want you to know it’s because you’re an asshole.”
Likeable he may not be but Zuckerberg, with much debt to Eisenberg’s tour de force performance, is compelling. Who’d have thought this indignant savant and financially disinterested social misfit would create the ultimate global social network? None the less, as presented here, the world’s youngest billionaire with hundreds of millions of friends and counting, has paid a high price for his success. At the film’s end, he’s a pitiful sight, a lone geek amongst a sea of detractors.
Wherever the truth lies, The Social Network is an innately compelling, beautifully crafted insight into the emergence of a global phenomenon and the disintegration of a rare friendship.
The Social Network screens on GO tonight at 8.50pm (AEST).
This review was originally published on Trespass Magazine, October 2010.
