Come Fly With Me

Back home safe and sound. The flight was grand. Don forced me, kicking and screaming, into business class. It was quite an experience and certainly easier on my arm. The tablecloths were a little excessive though.

It would be remiss of me not to give you a rundown of the films that kept me awake on the flight (I didn't manage to get through much more than 30 minutes of Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction.

The rest was a mini Oz Film Fest:

Jindabyne: Gabriel Byrne and Laura Linney in an Aussie flick? I nearly switched it off after the what the men did (or didn't do) when the corpse rocked up; it all seemed too unrealistic, but the fallout was interesting and made up for the lack of credibility, but barely. The aboriginal stuff was handled interestingly for a film. I don't know if it worked dramatically but it was certainly more realistic than most attempts. That was the problem with the film as a whole.

Candy: Given the subject matter (drugs, drugs, drugs) there were some surprisingly sweet and touching moment. Heath and Abby were fantastic and I can't hide my love for Noni or Tony Martin. Overall though it was solid but a pretty hard slog, and really, what is there that can be new in the heroine-love genre. The film had great performances, beautiful camerawork and engaging characters. Get's my vote.

The Caterpillar Wish: Took a while to kick off but the payout was sublime. Nothing new: small town's dirty laundry slowly airing, but worked me over emotionally. I was in tears by the end even though I pretty much knew the score from the first frame. Susie Porter was ace as always. I just don't know why she hasn't taken off yet (though it probably has something to do with Welcome to Woop Woop).

Somersault: Saw it in the cinema but it seemed appropriate to watch it again. Also set in Jindabyne, also starring Abby Cornish and seemingly the mother of every production being greenlit in Oz right now. The whole film is basically Abby with her kit off, staring at pretty lights, and Sam Worthington's eyes (who can blame her) to Decoder Ring's twinkly soundtrack. Loved it then, loved it again.

All this was broken up by the antithesis of all these understated, grungy atmospherics, a Disney musical...

High School Musical: Mindless, American, high school pap with cheesy songs and high morals...

Loved it! And you will too if your name is Ange or Adrienne.




Tags: movie review, cinema, film