The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
It's taken me almost exactly two years to get around to seeing the Hollywood adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy. As with many, many films it quickly progressed upon its release date (April 20, 2005) from a deeply anticipated potential classic to just another film.
I sometimes wonder if it'd be better if they just never actually released films - at least that way I'd be more likely to remain excited about them. It would probably save a huge amount of money too with minimal print and advertising costs. I'm not sure how the theatrical chains would manage to sell any popcorn, but to be honest I don't really give a stuff about that.
Apr 25th 2007 23:53 // Reviews // No comments
As I get (slightly) older (each day) I'm realising that I have a weakness for many of the films that I remember from my early childhood.
Most people of my generation should at least be able to relate to this in terms of Star Wars (cue debate over merits of original trilogy vs. inferior prequel trilogy, etc, etc). This is due largely to the nostalgia factor: for many of us this was one of the first really big films we'd seen. Consequently the film is held in remarkably high regard. I guess what we remember is the experience of the film, more than the film itself. To that end objectivity is pretty meaningless: Star Wars may not be the greatest film you'll ever see, but for people of a certain age it will always be one of the greatest film experiences we've ever had (and how disturbing is it that we can now comfortably start referring to 'original' Star Wars fans as being of a certain age).
Jan 31st 2007 16:16 // Reviews // No comments
I seem to start every review lately with the refrain "It's been a while since I've written a review..." (or words to that effect) and this one will be no different. Therefore...
It's been a while since I wrote a review... this is partly down to lack of time, and partly down to lack of filmic input. We did, however, watch A Cock And Bull Story the other night and, while it was no earth-shattering masterpiece, it was interesting enough to warrant cobbling a few words together.
The film, at least in part, is an adaptation of the novel Tristram Shandy. I've never read the novel but apparently it's famously unfilmable and I imagine if I had read it I'd appreciate more of the humour. I'm basing that on the assumption that the screenwriter, in tackling a famously unfilmable novel, knew what he was doing. It turns out, however, that the writer (pseudonymous) and director (Michael Winterbottom) had something of a feud over the script so it's possible that one or more of them were on the wrong track. Whatever happened behind the scenes, the final product is enjoyable if a little muddled.
Downfall is a film I've been meaning to see for some time - and for a change I did actually get around to seeing it following repeated recommendations (thanks due to Ben at the Mondo Movie podcast and Joe Barlow of the Cinemaslave podcast among others).
By all accounts this was a contentious movie in Germany. Not unlike the recent release of United 93 (the first cinema film to deal with 9/11) Downfall was apparently the first film in which Hitler was portrayed by a German actor. Previous films have either used archive footage (which to my mind risks further mythologizing the man - more on this later) or have had him portrayed by the likes of Anthony Hopkins or Alec Guinness (which seems similarly inappropriate: by only getting great or acclaimed actors to portray Hitler he's once again mythologized).
Jul 4th 2006 20:20 // Reviews // No comments
Before I get into this let me warn you that Lost is best enjoyed unspoiled. While I'll do my best to avoid giving anything away, if you do want to tuck into season two of Lost completely untainted by foreknowledge, then look away now.
On the other hand, Lost is all about the journey and knowing what happens is only half the story - finding out why and how it happens is where the fun lies. I had the misfortune (courtesy of Dreamwatch magazine - an otherwise fine read) to learn about two major events which occurred during season two. However, things are rarely what they appear to be in Lost, and sure enough the circumstances of these two events proved to be somewhat more interesting than the events themselves.
Still, read on at your own risk.
Jun 13th 2006 12:45 // Reviews // No comments
New reviews have been few and far between on HoC lately (read: nonexistent). This is partly because we've not seen that many new films, but mostly because lately we've been watching lots and lots of TV (CSI, Bones, Lost, Doctor Who, Smallville, etc) and if I was to review every episode of every show I watch none of you would ever forgive me.
Nevertheless, there are a few films we've seen that I want to comment on. First on my list is Ginger Snaps Back, the third entry in the Ginger Snaps franchise (for more information on which read my review of Ginger Snaps Unleashed).
May 26th 2006 15:43 // Reviews // No comments
Creep is probably one of the grossest films I've seen in a while, and one of the very few that had me questioning whether I actually wanted to keep my eyes fixed in the general direction of my TV or not.
Among the reasons for this is the attempt to make Craig, the 'villain' of the piece, marginally sympathetic, even pitiful. His carefully crafted appearance is designed to make the viewer recognise that this is someone who, at least in the literal definition of the term, is human as opposed to a member of the superhuman canon comprising Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger and the like. This instantly makes him far more grotesque and disturbing than any of those superstar stalk'n'slashers. It also makes him rather more threatening - this is someone you genuinely think could come after you one day (however far at the back of your mind that thought might lurk).
You've probably all at one time or another seen a particular sort of sappy, sentimental, and usually cynical, US family drama. It might be a TV movie of the week, or it might be an Oscar-begging vehicle for Julia Roberts or Sandra Bullock. Whatever the cause for its existence this movie will be exactly the same as any other movie of that particular genre. To whit:-
There will be a dysfunctional family - not a divorced or separated family, but one where, in spite of the risk to their own sanity or each other's physical safety, the mother and father are still together.
There will almost always be two kids (if the film revolves around one of the kids becoming fatally ill then there might just be the one kid to save time, but usually there's two, and often one of each, i.e. a boy kid and a girl kid).
At least one of the kids, if not both, will be a moody teenager because when you're a teenager you're moody and you want to rebel against the world and the world is represented by your parents and this is the law in scriptwriting world. It is perfectly acceptable for one of these kids to have run away from home, in fact it is preferable.
One or all of the following will or may occur: a parent will have lost or be in the process of losing his or her job; one of the parents will be having or contemplating an affair of some sort; one of the parents will be indulging in some manner of substance abuse (usually alcohol, unless this is a message movie).
Finally the entire family will be bonded together once again following some sort of cathartic event, or events, during the course of the movie.
You all know this sort of movie, you've all seen them, even if it's just because your grandmother forced you to rent Terms of Endearment for her. Hopefully you'll never have to sit through one of these again, but if you know what I'm talking about then you'll have an idea of where Visitor Q is coming from (at least in my interpretation).
Generally billed as one of the most outrageous/disgusting/disturbing films you'll see, Visitor Q is another example of extreme Asian cinema. As western cinema gets more and more conformist in pursuit of wide audience and big box office dollars, we should be grateful that eastern cinema is taking things to the polar opposite and really stretching the boundaries of what people can handle.
The story starts with the family already, arguably, at their lowest point - I won't give too much away, but the dad has lost his job, the mother is addicted to crack and is regularly beaten by her son, who in turn is routinely humiliated and attacked by his classmates, and the daughter has run away from home to become a prostitute.
What begins as a fairly disturbing piece quickly turns into bizarre comedy in which ever increasing extremes of behaviour ultimately bring the family back together. There's also a mysterious visitor to the family house who acts both as a catalyst and a passive observer. Although one particular taboo is disposed of in the film's opening scene, it is seemingly the process of breaking taboos (again, no spoilers here) that also breaks down the barriers between the father and son, and the husband and wife.
All this is really overanalyzing a film which in its heart is saying: what if it's not conforming to social norms that finally reunites the family, but breaking them?
Not for the squeamish or the reactionary, but hilarious viewing for those with an open mind.
Ginger Snaps (to which this is a sequel) was a pretty decent indie horror film which drew comparisons between the sexual maturing of its female lead and the process of changing into a werewolf. The slightly more obvious link between the lunar cycle of lycanthropy and the monthly cycle of menstruation wasn't actually focused on too heavily, though you wonder why no-one else thought of it before.
Oct 27th 2005 14:03 // Reviews // No comments
Ordinarily I would never pick up a book by Louis de Bernieres. For one thing he has a pretentious name, although that may well not be his fault. For another I hated the film of Captain Corelli's Mandolin. Again, not his fault. Nevertheless, these things work against his favour. (I think I may have once attempted to read the book of Captain Corelli's Mandolin, but since I neither remember finishing Captain Corelli's Mandolin, nor am I even sure that I even started it in the first place, I have to assume it was an unhappy experience, if indeed it was an experience that took place at all).
I stumbled across Red Dog while attempting to find out if there were any worthy Australian novels to read. Either there are very few (published) authors in Australia or the books simply don't travel well, because I didn't find a great deal.
One thing I did find was Red Dog, which isn't an Australian novel in the strictest sent, but it does take place in Australia. It's based on the true story of a dog called Red who travelled his way around Western Australia, adopting different owners at different times, and generally seemed to be liked by most of the people whose paths he crossed.
It's a slender book, and written with an appealing simple style which makes it great for kids, but rewarding for adults (bit like a Pixar film). Consequently it's a very short read, but one that'll probably stick in your mind for quite some time.
Next time we're in Australia we'll try and get a picture of the Red Dog memorial, the one that first inspired De Bernieres to write the book, and post it to the moblog.
Oct 27th 2005 13:25 // Reviews // No comments
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The content on this blog is protected by a Creative Commons license. This is purely to stop people from doing nasty things with my words - in the unlikely event that you do want to reproduce any content here just ask
Ed Price Is Hungry by
Justin Cawthorne is licensed under a
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