Mark's blog about the 2006 Melbourne International Film Festival.Monday, August 07, 2006
A SOAP
6/10
This was an okay film about a woman who leaves her doctor boyfriend after deciding her life with him was boring. She moves into a new apartment building above a cross-dresser who is awaiting his confirmation that he can have a sex change operation. Well shot, but lordy lordy lordy that main character shat me up the wall. Very hard to like her given her constant indecisiveness and the way it affected the people around her.
THE WAY I SPENT THE END OF THE WORLD
5/10
One of the biggest problems with sub-titled films is that if you are getting a little tired and rest your eyes for a minute, you end up missing important lines of script that are displayed on the screen. I did this a few times in this film, and therefore the score may be lower than it deserves to be. This was a story about the last days of Romania under communist dictatorship in 1989 particularly focussing on a rebellious school girl who is trying her best to survice in a regime that doesn't suit. Didn't do a lot for me, but if it's your kind of thing and you can stay awake, it might be worth it.
OPAL DREAM
8/10
Yep, another great aussie film! How unreal is that? This one stars Vince Colosimo, Jaqueline McKenzie and a couple of great little kids. It's about a family who lives in Coober Peey, the Opal Capital Of The World. Vince plays a miner/prospector who runs into some trouble while playing along with his daughter's emotional outcry after losing her imaginary friends Pobby and Dingan. It's a feel-good type flick that was financed by the UK Film Council - hopefully more films like this won't need overseas funding in future.
BUBBLE
7/10
Acting was either very understated, or extremely poor. This low budget film was directed by Steven Soderbergh who has done some films that I've quite liked; Insomnia, The Daytrippers, Solaris (2002). He's also done some I'm not as big a fan of; Traffic, Out of Sight, Ocean's Twelve. Anyway, this story revolves around the relationship (as friends) between two factory workers living in a somewhat depressing American town who make dolls, and how things change when a new girl starts at the factory. It was certainly watchable, and interesting enough too, but the acting just seemed so wooden to me that it distracted me a little. A quirky little film that will be worth your effort when cheap enough on DVD rental.
6/10
This was an okay film about a woman who leaves her doctor boyfriend after deciding her life with him was boring. She moves into a new apartment building above a cross-dresser who is awaiting his confirmation that he can have a sex change operation. Well shot, but lordy lordy lordy that main character shat me up the wall. Very hard to like her given her constant indecisiveness and the way it affected the people around her.
THE WAY I SPENT THE END OF THE WORLD
5/10
One of the biggest problems with sub-titled films is that if you are getting a little tired and rest your eyes for a minute, you end up missing important lines of script that are displayed on the screen. I did this a few times in this film, and therefore the score may be lower than it deserves to be. This was a story about the last days of Romania under communist dictatorship in 1989 particularly focussing on a rebellious school girl who is trying her best to survice in a regime that doesn't suit. Didn't do a lot for me, but if it's your kind of thing and you can stay awake, it might be worth it.
OPAL DREAM
8/10
Yep, another great aussie film! How unreal is that? This one stars Vince Colosimo, Jaqueline McKenzie and a couple of great little kids. It's about a family who lives in Coober Peey, the Opal Capital Of The World. Vince plays a miner/prospector who runs into some trouble while playing along with his daughter's emotional outcry after losing her imaginary friends Pobby and Dingan. It's a feel-good type flick that was financed by the UK Film Council - hopefully more films like this won't need overseas funding in future.
BUBBLE
7/10
Acting was either very understated, or extremely poor. This low budget film was directed by Steven Soderbergh who has done some films that I've quite liked; Insomnia, The Daytrippers, Solaris (2002). He's also done some I'm not as big a fan of; Traffic, Out of Sight, Ocean's Twelve. Anyway, this story revolves around the relationship (as friends) between two factory workers living in a somewhat depressing American town who make dolls, and how things change when a new girl starts at the factory. It was certainly watchable, and interesting enough too, but the acting just seemed so wooden to me that it distracted me a little. A quirky little film that will be worth your effort when cheap enough on DVD rental.
