SAFE HAVEN – film

*meh*

OK, to be fair, I was sufficiently engrossed at one point that when someone appeared unexpectedly from the shadows I yelped embarrassingly loudly but still this one’s all just very ho hum.

Sole highlight would be Josh Duhamel for those inclined to have a bit of a perve at the lads. He’s divine. To look at. Hubba hubba.

You know all those films that have won Oscars today? Go see them instead. Any of them will be better than this.

Official trailer here

Movie 43 - film

Absolute stinker. Not at the movies, not on DVD... no way, no how.

In the interests of fairness, there was a couple of laughs but this compilation of short sketches is, broadly speaking, a rotten mess. How it secured the cast it did (Kate Winslet, Naomi Watts, Richard Gere, Emma Stone, Jason Sudeikis, Gerard Butler, Uma Thurman, Stephen Merchant, Hugh Jackman... the list really does go on) is one of the great mysteries of modern cinema.

I overheard another patron in my session (there was six of us) say at the end “That movie was really confusing”… I felt like saying “Any time you spend on trying to understand it is precious minutes wasted, lady.”

PS. This film has been widely criticised but the Crikey film reviewer Luke Buckmaster mounted a defence which makes an interesting read.

Official trailer here

ANNA KARENINA - film

I read some pretty ordinary reviews of Anna Karenina so went in with low expectations. It was a bit better than I’d expected but definitely didn’t love it. I already didn’t much like Keira Knightley and this cemented those feelings. Felt like it went for about five hours when in reality it was just over two. A DVD kind of film (at best), not worth the $19.50 for mine.

The ordinary experience was rounded out by having a young couple sitting behind me who appeared to be embroiled in some sort of emotional crisis that meant that they sniffed (she), talked (mainly he) and cuddled (both) most of the way through. You're not in your lounge room, people!

Trailer here

ZERO DARK THIRTY - film

This is a fantastic film, no surprises it’s getting so many accolades. It follows the ten year hunt for Osama Bin Laden following the September 11 attacks in America. If you’re anything like me you followed that hunt to a degree through the media coverage but this fascinating film fills in the details of how an operation like that would work. It’s really very eye-opening. One of the stars is Jason Clarke and I was occasionally distracted by the fact that sometimes in the film he reminded me of Nudge from Hey Dad! and then at other times I thought he was hot. HOW COULD HE BE BOTH? I hear you ask. Well, I’m afraid that remains a mystery. When I looked him up on IMDB I discovered he was born in Australia. Nudge’s long-lost cousin? Yes, I think so too.

I digress.

Other actors in the flick include Jennifer Ehle who played Elizabeth Bennett in the BBC Pride & Prejudice series and Joel Edgerton, one of my favourite Aussie actors. Also very happy to see the cinematographer is Grieg Fraser, a talent Aussie whose sister I used to work with!

Really enjoyed this one, catch it before someone declares it too highbrow and it winds up only on at the usually-inconveniently-located arthouse joints.

Trailer here.