THE ONLY reality programs I've enjoyed are the second season of Big Brother, the first season of The Contender and some snippets of So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing With The Stars.
I'm quite open about my disdain of reality television.
I dislike the format, I don't particularly like the talents thrust onto my screen, and I hate the complete saturation of coverage where I can't watch other programs I like without at least four or five ads or references to the reality shows.
That said, I am at a loss to understand why Gogglebox is SO DAMN GOOD.
I'm a little late to the party, having just finished binging on the first three episodes almost four weeks after the Australian version of the hit UK show premiered.
When Gogglebox was first advertised I looked at it with disdain. The concept sounded silly: instead of watching "real" people compete in cooking competitions or being stranded on an island, let's watch people watch programs from the week prior.
It is, essentially, Twitter for television, and maybe that goes some way to explaining why I want more Gogglebox.
For those that follow me on Twitter, you already know I'm slightly addicted to the social network.
I tweet about just about anything: politics, random thoughts, conversations, my thoughts on film and television, and commentating or tweeting live sport.
Therein lies my strange fascination with a program that shows "real" people passing comment on programs from the previous week.
A lot of the scenes, particularly those that covered Four Corners' live baiting investigation and Top Gun, are reminiscent of what happens when I watched the same programs. The shock at seeing defenceless piglets tied to lures for greyhounds, the debate as to whether to allow 15 and 16-year-olds to watch the program in the first place (the Daltons decide to let them watch, but both leave), and the general reaction to Top Gun (particularly THAT volleyball scene) are all real.
I think that is one of the most important aspects: this reality program feels more real than any before.
In programs like Survivor, Big Brother, and Masterchef, the contestants are in an artificial situation that doesn't reflect reality. Masterchef particularly tries to capitalise on the "everyday people", yet trot out recipes and meals with ingredients most families wouldn't have used.
Gogglebox gives us a real situation of which we can all relate. The scenes depicted in the 10 lounge rooms are reminiscent of the viewing experience of most people watching television. Where the 10 groups verbalise their opinions with their offsiders (as they have to for the program to work), a lot of people express themselves via Twitter or other social networks.
The casting seems to dissect society and represent the general quite well, with people from different social economic class. That said, there is one thing that stands out: they're awfully white. The only non-white group are the Sri Lankan Delpechitas. I'm not going to make an issue about it as others can do a far better job of it, but it does stand out for mine. Hopefully that will change when it is (hopefully?) renewed for further seasons.
That aside, there's been a strong variety of programs they've chosen to air, and the casting has been perfect. The groups look to be from extremely different backgrounds, and most have hammered home countless one-liners that have had me in stitches. I haven't genuinely laughed as loudly or openly during a television show as I have watching Gogglebox, and I hope that doesn't change.
Gogglebox airs on Lifestyle Channel at 9.30pm Wednesdays (8.30pm in Qld) and Channel 10 at 9pm Thursdays.
Sunday, March 01, 2015
Saturday, February 28, 2015
About Time
IT MAY not be the best film of all time but there's something about About Time that I loved.
(I'll try to keep spoilers at a minimum but watch the trailer)
Domhnall Gleeson, who you probably better know as Bill Wesley from Harry Potter, stars as lead Tim Lake.
When Lake turns 21 his father, played by Bill Nighy, reveals to him the family secret: the men of his family can travel back in time. But not just any point in history - it has to be a time and place they've already been before.
Lake is discouraged to use his power for monetary gain or fame, so the red-haired, seemingly socially awkward man uses his gift to improve his love life.
Time travel is a gift many people wish they had. Whether it is to lead more financially lucrative lives or find fame, or if its simply to change the way an interaction, conversation or meeting played out, a lot of people, myself included, have wished they could simply go back in time and do it better.
Lake gets to do just that but he uses it for his love life, though it doesn't work out exactly as he hopes it would the following summer with sister Kit Kat's (Lydia Wilson) friend Charlotte, played by Neighbours alumni and future Harley Quinn Margot Robbie.
A move to London opens the door for a chance meeting with Rachel McAdams' Mary, with whom he shares a night flirting at a restaurant. The two connect, but Lake learns another lesson of his unique gift: if he changes the past, he will inevitably change his future.
My major beef with this film is Gleeson is a little too creepy.
When he meets Mary for the first time (again), he is the type of creepy of which would have police and security called within seconds. Defying utter logic (and obviously feeding on rom-com aspect), she instead agrees to meet him for dinner.
It just doesn't make sense.
If it was someone like Ryan Gosling or Hugh Grant in that scene, their natural charisma and charm would've made it a totally plausible outcome. Gleeson is just creepy all round - the way the lines are delivered coupled with the scary intensity of his eyes sends shivers rather than the suggestive signals he was supposed to.
His social awkwardness and reactions to certain situations do deliver some extra laughs, and to his credit Gleeson softens up in different times of the film.
McAdams is perfect as always, Nighy adds energy to the family, Wilson's free-spirited Kit Kat is a troubling yet refreshing sidestory to the main plot, and Richard Cordery's minor role as Uncle Desmond is hilarious.
Even though Gleeson is a little on the creepy side at times About Time is a film that will make you smile, laugh, and leave you coming back for more.
(I'll try to keep spoilers at a minimum but watch the trailer)
Domhnall Gleeson, who you probably better know as Bill Wesley from Harry Potter, stars as lead Tim Lake.
When Lake turns 21 his father, played by Bill Nighy, reveals to him the family secret: the men of his family can travel back in time. But not just any point in history - it has to be a time and place they've already been before.
Lake is discouraged to use his power for monetary gain or fame, so the red-haired, seemingly socially awkward man uses his gift to improve his love life.
Time travel is a gift many people wish they had. Whether it is to lead more financially lucrative lives or find fame, or if its simply to change the way an interaction, conversation or meeting played out, a lot of people, myself included, have wished they could simply go back in time and do it better.
Lake gets to do just that but he uses it for his love life, though it doesn't work out exactly as he hopes it would the following summer with sister Kit Kat's (Lydia Wilson) friend Charlotte, played by Neighbours alumni and future Harley Quinn Margot Robbie.
A move to London opens the door for a chance meeting with Rachel McAdams' Mary, with whom he shares a night flirting at a restaurant. The two connect, but Lake learns another lesson of his unique gift: if he changes the past, he will inevitably change his future.
My major beef with this film is Gleeson is a little too creepy.
When he meets Mary for the first time (again), he is the type of creepy of which would have police and security called within seconds. Defying utter logic (and obviously feeding on rom-com aspect), she instead agrees to meet him for dinner.
It just doesn't make sense.
If it was someone like Ryan Gosling or Hugh Grant in that scene, their natural charisma and charm would've made it a totally plausible outcome. Gleeson is just creepy all round - the way the lines are delivered coupled with the scary intensity of his eyes sends shivers rather than the suggestive signals he was supposed to.
His social awkwardness and reactions to certain situations do deliver some extra laughs, and to his credit Gleeson softens up in different times of the film.
McAdams is perfect as always, Nighy adds energy to the family, Wilson's free-spirited Kit Kat is a troubling yet refreshing sidestory to the main plot, and Richard Cordery's minor role as Uncle Desmond is hilarious.
Even though Gleeson is a little on the creepy side at times About Time is a film that will make you smile, laugh, and leave you coming back for more.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
The Man with the Iron Fists
The DVD case splashes "Quentin Tarantino presents" in red across the top while the tagline "You can't spell kung fu without F and U" sit prominently in white under the main image. Any expectation you have of the film is then shattered when you see a cast littered with the likes of Russell Crowe, RZA, Lucy Liu and Dave Bautista.
This film can only be described as wild.
The epic opening sequence fuses the rap of RZA and Howard Drossin with a crazy fight scene in which the leader of the Lion Clan, Gold Lion, is murdered. The film's plot comes from this event, with his son Zen-Yi (Rick Yune, Day Another Day) seeking revenge when he learns of what happened.
We soon meet Russell Crowe's Jack Knife - "I am Mr Knife, but you can call me Jack" - an opium-addicted British soldier named after his weapon of choice. Knife takes refuge in a brothel which is home to several hilarious Crowe scenes.
Dave Bautista plays Brass Body, a massive unit capable of turning his body to metal. The character wouldn't be out of place in an X-Men film, and his existence in this simply bizarre world RZA and Eli Roth have created I don't think has been answered.
Meanwhile RZA, the film's director, producer, screenwriter, and half of the composing team (with Drossin), plays the lead role as "The Blacksmith". The Blacksmith's main role is to rescue his lover Lady Silk (Jamie Chung) from the Pink Blossom - the same brothel in which Mr Knife took refuge.
The four are brought together by the common purpose of stopping the Lion Clad, and through 90 minutes of terrible scripting and gravity-defying fight scenes featuring tunes from Wu-Tang Clan and RZA we are ripped through RZA's homage to the martial arts film genre.
I felt the film wasn't necessarily bad but it isn't good either. It's 90-odd minutes of top-quality entertainment with glimpses of humour, but it is a film that most will smirk when they read the blurb and continue on by.
Is it worth 90 minutes of your time? Only if you want to hear pearlers like "These motherfuckers got a Gatling gun" and see a bunch of throats get ripped open.
One more thing: the trivia section on IMDB says RZA wanted this film to be four hours and split into two. Thankfully Eli Roth stepped in and said 90 minutes is enough.
The epic opening sequence fuses the rap of RZA and Howard Drossin with a crazy fight scene in which the leader of the Lion Clan, Gold Lion, is murdered. The film's plot comes from this event, with his son Zen-Yi (Rick Yune, Day Another Day) seeking revenge when he learns of what happened.
We soon meet Russell Crowe's Jack Knife - "I am Mr Knife, but you can call me Jack" - an opium-addicted British soldier named after his weapon of choice. Knife takes refuge in a brothel which is home to several hilarious Crowe scenes.
Dave Bautista plays Brass Body, a massive unit capable of turning his body to metal. The character wouldn't be out of place in an X-Men film, and his existence in this simply bizarre world RZA and Eli Roth have created I don't think has been answered.
Meanwhile RZA, the film's director, producer, screenwriter, and half of the composing team (with Drossin), plays the lead role as "The Blacksmith". The Blacksmith's main role is to rescue his lover Lady Silk (Jamie Chung) from the Pink Blossom - the same brothel in which Mr Knife took refuge.
The four are brought together by the common purpose of stopping the Lion Clad, and through 90 minutes of terrible scripting and gravity-defying fight scenes featuring tunes from Wu-Tang Clan and RZA we are ripped through RZA's homage to the martial arts film genre.
I felt the film wasn't necessarily bad but it isn't good either. It's 90-odd minutes of top-quality entertainment with glimpses of humour, but it is a film that most will smirk when they read the blurb and continue on by.
Is it worth 90 minutes of your time? Only if you want to hear pearlers like "These motherfuckers got a Gatling gun" and see a bunch of throats get ripped open.
One more thing: the trivia section on IMDB says RZA wanted this film to be four hours and split into two. Thankfully Eli Roth stepped in and said 90 minutes is enough.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
The Hobbit trilogy
A central place for my reviews of Peter Jackson's film adaptations of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbi.
Click the links to read the reviews:
The Hobbit
An Unexpected Journey
The Desolation of Smaug
The Battle of the Five Armies
Click the links to read the reviews:
The Hobbit
An Unexpected Journey
The Desolation of Smaug
The Battle of the Five Armies
Saturday, January 10, 2015
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
I remember watching The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and despite enjoying the film more than I did The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, had hope the third and final chapter would be even better.
After watching The Battle of the Five Armies I can't help but feel a little disappointed.
The final chapter in Peter Jackson's adaptation of Tolkien's masterful works set in Middle Earth finally came to Australian screens on Boxing Day 2014, more than 10 years after he started (with Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring).
One of the criticisms of the LOTR trilogy was their length, but even with the excessive run times (more than three hours-odd each) Jackson had to cut a lot of content from the book (Mr Bombadil's story arc anyone?). The same criticism can easily be directed at The Hobbit, in which Jackson manages to stretch a single novel - which is smaller than each "third" of LOTR - into three long films.
The main criticisms I have for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies stem from this issue.
Instead of one or two action-packed films that could sweep audiences across Middle Earth at a brisk pace as Bilbo and the Dwarves complete their quest, fight Smaug/orcs/elves/men/each other, and try to overcome their greed (I'm looking at you Thorin Oakenshield), we are treated to three films that lack any real punch.
As a big fan of the series it pains me to say The Battle of the Five Armies was boring.
Way too much time was spent on the negotiation sequences between Thorin, the bunch of Elves with a grudge and the Men whose town was destroyed by Smaug (thanks Thorin/Bilbo). The way the Dwarves were chilling up top looking down at Bard (from the destroyed city of Laketown) and Thranduil (leader of the Elvish army) looked like it came straight out of a Monty Python film.
Richard Armitage (Thorin) did his best to look as if he was slowly being overcome by evil as the film mercilessly dragged on, which was capped by a dream sequence in which I'm certain he drowned in a pool of gold (which, funnily enough, was the point at which he woke up from his evil/greed/lust).
Despite those two main problems, there are several positive aspects.
The multiple combat/battle sequences were all outstanding, even though a) it takes a REALLY long time for several characters to die, and b) I'm not sure how the injection of just nine Dwarves can change a battle being waged by several armies each numbered in their hundreds. Yes I know they are our heroes (and I know it's fiction and follows a source text) but am I seriously expected to believe that could happen? Even if a film is set in some mythological/fictional place I will happily accept whatever happens if I believe it could. Had it been nine wizards or Ents, yes I'd cop that battle-winning change. Nine Dwarves? Nup.
The way Jackson slipped his nods to the events of LOTR were expertly done. He included just the right amount of information (Legolas' instruction to track down Strider/Aragon for example) to make fans want to run back home and buckle in for the next leg of the ultra Middle Earth marathon.
The Battle of the Five Armies does its job, albeit poorly after being let down by previous chapters, decision making, and the corporate dollar (whatever you believe to be the reason The Hobbit was stretched into a trilogy). The loose ends from Desolation of Smaug are tied up, we get a resolution to Bilbo's quest and get to see him get home to the Shire (I'm still filthy over its omission from Return of the King Mr Jackson), and there is just enough included to set up LOTR.
>I would like to know whatever happened to Radagast the Brown however. He is seen in the climatic scenes of Battle of the Five Armies but doesn't appear in the film versions of LOTR at all (he is in the books).
Perhaps we will find out if/when Mr Jackson tackles The Silmarillion...
After watching The Battle of the Five Armies I can't help but feel a little disappointed.
The final chapter in Peter Jackson's adaptation of Tolkien's masterful works set in Middle Earth finally came to Australian screens on Boxing Day 2014, more than 10 years after he started (with Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring).
One of the criticisms of the LOTR trilogy was their length, but even with the excessive run times (more than three hours-odd each) Jackson had to cut a lot of content from the book (Mr Bombadil's story arc anyone?). The same criticism can easily be directed at The Hobbit, in which Jackson manages to stretch a single novel - which is smaller than each "third" of LOTR - into three long films.
The main criticisms I have for The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies stem from this issue.
Instead of one or two action-packed films that could sweep audiences across Middle Earth at a brisk pace as Bilbo and the Dwarves complete their quest, fight Smaug/orcs/elves/men/each other, and try to overcome their greed (I'm looking at you Thorin Oakenshield), we are treated to three films that lack any real punch.
As a big fan of the series it pains me to say The Battle of the Five Armies was boring.
Way too much time was spent on the negotiation sequences between Thorin, the bunch of Elves with a grudge and the Men whose town was destroyed by Smaug (thanks Thorin/Bilbo). The way the Dwarves were chilling up top looking down at Bard (from the destroyed city of Laketown) and Thranduil (leader of the Elvish army) looked like it came straight out of a Monty Python film.
Richard Armitage (Thorin) did his best to look as if he was slowly being overcome by evil as the film mercilessly dragged on, which was capped by a dream sequence in which I'm certain he drowned in a pool of gold (which, funnily enough, was the point at which he woke up from his evil/greed/lust).
Despite those two main problems, there are several positive aspects.
The multiple combat/battle sequences were all outstanding, even though a) it takes a REALLY long time for several characters to die, and b) I'm not sure how the injection of just nine Dwarves can change a battle being waged by several armies each numbered in their hundreds. Yes I know they are our heroes (and I know it's fiction and follows a source text) but am I seriously expected to believe that could happen? Even if a film is set in some mythological/fictional place I will happily accept whatever happens if I believe it could. Had it been nine wizards or Ents, yes I'd cop that battle-winning change. Nine Dwarves? Nup.
The way Jackson slipped his nods to the events of LOTR were expertly done. He included just the right amount of information (Legolas' instruction to track down Strider/Aragon for example) to make fans want to run back home and buckle in for the next leg of the ultra Middle Earth marathon.
The Battle of the Five Armies does its job, albeit poorly after being let down by previous chapters, decision making, and the corporate dollar (whatever you believe to be the reason The Hobbit was stretched into a trilogy). The loose ends from Desolation of Smaug are tied up, we get a resolution to Bilbo's quest and get to see him get home to the Shire (I'm still filthy over its omission from Return of the King Mr Jackson), and there is just enough included to set up LOTR.
>I would like to know whatever happened to Radagast the Brown however. He is seen in the climatic scenes of Battle of the Five Armies but doesn't appear in the film versions of LOTR at all (he is in the books).
Perhaps we will find out if/when Mr Jackson tackles The Silmarillion...
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