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Wolf Creek 2 (2013)
Better than the professional critic's takes
There are some high budget franchises that have churned out much much weaker product than this. I'm talking Jaws 2/3, any of the Anacondas, contentiously Saw, and Nightmare on Elm Street. And, to be fair, for quite a lot of Michael Bay's output. Look hard enough and you'll echo supposed disappointment through your own viewing history. I'm simply at odds with those professional critics as I was on the edge of my seat for well past the first hour of Wolf Creek 2.
I good splattering of sick humour, stark dusty outback, just enough horror to not head into infeasible stupidity. I've had to walk a country road at night on my own in Australia many times. At least this franchise grabs an essence of that terror which I'd loop in my head, at each cracking step and sudden noise from the bushes.
Of course, it's not groundbreaking. Many of the stunts we've seen somewhere before. The vastness of Australia can look similar to those who've not experienced it. Try flying over it. I once fell asleep on a flight and hours later the landscape still looked identical.
In the end none of that matters. If you're even vaguely tempted to watch this you won't be seeking a transformative moment in cinema.. just a gross out trip through some senseless murdering in the search an adrenaline rush. You've absolutely got it in these 106 mins.
Breaking Free (2015)
Historically important LGBT+ documentary for the world to see
Colonialisation, police brutality, curruption, and the legal case against India's Penal Code section 377. Marked by its efforts to frame certain sexual acts and people as "against the laws of nature".
Achingly recent, making this all the more heartbreaking upon hearing individuals speak of its impact on their lives. Inspirational to watch when combined efforts of so many groups fighting for human rights achieves significant impact.
Shocking stuff.
Love, Death & Robots (2019)
Superior animations. Overdosed on the macho.
Undeniably dazzling craftwork to feast your eyes on. Each episode is stunning to look at and worth the watch. However, many pieces are let down by derivative stories and characters from the male perspective.
Quickly got bored of weapons, monsters, and cheesy bros. It became painfully disappointing to be let down when clearly each one was such a visual work of art. Made it hard to put a number on the ratings.
18 episodes and only 1 with female directors on the team. Come on.. you can do better through the selection process and wider narratives.
Highlights for me:
1. Three Robots (love its stupidity)
2. The Witness (outstanding technical styling and motion)
3. Beyond the Aquila Rift (terrifyingly surreal)
4. Ice Age (microcosm 'Mother!' style)
Love on the Spectrum (2019)
Worth every second of your time
Real people going through the anguish of dating. Stripped down to the things that, in truth, matter to all of us. Experienced by so many huge hearts. Seen through the eyes of a crew that built a trusting bond with daters, sharing off camera jokes and words of support. You'll be left craving more shows watching each of them grow before your eyes.
It's astonishing on the basics as there is so much that folks not on the spectrum take for granted. In truth we all know someone, could be yourself, that could learn deep truths through a watch of this jewel in Netflix's line-up.
Hugely entertaining, personable, kind, honest, and of course it's clunky at times. All the more beautiful for it.
Sala samobójców. Hejter (2020)
Taut social engineered scaffolding of outrage.
At times this is extremely difficult to watch. So many Euro/Global points of tension it feels like every inflammatory subject has been distilled into shot glasses and you are so messed up you can't refuse to play the game. Things could get real ugly.
Excellent acting manages to deal much of the anguish in such a terrifying poker face is catches you entirely off guard. I had no idea what to expect when getting into this film. It began with a typical character construct along a linear timeline, but very rapidly violated my low expectations and had me utterly terrified. And much sooner than its pacing really picked up.
I speak primarily of the sharp attention drawn towards personal privacy and cybersecurity. There's elements of Mr. Robot here but don't stay too attached to that thought. Equally well researched. Refreshingly an entirely different scope. Politically charged nearly to the point of feeling sweaty. Modern day warfare - annihalating reputations in its path.
A multifaceted lead whose intentions are not initially obvious but you can absolutely taste his hurt at every squeeze. The way he flips from boyish charm to an ice-cold, heart felt bitter snarl, well it could easily suck all the air out of the room.
It's a gripping tale. Builds like a violently brutalist skyscraper.
Little Joe (2019)
A good watch during COVID.
Definitely a measured slow burn. A soundtrack not dissimilar to a Japanese period piece. Industrial whines. Biology equipment beeps. Dischordant pipes and percussion clashes emphasising drama, often more sensed than wholly observed. An environment purposely created to set you on edge.
Everything feels sterile. Surgical masks, disinfecting the soles of shoes, alcohol gel on the hands, cameras and high security. Moments of folks pushing the boundaries of what can done under the guidelines, are they even appropriate? Trust in the science. Trust in each other. Tensed relationships. Personal anxiety. Very 2020. Very unsettling.
The cinematography felt disconcertingly clinical but still beautiful. The sets and costumes were colour detailed in a way that felt like everyone was similar. Everyone still not quite the same. A collective mind, if you will. With any feelings, like outsiders questioning intangible qualities of something not quite right about what is unfolding before them, as having a bit of wobbly moment. Gaslighting in a garden of genetically modified 'happiness'.
They could easily have made the dialogue pitched as emotionless, as seen in 'The Killing of a Sacred Deer', but frankly that would have been just too much. There's still enough distance and disconnect between each character to have you perceive its iciness. No matter how much they turn up those thermostats I felt chilled.
Don't expect to be scared, in a traditional horror sense. It might not have you on the edge of your seat, for some it might be an excrutiating endurance process. It would be an error to misjudge it to early. I found Little Joe technically interesting. The viewer placed in a world where they can't help but sense the pangs of anxiety weaving every scene.
Stateless (2020)
Politically hot topic has left much unsaid.
Firstly, the character Sophie's story clearly is one so unique it needed telling in a respectful way that referenced the plight of Cornelia Rau. Yvonne Strahovski does a sterling job at expressing confused panic and inwardly nice person deeply affected. A perspective that might little sense to the rest of us but this telling at least tries. As part of the storytelling, some may long for Sophie to express more superficially as someone so troubled. However, when taken in context of the base Rau journey, namely the difficulty in pinpointing who she was across a number of system checkpoints, this is in fact an important issue. In an environment where assumed individual identity and circumstances are often surrounded by trauma what is the appropriate approach? Anyway, Strahovski is mesmerising in this truly complex role.
I'd consider myself politically somewhere in the centre but with a metamodernist philosophy. I refuse to see politics under a purely binary way, sadly the way much of today's media (social media included of course) dominate the dualist sword drawing through endless clickbait (data is the new oil) debates.
It's for this reason many folks are reviewing this low. They do not feel that the more conservative viewpoint is expressed. It's absolutely there in Stateless, but mostly seen in those who are battling internal ethics and humanitarian standpoints. The one character in which it is most purely observed within is so repugnant it makes it too easy for the casual viewer to disregard the individual as an agressive idiot. To me this is a directorial mistake, belittling any timely opportunity in presenting Stateless as a centralising discussion piece across the political spectrum. Painting conservative viewpoints, in artistic medium such as this, as idiotic does nobody any favours towards a healthy discussion on such divisive matters.
This series also battles with difficult situations between characters where nowhere near enough is said. This lead me to believe most of them were either completely lying to each other, through systemic, familial, trauma, or survival demands; or the writing was superficially dumbing things down for the audience. Those dramatical choices denied us true empathy. Folks openly expressing their anguish towards each other about their actions and decisions, seen here predominantly surrounding ancillary characters, for example between Cam and his wife or Clare and the journalist. Or perhaps it's intential to lead us through our own interpretation and biases, or something else I can't quite put my finger on which distances us from deeply connecting with the refugee's stories.
Ultimately I felt many of the refugee's stories as a sideline. Avoiding a deep connection to them an instead to what really mattered to this project: Sophie. It could have been so much more, but it's absolutely engaging, despite it's flaws.
Thunder Road (2018)
Loved this!
Small budget dark comedy that ceaselessly shows the turmoil of trying to good in the world while you're the one doing it all so wrong.
Countless moments of awkwardness and a refreshing rapid-fire outward expression of (mostly inappropriate) inner thoughts. Strong full cast performances, fun, chaotic, but most of all a hugely touching film. Wonderfully entertaining.