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Reviews
Heat (2023)
Awful.
Being a fan of Pia Miranda and Jane Allsop, I was looking forward to this. The lengthy ad build up gave the impression it was actually about bushfires.
Darren McMullen is consistently bad as an actor so I had zero expectations. Especially given the lead in show is Celebrity Amazing Race where he is proving to be a pretty awful human.
Had never heard of the import actor (seems to be a requirement to get these series funded lately ala the recent equally woeful Riptide) Danny Dyer. He was dreadful. Zero acting ability and every scene just consisted of him looking stressed and mumbling incoherently.
Richie Morris is already known for Neighbours and is a great upcoming actor. The younger cast were all great in their roles.
The problem. Well the script. All of it. Clearly written by someone who has never been within a thousand km of a bushfire region. And just too predictable. Every plot line was old. Nothing original.
Costume Dept - at the point one can see smoke one goes inside and takes off flouncy flammable ankle length skirt and puts on jeans & long sleeved shirt. And the teen girl - in shorts no bigger than undies - yep that's safe in a bushfire. Good grief. Combination of poor script direction and poor wardrobe department not thinking logically.
I think these series set in Aus with predominantly Aus actors and a Brit import or two & financed by Brit channels - are written in a way that Brit's think Australia is and the way they think Australians are. This was the same with Riptide where every Aus characterisation was hilarious and embarrassing.
I'm glad actors are getting work but I wish it was something worth putting on their CV.
Oh and to the Brit reviewers who keep referring to the "outback" please stop embarrassing yourselves. The location of the storyline is in the hills an hour from Melbourne. Not the "outback". It's literally where the bushfires are every single year.
The Cost (2022)
Holding your breath the whole way. True revenge thriller
I attended the premier on 26/11/22 at Monsterfest in Carlton. Really loved this film. Violent yes - it is brutal to view - but every moment of it had a purpose. And every moment had consequences. Hard to say much without spoilers but it really is well worth seeing. Nothing about this film felt "low budget". The script was excellent - tight. No wasted words. But also really well edited. There was no moment where you thought it was dragging or a scene lacked purpose.
The quality of every person cast was spot on. There were moments were everything changed in their eyes - no words needed. You knew exactly what their character was going through right in that moment. The exact moment their entire thought process changed. Kudos for that.
The cinematography was sublime. A real stand out for me. I'm not a big fan of the current trend of overly shaky in your face camera work. Instead this was steady, emotive, crisp work that added to the overall feeling of the tense story. The chase through the forest was a particular cinematography highlight for me. I keep replaying it in my head over and over.
It was really lovely to meet cast and crew after the premier. Congratulations to everyone for a fine film.
Adding: Days later I am still thinking about certain scenes and what was going through each characters mind at that time. This is a film where the thoughts of ramifications really stay with you.
The Bouncer (2006)
Gritty independent dark comedy
I will admit to being biased first up. I am a lifelong John Waters fan and run his fansite. Disclaimers out of the way ! I first saw The Bouncer at the cast and crew screening last year. Saw it again when it got its cinema release. I really enjoyed it. I thought it realistically portrayed the Perth club scene and had a nice gritty feel to it. Johns narrative is the highlight for me, along with some of the plot twists and flashbacks. I loved the opening credits too. The casts performances are all great. There is violence and language - so obviously the film is not for kids. I hope it gets a DVD release and more independent films get support out there.