Change Your Image
EdwardYates
Reviews
Woody Woodpecker (2017)
The reboot of Woody Woodpecker that we didn't need
The reboot that we didn't know we wanted and as it turns out we probably didn't need! Our kids wanted to watch this film and found mild amusement out of the gags and the antics of the characters. On the plus side it's all pretty light humour and won't probably offend most folks. Barring perhaps the Dad character and the broken family from the get go. The writers did try to do something with the human characters and give them some trajectory albeit a little predictable. The main issue is I felt no real emotions watching any of the cast interact with an animated character of this ilk or each other for that matter! There's a real lack of connection for some reason, perhaps from the main character being an animated character. Or perhaps it's the overall writing, direction, acting and music score. It also just doesn't have the slapstick punch of other live action meets animated characters such as the classic Who Framed Roger Rabbit for instance. That all said it's been made for 10 million which is next to nothing for a film of this length. Hence the no name actors and the overall production values on screen.
The Ice Pirates (1984)
So bad its just bad
There are some films that are so bad that they come back out the other side and become so bad they are good. Or at the very least funny - given time. This film is not one of them.
It's not like there isn't any effort involved in the making of this film either. Ron Perlman and Angelica Houston pop up as supporting characters - not that they are very good or have that much to do. So much so, you wonder why they even picked this film to be in. Equally the costuming for the most part is still pretty interesting. Some of the visual effects might now have been funny because they look so B grade if not for the constant abysmal dialogue peppered throughout the entire film. The nonsensical plot and padding out of the script with irrelevant and poorly executed sequences really make this film drag terribly.
It's not like they weren't making decent sci-fi films during the same period either. Ice Pirates hit cinemas one year after Return of the Jedi (1983) and seven after A New Hope (1977). Alien screened in 1979 and Blade Runner 1982. These films changed the face of filmmaking and none of these films have dated as badly as The Ice Pirates. Possibly the problem is because The Ice Pirates is trying to be a space-comedy-adventure: an extraordinarily difficult thing to well and this film fails on all three counts.
That and they decided to go nuts with the synthesizers. Which just seems to date films from the 80s awfully.
When I turned on the TV I was hoping for a bit of a romp or at least something that would make me laugh because it was so bad. Unless you are going to watch it for some interesting costuming please don't waste your time like I did.
My Year Without Sex (2009)
Creating meaning out of everyday life and death
The film explores how people go about making sense of their lives. Despite the reality of life portrayed in the film, Sarah Watt has managed to put together a story that is incredibly funny as well as having a strong emotional resonance.
The "truth" of the film comes from the way by which audiences will be able to relate their own lives with the everyday Australian characters, partly because of the brilliant performances of the cast, perhaps more so because of the writing, direction and editing. There was nothing throughout the entire film that broke me out of the narrative. A special mention must go to Sacha Horler, who I have not seen in anything since Praise - she is just amazing - although the whole cast work exceptionally well.
I loved Sarah Watt's previous film Look Both Ways, which like My Year Without Sex also made me laugh and cry, so I had some expectations going into this film. Expectations can be dangerous, as if the experience of watching the film does not live up to them then they can be crushed. But the blend of ideas, acting, direction to create consummate storytelling meant that I was thoroughly entertained.