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Reviews
Take Away (2003)
This film is Wonderful!
William M. Thackeray once said "A good laugh is sunshine in the house." When I watched Take Away, I must say that the sun did shine in my house. This film was superb, the opening was very cleverly done, the story held together well, in a nutshell two fish'n chip shop owners who normally enemies are forced to form an alliance of sorts to engage in a David and Goliath struggle against a fast food chain which builds a restaurant on their street. The ending was hilarious even though I have found many who disagree with me on that one.
The film was though very discreetly, portraying contemporary Australian ethnic stereotypes, in particular the collision or culture clash if you will between the traditional Anglo Australian and Italo Australian stereotypes, and how they found a sort of "unity though adversity", very nice.
I found Vince Colosimo's performance as "Tony Stilano" an Italo-Australian Fish 'n Chip shop owner in his thirties to be first-class, his acting was very genuine and convincing, through his performance he managed to really bring to the surface the essence, or I should say the soul of the Italian Australian stereotype, which in reality is not too Italian but not too Australian either, Colosimo found that balance, breathed into its lungs and gave it life.
The Cinematography could have been better, more shots of the local area would've been nice, from what I can see it was in Melbourne, but where in Melbourne? to me it looks like somewhere between Ivanhoe to Bullen, though I am not 100% sure on that one.
I don't know why so many people are comparing this film to "The Castle" though they have similar themes running through them, Take Away stands in a league of its own.
I think the film was Excellent with a capital "E" it has everything, it's funny, the jokes are great, it deals with contemporary issues facing Australian society, the story holds well, I loved it! I highly recommend it.
Sione's Wedding (2006)
Very funny and simply brilliant!
I just came back from the Blenheim Cinema and all I could think of was to tell as many people as I could that I just watched a totally brilliant kiwi film. The film is more or less about 4 Samoan friends in their thirties and their quest to find a date to bring with them to Sione's (Pua Magasiva) wedding. The film is a brilliant portrayal of life in the contemporary Samoan community of Auckland, sort of reinforcing the stereotypical Kiwi Samoan guy. This film reminds me a lot of Australia's 2000 film "The Wog Boy" which is centered around the antics of a couple of guys from Melbourne's Italian & Greek community which reinforces those ethnic stereotypes as well.
I found Oscar Knightley's performance as "Albert" a shy guy in his thirties who still lives with his mum to be totally outstanding, his acting was very genuine and convincing.
The story was strong and held together very well, the movie was very straight to the point without any needless scenes that causes the mind to wander.
The Cinematography was great, I love all the scenes of Auckland, really gave it that "Aucklandy feel" if you know what I mean.
I think New Zealand should be making more films based around the lives of the Pacific Islander communities, this would give the world a broader picture of life in contemporary New Zealand.
I highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a good comedy and at the same time would like a peek into the life and times of Auckland's Samoan community.
When a Man Loves a Woman (1994)
This movie is really bad!
"sheer drivel!" is the best way to describe this movie, I went to watch this movie in the cinema, seriously, this movie was really bad...I actually walked out of the cinema, really, I did..I just couldn't bare it anymore, the movie was so boring, it was very disappointing, I suppose I should not have gone in with such high expectations after hearing all the positive raves it got from the media hype I was expecting something heartfelt and something that could move me emotionally, instead i got a story that made no sense and had too many holes in it, and as for the acting, well, i felt like throwing up! the actors should ask for a refund from their acting school and i must say that the cinematography really left a lot to be desired. like i said "sheer drivel!"
Dracula 3000 (2004)
Futuristic Sci Fi take on Dracula
This is Horror and Sci Fi all rolled into one big futuristic sandwich, I believe this movie will one day be known as one of the classics of the early 21st Century, Though I must admit though, the cinematography could have been better, but still it's a great idea for a film, and a great film nonetheless. It's one of those movies that start off pretty boring, but as you continue to watch, it grips you and you just cant take your eyes off the screen! what it lacks in character it makes up for in imagination, I'm sure in years to come more movies will be bringing classic horror characters into some future spaceship - what I'd like to see though is a "Blade" in space to fight off these vampires in the year 3000. 8 out of 10 - excellent movie, great imagination!!