DVDs

Corner Gas - funny, set in a tiny Saskatchewan town full of quirky characters.

I never tire of seeing the befores and afters - and the quirky characters....

So many Paris tourist sites reference this movie that I just had to see it - it's different and, I guess, quirky!!

DVDs

It was great to watch Malcolm again - I last saw it in the 1980s and always had good memories of it.  It is still as good as ever, Colin Friels still as wonderful as ever.  As for the music - fantastic.  Anyone know where I can get the soundtrack?  I've had no luck trying to find it so far, although I have tracked down the Penguin Cafe Orchestra's website so will probably have to buy some of their CDs for the music.
As for the second move - Dingo - just didn't get it.  About a young boy who loves jazz, meets a famous jazz trumpeter in the outback (Miles Davis as Billy Cross) and travels to Paris.  I never travelled to Paris with the film - it totally lost me early on and I just didn't care.

I loved Wil on The Glass House and loved him on the Gruen Transfer - but this - I just didn't get it.  He came on stage all pumped and almost shouting and bouncing around.  Very little was funny to me - more just making fun of audience members, and swearing every second word.  I hit the eject button early on.

What a clever comedian.  He is a story teller with funny insights and great delivery.  Even when he lost his thread it was entertaining.  Witty intelligent - great stuff.

I've seen it before but I mustn't have been paying much attention because I could remember very little of it.   I'm so glad I watched it again - great writing, good characters and actors and a really good premise.  Nick Naylor has found what he is good at - talking - and he becomes a very successful lobbyist for the tobacco industry.  Everything is an argument or a negotiation, and he can use words to make sure he wins both.  Throw in lots of other characters each with their own agendas, a son who wants to get to know his Dad, and some unexpected curve balls, and you get a very entertaining movie that also makes you think.  Watch out for Rob Lowe in a cameo spot as a Hollywood mover and shaker.

I only watched Pursuit to Algiers as I'd seen the Woman in Green before.  Lots of mystery and double crossing and dark characters and a nice twist at the end.  Very good.

This is my second viewing - I must have seen it when it first came out in 1991.  I remember it quite differently.  I feel I understand the depths of the characters so much better.  The young Russell Crowe is great, as are the other 2 main actors.  Funny in parts, desperately sad and cruel in other parts, but it's all played with a lightness of touch to avoid the over dramatic.  Very very good.

DVDs

I'd not seen this movie, but it's a classic, so decided it was time to get it under my belt.  I enjoyed it a lot.  I liked how the tension built, and I liked how various characters were being motivated by different agendas leading to some unexpected consequences.

More sleuthing by Sherlock and Dr Watson (Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce).  I do love the black and white ambience, and Rathbone's delivery reflects his Shakespearean credentials.  Very enjoyable.

Do we have a "Plan" for our lives, organised by a "Chairman" and his trilby-hatted staff?  Does Love (or persistence) conquer all?  These questions are posed and some of them answered by the movie.  It's well made, funny in parts, and well acted.  Worth watching.

Holiday DVDs

I had a binge of DVD watching over the holidays - I was cutting fabrics prepping for quilts, and doing other hand-y things - most of the time.  Here's a quick run down.

My second time watching this (the first time was at the cinema more than 20 years ago), but this time I paid attention to the details - the cooking - the feast of the title - is incredible and wonderfully filmed.  But the poverty of spirit, the idea that our true happiness and fulfilment will come in another life - that was dark and depressing.  Well worth watching, though.

Talk about wonderful - this is one of the best "behind the scenes" docos I've seen.  All in French, with subtitles - it give you a sense, one little tiny inking of all that has to happen before a production appears on stage.  The dancers appear to be doing everything just right, but then they are told to adjust this, change that - almost imperceptible, but always seeking perfection.

 I'm pretty sure I've seen this before, but couldn't remember all the details.  The delivery was rather rapid fire - more suited to the stage I feel - or maybe it was to give a sense of the hustle and bustle of Sydney?  Some great lines and good concept - but I did find it all a bit neat and tidy and packaged - lacking some emotional depth.

What a marvellous pair - Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce.  I'm a huge Holmes fan, and these movies stand the test of time - clever twists and turns in the plot, and great acting.

This is based on a book by Elliott Tiber - his version of how he got involved in Woodstock.  The organisers dispute his claim that he was instrumental in getting the festival moved to a farm neighbouring his parent's motel - who knows? As a movie, it stacks up well - and I knew that when I saw that Ang Lee was the director.  The parents are a bit too black, Elliott a bit too white, but emotionally it draws you into the unreality and amazing experience of Woodstock.

Pretty raunchy, and very Spanish - meaning nothing really gets resolved and there are some strange characters - but it's a kind of musical in a way, so it all works.  I don't know why, because there were a couple of characters I could have happily punched, but I liked it.

I was given this DVD set as a gift a few years ago and have only just now got around to watching it - all 5 DVDs!!!  The pilot was shot in B&W and I watched it 3 times - once on its own, once with Mel Brooks' commentary and once with Buck Henry's commentary.  It was hilarious that Smart has to leave a concert because his (shoe) phone is ringing - commonplace now!!!  The episodes are great - lots of different writers meant that each storyline had its own flavour, but of course consistent with the original concept. 

Wow - mud music and madness indeed.  What an undertaking!  A lot of the film has the organiser Michael Eavis talking to camera as he drives around the site.  He has been doing this since 1970!  A farmer and chapel goer, he kind of looks Amish with his beard, but he is so positive and still gets into the spirit.  If you've ever been to a festival you will recognise the silly, enormous, hats, the earth-lovers, and mud, but there's a lot more nudity and extreme views and some rather wild performers too...all just wonderful stuff.

At one stage (quite a few years ago now) I could say that I had seen every Woody Allen film - loved them.  Now - not so much.  This is not a bad film, but it's dark.  At one stage I was madly in love with Kenneth Branagh.  Now - not so much.  He has the trademark Woody Allen fumbling/stammer-y delivery down pat - and he captured the essence of the character, but....hmmm...those thin-to-the-point-of-disappearing lips...  But it's really an ensemble movie, and there are some great moments.

One of my absolute favourite TV shows - I had seen most of the series on TV but they bear watching again.  Wil Anderson's timing and control of the discussion is perfect, and the insights from the panel are amazing.  Psychology at it's absolute applied best.

DVD Catchup

Amazing stories of backyard passata making, epic bread baking and all the good things that come from good produce and love for tradition.  I was particularly taken with the family feast where they pour the polenta (and the ragu with a dozen different meats) out onto a large table and everyone grabs a spoon and starts eating from the edge!

I missed this on TV and I'm kind of glad I did - it started a bit slowly for me, and the weekly commitment would have been a bit much.  But having all the episodes right there, I could keep going, and I got caught up in the characters and the story.  Maggie Smith is just stunning, and of course the life depicted and the Abbey - well, it does draw you in.

This is my 3rd viewing and it's still as funny as it ever was.  Dreams within nightmares of a film shoot going anything but smoothly.  Egos bigger than the room, technical difficulties, rotten milk and unrequited passions - it's all there and just wonderful.

I used to like this show on TV - this is the first series and Kevin isn't quite as arrogant as he later becomes.  I just couldn't bring myself to finish watching - more stories of things going wrong, and all the pressures of building...

I think Miranda is one of the funniest people on TV.  She is fresh and honest and has the best piece to camera bits and eye brow raises ever.  Very very good.

Wow - well worth watching.  "Officially" only about 40% true (to which of course one responds - which 40%?), this is an eye opening account of the incredible success of facebook/Mark Zuckerberg.  Can it only have been 2004 when it started?  Great performances and very interesting.

DVDs

The script was written by Ian Parry-Okeden, a veteran of radio.  It was very well done, and having people like Noeleen Brown narrating it, was enjoyable.  The best, of course, was all the historical foootage/soundage.  Listening to a young John Howard on a quiz show was hilarious.

Simple, short, easy to follow.  I wanted to just make sure there was nothing I was missing and it aligns perfectly with what I know to be the case.  I just wonder who the audience/market is and whether they even know it's available.  Some good tips, but there's no getting past it - it's still hard work.

I missed most of the the TV series, so as usual, caught up on DVD.  Amazing, what his kitchen produces.  Also amazing are his thought processes - his creativity.  However, all the processing and handling that goes into the final product - hmm will try not to think about it when next I tuck into a cake...

DVDs

Quilting Arts, the mag, is full of great ideas, and Quilting Arts TV, the DVD, is no different.  You do have to put up with the perennially perky Pokey Bolton, but aside from that there are some seriously fun techniques and ideas to get your creative juices flowing.  By the way - how do people THINK of half this stuff???

I'm a huge Frontline fan, and although The Hollowmen did not have the same takeup and critical acclaim, I found it similarly clever, funny and downright depressing (as in - how true, how true it is...).  Rob Sitch is a genius, and Lachy Hulme is enormously watchable.  David James and Stephen Hall do a wonderful double act as top level public servants; they have the circumlocutions down pat, and as to the recurring PowerPoint gag, spot on...

Steiner Schools are well established throughout Australia.  Most of us are aware that they provide alternative education.  But who was the man who inspired them?  And what was his philosophy?  Rudolf Steiner's views and philosophy encompass more than just education - they reach into health and spirituality and gardening.  I enjoyed this glimpse into his belief system.

Design is everywhere, and this 5 part series covers the obvious (eg cars, chairs and buildings), to the less obvious (eg munitions).  Some design is "pure" as in, you could never use it, it's more an idea.  And other design is so much a part of our world you can't imagine not having it...

I know this is supposed to be great and all that, but, honestly, I just really am not a fan of musicals (shhh don't tell anybody).  I would love to be, and I have tried to be, but I just can't do it.  It came off after the first song...

DVDs August

I found this brand new DVD at a local op shop - $4 for the entire first and second season.  The show originally aired in the 80s, and I think it's been in re-runs since.  Balky (on the right) is newly arrived to the US from Mypos, a little island of indeterminate cultural connection.  He tracks down Larry, a distant cousin, and moves in.  It's gently humorous and good fun.

I saw this first series on Foxtel a few years ago (2008 I think) and it didn't pall on re-viewing.  You will NOT believe the state of some of the houses that the owners are trying to sell (and, not surprisingly, are unable to sell).  And you won't believe the mental state of some of the owners - they are blind to the glaringly obvious.   Straight talking  Andrew, the presenter, tells it like it is, whether they like it or not.  After putting up some of their own money, and allowing a designer and a landscaper in, the owners find that - voila - the house is much more marketable...

 

I'm glad I didn't buy this -the ads made it look a lot better than it was.  I guess I was expecting more of a cooking show, whereas this was more about the preparation and journey of some of the participants in a major pastry competition in France.  I didn't really connect with the people, although I did get that it's a big deal to be able to wear the tricoleur collar...

January DVDs

That Mitchell and Webb Look.  This has been on TV here and you can find videos on youtube.  The show is a series of sketches with some running gags like number wang.  Wacky and iconoclastic and very clever and funny.  One of my favourites was the smoko break with art imitating life imitating art.  They would have had fun writing that one.

The Best of the Glass House.  One to avoid if you are squeamish.  Nothing is sacred, and there are definitely some cringe-worthy moments, but overall great fun and you see new sides to celebs you thought you knew...

An Evening with Hal Roach.  A family comedian, so safe for the kiddies.  I first discovered Hal Roach on a bus trip in 1995 when a video of his show - possibly this one - was played to help us while away the endless driving hours.  He's so funny he even laughs at himself.  No, honestly, good clean fun.

The Art of Travel.  I have been an Alain de Botton fan since the early days when he spent an entire book dissecting his every last thought on love.  It was mesmerising.  He is a modern philosopher using language that is understandable to people like me.  This DVD is based on his book, and looks at all sorts of aspects relating to travel.  He interviews some interesting people - such as the couple who regard themselves as adventurous but never go on holiday further than 20 miles from home.  Thought provoking.

Grand Designs, Series 5, Discs 3 and 4.  This probably needs no introduction.  I'd seen some episodes on TV and watching them again didn't pall.  Is it just me, though, or does Kevin have a way of looking at people that is kind of sleazy?  I think it's in the eye movements.  Anyway, there are lots of grand visions and mammoth undertakings to keep you enthralled.

The Wire.  A police procedural, kind of, set in Baltimore.  It is regarded as one of the best TV shows ever made.  The quality of writing and acting is superb.  But grim.  Gritty.  Depressing.  I could only watch one episode.

1968.  The Year That Shaped a Generation.  Extremely well done.  What a momentous year.  Lots of change, unrest, assassinations, and questionings of the status quo.  Excellent bits of commentary from people who were "there".  Highly recommended.

DVDs

Spooks - I saw a few episodes here and there on TV, but thought it would be good to start from the beginning.  I really enjoyed this first season.  As the name suggests, it's all about spies - MI5 operatives, to be exact.  There are some interesting characters, good storylines, shocking baddies, adrenaline pumping conflicts.  Very very good.

Schultze Gets the Blues - Luckily I didn't pay for this movie - it was from the library.  Despite the 4 stars and the "remarkable" remark on the front cover, I did not like it.  Boring, Boring , Boring.  And did I mention Boring?  About some guys in Germany who lost their jobs.  Perhaps there's a bit more to the storyline, but that's as far as I got.  Couldn't bear watching any more.

Who the #$&% is Jackson Pollock? - With a title like that, who the #$&% wouldn't want to check it out?  Teri paid $5 at a thrift store for a painting she hated.  She thought it might cheer up her friend.  Her friend hated it too.  You gotta love someone who tries to cheer you up by giving you a painting she thinks is ugly.  So, next garage sale day it's out for sale.  Someone wanders in, utters the words "it may be a Jackson Pollock" and the chase begins.  This is in fact a documentary of the years and efforts Teri has spent in trying to prove it is a Pollock.  If it is, add lots and lots of zeroes behind the $5 she originally paid for it.  If it isn't, well, she's only out $5 (who is paying for expenses is never made clear).  Enter interviews with experts in the art world and a forensic specialist who found a fingerprint on the back which he matched to one found on an authenticated Pollock.  Add dollops and dollops of down home honesty from Teri and her friends and family.  Riveting.

Lucy Sullivan is Getting Married - Based on  a book by Marian Keyes, this was a TV series that never quite got audiences hooked.  It is a cute story with Lucy as a main character - 20 somethings learning about the world and relationships.  Gerard Butler plays a gorgeous but totally self-interested and amoral on again off again boyfriend.  The acting is a bit on the stilted side at times, but as Lucy's understanding of her parents' relationship develops and her experience of the world widens she starts to grow up.  Light and easy to watch.  Great over a rainy day or two or three...