Should I See It?

MSO Pops: Some Enchanted Evening

2010-09-06T04:00:00.000-07:00

Concert: Some Enchanted Evening: The Best of Rodgers & Hammerstein Presented By: The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Conductor: Martin Yates Date Reviewed: Saturday 14th August, 8pm. Rating: I am going to be honest: this review will contain numerous usages of the word beautiful and synonyms thereof. Some Enchanted Evening was a wonderful night with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Selections were from Rodgers and Hammerstein's most popular shows: Oklahoma, Carousel, South Pacific,...

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South Solitary Review

2010-09-02T01:34:00.000-07:00

Film: South Solitary Directed By: Shirley Barrett. Starring: Miranda Otto, Barry Otto, Marton Csokas and Essie Davis.Plot: A woman accompanies her uncle, a lighthouse inspector, to the Island of South Solitary.Rating: This year has seen the release of a number of wonderful Australian films. Unfortunately, South Solitary is not one of them. Within the first half hour of the film, I found myself wanting the film to be over (not a good sign). Even though the running time was under two...

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Me and Orson Welles Review

2010-08-02T02:23:00.000-07:00

Film: Me and Orson Welles.Director: Richard Linklater.Starring: Zac Efron, Claire Danes, Christian McKay.Plot: A week in the life of teenager Richard Samuels (Efron), who finds himself cast in Orson Welles’ 1937 production of Julius Caesar. Based on the novel of the same name by Robert Kaplow.Rating: I have been waiting a long time to see Me and Orson Welles, especially considering it was first released two years ago at the Toronto International Film Festival. Originally, I was sceptical...

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Inception Review

2010-07-31T19:09:00.000-07:00

Film: Inception.Director: Christopher Nolan.Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt.Plot: In a world where technology exists to enter the human mind through dream invasion, a highly skilled thief is given a final chance at redemption which involves executing his toughest job till date, Inception.Rating: So Inception has made A LOT of money since its release. No surprise really, considering its credentials: It’s written and directed by...

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Knight and Day Review

2010-07-31T18:23:00.000-07:00

Film: Knight and Day.Director: James Mangold.Starring: Tom Cruise, Cameron Diaz, Peter Sarsgaard and Viola Davis.Plot: The life of a woman (Diaz) is turned upside down, when she accidently becomes involved with a rouge Federal Agent (Cruise).Rating: I really wonder what it is like to not be afraid of pain. When I watch action movies and the characters leap between cars or off buildings, I always wonder if they ever think, ‘if I miss that car/truck/building I will most certainly break every...

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A Very Potter Sequel Review

2010-07-25T23:57:00.000-07:00

Show: A Very Potter SequelPresented By: Team StarKidDirector: Matt LangStarring: Darren Criss, Joey Richter, Bonnie Gruesen, Lauren Lopez, Joe Walker and Brian Holden.Plot: Lucius Malfoy is up to no good. He turns back time to try and kill Harry Potter during his first year at Hogwarts School and Witchcraft and Wizardry. Big things have happened to Team StarKid in the year since A Very Potter Musical became an accidental international internet phenomenon. Their other major non-Potter...

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Toy Story 3

2010-07-20T21:44:00.000-07:00

Film: Toy Story 3Director: Lee UnkrichStarring: (the voice talents of) Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack and Michael Keaton.Plot: With Andy headed to college, the toys are donated to a local Day Care Centre. Usually, by the time film franchises have reached their third instalment, they have grown tired, old and generally overstayed their welcome. Luckily for us, Toy Story 3 is as fresh as the first time around; we feel as though we are being reunited with old friends. Toy Story 3 sees Andy...

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Dead Man's Cell Phone Melbourne Theatre Company Review

2010-07-11T06:00:00.000-07:00

Show: Dead Man’s Cell Phone.Presented by: Melbourne Theatre CompanyDirected by: Peter Evans.Starring: John Adam, Daniel Frederiksen, Emma Jackson, Sue Jones, Lisa McCune, Sarah Sutherland.Plot: A lonely woman in a café answers the ringing cell phone of a dead man. She is drawn into his family and his life.Date Reviewed: 9th July, 8pm. I won’t lie to you: I had an awful amount of trouble trying to write this review. Not because of time constraints or computer issues, but because of the play...

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Mother and Child Review

2010-06-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

Film: Mother and Child Director: Rodrigo Garcia Starring: Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, Samuel L. Jackson, Kerry Washington and Jimmy Smits.Plot: Tells the intersecting stories of three women: Karen, who gave up her baby at age fourteen, Elizabeth, a career woman dealing with an unplanned pregnancy, and Lucy, who is struggling to adopt. You just don’t see enough nuns in movies any more. Apart from Sister Act and The Sound of Music, nuns are seriously underrepresented in...

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Animal Kingdom Review

2010-06-27T19:48:00.000-07:00

Film: Animal Kingdom Director: David Michod Starring: Ben Mendelsohn, Joel Edgerton, Guy Pearce, Sullivan Stapleton, Jackie Weaver, Luke Ford and James Frecheville. Plot: Tells the story of seventeen year-old Josh as he navigates his survival amongst an explosive criminal family and the detective who thinks he can save him. Animal Kingdom is the latest offering in Aussie Cinema. It comes highly recommended, having won the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema at the Sundance Film Festival...

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Sherlock Holmes Review

2010-06-23T23:36:00.000-07:00

Film: Sherlock HolmesDirector: Guy RitchieStarring: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams and Mark Strong.Plot: A remake of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories. Sherlock Holmes struggles against a villain who has dreams of taking over London and the world. There are two words I hate when talking about film adaptations of ‘classics,’ and they are modern re-telling. While the film itself is set in ‘Victorian London’ (and I use those words liberally) Sherlock Holmes, for all...

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Glee: The Back Nine Review

2010-06-14T23:27:00.000-07:00

Show: Glee: The Back Nine Episodes 14-22. (Fox)Creator: Ryan MurphyStarring: Diana Agron, Chris Colfer, Jessalyn Gilsig, Jane Lynch, Jayma Mays, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Matthew Morrison, Amber Riley, Mark Salling, Jenna Ushkowitz.Plot: A High School Spanish Teacher attempts to revive the once promising Glee Club at his Alma Mata. Glee has made its long awaited return from its mid season hiatus. Since then Glee has developed into somewhat of a phenomenon. Not only...

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Emma BBC Review

2010-06-13T06:08:00.000-07:00

Show: Emma (BBC miniseries)Director: Jim O’HanlonStarring: Romola Garai, Johnny Lee Miller, Michael Gambon.Plot: Based on the Jane Austen novel of the same name, this four part miniseries follows Emma Woodhouse, a lively and very rich young woman in 19th Century England. Jane Austen adaptations always fascinate me. I always wonder who it was that thought yet another Jane Austen adaptation was absolutely necessary, let alone who thought THIS version of Emma was indispensable to the Austen...

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What we learnt in Season 2 of The Mentalist

2010-06-01T04:13:00.000-07:00

In Season 2 of The Mentalist we learnt that... Rigsby's father was a biker. Cho is awesome. Cho is REALLY awesome. The CBI has no screening policy for it's employees (Case in point: the CBI Psychiatrist, Rebecca). The CBI has no screening process when people enter the building ('The Fixer' from Episode 2 [who ended up being a murderer] and a man we can only assume is Red John [who is a murderer/ crazy serial killer]). Lisbon is not as straight laced as she thinks she...

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Prince of Persia Film Review

2010-05-31T02:23:00.000-07:00

Film: Prince of Persia: The Sands of TimeDirected By: Mike NewellStarring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley and Alfred MolinaPlot: Prince Dastan comes into a possession of a mystical dagger that can turn back time. With the help of Princess Tamina, he must return it to its safe keeping place before it falls into the wrong hands. I know that Prince of Persia is based on a video game. I never played it, but for my brothers it was one of the defining moments in their game-playing...

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The Mentalist Season 2 Review

2010-05-31T01:02:00.000-07:00

Show: The Mentalist: Season 2 (WB/CBS) Creator: Bruno Heller Starring: Simon Baker, Robin Tunney, Tim Kang, Owain Yeoman and Amanda Righetti.Plot: After is wife and daughter are murdered by serial killer Red John, a former fake psychic joins the Califonia Bureau of Investigation. He uses his extraordinary powers of observation to help close cases often to the chagrin of Agent in Charge Teresa Lisbon and her team: Agents Cho, Rigsby and Van Pelt. Please be advised that spoilers...

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Beneath Hill 60 Review

2010-05-26T21:13:00.000-07:00

Film: Beneath Hill 60 Directed By: Jeremy Sims Starring: Brendan Cowell, Gyton Grantley, Harrison Gilbertson. Plot: The extraordinary true story of an Australian mining division on the Western Front during World War I. Beneath Hill 60 is actually a better film than I thought it was going to be. Actually, let me clarify. I really didn’t know what to expect, apart from the fact that it is a war film, and I wanted to support the local film industry. But despite my expectations,...

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Die Fledermaus Opera Australia

2010-05-26T01:33:00.000-07:00

Show: Die Fledermaus Presented By: Opera Australia Directed By: Lindy HumeStarring: Antoinette Halloran, David Hobson, Amelia Farrugia Date Reviewed: Friday 14 May, 7.30pmPlot: I’m not even going to tell you the plot, because really there isn’t much of it, this show is all about farce, silliness and fun. I was very excited to see Die Fledermaus as part of my subscription to Opera Australia. But this production of Die Fledermaus is a bit of a mixed bag. The show starts off well enough....

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New Moon Review

2010-05-04T05:01:00.000-07:00

Film: The Twilight Saga: New MoonDirector: Chris WeitzStarring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor LautnerPlot: The second instalment in the Twilight Series. After her lover, Edward, abandons her, Bella Swann finds solace in her friend Jacob Black. Saga: a series of events or a story stretching over a long period. Well, at least the LONG PERIOD part of that definition is true of The Twilight Saga: New Moon. It goes FOREVER. And just when you think it is about to end… there’s...

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Letters To Juliet Review

2010-04-29T04:14:00.000-07:00

Film: Letters to Juliet Director: Gary Winick Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Christopher Egan, Vanessa Redgrave and Gael Garcia Bernal. Plot: A Young American woman, Sophie, on holiday in Verona Italy, finds a letter written 50 years ago from a woman who abandoned her lover. Sophie decides to write back, prompting the woman, Clare, to come to Italy with her grandson Charlie in search of her lost love. Clare, Charlie and Sophie set off together. On the way, Charlie and Sophie fall in...

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How To Train Your Dragon Review

2010-04-11T20:27:00.000-07:00

Film: How to Train Your DragonDirector: Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders.Starring: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.Plot: A hapless young Viking who aspires to hunt dragons becomes the unlikely friend of a young dragon himself, and learns there may be more to the creatures than he assumed. How To Train Your Dragon is the first film that I have seen in a long time that I actually really enjoyed. From start to finish I was...

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Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang Review

2010-04-05T18:19:00.000-07:00

Film: Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang Director: Susanna White Starring: Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Rhys Ifans, Maggie Smith, and Ralph Fiennes. Plot: Nanny McPhee returns to the screen, this time helping a harried mother, Mrs Green, whose husband is away fighting in the war. Nanny McPhee uses her magic to teach Ms Green's three children and their two cousins visiting from the city five very important lessons. Sheeeeeeeeeee's BA-ACK. Yes, the world’s fourth favourite nanny,...

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Remember Me Review

2010-04-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

Film: Remember MeDirector: Allen CoulterStarring: Robert Pattinson, Emilie de Ravin, Chris Cooper and Pierce Brosnan.Plot: A romantic drama centered on two new lovers: Tyler, whose parents have split in the wake of his brother's suicide, and Ally, who lives each day to the fullest since witnessing her mother's murder. So, Remember Me is the vehicle that is supposed to propel Robert Pattinson beyond The Twilight Saga. Fortunately for viewers, Remember Me is not nearly as painful as the Twilight...

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A Single Man Review

2010-03-27T18:40:00.000-07:00

Film: A Single ManDirector: Tom FordStarring: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode and Nicholas Hoult.Plot: A gay college professor in 1960s Los Angeles struggles come to terms with the death of his lover. The film follows him on the day he intends to commit suicide. Let me be clear, A Single Man is not a movie for choc top eating or popcorn munching. Any noise emanating from the audience is a distraction. Not only because this film is very quiet (literally), but this film...

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The Blind Side Review

2010-03-27T02:24:00.000-07:00

Film: The Blind SideDirector: John Lee HancockStarring: Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Quinton Aaron and Kathy BatesPlot: The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family. I have decided that i do not like American Football. I always thought that Australian Rules Football was awful, but American Football is decidedly worse. As far as I can tell, the game basically...

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