Crikey.

Australia

So far I've written about films I enjoyed and now it's time to write the opposite. I am not the kind of person to sugarcoat my opinion about a movie. If I hated it, you're going to hear how much I hated it and why. I despised Australia.

Australia failed at deciding which genre it wanted to fall into. The beginning is almost slapstick comedy with Hugh and the drovers fighting or Nicole Kidman getting flustered. It moves into road movie, then romance, then World War II drama. Australia just can't sit still long enough to pick which one it wants to commit to. You get a taste of each genre but don't get to savor their most enjoyable flavors.

Nicole Kidman failed. I can't even begin to describe why, she was just bad. She seemed to rely on film stereotypes of "rich girl having to rough it." Over and over again she would look tiffed and make some kind of high pitched noise. Were they words or just noise, I don't know. Even when she was okay with roughing it, she was irritating.

The story failed. There is too much going on; maybe three different movies. Movie number one, the love story between Kidman and Jackman. Different backgrounds and aspirations that will cause conflict. Movie number two, the exploration of aboriginal traditions. The bulk of research appeared to be done on Wikipedia, I learned nothing new about their culture. Movie number three, the threat of World War II and subsequent Japanese bombing. Luhrmann just couldn't settle on what story he wanted to tell, so he decided to do all three at once. Admirable effort but ultimately a wreck.

The ending(s) failed. Sometimes I get annoyed when a film doesn't end in an appropriate place. Australia could have ended with Kidman and Nullah reuniting with Jackman, but Luhrmann had to include the tease of Nullah dying, then Nullah leaving to go on a walkabout. Again, Luhrmann had trouble picking what he wanted, so he just did everything.

I wanted to like this movie. I tried. It had film aspects that I enjoy: sweeping landscapes, Baz Luhrmann and delicious Hugh Jackman. But nothing in this film meshed together. This was an ambitious, passion project for Luhrmann. There was so much he wanted to say and do, but just couldn't find the right words. This was his first film in seven years and his earlier films are lovely, so I expected my breath to be taken away. Unfortunately I felt like Australia was a mugger and punched me in the gut while stealing my eleven dollars.

Maggie Gyllenhaal in Away We Go

This film was good; not great but good. I actually had difficulty with it until midway through, the always fantastic Maggie Gyllenhaal showed up. She played a family friend of the John Krasinski character. She was a shameless free spirit who doesn't believe in strollers. "Why would she want to push her children away?" Gyllenhaal owned the role and breathed life into the film that was fairly dull up until her entrance. She flipped the film on its back and I ended up enjoying the rest of it.

Netflix Queue

Adventureland-I hate Kristen Stewart and I don't like Jesse Eisenberg. But Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig are the best additions to SNL in years, so I'll give it a shot.
The Godfather III-Might as well finish out the trilogy right?
Amores Perros-With my research in Mexican cinema, this title has showed up a lot.