philippa-grahame Reviews

Cutthroat Island (1995)

Great Film, Poorly Publicised

[7/10 · 23 July 2007]

Given the lack of advertising it had on release (in Australia, anyway) I can probably boast to being in the minority of people who first saw this film at the cinema. I was nine at the time, and went with a friend from primary school who'd already seen it once. We both loved it, and at the end, I remember the friend's mother (who had also enjoyed it on both occasions) comment that it was a shame so few people knew it was on.

This film became a staple at every sleepover I had between nine and fourteen, not just because I loved it, but because all my friends did, too. I've had it on VHS (home-taped) for years, but bought it again today on DVD, because even as an adult, I still really enjoy it. It wasn't until a year or so ago that I was startled to learn it was the most expensive box office flop on record.

Given that I'm yet to show it to anyone, adult or child, who hasn't enjoyed it, I think it's fair to say that rather than being a bad film, Cutthroat Island had the misfortune to be exceedingly poorly advertised. Almost nobody knew it was on, and then all they heard later was that it flopped, thus generating an assumption that it sucked. The cast is good, the script is fun, the effects are great, and while it's not the greatest film in history, it's much, much better than a lot of stuff that earned more money (Blade 2, for instance). You could do a whole lot worse.

Les jumeaux du bout du monde (1991– )

Excellent Show

[8/10 · 16 July 2007]

Twins of Destiny is probably the only show I have ever watched, live to air, each and every week, and been so gripped by that I never missed an episode. Factor in that I was in primary school at the time, and this is something special. I remember being conflicted by the ending - not because it was bad, but because it was so (for me, at that age) adult that I really had to sit down and think about what it meant for all the characters. Now, I can only remember little snippets of the show, and I really wish - like the few other people I've ever met who've seen it - that it was available on DVD. It's a travesty to think of it mouldering away on celluloid somewhere, unwatched and unloved. If the technology and audience exists to put old children's shows like She-Ra and Tintin onto DVD, then surely Twins of Destiny deserves the same treatment.

Anyway - this show had a profound impact on me as a kid, and I absolutely loved it. I'd love to recommend it to people, but seeing as how it's next to impossible to lay hands on, I'll have to settle with pleading quietly for its re-release.

Eragon (2006)

Book to Film Adaption (mentions events in Eldest, the written sequel, as well)

[4/10 · 20 December 2006]

Quite honestly, Eragon was a complete and utter disappointment. As lukewarm as I'd been about the book, I'd still felt there was a good chance of it making a decent film – yet it would seem that Hollywood schmaltz has once again stepped up to the plate, stripping the story of all redeeming features in favour of enhancing its mediocrities. The sole and single positive is Saphira, the CGI dragon, but if the best aspect a film can boast lies in its special effects, then that's hardly a recommendation.

From minute one, the music is completely overplayed – big, soppy and near continuous, it ruins just about every scene by making melodrama out of otherwise harmless and reasonable dialogue. It's understandable that events would need to be truncated or altered to work on screen, but given that the primary strength of the book was its characterisation, there seems to be little or no sense in the decision to fundamentally alter all the important tensions between the protagonists. Most notably (and displeasingly) is the fact that, rather than keeping Eragon at a distance, Arya is downright flirtatious – one feels that Sienna Guilleroy could've been given a bigger role than in the novel without altering her sentiments. Other changes simply make no sense: why Arya should willingly divulge information about Eragon that she originally withheld under torture is beyond me, as is the decision to alter the entire final battle in order (presumably) to allow for an aerial fight-scene.

In heroic films, it is almost impossible to make an opening voice-over sound anything other than pretentious. The fact that one was included is therefore utterly bizarre – not only is it appallingly written, but every single piece of information divulged is explained more naturally during the course of the rest of the film. Perhaps the most disappointing loss was that of Angela the herbalist, originally based on Christopher Paolini's sister. She brought warmth and humour to the story, and could have been made use of – instead, she was reduced to a less-than-believable cameo by Joss Stone, dressed so inappropriately for the character as to boggle the mind.

It seems likely that, if enough funding is scraped together to film the next two books, the shoddy treatment of the first will result in serious difficulties. Given the prominent role of Roran in Eldest compared to his bare three minutes in Eragon's opening scenes, one is forced to contemplate the possibility that his entire journey will be swept under the rug or drastically altered, leaving himself (and, we can only hope, the inhabitants of Carvahall) to show up at the finale with almost no explanation whatsoever.

All in all, Eragon is a poorly made film. Dragon lovers may wish to see it for Saphira, but I would recommend taking an iPod into the cinema. And possibly a gag (to stop yourself laughing).