janiceforbes Reviews

Rock'n Roll (2017)

Hilarious

[10/10 · 23 February 2024]

This is one of the funniest films I've seen. It was so unexpected. I laughed out loud, exclaiming with sheer delight as the plot unfolded. I was completely surprised by the unexpected turn the film took. I was hoping the guy would redeem himself, but no. The outcome was far more hilarious than I could have imagined. The sad truth is that we see celebrities who make these kinds of choices in the media all the time. It is a film that needed to be made. It is something that needed to be said. To date, no other film maker has said it so eloquently and with such tremendous good humour and light hearted sense of fun.

Green Fire Envy (2008)

Don't waste your time

[13 February 2024]

I understand that this is a film made by students. Having watched it, I'm assuming that they were unsupervised. Ashleigh Cummings' acting was excellent, and the two supporting females were ok if a bit annoying, due to the script. Neither the male lead nor supporting male actors could act. The guy playing the deranged police officer was particularly annoying. The screenplaywas fanciful to say the least. The plot defied all logic and entirely lacked credibility; at best an immature piece of writing that just did not hang together. The music was annoying and intrusive and better suited to a high tension horror movie. I wondered also what had possessed the person doing the casting, with the exception of Ashleigh.

Secret Ceremony (1968)

Pointless and pathetic

[3/10 · 27 January 2024]

This is a bizarre film. I found it mind numbingly slow and obtuse. So little happens. What I recall most is Elizabeth Taylor decked out in some of the worst examples of high fashion from the late 1960s that one could envisage, most particularly the hideous purple chiffon caftan with glittering gold braid trim. I could only vaguely work out what this film was meant to be about. Liz seems to have been playing a woman down on her luck reduced to being a prostitute. Mia seems to play a victim of child sexual abuse, now grown into a wide eyed deranged, child-like adult. I could not engage with these two characters nor with the dowdy aunties whose garb and wigs didn't seem quite real. It was almost like I was watching an impromptu drama exercise for amateurs.

Full Moon in Paris (1984)

Shallow and boring

[3/10 · 3 January 2024]

I'm afraid I fell asleep half way through. My understanding is, the film featured a narcissistic young woman talking endlessly about what she wanted, in a stilted artificial monologue. There were others present but no convincing dialogue.

She was cold heartedly two timing the boyfriend she was living with. I could not relate to her as a sympathetic character. She was entirely unlikeable.

I'm surprised a film maker would expect an audience to sit through such drivel. It is meant to be existential yet no important issues are dealt with, about the meaning or purpose of existence. There was no real human drama.

I found the film completely without meaning or interest, except for some interesting the French interior shots.

Thunderstruck (2004)

It's perfection!

[10/10 · 2 December 2023]

This is a very funny film, and story. I'm surprised it hasn't become a cult classic. It's full of AC/DC references and classic Australian humour. It's not even available on streaming. Why? I'm so glad we could buy a quality version on disc and can now enjoy watching it over and over again. So much talent went into making this film. Where are they all now. Well, we know Sam Worthington made it. Stunt manager is Grant Page. The music is great. If only there was more of it. I'm going to check out the soundtrack. There are treats in store for those appreciative viewers who stay and watch the credits.

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

How could it get 7.8, and 11 Oscars?

[3/10 · 16 March 2023]

All the reviews I've read so far seem to agree with my reaction: way overrated, more style than substance, no new profound message here and yes, it took great fortitude and forbearance to see it through to the end. My head is still ringing from the endless meaningless action and special effects sequences. I do not feel the slightest bit informed nor uplifted from having watched it through to the end. I will not be recommending it. Yes, I picked up on the message loud and clear about being kind and that it's ok to be gay and that parents need to let go but never stop loving their kids. But how is that profound or new?

The Favourite (2018)

Watchable, but ...

[3/10 · 1 July 2022]

The sets and acting are good. At times the background noise, not music, is puzzling and annoying. I got very, very sick of the weird sex scenes that hav3 no basis in historic fact. I felt these were unnecessary and simply degrading to the characters, the actors and the audience.

Blue Steel (1990)

A film for gun lovers

[4/10 · 17 June 2022]

This is not a film for intelligent and thinking audiences. The acting of the two leads is entirely competent. The problem lies with screenplay and direction. What appeared to be plausible character and plot development in the first two thirds completely fell apart in the last third. Common sense and logic were sacrificed apparently in order to wow the audience with gripping scenes of suspense, sex and violence. The trouble is that from here on it was like watching a cheap exploitation film that bore no relationship to what went before. For this reason I could only give it four stars, for the acting. As to the last third, I just felt cheated of what otherwise might have been a thrilling film. To thrill audiences requires a believable connecting thread from beginning to end, which just was not there. Expect to be disappointed,and disgusted by how cheaply the writer and director must feel audiences can be bought. I feel the box office is likely to prove my point.

Anything Else (2003)

A masterpiece

[8/10 · 4 May 2022]

I'd heard it was one of his worst films and was pleasantly surprised. I loved every second of it. There's so much gentle, wise, quirky humour and the cast was great.

The Day the Earth Caught Fire (1961)

One thing spoils this film

[5/10 · 4 May 2022]

It is the dated portrayal of women. This is clearly a male's idea of what women are like; pushovers who desire misogynistic pigs like the male lead. Some critics say the lead female, who works in the typing pool, has a mind of her own. If she had any self respect she'd have thrown this guy out after the first insult and would have kept the door firmly shut. Watching these two gave me a headache.

The Bubble (2022)

Hilarious satire

[8/10 · 9 April 2022]

I greatly enjoyed this film. The script was clever and funny. It was well cast. I can't understand why critics didn't like it. I suspect it will become a cult film. It's a film maker's film, and highly refreshing. You just can't be guided by the ratings sometimes.

The War of the Worlds (2019)

I learned something

[5/10 · 3 April 2022]

I have learned one thing from watching his film, similar to others of this title: Peter Harness and Craig Viveiros are no match for H. G Wells when it comes to storytelling. I'm disappointed in the new slants on the original, and in the interminable suffering caused by the red landscape and heart rending music. H. G. Wells wanted to make us think more and suffer less, I feel.

How Do You Know (2010)

An enjoyable, quirky romantic comedy

[7/10 · 3 February 2022]

I can't understand why more people didn't enjoy this film as much as I did. It seems that a lot of people missed the sarcasm in Owen Wilson's character. His lines are hilarious and well delivered. This film has great stars, great heart, and a great soundtrack.

Lizzie (2018)

I found this film puzzling

[1/10 · 6 November 2021]

What puzzles me most about this film is how anyone could take it seriously. The sets, costume and score are excellent. The direction, screenplay and original story are extremely frustrating and highly implausible. To tell a good story requires the skill to carry your audience along with you. The fanciful idea that the murders were motivated by a Lesbian affair lost me immediately. Fancy assembling such a cast, set and composer, and then wasting the opportunity to tell a good story, that at least in part might hav3 honoured history, and the legend of Lizzie Borden. The story and screenplay simply trivialise these serious events in history.

Highway (I) (2002)

A perfect little film

[10/10 · 30 September 2021]

I greatly enjoyed this film. It's not so much a crime drama, as categorised here. It's a teen coming of age film, part road movie tribute to Jack Kerouac and in part a tribute to Kurt Kobain. It is human, and real, and life affirming, compared to the usual Hollywood films, and is entertaining from beginning to end. It delivers a strong anti-drug message, in a back handed way that may not be widely appreciated. Great performances by the three young leads.

Picnic at Hanging Rock (2018)

Flashbacks to Game of Thrones

[5/10 · 31 July 2021]

While Natalie Dormer's performance as a bitter, lonely school principal with a dark past, is engaging, I kept having flashbacks to Game of Thrones. On the whole I found the production unconvincing, and lacking in a cohesive story and compelling atmosphere that one might expect, after having read the novel and seen feature film. I felt many of the costumes were poorly made and not true to the period.

Phenomena (1985)

Utterly pointless, meaningless, and insulting

[1/10 · 8 July 2021]

Was there a screenplay? There was no broad plot that made sense, rather a series of disconnected scenes contrived with a view to maximising the horror element. Definitely a firm lesson here that less can mean so much more.

Lake Mungo (2008)

Strange mocumentary, not horror

[1/10 · 24 June 2021]

It has the marks of a well made documentary, with recurring innuendos about the highly implausible existence of ghosts, more boring than scary. I felt duped. It has the look, feel and sound of a film that has meaning and purpose but it has neither.

Knock Knock (I) (2015)

A tiresome movie that lacks redeeming features

[1/10 · 9 September 2017]

This was an unsettling, disturbing, uncomfortable, totally gross movie, from beginning to end. It has no redeeming features. Why did I sit through this torture? Perhaps waiting for an improvement, or relief, that never came. The female characters, despite playing cute and sexy at the start, were just plain hateful. Keanu Reeves was just pitiful. Spare yourself by not watching it.