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darangulafilm
Reviews
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
FAITHFUL TO THE FRANCHISE
If you enjoyed the original "Top Gun" this follow-on piece will not disappoint you. It ticks all the boxes of expectation. It is an audiovisual feast and loud. The air-to-air sequences shone. - to be seen on the big screen and not at home through a TV display and tinny audio system. However, I will let a copy and paste of a facebook post convey just how much it meant to someone other than this reviewer. If anyone who reads this review and has the effective means to do so, could they take it upon themselves to convey this young guy's gratitude to Tom Cruise and the producers, please do so.
QUOTE:
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Dylan Harrison-Brady.
Bush Flyers Down Under
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Hi aviators. Me again..
So after loosing Dad to his crash and missing a lot of things since, today, I put on my flight jacket and snuck Dads ashes into the Cinema with me so we could watch TOP GUN MAVERICK together. We were both so so keen to see it when it was announced in 2019, Alas Covid... and Loosing Dad. BUT it was well worth the wait..
Mavericks was everything I wanted it to be, and Everything I needed it to be. If you haven't seen it yet, do it. If you have, and you have seen my posts about loosing Dad, You will know all the moments I cried, laughed and jumped out my seat and cheered like a idiot.. in the middle of a packed! Cinema.
It was truly what I needed... Weird how today was also the 2year anniversary since I last saw Dad in person at the WA boarder.
We met up to give him the Dragonfly Viking we built and he could finish it in quarantine for us to fly. Still shattered that he will never get to be my wingman, but its interesting how I ask for his help often like "Talk to me Dad"...
Anyway. Safe flying aviators 🙂
P. S. If Anyone knows how to or has contacts of contacts to get this message to Tom Cruise. I want to say thank you too him. I didn't know needed this movie. Even without all the emotion I have, best action movie ever! 🙂
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Hell in a Handbasket (2021)
Whose hell is in the handbasket?
Hell In A Handbasket is a tongue-in-cheek premise which plays upon the pathology of loneliness in physical isolation.
Small mundane challenges can become magnified out of all proportion until the larger world's woes come crashing back in.
Be prepared to become surprised by technical aspects of the presentation when the final credits roll.
The Marksman (2021)
THE MARKSMAN. WORTH A LOOK.
Other reviewers have given the makers of this screen story a bit of an undeserved caning.
Is it genre-fare written to an apparent familiar formula? Yes. There is a practical limit to how many stories can be really original any more.
The story backbone has been told in many forms before and being a writer, I had a fair clue how it was going to conclude. The characters were drawn well by their respective actors.
Was the story well executed? Yes I think it was. It was also raised beyond slam, bamm and drink the bourbon. Any more detail and I will be publishing spoilers.
Contrary to the genre, the young character wass written without smart backanswers, emotional hystrionics and generally unlikeable behaviour towards adults.
The writers wisely avoided the cliche of victim aggression and acting out towards the rescuer in some sort of emotional and revelationary rehook into a new story chapter. That has been overdone so much over the years as to be maukish.
The young actor gives a surprisingly restrained performance, maybe influenced by Liam Neeson or carefully directed or both.
There were opportunities in the story for a director to be tempted into a few clammy cliches which were thankfully avoided.
The locations were not recognisable from other movies so that was a refreshing change.
With the music underscore, I was quite impressed. Part of the head and tail bookends seem to be homage to two other films from the 80s and 90s in their arrangement and tone colours. However they were entirely original and skillfully woven.
The underscore through the film does not draw attention and may have been even left absent for all I know. That is when underscores work best. No musical distractions were necessary anywhere to "save" the film. That speaks for the work done by the writer and director more so than folk may realise.
If you have the opportunity to see the film in a cinema, I recommend you do so.
The Furnace (2020)
DARK DEEDS IN THE EASTERN GOLDFIELDS OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA
I went and saw "The Furnace" at Grand Armadale. The film makers have a good reason to be well pleased with what they have made. My sense is that they were drawn in more and more as they did their research.
The history of dark deeds over gold was still extant into the late 1960's early 1970's in the East Pilbara, where there was still claim jumping and mine robbery going on in 1972 because I witnessed it.
A violent and attempted murderous incident occurred in the opal fields of South Australia was related to me by the victim who should have died.
So what I saw in the film was very faithful to the several stories I was told furthur north in the Pilbara.
When I was in Geraldton in 1966, there was reference in the Native Welfare records to an aboriginal man with a similar family name to one of the "afghans", maybe ancestored by a cameleer.
I know of two family lines in the aboriginal communities of the Pilbara started by cameleers.
I have no idea if some visual allegories were in mind when the script was written but it certainly worked for me. Not everyone will get it quite as literally but intuitively many should.
Folk should try to see this film on the big screen where visually it works best.
My original review submission was rejected by imdb for some reason. Maybe the COVID had something to do with it. Let's see how it fares this time around.
The Dark Horse (2014)
Spoiler Alert. A very complete and compelling piece of work.
Without giving too much away, the depiction by the lead actor of a person on modecate medication with its side-effects was comprehensively the best.
It confounds me that films such as this one do not get more screens in mainstream exhibition.
It is an absolute should go-see piece before it ends its big-screen run.
Because of its subtlety, you may miss it. - Look for the hand-tremor of the lead and a smaller hand tremor of his brother later in the story.
This masterful supplementing piece of visual storytelling, sets up its own two-option arc which pays off unexpectedly without reliance on wordstuff until the arc's own resolution.
Revive (2013)
A little piece of modern urban healing magic.
I had the very good fortune and experience of being involved in a very minor way as a volunteer for a day with this production. So I guess there should be a disclaimer made that I am partisan and not impartial.
I carried a few things up and down the stairs and reversed the van with the elevating platform on a trailer behind it when the driver experienced a little difficulty.
It was clear, whilst observing the performances live and from the general vibe of the crew and locations, this heartfelt piece was going to be appealing. The final result exceeded my expectations.
As a Tropfest entry, "Revive" did not get the gong on the judging night but subsequently won where it counts, as the "people's choice".