Film Reviews - Mediated

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Film Reviews - Mediated

How does one chase "The Chaser's War on Everything"

It's a slow news day, so mediated.com.au is taking a break from its usual mischief to analyse the DVD release of the best in the industry, 'The Chaser's War on Everything.'

My wife knows that I'm a huge Chaser fan, I've read their magazine since 2001, watched their TV series and was distraught when their stage show 'Cirque du Chaser' was on during my politics exams. So I was a very happy camper when she unveiled this DVD for my birthday earlier this month.

The Chaser boys don't dissapoint.

Life without the chaser

In many respects it's a shame that the Chaser's popularity has remained rooted strongly on Australian soil, bar one Charles Firth attempting to sell his 2004 election vote on Ebay. Because these guys are funny.

The 'War' is the Chaser's fourth venture into television and I believe they're getting better each time. Now their trademark satire and 'cheeky boys' humour has expanded into regular skits and brilliant one offs.

Personally the 'British Comedy Sketch', where Hanson proceeds to unrelentlessly vilify Chris Taylor in the idiom of John Cleese is only rivalled by the comedic song, "I wish I was a Scottish standup comedian". Equally Chase Liccadello's constant ability to get in trouble with the law for his stunts shows just how courageous these boys are.

It might be problematic reccomending these guys because if anyone bothers to find a backissue of the newspaper they'll soon realise where I got my formulae, but they do say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.

So get out to the ABC shop, buy the DVD and double the ABC's expected profit margin.

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November 21st 2006 @ 22:36

Posted By: Stuart - Category: Film Reviews

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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - Where does the brilliance of Kauffman stop?

There are very few individuals who'd I'd describe as an exemplar of their industry. Infact, exclusivity would have to be a pre-requisite of the definition. From my heavily sheltered computer desk I can count the number of exemplars in any industry on two hands.

Don Bradman would be high on the list, the world's greatest cricketer by the majority of accounts and arguably the most dominant individual in any sporting discipline.

Leonardo Da Vinci would also be enjoying the rarified air at the zenith of this list.

Charlie Kauffman, whilst shrouded in considerably more annonimity would be one of the few filmmakers that I'd include in such a list.

'Technically the proceedure is brain damage'

Now I know this sounds ludicrous, I'm attempting to compare Da Vinci 'the master' with a filmmaker that I'd be willing to bet your next door neighbour probably hasn't heard of. What's so good about this guy?

To be Frank, my responce is "this film." Even though Kauffman is a screenwriter, a role traditionally undervalued in the American film industry, each one of his films exerts the undeniable aura that can only be described as a 'Kauffman film'.

His wonderful conglomeration of introverted, frustrated, real characters, coupled with his ongoing self-reflexive awareness of his art (Adaptation is a film where he is the main character as a script writer trying to write a film without involving him as a character... go figure!) makes him stand out from the crowd.

Perhaps the simplest description of his films is as follows: Poetry. Sheer Poetry.

What makes Eternal Sunshine stand out as his masterpiece thus far, is his unapologetically interwoven narrative structure, and his truly subjective portrayal of all characters. To recount the story is to do it a disservice, to be frank I'm often amazed they managed to tell it in under 2 hours!

The other reason why Eternal Sunshine stands out is Jim Carey! I know, I hear you. I also put the DVD down when I see 'ol Jimmy on the cover, but this is his first truly great performance as a straigh actor (Man on the Moon was a warmup folks). Couple him with Kate Winslet and Tom Wilkinson and you can understand why I'm happy to put this film on the list of inanimate objects I'd feel comfortable marrying.

If you haven't guessed yet I'm more than happy to rate this film an Australian Premiere. This is one of 4 films that managed to make me cry (and it hasn't failed to do so after 10 viewings). It also shares the mantle with Amelie as one of only two films that made me stop. Think. And evaluate my life.

Normally I'd be worried giving a film a massive wrap because that only leads to dissatisfaction by the reader, in this circumstance I have no such fear. It hasn't let me down yet.

So get out, hire it, and enjoy a piece of cinema comes out once every 10-15 years.

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November 9th 2006 @ 04:22

Posted By: Stuart - Category: Film Reviews

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Would you like fries with that?

In my defence it was an abnormal day. I usually make sure that I eat well, and if I fail then my spousal safety net works amazingly efficiently.

The previous Thursday, however, was a day that would double my average fat consumption on its own. I was shopping in Chatswood, and as people tend to do whilst shopping, I ate out. I am reticent to admit that it was at KFC, however I like to have that nostaglia trip every now and again.

Dinner was under duress. My wife and I were running late to go see Richard Linkletter's Fast Food Nation.

The Red and Yellow makes me feel hungry

As such the only quick meal option was McDonalds on George Street. We got the healthy choices options... So with 2/3 meals prepared in grease I sat down to view the filmic adaptation of a non-fiction book that I bought 5 years ago in Belgium.

I have to say straight up, this was the first film in a long time that had sequences which I couldn't watch. It was partially my fault, hoping that this'd be a slightly more academic take on Supersize Me, but in hindsight it was something that I needed to see.

I remember when I first read the book, I vowed to be chaste of fast food from that day on. My day suggests the effectiveness of such a vow. The advantage of this film, however, is not that it brings up new information (infact almost every major point you can find in the book). Rather, seeing is truly believing!

It's one thing to read about the killing floor, its a substantially different kettle of fish to witness it on the big screen no more than a couple of meters away from you.

This heavy hitting film takes a swing at fast food moguls, but also their supporters - Us. It doesn't just dictate right and wrongs from an ivory tower to the bleeding masses, rather it shows precisely how our involvement may change the industry. The multi-protagonist story arc reinforces that this isn't an individuals fight. The film can say all it wants, I can write reviews, but unless people unify behind a single agenda we wont experience change.

The way I like to rate films is not by using stars, but instead saying how much I'd be willing to spend to see the movie. So $30 for Australian Premiere, $2 for weekly video hire, even $5 bargain bin at K-Mart is a valid call for some films.

This film is comfortably worth a $30 Australian Premiere! Whilst I'm not sure if I would willingly go and watch it again any time soon, its left its indellible fingerprint on me to the extent that I truly TRULY wish to avoid fast food in the future. An exceptionally crafted film that knows what it wants to achieve and sets out on this mission with style and aplomb.

Suave effectively describes how it presents its agenda to an audience.

Disturbing is the end result.

The Book Image is courtesy of wikipedia.com