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DaveyW
Reviews
Dune (1984)
Ugh!
Here's a few words on the "mini-series" for those who haven't seen it. The makers of this TV version claim it's a re-edit of the David Lynch film, with a better prologue and extra scenes. Don't believe a word of it: it's just rubbish.
The prologue consists of crayon drawings. Yes, *crayon* *drawings*. These ghastly and amateurish images are also used throughout the film in place of the superior mattes that were originally used in the cinema version. Also, instead of the beautiful tones of Ginny Madsen, we have to listen to some guy who sounds like he's been smoking since he was 2. And his pronunciation differs from what the characters are saying.
A number of cuts have been made, especially with respect to the brutality of the Harkonnens, which Lynch so lovingly portrayed. Curiously, despite having his name removed as writer and director, David Lynch's cameo still remains!
There are some good additions. Jack Nance gets a few extra seconds of screen time!!! You gotta love the scene with Gurney Halleck jammin' on the electric lute (not). There are more scenes of the Harkonnens gloating over the captured Atreides, and Yueh's death. And finally we get a proper look at Molly Wyrn, with extra scenes of Fremen rites. However, as these scenes were unused in the film, there's no proper sound or FX editing. For example, the Fremen don't have blue eyes.
Finally, and most perplexing, the film has been re-graded to give it a very different look. Gone are the dark and brooding tones, replaced with bright and garish colours. The final effect is to make this Dune look like a bad TV movie, and remove all of the cinematic touches from the Lynch film, be they in photography, sound design, score, or editing.
But all these changes do is make the first half drag, and the second half suffers the same problems as the Lynch version: too rushed, and a diabolical ending.
So, if you're a fan of the book, the Lynch film, or the new Sci-Fi channel version, avoid this! It's infinitely worse.
When Love Comes (1998)
Slight Plot, Strong Characters
"When Love Comes" is, like many of the recent NZ films, is a "relationship" drama. The plot is slight, but not weak. Don't expect too much to happen- this is a film driven by characters, not by plot, and unlike "Saving Grace", does a good job of it. Obviously, a film like this will live and die on its cast, and thankfully "When Love Comes" boasts a strong ensemble. Rena Owen is good as washed-out torch singer Katie Keane, but Simon Prast shines as "Stephen". His performance is wonderfully understated (to those of us who remember him hamming it up in "Gloss"), and yet powerful at the same time. The weak links are Dean O'Gorman, who is quite good but isn't able to carry the film, and Simon Westaway, whose character Eddie is woefully underwritten- I'm not sure the poor guy knew quite what to do with the part.
"When Love Comes" puts a slightly different spin on the old "young guy wrestles with his homosexuality" to the degree that straight audiences will enjoy it too. However, I think the heterosexual relationship between Katie and Eddie is the least convincing, (possibly because of the problem with Eddie's character) and certainly lacks the conviction of the Mark/Stephen, Fig/Sally, and Stephen/Katie plotlines.
Otherwise, enjoyable.
Millennium (1996)
A weekly, 1 hour, compelling argument to commit suicide
One of the most beautiful, moving series ever to grace the small screen.
The casting is fabulous- Lance Hendriksen's weatherbeaten features contrast wonderfully with Megan Gallagher's beautiful, sad face.
The supporting cast are equally talented- Bill Smitrovich (whose exit from the series is possibly the most frightening piece of television ever), Brittany Tiplady, Kristen Cloke, and, of course, Terry O'Quinn. It's a great pity that Gallagher and Cloke didn't enjoy more screen time, but the contributions they did made were excellent.
A talented cast requires great scripts, and in this Millennium also shines. The extraordinarily talented Darin Morgan, the medium's best writer since Dennis Potter, contributes two memorable scripts: "Jose Chung's 'Doomsday Defense'", featuring his X-Files character Jose Chung (guest starring Charles Nelson Reilly, and a hilarious "cameo" from David Duchovny), a brilliantly conceived and thinly veiled parody of the Church of Scientology (and "Millennium" itself); and "Somehow, Satan Got Behind Me", a truly funny, beautiful, and moving story about human nature, as observed by those that aren't human..
It's true that "Millennium" is a very dark and frightening programme- it deals with the darker aspects of the human soul- but this paradoxically gives it great power and beauty. There are several episodes that have reduced me to tears, and made me understand human misery, and for this I will always love Millennium.
The War of the Worlds (1953)
Disappointing Adaptation of a Classic Novel
The making of this film is essentially the trashing of one of the greatest sci-fi novels ever. Take the Martians. In Wells' novel, they are the Victorians from Hell, a dire warning of how humanity might turn out (and, 100 years later, are frighteningly close to realising). However, in this film, the Martians are nothing but the "Commies from Outer Space" that populated American 50s sci-fi flicks. Similarly, Wells' novel attacks the twin pillars Victorian society were founded on- organised religion and a blind faith in science and technology. Rather than following through with this theme, (which would've been perfectly applicable to 50s America) the entire film is constructed as a shallow homage to religion and science. Interestingly, the prime theme of the novel, an attack on colonialism, never gets a look-in in the film. Given that the story here is basically "America saves the world from the godless commies from outer space", it's certainly amusing that its never mentioned. :) Do yourself a favour- read the book instead.
Shortland Street (1992)
Not bad... but not great either
Shortland Street is New Zealand's most successful television "drama". Market saturation (it runs at every weekday) and determination by TVNZ has seen the show a steady rater. But despite all the hype (critics and academics who once drubbed it now fall over each other in praise), it's hard to see what's so great about it. Sure, compared to Neighbours, Brookside, Days of Our Lives, it comes off well, but Shortland Street is hardly great drama. In fact, technically, it ain't drama at all but melodrama. The plotlines are thin and pointless, largely consisting of the standard soap love triangles of who is sleeping with whom this week, and the show's much vaunted "humour" is about as amusing as jamming your fingers in a door. I think that Shortland Street's success has, in the long run, crippled NZ TV drama. It seems that, having one success, broadcasters and production companies are now unwilling to branch out and try new things. There is no stratification of primetime drama, there's just Shortland Street and nothing else.
At the end of the day, Shortland Street is a finely put together little soap. But that's all it is, and until we learn to grow up and create proper TV dramas, this silly show will be all we're ever capable of.
City Life (1996)
All That Glitters Is Not Gold...
High production values, and even higher expectations, were the prime audience lure to this dreadful follow-up to South Pacific Pictures/TVNZ's high rating soap, "Shortland Street".
"City Life" is a classic example of "programming by numbers", a series that was calculated to hit the Gen-X target audience square on the head, rate through the roof, and make sack loads of cash for all concerned. It came as no surprise to anyone, except the show's creators, when it bombed on New Zealand screens. Shot on film- the first NZ serial to do so- enhanced by the latest in TV gimmickry (the camera lurched drunkenly back and forth during shots), "City Life" was long on "gloss" (excuse the pun), and short on substance. It's storylines strived to attain the quirkiness of "Twin Peaks" or "The Kingdom", but couldn't escape the fact that the programme was little more than a "Melrose Place" clone.
The intended 20-something urban audience stayed away in droves, but the show acquired quite a following in rural South Island (New Zealand). However, "City Life" was inescapably a ratings disaster. It quickly disappeared from it's initial timeslot, but slouched back- though much later in the week.
Whether or not the show was a failure depends upon who you ask. Critics and audiences loathed it, but it sold tolerably well overseas (where it was probably better appreciated), and secured a number of awards domestically, including Best Drama Series.
"City Life"'s demise not only killed the New Zealand fascination with home grown soaps, (Shortland Street, Homeward Bound, The Fernleaf Family, Topless Women), it caused considerable damage to NZ TV drama. From then on, when thrifty TV execs heard pitches for drama series', they would picture the expensive corpse of "City Life", and shake their heads in fear.