Sunday Short Reviews

celluloid

Every Sunday, Gill delves into his archive of over 800 movie reviews and randomly selects three for your enjoyment! Here are this week’s…

Australia
Before I review this, let me first say that this is an excellent movie, any way you slice it. The few negative points I touch on in this review should not keep you from seeing it – see this movie, it’s really, really good. That being said, the plot has a bit of trouble because Baz Luhrmann gives it like five different acts instead of the usual three, and as a result there are many moments in the movie when you can’t help but think “There’s more?” But Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman are top-notch, the story and production design are the very definition of epic, and it’s just so fun to look at that you don’t really care in the end (the stampede scene is incredible, by the way). There may be nothing in Australia that you haven’t already seen in other movies, but in this one it’s done exceptionally well – so well, in fact, that it feels like a little slice of classic Hollywood cinema (at several points, I couldn’t help but think of the shots of the desert in Lawrence of Arabia). So, as I said before, see this film. It may not be perfect, but it comes pretty close at parts.
3.5 out of 5

Inferno
This movie’s plot follows a very similar arc to Suspiria‘s, but unfortuntely Argento has eliminated some of the more interesting plot elements this time around. For example, the protagonist here is a man, and a pretty boring one at that, far less relatible than the innocent and confused ballerina in Suspiria. Similarly, a New York apartment building is not nearly as dramatic or atmospheric a setting as a ballet school in Rome. That being said, Inferno is still a must for Argento fans, and has a great visual style. It also helps establish the mythology for the “Three Mothers” trilogy of witch movies that ended with 2007’s Mother of Tears.
3 out of 5

Switchblade Sisters
A seriously campy sexploitation movie that was apparently a very inspiring film for Quentin Tarantino – and watching Switchblade Sisters, it’s easy to see how. Some of the best bits of Tarantino’s films are directly influenced by this silly yet entertaining popcorn flick, including Elle Driver the eyepatch-wearing badass from Kill Bill. Don’t expect a masterpiece from this ridiculous seventies gem, but do expect lots of hilarious so-bad-its-good moments, including a massacre at a roller rink and a Maoist gang of black women with M16 machine guns. Fans of grindhouse cinema will not be disappointed with this one.
3.5 out of 5

See you next Sunday for three more thrilling short reviews!

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