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Reviews
Murdoch Mysteries: What Lies Buried (2014)
Wow - A significant cut above more Murdoch episodes.
This one surprised me. Very likely the best episode of the entire series. Very glad I stuck with it to this episode. It was well worth watching through the many uneven episodes to get to this gem of a story.
So glad I got to see it.
Ma-eulgeumgo yeonswaeseub gyeogsageon (2007)
Such a pleasure to watch a movie that does not follow Hollywood formulas
This is a comedy/drama - lighthearted,but not without tragedy as well.
Themes and morals of this story are told by the characters choices and actions - not by their fate or outcome.
There is no controlling destiny - or sense of cosmic justice that needs to be satisfied here. Just a story about people. Some do not earn or merit their fate - yet we can learn from them all the same.
Perhaps not a great film - but I rate it highly because it surprised me as so few movies do now a days.
Doonby (2013)
Held my interest but left me feeling cheated - mysterious enough - but in no way thrilling.
*** This review may contain spoilers for 'It's A Wonderful Life' as well as for 'Doonby' ***
In 'It's A Wonderful Life' the lesson George Bailey learns is 'every life is worth living'. In 'Doonby' the lesson is 'even 'unwanted' children will grow up to save lives and become talented, successful musicians'. In 'It's A Wonderful Life' we see the support of the loving family George Bailey grew up in, and can easily understand how he came to be the man he is. In 'Doonby' they never show how he went from being abandoned at an orphanage by his mother at a very young age, to being the totally well-adjusted adult he becomes.
In 'It's A Wonderful Life' an Angel uses magic to show George Bailey what Bedford Falls would have been without him. In Bedford Falls with George Bailey in it, everyone knows him, and in the Bedford Falls without George Bailey, no one knows him. But when Doonby exists, he is unable to shake the hand of Laura's father – how can Doonby exist and at the same time hate Laura's father for aborting him? Not only is the magic hidden until the very end, but the world with Doonby and the world without Doonby seem to have been blended together without explanation. It is like a paradoxical and half-finished script for a 'Twilight Zone' episode.
Small wonder I did not see that coming. Who would have guessed the lesson would be so absurd – much less that it would not be directed at any of the characters but at the audience instead. Nothing that happens in the movie is even known to any of the characters except Laura. Laura is the only one who learns the lesson, and she is not pregnant. So the entire story was not about the characters, but about what the film makers want the audience to learn – a clumsy, manipulative, and incoherent breaking the fourth wall.
If 'It's A Wonderful Life' and 'The Twilight Zone' had a baby, 'Doonby' would be it. And this baby should never have been born.
What Goes Up (2009)
Stunningly Original - Brilliant Movie
This movie is hard to describe without possibly wrecking the viewing experience, but as this is not for everyone, I will try to talk around it, without giving away too much. At its core it is a strikingly realistic mystery, involving the death of a special education teacher. The people in this story are misfits, realistically portrayed, but very unusual people. Taken in total their strangeness makes the entire situation feel unreal, as real things often feel when you know enough of the truth about them.
Do not expect the people and events in this story to make some statement about people or events in general. This is about specific people and specific events. Do not look for comedy or jokes here. Do not expect a great deal of violence or a high body count. Though the sexual activity of some of these people may be disturbing to some viewers, do not come looking to see a lot of naked bodies, this is not a skin flick. In short, this is not designed to appeal to any mass audience, leave your expectations at the door - whatever they are - they are very likely to be disappointed.
The excellent script, by Jonathan Glatzer and Robert Lawson, leads us through the discovery that a mystery exists, why we should care about finding out the truth, who are the people involved, and what is the truth about them and their role in what happened. Marvelous direction by Jonathan Glatzer and an extraordinary cast (including Steve Coogan, Hilary Duff, Josh Peck, Olivia Thirlby and others) produce an almost flawless film. Makes me really wonder why 9 out of 10 critics gave this film negative reviews. I think that says something about why so many terrible movies keep being made.
If you are wondering why anyone should bother with this movie when it only concerns what happens to a bunch of misfits that you might not relate to - the answer is that this movie is about the nature of truth. How illusory, how dangerous, and how hard to deal with, truth can be. It is about how difficult finding out the truth can be and how careful one must be with what one finds out. Actions have consequences and real truth is seldom purely good, or satisfactory or pleasing, and one must always filter what they reveal to others lest they do more harm than good.
Perhaps that is why so many do not care for this film - it is not going to leave you satisfied or pleased, do not expect to feel like cheering afterwards, but if you want to see something that may give you something to think about this film is well worth your time.