Bromios Reviews

7 Years (2016)

All out war in the board room

[8/10 · 29 October 2016]

This drama is very much in the style of 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf'. Instead of a mid western college, this film is set in the office of a Spanish company. The four founders of the company are in deep trouble, all of them about to go to jail for tax evasion. However, there might be a way out, if one of them can take the fall and go to prison for seven years, then the rest can be saved.

The four founders hire a mediator to help them work through this dilemma. The founders are three handsome men and a beautiful female CFO. All are young, clever and persuasive. The mediator is the perfect foil, old, short, plain looking and slightly withdrawn. Over the course of the film, the founders tear each other apart whilst the mediator gently moves them towards a conclusion. A truly gripping drama. The only draw back for a non-English speaker is that the dialog is so complex and the speech so rapid fire, that sometimes it is hard read all the sub-title.

A great film, almost certain to be done over by Hollywood, watch it before it is ruined!

Dripping in Chocolate (2012 TV Movie)

Flashes of brilliance

[6/10 · 15 April 2012]

An entertaining movie, with flashes of brilliance. The opening sequence was a sensual delight and Lombard was entrancing from go to end. Wenham has his moments. The plot was convoluted enough for the the keenest crime aficionado. The direction was uneven, but overall I had the sense that Joffe was back, but has yet to settle in.

Some of the police behavior did not ring true, but then again, I I guess it was all possible. Set in Sydney and on the road to Wollongong, the film highlighted some parts of NSW that don't normally make it to the movies.

Worth watching if you want a pleasant evening watching an interesting drama, a beautiful mature women, and glimpses of Sydney.

Living Proof (2008 TV Movie)

An enjoyable and enriching experience

[8/10 · 3 January 2010]

A surprisingly good movie. Surprising, partly because it was Harry Connick Jnr, partly because of the low budget, partly because the subject matter could have so easily lent itself to schmaltz.

Harry Connick Jr turned it a great performance. He somehow added the right amount of nerd to give a realistic feeling performance. The director triumphed over the budget, creating a compelling movie. Particularly striking was the effective deployment of a disused cliché, the white fadeout. The treatment was sensitive, with a true feel for the complexities involved in such a life and death area.

The film is not easy to watch in places, the ending is somewhat patronizing, but overall, an enjoyable and enriching experience.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)

I do not know

[8/10 · 11 December 2009]

This is a brilliant adaptation of a compelling book. The movie contains all the key elements of the book, down to the point that from the very beginning I was haunted by the ending. The story telling is not understated but stated, and the musical score evocative. The result is engrossing.

However, having relived the story twice, I am not so sure. The writer, John Boyne, was born in 1971 in Dublin. This is a confection, not just in the sense of being a wonderful piece of craft, but being sweet, or more correctly bitter sweet. But is it also a contrived confection? Much of the work on the holocaust has been important because it opens us up to new perspectives and teaches us key moral lessons. But repetition dulls even the sharpest of scalpels. At times there was a nagging sense that I was being tunneled along a well trodden road.

Rat Race (2001)

Worth watching, just for the plot

[7/10 · 7 November 2009]

This movie is a silly, exaggerated, unbelievable, and a great homage to Its a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.

The cast is packed full of comedic stars, with stand out performances from Rowan Atkinson, Cuba Gooding Jr, Wayne Kight, and John Cleese. The most impressive aspect of the movie was the plotting. Time after time, the movie morphed from one ridiculous situation to the next, and each time, if not believable, it felt appropriate. The narrative also featured a number of repeated elements, such as a upside down flying cow, which added a bizarre continuity to a plot that ran rapidly along a series of fracture lines.

Do not watch this movie for any insights or to be informed, but if you are looking for a night of laughter and entertainment, this fits the bill.

Snow Falling on Cedars (1999)

If you loved the book then see this movie

[6/10 · 23 October 2009]

I loved the book, but I am not sure that any director could make the translation to film that captures both the lyrical and compelling nature of the book.

Scott Hicks goes for lyrical and he certainly delivers. The cinematography is beautiful, the pace reverberates in space and time. The characters are painted with pointillist precision.

The difficulty is that pointillism is pretty but lacks resolution. There is insufficient time to develop the characters. The urgent and desperate nature of the defendant's plight is lost amongst the beautiful cedars.

Still, if you enjoyed the book then I would recommend seeing this movie.

New in Town (2009)

One thing worth watching

[3/10 · 17 October 2009]

Despite Harry Connick Jr. and Renee Zellweger, this movie is just about unwatchable. The small town characters are so exaggerated that they are unbelievable. The expensive cinematography somehow gives a TV feel to it. The jokes are repetitive and stale. Renee has no oomph. The accents are overbaked.

The faults are so systemic that one can only point the finger at the director, though the writers must wonder how they could have produced this dog's breakfast.

The one thing worth watching is Harry Connick Jr's performance, which has a disembodied genuineness to it.