Review of Jindabyne (2006) by Nickels K — 28 Apr 2007

[size=3][font=Franklin Gothic Medium]I know I'm late! Anyways I got the DVD of Jindabyne from Austrailia (my mother went there and got it for me as a souvenior) and since I have an all-region player (meaning you can watch any dvd from any country) I got to see it before it came to theaters of May 18th. I know I'm cool... SO now I'll give you the pleasure of reading the review before it comes out. The film is about a guy who likes fishing who goes fishing with his buddies and finds a body in the river. Yet instead of calling the police, they let it sit until they are done with their trip. This incident however tears their family and social lives apart when everybody finds out. The problem I had with this film that had good performances and was well written and so on, was that it played like a tragedy, yet the events arn't that tragic. I know it shouldn't be a comedy, but I think this story is truly only meant to be a short story or film (it was based off a short story that Robert Altman directed an adaptation of, but as a vignette in his film Short Cuts). The writer does a great job of beefing it up with a bunch of different subplots, but the point is "what's the point?" Do we really need a 2 hour version of this story. I don't really think so, because by the end, I was rather ready to turn of the TV.

Reality BItes is the Ben Stiller directed film about a generation x group of friends who try to live lives after college. Most of the film was fantastic with performces by Ethan Hawke, Ben Stiller, Winona Ryder, and Steve Zahn. It had this great 90's feel to it, that frankly weren't in enough 90's movies. There were a lot of funny lines and moments, and there was just a good vibe. Yet when you think through the whole thing that you are on to something good you stick with it and think the endings good. Now I liked the ending fine, but after looking back on it, it just seemed really well Hollywood. I said it. And these characters wouldn't really like that ending. Plus it was on the short side, so you kinda where left needing more. Worth a rent, but it's just kinda average.

DOOM GENREATION is a film I won't spend awhile talking about. I would just like to say that I was surprised at how good it was, and it has an amazing style to it. It's also very witty and cultish. It's kinda like an action flick for the art-house crowd, all for the thrill. It's Natural Born Killers meets Heathers, and it works very well. Definatley not as good as Gregg Arkai's masterpiece "Mysterious Skin", but it's worth the time. And if you have Netflix it's part of the WATCH NOW section where you can watch movies on your computer for free. So check it out it's a fun one.

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