A quick round up of the films we've seen in the last week and a bit. I mad the most of the VCR in Sydney (before Richard bought it) by hiring Top Gun, which I'd never seen. Anne thought it was odd I'd never seen it, since I've seen so many films. I quite enjoyed it - it was so cliched and silly (partly because I've seen it copied so much I suppose) but ultimately well done. Very silly in parts, and Quentin Tarantino seems to have the subtext down pat with his "Go the gay way" dissection. Three and a half stars!
Also in Sydney I watched Changing Lanes while Anne was working (she'd already seen it). Ben Affleck and Samuel L Jackson in a witty revenge drama. Pretty entertaining, though tied up too neatly at the end. Three and a half stars.
At Coffs Harbour YHA we've seen two vids. The first was the dreadful Vertical Limit. This is a mountain climbing thriller which is just ridiculous. It stars Chris O'Donnel, with the supporting cast being either unknowns or bit players in US TV series. It has some entertaining moments I suppose, but everyone watching was laughing at the bits which ought to have been tense and exciting. One and a half stars.
Better was The Patriot, which we saw last night. This long US Civil War drama, starring Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger, is entertaining and fun. I remember when it came out there was controversy about the accuracy of it, but I certainly didn't come away thinking I knew more about the civil war - I didn't assume it historically accurate. Gruesome in places, and not as good as Braveheart, it gets four stars.
Now we're in YHAs and don't have the pick of the video library (or even, necessarily, a say in what's on) I figure the quality of the films we watch will be much more variable.