Australia

Australia is the ultimate Oscar film via previews - an foreign period epic love tale with dramatic war themes and two A-list stars, as well as a critically acclaimed director who has his own style. What you get after nearly 3 hours of viewing is a disarray of incomplete mixed messages and wildly intersecting plot points that leave you disappointed and confused.

It's not quite as bad as I make it out to be. Typically I am a Kidman hater. I don't think she's attractive, or that great of an actress, but in this film, she hits her character right on the money. She plays an uppity British aristocrat who heads to Australia when she thinks her husband is cheating on her, only to find him dead. From there she learns on the run how to manage a cattle ranch with the help of Jackman and some unfortunately misplaced aborigines.

Jackman does fine, but there are far too many prolongued camera shots of his swarthy, concerned face. He is too Hollywood to play a real cattle driver, and the cliche that he has no name except "Drover" makes my eyes roll (and my eyelids heavy).

The story progresses quickly for an epic period piece, but there are far too many areas of focus to keep your attention on any one general problem. The film covers the entire gamut of serious topics; racism, sexism, war, class differences, cultural differences, poverty, industrial competition, love and loss, the list goes on and on. This is my primary problem with this film. There is no focus, and by the end, there are so many scattered emotions that there is no sense of lesson learned or moral victory.

I was reminiscent of There Will be Blood, but only on a surface level. There were also many overt references and allusions to the Wizard of Oz, so Baz Luhrmann clearly has a personal affinity to the story (he is directing Wicked in 2010...) Unfortunately, as original as the story was, the characters and developments were not compelling in the slightest.

I was a big fan of Moulin Rouge, and deeply respect Luhrmann's abilities as a writer and director, but Australia missed the mark. Perhaps too ambitious, perhaps the wrong timing for this particular story. Whatever the case, I won't give up on him in the cinematic world, but I would be as surprised to see any Oscar nominations for this as I would for Tom Cruise as Colonel Von Stauffenberg. The scenery is beautiful and the cinematography well done, but this is not a Best Picture candidate. 5/10.

Quantum of Solace

The 22nd foray into the twisted and convoluted life of cinema's favorite British spy, Quantum of Solace displays the aftermath of Casino Royale with a frenetic journey across continents that pits Bond against his own MI6 as well as the man behind the death of his love, Vesper.

Quantum does well within the Bond family, particularly with the evolving feel that Daniel Craig has lent to the franchise. He brings more of a physical presence to the screen that hasn't been felt before, and some of the tongue-in-cheek dialogue and extravagantly entertaining, yet innocuous scenarios have fallen by the wayside in deference to a more terse and realistic tone.

The only problem with this 21st century spy paradigm (see the Bourne movies) is that the fantasy aspect all but dies as the realism becomes more prevalent. The most noticeable exception to this is still the seemingly invincible Bond. He gets cuts and scrapes, but what bothers me is that there is never any doubt that he will beat the villain, and do it in a new and cinematically appealing way. He confronts dozens of men, and walks away after beating all of them in hand to hand combat. He takes down three of MI6's best in an elevator, in handcuffs with not a scratch or a bit of trouble.

Missing are the gimmicky gadgets, and the trademark car (with the exception of the opening scene, which is breathtaking, but far too short). Bond is getting darker and more physical, but also is beginning to convey superhuman strength and decision making skills. This is exactly what he is supposed to be, but it should be subtle and admirable.

The fast paced action in the beginning matches that near the end, but the middle lacks real substance and drones on for just a bit too long before bringing us back full-circle. Bond is an icon for the ages, and with Craig, it is a more noticeable transition or changing of the guard than there has ever been in the past. He does the character great justice in all the right ways, but there needs to be a little bit more originality tied to this new darker and brutish tone. Audiences clearly are interested in seeing some of the old and some of the new, but the mix threw me off a little.

Good action, weak story, Craig is great. The infamous "Bond Girls" were contrived and cute, but nothing memorable in this outing. I will continue to see Bond, but will expect more from the next one. 6/10.