tv – NZ Film Freak

Big Little Lies (TV series)

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Director: Jean-Marc Vallée (He directed Wild)
Writer: David E. Kelley (Based on novel by Liane Moriarty)
Released: February 2017
Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Nicole Kidman, Shailene Woodley, Alexander Skarsgård, Adam Scott, Zoë Kravitz, James Tupper, Jeffrey Nordling and Laura Dern
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I was expecting ‘Desperate Housewives‘, chick-flick kind of show on steroids… But Big Little Lies was so much darker than that.

It begins with a murder. We don’t know who died, and we don’t know who did it.

Big Little Lies follows the backstory leading up to the murder, and all the secrets and shocking circumstances leads you to believe that everyone is a suspect, and everyone is a victim.

It’s sort of like reality tv series The Real Housewives but as a thriller. It’s shocking, scary, haunting and mysterious, featuring beautiful (and seemingly flawless) characters against the fashionable backdrop of Monterey, California.

It is all about the characters:

Reese Witherspoon is the stand-out performance for me; she’s fascinating to watch. Her character, Madeline, is also my favourite. Actually, her character reminds me of Tamra from The Real Housewives of Orange County – both in terms of looks and storyline. Overall, Madeline will make you laugh, and you’d want her to be your best friend. big little lies 2

Laura Dern takes a step away from her sweat-pant-wearing motherly roles, and into the role of a posh and wealthy, but pushy ‘bulldog’, CEO called Renata. She reminds me of Vicki in The Real Housewives of Orange County.
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Nicole Kidman’s role as Celeste is the scariest and most difficult storyline to watch. In fact, I wanted to turn the show off a couple of times because of the horrific scenes depicting her abusive husband. Nevertheless, she does well despite her American accent slipping a bit at times – as it always does. There’s an online debate regarding whether her hair is a wig or not… What do you reckon?
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To bring it all down to earth, Shailene Woodley plays the role of Jane. Jane is a little bit in awe of the glamorous people, and cherishes the kindness of Madeline while she makes a new start here in California. She isn’t as wealthy or as fancy, but does have one of the most anxiety-driven storylines.
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Then, there’s the husbands, who go to show not all the drama comes from the women!

My favourite thing about Big Little Lies, however, is the soundtrack. Oh my goodness. I could listen to the soundtrack on repeat! Brilliant.

Overall, this was a much darker thriller than I expected, but for the sake of watching Reese Witherspoon’s character again, I will certainly watch series two!

Jodie’s rating: 7/10

According to Nicole’s Instagram, series two is being filmed and Meryl Streep is in it! Aaaaaahh!

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My Favourite Characters: Jess and Nick in New Girl

new girl zooey and nick at the wedding scene

The characters who make it cool to be weird and poor (respectively).

In the TV show New Girl, (at least the first three seasons of it anyway), I have found it to be a faint source of inspiration. Getting the kind of security you get after watching Miranda, Bridget Jones, and Maggie Jacobs from Extras.

Jessica Day
Overly positive, cupcake-lover, animal-adorer and singer-of-songs. Jess is upbeat and away with the fairies most of the time. And despite her Bridget Jones-esk ‘flaws’, she makes it cool to be weird. I like being weird scene - Zooey in New Girl And relatable – even during the first episode that covers her break-up with Spencer, where she cries uncontrollably while watching Dirty Dancing six times a day. Although, when I watched Dirty Dancing on repeat, all I realised was that I really don’t like that movie… I think it’s really over-hyped.

Of course, Zooey is actually super pretty, and Hollywood obviously began to interfere by the time series three rolled around. But I’m going to keep hold of the image of the quirky, tea-obsessed protagonist who made There is no more tea scene Zooey in New Girl it to the screen. And was popular.

I’m gonna end up alone. I’m gonna be a single old lady, flashing people on the subway.

Nick Miller
Writers don't read. We write. New Girl scene with Nick Miller Overly negative, turtle-faced pessimist with a low-paid job. Nick is laid-back, and keeps the balance of the squad with his realist responses.
During my time being basically unemployed, Nick Miller made it cool to have aspirations of being a writer of zombie stories without actually doing much to pursue it…

What is money anyway? It’s just paper.

Nick’s interest in time travel and zombies makes him cool in my book anyway.

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The scripts are written really well, and these two actors carry off the comedy spectacularly. Especially since a lot of it is physical comedy.

And I leave you with the season one teaser…

Perhaps I do take too much guidance from fiction… Sigh.

Jodie

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills – Through the Eyes of a Humble Kiwi

Having finished the vacuuming, dishes and tidying, I found myself sitting in a spotless house – with my one-month-old bachelors degree certificate mocking me on the wall – watching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills - can't smile Have. You. Seen. This!

It’s not even a guilty pleasure for me. I marvel at the fact that these people – also rattling around spotless ~~houses~~ mansions – actually exist. It’s like a social study! This is too easy to mock, so I won’t go too mad.

My favourite parts are when they cry. Not because I’m heartless, but because their faces don’t move. They don’t! They are botoxed and nipped and tucked to the point of having frozen features. I actually came across this montage of them trying to cry to illustrate my point:

Cassandra and Rose in Doctor Who — They remind me of Cassandra: A Doctor Who villain who was nothing but face and skin stretched on a frame after 708 plastic surgery operations.

Secondly, I’m constantly frustrated when they try to say words that begin with the letter ‘w’. Because their lips can’t touch. They’re too taut.

I sometimes wonder what would happen if I rocked up to Beverly Hills in my un-lifted face, and un-branded conservative clothes. Would I get double takes? Or strapped down to a surgical bed to be turned into a Beverly Frankenstein?

Their conversations make me laugh though. I wonder how much of a role the producers have in pushing them to react and talk in certain ways, because they get upset over the most absurd things…

Hair flick in Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Such as when Joyce moved a bit of hair out of Lisa’s face, and Lisa shook her head and said ‘I don’t care, don’t worry about it’. Joyce was VERY offended and confronted her about it later, even reinacting it:

Are they aware of the things going on in the world that would benefit from the amount of attention they give to a strand of hair? I couldn’t survive there.

I’m also fascinated by the editing. If you’re edit-savvy, you’ll recognise the amount of unrelated reaction shots that are edited together. I’ve read papers talking about the manipulation involved in editing reality tv casts into stereotypes.

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills - I don't know what that means. Nevertheless, you have to acknowledge the skill involved. It’s an art. Combined with the music and sound effects, the edits are comedic regardless of who’s appearing in them. I don’t think editors get enough recognition.

I don’t want to treat these women as plastic people to point at… But are they aware of how they’re being portrayed? Maybe the amount of money I presume they get from the show helps them justify it.

It’s worth a watch. For educational purposes.

Jodie.

Morning Glory

Director: Rodger Mitchell
Writer: Aline Brosh McKenna
Released: November 2010
Starring: Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford and Diane Keaton
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I love this movie. This is my happy movie.

Rachel McAdams plays Becky Fuller, a workaholic who is made redundant. She eventually gets hired by a breakfast show that’s going down the pan. The story follows her struggles to rebuild herself, and the show.

There are some fantastic lines! Harrison Ford is so dry with his delivery. It’s so perfect!

Mike: Why do we have to mention that first cup of coffee? Why not just say, “Watch Mike Pomeroy before your morning dump?”

I love Becky because she has arms flailing all over the place, her hair is messy and she’s so intensely dedicated to her job. Rachel McAdams was reluctant to take this part because she said she’s not funny enough to be in a comedy. But I disagree! McAdams is so natural in this, she makes it funny in a Bridget Jones sort of way.

Morning Glory‘s morals are sort of similar to The Devil Wears Prada… Well, it’s written by the same person, so I guess that’s why. But they’re basically about how important a career can be to someone, treating it like a relationship. In fact, when Becky discusses her job, it sounds like she’s talking about a person.

I guess although I understand why the reviews of this movie are average, I personally love it because I can relate to the industry having studied television and journalism. Becky is a character who I would love to be! I want her hair, wardrobe, confidence and success.

Becky: Why haven’t they bumped you up [to executive producer]?
Lenny: It’s not for me. I did it for a couple of weeks once, but they put me back at Number Two. Apparently, the crying was distracting.

Keep an eye out for how Becky’s hair and clothes change as she grows and becomes more secure. It’s the attention to detail that makes this movie fun.

A very funny film, particularly if you’re familiar with the news industry!

Jodie’s rating: 7/10

My Favourite Character: Maggie Jacobs

The ditsy character in the Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant TV series, Extras, is Maggie Jacobs (Ashley Jensen).

Would you rather be you, with your face and your legs, and the brain of a chimpanzee...Andy Millman: Brilliant.Maggie Jacobs: ...or would you rather be a chimpanzee, but with your brain? — “Would you rather be you, with your face and your legs, and the brain of a chimpanzee, or would you rather be a chimpanzee, but with your brain?”

I like her because she is so innocent and naive. It makes a huge change for one of the leading characters to be so honest and unaffected by mainstream beliefs. She is fresh-faced but average, similar to Bridget Jones but even easier to relate to.

I guess because she’s in a dead-end job, single and struggling as a extra on television shows, rubbing shoulders with fame and fortune yet never coming close to it, like how much of society feels as they slave away at work. But Maggie never strives for any of that. She just plods along.

I wouldn’t go as far as saying that I look up to her, but I do draw inspiration from her because she is so honest to people. Plus, she always does something to embarrass herself but lets it go – she never dwells on bad experiences or holds grudges.

She’s funny, loyal and doesn’t lie to anyone… Which gets her into trouble sometimes. Her Scottish accent is amazing, too!

Jodie.

Classic naive Maggie: