Tuesday, March 10, 2009

3 3/4 Stars - Australia

I know this movie came out a few months ago, but Marcus and I watched it Monday night because it was finally in a Red Box! We had heard from many people that it was really good so we decided why not. We really had no idea going into it what it was about at all. I must say, I was very pleasantly surprised! It was a very well done movie, with beautiful cinematography, great acting, and a great story. It takes place during WWII and it depicts the "romance" of the Australian Outback, where cattlemen were king. It really has everything, love story, adventure, action, comedy, very heart warming moments, and some very heart wrenching moments, along with some very intense moments. It also depicts how unjustly the Aboriginal people were treated in Australia at the time. I thought that Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman were great in it. It does have some violence, but nothing overdone or out of place. It is during a war after all. We all know that I am sensitive to that kind of thing and I wasn't too bothered by it...but a little. It also is very clean..up until the end then they (of course) have to drop the f bomb (the only swear word in the entire movie!) and there is a brief love scene. It also is a very long movie, over two hours. All in all, I thought it was really good and would recommend it to all of you if you haven't seen it. If you have, I would like your opinion on it, also if you do end up watching it. Enjoy!

31 comments:

Cat said...

That movie does look really good. It's been on my list. Long list.

Emily said...

I haven't had any real desire to see it, I have heard that cinematography is amazing though. I have had a long standing annoyance with Nichole Kidman that I find has faded in the last few years. I think I can link it to her and Tom's break up. Dan- I am not a celebrity hater. I do however find Tom Cruise very hard to stomach. I wouldn't mind seeing your picture of him, if only just to see how short he really is. I have always enjoyed my celebrity sightings in New York and a few in LA. Charlie Sheen, now there is a short man.

Maybe I'll watch Austalia. I'll think about it. For the record, swearing doesn't bother me in the least, but I don't like love scenes at all. I really hate watching them. But, I don't think they are going anywhere any time soon.

Haley said...

I really went into it not thinking I would like it, but really ended up liking it. Nicole Kidman has never been my favorite but she was really good in this. Funny and kind of weird too! Hugh Jackman was great, but I like him in everything I have seen him it. Yeah, love scenes are lame but I promise this one is very short. I think you should watch it.

Pops said...

Mom and I were going to rent this last weekend, but the Jiffy rents were all out. Thanks for the nice write up and tip, Haley. I have always liked epic type movies and when they are good, the longer the better. I can't think of a Kidman movie that I liked because she was in it. She is okay, but not a must see type actor.

Pops said...

By the way. I like Tom Cruise and most of his movies. I understand he is easy to take shots at. But how can you not like him riding his bike out to Mirimar in Top Gun. How about "Collateral", "Jerry Maguire", "A Few Good Men" "Rain Man", "The Last Samurai" and the "Color of Money" Good movies...all. Yeah, his personal life is a little different, Scientology and he is short, but short is not all bad...Spencer is short. Tom C. does light up the screen when he flashes that big smile of his. A Few Good Men is one of my top ten movies...Marines, Demi Moore, Jack Nicholson, and Kevin Bacon, What's better? "You can't handle the truth" Now if you used that as a quote in SWS, Sue, I would get it in a nano second. Stand up for Tom Cruise and Labrador Retrievers!! Yeah!!!!

Haley said...

I really think you would love this movie Grandpa! "Wright" up your alley! Interesting side note....I am taking a class right now about special education and how to teach students with disabilities and in my textbook it said that Tom Cruise is severely dyslexic and has never learned how to read. That is a lifelong disability that won't ever go away. He listens to a recording of his lines and completely memorizes them to do his movies. He might be corny at times, but I have a lot of respect for him to be able to do that!

Dan W said...

Happy to send along my two pix of Tom and his kids from that day at Paramount. Don't know how to post them here. Advice for best way to send without thrusting them on all of you? Em (and whoever else wants to see blurry pix of Tom Cruise), can you send me your email address? Mine is dan.wotherspoon@me.com, if anyone wants to add me to their address books.

Tommy definitely IS shortish. Not many other people in the shots I have to use to judge his height by, but I'd guess he's 5'7" or less. He did seem to be pretty down to earth as he interacted with people.

Overall, I'm with those of you who think he's a good guy with admirable qualities. Obviously some strange qualities and quirks, too, but he really has never come across as overly pretentious to me. And to whatever degree he is, he's far less of a jerk than so many folks in Hollywood whose resumes aren't even a tenth the quality of his. And how could ANYONE really stay down to earth if they are THAT famous? I also think he's talented. His most memorable character to me is in the film Magnolia (which, from what I gather in a few comments here and in other threads, is definitely NOT a film Haley would want to see! [grin])

Lorri and I saw Australian in the theaters. She liked it better than I did. I liked learning about the aboriginal relocation/reeducation program, but to me, the movie seemed to hammer a message about that a bit too hard. Beyond that, it was a beautifully shot movie that kept my interest in terms of teaching me things about Australian history, etc, but I'll plead to not really having been captured much by the love story. Still, definitely not "hud sauce" (you guys are hilarious!) and I doubt anyone would hate the fact that they'd rented it. But watch it on a big screen....

Dan W said...

Don't know if you know it, but a google search of "hud sauce" turns up this blog as the first hit.

Can't see any other real hits for it. So what gives? What's the story of this term coming to represent movies that might scar one permanently?

Dan W said...

Oh, I just re-read: It might cause B permanent scarring....

Now I'm even MORE intrigued.

Sue said...

I don't exactly know the origins of hud sauce, but it smacks of Matt. I'm sure he made it up. And that is hilarious that if you google it our blog comes up! It never dawned on my that our blog might come up if people google certain things!

And hud sauce just means the movie is really lame and don't bother seeing it.

@#$% is a separate rating meaning it will cause B permanent scarring. B can be easily scarred, I mean easily! For instance she hates bathroom humor. So don't say poop around her (I just scarred B by typing that).

Dan W said...

Ah... didn't catch that the symbol rating was separate from hud sauce.

It will be interesting to get to know B and her scarring susceptibilities better. B, my apologies in advance for any mark-leaving comments that I'm certain I will occasionally be guilty of! Please feel free to call me on them...

Haley said...

Yeah, actually Matt and I's good friend Brandon coined the term and it just spread from there! Haha. Yeah, the love story wasn't too great to me but I really liked the cattle herding part of the story. That was interesting to me. I'm not going to lie, "King George" kind of freaked me out a little bit at times!

Matt Wright said...

HUD SAUCE:

Brandon Howell does have a big influence on the term, but I think I better take some credit for this one as well. HUD is a word that substitutes anything that sucks. Take for instance:

"my car is hud"
"I stepped in a pile of hud"
"She looks like hud today"

I really don't think Brandon made that up, because I seem to remember that from when I was pretty young. "SAUCE" mostly comes from the phrase "weak sauce" which I believe is fairly common right? If you get off of a lame roller coaster for example, one might say: "that was weak sauce..."

Maybe it stems from Hot sauce-Mild sauce-WEAK SAUCE

Well, I liked the word sauce, and Brandon liked the word HUD, and both of us used them more than the average Riverton Citizen. Pretty soon almost everything I said had to have "Sauce" at the end of it.
Thus, when we got together- HUD SAUCE

Sue said...

Dan there's no need to apologize to B! She can take it. (I'm sure she appreciates me speaking for her)I think some of us actually try to scar her, hee hee. I remember a rubber ducky incident. And if B couldn't take it she would have only lasted about 5 minutes in this family. We toughen her up. Right B?

Amy said...

Matt, your analysis of how "hud sauce" came to be is hilarious! That's so funny that you Googled it, Dan. I love that our blog came up. We always have been a little unique, haven't we? We even have our own phrase now. Dan's catching on pretty quick! I'm impressed.

Here's my 2 cents worth of Tom Cruise opinions: He's got an amazing career, has been in a lot of great movies (In fact, I recently saw him on Oprah and I believe that it was mentioned that he's been in 25 movies in 25 years. Mostly hits--and of course, the audience members each got a copy of all 25 movies). He also seems like a pretty good guy. I have just always felt that he is Tom Cruise on the screen pretending to be a character. I know that's what acting is, but it isn't supposed to look like it. He's not that believable to me. I don't know if you all get what I'm talking about...and I do think he's improved in recent years. He really digressed with the "Humpty Dumpty" line from Mission Impossible 3 or whatever one it was. I don't even think I saw the movie, just heard about the super cheesy line and that was enough.
My word verification is "pundwaps". I don't know why it made me laugh, but I thought of Sarah's little song she made up when she was two about "swapping her wap and her legs (pronounced: w-eggs)

Pops said...

Good one, Matt on Hud Sauce. I wasn't sure how it all got started and now we are on Google search. Crazy!

Haley said...

Does no one else think it is interesting that he can't read???!!! Hud is one of those developing words. Haha. I didn't know Matt used it a while ago. Brandon was the first time that I had heard it. I know what you mean mom about it not being very believable.

B said...

Haha!! Sue, your use of the P word is forgiven since you defended me. I would definitely not be accepted in this family if I didn't allow myself to be scarred. Some of my least favorite stories of all time include:
-Prudence
-The one about what Mom was saying to Matt on Scott and Amy's wedding video
-The one about what Scout calls diharrea
-The one about Scott and the Blue Darts "Oh yeah, but can you do THIS?"
-The one about Amy "tearing" while giving birth
But hey, I can pretend to giggle along, and I know you guys will never stop telling those stories. Dan, most of it revolves around bathroom humor, but I don't really like extremely mean things either, like people who are mean for no reason and Risk. Oh, and killing rubber duckies. And the really long scene in Dreamgirls. Wow, I am really easily scarred.

B said...

Sorry, the one about Amy isn't funny at all, it is just the most recent, and definitely the most scarring of all those. Sorry Ames, I shouldn't have posted that.

Amy said...

a little TMI. Try to clear your brains guys!

Amy said...

I just realized that almost all of these disturbing stories are involving Scott and I. Sorry B! I guess we're kindof gross

Emily said...

I just realized that too and was laughing about it! Uh, I need to know what Scott calls Water poop.

Sue said...

Water poop is what B is referring too right? Or is there another name?

Amy tearing during birth is pretty common isn't it? I've never given birth, but it seems like most women have stories about tearing or the doctor cutting them right? Isn't that an episotomy? (sp).

And the blue dart story is one of the best! Remember my boyfriend at the time, Brent, was with us and he joined in? He saw Scott having too much fun lighting his farts on fire hanging from the rafters and he had to join in on
the fun. One of the funniest nights we've ever had! And this was right after the family reunion talent show where the Probst family did their little string quartet!

Sue said...

Oh yeah, what does my mom say on the wedding video? I've either never heard it, or it's been so long I don't remember.

Emily said...

An epesiotomy (I don't know how to spell it either) is a doctor controlled cut to prevent tearing. I tore, had an epesiotomy and then tore some more.

About mom and Matt, I think Matt was pooping while mom was holding him and mom was talking about it while Matt was working on it.

Amy said...

Mom looked right into the camera and said, "he's doing his poo-poos" and repeated it.

Emily took care of the explanation. Dad's uteris probably hurts, so we better stop.

Amy said...

The night at the family reunion was great. We were laughing so hard I thought we'd get in trouble. And I don't know what Scott calls water poop. I can't remember anything special. Water poop is my favorite. Is'nt that Scout's word?

Haley said...

Yes, B said what SCOUT calls diarrhea, not Scott. A little confusion there.

Pops said...

Mom and i saw Australia last night. Dan is Wright and it would be better to see it on the big screen, however, I enjoyed the visuals and Kidman and Jackman were good in it. Long it is, but worth seeing. The area the japanisse (sp) invaded is the area that McAuther went to when he left the Phillipenes and waited there until the army invaded Burma and he went back to the Phillapines (sp2) The little boy was good and I like the character of King george. Kind of symbolic of his people.

Haley said...

Glad you liked it!

Pops said...

The night of the Henry's lake family reunion and Scott doing the rafter thing was the best night of my life (if you don't count the night of Aug 25, 1962) anyway we did laugh the loudest, longest and most ever.