Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: TV-inspired rap: Some early "Top Of The Lake" impressions
Well as somebody once said, "taste is relative and you're no relative of
mine." :-D
I was more into the storyline especially the bit about dealing with the
town tyrant. I also like films just set in other countries. Campion
also mocked Hunter's cult a bit in the film. In an earlier Campion film,
"Sweetie", she mocked another cult. Guess which one?
I was right about "Knights of Badassdom". There are articles on the web
about it being "shelved" even after getting a good response at Comic Con.
On 02/13/2014 12:28 AM, TurquoiseBee wrote:
I have to agree with s3raphita here. Sorry ultrarishi and
bhairitu...please don't take this personally, but my honest reaction
to this series was feeling like I needed to take a shower afterwards.
The worst thing about it was the overriding sense of obsession and
ickiness that has become Jane Campion's "trademark" in her later
films. And interestingly enough, it wasn't just the subject matter
that made it that way. For example, the "Millenium" series of movies
(starting with "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo") dealt with material
just as dark, as did "Bron-Broen" in some ways, but I wasn't left with
the same icky feeling after those films.
On a craftsmanship level, I have to disagree with most of the reviews
of this film I've read since watching it. I think that the reviewers
either were swayed by the big names (Campion, Elizabeth Moss, Holly
Hunter) or they have low standards. The plot was mediocre IMO, even by
TV detective series standards. The timeline (which took place over 5
months) was completely messed up, with no real sense of elapsed time
between scenes, the "whodunnit" was obvious after episode 3, and IMO
there were almost no real characters. Instead they were
caricatures...stereotypes with little depth...and I for one found none
of them believable. Especially Holly Hunter as GJ. As I said before,
if Campion actually based her on UG Krishnamurti, then her perception
is *way* off. The only one of the awards it was nominated for that I
felt was deserved was for cinematography, and even that was a
no-brainer, because all that the DP had to do was point a camera at
the beautiful NZ countryside and turn it on.
All in all, color me disappointed. I was hoping that watching it would
"cure" me of my aversion to Jane Campion, but instead it reinforced
it. I won't be bothering with any of her films in the future. I really
*needed* (after the shower) a quick watching of a dumb nerd/horror
movie ("Knights Of Badassdom") to take the bad taste out of my eyes.
*From:* "s3raph...@yahoo.com"
*To:* FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
*Sent:* Thursday, February 13, 2014 12:22 AM
*Subject:* [FairfieldLife] RE: TV-inspired rap: Some early "Top Of The
Lake" impressions
I watched the whole of "Top Of The Lake". It's unpleasant and violent
with no redeeming or attractive characters. I only watched because of
the UG guru role to see where that would lead. "Nowhere" is the
answer. There's no real relationship between the spiritual group and
the disorder and crime surrounding it so the commune just adds a
slightly exotic ambience to the drama. You wanted Holly Hunter's
character to provide an alternative interpretation of the events but
there is no resolution - just a confirmation of Campion's pessimism.
Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: TV-inspired rap: Some early "Top Of The Lake" impressions
I have to agree with s3raphita here. Sorry ultrarishi and bhairitu...please
don't take this personally, but my honest reaction to this series was feeling
like I needed to take a shower afterwards. The worst thing about it was the
overriding sense of obsession and ickiness that has become Jane Campion's
"trademark" in her later films. And interestingly enough, it wasn't just the
subject matter that made it that way. For example, the "Millenium" series of
movies (starting with "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo") dealt with material
just as dark, as did "Bron-Broen" in some ways, but I wasn't left with the same
icky feeling after those films.
On a craftsmanship level, I have to disagree with most of the reviews of this
film I've read since watching it. I think that the reviewers either were swayed
by the big names (Campion, Elizabeth Moss, Holly Hunter) or they have low
standards. The plot was mediocre IMO, even by TV detective series standards.
The timeline (which took place over 5 months) was completely messed up, with no
real sense of elapsed time between scenes, the "whodunnit" was obvious after
episode 3, and IMO there were almost no real characters. Instead they were
caricatures...stereotypes with little depth...and I for one found none of them
believable. Especially Holly Hunter as GJ. As I said before, if Campion
actually based her on UG Krishnamurti, then her perception is *way* off. The
only one of the awards it was nominated for that I felt was deserved was for
cinematography, and even that was a no-brainer, because all that the DP had to
do was point a camera at the beautiful NZ
countryside and turn it on.
All in all, color me disappointed. I was hoping that watching it would "cure"
me of my aversion to Jane Campion, but instead it reinforced it. I won't be
bothering with any of her films in the future. I really *needed* (after the
shower) a quick watching of a dumb nerd/horror movie ("Knights Of Badassdom")
to take the bad taste out of my eyes.
From: "s3raph...@yahoo.com"
To: FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, February 13, 2014 12:22 AM
Subject: [FairfieldLife] RE: TV-inspired rap: Some early "Top Of The Lake"
impressions
I watched the whole of "Top Of The Lake". It's unpleasant and violent with no
redeeming or attractive characters. I only watched because of the UG guru role
to see where that would lead. "Nowhere" is the answer. There's no real
relationship between the spiritual group and the disorder and crime surrounding
it so the commune just adds a slightly exotic ambience to the drama. You wanted
Holly Hunter's character to provide an alternative interpretation of the events
but there is no resolution - just a confirmation of Campion's pessimism.
Re: [FairfieldLife] RE: TV-inspired rap: Some early "Top Of The Lake" impressions
Yes, I agree he should stick with it. It has some surprises coming up. It's also interesting how Elizabeth Moss's career has developed. I recall her being the teen villain in the ABC sci-fi dram "Invasion" of around 10 years ago. Last night I watched the British thriller "Closed Circuit" on Blu-ray with Eric Bana, Rebecca Hall, Jim Broadbent, Ciarán Hinds and Julia Stiles. I really liked where the storyline goes but can't go into that without it being a spoiler. On 02/11/2014 10:55 PM, ultrarishi wrote: Stick with it. It's good. Most long form crime series pad out their stories with stuff, like the so called angry feminist element you speak of. However, misdirection is a key part of these dramas and the padding is the misdirection. While I don't want to give any spoilers, the misdirection is there to keep you from solving the mystery too soon. What would be fun in watching if you guessed right off the bat. Season 2 of Bron / Broen made good use of this with various plot elements. Same goes for the Killing. At the end of the day this is still just a crime drama, just with characters a bit more wacky than usual.
