Lion (2017) - Movie Review

If your average community theatre productions have told us anything, it’s that dramatic acting isn’t nearly as easy as it appears on the surface. Sure, we end up doing quite a bit of pretending in real life for various reasons, but doing so for a purpose that isn’t trying to alleviate real-life social situations can prove rather difficult. In the realms of the acting craft, I believe no singular gambit better emphasises the difficulties within that craft than the prospect of accents. Much like acting as a whole, feigning an accent that isn’t your own seems easy enough but, as someone who has had to hear mocking Aussie “G’Day, mate!” imitations, I know more than I should that accents are difficult to make believable. Making a joke out of how people talk is one thing, but making them believe that that is actually how you speak is something else entirely.

Why do I bring this up? Well, of all the reasons I have so far shown for being excited for certain releases, from the people attached to them to the subject matter to one or two convincing trailers attached to them, this might be the first time that efficacy with accents has been my defining reason for wanting to see a film. Let’s find our way into this thing and I’ll explain why.

UNindian (2015) - Movie Review

Of all of the people who suddenly find it within themselves to become an actor, sports athletes are probably amongst those who have the least business doing so despite how well some of them turn out. Don’t get me wrong, Vinnie Jones has given us some truly badass roles during his time, but this kind of illustrates how limited the idea is: The majority of the better athletes-cum-actors mainly work in more action-packed fare; anything else, not so much, and it usually fails whenever something more serious is attempted. As such, today’s film serving as the cinematic debut for former Australian cricketer Brett Lee is a rather daunting prospect, despite how the prevalence of the film’s poster has tried to make me acclimatise to the idea. Still, it’s not as if I don’t readily welcome my pessimism being proven wrong around here, so I can only hope that this won’t be as painful as its own potential.