Reviews

I used to watch Home and Away when I was a kid but as I grew up stopped watching it. I recently, at the age of 27, caught up on YouTube on the last month of the program and I like it. If you're not looking for over-realistic soap then this is a great program to watch.

When compared with British soaps it's more light-hearted, funny and entertaining to watch. I for one don't pay for a TV licence so that I can watch a realistic program about a bunch of unwashed-looking English people shouting at each other. Watching shows like Eastenders in comparison it's no wonder all foreigners think we're booze hounds who like to fight and talk in stupid accents.

Don't get me wrong, Home and Away isn't perfect: between the big story lines where something huge happens (like the Hugo skipping town storyline and corrupt cop Eaves), some story lines can get a little banal, like Alf's fear of a ventriloquist dummy spanning SEVERAL episodes, or Elijah's parents being annoying for an entire WEEK but accomplishing nothing much is a bit boring and annoying, but some story lines keep things ticking along nicely and prevent it from getting horrible to watch.

One of the biggest flaws with this show is that there is ALWAYS someone with a drinking problem every couple of months, there is ALWAYS a wedding that's getting rocky during planning, there's ALWAYS a young girl and an older guy crush... aka the standard soap story lines. It would be nice if H&A broke the mould and came up with a new 'dramatic' story line.

What I love about soaps is that you can pick up after a long time of not watching it and just start; you'll get caught up soon enough. With Home and Away this is especially easy because they keep it simple, which is what I like.

*SPOILERS*

First of all, let me just say that Moulin Rouge has got to be one of the most original movies of 2001. I only recently brought the video in March 2002, but all the same I love it. As with most, I saw the trailer when it came out on cinema and shrugged it off as some Hollywood fad and ignored it. That was before I found out who directed it. BAZ LUHRMANN!!!!

This man is truly a God amongst Directors. The cinematography and direction (Not to mention dialogue and humour) for this film gets top marks from me because Baz is my favourite director - I LOVED Romeo and Juliet.

McGregor knocked me six ways from Sunday when he opened his mouth and belted out the romantic power ballad 'Your Song'. Everything just seemed to silence at that moment. (Baz knew this because the lights of Paris all lit up too) I couldn't find a fault with his voice at all, nor his acting. It was so much better and natural than his wooden performance in Episode I.

Kidman did a nice job, though her voice took a little warming to. It's quite thin and high, but worked surprisingly well with Ewan's voice. She certainly did a good rendition of 'One Day I'll Fly Away' though I was more impressed with her 'Diamonds are a girl's best friend' and 'Come What May'. I was particularly impressed with Kidman's acting skills. I've never really watched any of her films, and was pleased to see she could switch from a raving loony prostitute to doing a good job and coughing and wheezing – it sounded so real!

Though the plot is straightforward and simple, Baz managed to make it something new and interesting in the best way he knows how; through pure and utter LUNACY. This was great. Baz certainly picked a clever way of introducing the co-stars – A narcoleptic (of all things) Argentinean falling through his roof and a Dwarf with a unusually long name (dressed as a nun) running into his room, then all of a sudden he winds up helping them on a play. Genius.

A simple, zany and tragic love story (slightly reminiscent of both Romeo and Juliet and Titanic) Baz has redefined the genre of musicals. The singing was up to par, the dancing was moving (no pun intended) and the songs chosen were as if they were secretly written for the film twenty or so years ago. Fantastic. 10/10.