Things come, things go. Very pleased with the reaction from the internet blackout — SOPA may not be completely shelved, but it’s pretty much dead in the water. The internet needs freedom to continue to grow and develop. Unfortunately, it’s getting plenty of opposition on that front with two other measures: ACTA and PIPA. ACTA is SOPA’s big brother — if you haven’t heard about it, please go and read up on it. It’s on a global scale, rather than just a US scale, which makes it much more dangerous. There are plenty of things that you, as a surfer of the internet, can do to voice your opinion on ACTA, so please take the time, as I have, to voice your displeasure. For the petitions against PIPA, go here or here.
Twitter announced that it’s going to allow countries to censor certain tweets of their citizens, yet another backlash against internet freedom. Twitter was instrumental in toppling some of the terrible, oppressive governments that saw their end in 2011. Please also take the time to tell Twitter that they need a backbone. I’m not sure what changed their mind, but they could probably use your support to do the right thing.
And now, onto less serious business. Films 8 and 9 in my film challenge.
#8 – Oranges and Sunshine (2010)
Dir. Jim Loach
Written by Rona Munro (screenplay), Margaret Humphreys (book)
Stars Emily Watson, Hugo Weaving, David Wenham
Based on true events, Oranges and Sunshine is an emotionally hard-hitting film that should definitely receive a viewer’s full attention. It concerns a woman, a social worker, named Margaret Humphreys (Watson), who inadvertently stumbles across a huge international scandal — the unpleasant truth that hundreds of English children were shipped off to Australia to start “better lives,” ripping them away from both their families and their true identities.
The performances of the principle actors, particularly Watson and Weaving, are incredibly powerful. While the film can be difficult to watch because of its very weighted subject matter, it’s incredibly well done. The cinematography in particular is beautiful, from the muted English landscape to the bright and colorful Australian hills.
Rating: 5/5
#9 – Frauds (1993)
Dir. Stephan Elliot
Written by Stephen Elliot
Stars Phil Collins, Hugo Weaving, Josephine Byrnes
Written and directed by the man who would go on, the next year, to direct The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Frauds is a difficult film to rate. On the one hand, there’s nothing wrong with the plot. Unfortunately, much like Collins’ antagonistic role, the film suffers from being overdone. The motivations of his character are vague at best, and he’s so unlikable that you want him to get what’s coming to him. But the film doesn’t even give you that. Byrnes does a decent job as the wife on the end of her rope, the only sympathetic person in the entire thing. Weaving is completely wasted in a part that’s terribly inconsistent — he does the best that he can, but overall the film doesn’t let him develop anything.
Which is really what I didn’t like: the inconsistent nature of the film itself. The first half of the film is enjoyable, with intrigue and playful humor, but the second quickly degrades into manic shenanigans — there’s no depth, no development (other than the main characters into madness), and you don’t really care about what’s going on. I’m giving it a 2/5 for the first part of the film, which I did enjoy. But the film deprived me of any sense of follow-through, and there wasn’t anything meaningful for the main characters. So for that, it gets a lower rating.
Rating: 2/5
