Slide Away

Howdy!

Over the weekend I rented out ‘Black Water’.  An Australian independent movie about a true story of a pregnant woman Gracie, her husband Adam and Gracie’s younger sister Lee, who embark upon tour into the Australian swamp for fishing. Their guide uses a small motorboat and takes the tourists along the river to a remote spot. When they stop, they are attacked by a huge crocodile that capsizes their boat and immediately kills the tour guide. The three survivors climb a tree and when they realise that help isn’t coming to rescue them, they decide to try to find a way out of their sheltered location. However, in the muddy water, the crocodile stalks the trio. 

I rented the movie because my pal told me ‘ it does for crocodiles, what Jaws did for sharks’.  Now, Jaws is my favourite film of all time, but to me ‘Black Water’ is Jaws 4.  It’s has no where near the suspense or drama Jaws offers.  It felt the film was very repetitive and predictable.  There was poor character development and I felt nothing for them when they were in danger.  I was voting for the croc. In Jaws, there plenty of character development that the audience can sympathies and empathies with them, but in ‘Black Water’ there isn’t any.  I thought the film might have an entertainment value, but it lacked drawing the audience into the situation.  The film to me was like Open Water or Rogue.  There isn’t a believability to it.  I know they’re true stories, but it’s the way it’s delivered on screen that fails.  I still think someone out there has to make a film on the USS Indianapolis, which I believe could be a good a film as Jaws.

  On a personal note, thank you Andy for the Q and A with Lord Attenborough.  It was an absolute pleasure to be in the crowd and hear his thoughts on his professional and personal life.  I’m sure I speak for the class that if Mr. Attenborough was still in the auditorium, we would all be there listening intensely.  I also read on movie websites that producers Thomas Schuhly and Mario Kassar have the rights to remaking Metropolis.  Don’t know how far along that is, but time to stop the remakes before it gets out of hand.       

Cheers