Pageant of the Masters on Hyperspeed

Rating: 6/10 (3 July 2011)

Every art major should watch this movie. Visually, it's stunning. The scenes are meticulously crafted, beautifully orchestrated. Much like watching Pageant of the Masters in hyper speed; and with about as much of a plot. Please Zack Snyder, hire Paul Haggis to write an actual screenplay for your next movie. I would love to see the beauty on screen represent more than a flat canvas of eye candy. Give us substance and depth in the story to make us care about the characters. Emily Browning does a great job with the script she has to work with. With a small amount of dialogue she conveys abject sadness, despair, downright misery, and eventually works her way up to confusion, resolution, and focused determination. We see a fragment of her back story, but nothing of the other girls' stories, making it extremely difficult to understand why they are in this place and what their roles are in this made up world, presumably taking on the same roles they hold in relation to each other in the real world. Except for Abbie Cornish and Jenna Malone the others are interchangeable. With a movie this stunningly crafted I want to sit back and enjoy the display, but I also want to care about who I'm watching on screen. Spend a little more time on the why's and how's of the characters' stories and the audiences will care enough to come back.