Matrixston Wow! Such a good movie.

Develiker terrible... so disappointed.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Jemima It's a movie as timely as it is provocative and amazingly, for much of its running time, it is weirdly funny.

Rupert17 The Secret LIfe of Us looks at the intertwining lives of a number twenty-something guys and girls all living in a block of flats in the trendy Melbourne Bayside suburb of St Kilda. I liked the concept of TSLOU and the story plots and acting were very engaging early on. However, by the time Joel Edgerton's character Wil left in series 2, certain weak elements had entered the show and it appeared the writing was on the wall. However, series 3 held its own and the introduction of new characters in series 4 gave the series a freshness that it needed. Alexandra Schepisi Anna Torv , Stephen Curry and Brooke Harmon were just right for the final series.I agree with a previous reviewer that Deborah Mailman's character Kelly failed to evolve and in my opinion her ingratiating busybody persona was irritating. The acting of Deborah Mailman was good, it was just that the character was not convincing and it was hard to believe that someone battling obesity could be central to the unfolding events of life in a block of flats peopled by cool young adults and the romantic focus of so many young males. Also, Sybilla Budd's character Gabrielle was rewarded with too much screen time and not enough interesting character development. Her acting grated a little and scenes with Claudia Karvan confirmed how good an actor Claudia is.By comparison, characters played by Claudia Karvan, Abi Tucker, Joel Edgerton and Damien de Montemas grew and enriched each scenario. The character Evan Wylde was probably the one with the most potential and was indeed beautifully played by the terrific actor Samuel Johnson. But I just think the writers didn't quite know how he should relate to Claudia Karvin's Alex, and their relationship as flatmates and possible lovers never quite found its basis in believable exchanges and by the end was flagging. And when Spencer McClaren's character Ritchie made it through a life-changing crisis, it became difficult to give him much to work on after that. Even Abi Tucker's Miranda ran out of puff.I know the show tried to cover many issues and this aspect has been criticised, but without issues in a drama, what's left? Just the minutiae of life - and we all know how interesting that is! 8/10

fedor8 There are so many problems with this over-polished, hugely unrealistic show...First of all, the cast. The guy who plays Evan and the actress who plays his clandestine love (I forget the name...) are the only two solid actors, the rest are to the most part rank amateurs; in particular the woman who plays the big-nosed Gabrielle (Steffi Graf's little sister) comes off as a zombie almost, with only one facial expression on offer: that of a grinning-yet-annoyed fool.Secondly, the political correctness. We have a bunch of goody-two-shoes PC morons with views that are textbook TV/movie propaganda garbage. The way they go about discussing women's rights, race relations, drugs issues, gay rights - and just about everything else - is so carefully worded, it almost comes off as a bunch of slogans one would expect to be created in the marketing departments of various left-wing parties and organizations, and not as the kind of natural, flowing dialogue that real people engage in. That TSLOU would be PC was to be expected; after all, every single Aussie show (and many movies) I've seen were heavily infested with that syrupy world-view (even worse than in the U.S.), but this serial takes it to ridiculous extremes; there is barely an episode in which someone - usually a woman (oh, how PC!) - doesn't make a detailed commentary on some political or social issue - in one breath. That makes TSLOU one of the preachiest TV series ever, making me wonder if the producers were more interested in promoting their political beliefs than actually entertaining the viewers with realistic characters. Hence I have to wonder who financed this crap in the first place...One of the worst examples of this was when one of the male characters finds out (a little late in his life, perhaps?) that he actually might be gay. The plot that develops from there is high melodrama/camp of the most pathetic sort, verging on the unintentionally funny, one absurd plot twist following another.The worst and most disgusting example of Marxist propaganda came in form of a casual dialogue in which Big-Nose and her ex discuss how wonderful Fidel Castro and his Cuba are. "Everyone there is so happy". Which Cuba are they referring to, the Neptunian Cuba? A typical example of spoilt, decadent, elitist Westerner writers day-dreaming about a genocidal political system, while justifying all its dictators every step of the way.Another absurd character is the aborigine girl; her behaviour is often in sharp contradiction to what she said or did only episodes earlier. Bad writing, yet again.The show could have been much better if some roles had been cast with better actors (nepotism?), and if there was more focus on interesting plot-lines rather than third-rate preaching for the masses...

kixbooty I really can't stand to hear people bag this show out. It's fantastic, the writing is imaginative, the directing is great, and as far as the acting goes, it has some of the best performances I have ever seen from an Australian cast. If anybody knew anything about quality TV shows, they would not be able to find fault with this show.I loved this show right from the beginning, the first episode is a 2 part telemovie that draws you in and leaves you begging for more. The 3 main characters that the show centres around are Kelly, Evan and Alex and the on screen chemistry between these three actors just jumps out of the screen, and leaves you feeling like you are actually friends with them.Without a doubt, the first two seasons were pure gold. They were by far the best. The third season had promise, and some of the story lines were amazing, but as we lost several members of the main cast, the show lost its spark and by the fourth season it was nothing like the beginning.The show was pretty much doomed after it lost Alex. She was the star of the show. Claudia Karvan is an amazing actress and I applaud her for staying with the show for as long as she did.The relationships in the show are what made it so special. Alex and Evan, Miranda and Richie, Miranda and Will, Gabrielle and Alex, Gabrielle and Jason, Kelly and Nathan...they all brought out the best in each other, and supported each other in so many ways.The downfall of the show came with the introduction of characters such as Nikki Martel and Lucy and Adam beckwith. Nikki was an appalling and badly written character. Anna Torv is a great actress, but she was wasted on a disaster like Nikki. Nikki's character was so pathetic, it made me turn off my set several times. Then you have Lucy Beckwith, the most boringcharacter ever written into a TV show. Any storyline with Lucy was justdismal and didn't give the spark that the previous characters had. Lucy's character was partly due to bad writing, and partly due to the average acting abilities of Alexandra Schepisi. Lucy could have been more interesting if Alexandra had got it right, but she didn't. At times, I would watch a scene with Lucy in it, and would feel embarrassed for Alexandra because her acting was just so transparent and unconvincing, that you just see her as pathetic. Adam Beckwith was not so bad, he had some redeeming qualities and was played well by Nicholas Coghlan, but once again, fell victim to appalling writing.Then we have George. Gigi Edgely is without a doubt the worst Australian actress I have ever seen. George was a huge character, she could have been amazing, but she was played by an average actor. I would have liked to have seen Anna Torv play George, she could have pulled it off...but Gigi, there's no excuse for such dull performances, when you have such a vibrant and interesting character to work with. George was a huge disappointment for me.Sticking with the original characters, this show is my favourite Australian show to this date, and I enjoyed watching it immensely.five stars.

lloydiwombatboy I first started watching SLOU on UK TV when it was billed as an Aussie version of the UK series 'This Life' (highly recommended, also). I was instantly hooked. Loved series 1. Was waiting for series on C4 in UK but it never seemed to come. In 2002 I caught the first showings of series 2 in Aus and was gutted that I could only see a couple of episodes. I waited even longer. Eventually, back in the UK, they showed series 2 - at 12:30 am!! What's going on?! Series 3 never aired in the UK, and I bought the DVDs and had them mailed from Aus. Bottom line is this - it's an excellent series that was poorly misrepresented in the UK. I just love to chat to Aussies about the show (before it turned poo in series 4) and will always recommend it to people. One of the best dramas and a great reminder of my time in Aus (and particularly St Kilda)