Reviews

William Kelly's War was a complete surprise. It was launched in cinemas without much fanfare. I wondered why? It had great reviews, a well known producer, a director on his second assignment and a little known cast in a story that had the audience cheering at the end of the movie. The tale of the two heroic brothers with their cousin Paddy really drew me in, I really cared for them as they are sent from battlefront to battlefront whilst their family back home are involved in another war with Bushrangers. The loving close-knit family is very cleverly set up at the front of the movie. The period settings, set design and characters are authentic, the pace perfect. This is a movie that connects with its audience, highly recommended.

George Clooney is a great modern day movie star. His ability is often underestimated because of his great screen presence. Clooney manages to pick scripts that are not always 'regular Hollywood fare'. Remember 'Men That Stare At Goats'? He is blessed with great voice. Like Mel Gibson, Russell Crowe and Paul Newman, Clooney is the full package. He can act, write, produce, direct and move between each of these scenarios with ease, or combine when he feels it necessary. THE DECENDENTS is a great film. The plot with Clooneys wife on life support and his journey from that point on, had me in from the first frame. Go see this film. Its one of those feel good movies that tends to leave you thinking about for sometime after. Eight stars.

The Surfer should have had a bigger audience when it was released than it did in the late eighties. There were a lot of low budget OZ films that were not anywhere near as good as this one, yet got major releases. Its obvious this low budget movie had a director on-board (Frank Shields)that really gets to the teeth of each scene and the acting is of a pretty good standard. The locations were also enticing and the story moved along OK. If you enjoy low budget Aussie films made in the 70's & 80's like I do, put this on your list.I would have liked to see more of the main characters back story as at times he seems to be searching for things that are not spelled out clearly enough in story, but his performance is strong and this compensates. The support players like Gerard Maguire also do a commendable job.

I really enjoyed this film. Exotic locations, light comedy cleverly played by the principal actors (especially Elliott Gould) and stunning photography. Wet N Wild Summer as it was called here is the story of a big multi national developer(Elliott Gould) being conned by a devious wife (Lois Larimore) who wants him to buy up beach front land in Australia. Elliots son (Christopher Atkins) in on the deal, decides to move to Australia undercover on an Exchange Lifeguard program to do the deal. When he arrives, he meets the chief lifeguard (Julian McMahon) who is trying to save the surf-club from these devious developers. The film takes a u turn and when Atkins meets a female lifeguard and falls in love, but he is caught between a rock and a hard place re his agenda. I put this film in the same category as Muriels Wedding, where the characters are so funny and sometimes over the top make you want to go and live there.

The story opens with an ex cop (Simon Westaway) on the balcony of a surf club wondering what to do with his life. As the story unfolds Westaway we learn that he left the force under duress and is having troubles with his girlfriend. With nothing else on offer Westaway decides to set up shop as a FINDER with his office a deck chair on the balcony of the local surf club. When a distressed father turns up to report his daughter has been kidnapped, Westaway is hired to find her. He gets a lead which sees him lured into the underbelly of Sydneys crime world. The story moves along at pace, the performances are top notch and the music by the legendary Kevin Johnson is sensational. I enjoyed this movie and can recommend it.

It's not often we see a good surf culture film. When surf videos became the rage, I bought every single one. In amongst them were some real doozies. Like 'Beach Cool' and 'Seven Waves'. There were others that engaged like 'Five Summer Stories' a well produced documentary and the classic 'Big Wednesday'. Liquid Bridge covers the generation gap. The story of a young man trying to overcome his fear of big waves and compete on the world circuit against the wishes of a wheel chair bound father who is trying to stop him competing. The performances are first rate. Ryan Kwanten is indeed a star in the making, he is supported by a stella cast including Tony Bonner, Jeremy Simms and Carmen Duncan.....but the best part of the film is where Ryan Kwanten finds himself in prison. The direction and photography are in a class of their own.

I'm biased. I like Patsy Kensit on film. From her role as Mel Gibsons lover to her wild character in Absolute Beginners. Patsy has a knack for consuming the character and making the character believable. Her character as a detective in Tunnel Vision gets you in, you believe she is in grave danger from the get go. Then as the tables are turned and the villian you think is responsible for these these artistic murders turns out to be someone else. There are some great red herrings in this movie, all believable and the location for the film is wonderful & the music by academy award winner David Hirschfelder is fantastic. This is a movie well worth the ticket price.

This Australian movie is up there with Red Rock West as one of the best thrillers I've seen. It has a great anti hero (Jerome Elhers) who like Nick Cage has a great edgy screen presence. This is the best film Linda Blair has been in since The Exorcist. She captures the character of the girl enraptured in this man on the run from something he won't reveal. A great film, highly recommended.

I've been watching a lot of Australian movies of late and I really enjoyed this film. The setting, a cursed mountain ( great images) in the highlands of Australia could well be Canada or Europe. In fact the movie had a real European feel to it. It's not one of those wham bam action movies, its one of those films where you get clues bit by bit. I liked this film a lot and the big plus...its a lot different to anything else I've seen lately.

A sequel to the Mel Gibson film Summer City. Breaking Loose has a real warmth to it. Peter Phelps (a young Paul Newman) leaves home & hooks up with an old surfer who was a friend of his father. The surfer & his aboriginal mate live in an old shack on the beach and are constantly harrassed by a local cop who hates surfers & what they stand for. Peter Phelps & Vince Martin are great in the key roles & the beautiful Abigail is well cast as the down trodden wife. Great cinematography, good cast and a quirky story you can watch again & again.

The lead actor Ryan Kwanten eats up the screen. I also loved the performance by his French lover (Simone Kessel). The story really moved me, a young man with issues with his dad wants to conquer the waves...it was directed with flair and the movie is great entertainment . 5 stars.