Jane Hall Movies

The curious world of children's dance competitions is raked over the satiric coals in this comic mockumentary. Mr. Jonathan (Ben Miller) is a dance teacher and choreographer who is preparing a group of his current students to take part in the Sanosafe Troupe Spectacular, a major regional competition for pre-teen dancers. Mr. Jonathan has been frustrated in his effort to bring home a first-place trophy, in part due to his ambitious themes, as his young charges are forced to take part in his interpretive pieces on war, economic injustice, environmental issues and the like. Mr. Jonathan's strongest adversary is Miss Elizabeth (Jane Hall), who has a constant smile and a will of iron as she weeds the "fat, lazy and untalented" from her ranks. However, this year Mr. Jonathan is determined to defeat her, and Justine (Kerry Armstrong), an overeager stage mother who claims she almost passed the audition to become a Spice Girl, is more than willing to help, as long as her daughter Tenille (Shayni Notelovitz) is featured prominently in Jonathan's latest extravaganza. Mr. Jonathan suffers through Justine's "assistance" until Tenille loses her star billing to Grace (Clancy Ryan), a plucky youngster with more talent. Razzle Dazzle: A Journey Into Dance received its American premiere at the 2007 Los Angeles Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

"Craic" is Irish slang for a laugh or a good time, which is what this comedy about two Irishmen on the run in Australia has to offer. Fergus (Jimeoin McKeown) and his best friend Wesley (Alan McKee) are living in Belfast when they incur the wrath of a violent IRA leader, Colin (Robert Morgan). Since Ireland no longer seems like a safe place to stay, the boys hit the road and end up in Sydney, where they manage to find work despite the fact they're illegal aliens. Fergus gets a chance to appear on Australian TV's answer to "The Dating Game" and wins a vacation in Queensland with a pretty but half-bright beautician, Margo (Kate Gorman). While Fergus is enjoying his holiday (if not Margo's company), immigration authorities raid the house where Wesley, Fergus and several other illegals have been staying. Wesley takes it on the lam and tracks down Fergus in Queensland, just in time for Colin to show up, who is in Australia as part of a witness protection program. Fergus and Wesley are still angry at Colin, and vice versa, and so a mad chase ensues as Fergus and Wesley head for the outback with immigration agents, secret service men and IRA renegades hot on their trail. Jimeoin McKeown is a popular stand-up comic in Australia, and Alan McKee is the star of the BBC's The Bill; their combined box-office draw gave The Craic the second-biggest opening week gross ever for an Australian film at home, bested only by Muriel's Wedding in 1994. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

John Ruane directed this Australian romantic comedy in which lonely Alice (Miranda Otto), seeking her long-lost father, begins working in the same dead-letter office that keeps returning her letters to him. The office is run by a political refugee from Chile, Frank (George DelHoyo), and Alice and Frank eventually become a twosome amid the undelivered mail. Barry Otto, Miranda Otto's father, makes a brief appearance. Shown at 1998 film festivals in Brisbane and Melbourne. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

The Only Way Home, a psychological drama made three years after the release of Easy Rider, attempts to take advantage of the earlier film's inexplicable popularity. It tells the story of two young men who set out on the open road after working a series of dead-end, menial jobs. They encounter a rich couple and stop to help them change a flat tire. Something the husband says causes one of the men to strike the husband with a tire iron, killing him. Panicked, they take the wife hostage. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi