Tony Allison Movies
Successful Winnipeg-based artist David (Troy Ruptash) has become isolated from humankind due to his fame and notoriety, which negatively affects his inspiration for painting new works. Having come to the conclusion that the only cure for this condition is a heavy dose of culture immersion, David sets out to find a job -- and quickly finds one waiting tables at a diner run by married couple Matt (Vincent Corazza) and Violet (Cherilee Taylor). David purposefully manages to keep this new part of his life a secret from his best friends Kryla (Lynda Boyd) and Shannon (Thom Allison), especially when he starts developing a crush on Matt. As the two start a romantic relationship, Violet and Kryla each separately become suspicious and begin looking into the various inconsistencies surrounding Matt and David's recent actions. Matt, under pressure, ends the relationship but finds he must confess his sins to Violet when his and David's relationship is about to be made public due to some nude portraits David painted with Matt as the subject. The feature-film directing debut for Canadian playwright Brad Fraser, Leaving Metropolis gained wider public notice after being selected for inclusion into the 2002 Montreal World Film Festival. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Troy Ruptash, Vincent Corazza, (more)
A rag-tag group of con artists and ex-cons team up for the heist to end all heists in this high-profile remake of the 1960 Rat Pack favorite. As with its predecessor, Ocean's Eleven opens with its titular hero Danny Ocean (George Clooney stepping into the Frank Sinatra role) eager for a new challenge. The similarities to the original end there, as Ocean conspires with his old pal Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) to rob 150 million dollars from an underground vault that serves three of Las Vegas' biggest casinos. Between the two of them, they recruit nine other men, each with his own criminal specialty, to assist in the mission: moneyman Reuben Tishkoff (Elliot Gould), card dealer Frank (Bernie Mac), pickpocket Linus (Matt Damon), aging con artist Saul (Carl Reiner), British explosives pro Basher (Don Cheadle), techie Dell (Eddie Jemison), rude-boy brothers Virgil (Casey Affleck) and Turk (Scott Caan), and professional acrobat Yen (Shaobo Qin). What Ocean doesn't tell the group is that there's another reason he's coordinating the heist: the three casinos they're robbing are all owned by ruthless gambling mogul Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), who just happens to be married to Ocean's former love Tess (Julia Roberts). Ocean's Eleven was updated by scribe Ted Griffin and marked the third feature shot by director Steven Soderbergh under the alias Peter Andrews. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Clooney, Brad Pitt, (more)
- 1989
This is a political thriller about a woman who plans to become the first female prime minister of Australia, no matter what she has to do to get there. Diane's (Diane Craig) chief rival for the top spot is Barry Robbins (Gary Day) the (married) government minister with whom she is having an affair. Meanwhile, her best friend is a newspaperwoman who works for a paper owned by a ruthless media magnate (with the initials "R. M."). While Diane plots her course to the Prime Ministership, she also has plans to ruin the career of the media magnate. This, she thinks, would be proper revenge for causing the death of her father. Oddly, all these shenanigans take place in a city every Australian will recognize as Adelaide rather than in Canberra, which is that country's capital. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Diana Craig, Gary Day, (more)
- 1985
Many cinematic versions of this story which first appeared in 1889 (authored by Rolf Boldrewood) have been produced, the first was an Australian film dating back to 1907, and this mid-'80s interpretation is also an Australian release. The focus is on Captain Starlight (Sam Neill) and his gang of outlaws who terrorize the countryside in the late 19th century. Dick and Jim Marsten (Steven Vidler and Christopher Cummins) leave home to join Captain Starlight's gang of brigands, following fast on their father's own footsteps. Opposing the Marstens and the rest of the gang is the determined Sir Frederick Morringer (Robert Grubb). Love interests, arguments, and episodic adventures fill the time until the inevitable final showdown with the law. Originally intended as a series on television, the sequences have been cut to fit into a continuous, 2 1/2-hour movie -- unfortunately deleting background on the main protagonists and their lovers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sam Neill, Steven Vidler, (more)
- 1978
- R
In order to raise the money for his "breakthrough" film Breaker Morant, Australian director Bruce Beresford dashed off the guaranteed audience pleaser Money Movers. Terence Donovan masterminds a bank-vault heist that will potentially net his gang 20 million Australian dollars. The scheme predictably goes sour, but this conclusion is reached via a most unexpected fashion. Ed Devereaux, best known to American audiences for his leading-man gig on the TV series Skippy, the Bush Kangaroo, is second billed as "Dick Martin" (no, not the American TV-comic Dick Martin). Money Movers was based on a novel by Devon Minchin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Terence Donovan, Ed Devereaux, (more)
- 1977
This Australian fox-and-hounds melodrama concerns an intensive manhunt for a suspected murderer. Polish immigrant Mark Gaweda is accused of killing a rancher's wife. Heading the posse is police officer Wyn Roberts, who hopes that by catching Gaweda he'll be able to live down an earlier tragedy caused by his negligence. John Waters, one of Roberts' men, begins to believe in Gawada's innocence, and ends up defending the fugitive against his accusers. Weekend of Shadows was based on a novel by Hugh Atkinson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Waters, Melissa Jaffer, (more)
- 1976
Storm Boy (Greg Rowe) is a rambunctious Australian youth, living along the coastline with his freewheeling father. At the behest of an aging aborigine, Storm Boy takes care of an uncared-for nest of pelicans. As he develops a sense of responsibility, the boy's outlook on the world matures. This serves to strengthen his devotion to his father and to his new-found aborigine friend. Based on a novel by Colin Thiele. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Greg Rowe, Peter Cummins, (more)
