Roy Billing Movies

Upon returning to Narnia to join Prince Caspian for a voyage on the majestic royal vessel known as The Dawn Treader, Lucy, Edmund, and their cousin Eustace encounter merfolk, dragons, dwarves, and a wandering band of lost warriors. As the edge of the world draws near, their remarkable adventure at sea sails toward an exciting, yet uncertain, conclusion. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A gruff Australian farmer puts his own lonely life at risk in order to help a desperate refugee in director Peter Duncan's intimate rural drama. John (William McInnes) is the kind of man who likes his solitude. A man of habit whose best friend stands on four legs, John's volatile temperament makes it difficult for him to connect with most people. One morning, John is gazing out of his kitchen window when he spots a bloodied young woman stammering weakly towards his house. Instinctively, the farmer carries her into his home and begins tending to her massive wounds. Though John is unable to break the language barrier that will allow him to communicate openly with the woman, it is clear that she is terrified. Later driven by instinct to hide the woman when some unexpected visitors come knocking on his door, John decides against calling the police and does his best to aid her in her slow recovery. In the process John learns that the woman's name is Tahmeena (Monic Hendrickx). As Tahmeena's grasp of the English language takes hold, she and John begin to exchange stories: hers about being a refugee in Australia and his about being a widowed farmer just trying to keep the daily routine. Eventually, the outside world comes crashing down on the pair - threatening not just their growing bond, but their very lives as well. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Two teenagers think they have problems until they come to the rescue of a girl with a fishy story to tell in this teen-oriented comedy. Thirteen-year-old Claire (Emma Roberts) and same-aged Hailey (Joanne "JoJo" Levesque) are two close friends living in Tampa, FL, who are facing a separation in a few weeks -- Claire's mother is a marine biologist who has been given a prestigious new job in Australia, meaning the girls are not likely to see much of each other again. While the girls wonder if there's anything they can do to avoid the inevitable, a storm breaks out and the waves toss an unusual example of sea life into Hailey's swimming pool -- Aquamarine (Sara Paxton), a teenaged mermaid who has some problems of her own. Aquamarine's father is a leader of the undersea world who has arranged for his daughter to marry a boy whom she doesn't care for. It seems Dad doesn't put much stock in the land-locked notion of love, and unless Aquamarine can prove to him that it's real, she will have to go through with the wedding. Claire and Hailey find Aquamarine, and discover that she fortunately sprouts legs when on dry land during the daylight hours; after learning of her romantic dilemma, they decide to help her by teaching her how to turn the head of Raymond (Jake McDorman), a cute lifeguard at the nearby beach. However, pretty Aquamarine learns her lessons well enough to make Cecilia (Arielle Kebbel), a mean girl with a crush on Raymond, jealous, leading her into a battle over the young man's affections, which Aquamarine has to win if she wants to avoid a loveless marriage. Aquamarine was the first feature film from director Elizabeth Allen. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

After directing a number of major motion pictures in the United States, Australian-born filmmaker Phillip Noyce returned home to make this remarkable adventure-drama, based on a true story as well as a lamentable period in his nation's history. When European settlers first arrived in Australia, there was an almost immediate conflict between the recent arrivals and the nation's indigenous people, whose rich cultural heritage which bore little resemblance to that of the Europeans. By the mid-19th century, when white settlers had gained political control of the continent, many aborigines found themselves removed from their lands and their children taken from them, under the belief that the youngsters would be better off in a more "civilized" environment. Through most of the 20th century, it was official government policy that half- or quarter-caste indigenous children were to be taken from their families and raised as "white" children in orphanages, where they would be trained to work as domestic servants or laborers. In 1931, Molly (Everlyn Sampi) and her younger sister Daisy (Tianna Sansbury) and cousin Gracie (Laura Monaghan) were three half-caste children from Western Australia who were taken from their parents under government edict and sent to an institution, where they were subject to physical and emotional abuse as they were taught to forget their families, their culture, and their lives up to that point and re-invent themselves as members of "white" Australian society. Gracie and Daisy cling to Molly for support, and Molly decides they need to return to their parents. Molly plans a daring escape, and the three girls begin an epic journey back to Western Australia, travelling 1,500 miles on foot with no food or water, and navigating by following the fence that has been build across the nation to stem an over-population of rabbits. A.O. Neville (Kenneth Branagh), the government functionary in charge of relocating Western Australia's aborigines, takes a special interest in the case of the three girls, and brings in a veteran tracker, Moodoo (David Gulpilil) to help find them, secure in the belief he's acting in their best interest. Rabbit-Proof Fence was based on the acclaimed book by Doris Pilkington Garimara, whose Aunt Daisy was one of the three children who made the extraordinary journey and helped her with the research for the book. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The Australian sitcom Dossa and Joe represented the long awaited return to TV of writer/director Caroline Ahern, who'd sworn that she was through with the Tube after several years' toil on the British comedy weekly The Royle Family. Anne Charleston and Michael Caton starred as Dossa and Joe, a Sydney couple who'd been married for 40 years. But though they'd lived together for four decades, the couple never really knew each other until Joe retired from his job. Quickly getting on one another's nerves, Dossa and Joe retreated to the offices of a marriage counselor in hopes of retrieving whatever it was that had brought them together in the first place. Produced by the Australian branch of Granada Television, Dossa and Joe premiered Down Under in the spring of 2002, with a British TV premiere promised a few weeks later. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Siam Sunset is a post-modern love story about two lost souls. Perry works for an English paint company. His job of creating colors gradually becomes one of constant misfortune. In desperation, he travels to one of the most desolate parts of Australia, where he hopes to find a special color called Siam Sunset that will somehow bring about his salvation from the natural disasters that mysteriously torment him. Along the way, he meets Grace, a woman as troubled by the world as he is. Together they decide to give life and love another chance if the universe lets them. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

After his Oscar-winning performance in Shine, Geoffrey Rush returned to the screen in this Australian comedy as a power-crazed politician, federal treasurer Godfrey Usher. Scientist Richard Shorkinghorn (David Wenham) needs cash to continue his research into age reversal. Applying for a grant, he's invited by philanthropic Grace Michael (Heather Mitchell) to her country estate, where he discovers his former lover and past assistant Kate Haslett (Francis O'Connor) has an identical project and grant request. Grace, they learn, is married to Godfrey Usher, given to frivolity and alcohol. Further, their weekend takes a devilish turn and really heats up after they discover that Grace and Godfrey are both Satanists. Some three years later, Usher is installed as the prime minister of Australia. Director Peter Duncan (Children of the Revolution) appears in a cameo as a defense attorney. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

This Australian sitcom chronicled the misadventures of four twentysomethings, "on their own" for the first time in their lives. To save money and provide mutual moral support, the quartet -- Sophie (Maxine Klibingaitis), Lisa Danielle Spencer, Richard (Adam Willits), and Trevor (Rod Zuanic) -- shared the same apartment. It may sound a bit like Friends, except for the fact that the Australian series predated the American one by three years. Syndicated "down under" by Gary Reilly Productions, the 13 episodes of Hampton Court were seen in 1991. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this human drama, five passengers are held in isolation on a remote island in New Zealand to find out if any are carrying the cholera bacteria. They rebel and escape, unintentionally heading into the mountains. Among them are Eric (Tom Brennan) an American businessman, Keith (Roy Billing) a New Zealander, and Thomas (Ctibor Turba) a man from central Europe. After several days, the group is rescued by the somewhat introverted Victor (Nigel Davenport) a geologist studying volcanoes, a photographer, and a woman writer who is doing a book on Victor. The drama heads into a series of potential eruptions once it is revealed that Eric is in the weapons business, and Turba is a hired assassin with Eric as his target. Turba's animosity grows as he is cheated out of his intended victim and he is goaded beyond endurance by another member of the group. The various actors in this drama manage to evoke a range of depth in their characters that indicate there are several kinds of "strata" involved in this story. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This gothic hillbilly horror thriller was produced in New Zealand and centers around a small rural town, circa 1953, where unusual events lead a teenager to cross paths with a serial killer. Ned (Jonathan Smith) and his pal Les (Daniel McLaren) are a pair of teens in trouble with local bullies after they steal some prize chickens. Their troubles are compounded by the arrival of a carnival, employing the sinister Salter (John Carradine), an evil magician and sideshow hypnotist. The presence of Salter seems to bring out the worst in the local citizenry, inspiring nascent lust and perversion to surface in disturbing ways, much of which is centered on Ned's nubile sister Prudence (Tracy Mann). When a girl is slain in the woods, the trial leads to Salter, who is not only guilty of the crime, but of many more. The Scarecrow (1982), based on the novel of the same name by Ronald Hugh Morrieson, was shown at the Cannes Film Festival. The film was the feature debut of co-writer and director Sam Pillsbury, who went on to direct numerous television movies and series episodes in the U.S. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi