Lyn Collingwood Movies
- 1986
- R
The premise in this actioner (set in the 1990s, which probably seemed futuristic at this time) is that the world's economy has hit the skids and in Australia, street punks are looting cars for their spare parts. In order to control the mobs of roaming gangs, the Aussie government rounds them up and stashes them in prison camps. When Crabs (Ned Manning) takes his girlfriend Carmen (Natalie McCurry) out to a drive-in movie on a date he does not realize he has just pulled into one of these prisons. In no time at all his tires have been stolen and he sees that he's been trapped. The rest of the action (spliced with humor) involves Crabs fending for himself and trying to finds a way out. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ned Manning, Natalie McCurry, (more)
- 1984
This emotional true story is about Annie O'Farrell (Tina Arhondis -- who suffered brain damage at birth and as a result was later institutionalized with other children like herself, physically unable to mature past the age of 8 or 9, even though in chronological years they are much older. When therapist Jessica Hathaway (Angela Punch McGregor meets Annie for the first time, her interactions with the girl tell her that she has been misdiagnosed. Convinced that Annie's mind is functioning perfectly well, Jessica runs up against solid opposition from Annie's parents and has to bide her time until the girl reaches the age of 18. At that point, Jessica obtains an injunction to get Annie released from the home -- and begins her own session of therapy. Due to the non-fictional content of the film, the disagreements between Jessica and Annie's parents are sidelined, and, as in many other films of this type, the unusual court battles and subsequent change in the disabled patient are dramatic but not in keeping with the day-to-day reality of patients and clinical staff working to make small steps towards progress -- with never a chance for any miraculous recovery in the vast majority of cases. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Drew Forsythe, Tina Arhondis, (more)
- 1983
- R
This crime drama features an interesting turn about when the six Australian hostages taken by a group of bank robbers make sure that the crooks cannot escape from them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Building is Howard's passion, and he is so absorbed in his plans to build an elaborate resort in the Blue Mountains of Australia that he ignores certain obvious signals that his business partner is not entirely on the up-and-up. After a brush fire destroys the resort, an insurance investigator comes nosing around, whom Howard's partner deals with in a drastic manner. By the time Lloyds of London's senior investigator George Engels (James Mason in one of his last roles) arrives on the scene, Howard (Tom Skerritt) is anxious to set things to rights. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Skerritt, Ian Gilmour, (more)
- 1980
Fran (Judy Morris) is a 29-year-old university researcher whose biological clock begins to tick so loudly that no alarm is needed to wake her up -- if she does not find a suitable romantic partner soon, how in the world can she have any kind of a life at all? So she embarks on a series of false starts, one after the other, that seem to leave her worse for the wear. Her first long affair with a married man -- hardly a reasonable choice given her aspirations -- has been brought to a quick termination by the man's wife. Her next unfortunate liaison is with her boss, who has no intention of making any commitments. Another of her ill-advised suitors tries to rape her. As she goes from bad to worse, she ends up considering a plodding farmer willing to offer both marriage and commitment -- just what she wants, but not with him. The story only confirms the adage that after the age of 30 or so, all good men are always somewhere else. Fran is left to consider her options -- reset the clock or unplug it. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Judy Morris, Bill Hunter, (more)
- 1979
In this thriller, set in Sydney Australia's Palm Beach (which is to Sydney what Malibu is to Los Angeles), the lives of four hard-pressed individuals briefly become interwoven. Paul Kite (Bryan Brown) has been out of work for some time. While at a sociable party, he quietly pockets a handgun he finds there. Later, he bungles the robbery of a supermarket, killing a policeman in the process, and goes into hiding in some caves. Leilani Adams (Amanda Berry) is a sexually adventurous girl who has run away from home. She is being sought by private detective Larry Kent (John Flaus), a relic of the 1950s. Finally, Joe Ryan (Ken Brown) is trying to pay off a debt and put together a drug deal, without a lot of success. In one fashion or another, they all meet in Palm Beach. Some may find the strong Australian regional speech patterns in this film difficult to understand. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nat Young, Kenneth Brown, (more)
