Brian Kavanagh Movies

Friends gather for a dinner party and engage in fascinating conversations that take a much darker turn when the true nature of their interrelations come to light in this Australian comedy-drama. It is Sylvia and her frustrated lover Morris who give the party. She, the editor of an advice column in a feminist magazine, and he are going through a rocky time as she hasn't allowed him to have sex with her since her abortion. The others are Tracy, a fashion model, John, a manipulative closet homosexual, free-spirited fashion designer Viv, Tom, her bisexual lover, and Dan, an aloof loner. As far as secret involvements go, Tracy is having an affair with Morris. John has had an affair with Tom. Tracy claims Dan once beat her, but Dan denies it. The evening progresses and the guests drink much wine and smoke plenty of dope. This loosens their tongues and allows their dirty little secrets to slip out one by one. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this Australian children's adventure story, the young inventor Cody Walpole (Henry Thomas) is forced to move to the outback with his father's best friend following the death of both parents. Upon arrival, he becomes intrigued by local lore of a "donkejin," or "bunyip," a legendary, dinosaur-like creature that is said to inhabit a defunct mine that lies nearby. Soon, his girlfriend and her younger, wisecracking sister are indeed nearly attacked by something that resembles the bunyip, while rafting in the local lake. Cody begins to suspect that the bunyip is a kind of Loch Ness monster that inhabits the body of water, and he is determined to prove it. A fisherman has died in the lake under mysterious circumstances and it inspires Cody to confront the monster head-on. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This unexciting story is about a woman who leaves her husband for an interlude of illicit romance and crime. The film begins with two parallel sequences: the fashion model Christine (Angela Punch McGregor) is at home, bored with her married life to Peter (Louis Jourdan) a wealthy businessman, and while those scenes play out, a silver-suited biker is on the prowl. Soon the biker steals a Rolls and follows Christine home, where in quick order they trash her house, take off together, and later rob a post office dressed as clowns. As the film cuts between Peter, Christine, the biker, and Peter's secretary, it is difficult to tell who really has the upper hand, who is actually in control, and who is being manipulated. Unfortunately, this guessing game becomes less interesting as the events in the film become less plausible, and the lack of surprises or shocking scenes -- especially to modern audiences with well-constructed shock absorbers -- makes for a dull 90 minutes. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In The Odd Angry Shot director Tom Jeffrey provides a cathartic Australian answer to Michael Cimino's The Deer Hunter. Australia's participation in the Vietnam War was as much of an alienating and soul-searching experience for Australians as for Americans, and Jeffrey's frank portrayal of a group of Australian volunteers casts the war in a different light from the perspective of a Cimino or Oliver Stone. The story concerns a corp of Australian elite soldiers -- the Special Air Service troops (the equivalent of the United States' Special Forces group) -- and the elite group's more pragmatic and hopeful attitudes -- whiling away the time in mindless diversions and cracking jokes. Then one of their own is killed and their feelings about the war suddenly change. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

An Australian couple sets off on a weekend to the coast in this psychological thriller. Peter (John Hargreaves) and Marcia (Briony Behets) are at each other's throats from the moment they pull out of the driveway, as Peter sneaks his dog along for the weekend and Marcia is harboring anger about a recent tragedy the couple faced. As day turns into night and they have yet to reach their destination, Peter hits a kangaroo while falling asleep at the wheel. This sets in motion a chain of mysterious events, which starts with them leaving the beaten path and appearing to go in circles through the darkened thickets of trees -- even though they've driven straight ahead for hours. Upon eventually reaching their destination, the strange happenings continue, with animals behaving in unusual ways, and a persistent cry of anguish floating over the water, which sounds almost human. Peter and Marcia are determined to prove they can rough it, even as they start to wonder if they've gotten in over their head. They doggedly remain camped, despite mounting evidence that they don't understand the feral Australian woods as well as they think. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide

This film is a moody, even tragic drama about a neglected spinster whose saving fantasy life is savaged by her deeply unsatisfactory encounters with "real life." Having devoted her youth to caring for her unloved and unloving mother in her final years, when her mother dies, she has no life of her own. She knows no one. On a shopping expedition, she succumbs to a saleswoman's hard sell and buys a doll. The doll soon becomes an important focus in her life, especially in helping her daydream about sleeping with a young man she has seen. To the puzzlement of her neighbors, baby clothing begins to appear on her clothesline, though they know full well she has neither husband nor baby. She does, finally, meet and get to know the young man, and even goes to bed with him. However, the reproaches she thinks she hears from her dolls send her into a frenzy, as they have told her the man will leave her because she's too old. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide