Aaron Blabey Movies

A contentious romantic relationship was at the core of the Australian comedy-drama series CrashBurn. Catherine McClements and Aaron Blabey starred as a pair of lovers who quickly degenerated into combatants as the series wore on. The series was created by Deb Cox and Andrew Knight, who also penned many of the 13 episodes. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Australian director Alan White creates this bleak but gorgeously photographed urban drama about life in Sydney's seedy inner suburbs. Hoping to escape his dad's drunken and abusive behavior, Barky runs away from home to cut cane in the north of the country. Two years later, he returns to his down-and-out hometown to attend the funeral of his father and to make amends with his brother Wace, with whom he had a falling-out. As he meets up with old friends and his ex-girlfriend Lanny, Barky reveals more and more about the enigmatic workings of his mind and the grim circumstances of his upbringing. Shot on a very low budget, the film nonetheless creates a compelling portrait of this gritty, oppressive land. Erskineville Kings was screened at the 1999 Montreal Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Based on one of the most bizarre hostage-situations ever, this Australian comedy-drama is set in the late '60s when the youth were beginning to rebel against war and government. Set in 1968 Sydney during a scorching summer the whole mess begins when convicted car thief Wally Mellish gets out of prison, rents a hovel on the town's outskirts and gets involved with Beryl, the single mother of a two-year-old daughter. They move into together and dim-bulbed Wally, wanting to show his affection steals the shiny ornaments from a pair of Jaguars. Unfortunately he is not a clever thief and the police soon show up at his door. Not wanting to return to prison, Wally panics and grabs his gun. Thinking he is holding Beryl and her daughter hostage, the police soon surround the house and start a lengthy siege. Unfortunately, the police commissioner, aware of youthful civil unrest spawned by an unprovoked police attack on peaceful anti-war demonstrators a few weeks before realizes that situation requires kid-glove handling and so orders his deputy to negotiate with Wally. Word quickly gets out and soon the media stampedes to the situation. This in turn attracts hoards of tourists and opportunistic street vendors to create an unparalleled circus outside. Meanwhile, in the house, Wally and Beryl are delighted by their new found fame and decide to celebrate by getting married and having the police commissioner himself act as best man. The state premier, appalled by the brouhaha and afraid for his own career, demands that the commissioner be more aggressive and as a result gets taken hostage himself. It only gets stranger from there, but that is half the fun. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Set in Australia, this romantic drama chronicles the renewal and the vengeance of an abused child who grows up to become the troubled April, a young mother who is kidnapped during a robbery and taken to an abandoned warehouse where she later falls for a crook who is as physically scarred as she is emotionally scarred. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide