Magda Szubanski Movies

An eccentric but brilliant early 19th Century scientist attempts to convince the Prime Minister that the world will end in 2008 in director Rolf de Heer's silent, monochromatic tribute to the slapstick classics of Mack Sennett and Hal Roach. Dr. Plonk (Nigel Lunghi) may be living in the year 1907, but he has recently discovered that mankind's time on planet Earth is about to expire. As Dr. Plonk's mute assistant Paulus (Paul Blackwell) lumbers around the lab doing his best to keep the various experiments moving along, Mrs. Plonk (Magda Szubanski) drives her overworked maid (Phoebe Paterson de Heer) to the point of exhaustion and the family pooch does his best to simply stay out from under everyone's feet. Upon discovering that the world will end in exactly 101 years, Dr. Plonk makes an unsuccessful attempt to convince unbelieving Prime Minister Stalk (Wayne Anthoney) that something must be done before it's too late. In a desperate bit to back up his findings, Dr. Plonk constructs a time machine that will allow him to travel into the future and bring back irrefutable evidence of mankind's ultimate demise. Though their misadventures through time at first find Dr. Plonk and Paulus appearing in the free-love era and nearly turning up as dinner for a tribe of hungry cannibals, the pair eventually gets it right and makes it to Adelaide of 2007. Though the public at large seems hopelessly clueless about the impending destruction that's plain to see for anyone willing to open their eyes, Dr. Plonk beliefs himself fortunate when he scores an exclusive one-on-one with 21st Century Prime Minister Short (South Australian Premier Mike Rann). Unfortunately for Dr. Plonk, and perhaps all of mankind, clueless officials immediately deem the genius time traveler a terrorist suspect and attempt to capture him for questioning before he makes the leap back to 1907. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

A woman decides to have some very specific work done in this short comedy satirizing America's obsession with plastic surgery. Meg March (Cheryl Hines) is an egocentric woman in her forties who, while getting her regular bikini wax, discovers that one of her waxer's other customers will soon be getting a labiaplasty operation. While there are no compelling reasons for Meg to have the surgery, she becomes malignly obsessed with the idea of getting a "new vagina," and makes arrangements with unctuous plastic surgeon Dr. Milstein (Gary Cole) to have her privates overhauled at a cost of $24,000. When her parents refuse to lend her the money for the operation, Meg turns to a life of crime to foot the bill, but come the day of the surgery, things don't go quite as Meg or Dr. Milstein planned. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In the world of the emperor penguin, a simple song can mean the difference between a lifetime of happiness and an eternity of loneliness. When a penguin named Mumble is born without the ability to sing the romantic song that will attract his soul mate, he'll have to resort to some fancy footwork by tap dancing his way into the heart of the one he loves. Directed by Babe mastermind George Miller, Happy Feet tells the tale of one penguin's quest for love, and features an all-star cast of vocal talent that includes Robin Williams, Hugh Jackman, Elijah Wood, Nicole Kidman, and Brittany Murphy. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

In their efforts to create a prototype wormhole, Crichton (Ben Browder) and Aeryn (Claudia Black) inadvertently damages the Farscape 1 module. Landing on the Dambaba Depot for repairs, the two crew members run afoul of the Bloodtracker, bounty hunters hired by PeaceKeeper captain Crais to recapture Zhaan (Virginia Hey), D'Argo (Anthony Simcoe), and Rydel (Jonathan Hardy). Despite the imminent danger, Zhaan finds time to revel in the euphoria of solar flares. "Til the Blood Runs Clear" originally aired on July 9, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide