Karen Pang Movies
The direct-to-video picture Safety in Numbers satirizes the "reality TV" fad of the early nineties and pays homage to the slasher genre. The central story involves the cast members of an (apocryphal) television series called Survivor Island, that strands several contestants on a deserted island and pits them against one another in a "survival of the fittest" contest. As the story opens, the cast members from one season gather for a filmed "reunion special" that will return them to the island locale of the series, but are mystified to find an empty island with a decimated beach house, where one of the walls warns, "You will die." Reading this as a sly prank perpetrated by the television crew, the former contestants decide to be good sports, by holing up on the island for a night - but awaken to discover that their yacht is missing. More troublingly, the castaways sense an unseen menace, lurking in the jungle and waiting to pick off the innocents, one by one. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
Jeff Balsmeyer makes his writing and directing debut with the Australian romantic comedy Danny Deckchair. Rhys Ifans plays Danny Morgan, a building tradesman living in the Sydney suburbs with his upwardly mobile real-estate agent girlfriend, Trudy (Justine Clarke). When she chooses to postpone their vacation together in order to show a house to TV personality Sandy Upman (Rhys Muldoon), Danny takes matters into his own hands by fastening helium balloons to a chair and sailing over the city. Landing in the small town of Clarence, he meets and falls in love with parking cop Glenda (Miranda Otto). ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rhys Ifans, Miranda Otto, (more)
Australian director Bill Bennett (Kiss or Kill) adds broad slapstick comedy to his repertoire with this rags-to-riches tale of luck and greed. The Nugget follows three pals whose occasional searches for gold in the outback are little more than an inane hobby. That is, until a sign from above directs them to an actual reserve of the precious metal hidden in the hills. Overcome with avarice, the trio bickers over how to split up the booty, all the while not noticing that two other enterprising men are waiting in the wings to steal their find. The Nugget stars future Hulk actor Eric Bana in a leading role. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Eric Bana, Stephen Curry, (more)
- 2001
A twentysomething lesbian comes up with a scheme to win the affections of the uncooperatively heterosexual gal of her dreams. Greta (Tessa Well) is a baker who has a furious crush on her roommate, Cassandra (Karen Pang). However, their living arrangement is strictly platonic, and Cassandra, who is not attracted to women, doesn't know Greta is in love with her. Unable to keep her feelings to herself, Greta begins sending Cassandra flowers and love notes, but attributes the gifts to a fictional alter-ego, Jean-Pierre. In time, Cassandra becomes curious about this mysterious Frenchman who worships her from afar, and Greta comes up with a plan -- she persuades Yuri (Phillip Marzella) to pose as Jean-Pierre, take Cassandra out on a few dates, and then cruelly break things off with her. Greta figures that once Cassandra's heart has been broken, she'll be more open to the idea of finding solace in the arms of another woman, but her plan hardly works as she expected. Low Fat Elephants received its American premier at the 2001 L.A. Outfest, a festival of gay- and lesbian-themed films. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tessa Well, Phillip Marzella, (more)
