Phillip Avalon Movies
An aspiring surfer learns some life lessons the hard way in this 2003 drama from director Phil Avalon. Ryan Kwanten stars as Nick, a young man who struggles to ignore the warnings of his father, a former-surfer whose love of the sport ultimately cost him his ability to walk. Also causing problems for Nick is his crooked manager who is secretly involving the wave-rider in an illegal drug operation. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ryan Kwanten
- 1995
- R
A serial killer with a flair for art is on the loose and it is up to ace policewoman Kelly Wheatstone and her partner Frank Yankovitch to investigate in this Australian thriller. All of the serial killer's victims are women whose nude corpses he poses to look like the subjects of a well-known painter, Knowles. Naturally the artist is a prime suspect. Frank is quite distracted from the case by the possible philandering of his new wife Helena. He is correct and when her lover turns up dead, naturally, he is the prime suspect. It is up to the two cops to solve both murders and keep the innocent Frank out of jail. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1995
The finale in this Australian thriller contains extremely graphic violence and sexual scenes that may be disturbing to some viewers. The plot follows Martin Bullet, an L.A. cop who is on suspension for shooting an unarmed suspect, to his new job with the New South Wales police department in Sydney. His partner is Jack Moran whose partner died in pursuit of a mobster. Together they search for a mysterious killer who wears a single earring. After a series of twists and turns, Moran finally finds the killer and much more. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1993
- R
In this adventure fantasy, the theft of a cursed stone causes all sorts of trouble for the hapless Cordeaux family, who find themselves drawn to mysterious Sher Mountain, where an enigmatic and angry guardian waits. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1993
A surfin' beach in Australia provides the setting for this comedy which chronicles the struggles between youthful surfers and an evil capitalistic developer determined to destroy their turf. Mike McCain is an L.A. developer. His wife and business partner are plotting to double-cross him and take over an Australian beach in order to build a high-rise resort. Mike sends Bobby, his handsome young son, to check out the beach and the situation. Bobby, pretending to be an exchange lifeguard, is soon accepted among the surfers. He finds love with the attractive Julie Thomas, whose father owns the beach. Just as he has decided to join the surfers' cause, Bobby's true identity is discovered and they turn on him. It is his father, who has had a change of heart, who saves the day. He makes an environmentally sound compromise that makes everyone happy (except his wife and business partner, of course). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christopher Atkins, Elliott Gould, (more)
- 1992
- R
Bobby McCain (Christopher Atkins) travels to an Australian beach to close a land development deal for his father (Elliott Gould) and to masquerade as a lifeguard to get the skinny on any potential competition. Once there, Bobby becomes sympathetic to the plight of the attractive club-owner who is trying to hold on to her land and her life guard team which is going to lose its certification if they don't get into shape. Using everything he ever learned in LA aerobics and fitness training classes, the buff Bobby does all he can to save her resort. He then begins working to sabotage his father's deal. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1991
- R
Set in New South Wales, Australia, a local hairdresser falls in love with an enigmatic wanderer and leaves her tiny hometown behind to travel along with him. She is madly in love with him, but eventually comes to question her infatuation when she begins suspecting him of being a killer, a hunch fueled by the corpses that seem to follow them wherever they go. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Linda Blair, Jerome Ehlers, (more)
- 1990
In this Australian supernatural thriller, a special stone is stolen by a pack of goons from an extremely old man. The good guys and the goons wind up in a really dangerous and wild part of the outback, and help comes in the form of a ghost, played by boxing champ Joe Bugner. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phillip Avalon, Abigail, (more)
- 1988
- R
Certain films were clearly made before their time, others, such as this one, delve into a genre obviously well past its heyday. In this story, Ross is a young Australian man who has decided to drop out of his everyday life in order to come to grips with himself in the surfing scene. As he is leaving in his car for the coast, he has a confrontation with a gang of crazed bikers which leaves one of the nutso lads' bikes on the scrap-heap. This does not sit well with them, and they vow revenge. While the bikers prepare to track him down and make him pay for his violation of their integrity, Ross is on the beaches finding himself. Had the surfing footage been more exciting, or the bikers been more believably menacing, viewers might have forgiven the filmmakers for taking another pass at the "surfers vs. bikers" theme. Instead, reviewers noted that unintended laughter punctuated the screenings they attended. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Phelps, Vince Martin, (more)
Mel Gibson made his feature-film debut in this low-budget Australian teen drama that chronicles the exploits of a quartet of boys who leave Sydney and head out for a weekend of surfing and adventure. Unfortunately the fun takes a serious turn when they find themselves involved in a murder. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
This Aussie/Western variation on the Psycho formula is set in the tiny Outback town of Gippsland in the 1890s, where travelers visiting a remote inn are being bumped off by a mysterious interloper. After a perfectly dreary hour or so, wily lawman Alex Cord solves the mystery that somehow managed to befuddle the rest of the cast -- it seems crackpot innkeeper Dame Judith Anderson and her husband have never quite recovered from the trauma of seeing their children killed by escaped convicts who once invaded their home, and they have been busily hacking up their guests ever since. The setting provides for some pleasant location photography and gives the film a unique look and feel, but the story is completely bogged down by dull pacing and lackluster performances -- except for Anderson, who is always a treat to watch, even when she's given little to work with. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
