Jonathan Hardy Movies

Fred Schepsi wrote and directed this tense melodrama which takes place at a Roman Catholic boarding school. The film deals with the charged emotional tensions of a group of pubescent boys, who find their sexual urges stifled by the school's oppressive atmosphere. Depicting the chaste lifestyle of the religious functionaries, the burgeoning sexual desires of the young men are bottled up until they are ready to explode. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

This stunning, post-apocalyptic action thriller from director George Miller stars Mel Gibson as Max Rockatansky, a policeman in the near future who is tired of his job. Since the apocalypse, the lengthy, desolate stretches of highway in the Australian outback have become bloodstained battlegrounds. Max has seen too many innocents and fellow officers murdered by the bomb's savage offspring, bestial marauding bikers for whom killing, rape, and looting is a way of life. He just wants to retire and spend time with his wife and son but lets his boss talk him into taking a peaceful vacation and he starts to reconsider. Then his world is shattered as a gang led by the evil Toecutter (Hugh Keays-Byrne) murders his family in retaliation for the death of one of its members. Dead inside, Max straps on his helmet and climbs into a souped-up V8 racing machine to seek his bloody revenge. Despite an obviously low budget and a plot reminiscent of many spaghetti Westerns, Mad Max is tremendously exciting, thanks to some of the most spectacular road stunts ever put on film. Cinematographer David Eggby and stunt coordinator Grant Page did some of their best work under Miller's direction and crafted a gritty, gripping thrill ride which spawned two sequels, numerous imitations, and made Mel Gibson an international star. One sequence, in which a man is chained to a car and must cut off a limb before the machine explodes is one of the most tense scenes of the decade. The American version dubbed all the voices -- including Gibson's -- in a particularly cartoonish manner. Trivia buffs should note that Max's car is a 1973 Ford Falcon GT Coupe with a 300 bhp 351C V8 engine, customized with the front end of a Ford Fairmont and other modifications. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

Effusive piano tuner Norman Kaye is on the less sunny side of forty and still unattached. Shy and self-effacing office worker Wendy Hughes is likewise getting on in years sans a lifetime companion. From the outset, we know that Kaye and Hughes will somehow come together. This, however, is the only predictable aspect of this quirky Australian comedy. Director Paul Cox co-wrote the ever-fresh screenplay of Lonely Hearts with John Clarke. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this drama from New Zealand, Donough Rees plays Constance, a school teacher bored with routine of her daily life. Constance loves movies and sometimes escapes into a rich fantasy life where she's a world-famous screen star. Constance begins trying to bring a bit of the glamour and excitement of her favorite films into her daily life, and she starts acting like her favorite movie stars. However, her continued retreat into a fantasy world has tragic consequences in real life. Constance was the debut feature for writer/director Bruce Morrison. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Cashing in on the release of Burke and Wills, this undistinguished comedy by Bob Weiss tries to turn the tragic crossing of Australia's desert in 1860 into fodder for humor, but it is tasteless fodder in the end. Robert O'Hara Burke (Gary McDonald) and William John Wills (Kim Gyngell) set out from Melbourne with a large caravan of supplies and people, intending to reach the northern coast and the Gulf of Carpenteria. Out of the 19 men who started the trek, only one returned alive. There are a few good performances delineating minor characters in this ostensibly dark comedy. One notable feature of the film is that a young Nicole Kidman plays Julia Matthews, a Melbourne singer who had a long affair with Burke. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This psychodrama is set in New Zealand during the 1880s and is based on the true story of an orphaned 18-year-old who marries a cruel, much-older man. He constantly abuses her and keeps her under his thumb until she snaps and using hypnotism, kills him. Later she is tried in court. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The IMF is assigned to cure a computer virus that is capable of sinking the US Navy's entire submarine fleet. But when the only antidote to the virus is destroyed, the agents resort to "Plan B" --- which requires the assistance of a brilliant Hollywood art director. Mitchell Ryan guest-star as Admiral Sheppard, an ex-navy man turned traitor. Written by Dale Duguid and telecast on April 29, 1989, "Submarine" is an updated remake of the 1969 Mission:Impossible episode of the same name; the earlier version was scripted by Donald James. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The title of this Australian drama series was slightly misleading. There was plenty of family around and about, but friends were scarce. Focusing on a pair of star-crossed lovers trapped in the middle of a long-standing feud between an English and an Italian family, the weekly, hour-long series was primarily designed as a comeback vehicle for Australian singer and soap-opera diva Abigail. Assembled by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network, Family and Friends briefly aired in 1990. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Moya's crew bids a reluctant farewell to D'Argo (Anthony Simcoe), who has elected to stay behind on the Utopian planet Sykar. But there is something very strange about this so-called paradise. For one thing, the entirely population's well-being seems to hinge upon a strange root called Tannot; for another, there is literally no "tomorrow" on Sykar's calender. Things get stranger still when a series of bizarre physical and mental changes manifest themselves within three of the crew members. "Thank God It's Friday...Again" first aired on April 23, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

During a standard commerce exchange, the duplicitous Dominar Rygel XVI (Jonathan Hardy) steals an important component of Moya -- only to be "stolen" himself by a band of Tavlek pirates. More out of concern for the component than for Rygel, crew members Crichton (Ben Browder), Aeryn (Claudia Black), and D'Argo (Anthony Simcoe) formulate a rescue plan. Unfortunately, the Tavlek have the added advantage of an adrenalin-enhancing drug -- which, in turn, has bizarre side effects on Moya's crew. "Throne for a Loss" originally aired on April 9, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

D'Argo (Anthony Simcoe) manages to destroy one of the few remaining PeaceKeeper devices on the living starship Moya -- only to cause an inexplicable reaction which blows him into space. Rescued by Aeryn (Claudia Black), D'Argo returns to Moya in a highly agitated and extremely paranoid state, convinced that fellow crew member Crichton (Ben Browder) is a murderer. Adding to this burden, Moya begins to malfunction in a terrifying fashion. "They've Got a Secret" first aired on June 25, 1999. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi