Julie Ryan Movies
- 2011
- NR
Eddie Guerriero and Mitch Deprey were a pair of bohemian punk rock fans who moved from the Midwest to San Francisco in 1987, renting a decaying apartment in the lower Haight. Eddie and Mitch soon became fascinated with their neighbors, two elderly men who were also sharing an apartment and whose drunken, foul-mouthed tirades went on day and night. While they rarely met them face to face, Eddie and Mitch got to know snippy Peter and growling Raymond very well as their verbal battles bled through the walls. In time, Eddie and Mitch began recording Peter and Raymond's rants and passed cassettes of edited highlights to their friends. The hilarious and harrowing recordings developed a cult following among collectors of off-the-wall humor, and with the rise of the Internet, the recordings began circulating around the world, far beyond Eddie and Mitch's ability to control their path. When the tapes became the inspiration for comic books, short films, and theater pieces, Eddie and Mitch found themselves at odds over how to capitalize on the viral phenomenon, while Peter and Raymond were largely oblivious to their strange notoriety. Filmmaker Matthew Bate examines the story of four men and their curious brush with semi-fame in Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure. The film was an official selection at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 2009
- PG
In this drama, an Australian teen tries to move beyond his rural roots in the Outback to become a musician. However, he gets distracted from his dream by the appearance of a rebellious new student at his school, whose beauty is matched only by her daring. He tries to match her bravado, but his attempt gets him arrested, putting his goals in danger. ~ Kimber Myers, Rovi
- Starring:
- Luke Arnold, Timothy Hutton, (more)
- 2007
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, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nigel Lunghi, Nigel Martin, (more)
A man teaches his younger brother an important lesson through an ancient fable in this period comedy drama shot in Australia, and the first feature film made in the Aboriginal language of Ganalbingu. As narrator David Gulpilil Ridjimiraril Dalaithngu sets up the story, we watch a group of tribesmen led by elder Minygululu (Peter Minygululu) set out on an expedition to gather bark for canoe building and collect the precious eggs of the magpie geese. It has become clear to Minygululu that his younger brother Dayindi (Jamie Dayindi Gulpilil Dalaithngu) is infatuated with the youngest of his three wives, and Minygululu wants to be sure Dayindi doesn't do something he'll regret later on. To teach his brother a lesson, Minygululu shares with him a long story about Ridjimiraril (Crusoe Kurddal), a warrior who finds that his brother Yeeralparil (also played by Jamie Dayindi Gulpilil Dalaithngu) has become a rival for the affections of his bride. However, while Minygululu's story caries a clear message for his brother, it also goes on long enough with enough twists, turns, and digressions that it gives Dayindi little opportunity to get into mischief during the trip. Ten Canoes received its world premiere at Australia's Adelaide Festival of Arts, and was first screened in North America at the 2006 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Crusoe Kurddal, Jamie Dayindi Gulpilil Dalaithngu, (more)
- 2006
In 2005, Australian filmmaker Rolf de Heer traveled to the nation's Northern Territory to shoot Ten Canoes, a story based on an Aborigine folk tale that featured a cast of native peoples speaking their native language, a first in Aussie cinema. Documentary filmmakers Molly Reynolds and Tania Nehme joined de Heer on this unusual journey, and Balanda and the Bark Canoes is a chronicle of the making of Ten Canoes. As well as capturing the ups and downs of making a motion picture, Balanda and the Bark Canoes also documents the filmmakers' respectful but sometimes uneasy relationship with people who are clearly uncomfortable with having certain aspects of their culture and heritage interpreted by outsiders. Balanda and the Bark Canoes received its world premiere at the 2006 Sydney Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Rolf de Heer's psychological thriller Alexandra's Project captures a turning point in a very unhappy marriage. Steve (Gary Sweet) and Alexandra (Helen Buday) have two children and numerous grievances against each other. After a birthday in which Steve received a birthday cake and a raise at his job, Steve arrives home to find his family is gone and a videotape awaiting his viewing. On the tape, Alexandra lists all of her frustrations and begins to strip for the camera. She then reveals that she suffers from breast cancer. Before the now emotionally reeling Steve can recover, he learns that Alexandra has paid to have the neighbor he hates change the locks in the house. Steve is trapped inside with little to do but think about what he has done to his wife, and his only company is the video that continues to provide disturbing information. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gary Sweet, Helen Buday, (more)
Experimental director Rolf DeHeer's film The Tracker depicts a controversial moment in the Australian justice system, in doing so taking on a popular topic among Australian filmmakers--the complicated and too often racist relationship between Aboriginals and locals. When an Aboriginal tracker (David Gulpilil) leads the manhunt for a fugitive native, a series of atrocities are performed on the ancient tribe by a sadistic policeman participating in the search party. The line between savage and civilian is blurred beyond recognition when Fanatic (Gary Sweet), the policeman, massacres a large group of peaceful Aboriginals. It eventually becomes clear that the tracker, who purposely keeps the Aboriginal a half-day ahead of the search party, is in control of the operation and has his own mysterious agenda. DeHeer takes a unique approach in the direction of this film; opting to show graphic paintings by artist Peter Coad during violent moments in lieu of filming bloody scenes among the actors. The drama itself is often contradicted by haunting, plaintive songs with lyrics written by DeHeer himself. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
- Starring:
- David Gulpilil, Gary Sweet, (more)
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