Jeff Truman Movies

The Man of Steel returns to the big screen with this continuation of the icon's film legacy that picks up after the events of the first two Christopher Reeve films. Some time has passed since the events of Superman II and the world has gotten used to life without Superman (Brandon Routh) ever since his puzzling disappearance years earlier. Upon his return, he finds a Metropolis that doesn't need him anymore, while Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth) has moved on with another young suitor Richard White (James Marsden) in the meantime. As the hero begins to tackle the fact that life on Earth has continued without him, he is forced to face his old arch-nemesis Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) and restore the life that was once his. Directed by Bryan Singer from a script by the writing team of X-Men 2, Superman Returns marks a return to the screen for the man in tights, whose production history has seen many failed attempts including a famous near-miss from Tim Burton and Kevin Smith with Nicolas Cage in the lead role, along with another from director McG and writer J.J. Abrams (Lost). Singer eventually won the prestigious gig when he pitched the idea to not tackle the origin story again, but continue with director Richard Donner's original vision. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide

Australian director Julie Money debuts with this bleak, confronting picture about middle-class whites, revenge, and family disillusionment. The film opens with the theft of a black dress off the clothesline of wife and homemaker Kate (Linda Cropper) by a band of suburban thugs led by Nick (Scott Major) and sexpot Rachel (Anna Lise Phillips). When Kate spies her dress on Rachel at the local swimming pool, she decides to take it back, no matter the consequences. The hoodlums retaliate by breaking into Kate's house and sexually torturing her son Matt (Wade Osborne); this almost pushes Kate over the edge. Her all-consuming passion for revenge, which threatens her marriage and relationship with her son, eventually erupts into a horrifyingly violent climax. Envy was screened at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

Loosely based on the real-life story of Bea Miles, an eccentric character living in Sydney, this fine Australian drama tells the tragic tale of Lilian Singer, a woman whose cruel father placed her in a mental institution where she spent forty years. The story looks at the circumstances surrounding her commitment as a young woman, her childhood and life after she is finally released. In the opening scenes, Lilian leaves the asylum and is taken to a seedy downtown hotel frequented by prostitutes and other shady characters. Fortunately, the working girls prove friendly and sympathetic. Lilian becomes convinced that she is in love with a stodgy bank manager, but her love abruptly dies when he calls the police upon her. She next meets her long-lost lover Frank, who has unfortunately turned into an alcoholic and is unable to respond to her. As Lilian has more experiences, flashbacks gradually reveal the terrible things her father did to her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Also released as Spotswood, The Efficiency Expert stars Anthony Hopkins as Wallace, a cold-blooded management consultant, infamous for radically "downsizing" every firm he comes in contact with. Wallace's latest assignment is to streamline a small, family-owned shoe factory in Australia. As he gets to know the eccentric (and endearingly inefficient) factory workers, Wallace undergoes a slow-but-sure "humanizing" process. Eventually realizing that he can simultaneously cut costs and preserve the dignity of the workers, he finds a way to modernize the operation without a single firing. In traditional fashion, the main story shares screen time with a romantic subplot involving the factory-owner's son and a female employee. Characterized by many critics as "Capraesque," The Efficiency Expert also bears trace of all those Ealing comedies of the 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This film is based upon the true story of Mordechai Vanunu, an Israeli lab technician who left his job and country in protest of the nuclear arms project to which he'd been assigned. Going public, he hoped to deter the hellish mission and sway world opinion against those within his country responsible for the nuclear buildup. ~ All Movie Guide

This two-part TV movie, produced in Australia, was based on the tragically true story of an Australian teenager (John Polson) condemned to death for dealing in drugs in Malaysia. Part One set up the circumstances which landed Polson and his friend Hugo Weaving on Malaysia's death row. In Part Two, Polson's mother, played by Julie Christie, races desperately against time to save her son from the gallows. She enlists the support of the Queen of England, the Pope, and a large international organization of concerned citizens--but the Malaysian government remains unmoved. Evocatively filmed in Macao, Dadah Is Death had the bad luck to premiere on American TV opposite the highly rated miniseries Favorite Son. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A psychic Australian woman can see the future--including the death of her mother. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

Blue Lightning stars Sam Elliot as an American private eye operating in the Australian outback. Robert Culp is co-starred as a super-criminal in search of a valuable opal. Culp is forced to fight the ethically suspect Elliot for possession of the gem, while Rebecca Gilling vacillates as the heroine. Written by William P. Kelley, who won an Oscar for Witness but no awards for this, Blue Lightning has the distinct aroma of a busted TV pilot. It was first telecast May 7, 1986. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After suffering a near-death experience, an executive realizes that his seemingly ideal life has become a horrifying nightmare in this dark Australian satire. Based on the novel by Peter Carey, who also penned the screenplay, the film begins with a deceptively calm, idyllic day in the life of ad man Harry Joy (Barry Otto). A heart attack leads Harry to experience a brief moment of brain death, however, and he awakens with a far darker vision of the world. In quick succession, he learns that his wife is cheating on him, his son has become a drug dealer, and his daughter is a junkie. Even his perfect career has become a nightmare, as he discovers that his latest client is in fact a heartless, deadly polluter. Enraged, Harry is determined to live a morally righteous life, a notion that proves an anathema to everyone around him. Several memorably bleak and explicit sequences may repel some viewers, while others will be disappointed that the satire becomes slower and less focused as the film continues. Nevertheless, Bliss's daring, bitter look at the modern world received a good deal of critical acclaim, particularly in its home country, where it won an Australian Academy Award. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide

This crime drama features an interesting turn about when the six Australian hostages taken by a group of bank robbers make sure that the crooks cannot escape from them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide