Michael Atkinson Movies
A runaway Japanese bride finds herself alone in Sydney, Australia when her lover fails to show up to save her from her husband, and she ends up on an off-road adventure with a handsome getaway driver while fleeing gangsters, cops from two countries and her murderously humiliated spouse. The whole mess begins when Midori (Youki Kudoh) engineers her own kidnapping to avoid her honeymoon night with her hyper-tense businessman husband Yukio (Kenji Isomura). When he notices Midori's absence, Yukio panics. Local policemen Bishop and Moffat are assigned the case and it is while talking to Yukio and the staff that they learn the truth. When the Japanese press finds out about Yukio's plight, they merrily proceed to crucify him in the headlines, making him a laughingstock. Meanwhile, Midori, after getting jilted, goes to a bank to exchange some money and is caught in the midst of an armed bankrobbery masterminded by Afghani hoodlums Mahood (Robert Mammone) and his brother Gullbuddin. The two are about to shoot the terrified Midori when their getaway driver Colin (Russell Crowe) intervenes. Gullbuddin is accidentally killed during the scuffle and Colin hits the highway with Midori. With the aforementioned crowd in hot pursuit, the two fugitives head for a farm in the boonies where Colin's elderly, embittered father lives in almost comical isolation. Along the way, the two encounter several memorable characters. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Russell Crowe, Youki Kudoh, (more)
- 1992
Stan is a mild-mannered, gentle, middle-aged man who still lives with his overbearing parents. One day, acting on a suggestion by his father, he lands a job at the Weather Bureau. The work is challenging to him, and a little daunting, and his adjustment is considerably eased for him by his female co-worker "George," as she is called. The two become close, eventually marrying and moving in together. While they are adapting to the married state, conditions at work are deteriorating in a bizarre and irrational way, which puts a considerable strain on both the newlyweds. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paul Chubb, John Bluthal, (more)
- 1990
One disaster after another is all that the newly married Dave and Tina Dodd reap from their investment in a home to be built in a development outside of Sydney. The builder has almost gone bankrupt, largely due to his hiring incompetent job foremen (especially Kevin Grant) who can't follow a blueprint. The far from wealthy couple gradually twigs to the disatrous progress of their increasingly expensive dream home, and the strain on their marriage becomes acute as they discuss their options with their lawyers. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bruce Venables
- 1989
When Caz Lederman's child is born with brain damage, she sues doctor Ian Gilmour for malpractice. As the film shows, Gilmour's procedures are indeed questionable (and graphically photographed -- fair warning to those with queasy stomachs). But it is also clear that the doctor, a last-minute replacement for Gilmour's regular gynecologist, did not intentionally endanger the mother and child, and that the cesarean operation was performed under extraordinarily difficult conditions. When Gilmour is found guilty of malpractice, he is ordered to spend a year in extra training -- an extreme measure that, the film argues, should be imposed upon all obstetricians before a delivery-room disaster occurs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Caz Lederman, Bob Baines, (more)
- 1988
The Mullens family is plagued by problems in this somber drama. The father (Bill Hunter) is a born-again Christian who works as a security guard to support his wife (Sue Jones) and their four children. When Mrs. Mullins learns she has a terminal illness, 17-year-old Phoebe is forced to quit school to take care of the family. Phoebe has little time to spend with her best friend Helen (Mary Coustas) because of her domestic responsibilities. She discovers her older brother Steve (Craig Morrison) is taking heroin and involved in a homosexual relationship with the aspiring rock singer Guido (Juno Roxas). Phoebe does her best to keep the family together in the wake of all their problems. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nadine Garner, Bill Hunter, (more)
- 1987
Hec Harris (Robin Ramsay) is a widowed tax-office clerk who wants to buy a computer to help devise an easy tax-form process in this comedy. He applies for a loan but is denied because he always pays in cash and has no credit on record. He borrows the money from the bank and immediately returns it, along with the interest, and gets a credit card. Hec soon runs up a bill of over $10,000 and pays it off by obtaining more credit cards. He soon is hopelessly swimming in debt, he loses his job, and his daughter Jo (Marion Chirgwin) is placed in a foster home. Although the feature is a comedy, there are serious moments in this story about a man living beyond his means. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robin Ramsay, Jennifer Cluff, (more)
- 1987
Al (Richard Moir) lands a job as chef at a resort in Fraser Island in this situation comedy. He has been fired several times for accusing fellow employees of sleeping with his wife. Al finds comfort in the arms of the waitress Cindy (Helen Mutkins), which makes the hotel manager Bob (Steve Jacobs) jealous. Jennifer Cluff and Tina Bursill co-star with Ken Radley as more characters who end up at the resort to overcome their previous romantic disappointment. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Richard Moir, Jennifer Cluff, (more)
- 1986
The "hero" of the Australian Backlash is foul-mouthed, racist/sexist cop David Argue. As punishment for his many infractions, Argue is ordered to escort female aboriginal prisoner Lydia Miller to the Outback, where she is to stand trial for murdering the man who sodomized her. Also along for the ride is ardently feminist policewoman Gia Carides. When their car breaks down en route, the three disparate types begin to grow closer. By and by, Argue and Carides become convinced of Miller's innocence, and set about to trap the real culprit. Though very cheaply produced (it was filmed in 16mm and blown up to 35mm for theatrical distribution), Backlash scores on the sincerity and conviction of its actors and the enthusiasm of its first-time director Bill Bennett. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- David Argue, Gia Carides, (more)
- 1985
Broaching an issue that would lead to considerable litigation and controversy over the years, first-time director Bill Bennett looks at the experience of one Australian Vietnam vet as he discovers he has leukemia and traces the probable cause to the defoliant known as Agent Orange (for the color of the containers) used by the Americans in the Vietnam war. When Col. Turner (Chris Haywood and his wife (Jennifer Cluff) and children move into a neighborhood of other veterans, they begin to notice that there is an unusual amount of sickness among the men. Then the colonel himself starts seeing rashes and bruises on his skin. He goes to a doctor and is diagnosed with leukemia. Convinced that this illness, like the others in the neighborhood, was caused by his exposure to Agent Orange, Turner begins a lawsuit to claim compensation. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Chris Haywood, Jennifer Cluff, (more)
- 1971
- R
David Niven is Alex, a scholar who has won the Nobel Prize for developing a universal language. The U.S. State Department has decided to honor him with a statue, to be displayed in London's Grosvenor Square. The commission for the project went to Alex's wife Rhonda (Virna Lisi), who has designed a statue that is completely nude, without even a fig leaf. Husband Alex sees that is it a perfect replica of himself, except for the part usually covered by fig leaves. He accuses his wife of using one of her lovers as a model and begins a hilarious search for the original. Robert Vaughn has some good lines as the American Ambassador, discussing the couple's controversy with the President. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1958
There's a bit of Oedipus Rex in The Haunted Strangler, though it's not readily apparent at first. Boris Karloff plays 19th-century novelist James Rankin, who becomes obsessed with the long-closed case of the Haymarket Strangler. Twenty years earlier, a man named Styles (Michael Atkinson) was executed for the Strangler's crimes, but was he guilty? It turns out that the actual culprit was the surgeon who performed Styles' autopsy. Coming into possession of the surgeon's scalpel, Rankin is overwhelmed by mixed feelings of bloodlust and guilt. It is at this point that Rankin realizes that he is truly his own, and London's, worst enemy. Originally released in England as Grip of the Strangler, The Haunted Strangler was distributed by MGM in 1961. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Boris Karloff, Anthony Dawson, (more)
- 1947
British director Oswald Mitchell never turned out a classic, but he kept working as long as there was a demand for "regional" programmers. Mitchell's The Black Memory revolves around cockney Danny Cruff (Michael Atkinson), the son of a man wrongly accused of murder. Danny decides to solve the mystery himself by hobnobbing with London's underworld. To do this, he poses as a juvenile delinquent. Black Memory was written by John Gilling, who like Oswald Mitchell devoted his career to grinding out profitable potboilers. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
