David Foreman Movies
A resolute veterinarian and her plucky new assistant rally to save a small Australian farming community from a devastating sheep disease in this poignant, six-episode series starring Rachel Ward and Victoria Thaine. For the past ten years, Paringa has been locked in the throes of a drought that threatens the livelihood of everyone who resides in the remote farming community. Now the sheep of Paringa have fallen ill with a mysterious disease, and local veterinarian Kate McDonald (Ward) is determined to discover the cause and prevent the livestock from being completely decimated. But as Kate races to save the animals, her new assistant (Thaine) attempts to unlock the secrets of her mentor's mysterious past. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rachel Ward
For those who survived the earth-shaking terrors of 10.5, the tremors just keep on coming in this sequel that finds scientist Samantha Hill (Kim Delaney) and President Hollister (Beau Bridges) doing battle against Mother Nature as she unleashes her formidable wrath in the heartland. Extinct volcanoes are erupting at an alarming rate, and the ground is opening up to swallow entire cities, leading some to believe that the Apocalypse has finally begun. All hope isn't lost yet, however, and as FEMA leaps into action to provide assistance to those in need, volunteer firefighter Brad Malloy (Dean Cain) and kindly doctor Miguel Garcia (Carlos Bernard) do their best to get citizens out of the rapidly expanding danger zones. With even more destruction on the horizon, Samantha is forced to put the past behind her in hopes that her father, Dr. Earl Hill (Frank Langella), a rogue scientist whose ideas have found him exiled from mainstream science, can find a way to divert the path of the quake and save countless lives in the process. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kim Delaney, Dean Cain, (more)
Originally produced as a miniseries for NBC, 10.5 is a disaster film that wonders what might happen if the Western United States is ever ravaged by unprecedented earthquakes. After one quake wreaks havoc on Seattle, another strikes California, this one worse than the first. With scientists speculating that an earthquake registering 10.5 on the Richter scale could be next, the U.S. president (Beau Bridges) enlists the help of a seismologist (Kim Delaney) to somehow formulate a plan to prevent the deaths of millions of people. This film aired under the title Earthquake: 10.5 in the U.K. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kim Delaney, Beau Bridges, (more)
- 2003
Australian filmmaker Ted Emery directs the fish-out-of-water comedy The Honourable Wally Norman. Kevin Harrington stars as the down-to-earth Wally Norman, a foreman at a meat-packing plant who generally gets along with everyone in the small town of Givens Head. The upcoming election for the county seat involves the conservative Total Country Party member F. Ken Oats (played by comedian Shaun Micallef) and the Australian People's Party member Willy Norman (Alan Cassell). Due to a corrupt government scam, Wally's name appears on the ballot and he is approached to run for Federal Parliament. He decides to run just for the heck of it and brings his entire family along with him. Melissa Madden-Gray plays political reporter Rebecca Jane Thompson and John Singleton appears in a cameo role as the Prime Minister. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kevin Harrington, Alan Cassell, (more)
- 2000
Dubbed an Australian Pulp Fiction for the rave generation, this slick, achingly-cool crime drama is set in seedy Sydney neighborhoods not likely found in the glossy pages of summer Olympic tourist brochures. TT (David Field), a violent and very wealthy drug lord, is betrayed by his mistress Jess (pop-sensation Kylie Minogue) and her beau Andy (Simon Lyndon), who plan on robbing him of cash and dope. Unfortunately, TT is hip to their scheming. Meanwhile, rock musician Sem (Joel Edgerton) has a vision that his girlfriend Cleo (Paula Arundell) is in peril. Sem wants to start a new life with her far away from the city, but his plans are hampered by the weirdly-epicene John (Ben Mendelsohn) who leads them astray. At the same time, Len (Nathan Page), who works a thankless job at a falafel stand, pines for the fetching young lass DJ Lush Puppy (Nathalie Roy). Finally, there's Joey (Justin Rosniak), a rather thick kid who thinks that he's a gangbanger straight outta Compton. His friend Gus (Matthew Wilkinson) realizes that his buddy has a gun and is dumb enough to use it. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Paula Arundell, Joel Edgerton, (more)
- 2000
Young street performer Michael DeVane (Charlie O'Connell) is selected by mysterious magician Simon Magus (Peter Firth) to take over from Magus in his never-ending battle against the forces of evil. Endowed with powers far beyond those of your average stage illusionist, Michael does his best to live up to his new responsibilities. Alas, the villain of the piece, the drug-dealing vixen Regina (Kimberly Davies), has won Michael's own sister over to the Dark Side. Obviously intended as the pilot for an unsold series titled The Magicians, Showdown in Magic Town made its UPN network debut on March 10, 2000. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Charlie O'Connell, Peter Firth, (more)
Molly Ringwald stars in this Australian Scream-like horror flick that lodges a tongue in the cheek as much as a knife in the gut. The film opens in 1988 when director Hilary Jacobs (Australian uber-icon Kylie Minogue) is working on a slasher movie called "Hot Blooded" starring plucky American icon Vanessa Turnbull (Ringwald) as a teen who is being chased by a psycho with a mask and some wicked cutlery. After the climactic scene is shot, Jacobs shouts "Cut!" and then harangues the actor playing the killer. That night, the actor stabs the director and almost offs Turnbull. The film is never completed, and when a male director who takes over the project ends up dead too, "Hot Blooded" achieves a hallowed status in student film legend. Fast forward to the present -- Jacobs' assistant director Lossman (Geoff Revell) teaches at a film school and tells his favorite students -- Raffy Carruthers (Jessica Napier) and Hester Ryan (Sarah Kants) -- of his experiences on the doomed set. Raffy, who is itching to be the next Jane Campion, sets out to finish the notorious flick. She enlists Hester as a producer, assembles a crew of fellow students and manages to get Vanessa Turnbull, who hasn't worked much lately, to revisit her role as the film's main character. Of course, as soon as shooting commences, the killing begins anew. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Molly Ringwald, Jessica Napier, (more)
- 2000
A teenaged lad tries to come to terms with the fact that he is "Selkie" -- a seal-human hybrid -- in this Australian family movie. Jamie Duncan (Shimon Moore) moves with his marine-scientist mother Iona (Celine O'Leary) to Jackson Island. Iona heads up a research center on the island, and Jamie soon encounters her dour assistant (Edmund Pegge) and an evil tuna fisherman (Michael Habib). En route to the research center, Jamie hits it off with Samantha (Chelsea Bruland). Their budding puppy love is thrown for a loop when Jamie jumps into the ocean to save Samantha -- and turns into a seal. After his grandfather explains his unusual lineage, Jamie resolves to find the secret potion that will make him all human. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bryan Marshall
- 1999
- NR
A group of Australian wiseguys of Italian descent go into business with near disastrous results in the comedy Spank!. After a three year exile in Italy, where he spent time in a monastery, Paulie (Robert Mammone) returns home to Adelaide, where he discovers (to his dismay) his friends Nick (ario Gamma) and Vinny (Checc Musolino) haven't changed a bit. Nick is still a layabout, Vinny still works for his parents with his girlfriend Tina (Lucia Mastrantone), and both are still talking about opening their own cafe without actually doing anything about it. Enter Rocky (Vince Poletto), a self-styled gangster obsessed with Sylvester Stallone who is very free with his father's money. Rocky offers to put up the cash for the cafe, but just when it looks like their big plans may be getting off the ground, Paulie finds himself falling for Rocky's girlfriend, Jo (Victoria Dixon-Whittle). Jo is tired of living under Rocky's thumb and likes Paulie's company, but fooling around with your financier's girlfriend is usually not a good way to do business. Spank! was the directorial debut for former cinematographer Ernie Clark. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Robert Mammone, Vince Poletto, (more)
- 1998
In the tradition of Babe and Paulie, this Australian family fantasy-adventure features mouthy macaw Mac (portrayed by Tango and three bird stand-ins). Mac, who once witnessed treasure buried on a South Sea Island, is owned by elderly eccentric bird collector Ben Girdis (Jason Robards). His son Rick Girdis (Joe Petruzzi) plans to pay off Ben's debts by putting him in a nursing home and selling Ben's house. Ben's 15-year-old grandson Sam (Jamie Croft), who wants to save Ben's home, discovers that Mac can speak (with a Spanish accent). After Mac proposes a search for the buried treasure, Sam, the bird, and anthropologist Lance Hagen (John Waters) set off on an expedition. Unfortunately, a luxury hotel has been erected directly over the treasure, causing feathers to fly as the determined Sam and Mac continue to seek the treasure while eluding hotel staffers. The film was directed by Mario Andreacchio, who previously made the talking-dog movie Napoleon. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jamie Croft, Jason Robards, Jr., (more)
- 1989
In keeping with its title, the Australian sci-fier The Dreaming has all the earmarks of an extended hallucination. A young doctor experiments in mind-expanding drugs. While doing so, he accidentally discovers an additional dimension where dreams are reality and vice versa. Will he ever escape -- or better still, does he want to? The Dreaming was directed by Mario Andreacchio. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arthur Dignam, Penny Cook, (more)
- 1988
Sebastian (Alexander Bainbridge) is a 15-year-old boy from a wealthy family. He befriends Sparrow (Jeremy Angerson), a street kid his own age who is the product of the union between a Vietnamese woman and an Australian soldier. Sparrow is busy trying to stay one step ahead of welfare officer Mick (Vincent Gil). He talks Sebastian into skipping his piano lesson to look for his estranged mother in this straightforward, simple story. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alexander Bainbridge, Jeremy Angerson, (more)
- 1988
- R
Here's the "dramatis personae" of The Fever. Bill Hunter is Jack Welles, an ex-cop turned unscrupulous private eye. Mary Regan plays his faithless wife Leanne and Gary Sweet is Leanne's lover, who schemes to bump off Jack. The "maguffin" in the case is a satchel full of illegal drugs. Little dialogue is spoken in the course of the story; still, the characters' actions speak volumes. The Fever is one of the most startlingly original films noir to come down the pike since the 1940s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Hunter, Gary Sweet, (more)
- 1988
When a girl is pushed to her death from a university tower, her fellow student (Penny Cook) remains unconcerned until her ex-husband (Patrick Frost) is accused of the murder. She then begins to investigate the crime, and unravels a mysterious conspiracy involving university keys. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- 1987
A group of college coeds are targeted for murder by an unknown assailant in this Australian thriller. A woman is hospitalized after she is attacked and thrown from a window. The mystery murderer finishes the job while she is confined to her bed. In a take-off of Psycho, a female detective is murdered on a stairway, while a scissor-stabbing death recalls the notorious scene from Dial M For Murder. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Penny Cook, Anna-Maria Winchester, (more)
In a novel and intriguing approach to storytelling, director David Hare has created an engaging mystery and human drama that ostensibly focuses on an innocent dinner party but is really about something else. Jean Travers (Vanessa Redgrave) is an old-maid schoolmarm who has lived in Wetherby, a small town in northeastern Yorkshire, all of her life. She is still haunted by memories of a passionate love affair with a young man who was later murdered while on military duty in Malaysia nearly 35 years ago in the '50s. One evening, Jean invites a group of friends over for dinner; the group is comprised of two couples, one of which spends the time sniping at each other. A young man, John Morgan (Tim McInnerny) is also in the dinner party. Jean thinks he was brought along by one of the couples; the couples, in turn, believe he was invited by Jean -- in short, he is a total stranger that everyone assumes is a friend of someone there. As the evening progresses, political topics of the moment are brought up and chewed over; Margaret Thatcher, Richard Nixon, and other notables of the era are discussed, and various comments are made on the laziness of today's youth. The dinner party ends, and the next day John Morgan comes back to visit Jean. While she is in the midst of preparing tea for them both, he takes out a gun and kills himself. The shock waves from his senseless act later reverberate among the dinner-party guests, as the police investigator tries to piece together the man's background and the dinner party itself. Questions are raised about his motives, and viewers see the dinner party again, moment by moment, in an entirely new light. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vanessa Redgrave, Ian Holm, (more)
- 1978
- R
This gory horror film is not related to the far more popular Friday the 13th from Sean S. Cunningham. In fact it came out before the latter. It is the tale of a 10-year-old boy who doesn't know the difference between a boarding school and an orphanage. The trouble begins when his aunt informs him that he will be going to the former. Mistaking it for the latter, he finds himself plagued by terrifying memories that turn him into a vengeful killer. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peggy Feury, Mark Owens, (more)
