Lynda House Movies
- 2007
Set against the backdrop of the outback wheat belt, director Peter Carstairs' September tells the tale of an interracial friendship that slowly buckles under the tremendous social changes sweeping through the Australian landscape during the late 1960s. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Clarence John Ryan, Xavier Samuel, (more)
- 2006
Director Alister Grierson teams with screenwriter John Lonie for this Aussie war drama exploring the fate of a missing patrol of Australian soldiers in World War II-era New Guinea. As Japanese troops continue their advance towards Port Moresby with an eye on invading Australia next, the task of defending the treacherous Kokoda Trail is left to uninitiated volunteers (derisively known as "chocos") due to the fact that the big guns are on deployment elsewhere. When the ramshackle platoon receives confirmation of the impending assault and their supply lines are cut off without warning, mud-caked "choco" Jack Scholt (Jack Finsterer), his brother Max (Simon Stone), die-hard Darko (Travis McMahon), and skittish Johnno (Tom Budge) all prepare for the worst. Their ranks fast thinning thanks to the deadly accurate sharp shooting of an unseen enemy, the hardened Aussie soldiers do their best to protect the homeland or die trying. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jack Finsterer, Travis McMahon, (more)
- 2006
Archival footage of Australia's indigenous culture augments this extended interview in which desert native and Aboriginal tribal elder Bob Randall details precisely how colonization ravaged his people's "kanyini" (a Pitjantjatjara term that encapsulates community, spirituality, family, and land) while devastating aboriginal communities across the world's smallest continent. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Gregor Jordan's version of the Australian legend Ned Kelly stars Heath Ledger as the title outlaw. Sixteen-year-old Irish immigrant Ned is sentenced to three years in prison for stealing a horse. After his release he finds work tending to horses owned by Richard Cook (Nicholas Bell), whose wife (Naomi Watts) grows interested in Ned. Fitzpatrick (Kiri Paramore) is a police officer with a yen for Ned's sister Kate (Kerry Condon). When she rejects him, Fitzpatrick steals the family's animals. The brothers are falsely accused of a crime and go into hiding, leading to the assault and arrest of their beloved mother. Francis Hare (Geoffrey Rush) is eventually brought on to stop the gang that becomes famous after a string of bank robberies. The film also features Orlando Bloom (of Lord of the Rings fame) and Rachel Griffiths (Six Feet Under). The most recent version of this oft-filmed tale featured Mick Jagger as the infamous Kelly in 1970. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom, (more)
- 1999
Recalling Peter Weir's Last Wave (1997), Manuela Alberti directs this thriller about Monsignor Tommaso (Fabrizio Bentivoglio), who dreams that an Australian aborigine is trying to tell him something. When he learns that his daughter is missing and that the part of the country in which she lives is terrorized by a serial killer, Tommaso hops on the first plane. He soon encounters Willie (David Ngoombujarra), the aborigine of his dreams. The duo search the outback looking for the missing girl before running into city-born aborigine cop Sutherland (John Moore). ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fabrizio Bentivoglio, David Ngoombujarra, (more)
- 1996
Sleazy real estate wheeler-dealer Ben Egan (Aden Young) is brought up short when a deal catastrophically falls through. After he hits a policeman, Egan winds up doing several months of community service at a youth drop-in center. Before that, he had been all set up to marry the boss's daughter (Tammy MacIntosh) and rise swiftly in the old man's firm. The woman who runs the center (Essie Davis), and one of the children get his attention and he begins to have charitable thoughts occasionally. However, old habits die hard. When he learns that the youth center is situated in a prime development area, he tries very hard to get hold of the property. Will his growing conscience break through the shell he has built around it in time to prevent him from closing this deal? ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
A socially inept young woman slowly learns to overcome her insecurities in this sleeper hit from Australia. The unconventional Muriel (Toni Collette) is deeply unsatisfied with her life, stuck in the nowhere town of Porpoise Spit and feeling rejected by her friends and family. Believing herself unattractive and worthless, she seeks meager solace in ABBA songs and fantasies of gorgeous weddings, with herself as the bride. Muriel's life takes a turn for the better, however, when she befriends the carefree Rhonda (Rachel Griffiths), who encourages her to take control of her life. Together, the two women travel to Sydney, where a series of liberating experiences help Muriel develop self-esteem and take the first steps towards maturity. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Toni Collette, Bill Hunter, (more)
Jocelyn Moorhouse's feature-film debut is a jet-black comedy starring Hugo Weaving as Martin, a paranoid blind man, made so because he is convinced that his mother, when he was a child, lied to him about the sights she described to him. As an adult, Martin is reclusive and ill-tempered. Perversely, Martin is also a photographer -- he takes the pictures, has them developed, asks friends to describe the pictures to him, and then labels them in Braille to make sure no one is tricking him. His housekeeper, Celia (Genevieve Picot), is also a photographer. Obsessed with Martin, she papers the walls of her home with pictures of him. But this obsession doesn't carry through to their relationship, which is a far from cordial one -- Celia torments Martin and Martin humiliates her. One day at a restaurant, after a nasty confrontation with a waitress who ignores him, Martin makes friends with the dishwasher, Andy (Russell Crowe). Martin invites him home to describe his photographs to him. Back at Martin's home, Andy meets Celia and he immediately falls in love with her. Jealous of Andy, Celia seduces him in an effort to discredit Andy with Martin and drive Martin into her arms. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugo Weaving, Genevieve Picot, (more)
- 1990
Because he is loaded with money, "Z" (John F. Howard) is able to retain the person, if not the affections, of the woman he loves. In fact, despite the fact that neither one of them is satisfied with the relationship, Z is so in love with Juliet (Christabel Wigley) that he is grateful she's still around. That must be why he accepts it (lamely) when she brings her latest lover, a glamorous rock star, around. He is even willing to pretend to himself that he doesn't know that the two are making love in his house. Eventually, Juliet gets some money of her own, and leaves the poor rich man. This romantic drama is based on director Colin Talbot's novel Sweethearts. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Howard, Christabel Wigley, (more)
In the wake of their surprise hit Malcolm, Australian screenwriter/photographer David Parker and director Nadia Tass concocted an equally delightful follow-up, Rikky & Pete. Rikky (Nina Landis) and her brother Pete (Stephen Kearney), feeling like misfits in their hometown (as indeed they are), head for a remote mining community. Here it is hoped that Rikky will at last discern her direction in life, and that Pete can work on his Rube Goldberg-ish inventions in peace. Well, now, if everything went as planned, there wouldn't be any movie, would there? Not quite as fresh and spontaneous as Malcolm, Rikky and Pete still possesses an eccentric charm all its own. Be advised, however, that the film is rated R, and may not be altogether appropriate for kids. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Stephen Kearney, Nina Landis, (more)
- 1987
Dot Bloom (Lyn Pierse) is a 32-year-old Jewish woman who contemplates whether she should choose a man to settle down with in this light romantic comedy. She aspires to be a serious writer while making a living writing for a popular soap opera. With her politically active mother off helping the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, Dot's Aunt Esther (Ruth Yaffe) looks out for her favorite niece. She turns down her suggestion to date a gynecologist and hooks up with the boring, divorced attorney Karl (Kim Gyngell), an old college friend. Alistair (Bruce Spence) is a charming but shy computer devotee who asks her for a date via cyberspace, but she neglects to read her E-mail. Dot goes through a number of comedic circumstances as she experiences the unpredictability of the dating game. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lynn Pierse, Kim Gyngell, (more)
