Ross Matthews Movies

The dreams and trials of an aspiring young comic are presented in the Australian film. Gino does not want to follow in his father's footsteps and become a builder. Instead he dreams of being a comic. Unfortunately his pregnant girlfriend presents an obstacle as he prepares himself for an audition on a popular television variety show. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Somewhere in the Northeastern U.S., Alma (Olympia Dukakis) is a 60-year-old recent widow who has never been on her own since her early marriage to a domineering husband. Her son tries to immure her in a dowdy apartment in the basement of his house and showers her with perfunctory and thoughtless shows of public affection while preventing her from having any sort of life of her own. Her other child is a socially ambitious woman married to an ambitious Australian politician. Offended by the patronizing and heavy-handed attentions of her son, Alma flies off to see her daughter in Australia but swiftly discovers that she is not wanted there. In fact, she overhears her daughter and son-in-law talking about how to get her to leave. Rather than stay where she is unwelcome, she buys a vintage-model Chevy and charges off into the countryside, contemplating suicide -- or at the very least, kicking over the traces. She runs into Dutch (Derek Fowlds), a cantankerous but generous man about the same age as she is, and the two of them begin an impromptu tour of the glories of Australia. For the first time in her life, she has a romance between equals, and it takes her some time to adjust to it. While her daughter is worried that her neglect of her mother will reflect badly on her in public life and is anxious to track her down, Alma is having the time of her life and is discovering that she's a pretty spunky, capable woman in the bargain. This quiet little gem of a movie sparked little interest at the box-office but has done well in televised showings, and is available on tape. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Geoffrey Stubbs has been ignoring his sensual wife Dorothy's sexual needs for some time now. He has a full-time job running his butcher shop and has ambitions as a right-wing politician. Meanwhile, Dorothy has met a real hunk, a rock musician named Todd, who was at a demonstration of sexual appliances that she attended. Ever since then, he has loomed large in her erotic fantasies. The determined housewife eventually gets to bed the man of her dreams, but the experience leaves her unsatisfied. She's still friendly with him though, and he consents to entertain her guests at a big shindig held at her house. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Fifteen-year-old Australian youth Steve Carson (Rod Zuanic) is a product of a home that can charitably be described as dysfunctional. His father is a drunk, his brother a slimy-dope dealer. Carson promises his social worker--and himself--that he'll escape this environment and make something of himself. Unfortunately, this involves grandiose and unrealistic schemes that lead to increasingly severe criminal acts. Fast Talking was co-financed by the Australian Film Commission and Merchant-Ivory. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In this sci-fi film a sophisticated computer develops its own mind and begins asking difficult moral questions of its inventor and his wife. The inventor begins spending many hours debating with his creation and the wife gets jealous. The computer's own morality is questioned after it witnesses a murder. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The "Caddie" in this Australian thriller is not of the golfing variety, but is instead the nicknamed bestowed upon the heroine. Helen Morse plays a barmaid in 1930s Sydney whose husband walks out on her. Left with two kids to raise by herself, Helen struggles to make ends meet without losing her self-respect. Her favorite customer is Takis Emmanuel, who likens Helen to an expensive Cadillac (or "Caddie"). Romance blossoms between the two lost souls. Also appearing in Caddie is ubiquitous Aussie character actor Jack Thompson. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi