The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith Written by David Morgan-Brown WARNING: This review contains spoilers. Aussie film writer/director/producer Fred Schepisi, fresh into serious filmmaking at just 37 when his debut The Devil’s Playground was released, then followed it up with The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (an adaptation of Thomas Kineally’s novel) that was as concerned with…
The Devil’s Playground (1976) Directed by Fred Schepisis Written by Fred Schepisis Produced by Fred Schepisis Starring Charles McCallum, John Frawley, Arthur Dignam, Nick Tate, Peter Cox, Jonathan Hardy, Gerry Duggan, Thomas Keneally, Sheila Florance and Simon Burke “Most filmmaking newcomers nowadays can only dream of making a debut film this sharply excellent.” Review by David Morgan-Brown: One of the more…
Scare Campaign Written and Directed by: Cameron and Colin Cairnes Produced by: Julie Ryan Starring: Meegan Warner, Ian Meadows, Olivia DeJonge, Josh Quong Tart, Patrick Harvey, Cassandra Magrath, Steve Mouzakis, John Brumpton, Jason Geary, Sigrid Thornton, Kaiting Yap Synopsis: Popular prank TV show, Scare Campaign, has been entertaining audiences for the last five years with its…
Don’s Party (1976) Directed by Bruce Beresford Written by David Williamson Produced by Phillip Adams, David Barrow Starring Ray Barrett, Clare Binney, Pat Bishop, Graeme Blundell, Jeanie Drynan, John Hargreaves, Harold Hopkins, Graham Kennedy, Veronica Lang and Candy Raymond Review by David Morgan-Brown: Director Bruce Beresford began his film career with an ocker comedy (The Adventures of Barry MacKensie and its sequel), as did writer David Williamson…
Directed by Tom Cowan Produced by John Weiley Starring Nell Campbell, Jude Kuring, Lisa Peers and Martin Phelan Review by David Morgan-Brown: “Love it … hate it … see it.” That was the film’s tagline when Greater Union distributed it, though there’s not too much to hate about this simplistic, yet enjoyably satisfying film. An outback…
Written by David Morgan-Brown: Made in the same tradition as The Birds and Frogs, Long Weekend is a horror film where nature attacks. Unlike the two mentioned films, there’s no specific creature in this, just the outback itself, with its multiple annoyances and critters turning against its human prey. This 1978 horror film has slowly…
Kriv Stenders’ (Red Dog) latest film, Kill Me Three Times, primarily set in the stunning scenery around Lancelin, is a tale of murder, blackmail and fraud in a small surfing village. Starring Teresa Palmer, Callan Mulvey, Simon Pegg, Alice Braga and Luke Hemsworth with an appearance by audience favourite, Bryan Brown. Originally meant to be…
“Fury Road feels as at home as a koala in a gumtree.” It was tempting to leave the premiere of Mad Max: Fury Road in true road warrior fashion by fanging it out of the cinema carpark, laying a massive snakey through quiet suburbia and speeding off at 220kph down the freeway. Thankfully my car is…
For a film backed mostly by Nikon Australia there’s never a moment in Love is Now when you feel like the mega-brand is intruding on the film’s artistic integrity and getting in the way of its bold narrative. Thankfully any shameless product placement amounts to around thirty seconds – an average TV commercial – throughout…
As damaging as it might be to its chances of a fair distribution at home, Charlie’s Farm is the R rated film Australia has been dying to see. Its ruthless, no-holds-barred savagery makes it one of the greatest Australian slasher films of all time, and while it may not have the brains of some contemporary…
Cinema Australia 