bill-894 Reviews

The Lighthorsemen (1987)

Where Does Pommy Come from?

[10/10 · 14 April 2010]

"keeper275 from United States". Pommy is what Australians call the English. It isn't really a term of endearment, rather a bit of an insult. Where is comes from is open to argument. Some say it's an Acronym for "Prisoners Of Mother England" while other say it's because the poms are so lily white that when exposed to sun they turn the colour of a Pomeranian (red)! Either way, you don't ever want to be confused with a Pom!

Not enough lines so here goes "I love a sunburnt country, A land of sweeping plains. Of rugged mountain ranges, of drought and flooding rains. I love her far horizons, I love her jewel sea. Her beauty and her terror, the wide brown land for me". My Country by Dorothea Mackellar

Australia (2008)

A Entertaining Movie

[9/10 · 1 December 2008]

I liked this movie. Once again I was worried about the large number of critics who gave it a roasting but once again I learned that most critics have an agenda which is not related to honestly reviewing a movie. I don't give a fig what the critics say, it's an entertaining movie. It's not meant to be informative it's meant to entertain and this it does. I think Baz should have given it another name if he wants it to succeed in the USA and Britain. "Australia" is fine here but he's setting himself up for the usual anti Australian backlash in Britain and a comparison with the "old west" in the USA. That said I think Hugh and Nicole did a great job and Australia as usual supplied the wonderous settings and landscape.

Independence Day (1996)

Stop taking it Personally

[2/10 · 5 June 2008]

Come on everyone! Take a deep breath and calm down. It's just a movie, aimed at Hollywood's core audience; Americans under 25 so stop taking it personally. I'm sure the Producers or the Director never intended to insult the entire non-American world; after all the owner of Fox is Australian born so he can't be totally anti the world. The movie is pure fantasy escapism and any political or racial overtones (or under-tones) are purely coincidental. Anti American rantings like those posted here just confirm the average American's view that the rest of us in the world are rabble. Cheer up and smile. Good movie for a wet winters day.

Kenny (2006)

An Aussie Comedy Only for Aussies

[8/10 · 21 January 2007]

This is not a great movie but it is funny one and by the end of the film you will genuinely feel for Kenny. He is a caring and conscientious man who loves doing a job that the rest of us would never want to perform.

I can't see how this movie will translate into other cultures, especially the USA, but I don't think that matters.

"Kenny" is a salute to millions of people who perform jobs the rest of us abhor but without which modern society could not function.

This is an Australian movie, full of Australian humor and will appeal only to Australians who have a sense of humor.

The rest of you, well my advice is to just give it a miss. If the subject matter doesn't disgust you then our slang will.

Kokoda: 39th Battalion (2006)

Never Trust Critics

[9/10 · 19 December 2006]

I've had this DVD for two months but was put off watching it because of the reviews I'd read on IMDb.

I should have known better. Always trust your gut instinct.

This is a great movie; not because it is technically good; not because the acting is great but because it tries and succeeds to tell the story of one of those rare occasions where a handful of men, against all odds, genuinely change the course of history and in doing so save their nation and their culture.

Just because most people outside Australia know nothing about the Kokoda Track, doesn't diminish what those young Australians of 39th Infantry Battalion did in 1942 and it doesn't lessen the debt Australia and the allies in general owes them.

These men saved our nation regardless of what the "arm chair" generals say in hindsight.

I thought the film did an excellent job in showing not only the physical conditions faced by these young diggers but also how perfectly normal people rise to the challenge (and sometimes don't) when faced with abnormal circumstances.

I think the cast did a great job depicting how our grandfathers faced these unimaginable horrors.

For those who are looking for a Hollywood epic; watch something else.

For those who want a glimpse of what truly makes people achieve greatness for no better reason than they are in the wrong place at the right time, please give it a go.

And finally for those who view it simply as Australian propaganda, you are probably right so don't watch it.

Breaker Morant (1980)

These Events Echo down the decades

[10/10 · 21 February 2006]

A truly great movie that depicts events that fashioned Australian Military attitudes to punishment right up to the current day. Australia does not and has not executed its soldiers for any reason since these events took place; a decision which outraged the British during the First World War when executing British soldiers happened regularly.It also demonstrates the age old conundrum facing soldiers; how to decide what is and what isn't a "lawful" command. The idea of illegality in war is almost farcical.Surely winning is the only important thing. Those who talk about morality in war are usually the losers.

Another interesting fact is that Harry Morant's name does not appear on the walls of the Australian War Memorial in Canberra where the names of all 102,000 Australians who have died in wars are engraved in bronze. It seems he was not a member of the Australian Army. His two compatriots are.

Its a pity that we no longer make films like this but that's what happens when successful Directors are lured away by the millions offered by Hollywood.

Gallipoli (1981)

Almost a Myth

[10/10 · 10 November 2005]

I've read all the reviews and am glad that foreigners enjoyed this movie but honestly I couldn't care less.

Anzac and Gallipoli are so ingrained into our psyche, so much a part of what it is to be Australian that I don't care what others think about the movie.

Only an Australian director could do the subject justice and bring to the screen the innocence and patriotism of the generation which did so much to define the nation.

All of Weir's films seem very Australian to me, even those he has done in the US. The light the atmosphere all exudes Australia.

This isn't an anti war movie it's pro Australian and definitely anti British which is a streak deep rooted in our national character and to my mind nothing we should be ashamed of.

At a time when more and more young Australians are discovering their history and the truly remarkable feats of their forefathers, this depiction of the legend of ANZAC becomes more and more important.

People will read what they want into the movie but it really is simply a depiction of the history Weir and the rest of us grew up with and a celebration of the basic goodness of Australia.

For a Lost Soldier (1992)

Interesting but.........

[7/10 · 10 November 2005]

A friend urged me to watch this movie and I did so with absolutely no idea of what it was about.

Everything others have said about it is true but still I feel very uneasy about the subject matter and the "acceptable" way in which it is portrayed.

This little boy is just that, a little boy and whether you're straight or gay, relationships between adults and children are taboo.

The validity of that taboo can be argued but it exists not to protect the adult but to protect the child.

An interesting movie but the subject matter prevents it from being great.

Swimming Upstream (2003)

Not So Good Old days

[8/10 · 17 August 2004]

I grew up in Sydney during the 1950's and although my childhood was good it wasn't the "good old days" people like to reminisce about.

This film captures the Australia of the 1950's perfectly.

An insular nation still coming to grips with who it was and where it was going.

As a child I saw men traumatised by the war or the depression; unable to express their feelings and as trapped in their roles as were the women.

Rush and Davies were superb as were the actors who played the children.

What a pity Tony had to escape to the USA. Has anything really changed?

A great little Australian Movie