Scollop

William Kelly's War was a complete surprise. It was launched in cinemas without much fanfare. I wondered why? It had great reviews, a well known producer, a director on his second assignment and a little known cast in a story that had the audience cheering at the end of the movie. The tale of the two heroic brothers with their cousin Paddy really drew me in, I really cared for them as they are sent from battlefront to battlefront whilst their family back home are involved in another war with Bushrangers. The loving close-knit family is very cleverly set up at the front of the movie. The period settings, set design and characters are authentic, the pace perfect. This is a movie that connects with its audience, highly recommended.

George Clooney is a great modern day movie star. His ability is often underestimated because of his great screen presence. Clooney manages to pick scripts that are not always 'regular Hollywood fare'. Remember 'Men That Stare At Goats'? He is blessed with great voice. Like Mel Gibson, Russell Crowe and Paul Newman, Clooney is the full package. He can act, write, produce, direct and move between each of these scenarios with ease, or combine when he feels it necessary. THE DECENDENTS is a great film. The plot with Clooneys wife on life support and his journey from that point on, had me in from the first frame. Go see this film. Its one of those feel good movies that tends to leave you thinking about for sometime after. Eight stars.

The Surfer should have had a bigger audience when it was released than it did in the late eighties. There were a lot of low budget OZ films that were not anywhere near as good as this one, yet got major releases. Its obvious this low budget movie had a director on-board (Frank Shields)that really gets to the teeth of each scene and the acting is of a pretty good standard. The locations were also enticing and the story moved along OK. If you enjoy low budget Aussie films made in the 70's & 80's like I do, put this on your list.I would have liked to see more of the main characters back story as at times he seems to be searching for things that are not spelled out clearly enough in story, but his performance is strong and this compensates. The support players like Gerard Maguire also do a commendable job.