The Last Wave (1977) - For those that found the unresolved, ambiguous nature of Peter Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock to be frustrating, his followup film is likely to elicit the same response. But if, like me, you thought that aspect worked in the favour of that film, especially when combined with the mysterious and foreboding atmosphere that was prevalent throughout, you will find much to like here even though it's not quite on the same level of quality as PAHR.

The movie has three interconnected stories: Australia is experiencing strange weather with numerous hail/rainstorms, a Sydney lawyer is having strange dreams, and a group of Aboriginal men kill one of their own in a bar. By the end, the stories are linked, but not in any cohesive fashion, Weir choosing to raise new (and interesting) questions with his 'answers'. But, as mentioned above, I found that this approach added to the film given how much it relies on mysticism. What doesn�t quite work, though, are some of the subplots which seem to be last minute additions to add some dramatic weight but end up detracting from the interest of the main story and spectacularly strange and haunting imagery.

7/10


Red Road (2006) - impressive little psychological drama/thriller from Scotland that can be a bit slow at times but is otherwise very engaging and effective. The main character, Jackie, works as a security camera operator in Glasgow and from the lengthy opening sequence, you can tell she lives her life vicariously through those she observes. But when she sees someone from her past, it sets off an unnerving series of events dealing with obsession, memory and guilt.

The performances are strong across the board, the direction appropriately intimate and claustrophobic and although the ending is a little bit too pat (despite working reasonably well), the leadup is an unpredictable and confronting look at someone's internal hell.

7/10


I Live in Fear (1955) - Akira Kurosawa's most direct look at the effect of WWII on Japan with Toshiro Mifune playing an elderly man whose family is trying to have him declared insane for wasting the family savings on over the top plans to combat the effect of radiation fallout. But unlike Kurosawa's other films like The Bad Sleep Well and Stray Dog which look at post war japan indirectly but more effectively, this one ends up working more on the level of a dissection of family politics than as a commentary on post war Japan (even though it raises some interesting questions). Not that that's a bad thing in itself, Kurosawa's mastery is still present for the majority of the film and Mifune's strong presence dominates every frame he's in.

7/10


The Bridges of Madison County (1995) - overlong, but an otherwise excellent and low key drama from Clint Eastwood that, despite being very susceptible to it, manages to avoid the oversentimentality that's present in most of his recent films. Eastwood obviously recognised what he was onto, and that is Meryl Streep at the peak of her powers, and he wisely chooses to focus everything on her. Of course, he manages to himself play off Streep pretty well too, forming the interesting central relationship that is very important to the movie's success.

7.5/10


The Magician (1958) - probably one of Ingmar Bergman's most accessible movies that avoids his usual themes of god, religion and suffering. Instead we get a period piece that follows a famous travelling magician, Albert Vogler (Max Von Sydow), and the subsequent encounter between his troupe and the town authorities, including Dr Vergerus the physician, over the claimed legitimacy of their acts. The themes, therefore, shift towards science vs spirituality but Bergman adds in further intriguing complexity by making both Vogler and Vergerus very aware of the likely inaccuracy of each of the their own stances.

The result is a masterfully shot film with abrupt changes of genre that still seem to gel well together. Max Von Sydow again puts in a very commanding performance, which is especially noteworthy given that his character plays a mute in the film. The ending is not quite what I was expecting but otherwise its pretty impressive stuff.

7.5/10


Mad Max - here's some heresy, I thought that was atrociously bad. No idea how or why this put aussie film on the map, especially when Peter Weir was making genuinely great films at the same time.

3/10


Mad Max 2 - on the other hand, this should make 'best sequel' lists simply for being so much better than the first film. I'd bet the budget wasnt significantly bigger than last time but it's used a hell of a lot better, the vision of an apocalyptic future being more precise and realised.

Its also suitably exhilarating and restrained at appropriate times, but most importantly has neat characterisations that the first film seriously lacked.

7-7.5/10