A dramatisation of The Fitzgerald Inquiry which looked into illegal prostitution and gambling aided by corrupt police. Stalwart Bill Hunter stars as star witness Graeme Parker. He won Best Actor at the Australian Film Institute for his role. And for good reason as he’s excellent. Police State is a fantastic TV movie. It’s well made, …
Continue reading Marsupial March- 31 Days of Aussie Movies- Day 31- Police State (1989)
Inspector Plugg is hired to watch the Pussycat escort agency. Inspector Closer is in close pursuit. This is an Aussie cross between a sex comedy and a Pink Panther parody. It’s also about as funny and/or sexy as a dose of the clap. Whoever wrote these gags should have been arrested for crimes to comedy. …
Continue reading Marsupial March- 31 Days of Aussie Movies- Day 30- Plugg (1975)
I first saw The Howling 3 in 1989 on home video and thought ‘What the hell was that?!’ I saw it again today and thought the same. The film is a curio for sure. It bears no relation (except by name) to the other films in the franchise and feels more like a standalone movie. …
Continue reading Marsupial March- 31 Days of Aussie Movies- Day 29- The Howling 3 (1988)
Young people congregate at a local New South Wales suburb community centre. They also live together in accommodation which is kind of like a halfway house for youngsters from difficult backgrounds. Ely moves in after her mother's boyfriend sexually assaults her. Meanwhile, a local businessman who hopes to become a politician holds a dinner party …
Continue reading Marsupial March- 31 Days of Aussie Movies- Day 28- Crime of the Decade (1984)
OK, so this movie is based in New Zealand rather than Australia but... Murderous aliens have invaded Kaihoro and want to turn humans into extraterrestrial fast food. I remember seeing Bad Taste when it was released on video here in the UK. Unfortunately, this coincided with a reprise of the earlier Video Nasties moral panic …
Continue reading Marsupial March- 31 Days of Aussie Movies- Day 27- Bad Taste (1987)
Crikey! It's a Steve Irwin movie! The plot of this opus involves Steve and his wife Terri trying to save a croc from being poached. In fact, the croc has swallowed a satellite tracking beacon that contains very sensitive information and the 'poachers' are CIA agents. I love crazy crossover movies. I remember the first …
A group of alternative types share a house in Melbourne in 1978. There’s no real plot as it’s hoped that the characters are interesting enough to hold your interest for an hour and a half. Not even the mentions of David Bowie, Iggy Pop, The Boys Next Door (Nick Cave's first band) and Suicide can …
Continue reading Marsupial March- 31 Days of Aussie Movies- Day 25- Dogs In Space (1986)
A gang who are nifty on BMX bikes inadvertently find the walkie talkies of a gang who are planning a heist. The gang target the kids. How did Brian Trenchard-Smith follow up his Ozploitation masterpiece, Turkey Shoot? By making a family film revolving around one of the biggest 80’s trends, naturally. BMX Bandits has aged …
Continue reading Marsupial March- 31 Days of Aussie Movies- Day 24- BMX Bandits (1983)
Fat Pizza is the movie spawned from the Aussie TV show Pizza. It follows a group of Lebanese-Australian pizza takeaway workers and their zany, sometimes surrealist adventures. There is no plot to speak of but instead a series of comedic scenarios. I first discovered the TV series when I was visiting Australia in 2003. I …
Continue reading Marsupial March- 31 Days of Aussie Movies- Day 23- Fat Pizza (2003)
Doug works in a factory job that he hates whilst braving the cold in a city he hates- Melbourne. He dreams of moving to Queensland (hence the title). Not a lot happens in this TV movie but I still enjoyed it as a time capsule of mid-70’s Oz. It also holds the distinction of an …
Continue reading Marsupial March- 31 Days of Aussie Movies- Day 22- Queensland Dreaming (1976)
Meathook Cinema 