Acting
Phoenix is an Australian police drama television series. Phoenix screened as two thirteen-part series on Australian Broadcasting Corporation in 1992 and 1993. The first series of Phoenix in 1992 recounted the investigation of the bombing of the Victorian state police headquarters, loosely based on a real case in the mid-1980s, the Russell Street Bombing. It was aided by extensive research into police techniques and was lauded as one of the most realistic depictions of police investigation techniques, including both surveillance and forensics, as well as having an involving storyline. The series was notable for its dark visual tone and for its no-holds-barred attitude to violence and language. It spawned a second thirteen-part series, Phoenix II, in 1993 as well as a spin-off series, Janus, in 1994 devoted to the machinations of court cases. The series was created and produced by Tony McDonald and Alison Nisselle and screened by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The ABC have released Series 1 and 2 on DVD as a 4 DVD box set.
Correlli was an Australian television series first broadcast by ABC TV in 1995. It starred Deborra-Lee Furness as prison psychologist Louisa Correlli. The series also featured her future husband Hugh Jackman in one of his earliest roles. The first episode entitled "The Rat Tamer" has been released on to DVD. The creators and Associate Producers of the show were actress Denise Roberts from the ABC's G.P., and Carol Long. Roberts also played the role of prison warden Helen Buckley in episodes four and five.
A newspaper journalist in Bosnia returns home to find that things are and are not as they seem.
A story based on true events about two explorers on a doomed journey trying to cross Australia on foot in the 19 century.
Peter Hehir plays full-time loser Sid McCall, professional vagrant and alcoholic on the skids. Haydon Samuels is his young son Christopher who lives with him. At the insistence of those who seek to help, child welfare workers are called-in to retrieve the lad from what authorities classify as "inappropriate living conditions." Someone seems to have overlooked the fact that Christopher does not consider his plight as distressing however and with each visit to the home, all the social workers can get in the way of co-operation, is Christopher's stock-standard reply to their questions..."I live with me dad!"
An amusing and entertaining film, "Stiff" showcases David Wenham as Murray Whelan, political fixer and amateur investigator. An adaption of a Shane Moloney book it provides a view into the political workings (or lack thereof) of a Brunswick (Melbourne, Australia) Local Member's office.
A boy climbs an unsteady path to adulthood under difficult circumstances in this drama from Australia. Shaun (Kane McNay) is a teenager growing up in a run-down suburb of Melbourne. His father Sam (Brett Swain) is in prison, while his mother Jenny (Nell Feeney) is too lost in her problems with alcohol to provide much guidance for her children. Left to his own devices, Shaun commits petty theft, smokes pot, and deals drugs to his friends as they hang out at the nearby shopping mall. Shaun seems unable to reach out to anyone, not even his girlfriend (Lauren Hawker) or Darren (Brett Tucker), a social worker eager to help him. When his father is released from prison and brings his mistress to the "Welcome Home" party Jenny throws for him, Shaun comes to realize that if he is ever to resolve his problems, he will have to do it without the help of his family. Mallboy marked the feature film debut for writer/director Vincent Giarrusso.
An idyllic ride in the country is shattered when Tessa takes a joke too far and hitches a ride with a stranger. Too late she finds the driver has other games in mind for her and she is no match for his addiction to thrills. In this psychological game of cat and mouse, Tessa and her boyfriend Nick are led on a merry dance of murder and intrigue. This film takes you into the darker limits of madness but on a ride with offbeat and strangely humorous turns.
