Australia [Blu-ray]: Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Jack Thompson, Bryan Brown, David Wenham, David Ngoombujarra, David Gulpilil, Brandon Walters, Mandy Walker, David Hirschfelder, Baz Luhrmann, Dody Dorn, Michael McCusker: Movies & TV

Mar30

Australia [Blu-ray]: Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Jack Thompson, Bryan Brown, David Wenham, David Ngoombujarra, David Gulpilil, Brandon Walters, Mandy Walker, David Hirschfelder, Baz Luhrmann, Dody Dorn, Michael McCusker: Movies & TV

Posted by admin | on 30 March, 04:52 AM

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Watching the early reels of Australia, there’s certainly no doubt who’s in charge: this could only be a film by Baz Luhrmann, that wacky purveyor of all things over-the-top. In this old-fashioned, 165-minute hymn to his native continent, Luhrmann travels back to the late 1930s/early ’40s, for a scenario that would not have been out of place at MGM in that era. Straightlaced Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) journeys Down Under and is put under the protection of–crikey–a rugged cattle driver known only as the Drover (Hugh Jackman). When the two are forced to team up (along with a motley crew of misfits) to take a herd of cattle through the hostile landscape, their way is challenged by the dastardly plans of the local beef baron (Bryan Brown) and his elaborately evil lieutenant (David Wenham). At some point you realize that this film’s main commodity is not cattle, but corn: Luhrmann piles on the melodrama and the old-school climaxes with his usual frantic glee. Employing “When You Wish Upon a Star” and the Japanese air force to make his case is not beyond Luhrmann, and he reaches big here. Those with a taste for un-ironic silliness might just go for this stuff, but even fans of the Baz will have their patience tested by the broad comedy and the absence of discernable chemistry between Kidman and Jackman. Australia does manage to skewer the culture’s prejudices against the Aboriginal people, but in this context such a victory comes across as rather tinny. –Robert Horton

Stills from Australia (Click for larger image)

Australia [Blu ray]: Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Jack Thompson, Bryan Brown, David Wenham, David Ngoombujarra, David Gulpilil, Brandon Walters, Mandy Walker, David Hirschfelder, Baz Luhrmann, Dody Dorn, Michael McCusker: Movies & TV Australia1 S

Product Description
Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 03/03/2009 Run time: 165 minutes Rating: Pg13

Who says they don’t make em like they used to?,

By Michael Thomas (Australia) -

This review is from: Australia (DVD)

I was looking forward to seeing this movie when it was release late last year given all the hype, and was not dissappointed!

Director, Baz Luhman, has served up a slab of nostalgia ala Australian style with all those beautiful elements we love from films of the 40’s and 50’s, breathtaking, sweeping landscapes, gorgeous costumes and two fine actors in Kidman and Jackman who get the essence of the film. It nostalgia in every sense of the word, in every frame. The acting style reminds us of Bogart, Grant, Bacall and Dunne. The story is epic in every way and just lovely. I loved the salute to “The Wizard of Oz”a really nice touch!

Of course we all know how it’s going to end. Watching Australia was like eating a box of Quality Street chocolates. Sure I know what I’m getting, but I still love it.

For those of you who want to spend a few hours (and I mean a few; it’s almost 3 hours) being completely entertained then thisis the movie for you. I only wished they had inserted an interval on it’s theatrical release and made the whole event at the movies a real nostalgic experience.

I can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t like this movie, unless you just aren’t up for a feel good picture. I want to see more movies being made like this!!!! Well done to all!!!

Baz salutes Howard Hawks,

By B. E. Beechler “Doc Beechler” (Indianapolis, IN United States) -

I love Howard Hawks’ films…Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday, Red River, and Rio Bravo are amazing pieces of entertainment. As I was watching Australia, the new Baz Luhrmann movie with Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, I kept thinking…man, Baz must really love Hawks’ movies, too.

As evidenced by the films above, the mismatched couple who fight and fight until they realize they’re perfect for each other (see Much Ado About Nothing, Taming of the Shrew, and Moonlighting as other examples of the form) and the group of underestimated misfits who come together to fight evil are two big elements used again and again by Hawks. Throw in a bit of John Ford’s The Searchers and its hard look at racism leading to inhuman deeds and mix well and you have…Australia.

The problem modern audiences may have with Luhrmann’s new movie is it’s very, very earnest. This is straight ahead epic storytelling with its heart on its sleeve and hat and boots with never a wink to the crowd in the theater to say “ain’t these people quaint”. You either buy in or you don’t. If you do, like I did, you’re in for a hell of a ride.

This, I feel, is the flip-side to The Dark Knight. Good and evil are trapped in something akin to a battle and an embrace in Nolan’s Gotham City. You root for Batman, but he does stuff that is on the wrong side of freedom and civil rights. The Joker is pure crazy, but he’s the most mesmerizing character in the film. In Australia, there are good guys and bad guys and you are either really good or twirl your mustache evil. The main villain actually may be a bit too two-dimensional in that aspect, but it didn’t hurt my overall enjoyment.

Why? Well, epic melodrama is hard to pull off…I’m talking about the real stuff here. The recent BBC production of Bleak House is a great example. There are very good and very, very bad people in that story, but the acting is so fantastic you rarely if ever catch yourself rolling your eyes (like whenever I’ve watched Smallville…see: bad epic melodrama). Kidman and Jackman sell their characters…the displaced Englishwoman and the rough-hewn “Drover”. They are thrown together just to, initially it seems, thwart a nasty cattle baron from monopolizing the beef industry in the country. But the other big story, the main one in fact, centers around Australia’s “lost generation”. These were Aboriginal children who were fathered by white men who didn’t claim them. They were taken by the government, the mothers had no rights, and handed over to the church to be taught to “act white” and then work in the servant class. Nullah, played by the fantastic child actor Brandon Walters, is one of these “creamies” who has been hidden on the ranch now owned by Lady Sarah Ashley (Kidman). Lady Ashley discovers what is going on, is horrified by the law, and works to keep him hidden as well. Why the Drover cares so much about Nullah becomes clear later in the film (no, it’s not what you think…that would be too easy) and Jackman’s experience with stage and musical work does him proud here. He can do earnest better than almost any actor alive when he needs to and his later use of the f-word (the only curse I can remember from the entire film) hits so hard, in just the right emotional moment, that it kills. Russell Crowe was originally cast as the Drover but backed out. If Crowe had done the film, and I have liked him in other things…the Napoleon-era British navy film that I can’t remember the name of right now, it would not have worked. Crowe never loses that bit of edge and the Drover, at one point, really has to fully break down and become completely vulnerable. Jackman shines at that point.

Anyway…a warning, the movie is long 2 hours and 40something minutes, but I didn’t realize that until I had left the theater. I saw it alone…I was out of town at a pediatrics meeting…and that’s a good thing. I didn’t have to hide from Holly the few times the movie hit me a bit too hard and do that cough-throat clearing thing we dudes do to cover up a stray tear.

Best Film of 2008,

By J. Ives -

This review is from: Australia (DVD)

This movie was by far my favorite of 2008, even with such crowd-pleasers such as The Dark Knight and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It’s story is well formulated, honest, and believable. The acting is superb, with Hugh Jackman stealing his scenes and Nicole Kidman has the most developed character of any film she has ever done. Sprinkled intermittently with comedic moments, Australia is presented in a raw, emotional format with a hint of epic provided by the sweeping wide-angle shots of Australia’s scenery. This film deserved more ratings and awards than it has won, and it’s Baz’s best movie yet. Yes. Better than “Moulin Rouge!”. Best of 2008!
Search Australia [Blu-ray]: Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Jack Thompson, Bryan Brown, David Wenham, David Ngoombujarra, David Gulpilil, Brandon Walters, Mandy Walker, David Hirschfelder, Baz Luhrmann, Dody Dorn, Michael McCusker: Movies & TV from AmAzon

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