Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman in "Australia"
courtesy of Fox Home Entertainment
“Last Year’s Best Movie”

My pick for the best picture of last year wasn’t “Slumdog Millionaire,” it was “Australia. This was a film most critics hated and which was not a major box office success. Now it has been released on DVD and hopefully appreciative viewers will find it there. This Baz Luhrmann created and directed epic has it all. There’s a love affair, a battle between cattle barons, the bombing of Darwin Harbor and a lesson in acceptance all tied into one gripping story. Starring in all this are Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, two actors who can spread the chemistry around on screen..

The story starts in 1939 when Lady Sarah Ashley (Kidman) comes to Australia to check up on her husband. She thinks he has extended his stay in Australia in order to be unfaithful to her, but when she arrives she finds he has been murdered and their cattle ranch named “Faraway Downs” is in bad shape. The only way to save it is to get a herd of cattle to Darwin Harbor and sell them to the British Army.

She enlists the help of her husband’s drover (Jackman) who is reluctant to start such a trek. Plus she has wealthy rancher King Carney (Bryan Brown) doing everything he can to stop her. He wants to get a monopoly with the Army so he can’t have her showing up with competitive cattle. He enlists his worker, Neil Fletcher (David Wynham), to do whatever is necessary to stop the drive.

Sarah is also caught up in the plight of a young boy named Nullah (Brandon Walters). He is part Aborigine and part Caucasian and thus belongs in neither world. The authorities want to place him in a mission home, but Nullah wants to stay at Faraway Downs. Sarah is drawn to the boy and wants to protect him.

The cattle drive dominates the first half of the film and the bombing of Darwin Harbor dominates the second. Plus the love story of Sarah and the Drover ties it all together. There is something for everyone in this film and the two hour and fifty five minute running time seems to fly by in an instant.

Kidman is amazing in her role of Sarah, and there is no one else acting today who could have done as perfectly as she does. It seems Luhrmann, who also directed her in “Moulin Rouge,” created the role with her in mind for it fits her that totally. She brings a freshness to the part as well as a strength that Sarah has to have. And her chemistry with Jackman is pitch perfect.

Jackman is rugged and handsome as the Drover and matches Kidman in the chemistry department. His acting is not as strong as hers but strong enough. Recently named “the sexiest man alive” by People Magazine, this role proves the title wasn’t some fluke.

Waters is the surprise of the film. His portrayal of Nullah is staggering. He narrates the film and is the character who ties it all together. He is the right person for this role and makes an indelible impression. When awards were given out for “best supporting actor” his name should have been front and center.

“Australia” is a sprawling, engrossing look at the continent about which we know very little. It deserves to be seen and savored maybe more than once. Who cares if it is almost three hours long – they are three of the most entertaining hours you can find. Get the DVD and start watching.

“Breaking Bad” is a TV series not many have seen since it showed only on the AMC channel. Bryan Cranston, who up to this point was best known as the father on “Malcolm In the Middle,” tackled the role of a dying man who turns to drug dealing to provide security for his family. He won an Emmy Award as Best Actor for his performance.

The entire first season plus extras is now out on DVD. You can watch all seven episodes and never have to worry about commercial breaks. The show will return for a second season this spring so watch this first season and then look for the series when it returns. Cranston, Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt and others are worth your attention.

“Canterbury’s Law” is another series which deserves your attention. This one ran on Fox and has not been picked up for a second season. It should have been.. Julianna Margulies is nothing short of brilliant as Elizabeth Canterbury, a very bright attorney. She takes on the hard cases and wins.

Aidan Quinn co-stars as her soon to be ex-husband. Their marriage was strained when their son disappeared. The not knowing has driven them apart. This is a dramatic twist to the plot which explained the melancholy that lingered over every episode.

There are only six episodes in the first season so it will not take that long too watch. But believe me every episode is a treat as to good plotting and good acting – especially by Margulies.

“Touch the Top of the World” is a movie that aired on the A&E Channel. It is now available on DVD. Peter Facinelli, Sarah Manninen and Bruce Campbell co-star in this story of the first blind man to reach the top of Mount Everest.

If ever there was a story about heroism this is it. Erik Weihenmayer’s courageous story is the stuff of legends and Facinelli is totally absorbed into this true life character. His story will amaze you and touch you. It is a DVD to watch over and over.

If you are in the mood for a sci-fi/horror adventure then you can’t ask for a better DVD movie than “Screamers: The Hunting.” This sequel to the popular “Screamers” film finds a distress signal coming from the planet that is the home of the “screamers. As a rescue team heads to the planet the question of what awaits lies unanswered. 

Lance Henriksen, Jana Pallasky and Gina Holden star in this exciting and scary movie. It has all the horror of the first film racheted up a notch or two. That means it is chilling so watch it with the lights on.

Clark Duke, Josh Zuckerman, Seth Green and James Marsden star in the “coming of age” movie “Sex Drive.” This is a raucous story of a young man who meets a girl on-line who promises an exciting g time if he visits her. So off he goes on an eight hundred mile trip to find out what life is all about.

This is a road trip for sex and the movie plays up that point over and over. There are extras galore on the DVD and there is even an unrated version of the movie that is basically a totally different movie. Both are on the DVD. How’s that for a bargain!

Finally from Czechoslovakia comes “I Served the King of England.” This movie is based on Bohumil Hrabal’s novel of the same name. It concerns a man who works his way up in life with a goal of impossible dreams. At least he is told they are impossible but he finds a way to reach them.

This film is in Czech with English subtitles. That is a difficult way to watch a film but this movie proves to be worth it.
 

 

 

 

 

©2009 Jackie K. Cooper

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