Reviews

David Wenham steals the show as the spaced out junkie "Spit". His performance in the tribunal scene is one of the greatest comedy scenes I've ever seen in a movie. This performance took it from just another caper movie to a really good movie. Freya Stafford was wasted as the juvenile love interest, she can handle meatier roles than this. Gary Sweet as good as ever and the rest of the cast was world class. Don't miss this one!

This series goes a long way to explain why millions of people emigrated from Ireland ( North and South) for over a hundred years. Firstly the weather (it is always raining), secondly the religious intolerance and finally the absolute hopelessness of ever achieving any sort of a decent standard of living. My Dad was from Belfast in the North and he refused to go back (even for a visit) because he knew that it wouldn't have changed. Don't think it isn't in the interests of the powers that be ( In Dublin and London) to keep promoting sectarian violence. Yes, I have been to Ireland, this isn't just a comment from someone who has never left Australia!

"Who shall we put on sentry duty herr leutenant?" "Who do we have that has poor eyesight?" "Fritz Schmidt, my leader!" "Put him on sentry duty because the Screaming Eagles Amerikaner paratroopers are sneaking up on us" "Jawohl" This just about sums up this flagwaver. I wound up feeling sorry for the krauts. This sad series is in the John Wayne tradition of impossible feats of arms by Americans. I suppose if it makes the average Yank feel good, it has some therapeutic value for the nation. (Bet George dubya bought the DVD)

I thought the ABC had got over this sort of thing with the terminally boring ( and unlamented) G.P. This dog of a series is rating in the pits in Australia. It's the standard ABC repertory company offering. If Gary Sweet, Callan Mulvey or Bill Hunter appears in an upcoming ep I for one am going to put my foot through the TV. Kerry Armstrong plays a pathetic user (suprise ,suprise) and the rest of the cast are as pitiful. Avoid if possible!!

Remember where you heard it first, fans. The new Cate Blanchett is on the block. Her name is Freya Stafford. Looks good, NIDA graduate, can act and is going to go a long way.The show has intelligent, realistic plots and a capable cast. Pity it's on the teeny boppers channel in Australia (Network Ten) Ratings haven't been real good yet, but this show is going to take off. Sue Masters (ex Australian Broadcasting Corporation) is the Executive Producer which means the show has go to be classy.

A great example of sloppy writing and no research. As another reviewer has said " A cut and paste of 'Bridge on the River Kwai','Hogans Heroes' and the 'Singing Detective'. The writer, John Doyle has admitted he didn't ask for and never got any technical assistance. when the series went to air old Diggers who were ex POWs said "He made it look like we had three years at the Changi Hilton, with an excursion to a railway site". Most glaring errors were 1) The lads saluted a corporal.. Not even in the Italian Army does anyone salute a corp. 2) People saluted officers when the weren't wearing hats.. One of the great advantages of the Australian Army is and was if you haven't got your hat on you don't need to salute and officer. Doyle has seen too many American movies where you can salute an officer when you are not wearing a hat. 3)Notice how the slouch hats are always turned up?..Believe me, first opportunity the brim is turned down all around! Finally, not all Australians are half witted yobbos. Some of us have read a book and had some form of education. The series is flawed, but is almost close to the way the national spirit used to be. Sadly, Aussies aren't like this any more. We are a pack of wimps that take our cell phones to war with us so we can call our girl friends.

Married for 40 odd years to a lady who can go ballistic any time at all and a fiery daughter, after seeing this movie they're pussy cats!! Betty is off the planet!! I saw this after seeing "Raise the Red Lantern" so it's looney tune chicks (or as they say in french 'Poules')rule Go Betty, you're a ton of fun (or a disaster area)Zorg has my sympathy!!

Not the worst movie I've ever seen (that title is still held by "The Tiger Woods Story") but pretty bad. John Wayne who was 4E during WW2 and did not hear a shot fired in anger is his usual heroic self,Kirk Douglas (with that chin)goes on a suicide mission after getting a Nurse preggers. The usual Hollywood load of crap. If you're an Aussie watch for Stanley Holloway as the Aussie coast watcher. Hilarious.

Gee, I'm happy I never wasted any money buying Tolkein's books. I wasted too much paying to see the movie ( a whole $7.00)This movie runs for 178 bladder twisting minutes. It should be cut to the twenty minutes that the delectable Cate Blanchett appears, as she is that gorgeous one could just gawp at her ad infinitum. As for the rest of the cast, a good bath wouldn't hurt them.

The only Oz movie I can remember that is worse than this is "Bliss", at least nobody could understand Bliss unless they had consumed prohibited substances. I see it was adapted from a play which is about talking, well the scriptwriter had a holiday on this lemon. Time and time again I've gone to movies the critics loved and found them a)incomprehensible or b) just boring. This movie is just boring. Wooden performances by LaPaglia, Rush (the world's most overrated actor) are counter balanced by soapie performances from Kerry Armstrong and Rachael Blake, who definitely need formal training in acting. I can't understand how Barbara Hershey got a part maybe it was be kind to hasbeens week. My big regret is i paid good money to see this garbage. There have been worse movies... like the "Tiger Woods Story"

Well, I've just seen this movie and am completely blown away. After the US jingoistic crap of Pearl Harbor, Private Ryan and Thin Red Line a movie about real people with B.O and dirty fingernails was refreshing.

Also there was no Private Snopkowski making wisecracks. Don't miss this one fans!!!!

It's difficult to imagine but this is worse than the "Tiger Woods Story" I think that they should have saved some of the reported huge budget and hired decent script writers. I feel conned by falling for the hype and sitting through three hours of this rubbish.I'm not complaining about the historical inaccuracies, simply about the lack of a plot which wasn't an insult to one's intelligence!!!