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Reviews
Rail Around Queensland: The Story of Invicta (2008)
A well told story
Another from the Rail Around Queensland series, The Story of Invicta is the tale of the restoration of the 610 mm Fowler 0-6-2 steam locomotive Invicta, which spent its working life in the Queensland cane fields.
It begins with its recommissioning in Bundaberg and tells the story of how it found its way to HMAS Nirimba, sear Blacktown in Sydney's west before its final return and rebuilding.
This is a very different film to those we've seen from the Water Street stable. Although there is some historic footage of the locomotive in action, the focus is on narratives by the people who were involved in the rebuilding work.
Computer graphics and still photography illustrate the early history of the locomotive and the work carried out on its reconstruction. Much of the narrative is face to camera describing the work carried out, but without live footage of how it was done.
It is very informative, but may be a little frustrating to viewers wanting more scenes of the restoration taking place. In comparison to some of the videos of American narrow gauge locomotive restoration it is somewhat lacking in visual detail.
Nonetheless it a well told story, well edited and with bonus extra features, including a slide show of the Invicta Mill after which the locomotive was named.
The background music is the signature theme of previous programs from Water Street so the viewer knows immediately whose DVD they are watching.
Hard to recommend to people who want action footage throughout but, for those looking for an informative documentary of the life of a little Fowler after it finished work in the mills this is recommended. Chris Harding
Rail Around Queensland: Back to the Gabba (2006)
Sets the standard for Australian Railway DVD
This is the third installment in the RAQ series and covers the history of the famous closed railway to Wooloongabba and Sth Brisbane.
Good use has been made of archival images, cleverly blended into contemporary scenes with motion picture film taking us back to yesteryear.
The changes in the Southbank area are huge and would be unrecognisable to younger viewers.
Many classes of now defunct steam and diesel locomotives and other rollingstock are shown, along with long forgotten stations and placenames.
Most of the footage is drawn from private collections which has never been presented to the public. There are great scenes at the Gabba five-way crossing with its bell and flag man; the loco depot with coal stage and elevated turntable and extensive sidings along the riverbank.
This program represents considerable expenditure of time and effort in research and sourcing the visual material.Its a benchmark Australian product which stands up to the best international railway DVDs.
5out of 5 STARS!!!!!
An Education (2009)
Heartwarming, disturbing and dare I say it, uplifting!
Set in Twickenham in 1961, this is the story of a school aged girl seduced by an older man and lured into a life of glamour and sophistoccation.
Jenny is plays the cello and dreams of a cultured life, immersing herself in french films, foreign languages and poetry.
By chance on a rainy night she meets David, aged in his early 30s, and jumps into his car. Today, no-one would think twice about it, but this is the 1960s.
Through David, doors are opened. He wins her heart with his constant attention and the prospect of luxurious weekends away with his friends, the wry Danny, and his vapid girlfriend Helen.
David even manages to influence her controlling father Jack.
It seems Jenny's ship has come in with the man of her dreams smiling from the upper deck, naturally sparking the jealousy of classmates who are all caught up in the whirlwind of her suddenly exalted life. In contrast, the dire, knowing warnings from her teacher Miss Stubbs and headmistress offer dark perspectives that Jenny chooses to ignore at her own peril.
But David has a secret, or ten.
Davids lifestyle is financed through Illigal and immoral activities, still Jenny accepts them all, except for the final betrayal.
The ending caught me by surprise and by the time the end credits roll, you cannot help but feel as if you know Jenny personally, and like a friend, share her pain.
Heartwarming, disturbing and dare I say it, uplifting!
The Delinquents (1989)
good film
an enjoyable, and reasonably well-written teenage drama only slightly impaired by the fact that it's lead was as good as an actress as she was a carpenter.
Akin to one of those welcome but straightforward coming-of-age tales of the fifties or sixties – usually starring James Dean – the Australian film Delinquents, based on the book of the same name, centers on two star-crossed lovers, Lola (Minogue) and yankie Brownie (Charlie Schlatter).
They, much like Minogue's plans for a burgeoning film career, seemed doomed from the beginning – they come from opposite sides of the tracks, their parents have their own plans for both offspring, and, well, you've regrettably got to have a little bit of green to go with the stout heart if you're to make a relationship work.
She looks peachy, but Minogue doesn't prove to be anything more than a former soapstar in the lead role. Schlatter, best known at the time for his roles in clunky comedies like 18 Again and the lead in the TV spin-off of Ferris Bueller, didn't fare much better.
Thankfully, the supporting cast, which included solid Australian talent like Angela Punch McGregor and Bruno Lawrence, was as fine as silver and help the film escape it's boggy areas.
In addition, the film's got a terrific soundtrack – largely Australian artists – that help proceedings kick along in an active and melodious fashion.
The Notebook (2004)
pretty sweet film
I had no intention of EVER seeing this, but a couple of friends recommended it, so I thought I'd give it a chance. After all, it does have James Garner and Gena Rowlands in it, not to mention Joan Allen and Sam Shepard, the latter two coming as a complete surprise to me. I've loved James Garner from back in the Support Your Local Sheriff days, and I always enjoyed him in The Rockford Files. And we all know Joan Allen can do no wrong, which gave me hope that this wouldn't be a complete waste of 2 hours. To be honest, it wasn't nearly as bad as I always thought it would be. But in my opinion, it's Garner and Rowlands that make it watchable, not Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. McAdams is OK as Allie, but I have problems with Gosling's performance, and Gosling in general. It probably has something to do with the fact that I can't help remembering he used to be on that idiotic TV show Breaker High. I just don't agree with a lot of reviewers who see him as the second coming of Marlon Brando, although he does have that mumbling thing down pat. He was pretty good in Fracture and Half Nelson, although I didn't think he deserved an Oscar nomination. That should have been Jack Nicholson's. He also has a tendency to smirk at inappropriate times, which makes me want to give him a good slap. Anyway, the beginning of this movie definitely stretches the limits of credulity. OK, Noah falls madly in love with Allie on first sight. I can accept that. She's gorgeous. But here's how he goes about winning her heart. First, he dangles by one hand from a ferris wheel, and then he gets her to lie down in the middle of the street with him, which leads to them almost getting run over by an approaching car. Smooth! But the crazy thing is, it actually works. Before you know it, she's also madly in love with him! I'm sorry, but I don't buy it. If I was her, I would be getting as far away from that maniac as I possibly could. But then there would have been no movie, so on we go. It's pretty standard romance novel stuff. Girl's parents forbid her to see boy from wrong side of tracks, girl and boy fight, they break up, she moves away, he goes off to war, loses his best friend, becomes a man, returns home, eventually boy and girl get back together, and so on, and so on. It's not terrible, but it's really nothing special either. And I really think the story could have been written better. There's a point in the film where Garner calls Rowlands Allie for the first time, and then we see their children, and they're calling him Dad and her Mom. At that point, we know they got married and had kids, which took away some of the mystery for me. I have to admit there were a few scenes that got to me, though. Particularly the scene where Noah tells Allie that he wrote her all those letters, and also when she returns to find that he's renovated the old house exactly as she had described it. I do have a heart, I guess. But overall, not really my kind of movie, and at no time while watching it did I believe that Ryan Gosling could ever have transformed himself into James Garner, no matter how old he got!
Rail Around Queensland: Brisbane Northside (2003)
not bad
It was really hard to find this DVD as its been out of print for a long time. Its pretty much the only line side documentary made about Brisbane's railways and rolling stock so it was interesting to get just for that. I really enjoyed this program. It was really well researched and filmed.
Im guessing that most people will not find this to be interesting because it really only applied to people who have a strong interest in trains, but there again, some of the history stuff might interest someone who has lived in Brisbane for a long time and seen (or maybe even forgotten) all of the many changes that have occurred in that city