In Sister Act, Whoopi Goldberg plays a Reno lounge singer who hides out as a nun when her villainous boyfriend (Harvey Keitel) goes gunning for her. Maggie Smith is the mother superior who has to cope with Whoopi's unorthodox behaviour, but the cute script turns the tables and shows the latter energising the stodgy convent with song and attitude. A real crowd-pleaser and a perfect vehicle for Goldberg, this is a happy experience all around. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com Whoopi Goldberg returns in Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, a gratuitous, poorly written sequel that contrives a reason to get her character back into Maggie Smith's convent. The "socially conscious" plot finds Goldberg being asked to relate to a bunch of street kids and pull them together into a choir. Since a bad guy is needed, the script grabs that old chestnut about a rich guy (James Coburn) preparing to close down the convent's school, and runs with it. The film is slow and unconvincing from start to finish, although co-stars Mary Wickes and Kathy Najimy get some good laughs, and the music is pretty spirited. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com
Australian television miniseries in which modest, unassured heiress Stephanie Harper (Rebecca Gilling) marries a younger professional tennis player named Greg (James Reyne) under the illusion of true love. All is not well in paradise however, as Greg soon begins an affair with Stephanie's best friend Jilly (Wendy Hughes) and he hatches a plan to dispose of his undesired wife and collect her inherited wealth. In a horrific staged accident Stephanie appears to be mauled to death by a crocodile, but can Greg really get rid of her that easily?
The Man Who Sued God defies simple definition, managing to be several types of movie all at the same time. As a theological-romantic-comedy-drama, it's in a somewhat unique category all of its own. Perhaps only Billy Connolly could carry off a central role that combines slapstick with raging anger, puppy-dog disappointment and strong language delivered in his distinctive accent. These facets of performance are used and abused in a tale that feels like it really ought to be based on a true story, but isn't. Connolly's life as a fisherman is sunk by the destruction of his boat by a bolt of lightning. The insurance company won't pay up because it falls under that age-old excuse of being an "Act of God". So Connolly decides to sue the deity. The premise raises issues about how the law and the church have apparently conspired together. But at heart the film is a simple character study, so any pondering on legal or theological implications will have to be done on your own time; the screen is occupied with family issues, underhand dealings and a maybe-maybe romance with Judy Davis. Big Yin fans at least will enjoy the Connolly's composite character. --Paul Tonks
Judy Davis stars in Gillian Armstrong's breakthrough, a period romance as unconventional as its brash heroine. For her awardwinning breakthrough film, director Gillian Armstrong (Little Women) drew on teenage author Miles Franklin's novel, a celebrated turnofthetwentiethcentury Australian comingofage story, to brashly upend the conventions of period romance. Headstrong young Sybylla Melvyn (Judy Davis, in a starmaking performance), bemoans her stifling life in the backcountry, where her writerly ambitions receive little encouragement, and craves independence above all else. When a handsome landowner (Jurassic Park's Sam Neill), disarmed by her unruly charms, begins to court her, Sybylla must decide whether she can reconcile the prospect of marriage with the illustrious life's work she has imagined for herself. Suffused with generous humour and a youthful appetite for experience, My Brilliant Career is a luminous portrait of an ardently free spirit. Features: New, restored 4K digital transfer, approved by director Gillian Armstrong, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack Audio commentary from 2009 featuring Armstrong New interview with Armstrong Interview from 1980 with actor Judy Davis New interview with production designer Luciana Arrighi One Hundred a Day (1973), a student short film by Armstrong Trailer PLUS: An essay by critic Carrie Rickey
An award-winning film centering on the life of a teenage girl who is divided between stirrings of passion and her need for self-fulfilment... Sybylla is a girl living in the Australian outback early in the 20th Century Sybylla is a well of boundless energy wanting desperately to escape the backwardness of her young life. A chance meeting with a charming young man presents her with a tempting offer allowing her to escape the frontier life forever.
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