Maybe they are looking to us as a cache of product to start tapping into when they run dry… which I believe is quite soon due to the writers strike! But we have received a number of awards at the New York Festivals International Television Broadcasting Awards. Got to love our ABC who did particularly well. Aussie TV does it with limited budgets and the shooting schedules are always ridiculous so congrats from us at APPLEBOX Some of the winners are Love My Way, Crude, Choir of Hard Knocks

Reeltime has again suspended it’s trading on the ASX. They are scrabbling to stay alive, with their homepage now littered with google ads and syndicated entertainment news. Anything to get a click. Under 12 months ago Reeltime’s founder John Karantzis called the Quickflix mail model ‘dead’, but then resigned from his own business only 5 months later! With mounting debt and lack of growth … movie downloads here in Australia are an absolute train wreck. Around the same time, rival operation AU Anytime also hit problems with rumours it was carrying debt of $10 million and again - NO growth. It’s since folded, and if you’d ever had a look at their site whilst they were live - you’d understand why. It was dog ugly and behaved even worse. And what of Bigpond Movies Download? I’d wager they’re just as dead, but kept afloat as ’strategic’ to Telstra’s future plans. With financials hidden within the bowls of Telstra, we’ll probably never know.

But back to Reeltime. In late 2007 ezyDVD stepped in and partnered to throw them a life line. Jim Zavos (ezyDVD founder) now sits on the board and sees a blended DVD retail and download future … but is Reeltime too far gone? With trading halted on Jan 25th there’s still no explanation as to why.

Apple’s entrance to the download market throws new pressure onto Reeltime’s progress. When Apple come here in 12-24 months, what chance has Reeltime got? Reeltime’s strategy hinges around a set top box that has yet to materialise, whereas Apple has the complete end-to-end product and will have had at least a years production experience from the States. They should be able to hit the ground running. Business Spectator note that if I had invested $1000 in Reeltime a year ago, it would now be worth $212. Hmmm … how about in another 12 months ??

Yep, its time to break out the bargains for Tuesday renters. From now on, if you rent a movie on Tuesday it will only cost you $2! So come on down and enjoy Tuesday nights in!

This 2005 horror film stars Kestie Morassi, Cassandra Magrath, Nathan Phillips and also John Jarratt- who won critical acclaim and scared the bejesus out of a lot of people in this role as a true blue Aussie psychopath.

Particularly frightening was Jarratt’s appropriation of the Aussie ‘larrikin’ character and vernacular. His creepy stare and intimidating and unrestrained laughter make him a terrifying villain.

Wolf Creek follows Ben, a young Australian who meets two English girls, Kristy and Liz at a party. Together, they begin a road-trip into the outback. Being a horror film, of course their car doesn’t make it very far and they run into the seemingly helpful and friendly truck driver, Mick Taylor.

All does not turn out as planned for the young trio. This is a fairly graphic and realistic horror film, and I’d be worried about anyone who felt anything less than squeamish after this one. The suspense is built for the majority of the film, before all hell breaks lose in the horrifying last third or so.

The realism in Wolf Creek not only comes from the acting, which is top notch across the board, but also from the slow pace and because there are not many cinematic cop-outs in the film; there is an authenticity to the events and the storyline that make it believable. There are no unrealistic and opportunistic sequences, like in the slasher genre – you could imagine these events unfolding in just the way they do. The tagline: “based on true events” adds to this feeling even more.

The Australian outback had always carried negative and sinister connotations in the nation’s collective consciousness. Events such as the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain and several high profile murder investigations including ‘the backpacker murders’ perpetrated by Ivan Milat, play on the minds of the Australian population, and make the vast and desolate landscape the perfect backdrop for a horror film.

Films such as Walkabout, Roadgames and Mad Max to name a few, have used this setting and its isolation as an important element in their narrative, and in doing so perpetuated this myth of terror associated with it – but none I’ve seen so far have done it as well as Wolf Creek.

For a first time feature by Greg McLean, this is an outstanding effort. This is an excellent film to put you off exploring the country’s interior too deeply…

3.5/5