All comments by Johnny:

A couple of new Australian movies, actually both movies have just been released in cinemas locally:

High Ground

2021, 1080hd

Johnny's comments:

High Ground is a thriller in which a group of officers led by Travis (Simon Baker) and Eddy (Callan Mulvey) and some locals commit a massacre of local indigenous people including woman and children. Travis then kills the locals who were doing most of the killing. He pulls out a young child hiding under water and brings him back to the local mission. 12 years later, the young child Gutjuk (Jacob Junior Nayinggul) is now a young man called Tommy, and he's been asked by local police chief Moran (Jack Thompson) to help capture the leader of an indigenous gang called the Wild Mob, Gutjuk's own uncle Baywara (Sean Mununggurr) who managed to survive the massacre and wants revenge on the white man. But Gutjuk is interested with reuniting with his uncle and after a botched negotiation, he decides to join up with his uncle. The police are not far behind and are as trigger-happy as ever.

Brutal tale that has a pretty harrowing opening and doesn't relent with the grim atmosphere while being a pretty well told tale with some well fleshed out characters. A fairly decent but very ugly movie.

Magnolia Maymuru film clip (sample below)

Penguin Bloom

2021, 1080hd

Johnny's comments:

Penguin Bloom is a drama about a happy that faces a tragic turn when the mother Sam (Naomi Watts) falls from an unstable balcony while on holiday in Thailand and becomes paralysed. Sam becomes incredibly depressed at not being able to do the things she used to while her husband Cameron (Andrew Lincoln) attempts to look after their three boys and her. One day, the boys find an injured magpie that they name Penguin and begin to look after it. Sam isn't interested in helping but one day she's asked by one of her sons to look after Penguin and the magpie drives her crazy but slowly she becomes interested in helping the bird while attempting to find new meaning in her own life, which she does by taking up kayaking.
 
OK family drama that overplays the obvious comparisons between Sam and the bird, but is a pretty easy watch on the whole.

Naomi Watts film clip (sample below)