Parot

s1e5,s1e6, 1080hd

Adriana Ugarte film clip (samples below)

Dags

1998, vhs

Dags is a 1998 comedy where a group of male and female 'dags' (basically different types of losers) attempts to make their way through life. Cheryl (Tanya Bulmer) is an unemployed 20-something whose boyfriend Daryl (Brian Roberts) is a massive stoner and 'dole bludger' and completely fucking useless. After her father has a heart attack while perving on her 'slutty' friend Tina (Sheena Crouch), her mother gives her ultimatum to marry Daryl and move out of home. Well, Cheryl manages to convince Daryl to leave the couch and go to the video store to pick up a movie but he stays in the car and smokes dope while Cheryl gets a movie. She is then 'hit on' by nerdy video store employee Kevin (Daniel Cordeaux) which she is sort of into until the store is robbed by Kevin's hopeless friend Trevor (David Callan) who takes Cheryl hostage. As she's taken hostage, Cheryl convinces Kevin to marry her although he is reluctant also Trevor hits it off with her. The hostage situation becomes a national sensation with Tina jealous of Cheryl's fame and Daryl still smoking a bong in his now stripped car. Also, dopey lothario Enzo (Sam McCool) is going out with Cheryl's friend Charlene (Penny Cooper) but is cheating on her with Tina who desperately wants to stop Cheryl's wedding because she's getting all the attention. And Prozac (Angus Sampson) and Miles (director Murray Fahey) are chronically unemployed and try to keep it that way. Silly low-budget comedy that has quite a few laughs and is funnier than I remember it being although the comedy is very Australian based so there's no way the movie would've travelled. The plot is ridiculous but it sets up some good jokes but the bookends set up like a wildlife documentary doesn't work and should've been dumped. Plus at 80 minutes, the movie doesn't muck around. Not a bad little movie even with it's obvious constraints.

Sheena Crouch film clip (sample below)

Beyond My Reach

1990, vhs

Beyond My Reach is a 1990 drama about writer/director team Alex (Alan Fletcher) and Christopher (David Roberts) whose local hit film has got the attention of American super-producer Steven Schaffer (Nicholas Hammond) who wants to release it in America. He sends out his 'right-hand man' Terri (American actress Terri Garber) who tells them that they are giving the movie a small release but are getting no money but they do get a free trip to Los Angeles to meet the movie people. After viewing the movie with his people, Schaffer decides to recut the third act which pisses off Alex but Christopher is willing to see how it pans out. Alex takes the next flight back to Australia while Christopher stays on and begins a relationship with Terri. She introduces him to an agent who teases him his passion project if he directs this big new comic book adaptation called Viperman. He reluctantly accepts but he eventually gets sucked in by Hiollywood excess plus he has a lead actor who is terrorising the production. Meanwhile, Alex has a new script which is rejected by local funding bodies but on the plus side he is marrying his girlfriend Pam (Nicki Wendt). Terri is sick of Christopher's behaviour and decides to take a new job in New York. A new producer takes over Viperman and Christopher just doesn't give a fuck any more. Alex calls up Terri and gets some advice which turns out to be for getting his and Christopher's passion project up, which they get to do their way. Viperman is a success and Christopher is locked in to a multi-film contract and can't direct the passion project. He quits and spirals out-of-control leading to a car accident that nearly kills him. The producers want another director for the passion project but Alex sticks to his guns and waits for Christopher to get well for him to direct it. Just want to state up front that I really hate movie insider movies so I was always going to have a problem with this movie and this movie is so far inside, it's dizzying. Everything about the movie is total cliché about art being better than the Hollywood machine but then they show a scene of the passion project and it's laughably terrible, the type of movie that Australians would ignore lets alone Americans. Then there's a montage set to 'I Love L.A.' by Randy Newman which is now such a joke, I did a full body cringe watching it. I will say the plot is fairly prescient, just look at what the latest Best Director winner next movie. It's written by Frank Howson, who's a total hack and scam artist, so it's hardly surprising that this barely released and long forgotten movie is a lazy, uninteresting movie. It barely clocks in at 75 minutes but it hits more clichés per second than any film I've seen recently. Terrible...