THE DAY OF THE BROKEN - film

Simon Dutton, writer and director of this thriller, has said of it "''We wanted to make something that was an assault on the senses" and I can assure you, he's done that in spades.

An independent Australian production, this was done on a shoe-string and whilst you can tell in the practical sense, it doesn't take anything away from the story.

It's about a woman whose two children were kidnapped and assaulted before one was murdered. She summons the help of her dead husband's brother to punish the remaining perpetrator who has evaded it through traditional means like police.

Set in St Kilda, Melbourne, the film then weaves through the story of a bunch of people as he tries to put the pieces of the puzzle together to track down the perpetrator and punish him. Most of these characters will be unfamiliar acting faces to you but there's some superb performances. Lead actor Greg Fleet will be recognized by many for his stand-up comedy work but his acting credentials are well & truly proven in this. The film is produced by someone who may be familiar to many of you, broadcaster and journalist, Angela Pippos, who is also Dutton's wife.

It's fairly violent though it's sometimes implied rather than actually demonstrated and I fear some of the complexity of the plot was lost on me as I was confused at a few points. There was also two or three moments where the script felt a bit forced, moments where I thought to myself 'people don't actually talk like that', but overall I think this is really well done and I'd happily watch it again.

The sad thing for independent Australian films like this is that it's so damn hard to get your film in cinemas for people to actually see it. This one is on at just one cinema, for now at least, in Melbourne - the Classic Cinema in Elsternwick. If you're in that neck of the woods, I'd recommend dropping in to catch it.

More on the film in this story in the Sydney Morning Herald and trailer here via The Age.

TRACKS - film

If I told you this is a film that chronicles a woman walking 2700 kilometres across the Australian desert, what would you say?

"That sounds really boring, Steph!"?

Ding ding ding! You are correct.

There are some redeeming features in the film, including beautiful cinematography capturing the Australian outback, but it's simply not enough to drag this into 'you should go and see' territory. I'd barely recommend it for a DVD viewing to be frank.

It stars Mia Wasikowska, who is an undeniably talented actress and Adam Driver who will be recognised by fans of the US TV show 'Girls' for his portrayal of Adam. But when it comes to casting, special mention must go to whoever cast an Australian actor to play an Afghani person. What an unbelievably weird choice.

The lesson? That someone can do something remarkable and it not be worthy of a 110 minute film.

Here's a 2.5 star review from the Sydney Morning Herald if you want to know more about the storyline and what their critic Jake Wilson made of it.

Trailer here.

NEBRASKA - film

This is nominated for best film at the Oscars so there's no disputing it's a good film. I enjoyed it a lot but in the landscape of what's out at the moment, if you were able to see just one film, I don't think it'd be this one I'd recommend. Great but not must-see great for me. Though shout out to the star of the film, Bruce Dern - my God, he's fantastic in this.

More on the storyline, cast etc in this five star review from the New York Times.

Trailer here.