This is another of those quirky and yet funny and
dramatic Australian films that has a certain in your face feeling to it. I guess this
could also be because I’m now a happy Sydneysider and got a bit of a kick out of all
the local spots getting a feature.
Jimmy (Heath Ledger) is a young man of Kings Cross. A young man who is streetwise and
knows the ins and outs of the underhanded dealings that go on about the place. And he
should he see’s enough of it as a bouncer in a local strip club.
Then there’s Pando (Brian Brown) the king of the underhanded ealings in the cross.
Pando is a strange aging man who is a meal ticket to a better life for anyone prepared to
do a few dirty deeds.
Jimmy enters into what seems harmless enough delivering $10 000 to a woman on the
outskirts of town. As an afterthought he decides to take a dip in the surf and when he
comes back the money he buried in the sand... gone!
So it’s then we move to the greatest bungling bankrobbery of all time which does
eventually pull off.
So how does this transfer hold up?
...  |
VIDEO
The 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer is great. Images are
consistently sharp and clear throughout and shadow detail was also very good. There did
appear to be a lot of lighting restrictions early on in the film but this is inherent of
the source material rather than a transfer fault.
The colour palette is also used well and shows the character of Kings Cross to a tee.
The bright and vivid colours right through to the dark and dismal colourings bringing out
the disreputable feeling of the Cross.
Amazingly enough there were no MPEG artefacts, ailiasing, shimmering, or film
artefacts, so thumbs up on those!
 ... |
AUDIO
It’s a shame there is only a Dolby 2.0 track here as a 5.1 track
could have been used well. I like the feeling of australian film audio tracks that seem to
sound a lot more realistic and not have that refined perfection to them which gives a
little of a fake feeling at times.
This is a great audio track nonetheless. Dialogue was sharp
and clear at all times and is utilised by the entire soundstage rather than solely relying
on the centre channel.
The surround channels are used aggressively and were active at all times not only
support the score and effects but also supporting dialogue and background sound.
The bass channell also did it’s fair share of work.
EXTRAS
Cast and Crew Interviews
Cast and Crew Bio’s
Theatrical Trailer
OVERALL
This is a great little entertainer and a little bit of a twisted story. I loved it and
I’m sure most of you will too.
| PICTURE
QUALITY |
8.5/10 very nice |
| SOUND Quality |
9/10 great! |
| EXTRAS |
4/10 very average |
| OVERALL |
8/10 a great flick! |
Review Equipment
TV: GE 68cm (16:9 selectable)
DVD: Samsung DVD909 (via S-Video)
Receiver: Yamaha DTS RX-V595a (Sweeeeet)
Speakers:-
Fronts: Wharfdale Diamond R6 (on a pair of custom made stands you'd KILL for)
Centre: Venturi
Rears: Sony bookshelf
- Reviewed 13th January 2001
*Two Hands jpeg files for
internet promotion use only. Copyright© exists on all aspects of these files by Universal
Pictures Home Video
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