The Magician (DVD)

I could've made this film. If I had access to a bald ozzie bloke. And my own video camera. But that's about all you'd need to recreate it. In an age of $200m budgets, The Magician is a breath of fresh air. Shot on a shoddy camera, with bad sound, no lighting and shaky footage when on foot, this film is the essence of cheapness. And it shows you don't need mega bucks to make a good piece of film. The Magician is a 'documentary' by a 'film student' about Ray the hitman. It centres on one client in particular, and flitters around interviews with Ray about his job and circumstances. To take this view on an already milked concept (see Leon, Assassin, Gross Point ...  Read the complete review

Here we have an interesting little low budget movie from Australia that didn’t exactly make a fortune back but has showcased a real talent in lead/director/ producer in Scott Ryan. It’s a cross between the excellent French movie Man Bites Dog, a bit of Sexy Beast, and the infamous ‘Chopper’, also from Down Under, tales of slightly unhinged guys who are rather too handy with their fists and firearms. If you haven’t seen these movies you really need to. Like Man Bites Dog this is a spoof documentary approach. Instead of a serial killer from the above movie, it’s a Melbourne hit-man who is followed around by a documentary maker who wants to tell the villains ...  Read the complete review