Film Screening 1st June, 2007

Poster for Kenny

Kenny 

8:00 PM, 1st June, 2007
No Guests

  • M
  • 100 mins
  • 2006
  • Clayton Jacobson
  • Clayton Jacobson
  • Shane Jacobson, Ronald Jacobson, Eve von Bibra

Kenny (Shane Jacobson) is a divorced thirty-something plumber who performs a despised but vital job. He is a senior employee of "Splashdown", a company specialising in installing portable toilets for large corporate or public events. His family regards him with disdain, but Kenny takes pride in his work. He is the archetypal Aussie battler. The film crew follows Kenny on a personal tour of the less glamorous side of public events (rave parties, Army shows, car rallies and the Melbourne Cup), and his uneasy relationship with his father (Ronald Jacobson), his son and his ex-wife. Later Kenny is sent to a massive portaloo trade convention in Nashville, Tennessee, where he inadvertently scores a deal to sell portaloos to the Japanese, and strikes a friendship with an air hostess. Kenny is the brainchild of the Jacobson brothers: director Clayton and actor Shane (who won an AFI award last year). They co-wrote the script, with much of the dialogue improvised. The film carefully balances mockumentary (deriving humour from Kennys use of the vernacular) and pathos (as Kenny copes with his dysfunctional family). The film was an unexpected success at the Australian box office, with the number of screens showing the film increasing in number after the opening week.'

Tony Fidanza

Poster for The Man from Hong Kong

The Man from Hong Kong 

10:40 PM, 1st June, 2007

  • R
  • 111 mins
  • 1975
  • Brian Trenchard-Smith, Yu Wang
  • Brian Trenchard-Smith
  • Yu Wang and George Lazenby

After rather foolishly throwing in the towel as James Bond after one film, George Lazenby had a hard time coming by respectable film work. In 1973 he was thrown a lifeline when he signed a 4-picture deal with Hong Kong studio Golden Harvest. It may not have been Hollywood, but at least it was regular international work and fitted his background as a martial arts instructor in the Australian army - plus he was due to co-star with Bruce Lee (although Lees untimely death prevented that). The most respected, and by far and away best of Lazenby's Hong Kong films (and arguably the best thing he did in the 1970s) was the Australia/Hong Kong co-production The Man From Hong Kong.Jack Wilton (Lazenby) is a crime lord with a penchant for neckerchiefs, orange velvet sofas and all things Oriental. Under the cover of his legitimate import/export business, he runs an international drug-smuggling outfit with connections in Hong Kong. Two federal narcotics cops, Grosse (Hugh Keays-Byrne, Toecutter from Mad Max) and Taylor (Roger Ward, Fifi from Mad Max) manage to catch Win Chan (Sammo Hung), Wilton's Hong Kong liaison, following a spectacularly over-the-top fight sequence atop Ayers Rock/Uluru (well it was Ayers Rock in those days!). Chan is to be extradited as soon as he testifies against Wilton, but the Aussie cops hadn't counted on the extradition officer being a certain Inspector Fang Sing-Ling (Wang) of Hong Kong 'Special Branch'. Fang is a loose cannon, to say the least, and is intent on bringing down Wilton's entire operation himself, no matter how much of Sydney he has to destroy in the process.The Man From Hong Kong was directed by Australian Brian Trenchard-Smith (who is probably better known for cult classics BMX Bandits and Turkey Shoot) and action choreographed by "Jimmy" Yu Wang (whose 'one armed swordsman' character was one of the biggest cinematic attractions in Hong Kong at that time). There's plenty of kitsch to cringe at here, though plenty of it does intentionally lampoon '70s stereotypes and attitudes, but the martial arts sequences give The Man From Hong Kong some serious credibility. It's not readily available on DVD in Australia, so be sure not to miss what is a rare opportunity to see this '70s exploitation classic!'

Adam Gould