Here's a subject I haven't addressed much before - movie posters.
We all scratch our head when you see a pithy and enthusiastic phrase about a movie, attributed to a newspaper or magazine and then wonder why the review in the publication bears no similarity.
Aside of the eulogies, posters themselves can often be misleading.
Red Hill is a prime example.
Anyone in their right mind would have glanced at the one above and expected Red Hill to be a western. After all, it has been done in the style of a wanted poster and seems to show pictures of cowboys.
In fact, Red Hill is a thriller set in the Australian outback.
It's difficult to know why the artists have gone down the western road. Why would cowboy fans enjoy Red Hill more than anyone else? Your guess is as good as mine.
The premise of the movie, though, does involve an outlaw and the equivalent of a sheriff and his team.
Murderer Jimmy Conway (Tom E Lewis) has broken out of maximum security jail and is heading to his old home town of Red Hill.
Tooling up to deal with him are the locals, led by a bad-tempered lawman Old Bill (!), played by Steve Bisley.
Also part of the home team is young contable Shane Cooper (Ryan Kwanten) who has just moved into town.
The action is fast and Conway's guns blaze hot but why doesn't he kill Cooper when he has the chance?
And why, when Conway is apparently a sitting duck, doesn't anyone finish him off?
Despite these questions, Red Hill has quite a few things going for it.
Kwanten makes a splendid good guy and Bisley is a good grouch. Lewis doesn't say a word but oozes intimidation.
The problem is with the script. As we sat watching as a family we made a game of predicting what was going to happen next.
It wasn't much of a game because it was all a bit obvious.
And, because the twists were telegraphed so clearly, the movie just seeped away.
What was it worth? I reckon 4.5/10
PS I accessed Red Hill through Lovefilm and the Neighbours charcater in this Aussie film was Charlie Cassidy (I told you - every Aussie film has to have a former Ramsay Street star).
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