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Men In Black 3

It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.

Bel Ami

The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.

The Dictator

A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.

The Woman In Black

Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.

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Cane Toads: The Conquest 3D (Film)

by James Fletcher | May 30, 2011 14:24 | Edited May 30, 2011 14:25

Entertaining, eye-opening and irreverent, this doco’s true genius lies in its ability to capture the humour of real Aussies affected by the cane toad.

The humble cane toad may not be everyone's idea of an iconic film star, but thanks to the 1988 documentary Cane Toads: An Unnatural History, the leathery amphibian is now as integral a part of Australia's cinematic heritage as talking pigs and vigilante road warriors. Now after a 25 year break, documentarian Mark Lewis returns to his original muse, the beastly cane toad, for the new 3-D documentary, Cane Toads: The Conquest.

 

For those not familiar with Lewis' original BAFTA nominated film, fear not, as this new entry stands alone as a gloriously irreverent tribute to the toad, and to those who love it and those who hate it. In fact, the genius of Lewis' filmmaking talent lies in his ability to find and capture the humour of real Australians, from eccentric toad loving scientists and politicians harbouring agendas of grandeur, to the everyday Australians and their toad addicted pets who have learnt to co-exist with the amphibious scourge. But while the toad's social impact upon Australian communities delivers the film its comedic edge, Cane Toads: The Conquest, as the title alludes, offers a startling insight into the introduced species' environmental impact, and its conquest of Australia's Top End over the past fifty years. And surprisingly, while the impact has been dramatic, the film attests that it hasn't been disastrous, rewriting how our natural ecosystems function as opposed to the apocalyptic destruction predicted during the seventies and eighties.

 

Similarly, Lewis seems to have appeased both sides of the 3-D debate, ensuring that the new technology compliments his unorthodox subject matter as opposed to delivering a mere cinematic gimmick. Shot primarily from the toad's point-of-view, the 3-D aspects of the film not only tweak the comedic moments, but also create a surprisingly intimate journey through mud and dust with an unlikely, but thoroughly entertaining, companion.