This movie is so laid-back it's like a female contortionist. The sort of movie which could only be made in Australia; laconic in the Croc Dundee style, yet not so emphatically dinkum aussie as in "G'day mate" jargon. Professional film critics may give it one-and-a-half stars, but I'd give it a good three. Then maybe I'm easily pleased. I found it entertaining and amusing - if you're not too critical. You get a lot of chuckles and also some real laughs. I can imagine off-duty police seeing this picture, because it centres on the relationship between two local cops in a small town, and how their lives are fairly humdrum - until the murders start. A serial killer is loose, and the clue to his/her identity is in the occupation of the victim, and the symbolism of the corpse. The plot seems mainly a vehicle for sight gags and other humour, in Jacques Tati manner (Mon Oncle; M.Hulot's Holiday; Jour de Fête); yet there is an underlying tension due to apprehension as to who's going to be next victim. It's good to see perky Kirstie Hutton again (remember her from "Bullpitt!" on TV?), and all the lead actors are interesting characters; with an able and varied supporting cast. I think this movie should have popular appeal, at least in Australia, and might prove more successful than some would anticipate. ====================================================
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donlhumphries14 March 2003
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cpooge14 March 2003When I first saw the trailer I though to myself 'hey...nice idea'. However i was sadly disappointed with the overall product. Gary Eck, one of the writers and main character, wrote a winning 'Tropfest' entry in 2002 ('Tragic Love'), and in comparison to this short, 'You Can't Stop The Murders' just becomes a parody of itself. 'Tragic Love' was amusing and enjoyable because although the overall idea was absurd, it was played out in complete seriousness. If the same could be said for Y.C.S.T.M then I'm sure it would have made it a much more enjoyable film. However, with that all said and done. I'm sorry to use Gary as an example, and I'll continue the review.
The film overall is quite well make for Australian standards, especially on what I would assume was a small budget. The acting is an interesting mix characters and performers bound together through this interesting variation of the murder genre.
The 99 minute running time perfect for the story to progress. And the cinematography was an altogether different and refreshing view at yet another bland Australian landscape. -
marcus_stokes200029 June 2007*You Can't Stop The SPOILERS*
Gary (Gary Eck) is a cop in a veery little town in the middle of Australia, where the fact that Premium Mincemeat is actually just normal mincemeat is a serious deal, and has very little to do except patrol without need the town streets with his kind-of-dumb partner Akmal (Akmal Saler) who constantly gets inane idea for movies, and suffer his very religious boss (Richard Carter).
But when a mysterious killer begins operating in the little town, first murdering a biker and then a construction worker, Gary finally faces a true challenge, other than the annual line dancing competition which he absolutely wants to win.
But the boss decides to bring in a cop from the city to investigate, and to our hero's misfortune, Agent Tony (Anthony Mir) is probably the stupidest and most obnoxious man on Earth, but he's a charmer. So much, in fact, that everybody, including Akmal and town reporter Julie (Kristie Hutton), the girl Gary's in love with, fall under his spell. Until he shows his true colors, that is.
But as the bodies begin to pile up, including a French sailor/stripper and a comedic Cowboy/Indian duo, Gary understands that the killer is murdering people that are dressed like one of the members of the '70s disco band Village People, and that he's still got one more person to kill: a cop...
He will manage to get out on top, though.
'You Can't Stop The Murders' is a nice, funny and sometimes scary movie from Australia, which has been well-written, directed and acted, with the director (Anthony Mir) playing also a part (the Mega-Jerk).
It may not be Shakespeare, but it makes for a nice 99 minutes.
You Can't Stop The Murders: 7/10. -
vampiresan14 November 2003This film is okay - not amazing funny but has some nice touches.
For a low budget film it has a very polished look and all in all I think it is far better than most of the comedies currently rushing into production in Australia.
What is also nice about this one is that it is so obviously a labour of love by the three stars who are also the main creative team (director and writers)
It's a nice little film which will perfectly suit a video night with some friends. -
TGBunny15 March 2003Contains Spoiler!! Writing this as a simple minded Australian looking for a cheap laugh, yet who feels her intelligence is slightly insulted by an inundation of Hollywood schmuck -
You Can't Stop The Murders was ultimately disappointing for me, due to a number of factors:
1) It is an Australian film... and it suffers for it, like most Australian films that go commercial, it is simply too busy being Australian to notice that it's not really that great nor is it entertaining. I'm puzzled as to why there were no lingering shots of Eucalypts at dusk or drunkards affectionately known at Rummy at the local. If the film goes international, viewers may be puzzled by certain references (e.g crazy Frenchman wielding a knife shot at beach)
2) It is a film about a Village People serial killer. I saw it for that premise alone, and boy was I disappointed. A Village People serial killer - for f**k's sake, capitalise!!! During the 99 minutes of a film called You Can't Stop The Murders I certainly expect many jokes at the expense of the Village People (bless them). But the plot is too caught up with the main character's struggle to become a "real cop" (apparently you're not a real cop until you've shot somebody), and simply coping with the people around him. No time for any Village People shennanigans, though *SPOILER* having the corpses spell out Y.M.C.A was a nice touch.
Now the above probably sounds quite harsh, and by no means is this a bad film - it's just not a great one. It is certainly very well made and deals nicely with the intricacies of small-town life. I just expected something more relevant and more lowbrow, and it would have been great if it did lower itself just a tad - there were some gorgeously tacky moments, such as the line dancing and the Chief going incognito as Jesus.
I hate to be so cruel to an Australian film but I feel so disappointed. The sheer idea of a Village People serial killer: 10/10. Entertainment factor: 4/10. Overall: 7/10 -
pantera111 April 2007When going to their movies, I used to actively search out the Aussie films. These were often low budget wonders with iconoclastic/individualistic qualities. They often had a single uitlander(non Australian) somewhere in the cast ( e.g. MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER with Kirk Douglas, PRISCILLA etc with Terence Stamp) with the up and coming burgeoning talents like Mel Gibson, Russell Crowe and Toni Collette amongst others.) And you were pretty much guaranteed an interesting time.
And then they discovered that they weren't actually making bad little movies. And got vain. And instead of careful nurturing we get more randomly thrown together product. Product as opposed to craft. And it ends up looking like this.
This started with a cute little idea; It's set in a small town, West Village( a play on Go west and Greenwich Village) somewhere in Oz where the most exciting thing that usually happens is a dog runs away). And then people start being murdered in a style reminiscent of the Village People. Could've been great.
And is unremittingly awful. Written by three alleged comedians from somewhere in the comedic basements of Australia, it doesn't know what the hell it is. There's a bit of a Miami Vice pastiche, some line dancing and omni present confusion. Great direction makes you want to know about the characters and where they are going within the story arc. Poor direction makes you wonder why you're there. Thank god popcorn doesn't fly otherwise screens around the country would be saturated.
The problem occurs when you get stand-up comedians trying to up their exposure outside of their usual 15 minute routine. It is populated with friends of friends and relatives instead of talent. According to the director, Anthony Mir (not short for Mirth) the original story started as a two minute sketch for TV. Why in god's name did they let it get longer? Should've been stopped at birth. -
Hkr-j31 March 2005This is a really refreshing film given the height of junk my country has been spewing onto the silver screen of late.
An Australian film with a script and story that doesn't seem like it has gone directly out of the scribble pad and onto the screen. It's funny, dark. The best film made here since Muriel's Wedding. I had hoped it would be the beginning of better things for our industry, but alas it would seem it is just a diamond in the rough.
The only thing I have against it is the lack of technical depth with the filming. NOT EVERY Australian FILM HAS TO HAVE EVERY SCENE WITH MAXIMUM LIGHTING. Try having a bit of variety with the look.
Definitely one for the DVD collection. Yay SBS Independent, and yay Miramax (if FFC won't fund good films, at least there are companies that will) Loved It!!!!!!!!!!! -
pctune13 March 2003To start with, I'm a big fan of the stand-up work that the three co-stars are known for.
That is why I rushed out to see the film, on a Thursday afternoon of all things. Take my advice, try and see this movie with a large crowd of 25-30's. Group laughter will certainly enhance your experience.
Set in a small NSW town, with a population of 350, the movie follow the investigations of a serial killer who is stalking people who have professions used by the Village People. There are plenty of opportunities with the subject matter to get the audience into tears of laughter, but unfortunately the chances either not taken or are minimised with a laid-back small-town feel.
This truly is a wait-for-video film. -
When I first read the name of this film and saw the poster I fully expected this to be utter crap.
What a revelation.
I don't rate the premise of this film at all highly. It's just a simple device to stage the most well realised, inspired and observed human comedy seen on film in a good while.
It also captures small town Australia beautifully. So much comedy in the mundanities of life. Director, Mir, an accomplished stand-up comedian exhibits just the right comedy timing on film too.
The Village People are so bad they're..... bad. 15 years ago the slight premise of this film might have seemed funny. I doubt people will rush to see that now... BUT RUSH THEY SHOULD!
I urge you to see this film and I'm bewildered by some of the other responses on this site. I'm reminded of how poorly received the first Austen Powers movie was (slowly building an audience on video, after a pretty dismal cinema run, that ensured the success of the sequels).
With new styles of film comedy, the bandwagon comes later. Check it out now - I want to see more films from these guys! -
callapm6610 January 2004Can't Stop the Murders probably is Australia's worse movie. It's a comedy that has all these stand up comics who cant get a gig but are all put in a film for no particular reason. The script is full of cliches and fails to capture the real comedy of The Castle.
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God-1220 September 2005This was a most excellent Ozzie film that I watched this evening. A delightful comedy. It wasn't that kind to Ozzies, but it was very funny. It was also quite strange in its way, but it was kind enough to give strong hints as to its plot development methods in one of the sub-plots.
I hadn't understood what people saw in line-dancing, but I think that I now have an inkling. It was also interesting to see how the yankish idiom appeals to the incoherent everywhere - the film exploited this point to excellent effect if a trifle cruelly, if you have any empathy with the incoherent.
It is so good to see the occasional well-made and clever film that turns up. I suppose that their explanation of how the plot was devised might be seen by some as a post-modernist infestation, but I felt that it was a) in good fun and, at worst, b) a good satire of post-modernist triviality taking itself so seriously as to think it is clever.
I'm not quite clear why it was showing at the downstairs cinema. There was a little French in it, with sub-titles, but surely not enough to class it as an 'art' film. Have Ster-Kinekor simply decided that Yankish films go upstairs and intelligent ones downstairs? It seems rather sad for the masses who go only to upstairs films to be missing this friendly and good-humoured comedy.
It is, I suppose, a little bit of a black comedy, in places, plenty of dismembered limbs, decapitated corpses and crushed dogs. All these are, however, in the best possible taste.
It seems strangely short of stock Oz stereotypes. Very little beer is drunk, the macho fellow doesn't do particularly well and the poofdahs generally have a nice time of it.
What was the reference to the Frenchman on the beach with the big knife? I thought of Albert Camus' 'The Outsider' (or 'The Stranger') which starts that way. A comment here suggests that it was a particularly Australian reference. -
ptb-83 July 2005Written by and starring short Tropfest film winner, bald local Sydney comedian Gary Eck, this is a supposed comedy showcase for Mr Himself, for himself and about himself. With the same derivative form of 'satirical' comedy (ie: lifted from other original ideas) just like the notoriously inept 90s comic horror SILENCE OF THE HAMS, or Exorcist farce REPOSSESSED, or Top Gun crap HOT SHOTS. This illconcieved film has a bumpkin hometown Village People serial killer whodunnit theme sliding sideways into some navel gazing about the main character, local cop as played by Mr Eck. Sadly there is not much in the form of originality and like the source of satire, probably 29 years out of date. Released in some local multiplexes for a week or so by Mirimax Australia I am quite sure someone almost lost their job because of this distribution pickup boo-boo. More was spent on the posters and ads than was spent on tickets if you get my drift. I am sure Gary Eck is a funny man at the stand-up club but I am not sure that recycling previously humorous characters or situations and claiming them as new and funnier in his films is the right thing to do. Like his Tropfest win hilariously recognized in all parts of the Oz film distribution network as having been sourced from a better idea, the 1978 musical travesty CAN'T STOP THE MUSIC is a funnier Village People storyline...if that is any indication for the murderous hilarity of this flop. I am sure he is well regarded as a comedian and it would be a happy experience for all concerned if he was attracted to original material only. I guess that is called creativity.