Riley Buchanan

Paperback Hero is a romantic comedy that uses the Australian outback as a hard backdrop for a book ruse. Truck Driver; Jack (Hugh Jackman) has published a romantic novel under the name of ‘Ruby Vale’ (Claudia Karvan), the name of his best friend. When the book becomes a best-seller, publicist Ziggy Keane (Angie Milliken) seeks Ruby out. Jack promises to pay for Ruby’s wedding to Hamish (Andrew S. Gilbert) if she goes to Sydney to promote paperback as her own, which she agrees to. This begins a series of lighthearted ploys as Jack and Ruby seek to hide the true identity of the author. ‘Paperback Hero’ is a light hearted entertaining movie that follows a romantic storyline as old as time. It is a fairly predictable plot, which one can guess within the first 5-10 minutes, but with Jackman and Karvan having good chemistry in their performances it holds it own as a comedy. It becomes slow during the middle of the movie with little happening that is consequential before finding its feet again towards the end. If you looking for a satisfying Australia romantic comedy, to pass the time then look no further than ‘Paperback Hero’.

‘Sunday’ begins in New Zealand’s capital of Christchurch where Charlie (Dustin Clare) and the pregnant Eve (Camille Keenan) are working out whether their distant relationship is rebuildable. Just as the earthquake stricken city of Christchurch is being rebuilt, this separated couple are trying reconstruct their damaged relationship with a child on the way. The film focusses heavily on the present and the past with Charlie trying to win Eve back through flattery, while Eve tries to suppress her past feelings towards her lover for much of the movie. But all this is a red-herring with the real obstacle being the future, with Charlie wrestle with whether to pursue his career, or his family. The chemistry between the main characters is often endearing and beautiful against the scenic backdrops of the New Zealand landscape. Keenan holds her own as emotionally tortured Eve, but Clare remains the same likeable man for much of the film with occasional bouts of sad stares. Technically the feature often struggles at times to master cinematography, editing, and sound to great effect snapping the audience out of the romantic drama. ‘Sunday’ questions the value of career and its compatibility with family relationships in 71 minutes of charming relationship development, however, the lack of contact with the real complication may leave audiences frustrated.