Dog Soldiers
This will leave you howling with delight – and fright
Stars Sean Pertwee, Kevin McKidd, Liam Cunningham and Emma Cleasby
Rated MA.
Reviewer :: The Big Irish Git

Prepare to have your blood curdled, your stomach churned and your sides split – Dog Soldiers is coming.

Stuart Little 2
You little beauty
Stars Hugh Laurie, Gina Davis and Michael J. Fox. Columbia TriStar. Rated G. 77 mins
Reviewer :: Ben Caddaye

Stuart Little has a problem – he’s small for his age and he’s finding it hard to fit in.

Buying the cow
Udderly forgettable
Stars Ryan Reynolds, Jerry O’Connell and Alyssa Milano. Columbia TriStar. Rated M. 85 mins
Reviewer :: Ben Caddaye

Ryan Reynolds shot to prominence in the teen comedy Van Wilder: Party Liaison and he’s returned to dish up more of the same in this film.

Ordinary heroes
Lost - But Not Forgotten: A Bitter Sweet Victory. HMAS Sydney II.
By Keith Shegog. Single X Publications, PO Box 227, Glenside SA 5065. 249pp. $30.
Reviewer :: Leut-Cmdr Peter Colthorpe

This book is no light read, nor could it be, given its subject – the story of the crew of HMAS Sydney II.
There are many books on the life and death of Australia’s most famous ship but this one bypasses the controversy and gets to the heart of the matter, which is that 645 sailors lost their lives that fateful day and a lot more people in Australia lost someone dear to them.
Keith Shegog has painstakingly researched stories about the crew and then presented them alphabetically.
The book lists the crew, complete with any stories, and is ideally laid out for subsequent editions as people remember the stories of other crew members.
There are photographs of individuals as well as of the ship herself, the memorials to her and her valiant dead and group photographs that form part of any ship’s history.
The book touches the heart as it records memories of the ordinary folk who did extraordinary deeds and paid the supreme sacrifice at sea in the defence of our nation.
Take, for example, the story of CPO Albert Fraser Macleod-Smith who was married to Elsie May and had two children.
Before the war he was in the Naval Reserve and in his spare time loved training horses and fishing. When war broke out he was called up and served on HMAS Yandara before drafting to HMAS Sydney.
After the loss of the ship, the family was devastated and Elsie was thrust into becoming the sole breadwinner. She never remarried but she never forgot her sailor and when she died her ashes were scattered at sea off the coast where Albert had died.
Some stories are short, others fill several pages, some are yet to be written but all are worth reading.
It reinforces what is so marvellous about our country – that our heroes are really very ordinary people and perhaps that is why we have so many.
Keith Shegog can be contacted on (08) 8447 6669 if you would like to buy a copy of this excellent book.