The Recruit
Light on action but plot is thick with ...
Twists and U-turns
Stars Colin Farrell, Al Pacino and Bridget Moynahan: Rated M.
Reviewer :: The Big Irish Git

Still mourning the sudden and unexplained loss of a loved father after more than 10 years, James Clayton (Farrell), a computer genius in the totally hot, two-day growth mould, is approached by Walter Burke (Pacino), a recruiting agent for the CIA.

Mr Deeds
Rich vein of laughs untapped
Stars Adam Sandler and Winona Ryder. Columbia TriStar. Rated M. 96 mins
Reviewer :: Ben Caddaye

When pizza parlour owner and all-round nice guy Longfellow Deeds (Sandler) inherits his uncle’s entire $40 billion fortune, he’s forced to leave small-town USA for the Big Apple – and a big payday.

Manhattan to Baghdad
On the frontline - A reporter’s absorbing account of recent momentous events

By Paul McGeough. Allen and Unwin. 288pp. $29.95
Reviewer :: David Sibley

Over the next few weeks, perhaps, we’ll be reading the words of foreign correspondents from newspapers about a certain place in the Middle East. The place of foreign correspondents is crucial for the understanding of how conflicts erupt and develop and what happens during their course.

Tribute to bomber squadron
We Find and Destroy

By Peter Alexander. Australian Military History Publications. 305pp. $40
Reviewer :: Gp-Capt Mark Lax

The RAAF provided 17 squadrons for service in the European theatre during World War II, and while readers know of the exploits of Australians in Bomber Command over Germany, many will not be aware of the RAAF’s efforts in North Africa and Italy.

Mutiny: The True Story of Red October

Saturday, March 29, 7.30pm on SBS.
Reviewer: By LS Rachel Irving

Mutiny: The True Story of Red October is the truth behind the Hollywood blockbuster The Hunt for Red October.

Set not on a nuclear submarine but the Soviet destroyer The Sentry, the real mutiny in Russia in November 1975 was not that of a defector but that of a communist idealist, Valeri Sablin.

Sablin’s intention was to overthrow his country’s corrupt leadership and so, on November 7, he locked up the commander of The Sentry and assumed control, heading for Leningrad (now St Petersburg) to appeal to the masses to rise up to revolution.

Just six hours after sailing, the mutiny was in ruins. The ship was fired on by war planes sent by the Kremlin, half the Baltic fleet was in pursuit and some members of the crew released the commander, who in turn shot and wounded Sablin.

The KGB arrested everyone on board and demanded absolute silence, telling the world the event was an act of defection.
Mutiny: The True Story of Red October will interest those who enjoyed the Sean Connery Hollywood film and those who just like to see history being told in its entirety. A great watch.

Reality Bites: Police Training Academy (PTA)

Tuesdays at 8pm on ABC TV.
Reviewer: Ben Caddaye

Don’t be fooled by the title – this is nothing like the Police Academy movies.

It takes 26 weeks of intense training to become a cop and Police Training Academy follows 60 recruits who think they’ve got what it takes.

This ‘fly on the wall’ documentary pokes its nose into Western Australia’s Joondalup Police Academy as its newest batch of recruits are put through their paces for six months.

Over four episodes, Police Training Academy enters the lives of a handful of these people, who hail from a variety of backgrounds, as they experience the highs and lows of the tough path to a career in law enforcement.

The creators of this documentary have done well to get their subjects to open up in front of the cameras, putting an intimate and personal spin on half-a-year of trauma and triumph.

Police Training Academy didn’t exactly make me want to rush out and join the boys in blue – but it is compelling viewing.