Extravagant weddings are a common part of Greek culture, and first came to Hollywood’s attention through the success of My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002). Greeks are known for their drama more than most other Europeans, so to have a wedding without it would be implausible.

Sicily’s Cosa Nostra mafia have gained a strong international profile in recent years, through films like last year’s Gomorrah and Gabriele Salvatores’ I’m Not Scared (2003). The underlying corruption in Sicilian communities still lingers past the 20th Century, bringing us a slew of films with revelations about men, family honour, politics and power.

Those people over in Tinseltown have been running out of ideas since, well, forever – but with remakes coming ever sooner to the next generation of cinema-goers, how are audiences not expected to go with what’s offered to them? At the time of writing, kids in Australia on school holidays are being offered family-oriented features, as is the norm. While Fame may sit on the edge of this boundary because of a more mature theme, this ‘re-imagining’ of the 1980 cult hit still aims to appeal to a younger audience. It doesn’t have the ‘sex factor’ of Centre Stage, Step Up or even TV’s Glee, which from what we’ve seen is shaping up to be a more comedic (but still intense) look at the desires of performers. While those who’ve seen the original are sure to have different opinions and comparisons to those who haven’t, Fame in its 2009 form doesn’t appear as a remake – but it fails to make a significant mark.

Within the doom and gloom of today’s economy and the decreasing quality of life as a result, people increasingly enjoy reminiscing about earlier times. Going back to a more carefree period in history for the purposes of a film often signifies a lack of satisfaction with where someone is and often who someone is, and a director’s objective is often to express that notion with regards to their homeland. Valeriy Todorovskiy’s Russia certainly has identity issues to this day after a tumultuous history that has served up corruption, civil wars and a great social and economic divide. The questions of identity and social standing are shown in Todorovskiy’s Stilyagi (Hipsters) by instances of popularity and the ability to face evils throughout adversity.

It’s astonishing that Van Diemen’s Land is the first Australian convict film since 1927’s For the Term of His Natural Life, when you consider that this country was largely founded by settlements for UK prisoners. So as foundation of our past, the question of why this part of our history remains largely untold begs to be answered. The state of Tasmania has had its fair share of notoriety that stretches across the 19th and 20th centuries, but there has only been an increased interest in learning about the past in recent years (rather than refusing to acknowledge it). From the end of the silent era to now there has been enormous progression in cinema across the world, but within Australia, Van Diemen’s Land is all the richer being told today – because audiences can, and will, accept and learn from the brutality and horror of these events.

Van Diemen’s Land has already enjoyed sell-out screenings at festivals across Australia (including the world premiere at Adelaide’s own Bigpond Adelaide Film Festival) and selection at Edinburgh and Montreal. On its impending Australian general release we talked to director Jonathan auf der Heide and star Oscar Redding, who revealed their thoughts on the dark side of human nature, slow evolution and a womanising convict.

Three things to know about Paul Hogan before watching this: 1 – He’s repaid all his debts to the taxman. 2 – As a painter before acting, he helped paint the Sydney Harbour Bridge. 3 – His voice is just as ocker as it’s always been. These explain his allowance to film in Australia, the post-credits blooper and, well, that this is an Aussie comedy. But Hogan’s not the hero in this father-son bonding journey as we see a road-trip yet again the story centrepiece. Australian films use this regularly (see Thunderstruck) but Charlie & Boots maintains enough decent humour with an entertaining duo to create an engaging story.

Ah, the age-old mystery… trying to work out the meaning of life brings purpose to some and scepticism to others – Bart Simpson has a book on it, and the Monty Python team satirised it. But let’s get serious and face the fact that life isn’t all peachy, and accept that we always try to rid ourselves of the pain for want of happiness. The fickle thing about the meaning of life is that there’s never one straight answer, and everyone’s interpretations best suit their personal situation. Stories that tackle this agenda face the risk of opening themselves up to criticism if they don’t entirely believe in what they’re saying… $9.99 does, but it struggles to reveal exactly what it wants to convey.