Gunshine State publication day

Posted on September 13, 2016 by Andrew Nette| 2 Comments

Gunshine StateToday is publication day for my second novel, Gunshine State.

Gunshine State is a heist thriller set in Queensland, Melbourne and Thailand. Think Richard Stark’s Parker, Garry Disher’s Wyatt, and Wallace Stroby’s Crissa Stone. Add a touch of Surfers Paradisesleaze and a very dangerous stopover in Asia.

You can read about the book and some of the great praise it has already gathered on the 280 Steps site here.

Gunshine State is available in hard copy and e-book form on Amazon here, or check out the 280 Steps site for other platforms you can access it on. Review copies are available by contacting 280 Steps directly.

Perth based crime writer, David Whish-Wilson, whose work I have reviewed extensively on this site and whose new novel, Old Scores is out later this year, will be on help me launch my novel this coming Thursday, September 15, at Brunswick Bound boosktore, 361 Sydney Road Brunswick. The launch will kick off at around 6.30pm and go until 8 – 8.30pm, after which we will kick on at one of Brunswick’s many local watering holes.

Hope to see you there.

Share
… Read more
Share

→ 2 Comments

Posted in Australian crime fiction, Australian noir, David Whish-Wilson, Gunshine State

Tagged , , ,

The 50th anniversary of Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Andrew Nette| 1 Comment

algiers-1

The most disturbing aspect of viewing Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers half a century after its release is how familiar the images of the civil conflict involving Western soldiers in an Arab country now feel.

The strange sense of familiarity kicks in from the very beginning, a small, dingy cell where white men in military uniform stand over an Arab male. The traumatised look on his face tells us the Arab has been tortured. That he has given his captors information against his will only adds to the pain and shame etched on his bruised features. His captors dress him in one of their uniforms and take him as they raid an apartment block, no doubt based on the information he has revealed. The soldiers identify a hidden section in one of the apartments where two men, a woman and a child hide. The soldiers wire it with explosives and threaten to detonate unless those hiding surrender.

A decade and a half of reportage on the West’s military involvement in the Arab world, particularly post the mass circulation of images from Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, and their pop culture reflection in countless movies and television series give Pontecorvo’s chilling iconography of civil strife and military repression an almost everyday feel.… Read more

Share

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Non-crime reviews, War film

Tagged ,

10 great biker films

Posted on September 2, 2016 by Andrew Nette| Leave a comment

PsychomaniaThis September, the living dead won’t be shuffling on to the screen, they’ll roar across it on the back of motorcycles, as the BFI releases its Blu-ray of Australian-born director Don Sharp’s 1973 cult film, Psychomania, a fusion of two obsessions of early 70s exploitation cinema: the occult and vicious motorcycle packs.

Motorcycle gangs first appeared on the big screen in the early 1950s. A trickle of motorcycle-themed film appeared until the mid-60s, but it wasn’t until the release of US gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson’s 1966 book Hell’s Angels: The Strange and Terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs and then the 1969 Rolling Stones concert at Altamont Speedway concert, at which Hells Angels working as bouncers killed an audience member, that popular culture’s preoccupation with criminal motorcycle gangs reached fever pitch.

Hollywood produced a deluge of outlaw biker movies and, while this has been the motorcycle’s most common screen manifestation, the machines have also symbolised the quest for freedom and self-discovery.

My latest piece for the British Film Institute site, 10 major cinematic milestones focused on the motorbike, is available to read in full here.

What are your favourite films featuring motorcycles?

Share
… Read more
Share

→ Leave a comment

Posted in 1960s American crime films, 1970s American crime films, Horror, Neo Noir, Ozsploitation

Tagged , , ,

Gunshine State launch, September 15, Brunswick Bound bookstore

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Andrew Nette| Leave a comment

Gunshine StateA quick heads up for Melbourne folk that I will be launching my second novel, Gunshine State, on Thursday 15 September at Brunswick Bound bookstore, 361 Sydney Road, Brunswick.

I am very excited to announce that my friend and Perth based crime writer, David Whish-Wilson, whose work I have reviewed extensively on this site and whose new novel, Old Scores is out later this year, will be on hand to launch my novel. Copies of the book will be available for purchase on the night.

Gunshine State is a heist thriller set in Queensland, Melbourne and Thailand. Think Richard Stark’s Parker, Garry Disher’s Wyatt, and Wallace Stroby’s Crissa Stone. Add a touch of Surfers Paradisesleaze and a very dangerous stopover in Asia. It will be out in e-book and paperback on September 12 from 280 Steps. You can read about the book, some of the great praise it has already gathered and how you can get your hands on it at the 280 Steps site here.

The launch will kick off at around 6.30pm and go until 8 – 8.30pm, after which we will kick on at one of Brunswick’s many local watering holes.

Everyone is welcome to attend and I hope to see you there.

And while I am on the subject of launching my book, any readers who have a website or blog and who want to review Gunshine State or are interested in me stopping by to do a guest post or author Q&A, don’t hesitate to give me a shout out in the comments section below, and I will get back to you.… Read more

Share

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Australian crime fiction, Australian noir, David Whish-Wilson

Tagged , , , , ,

Book review: Frightmares – A History of British Horror Cinema

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Andrew Nette| Leave a comment

FrightmaresOne of the things I love about cinema is the possibility it offers for discovery and immersion in new material and genres.

After a long time consisting on a staple viewing diet of film noir, neo-noir and crime cinema, the last year has seen me delve more into horror. Don’t get me wrong, like many people my age, I have fond memories of watching horror movies on late night television in the seventies and VHS nasties in the various shared houses I lived in in eighties. But in the last year I have really dived deep into horror cinema, exploring movies by theme and director. It’s almost akin to a re-education of sorts, a journey that has required learning a new cinema language and style.

You need to be discerning about which guides you take on these journeys. One absolutely indispensable resource is the relatively recent ‘Daughters of Darkness’ podcast done by Kat Ellinger and Samm Deighan, the editors of Diabolique Magazine. These women know their stuff, and their podcasts cover a fascinating selection of rare horror and exploitation cinema, gems too numerous to mention here, with well thought out and nuanced diversions into subjects as varied as medical science, sexuality, literature and the craft of film making.

Another great guide is the recently released book, Frightmares: A History of British Horror Cinema, by screenwriter and author, Ian Cooper.… Read more

Share

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Book Reviews, Horror

Tagged , , , , , , , , , ,