THE ROVER | REVIEW, INTERVIEWS, EXCLUSIVE FOOTAGE & BLU RAY GIVEAWAY
This is a big one peeps. A fantastic competition, a great movie with a great cast and director, you can revisit our red carpet interviews and on top of that you can see official exclusive footage provided only to us from the folks at Roadshow Entertainment. And to whack some cream and strawberries on top we are partnering for this competition with the amazing people at the Robert Pattinson Australia – who we have become great friends with since the red carpet for this film’s premiere. Suss out our review from the premiere below and after you have watched all the vids enter to win your own copy of THE ROVER on Blu Ray – we have six of them up for grabs. THE ROVER releases tomorrow, Wednesday 15th October on all formats. And without further ado enjoy the exclusive video Roadshow has given us……all the best…..JK.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE FROM JUNE 17TH 2014
I cannot wait to see THE ROVER, it looks superb and scores nothing but rave reviews everywhere I read. Official Selection at Cannes, loved by all at SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL and out now at art house cinemas from ROADSHOW FILMS. Kernel Andrew reviews the film while Kernel Alistair Shields asks his first red carpet questions to RPatz and Guy Pearce while Kernel Jack films his first red carpet interviews. Win win for Salty Popcorn – the Kernels owned on this film and am so proud of them. Just have to put it out there – Kernel Alistair was one of the only people on the red carpet to throw his hand out there and go for the handshake – he is selling his arm on EBay to Twiharders and has not washed it as yet so still covered in RPatz genes! THE ROVER is out now at art house cinemas, is rated MA15+ and runs for 103mins. Enjoy our review and video interviews below, no judging, Alistair was nervous 🙂

REVIEW BY ANDREW BRUSENTSEV
After the understandable praise for his last movie ANIMAL KINGDOM all eyes have been on this latest effort by David Michôd. His latest movie is an exploration of human nature set against the backdrop of a complete and systematic collapse of society. Yes you may say this genre has been done before. Quite successfully even by Australian film makers. One only needs to think of MAD MAX (well the first two anyway). But what separates this effort is the almost laser like focus on the human condition rather than the post-apocalyptic surroundings. In fact one of the central questions I found myself asking was not what happened but rather how do people survive in a world where mankind has reverted to a more almost quasi-primitive existence.
The tone is set quite early with Natasha Braier’s cinematography concentrating on the red and yellow colour spectrum, montages of bleak environment, bleak buildings and even bleaker people. It conjures up heat and an almost draining monotony. Add an almost incongruent soundtrack by Antony Partos and you add menace. It drips through every frame, every scene, every interaction. This is a fine palette with which the two principles, Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson, can walk around in.
SALTY POPCORN RED CARPET INTERVIEW WITH DAVID MICHÔD
We never see the collapse, in fact it is barely spoken of, all we know is that it happened and we are living through its aftermath. This is a beautiful conscious decision by Michôd as it gives all characters to suffer the consequences of decisions that he may or may not have made in the distant past. In fact the movie starts simply. Eric (Guy Pearce) sitting in the shell of an old public house. He is nursing a dirty glass of water. It seems he could have been here for hours, days……years.
This peace is quickly shattered when, in the background, we see a truck carrying three men flip over. A simply superb shot. The men in the truck are Archie (David Field), Caleb (Tawanda Manyamo), and Henry (Scoot McNairy). These men have been somewhere, done something, something violent. Indeed one of them has been shot. Climbing out of the wreckage they scramble to find another method of transportation. They see it, smash its window and are on their way. This vehicle is Eric’s car. It is only during these moments that Eric, back in the bar, awakens and climbing into the beaten truck (which the trio have abandoned, gives chase).
SALTY POPCORN RED CARPET INTERVIEW WITH GUY PEARCE AND ROBERT PATTINSON
This is the simple plot of the movie. Eric is driven singularly, fanatically to get back his car. The audience may question his motivations. Why? The car is not special. Along the way Eric crosses paths with Rey (Robert Pattinson) who turns out to be related to one of the trio. He has been wounded in the incident from which the trio were fleeing. This unlikely pair become travelling companions as one pursues his vehicle, the other his brother.
Pearce and Pattinson are simply superb. Pearce as Eric plays his character almost internally. There is so much hatred and venom in the man. When he does speak, it is distant, threatening, urgent and driven. He plays this role sublimely. Pattinson on the other hand is a true revelation. With a series of facial ticks and a slow dim-witted drawl he gives life to a man whose whole world has turned upside down now that his brother has seemingly abandoned him. Eric barely remembers happiness and is desperate, it seems, to cling on to anything that may have once been his. Pattinson, through Rey, conveys not only desperation but also a surprising gentleness, a man who may not know a lot but knows that he can’t make it in this world on his own. Eric needs Rey to find his car and Rey needs Eric to find some sort of semblance of order in this chaotic world.

Michôd allows their performances to breathe (this is easily Pattinson’s best screen turn on camera) but it is not all about performance. The imagery is simply superb. The initial image of a truck flipping over viewed through the windows of the bar is exhilarating. The harsh countryside as the two make their way on their quasi-hell ride adds an added menace and longing to the proceedings. In fact this menace is so palpable throughout the entire picture that when it does degenerate into quick, sickening violence and then tapers off the menace still remains.
All in all a fantastic achievement.
With special thanks to ROADSHOW ENTERTAINMENT to win one of the 6X BLU RAYs of THE ROVER you need to either like and share this post on Facebook or retweet/ favourite it on Twitter (either from our page or the @RPAustralia page – IF USING TWITTER USE THE #SALTYRPATZ in your reply), you then need to leave a comment below stating the answer to the following question:
What is the best all time Australian movie and why? This is bloody tough – mine would either be The Man From Snowy River or Dead Calm – both still give me goosebumps.
If you do not have Facebook and Twitter then get with the times old-timer haha – You can still enter, leave your entry below and email me at jking@saltypopcorn.com.au telling me you don’t have social media (you still need to enter on the website).
Prizes will no longer be awarded to first in first served. It will now be a game of skill and selected purely on the thoughts of the judges, said judges being the Salty Kernels (and in this case – also the folks at@RPAustralia).
The prizes will be sent in the next couple of weeks. Good luck! Oh, and minor housekeeping – huge apologies for overseas readers, this competition is only available to Australian residents.
I absolutely loved Sophie Hyde’s 52 Tuesdays, which had a limited release earlier in the year, and absolutely needs a wider audience. The film achieves extraordinary intimacy in its wonderfully authentic characters as it tackles timely, and challenging themes, through a innovative cinematic framework that leads the film to an increasingly exciting and momentous crescendo. You leave the theatre with the glorious feeling of witnessing something truly substantial, like the weight of the film’s power on your shoulders.
Can’t wait to see The Rover, two fantastic actors so it can’t miss! My favourite is ‘Gallipoli’, it brought home what a terrible place it was and the futility of war. The music was amazing and the ending memorable for all the wrong reasons.
PHAR LAP is my all time favourite Aussie movie.Remember watching it in preschool when it first came out.My friend and I became obsessed with horses and we would talk about going to heaven and riding phar lap.Tom Burlinson was terrific as Tommy Woodcock.Always cry in the final scene
Excellent review! The Rover turned out to be one of the most thought provoking films I’ve seen in recent times.
All time favourite has to go to Muriel’s Wedding: it has all the hallmarks of a great Australian film- humour, drama and ABBA.
i reckon “the castle” because it encompassed the aussie culture at the time
Picnic at Hanging Rock takes the cake for me. Peter Weir created a truly hauntingly beautiful movie. I just love the whole mystery and you can not forget the legendary score.
Many thanks for the review of The Rover – it sounds like Guy Pearce is on song and Robert Pattinson has picked up his game post ‘Twilight’. It is really tough to chose just one best all time Australian movie. I too loved Dead Calm, but whenever I need a ‘pick me up’ there are two Aussie movies that I go back to again and again. They are ‘The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’ and ‘Muriel’s Wedding’. Pearce, Hugo Weaving and Terence Stamp are all brilliant in Priscilla. It’s fantastic scenery, great music with outstanding performances that are both tender and funny. I really can’t split it from Muriel’s Wedding which also has those iconic Australian backdrops, groovy ABBA music and brilliant performances that make you both laugh and cry. Toni Collette and Rachel Griffiths shine! If Bill Hunter had been in just one of these movies then it would take the gong, but he is in both so I’m sorry, but I just can’t split them!
I absolutely love “Priscilla Queen of the Desert”. It’s such a feel good movie and the characters tell the story brilliantly. I just love the costumes, the humour, the drama. It’s a fantastic movie which I watch often and love more with every viewing. I love the scene where Guy is on top of the bus in such an elaborate costume. So many good scenes. Love it.
Thank you.
This is hard. I’ve been mulling this over too long and I’m worried I’ll miss out. It would be between Samson and Delilah, Romper Stomper, The Rover and The Castle. The first three and brutal movies that left their mark on my brain. I like a concept to challenge me and these three do that masterly.
Yet I might have to go with The Castle for shining a light on what we actually should be aspiring to. To ‘Hows the serenity?’ Or to lay it on even thicker – ‘It’s the vibe of the thing, your Honour’
Lantana. I simply cannot praise this Aussie movie highly enough. I have watched it many times over the past few years and never get tired of it. It is beautifully filmed and raises loads of interesting questions. The screenplay is so brilliant that I bought a copy to read purely for fun a few years ago. Andrew Bovell is a really gifted writer and he conveys so much emotion with the simplest dialogue and actions.
The best Australian film of all time is ‘Rabbit-Proof Fence’. I first watched it during high school as an English text to be studied and I was captivated by the harrowing performances especially by Deborah Mailman and I believe it is a brilliant piece of collaboration by Phillip Noyce.
I never had the opportunity to delve into this masterpiece so the Blu-ray would be fantastic!
Nice work on the reviews guys! You really need to be doing more of that, and any news on a possible podcast or video blog?
My favourite Australian movie of all time would have to be Dead Calm, just LOVE Nicole Kidman in this and the epicness of this survival film is superb, it is like a huge budget Hollywood film but is a small Australian film. And you have to love that red curly hair from back then, and evil young and totally gorgeous Billy Zane – loved everything about it!
Muriel’s Wedding – ‘Flare’ dinkum, it’s f’Abba’ulous!
The Man From Coxs River – a new Australian documentary about transporting wild Brumbies in an inaccessible wilderness bring a fiercely independent horseman and feral control nationall parks ranger to see the world through each other’s eyes? I can’t recommend this movie highly enough – it’s a fascinating and enthralling movie and the movie is struggling to get a nationwide release which is a crying shame as it’s a quality piece of filmmaking – local screenings are being scheduled – check it out if you get a chance – we need to support independent filmmakers
Nothing like an R-Patz and Guy Pearse (should that be G-Perz) video to warm the cockles of your heart. Thanks! You could listen to those accents for a lifetime. This certainly was one of the best, if not best Australian movies of the year. I also love Braier’s cinematography in this, but it is certainly made easier with Australia as a backdrop.
As for favourite Aussie movie- that is tough one – but the first Aussie Movie that I fell in love with was Muriel’s Wedding – and half of that was for her husband played by Daniel Lapaine – Perfection! But it was genuinely funny, able to laugh at itself – it was also happy and sad, and just really good honest fun. And it also has one of my favourite actors – Bill Hunter. How may times could he bump into Deidre Chambers. What a coincidence!!!
Loved “Two Hands” really enjoyed Heath Ledger’s performance in this movie…
This could well be my pick of the year of Australian Movies and definitely would be the one I’ll go back and watch again quickest. I try to see all the Australian releases and think I’m at about 15 for the year and despite their lack of performance at the box office I reckon it’s been a very good year for Australian film so it’s pretty high praise to be sitting at the top of the list. I couldn’t agree more with Kernel Andrew’s review aswell, I haven’t been convinced with Robert Pattinson up until this even in David Cronenberg’s last film but he’s great in this with the accent, slow-wittedness and facial ticks all down to a Tee. And Guy Pearce just looks like he’s been living in this apocalyptic scenario for a decade !
I think I need to sit down and work out my all-time favourite Australian films with a full top 10 and a lot of thought but right now off the top of my head I’ll just go with The Tracker, it’s got three of the things I love most about Australian Cinema – Director Rolf De Heer, Actor David Gulpill, and the Australian Outback. One of the standout things I always think about Australian film is how the landscape lends itself to being filmed in 2.35:1 widescreen and none moreso than this amazing film. I’m hoping there’s still another collaboration or two to come from De Heer & Gulpill.
I love that interview footage you got from the red carpet premiere with David Michod, well done to your interviewer ! It’s really interesting to hear David Michod talk about his ideas and the differences in moving from the inner streets of Melbourne to the outback and his ideas of the modern westeren. There’s a rich legacy of Australia using the outback as a Western and it’s great to see a new film doing the same especially with Guy Pearce & RPatz 🙂 My favourite Aussie film is an unusual one, it’s something we don’t really do much of, dark adult-flavoured animation and it’s Mary and Max, dark but hilarious animation for grownups, it makes me go weak-kneed and misty-eyed while laughing myself silly.
What a great review by Andrew Brusentev ! I must not have been paying attention when this was released earlier this year ’cause I never noticed it and I loved Animal Kingdom and Guy Pearce is always great so would definitely have gone to see it. I love the sound of how Andrew says this film really focuses on the human condition, it’s great when a film chooses to uses sci fi or as in this case a post-apocalyptic world to zone in on the frailties that are common to any era or genre. My favourite Aussie film is The Dish, it’s a perfect Aussie take on a historic moment, with warmth and spirit it invites you to laugh with the characters rather than at them and bears repeat viewing time and time again.
OK – time to announce the winners – so so so so sorry for the delay in drawing and sending these – been waiting on Blu Rays to arrive and they now have.
Huge clap to the lovely ladies at RPatz Australia fan club who partnered with us on the competition.
Gratz to:
Harry Varvaressos
Judith Maunders
Patrick Bateman
Dami_30
Marie Pohnetalova
Andrew
All great answers and a HUGE bunch of comps coming so stay tuned!! Prizes posted Monday or Tuesday.
Thank you!
Howdy Guys,
This has been the comp holding us up with sending prizes – only three copies arrived and it appears the rest are missing – I am still trying to track them down with distributor. To try and start the ball rolling and to be fair I am sending Blu Rays to the first three peeps today:
Harry
Judith
Patrick
As soon as the others arrive I will send them. Sorry folks and apologies.
JK
The other three arrived – woohoo – sending on Monday Dami, Marie and Andrew 🙂
Thank you so much Jason, received today 🙂
My pleasure Kat – sorry it took so bloody long
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