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Magnificent and silly, the television series continues incarnations of Timothy Ly's film work. Set in Cabramatta where Mr Ly grew up and went to school, Timothy set up martial arts drama in a short film made on no budget called Maximum Choppage shortly after he left Fairvale HS in 2002. He used locally sourced actors and locations. The community is often ignored by mainstream media, unless there is a drugs issue to report on. Timothy also made a feature length film titled "Maximum Choppage Round 2" on no budget with local actors. The humour of the earlier films has been amped considerably to fit into ABC sensibilities, but it is funny. It fits with the locale. It is unique in Australian context. Silly, funny and worth watching.

The Quiet American has all the stunning beauty that Vietnam has to offer. Exotic, Eastern history, mixed with European colonialism meeting resurgent, brash US culture and the moral decay of communism. Yet the moral decay of communism is not portrayed as such. Instead, there is the same suggestion of admiration for desperate communist forces which so mirrors the opinions of those that cannot quite criticize terrorist activity. The circle of silence which envelopes such lands in transition is well portrayed, and exploited by The Quiet American. Should France have made their attempt to reclaim the former colony? What were the US motives? The Chinese? Russia? Che Guevarra and Cuba? What of the people themselves, Vietnamese, from the mountains to the valleys. None is able to show what they want, what they do, for there is a murderous undercurrent as there is a beauty. The acting is superb, and all the basic elements of a great film are there. However, ultimately, it is the direction that prevents this film from rising to achieve what it might have, to inform and portray. Instead, it colludes, and many who struggled to survive the aftermath may well feel betrayed.