DVD & BluRay

OCCUPATION: RAINFALL

Signature, cert 15. Blu-ray £14.99 & on Digital Considering today’s sorry state of affairs on our little planet. from violence on the streets to the polar icecaps melting, it’s hard to imagine beings of greater intelligence looking down from somewhere in this, or another, universe coming to the conclusion it’s worth eliminating us and taking it over.

But, hey, when did reality get in the way of sci-fi films depicting heroic humans fighting aliens’ superior firepower to save Earth from falling into enemy hands? That was the theme of the original Occupation film which did big business around the world considering its budget was minuscule compared to the Hollywood norm. Occupation: Rainfall begins two years later, and an uneasy alliance movement has been formed between humans and some alien rebels, and chisel-chinned tough guy Matt Simmons (Dan Ewing pictured) is heading up the bid to reclaim the world. When they discover the possible existence of a military device codenamed Rainfall, Simmons realises it could give them an edge. The cast includes Oz acting stalwart Temuera Morrison (now a Star Wars universe regular), Ken Jeong and somewhat hilariously Jason Isaacs proving the voice of movie-obsessed alien Gary, who brings humour amidst the mayhem. The budget since the original is said to have tripled and with explosive special effects, aerial dogfights, big-bang battles, director Luke Sparks has obviously been watching the screenbusting films from US filmmaker Michael Bay. The sweeping scope of the film and the fact it looks like a US blockbuster is proof that Australia is mounting a serious challenge to Tinseltown.