As soon as I saw the previews for new Australian film ‘A Heartbeat Away’ I knew, and said, that it would bomb.

For the last several years, Australia has turned out movies which are preachy, boring, shallow, badly acted, have poor production values, or some ghastly combination of these faults.

Just who did script writers and producers think would want to see ‘A Heartbeat Away?’

This is a film about an irritating know all teenager taking over a brass band while the local community struggles against the machinations of an ‘Oh my God, please not again’ cardboard cutout of an evil property developer.

People who are interested in brass bands and band music are people of my generation or older. Did the film makers really think we would pay to go and see a movie that makes us look like a bunch of sheep – lacking commitment, whining, unable to organise ourselves?

Or were they aiming for the smart-ass teenager market? But smart-ass teenagers are not interested in brass bands.

If the film’s makers thought about this at all, the only group of people they could possibly have had in mind as likely viewers were people who go to the movies without having checked what is screening, and think to themselves ‘Well, there’s nothing else on, let’s see that.’

And once again, our money was used to make this. Thanks.