The Redball DVD begins with an unskippable 'You wouldn't steal a…' anti-piracy ad. I hate these ads, and making them unskippable is very annoying. When the ads are updated to include some of the more longstanding copyright infringements like 'You wouldn't tape a movie off TV,' or 'You wouldn't make a tape of a CD for a friend,' maybe then I'll take them seriously.

Anyway, the film proper begins with a female detective being called out on a 'redball' child murder case. A redball case is one that puts the officers under a lot of pressure and that everyone will want solved ASAP. Our heroine arrives at the crime scene to find that the modus operandi is reminiscent of another case she's familiar with. The prior case has had a particularly harsh effect on our heroine, so it's not exactly smooth sailing. Actually, there's no sailing, but she does take a bath at one point, and spin a glass in the tub. Most of the movie is actually about police corruption and dishonesty on the force, but the lead story is as described above.

Redball is very low budget, but is competently directed and – mostly – well acted. In fact, if it weren't for being shot-on-video and having a poor sound mix, Redball would seem much higher budget than it is. The jump cuts used to create a kinetic energy are mostly good, though at times they get distracting and seem out of place.

Unfortunately, despite being well done in most respects, especially considering budget limitations, Redball isn't a movie I can strongly recommend. The film comes off like a Bad Lieutenant wannabe as it bogs itself down in banal police corruption sub-plots. I get that little bits tie into the main story, but more often than not, the film is just presenting a series of naughty piggy vignettes. This is too bad, because the main story is pretty bleak, and could've made for a much more impacting film if it had remained the prime focus. I do like that all the police are presented as corrupt, with nary a Serpico to be found, but most of the film is just a series of the normal stitch ups. One of the major 'shocking' scenes of police corruption lacks believability, despite being based on real events, as director/writer Jon Hewitt has tried to amp up the stakes a bit from the real-life scenario. This scene was presumably meant to trigger an emotional response, but my response was, 'That's just so stupid.'

On the plus side though, there is a nice, odd sense of humour running throughout the film, particularly in the blackly funny floater gag. But the biggest plus of all is the prominent use of The Meanies' 'Ton of Bricks.' The Meanies are an awesome band. I wish they'd play more live. I got to see them when I first moved to Australia, and they were great! They were playing a wrestling match, but it was still cool. So, if you're in The Meanies and reading this PLAY MORE GIGS!!