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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 10 June 2007

Jesse (Hutcherson) two passions are running and drawing.  He goes jogging every day with the hope of being the best at his school.  When not outdoors, he retreats to his room and draws some imaginative pictures in his scrap book.

Jesse has always been a quiet kid and these interests allow him to keep to himself.  It’s as if he’s trying not to be noticed by others.  He avoids his gossiping sisters at home and the bullies in the school playground. 

Things change when a girl named Leslie (Robb) moves into the house next door.  They share the same class at school and have similar personalities.  They quickly become best friends and spend all of their spare time in each other’s company.

Exploring a nearby forest, Jesse and Leslie discover an old, rundown tree house.  It becomes their special place.  Every afternoon after school, they go the tree house and create their own mystical adventures.  They fight an array of strange creatures in a world they call Terabithia.

Let me say straight out that these two kids are great.  Jesse and Leslie are honest characters who have been played brilliantly by Josh Hutcherson and AnnaSophia Robb.  Their actions, both mature and immature, will perhaps bring back memories of your own childhood friendships.  The fun times they share together allow them to forget life’s bigger problems.

Their spirit won me over and it’s why Bridge To Terabithia is such an achievement.  It may be a fantasy-type movie but it’s real and believable.  Both kids and adults will relate.  The film goes down an unexpected path in the final half-hour but I won’t reveal it so as not to spoil the movie.  I didn’t see it coming and it gives the film a real emotional impact.

Director Gabor Csupo has done a terrific job in blending the fantasy with the reality.  He doesn’t overdo the action sequences and this gives him time to develop the characters and the story.  Some of the film’s most interesting scenes are not spent in the forest but rather at Jesse’s home and school.  This rich screenplay is based on a 1977 novel written by Katherine Paterson.  It’s interesting to note that Paterson’s son, David, helped adapt it for the big screen.

Bridge To Terabithia is an awesome family movie.  It provides a memorable movie-going experience for children and adults alike.  I didn’t expect much when walking into the cinema but I had much to tell on walking out.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 28 May 2007

Last week, I was watching bits and pieces from the first Pirates movie, The Curse Of The Black Pearl.  I liked it when I first saw it in 2003 and I still like it now.  Johnny Depp was hilarious and it was great to see Geoffrey Rush as a villain.  It was a fun, swashbuckling adventure that took a different spin on the pirate movie genre (if such a genre exists).

About a third of the way through this film, Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End, I knew that my interest in this series had finished.  The “fun” was gone and I was left to endure an overly-complicated story that provided next-to-no laughs for close to three hours.

If you remember of the finale of the second film, Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) was eaten by a monster and taken from the world of the living.  A group of familiar faces, all with differing motives, have set sail for the end of the world in an attempt to rescue him.

Once rescued, Jack and his crew prepare themselves for battle.  The influential Lord Beckett (Hollander) is intent on eliminating every pirate in existence.  He has assembled a huge army and a large fleet of heavily armed boats.  The leading pirates of the world know they must put their differences behind them and unite as one to defeat Lord Beckett.  It’s going to be one hell of a fight.

There is so much betrayal in this film that I couldn’t keep up.  The characters seem to be switching their allegiances every half hour.  This happened to a lesser extent in the first two films but it’s taken too far here.  It’s become too convoluted.

The best part of every film in the series has been Johnny Depp.  He was nominated for an Oscar for Black Pearl and he has transformed Jack Sparrow into one of cinema’s most memorable characters.  He tries hard but I don’t think Depp is as funny in At World’s End.  It’s as if all his best material was used in the earlier movies.  There’s a few laughs but not as many as you might expect.  I also think that the writers have made a mistake in waiting 30 minutes to reintroduce his character here.

I alluded to it earlier but I cannot pass without making specific reference to this film’s length.  It is 168 minutes.  I may not be a high profile filmmaker but surely the film’s story could have been told in a shorter, simpler manner.  When I think of great Hollywood epics, such as Lord Of The Rings and Titanic, it makes me realise how flimsy this plot is in comparison.

Regardless of my criticisms, At World’s End is going to make a LOT of money.  I suspect it will rake in more money than any other film in 2007.  People are going to turn out in droves to see it.  My only advice therefore is to take a pillow.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 09 June 2007

In Ocean’s Eleven, they robbed a casino in Las Vegas and stole close to $200m.  In Ocean’s Twelve, they went to Europe and stole a famous work of art.  Their back again for Ocean’s Thirteen but this time their motive isn’t robbery.

Willie Bank (Pacino) prides himself on having the best hotels and casinos in Vegas.  Every hotel he owns has received a Five Diamond Award, a prize which signifies the best of the best.  Bank may be successful but he’s not a nice guy.  He’ll do anything if it can get him more wealth and power.

A member of Ocean gang, Reuben (Gould), went into business with Bank to build a new luxury casino in Vegas.  It should come as no surprise that Bank screwed him over and took full control of the project.  It was a massive financial blow to Reuben and he suffered a heart-attack not long after.

Reuben’s friends have come to the rescue and want to get even with Willie Bank.  Their plan is to manipulate every game in the casino on opening night so that the players win big.  They’ve found a way to rig the pokies, blackjack, roulette and craps.  By ensuring that the high rollers in attendance, Danny Ocean (Clooney) and his team intend to take the casino for all its worth.

It’s an elaborate plan and it takes a long time to get ready.  Most of the film is spent explaining all the nitty-gritty details.  It’s interesting without being exciting.  I know it’s only supposed to be a fun movie but I had trouble believing it all.  Ocean’s crew have an uncanny way of getting whatever information they need in a short period of time.  They can crack any security system and seem to have many influential contacts.

My biggest problem with the film was its lack of humour.  There are only a handful of really funny scenes.  From memory, stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon were much funnier in the first two movies.  I’d have much rather have seen more creative improvisation from these stars as opposed to the long-winded scenes explaining how the casino games would be rigged.

Director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic) has returned and gives the film a great look.  There’s no doubting that he’s one of the best directors in the business.  I particularly love the way he zooms his camera in and out.  He’s got style and the film’s tone give him the perfect opportunity to use it.  The soundtrack is ideal and the colourful setting makes it great to watch on a big screen.

I’ve a hunch that this will be the last in the Ocean’s series.  It’s been an enjoyable ride but it’s time that Soderbergh and his talented cast move on to something with a little more originality.  As I’ve said of so many other sequels of late, the original was better.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 22 May 2007

"Sunday, the FBI successfully concluded an investigation to end a serious breach in the security of the United States. The arrest of Robert Hanssen for espionage should remind every American that our nation, our free society, is an international target in a dangerous world.”

The above statement, read by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft on 20 February 2001, is the opening scene of Breach.  Those already familiar with the tale will know that Hanssen was guilty of selling top-secret government intelligence to the Russians over a 15 year period.  It is considered to be the greatest security breach in U.S. history.

Director Billy Ray’s film doesn’t show us how Hanssen got away with it for so long.  Rather, it focuses on how he was caught.  A large team of FBI agents were assigned to case.  They had been searching his car, tapping his phone, bugging his office and keeping him under constant surveillance.  Evidence was obtained but it wasn’t strong enough to guarantee a conviction.  To do so, they needed to physically see Hanssen handing over classified documents.

In Breach, Hanssen is played by Academy Award winning actor Chris Cooper.  Seeing him in this film has me convinced that he’s one of the best actors working today.  He may keep a low public profile but his performances in films such as American Beauty, Adaptation and Seabiscuit will secure him a long career in the movie business.

Heavily involved in the investigation was a young FBI employee named Eric O’Neill (played by Ryan Phillippe).  O’Neill was brought in as Hanssen’s assistant for an IT security division which had recently been established.  The FBI hoped that the two would become friends and that O’Neill could be used to gather incriminating evidence on his boss.

I had trouble buying this part of the story.  There’s a scene early in the film where Hanssen asks O’Neill to tell him 5 things about himself, with only 4 of them being truthful.  Hanssen spots the lie immediately.  If he’s so good at reading people, how does Hanssen not realise O’Neill true intentions?  Perhaps my criticism needs to be aimed at Ryan Phillippe.  He is too obvious with his awkward body language and fictitious stories.  If he were the real Eric O’Neill, the real Hanssen would have seen straight through him.

Despite this criticism, Breach is a very intriguing film.  I’m a big fan of spy thrillers and the fact that this is a true story makes it all the more compelling.  We get to peak inside the FBI and see how they cracked one of their biggest cases.  It was of interest to me and I’m sure it’ll be of interest to others.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 04 June 2007

Released early in 2006, Hostel didn’t set the box-office alight but it made significant noise in the film community.  It was touted as one of the most gruesome films ever made and on that count, it delivered.

If you didn’t see it, it was the story of a group of backpackers who end up a Slovakian hostel.  It turned out that the hostel was a front for a crazy enterprise in which wealthy business paid large sums of money to kill people.  The backpackers were drugged, tied up and then killed in horrific fashion.  I think the picture of the chainsaw on the poster said enough.

Hostel: Part 2 is more of the same.  It’s a textbook sequel – offering nothing new with a storyline very similar to the original.  This time around, the victims are three girls – Beth (Graham), Whitney (Phillips) and Lorna (Matarazzo).  They were originally travelling to the Czech Republic but have gone to Slovakia on the advice of a female model.  The fact that the model has been stalking them should be enough to rouse anyone’s suspicious but it appears that Beth, Whitney and Lorna are none the wiser.

If you’re seeing this film for its horror, you’ve got a while to wait.  It’s not until the 45 minute mark where we get to see inside the abandoned buildings and its maze of torture chambers.  The first half is spent entirely on filler and unnecessary introductions.  It offers nothing and has only been included so that the film can be stretched into 93 minutes.

Once the “action” begins, you’ll need to brace yourself for some shocking images.  The Motion Picture Association of America said it described the film as containing “sadistic scenes of torture and bloody violence”.  I’ve become desensitised to movie violence but a couple of scenes in Hostel: Part 2 did leave a lump in my throat.  As was the case with the Saw series, the envelope keeps getting pushed further.

I’d recommend the film for horror buffs if not for a pathetically weak ending.  It feels rushed and provides so suspense.  It’s as if they needed to remove the entire first half of the film and expand the second half.  I also didn’t believe the events that unfolded in the finale and found that way too many questions were left unanswered.

With clichéd ridden dialogue delivered by actors who have no sense of spontaneity, Hostel: Part 2 is a waste.