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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 24 May 2003

Stu Shepard (Farrell) is a publicist with an attitude.  His clothing, his demeanour and his arrogance all give the appearance of success but it turns out that someone thinks Stu is a pretty shitty guy.  He gives false hope to his clients, he lies to his friends, he doesn’t pay his assistant, and there’s more.  Despite being happily married to Kelly (Mitchell), he has developed a crush on a client, Pamela (Holmes).  Each day, he calls Pamela from a phone booth on West 53^rd street so that his wife won’t see the number on his mobile phone bill.

As he finishes his latest conversation with Pamela and hangs up the phone, it begins ringing.  Stu picks it up and finds a creepy male voice at the other end.  To make sure he has Stu’s attention, the unknown caller reels off details of Stu’s life and details of his calls with Pamela.  Stu understands the danger he is in when the caller says he has a rifle aimed at the phone booth and just to show he isn’t kidding around, he kills an innocent bystander.  There’s no choice but to stay on the line to see what the demands are.

With a dead man on the street, the police arrive and suspect Stu is the killer.  With the phone booth surrounded, they ask Stu to give himself up but the voice on the other end has more plans in store.  Stu must not leave the booth and must not say anything about their conversation or else he will die.  With two different enemies now pointing guns at him, it seems there’s no hope for Stu but to listen  to the caller’s demands… 

The most ironic piece of trivia here is that writer Larry Cohen pitched the idea of a film set in a phone booth to Alfred Hitchcock in the 1960s.  Apparently, Hitchcock loved the idea but they could not think of a reason to keep the film confined to the booth.  Cohen’s idea of the sniper came to him only a few years ago and he penned the script within a month.  The irony lies in that fact that Hitchcock was right – this cannot work as a film.  Cohen’s screenplay is terribly weak and the sequence of events and mind reading attributes given to the characters are too hard to believe.  Far-fetched is an understatement.

Further proof of the film’s limitation is found in its length.  Including both the opening and closing credits, you’re going to find only 81 minutes of viewing time.  If you take out the obvious padding, you’d be lucky to find an hour’s worth of entertainment.  So much time is wasted in the booth where all Stu need do is asking “what do I have to do to get out of this situation?”

Colin Farrell is the only performance worth reviewing and he’s admirable without being exceptional.  Those hoping to see Katie Holmes and Australian Radha Mitchell should save themselves for the video release as they’re seldom seen.  If you’re trying to figure it out, Keifer Sutherland provides the voice of the sniper but I’m not sure if the strange echo to his voice is necessary.

Filmed in just 12 days, Phone Booth needed more substance before being green lighted.  Should you be invited by a friend to see it, the first and best choice should be to just hang up.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 11 May 2003

If you do happen to see this flick (most likely on video), you’ll see it has cinematic wit.  We begin in a hotel room with hitman Critical Jim (Allen) preparing to shoot Trevor Finch (Slater) who he believes is Cletis Tout.  Jim just has to wait 90 minutes for the hit fee to be deposited into his bank account and Trevor will be history.  Trevor knows his time is short unless he can convince Jim that he is not Tout and knowing Jim’s love for classical movies, he explains his story as if it were a Hollywood screenplay.

It begins with a flashback.  Magician Micah Donnelly (Dreyfuss) robs a bank and hides millions of dollars in diamonds beside a tree in an empty field.  Having spent over 20 years in jail for the heist, Micah has devised a plan to escape, reclaim the loot and live happily ever after with his daughter Tess (de Rossi).  Trevor Finch has been a good friend to Micah in jail and he offers him the chance to escape with him.

All goes to plan and looking for a place to hide out, Trevor calls on friend Dr. Savian (Connolly) who works at the morgue.  Savian also can provide Micah and Trevor will new identities but it is here where plans go askew.  Fresh in the morgue is a photo journalist by the name of Cletis Tout and Savian gives Trevor his paperwork so he can assume his identity.  The problem being that Tout was in possession of a revealing video and killed as a result of it.  With word on the street that Tout is still alive, Trevor now finds himself a wanted man.

It’s a genuinely interesting film and was created from the mind of newcomer Chris Ver Wiel.  In was actually shot three years ago but took two years to find a distributor in the States and until now to find a distributor in Australia.  Tim Allen’s character is a lover of classical cinema and audience members with a similar love will get a kick out of the famous movie quotes he recites along the way.  Also of note is the unusual method Wiel adopts to tell the story – by having Trevor “pitch” the story to Jim as if it were a movie (with the irony being that we are actually watching it as a movie).  It was Allen’s character I enjoyed most but I was impressed by the whole ensemble.

The novelty of the film wears a little thin in the later scenes but there are a few cute twists and turns to keep focus.  Overall, it’s a strong release.  But the question is not who is Cletis Tout but rather who is going to see Who Is Cletis Tout?

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 23 May 2003

To make me feel a little older, I look at the story of Abe Forsythe.  Forsythe dropped out of school when he was 15 but it didn’t stop him winning a huge short film award at Tropfest one year later.  Forsythe didn’t just work behind the camera, he acted in front of it.  After popping up in a few small television shows, he landed his biggest role to date when in 2001, he was cast in Channel Seven’s Always Greener.

While working on the show, he wrote a screenplay and then pitched it to potential investors.  As expected, they were very reluctant to allow a 20-year-old full control but after much searching, the newly established Ocean Pictures and the reliable Becker Entertainment put up the funding.  The film has finally made it to the big screen and Ned is the title.  I can honestly say that in the eight year I’ve been reviewing films, this would be the youngest director I have seen.

Forsythe also has the leading role in this farce on the legend of Ned Kelly.  If you think its release is just to piggy back on the press of Heath Ledger’s Ned Kelly, you’d be wrong.  Forsythe’s film was approved well before Ledger’s version.  Having trashed Ned Kelly several weeks ago, I’m proud to report I found this comedic adaptation much more entertaining.

The bulk of the jokes are in the earlier scenes and you can see the idea wearing a little thin towards the end.  It begins by showing young Ned abandoning his father’s rubber farm and riding out on his pony to begin a career as a magician.  To fund his magic show, he joins a gang which robs banks.  Ned isn’t very experienced but he becomes an instant celebrity thanks to the letterbox he wears as a hat.  And thus, the chace begins to capture him.

A large percentage of the jokes are quite dirty and be warned an MA rating does apply.  I say this not to discredit the film but just to express my surprise at how a film which looks so innocent from the trailers and posters, has more to it.  The final scene itself is a perfect example.  Don’t ask me how but Forsythe has assembled an amazing array of B-grade star cameos.  I won’t spoil them but the clear highlight is a moment during which a face from the past introduces himself to Ned’s dad, Mr. Kelly.

Forsythe’s screenplay mocks many clichés and enjoyably spoofs several other films.  The slapstick style allowed plenty of potential and whilst not all jokes work as well as expected, it’s a fun ride.  Only showing on a limited number of screens, I fear those that had faith in Forsythe won’t be rewarded financially for their efforts.  Down the track though, they can lay claim to producing the very first film of a very experienced director.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 08 May 2003

It may only be showing in a handful on cinemas across Australia but those that have seen the masterful trailer, will itching to know how the film ends.  It’s Steve’s birthday.  He is woken up by his two children, Sam and Emma.  They give him his presents.  His wife Alexandra doesn’t give him his present.  He has to wait until he arrives home from work that night to get his “surprise”.

Steve then heads to work and goes about his day.  In fact, he gets a promotion – the ideal gift.  The only downside is a $1,000 invoice he gets from a security guy (coincidentally his next door neighbour) who has just installed for Alexandra, a massive security system on the home.  Back at the house, Alexandra is putting her “project” into place.  She has ordered a taxi for the kids and received the expected phone call.  It is time.

Returning from work, Steve expects a surprise party but it’s anything but.  The house is deserted, the lights and telephones don’t work, all the locks have been changed and he suddenly finds himself a captive in his own home.  Is this all part of the joke?  On top of the television is a video with the inscription “play me dad”.  He does and his world will never be the same again.

There are two ways to look at Alexandra’s Project.  Firstly, it is a wonderfully suspenseful film with ideal director and flawless acting.  Rolf De Heer (The Tracker) brings amazing intrigue to the story and you’ll be on the edge of your seat the whole way – don’t dare look away.  There are twists at every turn.  Stars Gary Sweet and Helen Buday give intensely brave performances that require them to draw on the deepest emotions.  Their roles also require full-frontal nudity with Buday spending much of the film unclothed.  I’d tip both to walk away with Australian Film Industry awards later this year.

Yet despite all the praise and all the adjectives I can use to describe DeHeer, Sweet and Buday, I cannot overlook the flimsy screenplay.  Driving home from the cinema, I reflected back on the film’s key moments and found the harder I looked, the more holes I could find.  To not ruin the plot, I won’t reveal specifics but in forcing the ending to work, DeHeer has made the events that precede it seem too manufactured.  Things fall into place too easily for Alexandra.

Don’t even ask what the message is.  It’s open to interpretation and don’t be easily led astray by the obvious conclusion most will draw from the ending.  In the final scenes, DeHeer tries to heavily influence our judgement in deciding who is good and who is bad.  I don’t believe it’s this simple and if this is DeHeer’s intention it is a fatal mistake.

Thus, Alexandra’s Project finds itself as a film which deserves both warm acclaim and heavy criticism.  What I can guarantee is that it will provide more than enough conversation exiting the theatre.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 18 May 2003

For any knowledgeable filmgoer, the problem here is that people talk more about a film before seeing it rather than after seeing it.  Is this a problem?  This time next week, The Matrix Reloaded will be a faded memory and all that will be heard is the hype for the next “must see movie of the year”.  On an unrelated matter, 2 Fast 2 Furious is released on June 5 and The Hulk is released on June 26.   The only film I can recall that had massive hype both before and after its release was 1997’s Titanic which still stands as the highest grossing film ever.

Back now to The Matrix Reloaded and it is a pretty good film.  It’s nothing more than that.  I do recommend it and have much positive to say but please, let’s keep things in perspective.  If you can’t recall many details from the original The Matrix, you either need to head to the video store or forget about seeing this.  It’s a complicated premise and creators Andy and Larry Wachowski don’t waste time rehashing past events.

I stress the point again that this story is intricately complicated.  Having heavily criticised the toilet humour and general unintelligence lacing so many American flicks of recent years, you’d think I’d be munching my popcorn with extra fervour at the thought of a film which reverses this trend.  It is a matter of judgement from one person to the next but I concede that despite listening enthusiastically, I found the philosophical dialogue too heavy to fully comprehend.

As intelligent as the film’s concept is and as unique as the Wachowski brothers are, the film still applies unoriginal formulas.  The key actions sequences are evenly spread throughout the film.  One person can still beat off many attackers.  Someone can fire a truckload of bullets and still miss.  I stand by my comments from 1999 that the amazing special effects do mask the limitations in the screenplay.

Before I become too negative, there is much to be excited about.  The special effects are the finest ever seen.  The best illustration is found during a lengthy scene where Keanu Reeves battles a large number of enemies who all look like Hugo Weaving.  Computers are wonderful tools but for a film critic, it creates a new problem.  Should I be praising the performance of actor Hugo Weaving in playing so many characters or should I be praising the visual effects crew for generating so many lifelike computer images?  The same can be said for a dazzling highway chase sequence but real or not, they sure got my heart pumping.

To address the film’s plot, we once again follow Neo (Reeves), Trinity (Moss) and Morpheus (Fishburne) in their quest to save the human race and uncover more secrets of the matrix.  As they battle an endless stream of enemies, their underground world of Zion remains under threat from giant machines who are tunnelling their way through the Earth’s crust.  To be honest, very little is resolved as the bulk of the drama has been saved for the final film, The Matrix Revolutions, to be released in Australia on November 6.  The hype is scheduled to begin on October 16.