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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 23 August 2001

Attempting to profit from a jousting contest with fellow peasants, Roland (Addy) and Wat (Tudyk), William’s plans go awry when their experienced jouster kicks the bucket before his final duel.  Desperate for prizemoney and already with an unbeatable lead, the three collude and allow William to mount his horse and replace the deceased.  In medieval times, such contests were the best of three but a competitor is automatically eliminated should he be knocked from his horse.

Unrecognisable under his armour, all William need do is remain on his horse and 15 silver pieces will be their reward.  A harsh challenge for a newcomer but it turns out only to be the start of things to come...

Convincing Roland and Wat to part with their winnings, William’s determination and stupidity develops a belief that he can compete against stronger competition on a wider stage.  Roland and Wat are in it for the bigger prizemoney but William yearns for the glory.  As he says - “I won’t spend the rest of my life as nothing.”

There is a catch.  One must be of noble birth to compete in lucrative tournaments and William is anything but.  Travelling to the first contest, they come across a nude writer by the name of Geoffrey Chaucer (Bettany).  In returns for clothes, his craft with the pen will forge the royal documents that can transform William into the fictitious Count Ulrich von Lichtenstein.

William’s courage makes him successful and his flourishing popularity soon the heart of Jocelyn (Sossamon), a beautiful and respected Danish lady.  Yet with fulfilment in sight, the undefeated French jousting champion, Adehmar (Sewell), will do anything to keep him from both love and glory.  There’s a score to be settled...

At 132 minutes, A Knight’s Tale is lengthy and surprisingly I found myself more entranced by the ending than the opening.  The first three quarters lacked purpose and was little more than a combination of repetitive jousting sequences encompassed by a few jokes and silly subplots.  The jousting itself lacked credibility and I couldn’t understand why the opposing competitor often put up such little challenge.

This is not a film to be taken seriously and the “fairy tale” finale is appropriate given what precedes it.  The intricate dialogue and fluent dance sequences are so perfect, they could be construed as poking fun at the way other films have depicted the 14th Century era.

The film’s spark comes from Paul Bettany, who as Sir Ulrich’s introducer, mouths sparkling pronouncements on his entering of the arena.  Australian Heath Ledger is suitably cast but director Brian Helgeland relies too much on facial close-ups - an obvious attempt to woo a female audience.

Despite reservations, I was left genuinely surprised by A Knight’s Tale.  The film is far from flawless and more could have been made of the modern soundtrack (as it was in Moulin Rouge) but the fierce jousting, light-hearted romance and sweet sentimentality provide the model mix to satisfy an audience’s “escape from reality” desires.  So what are you waiting for?  “Let’s dance you and I.”

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 16 August 2001

Bursting onto the scene with several early season wins, Jimmy Bly (Pardue) is the year’s hottest rookie indy car driver.  Three-time defending champion Beau Brandenburg (Schweiger) is feeling the heat with Jimmy drawing level on the championship table with only a handful of races to run.  However, Jimmy’s also feeling the pressure that comes with overnight fame.  Media commitments, advertising endorsements and meetings with management are too much for a young innocent kid to handle and his results on the track start slipping.

Team manager Carl Henry (Reynolds) doesn’t want this kid to crack and calls in old friend and ex-racing driver Joe Tanto (Stallone) to help him.  Tanto was once a young racing prodigy but he faded away when other commitments became more important.  Can Joe get Jimmy back on track or will he wind up as a burnt-out star like himself?

Indy car fans will be let down by Driven as it’s aimed at an audience with little prior knowledge.  With current safety levels, some of the extravagant crash scenes seem unbelievable.  I was also frustrated by the racing commentary which unnecessarily explains every minor detail of the sport.

Like the racing, the film is fast and doesn’t drag itself out.  There’s a ripper soundtrack and whilst some of the camerawork is a little confusing, I did get an adrenaline rush out of watching these cars travel at high speed.  Lucky there were no speed cameras on the way home from the theatre.

I wasn’t “driven” to boredom but I certainly wasn’t brimming with enthusiasm walking out of this flick.  Usually sports movies have more of an effect so I guess indy cars just aren’t my thing.

Sylvester Stallone and Burt Reynolds are better than average but most attention will be addressed towards newcomer Kip Pardue who’s only other significant role to date was as the hippy quarterback in Remember The Titans.  In the past, Stallone was a drawcard that could get audiences to flock to the cinema but Driven acts like a changing of the guard with Pardue in the beginnings of a similarly fruitful career.  There was one line though that particularly struck me - “Everyone falls down, it’s just how fast you get up.”  Well Sylvester, let’s see how long it takes.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 23 August 2001

I say this because Neil LaBute is fast becoming such a director.  He burst to acclaim when his very first film, In The Company Of Men, was named Time Magazine’s best film of 1997.  His follow up was the less successful Your Friends And Neighbours which didn’t receive a theatrical release in Australia.  Nurse Betty marks his third film but it’s the first time LaBute has directed a film he did not write himself.

Betty Sizemore (Zellweger) is a sweet young lady working at a local diner.  She happy with what life has provided her and her greatest pleasure comes from watching her precious daytime soapie.  Betty’s husband, Del (Eckhart), is sleeping around on her and instigating major drug deals but Betty’s innocence keeps her believing he really loves her.

When a drug deal goes wrong, two professional hitmen, Charlie (Freeman) and Wesley (Rock), kill Del in his home unaware that Betty has been watching in the room next door.  The shock of seeing her husband brutally murdered sends Betty into a bizarre case of shock that defies belief.  She suddenly believes she’s the ex-fiancé of Dr David Ravell (Kinnear), a television character in the soapie.  Her departure to L.A. to be with David sparks a riotous comedy.  Charlie and Wesley discover that Betty was a witness and are hunting her to finish the job.  Two local police officers know she saw the killers and they’re hunting her for evidence.  But Betty only has eyes for the fictitious David Russell (aka George McCord) who’s in for the surprise of his life when she arrives.

Nurse Betty is the most intelligently funny black comedy since Election.  The characters are all insane but the frequent twists push the story in new directions.  The freshness of the idea rubs off onto the cast who give honestly realistic performances.  Despite the craziness of the whole situation, they act as if it’s a serious drama.

Renee Zellweger is incredible and her Golden Globe winning performance is the best since, well, Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones’s Diary.  Morgan Freeman is always good but recent criticisms of Greg Kinnear and Chris Rock can be dispelled (at least for the time being) as they’ve finally found the perfect film for their limited ability.

One feels this is a screenplay that wouldn’t ordinarily have been produced had a quality director like LaBute not signed on.  The early graphic violence and complicated plot would not have grabbed the intention of studios preferring less risky ventures (e.g. Jurassic Park 3).  Dedicated to breaking new grounds, directors like LaBute, Kevin Smith and Paul Thomas Anderson are even more important than the Steven Spielbergs of today.

Nurse Betty won the best screenplay prize in Cannes last year and received a release in the United States thereafter but it’s taken a long twelve months for the film to make it to Australia.  The wait has been worth it.  Very well worth it.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 16 August 2001

In Tigerland, we will never actually see our army recruits take on the elements in Vietnam.  The film looks primarily at their plight through eight weeks of advanced infantry training at Fort Polk, Louisiana followed by a week at the infamous “Tigerland” - a place that will make or break you.

The film centres on Bozz (Farrell), a young hothead who is spending more time in solitary confinement than with the rest of the regiment.  He’s constantly goofing off and trying to get out of the army but this contrasts his intelligence and sharp ability with a rifle.  He becomes best friends with Paxton (Davis), a quiet honest young man who’s just doing his thing - he doesn’t believe in war but believes in defending his country.

Director Joel Schumacher’s career has nose-dived in recent years.  He is still acclaimed for his earlier works which include St. Elmo’s Fire, The Lost Boys, Dying Young, The Client and the brilliant Falling Down.  The past five years have seen him succumb to Hollywood commercialism with Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, A Time To Kill and the horrible 8MM.

Most critics agree that Tigerland is a return to the Schumacher of old.  The film is grainy, lacking colour and looks as if it was shot in 1971.  The story can be separated into two parts - the opening hour sees them battle the elements of boot camp and the closing hour sees them battle Tigerland and their inner selves.  The screenplay acutely captures varying emotions.  They’re cocky and green when they arrive but as they set off to Vietnam, they know that they’re probably not coming back.

Colin Farrell delivers an incredible performance that earned him the best actor prize from the Boston Society of Film Critics last year.  It’s a wonder he was overlooked come Oscar time but I’m sure the film’s limited release was a major factor.  Don’t be deterred by a similarly small release in Australia.  Tigerland is an emotional character driven story that offers a thought-provoking and gripping conclusion.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 16 August 2001

As a prequel to Kiss The Girls, Police Detective Alex Cross (Freeman) reprises his role as a leading expert in criminal profiling.  Eight months earlier, his partner put her life on the line and was killed on duty.  In semi-retirement since that fateful night, Cross still blames himself for her death and he hasn’t been the same since.

Attending a local school is 12-year-old Megan Rose (Boorem).  As the daughter of a White House Senator, she has to be monitored daily by Secret Service Agent Jezzie Flannigan (Potter) to ensure her safety.  One lunch hour, Megan is called into the office of her teacher Gary Soneji (Wincott) who isn’t quite who he appears to be.  Soneji kidnaps Megan leaving a message specifically for Alex Cross that he has her.  What is his motive?  How did he get past security?  Why has he involved Cross?

Yes, the answers are gradually revealed but no, they aren’t necessarily believable.  Last week I promoted Sean Penn’s The Pledge as a perfect example of a crime flick that defies convention.  This week, I can show you the exact opposite.  Along Came A Spider is just nonsense.

Morgan Freeman is a great actor and for the opening hour, his passion for the case makes the movie worth following.  He carefully dissects the clues and slowly puts the pieces of puzzle together.  Then, the film spirals.  Following a $10m ransom drop, a series of bizarre twists and strange coincidences left me shaking my head.  Without giving anything away, I’ll just say that the whole “Aces & Eights” thing is just what I’m talking about.

I haven’t read James Patterson’s novel (upon which the film is based) but can safely conclude that this is a very weak adaptation.  New Zealand director Lee Tamahori (Once Were Warriors) impresses with his work in Along Came A Spider but he deserves more substantial and meaningful material.  Along came… a waste of money.