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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 28 April 2010

That’s not the case here.  I liked the premise of Iron Man 2 and whilst it won’t be winning Academy Awards, the screenplay is all you could ask for from an action film.

When we’re reintroduced to Tony Stark (Downey Jr), he’s defending himself in front of a Senate hearing.  The U.S. military want him to hand over the technology for his iron man suits.  They can then use them to booster their defence force and become an even bigger military power.

Stark wants none of this.  He likes having the power and proudly proclaims that he’s “privatised world peace.”  He doesn’t want to see the technology abused by the government.  It’s a sound argument but there is a flip side.  Stark’s flamboyance is growing and many are concerned that his ego clouds his judgement.  Yes, he’s saving the world now but what happens if he has a change of heart?  What happens if a rival creates similar technology?

That situation is about to present itself.  A Russian scientist named Ivan Vanko (Rourke) has created his own iron man suit and attacks Stark while in Monte Carlo.  Stark narrowly escapes with his life and Vanko is sent to prison.  It’s certainly a wake up call.  But that’s not the last we’ll see of Vanko.  Justin Hammer, a big-name weapons manufacturer, is keen to harness and profit from this amazing technology.  He busts Vanko out of jail and sets him to work on developing an even better iron man suit.  They forge an uneasy partnership which can only end badly…

Similar in ways to the last two Batman movies, I like the exploration between good and evil.  Sometimes there’s a fine line that separates them.  I always come back to the great quote from The Dark Knight – “you can either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain”.  That’s the case here and whilst Stark’s antics are quite humorous, he’s not your stereotypical type hero.  He makes his fair share of mistakes.

There’s a lot more to the plot which I haven’t gone into.  Scarlett Johansson pops up with an interesting role as Stark’s new assistant.  As promised at the end of the last film, Samuel L. Jackson enters the story as a mysterious individual who helps Stark in a time of need.

Don Cheadle has replaced Terrence Howard in the role of James Rhodes and if you listen to his first piece of dialogue, you’ll pick up on a subtle reference regarding this.  I had to smile.  My pick of the cast though was Sam Rockwell as the money hungry Justin Hammer.  He’ll get under your skin with his overly suave demeanour.

My major grievance came at the very end.  I liked the plot development throughout but as I should have expected, it turns into your stock-standard action finale.  There’s lot of noise, fast paced editing and visual effects.  It’s not always easy to see what’s going on.  I do smirk at the way in avoids showing the loss of life which would have ordinarily occurred.  But they, that’s an action film for you.

I stayed for the entirety of the end credits and suggest you do the same.  You’ll see a quick glimpse of what’s to come to the next instalment.  I guess then next film is dependent on the financial success of this one but given the hype, I expect Iron Man 2 to fly into the box-office stratosphere this weekend.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 19 April 2010

Does it require any explanation or does the title speak for itself?  Four guys go on a trip to a ski resort and jump into the hot tub.  They get ridiculously drunk and when they wake up the next morning, they’re all feeling rather hung over.  One of them even throws up on a squirrel.

They then hit the ski slopes for some fun times but something isn’t quite right.  Everyone around them is dressed in bold, bright fashions.  Some guy is wearing a Miami Vice t-shirt.  Others are wearing leg warmers.  There’s even someone with a huge mobile phone.  Yep, that’s right.  Adam, Jacob, Nick and Lou have all been transported back to the year 1986.

There are two reasons why you might enjoy this farce.  Firstly, anyone who grew up in the 1980s is likely to get a kick out of the clothing, the hairstyles and the soundtrack.  It’s a period in history just old enough to make fun of.  They’ve even dusted off a famous comedic actor from the 80s.  Chevy Chase pops up a few times as a mysterious mechanic trying to fix the broken hot tub / time machine.

You might also like the film for its humour and simple storyline.  These guys remembered watching The Butterfly Effect and know that they can’t change anything in the past or it might have huge ramifications for the future.  They have to go through the same events as they happened 24 years ago.  Nick has to sleep with a stranger.  Adam has to break up with his girlfriend.  Lou has to get into a fight.  Jacob has to remain inconspicuous.  As you can expect, it all goes pair shaped.

The majority of critics have given this film the thumbs up but I was disappointed.  It didn’t tickle my own funny bone.  There’s lots of shouting and running around but not much else.  For every good joke (and I did laugh at times) there were 10 lame ones.  It panned out pretty much as I expected and it lacked the spark and surprises offered by last year’s The Hangover.

I had a few issues with the storyline (such as the female supporting characters who were poorly developed) but my criticisms feel rather pointless.  Let’s face it - this movie is called Hot Tub Time Machine.  You’re not going to see it for its performances or its subtlety.  This is trashy fun that will pass the time and offer a few laughs.  Whether it provides enough laughs is debateable.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 25 April 2010

While tidying up the Bolshoi offices, Andrei notices a fax which has just arrived.  It’s a lucrative offer for the Bolshoi orchestra to perform at the Châtelet Theatre in Paris.  It gives Andrei a crazy idea.  He destroys the fax and then calls the Châtelet to accept their offer.  He’s going to put together his own orchestra and take them to Paris… under the guise that they’re the real Bolshoi.

Yes, he wants to reinvigorate his conducting career but there’s another reason why Andrei wants to pull off this elaborate scam.  He has asked for a renowned French violin player named Anne-Marie Jacquet (Laurent) to be the show’s key soloist.  Andrei has followed Anne-Marie’s career closely and this will be his chance to meet her.

The Concert is a mix of comedy and drama.  As you can imagine from this farcical storyline, there are plenty of opportunities for humour.  Just wait until you see the eccentric group of Russian musicians that Andrei assembles for the performance.  From the moment they set foot in Paris, they’re an accident waiting to happen.

The dramatic elements to the story are a little underdeveloped but they culminate with a great finale in which Andrei finally performs his dream concert.  I’m no guru when it comes to classical music but Tchaikovsky's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra is a beautiful piece of music.  Director Radu Mihaileanu weaves glimpses of the both the past and the future into this emotive sequence.

I wasn’t familiar with most of the cast members but Melanie Laurent will catch the eye of many following her memorable performance in last year’s Inglourious Basterds.  She’s great here again.  I don’t know if she can actually play the violin but she sure looks like it.

It didn’t hold my attention all the way through but I liked the ending and I hope others do too.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 12 April 2010

Well, it turns out I’m wrong (but that’s nothing new I guess).  Beneath Hill 60 is an Australian war film set in World War I that tells a very interesting tale indeed.  It’s based on the diaries written by Captain Oliver Woodward who led a team of soldiers into battle on the Western Front.

These men fought bravely but not in a way you might expect.  Instead of shooting their enemies about the ground, they were attacking them from underneath.  With a valuable mix of engineering and mining experience, they tunnelled beneath the front line and into enemy territory.  They could then plant large quantities of explosives just under the surface and detonate them to maximum effect.

They never came face-to-face with the enemy but it was still dangerous work.  Digging mine shafts up to 100m below the surface was an unenviable task.  The soil was unstable and could give at any moment.  There was very little oxygen and hardly any light.  Water seeped through the surface and threatened to flood the chambers.  Worst of all, the Germans were also digging tunnels and setting explosive devices of their own.

Director Jeremy Sims has put together a strong film which pays tribute to the bravery of these soldiers.  Much of the story is set underground and you’ll gather an appreciation for the filthy conditions and claustrophobic spaces in which they worked.  It’s quite suspenseful too.  You’ll find yourself anxiously awaiting the scenes where the detonator is pushed and the enemy meet an explosive fate.

There are plenty of memorable performances amongst the cast.  Brendan Cowell (Noise) again proves he’s one of Australia’s best actors.  He doesn’t overplay the role or use any fancy words.  He portrays Captain Woodward as just an “ordinary bloke” and it makes the story far more believable.  Also strong was 16-year-old Harrison Gilbertson (Blessed) who is face is watch in the near future.

That said, the film does fall to victim to some familiar war clichés.  Every time you hear a solider talking about his life/family back home, you get a sense of what lies around the corner.  Further, a few of the characters (such as the bossy colonel) were over the top.  I was also puzzled as to why the German perspective was introduced so late into the film and whether it achieved its desired intent.

Shot entirely on location in Townsville, Beneath Hill 60 is being released to coincide with Anzac Day.  If you take the time to see it, not only will you be supporting the Australian film industry but you’ll also be treated to a high quality war movie.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 21 April 2010

While in Rome for her younger sister’s wedding, she stumbles across the Fountain of Love.  The legend goes that if you throw a coin in the fountain then you will find your true love.  The cynical Beth doesn’t believe in such fairytales and somewhat intoxicated, she takes off her shoes and steps into the fountain.  She then picks up five coins from the bottom and slips them into her purse.  Beth wants to save the people who have made these foolish wishes.

It turns out there are ramifications.  If you remove a coin from the fountain, its owner will fall madly in love with you.  Sure enough, Beth returns to New York and finds five guys working very hard to win her affections.  Could the legend really be true?

Complicating matters is the fact that Beth really likes one of these guys.  His name is Nick (Duhamel) and the met back in Italy at the wedding.  Beth’s not sure what to do though.  Does Nick really like her or is he just under some magical spell that will soon go away?

There’s an audience for films like this.  You will not find me among them.  This is a silly, cheesy romantic comedy that defies logic.  Even if you don’t mind the “too hard to believe” premise, you’ll probably feel disappointed by the lack of chemistry between stars Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel.  I don’t know why he kept pursuing her given how badly she treated him.

The best parts of the film are when Beth interacts with her other four suitors.  They provide the film’s only laughs (which are still few and far between).  Playing a gothic-looking magician, Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) is the best of the cast.

The saying goes that “when in Rome, do as the Romans do.”  I’d like to hope that watching mediocre romantic comedies like this is not something they’d do on a regular basis.