Reviews
Gomorrah
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Matteo Garrone |
| Written by: | Maurizio Braucci, Ugo Chiti, Gianni Di Gregorio, Matteo Garrone, Massimo Gaudioso, Roberto Saviano |
| Starring: | Salvatore Abruzzese, Simone Sacchettino, Salvatore Ruocco, Vincenzo Fabricino, Vincenzo Altamura |
| Released: | May 14, 2009 |
| Grade: | A- |
In 2006, Italian journalist Roberto Saviano published a book which exposed the activities of the Camorra – a crime organisation based in southern Italy. Since its release, Saviano has received numerous death threats and he now lives under constant police protection. Based on this fact alone, you could say that his book has made an impact.
So what are the Camorra involved in? We’re talking pretty much everything and anything that’s illegal. Toxic waste disposal, drug dealing, high powered firearms, bribery and even fashion design. They are one of the oldest mafia organisations in the world with a history going back many centuries.
Matteo Garrone’s movie is based on Saviano’s novel and shows the Camorra for what they are. It follows several characters – some of which will not be alive by film’s end. It has a gritty, realistic feel and this is particularly evident when you see the way in which some characters are slain. It’s not over dramatised. There’s no chase sequence. These people get a bullet straight between the eyes and through the chest. End of story.
It’s taken almost 12 months for Gomorrah to find its way into Australian cinemas. This time last year, it won the lucrative runner-up prize (otherwise known was the Grand Prix) at the Cannes Film Festival. It also won the best film prize at the 2008 European Film Awards. This is a great honour with previous winners including 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007), The Lives Of Others (2006) and Hidden (2005).
The film has prompted me to do a little more research on the Camorra and the more I read, the more interesting they are. How can such a crime organisation continue to thrive in this day and age? Is there really that much corruption in the world? If you take the time to check this movie out, you may find yourself asking the same questions.
Observe And Report
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Jody Hill |
| Written by: | Jody Hill |
| Starring: | Seth Rogen, Ray Liotta, Michael Pena, Anna Faris, Dan Bakkedahl, Celia Weston |
| Released: | May 14, 2009 |
| Grade: | B+ |
I’m also giving the thumbs up to his latest effort, Observe & Report, but this particular recommendation comes with an asterisk. This movie is a lot darker than you might expect. There were plenty of a giggles from the audience when I attended the preview screening earlier this week but there were also a few patrons who left well before the end.
Ronnie Barnhardt (Rogen) is the head security guard at a large shopping mall. He suffers from bi-polar disorder and continually takes medication for his condition. It doesn’t seem to be doing a lot of good and Ronnie has trouble connecting with other people. There’s a scene where he tries to ask a cosmetics sales girl (Faris) out on a date but he comes across weird and creepy. Another sales guy has a restraining order against Ronnie. It’s a wonder that he’s been able to keep his job.
Let me stop to remind everyone that this isn’t a disturbing drama – it’s just an offbeat comedy. I guess you can see now why people walked out. Anyway, the crux of the story centres around a serial "flasher" who has been exposing himself to shoppers in the parking lot. Ronnie thinks he can become the hero and catch the guy. He’s very unhappy with the fact that the mall manager has brought in the police to help get the job done.
There is some strange stuff in this film but I had to laugh. It’s good to see a comedy which is prepared to take a few risks. I think Seth Rogen is terrific and there are some great supporting performances from Celia Weston (who plays Ronnie’s intoxicated mother) and Ray Liotta (who plays a cop determined to embarrass Ronnie).
Clocking in at just under 90 minutes, Observe & Report is a nicely paced comedy with a nasty undercurrent. It makes for good viewing and good conversation afterwards.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Gavin Hood |
| Written by: | David Benioff, Skip Woods |
| Starring: | Hugh Jackman, Live Schreiber, Danny Huston, Will I Am, Dominic Monaghan, Taylor Kitsch |
| Released: | April 29, 2009 |
| Grade: | C+ |
There have been three films in the X-Men series to date and I’ve liked them all. They explored some interesting moral issues against the backdrop of a rather complex storyline. The characters were cool too.
The last X-Men flick was released three years ago and instead of churning out another sequel, 20th Century Fox has taken a different path. They’ve made a prequel which focuses on Wolverine and how he came to be. It’s bound to be popular given that Wolverine was easily the most popular mutant from the earlier flicks.
Unfortunately, I didn’t like this movie. Hugh Jackman runs around punching bad guys and blowing stuff up like a stereotypical action hero. It lacks the suspense and the depth of the other films. It starts off poorly and isn’t improved by a finale which is all special effects and no emotion.
The bad guy is a power-hungry government official named William Stryker (Huston). He has a secret lair where he’s been committing scientific experiments on mutant beings. He’s trying to harness their powers so that he can create a super mutant. One of the guys is he wants is Wolverine – for his fighting skills and retractable metal claws.
Having lived a quiet life for a number of years, Stryker lures Wolverine out of hiding by having his long-time girlfriend killed. The killer is Wolverine’s brother, Sabretooth (Schreiber). As you’d expect, this enrages Wolverine and sets him on a quest to track down Sabretooth and Stryker.
The more I think about this story, the less sense it makes. New characters are introduced late in proceedings for no apparent reason. Are they there for possible sequels? It’s also hard to work out who’s pulling the strings. Stryker seems to be in control but why everyone is helping him to become a super villain are beyond me. Dr. Evil is Austin Powers had better motives… and that film was a comedy!
With all the marketing hype, moviegoers will stand in queues like lemmings to buy tickets to this film this weekend. I’m willing to bet that the majority will leave the cinema unsatisfied.
Ghosts Of Girlfriends Past
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Mark Waters |
| Written by: | Jon Lucas, Scott Moore |
| Starring: | Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Michael Douglas, Breckin Meyer, Lacey Chabert, Robert Forster |
| Released: | May 7, 2009 |
| Grade: | C+ |
Connor Mead (McConaughey) thinks that he has a dream life. Working as a high-profile fashion photographer, Connor usually spends his day in the company of beautiful, scantily clothed women. Funnily enough, his nights are the same. Women throw themselves at Connor and it doesn’t take much effort to lure them back to his bedroom. He’s slept with countless ladies over the years and he has no intention of ever getting married.
Ah, but things are about to change. Connor returns home for the wedding of his younger brother, Paul (Meyer). At a special wedding eve dinner, Connor drunkenly disgraces himself in front of everyone. He proclaims that marriage is an outdated institution and that love doesn’t really exist.
After heading off to the bathroom to freshen up, Connor is visited by the ghost of his late uncle, Wayne (Douglas). He too led a womanising lifestyle but he has returned from the grave to warn Connor against making the same mistakes. Wayne tells him that he will be visited by three ghosts to help highlight the error of his ways.
Where is this leading, you may ask? Connor’s first girlfriend and childhood sweetheart, Jenny Perotti (Garner), just so happens to be at the wedding and is part of the bridal party. Both have feelings for the other but fate has kept them apart. Can these ghosts turn Connor into a new man and help him land his dream girl?
I’m not a fan of the romantic comedy genre and no, I didn’t like this film. I found it superficial and manipulative. The message is quite clear – guys who sleep around with hundreds of girls and who don’t believe in love will end up lonely and miserable.
I am not saying that message is flawed but what I struggled with is the way it was presented. As previously mentioned, there are many women, including the bridesmaids, who are just as "slutty" as Connor. These details are glazed over and the focus is making Connor looking like the biggest dirt bag possible. No points for subtlety.
Also puzzling were the bride and groom to be. Sandra (Chabert) is very highly strung and I couldn’t understand why Paul was going to marry her. There’s a very strange moment where she loses her cool after learning that the dinner salad didn’t contain figs. What was the point of this scene? If it was intended to highlight her pre-wedding jitters then it was lost on me. I saw her as a lunatic.
I’m straining to come up with a positive comment but I did like the performance of Jennifer Garner. She’s sweet, not too over-the-top. Sadly, she doesn’t share a lot of scenes with Connor which makes it hard to see the chemistry between them.
Directed by Mark Waters (Just Like Heaven, Mean Girls), this is yet another flick which fails to deliver what the genre promises – romance and comedy.
Fired Up
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Will Gluck |
| Written by: | Freedom Jones |
| Starring: | Nicholas D’Agosto, Eric Christian Olsen, Sarah Roemer, Philip Baker Hall, John Michael Higgins, Molly Sims |
| Released: | April 23, 2009 |
| Grade: | B |
Fired Up is about two football jocks who go to cheerleading camp over the summer so that they can have their choice of over 300 chicks. Need I say any more?
I do enjoy a deep, meaningful drama. Already this year we’ve been treated to great films such as The Wrester, The Reader and Milk. That said, trashy comedies such as this still have their place in the world of cinema. Sometimes the best thing to do is sit back, turn off the brain and have a few laughs. Fired Up is a perfect example.
The two leading dudes are Nicholas D’Agosto (Heroes) and Eric Christian Olsen (Dumb And Dumberer). Nicholas plays Shawn - the smart, conservative guy. Eric plays Nick – the bold, outgoing guy. The girls at the camp know exactly what our two protagonists are up to but most don’t seem to mind.
Given the limited storyline, it’s no wonder that screenwriter Freedom Jones had trouble dragging it out for 90 minutes. His attempt at creating a semi-dramatic ending was ridiculous. On the other hand, he doesn’t seem to have had any trouble crafting some funny jokes. There are a few "laugh out loud" moment and the highlight involves a scene from the iconic cheerleading flick Bring It On.
I don’t think any of us are going to remember this film in six months time but it’s the only major new release showing in our multiplexes this week, so I guess it’ll just have to do.
Star Trek
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | J.J. Abrams |
| Written by: | Robert Orci, Alex Kurtzman |
| Starring: | Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Leonard Nimoy, Eric Bana, Bruce Greenwood, Karl Urban, Zoe Saldana, Simon Pegg, John Cho |
| Released: | May 7, 2009 |
| Grade: | B+ |
Captain’s Log, Stardate 2009.42. I have just retuned from a screening of the new Star Trek movie. I believe the film is non-hostile and safe to watch. The all clear has been given for other humans to approach. That said, I will closely monitor the situation and keep everyone informed.
There have been ten Star Trek movies up until this point. The last was Star Trek: Nemesis in 2002. More than seven years have passed since its release and in that time, Paramount Pictures made the decision to give the series a much overdue facelift. This new flick, simply entitled Star Trek, features a young, fresh cast and takes us back to where the story began… in a rather unique way.
There are plenty of characters but our main protagonist is James Tiberius Kirk (played by Chris Pine). James is a rebellious individual who has grown up without a father. Captain George Kirk sacrificed his life when James was born to help save the Earth from an alien attack.
James will have an opportunity to follow in his father’s footsteps. After a chance encounter with the high profile Captain Pike (Greenwood), James accepts an offer to enter the Starfleet Academy. It is there where he meets his rival – an intelligent Vulcan known simply as Spock (Quinto). The two clash on several occasions with each trying to outsmart the other. After several years of rigorous training, both James and Spock are ready to take to the skies in search of adventure.
I admit to being a little concerned by these early scenes. It thought the filmmakers had tried too hard to make the story colourful and sexy. Was this going to be another cliché-ridden action flick with lame jokes?
Thankfully, the answer was no. One the character introductions are out of the away, the suspenseful drama kicks in and the film finds it feet. James, in his first mission aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise, becomes caught up in a nasty alien invasion. It is very similar to that which his late father faced two decades ago. If the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise are any hope of saving Earth, they will need to come together and work as a team.
I’ve alluded to it in my opening paragraph but there are some nice twists in this story that will require you to switch your brain to the "on" position. They explain why this series has gone back to the very beginning and has a different cast. That’s all I’m prepared to reveal. Thumbs up go to writers Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman, who worked together on films including Transformers and The Island.
I like the cast and think that Chris Pine does a terrific job as James Kirk. His infectious enthusiasm will endear him to audiences. He’s one cool character. He shares some great scenes with Zachary Quinto who plays Spock. Also worth a mention is English actor Simon Pegg (Shaun Of The Dead) who brings comic relief to the film as Scotty.
You don’t need to be familiar with the earlier films to enjoy this latest instalment and I think it sets the stage for many more films to come.