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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 19 June 2003

Travelling Birds is the apt title for this project headed by Frenchman Jacques Perrin.  Five film crews followed migrating birds across seven continents over a three year period.  To raise his documentary to a new level, Perrin has used camera techniques.  To create the incredibly close shots of the birds as they fly overhead, a camera has been attached to a remote controlled bird which flies within the pack.  In other scenes, a cameraman sits in a glider which flies above.  Even helicopters, delta planes, ultra light motorized aircraft and balloons are used to get the perfect shot of the winged creatures.

It’s beautiful to watch but I was disappointed by what I learnt from it all.  There is little narration and the bulk of the film is just the birds flying with soft music (composed by Bruno Coulais) echoing in the background.  There are some spectacular single camera shots and some very colourful species of birds to admire but I would have preferred more education.  More discussion was needed on why the birds acted as they do.  Further, a few silly special effect shots looking down on the globe were an unwanted distraction.

Whilst I criticise these elements of the film that didn’t personally please me, I point out that it was always Perrin’s intention to have the film rely on visual images rather than spoken words.  One of his previous documentaries, Microcosmos, was very similar in the way it looked at the insect world.  In his own words, “Man has dreamt of birds since the beginning of time.  How to imagine being among the first to transform this dream into reality?”  There is no question that he has provided this reality.

Funded by a number of production companies, including National Geographic (as you’d expect), Travelling Birds received a nomination for best documentary at this year’s Academy Awards.  Despite losing the top prize to Michael Moore’s Bowling For Columbine, the film has generated world wide interest.  Unlike most feature length documentaries, which debut on cable television, Travelling Birds has been released theatrically in over 20 countries around the world (including France, Russia, Italy, Spain, Japan, Canada and the United States).  If nothing else, it’s void of clichés, and if you look at what else is currently screening, it’ll be the only film in that category.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 09 June 2003

The Fast And The Furious was one of the success stories of 2001 when on a budget of $38 million, it grossed $41 million in its first three days before finishing with a juicy total of $144m.  Blessed with a bigger budget, only Paul Walker returned for the sequel with Vin Diesel turning down the lucrative pay cheque and the studio appointing a new director in John Singleton (Boyz N The Hood).

In the creatively named 2 Fast 2 Furious, Brian O’Connor is now on the other side of the tracks.  He once worked for the LAPD but after letting his man get away (at the end of the first film) he was kicked off the force.  Devoted to drag racing, he’s still the best guy on the street and his reputation is a good as ever.  However when the police bust an illegal race, O’Connor is arrested and faces time in the slammer unless he cooperates with the cops.

They’ll wipe his record clean if he’ll help them bring down a drug lord named Carter Verone (Hauser) who also has a love for fast cars.  An undercover agent (Clemente) is already posing as Carter’s mistress but she’s going to need help to bring down this powerful leader.  Brian will only do the job if he can choose his own partner and with a moral debt to repay, he asks past friend Roman Pearce (Tyrese) to be that man.  All is in place and the games are about to begin…

Surprisingly, the narrative holds up and despite the predictability of it all, I enjoyed the story.  It shares many similarities with the original but the new cast keep it interesting.  It isn’t as humorous but the action sequences are on par, if not better, than the 2001 release.  For director John Singleton, it’s his first true crack at the action genre and I had criticisms but was satisfied with the overall picture.  The two men who deserve the most praise are editors Bruce Cannon (Poetic Justice) and Dallas Puett (Tomb Raider) who have sliced hours of footage with ultimate precision.  They have crafted visually dynamic car chase sequences which will get that heart pumping.

The obligatory sequel is now behind us and once again, it has been a profit making vehicle for Universal Pictures.  Nothing is in writing yet but to satisfy the public’s growing need for speed, I’d be betting on another follow up… with another creative title.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 16 June 2003

Pardon the pun, but this disaster movie really is a disaster.  The fad began in 1996 when Twister “swept” through cinemas.  Since then, we’ve managed to survive through Daylight, Independence Day, Dante’s Peak, Volcano, Hard Rain, Deep Impact and Armageddon.  Most thought the genre had been exhausted but Paramount Pictures believed there was still a window of opportunity and gambled another $85m on the success of The Core.

Their investment has turned to dust in this horribly misguided motion picture.  A secret government agency has been working on a weapon which can plough into the Earth’s crust and generate seismic activity.  Unfortunately, their testing has had a nasty effect on the Earth’s core – it has stopped spinning.  Within months, the resulting cosmic radiation will cook the Earth and all its inhabitants.

The plan is to have a specially designed craft tunnel deep into the Earth’s core and then detonate a truckload of nuclear weapons to “jumpstart the planet”.  As expected, a varying crew has been assembled for this mission to save the world.  We have Ed Brazzleton (Lindo) who has designed the tunnelling craft.  We have astronauts Robert Iverson (Greenwood) and Rebecca Childs (Swank) who will pilot the vehicle.  And, we have experts Josh Keyes (Eckhart), Conrad Zimsky (Tucci) and Serge Leveque (Karyo) who are experts in the field and can offer the best advice to aid the mission’s success.

You need a degree in nuclear physics to understand much of the dialogue.  The crew keep coming up with amazing ideas but it beats me what they are and on what basis they are expected to work.  What I do know, is that it’s the most far-fetched piece of garbage seen on a screen this year.  As I’ve said many a time on this matter, these films will only create the intended thrills and suspense if the storyline is plausible.

I also disapprove of the film’s length.  For a poorly edited production, 135 minutes is too long to hold anyone’s attention.  There’s a heavy reliance on special effects but even they look second-rate.  In its planning stages, The Core must have looked an attractive proposition given the high profile cast it attracted.  I can only assume that subsequent script changes have been a major factor in the film’s demise.  It brings a tear to the eye to watch great independent actors like Aaron Eckhart and Stanley Tucci utter lines that belong in a trashy soap opera.

One could forgive me for wishing a natural disaster to befall the producers who gave the initial green light on The Core.  Complete disappointment without exception.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 05 June 2003

17-year-old Igby Slocumb (Culkin) is a gifted child in a troubled family.  His father (Pullman) had a nervous breakdown when Igby was just 10 and now lives free from the pressures of family and work in a mental institution.  His mother Mimi (Sarandon) is obsessed with appearances and combined with her addiction to pills, she keeps a very tight reign over the family’s activities.  Igby’s older brother Oliver (Phillippe) graduated with honours from high school and is now the pride of the family with a prestigious college position.  Supporting them all is D.H. (Goldblum), Igby’s godfather and a very powerful property developer who uses his money to control all who surround him.

Igby sees through the charade by which his family lives but his youth and inexperience keep him trapped.  He wants to escape, leave this mess behind and create his own life but his tied to his family both financially and emotionally.  Forced to attend military school by his oppressive mother, Igby sees a window of opportunity when D.H. offers him a job in New York over the summer.  The rebellious Igby decides not to return to school and hides from his family by bunking in a swanky apartment with “a dancer who doesn’t dance” and a “painter who doesn’t paint”.  He also falls in love with an lively girl named Sookie (Danes) and Igby has his first real sense of independence.

Soon though, the familiar walls start closing in on Igby.  His jealous brother starts courting Sookie to deliberately get back at him.  His mother sends word she is terminally ill and wants to take her own life.  His flatmate, Rachel (Peet), is seeing her life ruined by a growing drug addiction.  His own bank account has dwindled and with the novelty of his holiday wearing thin, thoughts of an uncertain future cloud his thoughts.

With much to tell, writer/director Burr Steers has created an honestly brutal look at the troubles of upper-class society.  Like a good black comedy, you’ll find yourself laughing at the self-indulgence of these characters whilst feeling sorry for their unfortunate position at the same time.  As Igby, the subdued Kieran Culkin (younger brother of Macaulay) speaks with sarcastic elegance.  It’s a breakthrough role that brought back memories of the underappreciated Thora Birch in Ghost World.

The power of Jeff Goldblum’s character was the most intriguing part of Igby Goes Down but Claire Danes, Amanda Peet and Ryan Phillippe all play absorbing characters with unspoken agendas.  They aren’t one-dimensional nor do they blatantly preach obvious messages (like so many films these days).  Their actions and emotions are open to considerable interpretation and you will need to draw conclusions based on your own personal experiences.

The characters are the focus but Steers provides plenty more to enjoy.  The scenes intertwined with the opening credits set up the film’s off-beat tone.  The background settings are idyllic and bring realism to the foreground with dashes of comedy thrown in.  The ever changing film score is again proof that there’s a variable mix of both tears and laughs.

Igby Goes Down can be described as a hilarious parody of the self-absorbed or a troubling look at society in general.  Igby may go down, but here’s a film that should be going straight to the top of any must-see list.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 12 June 2003

American Pie proved that Seann William Scott is a funny guy and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon showed that Chow Yun-Fat is martial arts guru.  Yet when you bring this unlikely combination together for a funny, martial arts flick, you get a very, very, very boring result.

In Tibet 1943, an unnamed monk (Yun-Fat) earned the responsibility of guarding a sacred scroll.  Anyone who read the words of the scroll would be blessed with incredible powers and therefore it had to be closely guarded to protect it from evil hands.  When a group of Nazis attacked the monestary where the scroll was kept, the monk was forced to flee to evade capture.

Sixty years later, his travels have taken him to America.  He is tired and understands it is time to hand down the responsibility of the scroll to someone else.  Given guidance from the gods to help find this “chosen one”, he comes across Kar (Scott) – a petty thief who lives and works in a movie theatre specialising in Chinese cinema.  Kar thinks the monk and his philosophical sayings are crazy but the two become a united team when each other’s lives are threatened.  A Nazi from the past is still looking for the scroll and is stopping at nothing to obtain it.

Judging from the audience’s half-hearted laughs, I wasn’t alone in declaring Bulletproof Monk a waste of space and time.  The screenplay is ridiculously far-fetched and the two leading stars have no chance to showcase their humour.  Scott tries a more sarcastic, laidback persona which doesn’t suit the childish material.  Yun-Fat simply doesn’t belong here.  Even worse are the Nazi officer and his granddaughter.  Somebody needs to show director Paul Hunter a book of overused stereotypes to help him out.

The title suggests very little and on that scale, Bulletproof Monk delivers with precision.