Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 25 May 2000

Think about past movies and TV shows that have dealt with alcohol problems.  This film offers no new material.  Before proceeding just guess at what you think transpires in 28 Days and see if it agrees with the plot detailed below.

Gwen (Bullock) and Jasper (West) are a couple that enjoy getting out on the town and spend most of their days drunk, hungover or stoned.  Gwen’s problems reach boiling point at her sister’s wedding when in a drunken state, she badmouths the husband, destroys the wedding cake and steals a limousine which she promptly smashes into the front porch of a neighbouring home.

Sentenced to 28 days in a rehabilitation clinic, Gwen is initially apprehensive and is caught by her councillor (Buscemi) after sneaking out and getting plastered.  Threatening to send her to jail, Gwen decides to get serious, adapts to the program and kicks her habit.  In the process she wins the friendship of everyone at the clinic, changes many of their lives, suffers from the death of a patient who cannot cope and dumps her boyfriend when she realises he is nothing more than a drunken idiot.

It is evident that this film has had more cuts than a head of hair.  So many of the characters are flaky and don’t make much sense.  Viggo Mortensen plays a baseball player who is admitted to the centre, develops a semi-love interest with Gwen but nothing is resolved.  Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays a very minor role that I cannot understand given her Oscar nomination three years ago and Steve Buscemi is hardly seen at all.  The most ridiculous character has to go to Gerhardt (Alan Tudyk) who plays some sort of idiot whose stupidity attracts most of the film’s laughs.

A sole high point in the film was its use of a fictitious soapie named Santa Cruz which is watched by characters throughout - its stab at current US shows is very funny.  Sandra Bullock is on cruise control and appears like most other characters she has played but at least she seems more relaxed.

The final two scenes in this film are disgraceful and the ending is surely one of the worst I have witnessed.  The film ends in unusual fashion with a freeze-frame shot suggesting there was more afterwards but it was edited out at the last minute.  In the final shot, Gwen hugs Gerhardt at a plant store suggesting that everything from then on in will be all right.

I could suggest a more interesting ending.  How about some final words just before the credits role - “Gwen went on the bender to end all benders and checked in and out of rehab until she died of a drug overdose at the age of 38”.  It doesn’t really have the making of a Sandra Bullock movie does it?  Given her recent track record however, it could only be an improvement.

My name is Sandra Bullock and I pick bad movies.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 18 May 2000

Angela’s Ashes follows in a similar vein.  Based on the autobiographical best seller, Frank McCourt’s account of his childhood in Ireland takes misery and desperation to a new level.  This is divided into three “chapters”, each showing a separate part of his upbringing.  His mother struggled with illness whilst trying to feed her starving family.  His father could never find work and when he did, managed to spend it all on alcohol.  He lost younger brothers and sisters because of lacking medical attention.  His life couldn’t have been much worse but somehow from within, a talented individual was crafted.

Frank developed an interest for writing at school and over time longed to travel to America to further his career and his ambitions.  In the back of our mind we all know it’s going to work out for him in the end but I could not believe the pain and torment he went through to come this far.

There isn’t a lot to smile about in Angela’s Ashes making it a heavy viewing experience but like most true stories, the plot is extremely interesting.  Alan Parker’s direction was tough.  His use of the few sets and reiterated camera angles works very well and provides the truly morbid setting.

Performances were admirable with Robert Carlyle standing out as the father.  Creating a character that is both loved and despised, Carlyle surpasses most expectations.  Emily Watson shines through the gloom as the mother with three actors, Joe Breen, Ciaran Owens and Michael Legge sharing the leading role of Frankie.

Overlooked at Oscar time, Angela’s Ashes will struggle to find an audience outside those already familiar with the novel.  Having not read the book, I felt I took less away from the film than I should and to me this was the film’s pitfall.  Perhaps it’s a film where the novel is best read first…

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 18 May 2000

Abbie falls pregnant and the two agree to keep the baby and raise it together.  Everything is smooth sailing for a few years and the three live happily together.  That is until Abbie meets Mr. Right, Ben (Bratt), providing a very awkward situation.  Just how is the relationship going to work now and will their son be affected?

This film is as bad as it gets.  Director John Schlesinger (Midnight Cowboy) had absolutely no idea what he was doing and the direction is completely lifeless.  I was almost stunned at first by the mediocrity of the screenplay - it was ludicrous.  From there, it only got worse as the film becomes nasty and loses the comedy for a more dramatic ending.

Usually when a film has you asking questions upon conclusion, it’s considered provocative.  This monstrosity was asking a lot of questions of myself but not the type you’d think.  Who wrote this crap?  How did this film ever get studio approval?  Why did Madonna agree to star?  Does anything in this film have a point?  Why are people laughing at this?  Am I ever going to get out of here?  Help me!!!

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 11 May 2000

Music Of The Heart is based on the life of Roberta Guaspari (played by Streep).  Roberta’s husband has left her and she’s living back with her mother, looking after her two young sons, and trying to make ends meet.  Inspired by both her mother and an old school friend, she approaches a school in inner city Harlem where she tries to coach the principal (Bassett) into giving her a position as a violin teacher.  After heavy persuasion, Roberta makes it on the staff as a substitute and begins a violin program for the younger students.

I could describe the rest of the movie in a simple paragraph, which is a flaw of the film.  I’m sure the real Roberta had a lot more noteworthy adventures that those depicted in this film.  The film has all the characteristics of Mr. Holland’s Opus.  Some of the tackier moments include the ridiculously over-the-top music head and the mother who won’t let her son in the class only to be turned around by Streep’s dazzle.

On the flipside of the coin, the film has some superb characters delivered from a stellar cast.  Streep leads the charge but Angela Bassett, Jane Leeves, Jay O. Sanders, Cloris Leachman, Kieren Culkin and Charlie Hofheimer were wonderful.  It keeps the film on the track and overrides some of the film’s slower moments.

It’s an inspiring tale that you’ve seen before but will still be moved by.  True stories usually do this.  It’s hard to believe that horror film specialist Wes Craven was the director.  Could he have picked a film any further from his niche?  Certainly a bold gamble and whilst the combination of Streep and Craven doesn’t sound like a feasible mix, Music Of The Heart is the result and a good result it is.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 18 May 2000

The first course of action is finding a water source and burying those who did not survive the impact.  Finding water turns out to be the easier of the two tasks because upon digging a burial pit, they uncover a series of hidden tunnels inhabited by thousands of vicious, hungry “creatures”.

A few of the team fall victim to their prey until their weakness is revealed - they cannot stand sunlight.  Three suns surround the planet and darkness seems likes a rare event.  They discover a discarded emergency spacecraft and can use its power cells to help repair their own craft and return them to civilisation.  They didn’t count on one thing - a solar eclipse.

From the moment the creatures are introduced, they will really get under your skin.  They are fantastically brought to life with digital animation and are the scariest looking beasts since Alien.  Throw in some distinctive crunching and gnawing sounds from the sound effects team and you’ve got one scary movie.

Shot at Movie World on the Gold Coast and the South Australian outback, Pitch Black, whilst not an official Australian production, has a lot of Aussie talent on display.  Radha Mitchell (Love And Other Catastrophes) takes on her first leading role and this should help launch her career abroad.

The two biggest surprises for myself in this film were both the direction and the writing.  David Twohy uses different colours and a terrific mix of light and dark to set a very disturbed scene.  Right from the opening credits, there’s something different about this film - commercialism is out-the-window and it’s a credit that he creates such contrasting images on such a small budget.

Furthermore, these characters actually talk like real people and perhaps that adds to the fear the movie creates.  I’m more surprised to see it in a cheap sci-fi film.  It puts crap like Armageddon another rung down the ladder.

It’s not everyday a quality science fiction film comes along and this one’s right up there.  See it with the company of friends and prepare for something a little different with a few unexpected developments and top-notch visual effects.  Are you afraid of the dark?