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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 26 January 2000

In 1993, scientist Jeffrey Wigand was fired from his $300,000 a year job at Brown & Williamson (a U.S. Tobacco company) for “communication problems”.  He was left with a mediocre severance package and signed a confidentiality agreement agreeing never to divulge to any party the work he performed there.  At the same time, Lowell Bergman was a producer at 60 Minutes with 14 years experience.  He was renowned as the best at finding a story and had a reputation as a “man of his word”.

While researching a story on fire-related accidents in February 1994, Bergman came across some complex documents that would require interpretation and by sheer chance, Wigand was recommended.  He was to be paid $10,000 for a few days work but Bergman sensed Wigand was hiding something and thus the biggest news story in the history of 60 Minutes began.

Michael Mann has created a near flawless work in The Insider.  No stone was left unturned.  He researched the project for over three years and what you see is perhaps the most accurate portrayal of real events ever seen on the big screen.  His own house is lined with folders full of reports, articles and interviews he himself conducted.  In tackling an issue this serious and significant, Mann wanted to ensure his film would not be discredited and that the real truth be told.

The wide cast is led by Al Pacino and Russell Crowe (as Bergman and Wigand) and you will go far to see two finer performances.  Combined with Christopher Plummer’s (as 60 Minutes anchorman Mike Wallace) blistering portrayal, they take this film to a new level.  There isn’t a single character throughout the film that isn’t believable - it really is the casting job of the year.

Mann’s direction is spot on - it’s tough, it’s gritty, it’s in your face - right to the poignant final scene.  Australian composer Lisa Gerrard’s score blends well and is easy to miss it’s that perfect.  Filled with wonderful, unforgettable moments and brilliant lines (e.g. “Alice In Wonderland”), you will not leave without taking something away.  It took a while to get going and sure it could have been shorter but Mann wanted to set the scene and yes, it was effective.

In essence, this film is not about the dangers of tobacco smoking but rather the power corporate giants have over the media and us.  People don’t run the world - corporations do.  The Insider was a story that had to be told and upon reflection, couldn’t have been told much better.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 13 January 2000

In 1998 alone, of the five Academy Award nominees for best picture, three were war films - Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line and Life Is Beautiful, and this year another hot contender can be added to the long line of war films being coming out of Hollywood - Three Kings.

We are introduced to our four US soldiers early in the piece (don’t ask me why it’s called Three Kings).  Sgt Troy Barlow (Wahlberg), Sgt Chief Elgin (Ice Cube), and Conrad Vig (Jonze) come across a secret map hidden in the ass of Iraqi solider.  The Gulf War has just ended - the U.S. Iraq have declared a ceasefire, and many of the soldiers are planning to return home.  When Captain Archie Gates (Clooney) finds the other three with the map - he wants in and has a plan.

Evading a U.S. Television reporter, they sneak out to find the location of a hidden bunker that supposedly contains millions of dollars worth of gold bullion.  They never expected it to be easy but what they came across and what it brought out of them, would change their lives forever.

David O. Russell (Spanking The Monkey and Flirting With Disaster) is a blossoming director who has really taken off with this picture.  The setting and story are captured so wonderfully with the radical fast-paced style.  George Clooney has comes leaps and bounds in recent years and follows Out Of Sight with his finest role to date.  Also singled out must be the fourth member of the team - Spike Jonze.  It’s hard not to focus on him in the film and think how this was the mastermind who directed Being John Malkovich.

This film has it all.  It starts off with plenty of laughs but by end you’ve taken a journey you didn’t expect to take.  From the wide-open deserts to the deep hidden bunkers, realism exudes.  Its intensity will keep you riveted to your seat as you await the fate of the four soldiers and you’re taken through their highs and lows. 

Already awarded best picture of the year by the Boston Society Of Film Critics and featured on top 10 lists all over the world, Three Kings is an immensely entertaining film that will keep you both thinking and feeling.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 23 January 2000

Set in a crazy, futuristic sci-fi world, we meet Captain Amazing (Kinnear) who as a super-hero has conquered all the villains of Champion City and has no one left to defeat.  Worried about losing his celebrity status and sponsorships, he helps plead the release from prison of his all time great nemesis, Casanova Frankenstein (Rush), so he can take on and defeat him again.

Casanova has an ace up his sleeve however and captures the amazing Captain leaving the city helpless.  Enter the B-grade heroes who have come to save the day.  Sick of living in the shadow of Captain America, this is their chance to rescue him and save the city.

Introducing - the Blue Raja (Azaria), the Shovelor (Macy), Mr. Furious (Stiller), the Bowler (Garofalo), the Spleen (Paul Reubens), Invisible Boy (Kel Mitchell) and the “quotable” Sphinx (Wes Studi).  All with their special secret power, their inspiration came from the Dark Horse comic books.

Mystery Men is a satirical look at super heroes that isn’t very good.  For every great moment (such as the recruitment scene), there’s an uninspired scene that takes a bad joke and stretches it further.

The cast works in a similar vein - all have their moments, but in the end no one stands out.  If any must be praised, Aussie Geoffrey Rush and Janeane Garofalo get my approval.

Austin Powers has done it twice previous and much better I might add, leaving Mystery Men as an overly long film that makes you yearn for these heroes to meet a sickly demise.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 13 January 2000

There are only two reasons women go to St. Cloud’s - to give birth and leave their child behind, or to have an abortion.  Homer became proficient in the art of delivery, but despite the wishes of Larch, his moral stance withheld him from performing an abortion.

Homer became a respected member and father-figure of the St. Cloud’s orphans - he was loved and he loved them but as time went by, he wanted more - he wanted to see the world. 

Wally (Rudd) & Candy (Theron) provided that opportunity.  Wally was a fighter pilot in the army and Candy worked at an apple orchard by the sea and together they arrived at St. Cloud’s with an unwanted pregnancy.  Homer seized the opportunity to move on.  Asking for a lift from the love-struck couple, Homer went into the world, to find where he really belonged.

Following Homer’s departure from St. Cloud’s, things changed. The medical board began a movement to replace the aging Dr. Larch as head of St. Cloud’s who now knew his days were numbered.  Larch knew the only person who could replace him and his uphold his ethic would be Homer - but could he convince the board and more importantly, could he convince Homer to return?

The reinvented Caine provides one of the best performances of his career and Maguire was perfectly suited to his role as the stilted Homer.  Lasse Hallstrom’s (What’s Eating Gilbert Grape?) direction creates some wonderful moments - including the opening credits (beautiful orchestrated by Rachel Portman), and the moment Homer acts on his affections towards Candy.

But the aspect to emphasise in this film is John Irving screenplay based on his own lengthy novel (first published in 1986).  If the full book was made into a film it would end up being a 10-part mini-series and so cutting it back into a 2-hour version whilst maintaining the whole essence of the novel was a task in itself.  Given the limitations, characters and subplots had to altered or removed (which will annoy some), but Irving comes through with honours.

Despite it’s subject matter, The Cider House Rules is not a debate on abortion, although it will create discussion.  It’s Homer’s story - an emotional and moving drama about the journeys we take and the paths we follow to find our true place in the world - to find that place where we can best be “of some use”.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 20 January 2000

Our story begins in 1967 in New England.  Susanna (Ryder) has always been an outcast at school and is the only one of her classmates not to be going on to college upon completion of her final year.  Her life is complicated, she’s suicidal and one day acts on her instincts and mixes a bottle of aspirin with a bottle of vodka – not a recommended mix.

Surviving, her parents send her to Claymoore, a psychiatric hospital where she is checked in under the guidance of Nurse Val (Goldberg) and only plans to stay a short while so she can rest and regroup.

Inside she develops much needed friendships with fellow inmates but develops a bond with the outspoken sociopath, Lisa (Jolie).  When diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder by the hospital psychiatrist, Dr Potts (Tambour), Susanna doesn’t buy it and remains locked within the walls struggling with her demons.

Girl, Interrupted starts and finishes strongly but some of the weaker subplots bring the story down during development.  Susanna’s final speech sums up the film and identifies the lessons you take away from it.  Director James Mangold produces some nice work but seems a little too focused on close-ups of the two leading stars that was too obvious and annoying.

The standouts of the movie are the two performances of Ryder and Jolie.  Both characters are such a contrast and work so well together - I find it unfortunate that many believe Jolie has overshadowed Ryder because she played the bolder character.  In all honesty, both are as good as each other.

Don’t be deterred by the awful trailer advertising this film (it makes the film appear disgracefully boring).  In the tradition of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, it captures the style and era of the 60s beautifully and creates a setting and a story that will take you away.