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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 25 May 2006

Dan (Ledger) and Candy (Cornish) are a young couple living in Sydney.  The film chronicles their addiction to heroin and the effect it has on themselves and those around them.

When we first meet Dan and Candy, we plainly see that their use of drugs has become a compulsion.  Almost all of Dan’s wages are spent on drugs.  They come up with dodgy excuses so that they can borrow money from family of friends.  The rent on their tiny apartment is long overdue.

When Dan is sacked at work, the situation worsens.  Dan starts stealing and Candy starts prostituting herself.  Both hate what they are doing by they are forced by an inner craving that cannot be subdued.  The resulting depression sees them turn to more drugs and they soon find themselves on an unstoppable, downward spiral.

Watching them go through this are Candy’s parents, Jim (Martin) and Elaine (Hazlehurst).  They know what’s going on but at the same time, distance themselves from the problem.  It’s easier to sit back and blame Dan as opposed to having the courage to help out.

This may sound like your usual “don’t take drugs” movie but there’s more to it than that.  If you look past the obvious message you’ll see a well told story.  Dan and Candy are regular, down-to-earth people.  They are an ordinary couple who you think would have a long, happy and successful life together.  It’s sad to see their lives being ruined but on the other hand, it’s horrifying to see how easily a drug addiction can develop.

Abbie Cornish (Somersault) and Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain) have delivered two very moving performances.  The emotional impact of the film would not have come through unless their characters were believable.  You’d bet on both receiving an Australian Film Institute Award nomination (at the very least) later this year.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 18 May 2006

The cinematic version of The Da Vinci Code will be huge.  It opened the prestigious Cannes Film Festival and is being released in almost every country on the same weekend.  The film has been withheld from critics so that no early reviews can dampen the anticipation.

I finally got the chance to see the film on the night before its Australian release.  Funnily enough, the reel caught on fire at the two hour mark.  It took 25 minutes for the projectionist to fix the problem and restart the film.  Since there are some religious groups who don’t want this film seen, I can’t help but think this event was the result of some “divine intervention”.

The Da Vinci Code is one of the most widely read books of the modern era.  First released in 2003, Dan Brown’s novel has grabbed the attention of almost everyone.  Those people expecting the movie to be equally captivating will be frustrated by what they see on screen.  Let’s face facts.  You simply can’t take a detailed novel and condense it into two and a half hours.

This leads to what is an obvious criticism and that is that the movie feels condensed.  Certain parts of the story are left out and others are underdeveloped.  Bishop Aringarosa’s plan and the motivations of Opus Dei were not made clear.  Flashbacks are included to help us understand the history behind the story but they lack the interesting detail of Brown’s novel.

If you’re one of the few who hasn’t read the book, The Da Vinci Code begins at the Louvre art gallery in Paris.  Its curator, Jacques Sauniere, has been killed.  Before dying however, Sauniere left a series of symbolic clues which have confused police detective Bezu Fache (Reno).  He has asked for Robert Langdon (Hanks), a professor of religious symbology, to be called to the scene.

Langdon quickly realises that Fache isn’t after his advice.  Before dying, Sauniere wrote the name “Robert Langdon” on the floor and Fache believes that Langdon is the killer.  With the help of new friend Sophie Neveu (Tautou), Landgon flees the scene and begins a quest to clear his name.  Together, they start piecing together Sauniere’s clues to see where it will lead.  With the entire French police force looking for them though, time is running out…

When I read the book, I was fascinated by its discussions of religious symbology.  It was also great reading the discussions between Langdon and Neveu as they tried to interpret the clues and break the codes along the way.  In the film, there isn’t enough time devoted to these areas.  The riddles are solved too easily.

The highlight of the film is the appearance of Ian McKellan as Sir Leigh Teabing, a fellow historian.  McKellan has the best lines and his spirited personality has Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou looking like emotionless cardboard cut-outs.  Jeno Reno is also good with his famous French accent but is given very little screen time.

The Da Vinci Code will be remembered more fondly as a novel than a movie.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 22 May 2006

I know a lot of people who are going to be interested in seeing this film.  Now that Dancing With The Stars has finished for another season, lovers of dance can get their “fix” with Antonio Banderas and Take The Lead.

At last year’s Brisbane International Film Festival, the audience vote for best documentary went to a film called Mad Hot Ballroom.  It showed the story of three schools in New York City who had implemented a ballroom dancing program for students in the 5^th grade.  They trained and ultimately competed against 60 other schools in a year-end competition.  It was exciting to watch.  The kids stole the show with their innocence.

Take The Lead is the fictional equivalent.  I shouldn’t call it a work of fiction because it’s based on the real life story of Pierre Dulain, a man who started a dance program for underprivileged kids.  When you see the film however, you’ll realise it the story has received a Hollywood facelift.  The dialogue is stiff, the acting is average and there are scenes which will leave you screaming “now I know that didn’t really happen.”

I’m opening myself up for criticism since I don’t know anything about the real Pierre Dulain.  Perhaps this is all true!  The film opens with Pierre (Banderas) walking into a sub-standard public school in New York City.  He’d like to help out by offering ballroom dancing lessons to some of the teenage students.  He says they’ll teach students about respect but deep down, I think he does it because he simply loves dancing wants to impart this love onto others.

Principal James (Woodard) doesn’t see any merit in Pierre’s idea so puts him in charge of after-school detention.  She bets him $5 that he won’t come back after the first day.  It takes time but Pierre finally starts winning over these students (who for some reason are always in detention).  He teaches them the dances such as the waltz and the salsa by mixing his classic music with their modern rap.

It’s very predictable but the spirit of Take The Lead did sink in during the final half hour.  It finishes with a well choreographed dance contest that looks great on screen.  It’s the feature film debut of director Liz Friedlander but she’s picked the right project given her experience with music videos.  She has directed clips by bands included Blink 182, Babyface, 3 Doors Down and Simple Plan.

So if you like the sounds of it, take two steps forward and off you go!

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 14 May 2006

Some silly films are funny.  I speak of movies such as There’s Something About Mary, American Pie and Happy Gilmore.  Some silly films are not funny.  The Benchwarmers is one of them.

Here’s the story.  A lawnmower named Gus (Schneider) sees three young kids being bullied at a local baseball field.  The bullies are part of a baseball team who want to kick these “nerds” off so that they can practice.  Helping stand up for the minority, Gus proposes a challenge.  He and his two friends, Richie (Spade) and Clark (Heder), will play them in a match.  The winner has the right to the field.  Richie and Clark have no idea what they’re doing but with Gus’s baseball experience, they win the game.

Hearing the story is a multi-millionaire named Mel (Lovitz).  As a child, he was bullied and he’s finding that his son is receiving a similar treatment.  Mel proposes that a full tournament should be held.  Gus, Richie and Clark will be known as the Benchwarmers and will take on every little league team in the district.  The winner will have a brand new stadium built for them.  Lo and behold, the Benchwarmers develop a huge following.  The downtrodden now have someone to root for. 

It’s a ridiculous plot which should not be taken seriously.  It has been made by Happy Madison Productions, the same production company which brought us Deuce Bigalow, The Longest Yard, Dickie Roberts, 50 First Dates, Anger Management, The Hot Chick, The Master Of Disguise, Mr Deeds, Joe Dirt and The Animal.

I have deliberately mentioned those ten films because you need to know that I gave each a grading of C+ or lower.  I know there are a number of people who liked some of the above films.  If you did, then you might enjoy The Benchwarmers.  I didn’t however and have no intention of recommending this.  If I ranked the Happy Madison films in my order of preference, I’d have The Benchwarmers close to the bottom.  It’s worse than I expected.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 21 May 2006

Who likes a good zombie movie?  If so, then this zombie movie is for you.  If you haven’t already gathered, I just like saying the word “zombie”.

Slither takes a humorous look at zombies in a similar vein to the 2004 English zombie comedy, Shaun Of The Dead.  It begins with a strange object falling from the sky and landing in the forest near a small town.  It looks like a meteorite but when it opens, a strange, slug-like creature is unveiled.

When a man, known as Grant Grant (Rooker), goes into the forest one evening, he is stung by this slug.  He then starts turning in a rather ugly looking slug himself.  He uses a barn in the forest to hide out and then starts an unusual breeding process with a woman he has taken hostage.

Thousands of small red slugs are then born and they go out into the nearby town in search of human life.  They go in through people’s mouths, travel up into the brain and then transform them into… mindless zombies!!!  Muhahahahaha.

The film doesn’t take itself seriously and hence why it will pride more laughs than thrills.  It’s a good approach to take and you need not be worried about excessive violence or horror.  There are a few squeamish scenes but nothing too confronting.

The film marks the feature debut of director James Gunn.  It may be his first time in the director’s seat but he’s worked as a writer for many years.  He helped pen the screenplays for Dawn Of The Dead and the two Scooby Doo movies.  Perhaps it was his work on Dawn Of The Dead which gave him the inspiration for Slither.

Zombies!