Reviews
Unfaithful
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Adrian Lyne |
| Written by: | Alvin Sargent, William Broyles Jr |
| Starring: | Diane Lane, Richard Gere, Olivier Martinez, Erik Per Sullivan, Dominic Chianese |
| Released: | July 11, 2002 |
| Grade: | B+ |
A chance encounter that would never have ordinarily happened. Walking through the city on a windy day, Connie Sumner (Lane) bumps into an attractive book dealer named Paul Martel (Martinez). With grazed knees and unable to hale a taxi, Paul asks Connie up to her apartment to treat her knee. Paul is flirting with Connie the whole time and gives her a book to take with her before leaving. She reads a paragraph from the novel - “be happy for this moment, this moment is your life”.
Smitten, Connie returns home to her husband of 11 years, Edward (Gere) and their young son Charlie. They live a comfortable if not dull life. Edward manages a successful business and Connie has a healthy reputation for organising charity fundraisers but the spark is missing in their relationship.
Initially, Connie returns to Paul’s apartment to thank him but she returns again and again. The two begin a passionate affair and Connie loses all track of the world around her. Edward senses a change in Connie and asks an old friend to follow his wife to confirm his suspicions. Now that he knows for real, the question remains as to what can be done to rectify the situation...
From the director of Fatal Attraction and Indecent Proposal, Unfaithful is a sensual thriller that does begin slowly. We all know the premise of the story and it’s easy to feel tired at the repetitive love scenes and encounters between Connie and Paul. The film improves as it enters the unknown territory following Paul’s discovery of the affair. I hope I’m not giving too much away in comparing the film to last year’s Oscar nominee In The Bedroom. It’s a story about what lengths an ordinary person will go to protect their interests.
Diane Lane gives a marvellous performance. She deserves her top billing over Richard Gere in the film’s credits. There’s already talk of a possible Oscar nomination but there’s a long way to go yet. We can feel her confusion and anxiousness. She knows what she’s doing is wrong and repeatedly tries to pull away from Paul but the happiness he provides her continues to draw her in. She senses trouble is brewing but this obsession now has complete control over her.
Richard Gere has the smaller role but plays it well with his sullen demeanour. Providing the majority of the film’s jokes is Malcolm In The Middle’s youngest child, Erik Per Sullivan, as the son. Adrian Lyne adds some nice touches with his directing - I particularly enjoyed the early scenes showing the wind sweeping through the New York streets.
We’ve been there before but Unfaithful relies upon its strong performances and direction to satisfy. Many audience members will relate to and understand the forces driving Edward and Connie - it’ll provide food for thought.
Blade 2
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Guillermo del Toro |
| Written by: | David S. Goyer |
| Starring: | Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Norman Reedus, Leonor Varela, Ron Perlman |
| Released: | July 11, 2002 |
| Grade: | B+ |
God, I just loathed the original but Blade 2 is a different kettle of fish. There’s an interesting plot, a few cool twists, some decent characters and some incredible special effects. Like Men In Black 2 illustrated, most sequels just cash in on the original through mere repetition. This film goes beyond this technique and takes chances by exploring new avenues. Sure it’s just a gory vampire flick but credit should be acknowledged where due.
Blade (Snipes) is a cross-breed vampire/human. His thirst for blood is controlled through special injections and his mission in life is to rid the world of those vampires preying on the human race. But there’s been an unusual development. A new species of vampires, known as reapers, has been developed that is far more savage than anything seen before - it feasts on the blood of both ordinary vampires and humans.
So an unusual compromise is reached. The vampires approach Blade for him to join forces against these reapers. After years of trying to kill each other, the two sides have been united. It’s quite ironic that the vampire team that Blade has been given to work with is the same team that was created to hunt and kill Blade himself.
The battle then begins and it’s brutally, brutally violent. I don’t believe in censorship but I do believe in classification - there are some films that shouldn’t be seen by younger audiences. How can I describe how gruesome this film is? The body count is monstrous and the methods disgusting. I can’t even imagine how much fake blood was required. In the very opening scene, a vampire sucks the face off a guy leaving a massive blood spray all over the wall. I object to the fact that a 15-year-old in Australia can see the film. An R-rating was deserved. Especially since non-violent films featuring a little sex receive tougher judgment.
For those unwavering, it’s a strong film visually. Directed by the revered Guillermo del Toro (Cronos, Mimic), it’s unrelenting action packed entertainment. You don’t see a film like this and expect anything more so it delivers where it matters. Wesley Snipes plays it cool and has some fun. Kris Kristofferson seems miscast as his buddy but the vampires are the real stars. The make-up team has done a wonderful job bringing them to life.
Let’s not overlook the special effects either. The reapers are hideous creatures and can open their mouths very wide as a creature from within spurts from the mouth and sucks the blood of their prey. It happens with such abundance during the film, you forget the novelty of the effect and it becomes a seamlessly real part of the story. Quite stunning.
Released in the week of the Brisbane International Film Festival, it’s funny that I’m praising such a film in the same week as appreciating a wide range of original cinema from varied countries. Cinema is all about providing entertainment and if a film about blood thirsty super-vampires is fun, then there’s no difference between it and a heartbreaking drama. Films are there to be enjoyed.
A Walk To Remember
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Adam Shankman |
| Written by: | Karen Janszen |
| Starring: | Shane West, Mandy Moore, Al Thompson, Peter Coyote, Daryl Hannah |
| Released: | June 27, 2002 |
| Grade: | B- |
Opposites attract. Landon Carter (West) is a rebel without a cause. After daring a friend to jump from a great height into a lake, his life is about to change focus. The friend ends up in hospital and Landon is severely disciplined by his school principal. He is asked to perform janitorial duties after school, tutor disadvatanged children on Saturdays and take part in the school play. Understandably, he’s not happy.
That is until he meets Jamie Sullivan (Moore), the daughter of the parish priest. Jamie’s a shy quiet girl who always dresses daggily, carries around her bible and is constantly ridiculed by people at school (Landon included). Jamie’s also performing in the play and in rehersing lines together, an amazing attraction develops.
Their relationship blossoms. And as is the message in most every film of this genre, love with triumph over adversity. Landon loses many of his friends, Jamie gets scornful looks from her father but it only makes the love between them even stronger. Just when you think everything is perfect and nothing can come between them, one final setback will test their faith in god and each other...
Mandy Moore’s crossover from singing to acting is much more impressive than the pathetic Brittany Spears in Crossroads. Moore shows talent and doesn’t rely on just her good looks to satisfy the audience. It remains to be seen whether she has the ability to extend herself beyond this simple material but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. Shane West is starting to gather attention himself with this his best performance to date.
Like the last film from director Adam Shankman, The Wedding Planner, don’t expect anything fresh. Those a tad emotional might like to take a few tissues but those not might require a few sedatives. A teen drama that gets a little too much “preaching”.
Men In Black 2
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Barry Sonnenfeld |
| Written by: | Robert Gordon, Barry Fanaro |
| Starring: | Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Rip Torn, Rosario Dawson, Lara Flynn Boyle |
| Released: | July 4, 2002 |
| Grade: | C+ |
This really was a non-event. At a pathetic 88 minutes, it’s just the same old jokes with zero story. The first film at least had a novelty factor but this sequel looks very weary and the actors show it. I felt tired just watching it.
So if you’ve seen the first one, you’ll know the drill. There’s Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith who play Agent K and Agent Z. K has retired and had his brain denuralysed to erase any memories of his service with the Men In Black. However, when a slimy alien named Serleena (Boyle) comes to earth looking for a magic light that will help her destroy another planet, K is the only person who knows its whereabouts and needs to be called back into action.
And on we go. We encounter a series of funny looking aliens crafted from spirited imaginations and sensational visual effects. In fact, they show more life than the human actors. We also get the cool weapons and gadgets that are used to subdue the alien lifeforms. Still, they use a more comedic touch ala Get Smart. Let’s not forget the talking dog and the funny looking worms for a few cheap laughs.
Smith and Jones try not to act too seriously but their relaxed attitude to the whole scenario really is a yawn. They just go about their business too easily and for my money, I wanted more thrills and more action. There were brief moments of enjoyment but too infrequent. Keep your eyes open (if you can) for the year’s most ridiculous cameo coming from Michael Jackson - it certainly missed the mark.
Like the original, Men In Black 2 is being released on the Independence Day public holiday in the United States. To shareholders in Columbia Pictures, this spells money, money and more money. It doesn’t matter if the audience hurls rotten fruit at the screen because we have all been transformed into mindless drones and will most likely see this film. That’s the power of mass media and advertising. We’re all a bunch of zombies.
Ghost World
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Terry Zwigoff |
| Written by: | Daniel Clowes, Terry Zwigoff |
| Starring: | Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson, Steve Buscemi, Brad Renfro, Illeanna Douglas |
| Released: | June 27, 2002 |
| Grade: | A+ |
Enid would have to be the most interesting character seen on screen in a long time. Played impeccably by Thora Birch (American Beauty), Enid hates trends and the monotony of society - she’s too intelligent for her own good. Just having graduated high-school, Enid and best friend Rebecca (Johansson) are looking for a place to move in together. At school, they chose to keep away from the “in” crowd and between themselves, they ridiculed practically everybody.
In a newspaper, Enid reads an personal ad from a loser named Seymour (Buscemi) trying to get in touch with a woman he fleetingly met at an airport. Intrigued by the pathetic image the ad portrayed, Enid calls the number and pretending to be the elusive woman, tells Seymour to meet her at a local cafe. Seymour shows up with Enid, Rebecca and their friend Josh (Renfro) giggling and judging him from a distance while he waits for the date that will never arrive.
Feeling pity, Enid then decides to follow Seymour home and discovers he has a love for old records and music. Introducing herself at a garage sale, Enid and Seymour hit it off and they find themselves attracted by each other’s wit, sarcasm and negativity. But what is developing between them? Is it a friendship or something more significant?
Based on a comic book by Daniel Clowes, Ghost World is a quirky black comedy that turns the teen genre on its head. There’s a bit of Enid in all of us. Director Terry Zwigoff describes her as someone “trying to find herself in a world that’s rapidly turning into one big consumer theme park, a monoculture without much of anything authentic remaining.” Aren’t there times where you’ve become sick of the predictable commercialism that seems to lace everything these days?
The interaction between the characters is the film’s heart. Enid doesn’t know where she’s going with her life and her confusion affects her friendships with both Rebecca and Seymour. Just when you start to like her, she’ll do something stupid and your opinions will change. Don’t expect the film’s conclusion to offer much resolution. It’s very exciting to have a film explore these feelings. Is Enid the hero or not?
From the get-go, Ghost World is something special. The background music to the opening credits comes from the 1965 Indian film Gumnaam. Clearly, Terry Zwigoff doesn’t know the meaning of the word conventional. To add spice, Zwigoff throws in an hilarious subplot involving Enid going to summer school and being taught by an art teacher (Illeana Douglas) who has no idea what she’s doing. It’s crazy!
Thora Birch is simply magical. Getting decent roles as a young female in Hollywood is a near impossibility but following her breakthrough effort in American Beauty, Birch has found that lightening can strike twice - she was born to play this role. Controversially overlooked at Oscar time, Steve Buscemi is also well cast in playing such a big-time loser. He’s still one of the most overlooked actors of today and most are still unfamiliar with his name despite appearing in films such as Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Fargo, Con Air, The Big Lebowski and Armageddon.
How can you pass up an opportunity like this to see one of the year’s best films? It’s about the challenges and difficulties in this world that intelligent people face. In a world that’s being overrun by shopping centres and coffee shops, places around the world are losing their character. They’re becoming “ghost worlds” so to speak. Filmmaking is in the same boat but thanks to talented individuals like Terry Zwigoff, Thora Birch and Steve Buscemi there’s hope for us all yet...
Bend It Like Beckham
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Gurinder Chadha |
| Written by: | Paul Mayeda Berges, Guljit Bindra, Gurinda Chadha |
| Starring: | Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Anupam Kher, Archie Panjabi |
| Released: | July 4, 2002 |
| Grade: | A |
When it comes to recognising a good film, word-of-mouth is usually your best guide. A film can win a trophy cabinet full of awards and/or receive universal approval from critics but who’s to say it’ll appeal to the general public? Bend It Like Beckham has become an amazing success story. Costing just £3.5m, it’s already recouped three times that amount in the UK. TV ads and newspapers spout quotes like it’s “set to be this year’s Billy Elliot” and “the best British comedy since Bridget Jones’s Diary.” Its most surprising credential came a few weeks ago when it was voted audience favourite at the Sydney International Film Festival.
On the verge of completing high-school, tomboy Jess Bhamra (Nagra) loves playing soccer. From an Indian upbringing, Jess’s parents have decided it’s time for her to settle down and find a husband. Kicking around a football with some friends in a park, she meets Jules (Knightley), an English girl who plays for the local women’s team. Jess didn’t even know there were teams for girls and when Jules asks her to try out, she immediately finds her place. She’s a natural and becomes a star player in the rising team whilst catching the eye of the young coach, Joe (Rhys-Meyers).
The problem is, Jess’s parents know nothing of this. The fact that their daughter prefers to play soccer rather than learning how to cook would bring much shame to the family. But as time goes on, it’s becoming too difficult to hide. Jess’s sister is getting married and there’s a lot of time to be spent preparing under the watchful eye of her mother. Training sessions are being missed and with scouts from U.S. colleges looking to offer scholarships, the opportunity of Jess’s life could be slipping away...
Bend It Like Beckham is a non-stop roller-coaster fun ride. There’s barely a dull moment and the film appreciates whilst seeing the humorous side of the Indian culture. The film itself was directed by rising Indian director Gurinder Chadra who made 1993’s Bhaji On The Beach. The soccer is very enjoyable too. It doesn’t overshadow the screenplay nor degenerate it into a mere “sport flick”. There’s a great film score from Craig Pruess that encompasses much Indian music with a few nice touches thrown in. Seeing Jess kick a match-winning goal to an opera tune is a perfect illustration.
Our two leading characters, Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley, are a wonderful duo. They immediately become best friends despite coming from completely different races and cultures. Most films of this nature would waste time exploring outsider’s negative perceptions of such a friendship. Not so here and it’s refreshing to see Chadra bypass this overused cliché.
I had a smile on my face for the entire duration of Bend It Like Beckham and hey, I’m not that easy to please. It truly is the feel-good movie of the year and certainly explains the sold out session in which I had the opportunity to first see it. Well go forth and spread the word. It seems everybody else is.