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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 15 November 2001

Jake Hoyt (Hawke) is a young army officer who wants to become a detective to fight battles closer to home.  He’s been assigned to assist Detective Alonzo Harris (Washington) but Jake must satisfy Alonzo’s criteria in a rigorous first “training day” if he’s any chance of making a career.

Jake’s inexperienced to the biz but he’s certainly not blind sighted by his surroundings.  Soon realising that things aren’t done per the manual, he’s abruptly forced to evaluate his own ethics in a life defining moment.  Is it worth bending the rules if better justice can be served?  Does the means justify the end or should the end justify the means?

Training Day begins as a very interesting exploration of corruption and the theory of justice but is ruined but a ludicrous ending that I should have expected.  Without revealing too much, there’s an absurd plot twist involving Jake in a bathtub that sends the film into a downward spiral.  The bloody yet laughable finale, manufactured to satisfy the audience, contradicts the seriousness of the issues explored.

Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke are accomplished actors and I loved the lengthy character development between the two during the early scenes.  Both are intrigued by the other for different reasons and their conversations seek to suss out their true motives and intentions.  The disappointing conclusion lets both actors down in forcing Washington to overplay his role and Hawke to miraculously transform his persona.

Senseless violence is employed to add gravity to the situation but only serves as a distraction.  Screenwriter David Ayer was also responsible for last year’s WWII submarine drama, U-571, and this year’s smash, The Fast And The Furious.  I’m surprised Ayer gets credit since all three scripts had major flaws and a lack of substance.

There’s a pitiful running gag throughout the film where Alonzo tells his targets “do you want to go to jail or do you want to go home” in an endeavour to get them to confess and avoid police involvement.  I could ask a similar question.  Do you want to go to see Training Day or do you want to go home?  It’s a rhetorical question.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 01 November 2001

Hedwig is a vibrant transsexual singer and together with his band, The Angry Inch, he plays in sickly clubs and restaurants to small and disinterested audiences.  The opening half of the film introduces us to Hedwig’s inventive musical stylings.  The film is based on the stage play written by John Cameron Mitchell and friend Stephen Trask.  Viewer discretion is advised but anyone with an open mind will openly laugh at some of these songs.  Just wait till you find out about the Angry Inch really means.

The second half of the film changes tone as we learn about Hedwig and his relationship with young rock star Tommy Gnosis (Pitt).  We’re given early clues to the story but we soon learn how the struggling Hedwig came to be associated with one of music’s most successful icons.  Hedwig and Tommy were once close and performed together in clubs.  But then Tommy found fame, stole Hedwig’s songs and was never heard from again.

Hedwig And The Angry Inch is a fantastically touching, funny musical that stands out in a year of lifeless releases.  Mitchell not only co-wrote the play (which was performed off-Broadway for over two years), he wrote the screenplay for the film, took on the challenge as director, and plays the feature role of Hedwig.  His creative style, illustrated perfectly by the film’s title, will undoubtedly leave many dazzled with an equal number distressed.

The film has been called the next Rocky Horror Picture Show but Hedwig will show that times have changed.  Whilst the clothes may still be the same, the humour is discerningly different.  So let me close with a line from the mouth of Hedwig himself - “when I think about all the people that I have come upon in my travels, I have to think about all the people that have come upon me.”

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 08 November 2001

Often made a mockery of in movies, ghosts and the supernatural are the perfect elements, that when used effectively, can send a chill down your spine.  The Others is proof of that.

Grace (Kidman) and her two children, Anne (Mann) and Nicolas (Bentley) reside in a large English mansion.  On their doorstep arrive Bertha, Edmund and Lydia looking to fill the vacancy as the house’s servants.  Grace warns Bertha not to listen to her children’s “ideas” as their wild imagination often gets the better of them.

Anne believes she sees ghosts – a man, a woman, an old lady and a boy called Victor.  Grace punishes Anne for speaking such nonsense and for frightening her brother but soon she has suspicions of her own.  Strange noises come from the house that cannot be explained.  Doors open and close of their own free will.  Her fierce denial to believe in the supernatural has her on the brink of madness.  There must be an explanation…

The Others is an impeccable illustration of how to make a great thriller.  There is little music and the tiniest sounds are amplified to keep the audience in a dead silence.  Then, the director shocks us, the music intensifies and we all jump and start whispering.

The screenplay is always the difference between a good and bad thriller.  In this instance, it’s well developed, has few holes and makes sense.  We’re become accustomed to haunted house movies (especially those of the teen variety) but this is fresh and different.  The noticeable religious elements also contribute to the absorbing plot.

Nicole Kidman is wonderful.  Following Moulin Rouge, I hope the Academy isn’t split in deciding which performance deserves acclamation.  She’s yet to receive a nomination but hopefully that’ll change come next February.  The children and also terrific and help add to the movie’s suspense.  They could easily be mocked but are quite frightening as the strange happenings continue.

The Others has been a sleeper hit in the States.  On a mere $17m budget, it’s made almost $100m to date.  Kidman isn’t an actress who takes tackles simple roles and I’m sure the intriguing screenplay attracted her to this production.  It’s great stuff.  For the first time since The Sixth Sense, we have an honest thriller that’ll give you a legitimate “chill down your spine”.  Be afraid.  Not only by the film itself, but by the fact that Hollywood for once got it right.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 01 November 2001

Jewel then breaks down and confesses that the whole car scene was a set up and Randy was about to be robbed by her “boyfriend”.  Now that she’d met Randy and seen what a nice guy he was, she couldn’t go through with it.  However, before the robbery can be aborted, the boyfriend shows up and in a sudden turn of events, is killed by Jewel with a bullet to the back of the head.

After some light convincing from Jewel, Randy decides he doesn’t want her going through anymore trauma and he himself claims responsibility for firing the gun in self defence.  Detective Dehling (Goodman) immediately picks holes in Randy’s story and decides further investigation will be required.

Over the coming weeks, Randy finds that Jewel isn’t the innocent victim she’s made out to be.  She immediately moves in with Randy, starts renovating the house and is the dominating member in their new relationship.  Every time he protests, Jewel piles on the sex to make Randy forget all his troubles.

To complicate matters, Randy’s lawyer uncle, Carl (Reiser), was also at the bar that night and he too fell head over heels for Jewel.  When word arrived that his cousin was seeing her, he started paying Randy a lot more visits just to be close to Jewel.  Let’s not forget Detective Dehling who has also flipped for Jewel and is looking for any reason to bust Randy to break up the relationship.

Despite poor jokes and unoriginal plot developments, the interacting stories of these three guys makes for light-hearted entertainment.  Michael Douglas plays a hitman hired by Randy to kill Jewel and is the pick of the bunch.  Douglas is also an executive producer and I think he’s played this small role to help boost the film’s profile.

One Night At McCool’s has a warped sense of humour and there’s an unnecessary overkill of sex and violence.  The sight of Paul Reiser in bondage has also left nasty images in my mind.  What was he thinking?  Still, I’ve seen a lot worse this year and so long has you can hold my attention for a while, it’ll escape with a passing grade.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 01 November 2001

How can I possibly describe how bad this film was?  Carey plays Billie Frank, who we meet as an 8-year-old being abandoned by her mother and sent to an orphanage to be raised.  When she grows up, she gets a job as a dancer in a club with two friends where she is discovered by producer Timothy Walker looking for three girls to work as back up singers for his girlfriend.

Along comes DJ, Julian “Dice” Black (Beesley), who sees Billie’s undiscovered talent and buys her from Walker for $100,000 to produce himself.  She becomes an instant success and the two fall in love.  Billie discovers that fame isn’t all it cracked up to be with pressure from the record company to remove Dice as her producer and it’s putting a strain on their relationship.  Further, Walker is still chasing Dice for his money and doesn’t plan on waiting much longer…

It is a farcical to think that Glitter could actually be made.  Mariah Carey can sing (although that’s also the subject of debate) but she is the worst actress I have ever, ever, ever seen.  She pauses before every line and speaks in the same soft monotonous voice.  Making her look even more pathetic is the obvious miming she does during the film’s major singing scenes.

The script and dialogue are disgraceful.  Whilst the story is apparently based on aspects of Mariah’s own upbringing, I couldn’t give a shit whether Billie became a huge star and/or rekindled her love for Dice.  Frankly, it would have been more interesting if she developed into a drug addict.  Whilst the film still would have been terrible, it might have saved it from every worst film list across the country.

Every minute plays like an hour and this is filmmaking’s lowest ebb for some time.  Last week I punished Ghosts of Mars but this is a far worse crime.  This is sheer torture.