Reviews
Bringing Out The Dead
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Martin Scorsese |
| Written by: | Paul Schrader |
| Starring: | Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Ving Rhames, Mary Beth Hurt, Tom Sizemore, Marc Anthony |
| Released: | June 15, 2000 |
| Grade: | A- |
Frank Pierce (Cage) is an ambulance attendant. In the past, he loved his job and the thrill of saving somebody’s life. Now things are different and Frank is deeply depressed. Every night he finds himself called out to cardiac arrests, drug overdoes, shootings and the strain is all too much to handle. In his last 12 days, he called in sick 4 times and been late 9 times. How? On one particular day he was late but then decided to go home sick.
This is the story of three days in Frank’s life on the road to redemption. The kickstart to his depression came several months ago when on the job, he failed to save the life of a young lady. He still hears her voice everyday and his madness continues as her forgiveness is sought.
Martin Scorsese (Kundun, Casino, Goodfellas, Taxi Driver) has a high reputation that must be very difficult to live up to. The look of New York City he creates through the camera lens is dark and joyless and yet so absorbing at the same time. It’s funny that in the space of two weeks we’ve seen two very different impressions of New York, in both Bringing Out The Dead and Keeping The Faith, that both work in their own ways.
Nicolas Cage relies heavily on his experiences from filming Leaving Las Vegas, a masterpiece released in 1996. His performance in this role is mundane in that it resembles everything we’ve seen before from Cage (in film’s such as Vegas and 8MM). In hindsight, he did play the character well but perhaps a different actor could provide a needed freshness.
With the exception of Patricia Arquette, who was nothing but a bore, the supporting cast came through with all the film’s lightest and finest moments. John Goodman, Tom Sizemore, Cliff Curtis and Afemo Omilami as Griss are hilarious as they interplay with Cage.
Bringing Out The Dead is a complicated film with a complicated significance. As funny as some of these situations are, there’s an underlying message that shows just how miserable the world has become. It’s a tough life as an ambulance attendant and it’s a part of life that has rarely been explored on screen. As I drove home from this film, an ambulance came flashing past me on the opposite side of the road at half speed. For once I didn’t think who was in the back of that ambulance but rather who was driving it.
Dinosaur
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Eric Leighton, Ralph Zondag |
| Written by: | Walon Green, John Harrison, Robert Nelson Jacobs |
| Starring: | Julianna Margulies, D.B. Sweeney, Joan Plowright, Ossie Davis, Max Casella, Alfre Woodard, Della Reese |
| Released: | June 15, 2000 |
| Grade: | C+ |
Computer animation is now becoming more and more prominent on the big screen. It was only five years ago when Toy Story took home an honorary Academy Award for been the first movie ever produced entirely by computer. In its wake has followed successes such as Toy Story 2, A Bug’s Life and Antz, all of which have attained critical acclaim and big box-office dollars.
Dinosaur (from Walt Disney, of course) again uses wonderful animation but cannot be compared to the above examples because of a poor screenplay. Five screenwriters are credited and that’s a sure sign of script problems.
It is the story of a dinosaur named Aladar whose egg winds up under the care of a family of monkeys who raise and care for him. When a meteor shower strikes the Earth wiping out most of the vegetation, Aladar and the monkeys set off to find a new place to live. They meet a race of dinosaur who are on a journey to a secret breeding ground when fresh plants and water are in abundance. It will take many days of travel across the desert to get there and the presences of vicious carnivores will make the journey a hazardous one.
Leading the pack of dinosaurs is Kron, a strict leader. When Aladar arrives trying to help their cause, Kron finds his authority threatened and the success of the journey jeopardised. Things are further complicated when Aladar falls for Kron’s sister, Neera.
Walt Disney is usually responsible for creating such wonderful stories for their films which capture the heart of both kids and adults (ala Toy Story 2). Dinosaur is boring for the parents and boring for the kids who will be easily distracted.
Several of the dinosaurs look the same and given their obscure names, identifying one from the other is unnecessarily difficult. James Newton Howard provides the film score for Dinosaur that overrides many patches of dialogue further frustrating the viewing experience. Even more bizarre is the film’s length - 82 minutes, which includes both a lengthy opening sequence and closing credits. You only just get the kids settled and have the story develop before it’s all over.
The voice list includes D. B. Sweeney, Julianna Margulies, Joan Plowright, Ossie Davis, Max Casella and Alfre Woodard. Not big names by Hollywood standards but they do breathe a little life into these otherwise dull characters.
A high standard has been set with animation and it’s had a pretty good ride. Dinosaur will fail to meet the successes of previous animations and a sharper story will need to be considered before we see Disney’s next entry (which will probably be due around this time next year).
Fantasia 2000
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | - |
| Written by: | Hans Christian Andersen |
| Starring: | Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck |
| Released: | June 8, 2000 |
| Grade: | B |
The original Fantasia was released back in 1940. The American Film Institute’s top 100 films of the century listed Fantasia as number 58. It was a ground-breaking film that used animation as a backdrop to famous concert pieces. Some 60 years later, the idea has been reprised by Disney with Fantasia 2000.
This version sees seven new pieces combined with one surviving from the original - The Sorcerer's Apprentice featuring Mickey Mouse. To open is a rather boring piece with a just a bunch of funny colours and shapes which was followed by another slow segment involving whales.
The two highlights were the depression number (played to Gershwin’s Rhapspdy in Blue), and the story of The Steadfast Tin Soldier featuring music by Shostakovich. To end was a bewildering finale about death and rebirth that didn’t do anything for me.
Children aren’t going to be dazzled by this given the recent advances in animated stories. It is no longer 1940 and today we see creative stories told with sensational animation (e.g. The Lion King, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, and Antz). From the opening credits to the start of the closing credits, a mere 63 minutes passes by making it by far the shortest film I think I’ll see this year. That is usually a bonus when taking hyperactive kids to the cinema but I feel many will have had enough after only half-and-hour.
The film has two serious flaws. Firstly, Hollywood celebrities telling stories of how each piece was created segment all the musical numbers. Angela Lansbury, Steve Martin and Bette Midler ramble on with frivolous details that serve little point.
Secondly, and most importantly, in the United States this film was screened only in 3-D at Imax cinemas. For Australia, it has been adapted back into 2-D for the smaller screen and this is a tragedy. You can tell from watching the film that it would make superb viewing in 3 dimensions because of the great mix of foreground and background images.
Enjoy it for the music but don’t expect much more from Fantasia 2000. Save your money for the more elaborate animated creations coming soon to a cinema near you.
Down To You
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Kris Isacsson |
| Written by: | Kris Isacsson |
| Starring: | Freddie Prinze Jr, Julia Stiles, Shawn Hatosy, Selma Blair, Ashton Kutcher |
| Released: | June 8, 2000 |
| Grade: | C- |
The film world has taken another turn for the worse thanks to Down To You. I set new records for squirming after enduring this mismatched teen romantic comedy that looks like it was put together by some ape-like creature.
We start off meeting Al (Prinze Jr) and Imogen (Stiles) in the future and we have nothing but flashbacks into the past as the pieces of the story fit together. They meet, they fall in love, everything is perfect. Then things change, they drift apart, Imogen moves away and both succumb to depression. What happens next? Provided you have a double-digit IQ, you’ll know.
These characters are nothing but cardboard cutouts. They have no “human” qualities and are nothing but rich, spoilt brats. Prinze Jr and Stiles are terrifyingly boring together and the entertainment (if any) comes from the supporting cast with notable entrances from Monk (Zak Orth) and Eddie (Shawn Hatosy).
One observation. The couple first meet and share a romantic moment in Central Park. Why are movies filled with so many clichés? In Mission: Impossible 2, they continually showed the Opera House, Sydney Harbour Bridge and Centrepoint Tower. Directors continually use the same backdrops and icons in every film these days and it is tiring. To use another example, how many movies have you seen set in France that doesn’t feature at least one shot of the Eiffel Tower?
If all this were true, the first place I’d be heading to in New York would be Central Park. Surely I’d meet my true love in the most romantic circumstance and maybe even see a couple of wild police chases. Apparently, everything that happens in New York happens around Central Park.
The teen-romantic genre is in dire need of a facelift and I can’t believe that Miramax would attach their names to this project. It was obviously designed as a cheap money-spinner but was a major disappointment at the U.S. box-office. Finally, the public have spoken.
Keeping The Faith
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Edward Norton |
| Written by: | Stuart Blumberg |
| Starring: | Ben Stiller, Edward Norton, Jenna Elfman, Anne Bancroft, Eli Wallach, Ron Rifkin, Milos Forman, Holland Taylor |
| Released: | June 8, 2000 |
| Grade: | B+ |
Edward Norton has a sixth sense when it comes to picking top movies. His very first film, Primal Fear, earned him a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination. In quick succession came other great performances in The People Vs. Larry Flynt (a personal favourite of mine), Everyone Says I Love You, Rounders, Fight Club and American History X (earning him another Oscar nomination). Not a bad career for someone who graduated with a history degree from Yale in 1991.
As if all those previous successes weren’t good enough, Norton has branched out with his directorial debut in Keeping The Faith, based on a screenplay by Stuart Blumberg. We are introduced to Jake (Stiller), Brian (Norton) and Anna (Elfman) as 6th graders and “bestest friends”. That is until Anna moves away with her family during the 8th grade.
Ten years pass and both find themselves in a career neither expected - Brian is a catholic priest and Jake is rabbi. Both are still best friends and are setting up a karaoke bar for senior citizens as their gift to the community. They are also very popular at their respective congregations and life is running smoothly.
Enter “Anna Banana” who returns to New York on business and wants to rekindle their friendship. Anna is still as beautiful as ever and stirs feelings Brian and Jake had long forgotten. Something is going to give...
Keeping The Faith is a very entertaining romantic comedy and gives the genre new life. The most positive aspect of the film are the performances and connection between Norton, Elfman and Stiller. They work wonderfully together, create many humorous moments and in a rarity for romantic films - they talk like real people. Check for some smaller cameos from Anne Bancroft, Holland Taylor and even Milos Forman (the director of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Amadeus and The People Vs. Larry Flynt).
This is also a credit to the screenplay and Norton’s direction which shows just how talented he is. The New York backdrop is beautifully captured through the camera lens (particularly in a scene between Stiller and Elfman on a riverside pier whilst at dinner). Norton also uses close ups of characters to great effect.
Clocking in at just over two hours does hurt the film. The final 30 minutes could have been summed up in less than half that time and been better for it but given there are so many wonderful moments in this film, I am willing to forgive. There are so many “laugh out loud scenes” that start right from the opening credits and don’t let up.
Have you ever heard the one about the priest and the rabbi? If you haven’t, make sure you do - it’s a good laugh.
East Is East
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Damien O’Donnell |
| Written by: | Ayub Khan-Din |
| Starring: | Om Puri, Linda Bassett, Jordan Routledge, Archie Panjabi, Emil Mawa, Chis Bisson |
| Released: | June 8, 2000 |
| Grade: | A- |
George Khan (Puri) originated from Pakistan but now lives in England with his second wife, an Englishwoman named Ella (Bassett). From his first marriage, George has six sons and a single daughter. He only credits himself with five sons as one walked out on his wedding day after refusing an arranged marriage and was disowned from the family.
George is content in England - he his proud of his religious heritage, owns a small fish and chip shop and is a respected member of the community. Trouble brews however when he sets up another two of his sons for an arranged marriage without consultation and the two brides-to-be are not exactly what you call “beauties”.
Ella wants no part of this but George is very determined and wants his children to marry within their religion in tradition with his ancestors. It’s a ticking timebomb and when the two sons find out, the family disintegrates.
Winner of the British Academy Award for best British film of 1999, East Is East is a supreme mix of drama and comedy that hits all the right notes. It begins as a riotous comedy but as the film develops, a darker layer is revealed (ala American Beauty).
Puri and Bassett turn in two of the best performances seen all year. Puri is wonderful with his Pakistani accent and must set a cinematic record for the number of uses of the word “bloody”. Bassett, with similarities to Brenda Bleythn’s character in Secrets and Lies, plays the quiet wife who you just know will break out of her shell and stand up to her husband.
Adapted from a play written by Ayub Khan-Din, the screen version of East is East is a touching production that is deserved of the critical acclaim it has been receiving. Breaking fresh ground, it’s a change from the tiring, similar screenplays that have been circulating the cinemas in recent weeks.