Reviews
Mission: Impossible 2
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | John Woo |
| Written by: | Brannon Braga, Ronald D. Moore |
| Starring: | Tom Cruise, Dougray Scott, Anthony Hopkins, Thandie Newton, Ving Rhames, Brendan Gleeson, Richard Roxburgh |
| Released: | June 1, 2000 |
| Grade: | C+ |
I was never a fan of the original Mission: Impossible - it was overly complicated with no substance. In Mission Impossible 2, Ethan Hunt (Cruise) is back for another interrogative adventure filled with everything we’ve come to expect from a Hollywood action picture.
Whilst on vacation in Sydney, Ethan is drafted for another “save-the-world” assignment. A trusted agent, Sean Ambrose (Scott) was given the assignment of guarding a scientist who had a very valuable chemical concoction in his possession. When Ambrose kills the scientist and takes off with the luggage, Hunt is called in.
His mission (if he chooses to accept it, of course) is to track down Ambrose, discover the importance of the concoction and deal with it accordingly. He can select two agents to work with him but a mysterious seductress by the name of Nyah Hall (Newton) must accompany him. Her significance is revealed when Ethan is told that she is a former flame of Ambrose and will be used a bait to lure him from hiding.
I won’t spoil much more of the thin plot for those who do care what happens. In similar vein to the original, the script for Mission Impossible 2 defies all logic. It’s hard to believe that someone was paid for putting these words on a page. Their perfect prose and poise had all the marks of a Shakespearean performance. The characters have take themselves way too seriously with the exception of Hopkins (who is hardly seen). If you’re going to have such a zany plot, at least a few laughs could have been thrown in.
There is a scene where no less than 6 men fire upon Hunt in a relatively open laboratory for a period of fifteen seconds and yet he cannot be hit. Why can’t someone come up with something more interesting than that? This raises two questions. Firstly, if Ethan is the world’s leading spy, how does he put himself is such a dangerous situation? Secondly, if Ambrose is one of the world’s leading villains, why can’t he hire henchman with some experience is shooting a gun in an accurate fashion.
Irrespective of the story, the action scenes in the film are shot and edited brilliantly. Cruise and Scott performed a great deal of there own stunts and the blend between what is really them and what is a stunt double is unnoticeable - a credit to director John Woo (Face/Off). However, the final action scene is flimsy and looks strikingly similar to the fights I see watching WWF wrestling on TV. A very ordinary film score was turned in from Hans Zimmer which is a surprise having praised him last month for Gladiator.
Sydney was used as the backdrop for the film with the familiar landmarks of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Opera House and even Royal Randwick racecourse receiving exposure. Even AMP got a nice plug for appearing on top of Centrepoint Tower during the film. Could it be any more commercial?
For me, the most irritating aspect of this mission (and there were a lot of them) was most every scene between Cruise and Newton. There is clearly no romantic connection. Cruise plays some sort of tough, smart-arse who knows everything and Newton does nothing more than wear revealing outfits and walk slowly around like a spaced out mute with a pole shoved up her.
There was a rumoured fall out during the film between Woo and Cruise and after seeing the finished product, I understand why. Despite appearances, I feel both aren’t happy with what’s currently screening at cinemas across the globe. It’s a far cry from the original TV series and it’s time this series is put to rest in the grave it has already dug for itself.
The Legend Of 1900
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Giuseppe Tornatore |
| Written by: | Alessandro Baricco, Giuseppe Tornatore |
| Starring: | Tim Roth, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Melanie Thierry, Bill Nunn, Norika Aida |
| Released: | June 1, 2000 |
| Grade: | C+ |
From director Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso) comes this “fable” of a piano player born on a boat at the dawn of the 20th Century. The young baby was orphaned by his mother and an African-American employee working in the bowels of the ship found and raised him. He also gave him the unique name of Nineteen Hundred.
Nineteen Hundred travelled back and forth his entire life between England and America aboard the ship and never set foot on land. In that tiny world was crafted the greatest piano player that ever lived. Uninfluenced by music from the land, Nineteen Hundred created his own music and was the talk of musicians around the world. But he would not give in to temptation, and would not leave the boat in search of fame and fortune. Nothing could drag him away from the boat he called home.
This film is a stretch and I know it’s not a true story but when you get to the end there is a sense of disappointment. You expect some moment by film’s end but it just doesn’t arrive. The first hour is aptly described as boring with little impression made at all. It’s so ludicrously far-fetched that it makes it very hard to find any emotional attachment with the characters. Tim Roth was admirable in the leading role but the best performance comes from Pruitt Taylor Vince who plays a trumpet player aboard the boat named Max.
Designed as a film that will appeal to pianists and classical music enthusiasts, The Legend Of 1900 is a dreary tale that doesn’t really know where it’s going. Most disappointing.
Pitch Black
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | David N. Twohy |
| Written by: | Ken Wheat |
| Starring: | Radha Mitchell, Vin Diesel, Cole Hauser, Keith David, Lewis Fitz-Gerald |
| Released: | May 18, 2000 |
| Grade: | A- |
A spacecraft with 40-odd travellers is travelling to a distant location. That is until they encounter a meteor shower forcing them to crash land on an unknown planet. This is certainly not unfamiliar territory for a sci-fi film. What is interesting is what follows.
The first course of action is finding a water source and burying those who did not survive the impact. Finding water turns out to be the easier of the two tasks because upon digging a burial pit, they uncover a series of hidden tunnels inhabited by thousands of vicious, hungry “creatures”.
A few of the team fall victim to their prey until their weakness is revealed - they cannot stand sunlight. Three suns surround the planet and darkness seems likes a rare event. They discover a discarded emergency spacecraft and can use its power cells to help repair their own craft and return them to civilisation. They didn’t count on one thing - a solar eclipse.
From the moment the creatures are introduced, they will really get under your skin. They are fantastically brought to life with digital animation and are the scariest looking beasts since Alien. Throw in some distinctive crunching and gnawing sounds from the sound effects team and you’ve got one scary movie.
Shot at Movie World on the Gold Coast and the South Australian outback, Pitch Black, whilst not an official Australian production, has a lot of Aussie talent on display. Radha Mitchell (Love And Other Catastrophes) takes on her first leading role and this should help launch her career abroad.
The two biggest surprises for myself in this film were both the direction and the writing. David Twohy uses different colours and a terrific mix of light and dark to set a very disturbed scene. Right from the opening credits, there’s something different about this film - commercialism is out-the-window and it’s a credit that he creates such contrasting images on such a small budget.
Furthermore, these characters actually talk like real people and perhaps that adds to the fear the movie creates. I’m more surprised to see it in a cheap sci-fi film. It puts crap like Armageddon another rung down the ladder.
It’s not everyday a quality science fiction film comes along and this one’s right up there. See it with the company of friends and prepare for something a little different with a few unexpected developments and top-notch visual effects. Are you afraid of the dark?
28 Days
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Betty Thomas |
| Written by: | Susannah Grant |
| Starring: | Sandra Bullock, Viggo Mortensen, Dominic West, Elizabeth Perkins, Azura Skye, Steve Buscemi, Marianne Jean-Baptiste |
| Released: | May 25, 2000 |
| Grade: | C+ |
I have long been a basher of Sandra Bullock and she hit rock bottom with her performance in Hope Floats. You can understand my surprise when she delivered an above average performance in 28 Days but it is the vehicle itself that lets her down.
Think about past movies and TV shows that have dealt with alcohol problems. This film offers no new material. Before proceeding just guess at what you think transpires in 28 Days and see if it agrees with the plot detailed below.
Gwen (Bullock) and Jasper (West) are a couple that enjoy getting out on the town and spend most of their days drunk, hungover or stoned. Gwen’s problems reach boiling point at her sister’s wedding when in a drunken state, she badmouths the husband, destroys the wedding cake and steals a limousine which she promptly smashes into the front porch of a neighbouring home.
Sentenced to 28 days in a rehabilitation clinic, Gwen is initially apprehensive and is caught by her councillor (Buscemi) after sneaking out and getting plastered. Threatening to send her to jail, Gwen decides to get serious, adapts to the program and kicks her habit. In the process she wins the friendship of everyone at the clinic, changes many of their lives, suffers from the death of a patient who cannot cope and dumps her boyfriend when she realises he is nothing more than a drunken idiot.
It is evident that this film has had more cuts than a head of hair. So many of the characters are flaky and don’t make much sense. Viggo Mortensen plays a baseball player who is admitted to the centre, develops a semi-love interest with Gwen but nothing is resolved. Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays a very minor role that I cannot understand given her Oscar nomination three years ago and Steve Buscemi is hardly seen at all. The most ridiculous character has to go to Gerhardt (Alan Tudyk) who plays some sort of idiot whose stupidity attracts most of the film’s laughs.
A sole high point in the film was its use of a fictitious soapie named Santa Cruz which is watched by characters throughout - its stab at current US shows is very funny. Sandra Bullock is on cruise control and appears like most other characters she has played but at least she seems more relaxed.
The final two scenes in this film are disgraceful and the ending is surely one of the worst I have witnessed. The film ends in unusual fashion with a freeze-frame shot suggesting there was more afterwards but it was edited out at the last minute. In the final shot, Gwen hugs Gerhardt at a plant store suggesting that everything from then on in will be all right.
I could suggest a more interesting ending. How about some final words just before the credits role - “Gwen went on the bender to end all benders and checked in and out of rehab until she died of a drug overdose at the age of 38”. It doesn’t really have the making of a Sandra Bullock movie does it? Given her recent track record however, it could only be an improvement.
My name is Sandra Bullock and I pick bad movies.
Angela's Ashes
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | Alan Parker |
| Written by: | Laura Jones |
| Starring: | Emily Watson, Robert Carlyle, Joe Breen, Ciarna Owens, Michael Legge |
| Released: | May 18, 2000 |
| Grade: | B+ |
People love seeing a movie where someone reaches the pits of hell before rising above adversity to make something of themselves. Erin Brockovich was a perfect example. With no prospects and down to her final few bucks, she turned it around with a touch of luck and changed her life forever. I’m sure the script has been a major factor in the film’s worldwide success.
Angela’s Ashes follows in a similar vein. Based on the autobiographical best seller, Frank McCourt’s account of his childhood in Ireland takes misery and desperation to a new level. This is divided into three “chapters”, each showing a separate part of his upbringing. His mother struggled with illness whilst trying to feed her starving family. His father could never find work and when he did, managed to spend it all on alcohol. He lost younger brothers and sisters because of lacking medical attention. His life couldn’t have been much worse but somehow from within, a talented individual was crafted.
Frank developed an interest for writing at school and over time longed to travel to America to further his career and his ambitions. In the back of our mind we all know it’s going to work out for him in the end but I could not believe the pain and torment he went through to come this far.
There isn’t a lot to smile about in Angela’s Ashes making it a heavy viewing experience but like most true stories, the plot is extremely interesting. Alan Parker’s direction was tough. His use of the few sets and reiterated camera angles works very well and provides the truly morbid setting.
Performances were admirable with Robert Carlyle standing out as the father. Creating a character that is both loved and despised, Carlyle surpasses most expectations. Emily Watson shines through the gloom as the mother with three actors, Joe Breen, Ciaran Owens and Michael Legge sharing the leading role of Frankie.
Overlooked at Oscar time, Angela’s Ashes will struggle to find an audience outside those already familiar with the novel. Having not read the book, I felt I took less away from the film than I should and to me this was the film’s pitfall. Perhaps it’s a film where the novel is best read first…
The Next Best Thing
- Details
- Written by Matthew Toomey
| Directed by: | John Schlesinger |
| Written by: | Tom Ropelewski |
| Starring: | Rupert Everett, Madonna, Benjamin Bratt, Michael Vartan, Lynn Redgrave |
| Released: | May 18, 2000 |
| Grade: | C- |
Robert (Everett) is gay and doesn’t have a lot of luck when it comes to relationships. Abbie (Madonna) is in a similar boat and has just broken up with her current squeeze. She’s reached that stage in her life where she wants kids but just can’t meet the right guy. Robert and Abbie are best friends and one evening, whilst comforting each other, they end up sleeping together.
Abbie falls pregnant and the two agree to keep the baby and raise it together. Everything is smooth sailing for a few years and the three live happily together. That is until Abbie meets Mr. Right, Ben (Bratt), providing a very awkward situation. Just how is the relationship going to work now and will their son be affected?
This film is as bad as it gets. Director John Schlesinger (Midnight Cowboy) had absolutely no idea what he was doing and the direction is completely lifeless. I was almost stunned at first by the mediocrity of the screenplay - it was ludicrous. From there, it only got worse as the film becomes nasty and loses the comedy for a more dramatic ending.
Usually when a film has you asking questions upon conclusion, it’s considered provocative. This monstrosity was asking a lot of questions of myself but not the type you’d think. Who wrote this crap? How did this film ever get studio approval? Why did Madonna agree to star? Does anything in this film have a point? Why are people laughing at this? Am I ever going to get out of here? Help me!!!