Matt's Blog

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 29 March 2011

I’m back on deck after illness and a very busy week.  Plenty of things to do and plenty of movies to see.

I saw a couple of films last week that had me thinking “wow, she’s a great actress”.  I was referring to Rosamund Pike in Barney’s Version and Carey Mulligan in Never Let Me Go.  It has prompted me to update the list I keep of my favourite actresses.  The last time I did an update was back in October 2008.

This week, I’ve scoured through my reviews to come up with a current list of my 10 favourite actresses working today.  I started with a shortlist of about 25 and worked my way down from there.  It wasn’t easy.

When I create such a list, I’m looking at two key criteria – (1) the actress has a history of strong performances in great movies over the past 10 years, and (2) any new film starring this actress is likely to grab my attention.

New inclusions in this year’s list are Patricia Clarkson, Amy Adams and Rachel McAdams.  They sneak in at the expense of Laura Linney, Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Connolly.

Honourable mentions this year have to go to Rosamund Pike, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Sally Hawkins, Carey Mulligan, Michelle Williams, Helen Mirren, Marisa Tomei, Zooey Deschanel, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard and Marcia Gay Harden.

With that said, here then are my 10 favourite actresses.  For each, I’ve listed my favourite performances over the past decade.  Enjoy!

10. Rachel McAdams

Favourite Performances:  Morning Glory (2010), State Of Play (2009), Wedding Crashers (2005), Mean Girls (2004), The Notebook (2004)

9.  Natalie Portman 

Favourite Performances:  No Strings Attached (2011), Black Swan (2010), The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), V For Vendetta (2005), Garden State (2004), Closer (2004), Cold Mountain (2003)

8. Amy Adams

Favourite Performances:  The Fighter (2010), Doubt (2008), Sunshine Cleaning (2008), Charlie Wilson’s War (2007), Enchanted (2007), Junebug (2005)

7.  Nicole Kidman

Favourite Performances:  Rabbit Hole (2010), Australia (2008), Margot At The Wedding (2007), Birth (2004), Cold Mountain (2003), Dogville (2003), The Hours (2002), The Others (2001), Moulin Rouge!  (2001)

6. Patricia Clarkson

Favourite Performances:  Easy A (2010), Cairo Time (2009), Elegy (2008), Good Night And Good Luck (2005), Dogville (2003), The Station Agent (2003), Pieces Of April (2003), Far From Heaven (2002)

5.  Julianne Moore 

Favourite Performances:  The Kids Are All Right (2010), Chloe (2009), A Single Man (2009), Children Of Men (2006), The Hours (2002), Hannibal (2002), Far From Heaven (2002)

4.  Kate Winslet 

Favourite Performances:  Revolutionary Road (2008), The Reader (2008), Little Children (2006), The Holiday (2006), Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004), Finding Neverland (2004), Iris (2001)

3.  Meryl Streep 

Favourite Performances:  Julie & Julia (2009), Doubt (2008), Mamma Mia! (2008), The Devil Wears Prada (2006), A Prairie Home Companion (2006), Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events (2004), The Manchurian Candidate (2004), The Hours (2002), Adaptation (2002)

2.  Cate Blanchett 

Favourite Performances:  I’m Not There (2007), Babel (2006), Notes On A Scandal (2006), The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004), The Aviator (2004), Veronica Guerin (2003)

1.  Tilda Swinton 

Favourite Performances:  I Am Love (2010), Burn After Reading (2008), Michael Clayton (2007), The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe (2005), Broken Flowers (2005), Adaptation (2002), The Deep End (2001)

I hope some of your own favourites made the list.  Next week, I’ll unveil my 10 favourite actors.  It’ll be an equally difficult list to put together.

In case you were interested, I updated the list of my favourite 10 directors in October last year.  You can check it out by clicking here.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 15 March 2011

A Roarsome Effort!

To quickly move away from my usual film coverage…

I’ve only been to a few of the Brisbane Roar games this year (I used to have a season pass) but there was no way I was going to miss the A-League grand final in front of a sold out crowd of just over 50,000 at Suncorp Stadium.

The quality of the game was very good and even though it was 0-0 at full time, I wasn’t complaining.  The crowd were right into it too but you could sense their frustration when the Roar got near the goals and felt reluctant to “pull the trigger”.

Once the Mariners had gone 2-0 up half-way through the extra time period, the game was over as far as I was concerned.  We were actually debating amongst us how the crowd would react when the final siren blew.  Would they boo the Roar off the ground despite having gone undefeated 27 straight games?  Us Brisbane-ites are fickle supporters after all.

Someone at work left early and they said the buses outside were jam packed – that’s how many had actually given up and were on the way home.  I asked a friend why he’d left and he said he just couldn’t stand the suffering.  He didn’t want to be there when the Central Coast players started celebrating.

Fiction has to be believable.  Reality doesn’t.  Never has a truer word been spoken.  The Roar go 27 games without defeat and stand 2-0 down in the grand final with less than 4 minutes to go.  As if they could win from there?  What odds were they paying on Betfair?

I’ve watched the highlights about 10 times on the Fox Sports website and it still sends a chill down my spine.  The shock of the commentators and the image of Matt McKay looking up at the sky says it all.  The commentators said that fans were streaming back in from outside (those who hadn’t yet jumped on a bus I guess).

The shootout was also amazing.  It’s the first one I’ve seen live.  You always had a sense that the Roar would pull it off.  Momentum was on their side.  The crowd went bananas after the two saves and most hung around for the presentation.  A guy sitting in front of us summed it up best – “I’m not going to get drunk tonight. I’m going to get blind.”  Here’s out excited reaction just after the game - http://twitpic.com/492t09.

I’m still a sceptic when it comes to the A-League.  I think it’s very hard for a local league in any sport to take a foothold in this country when the best players compete overseas.  It’s like golf.  We struggle to get big names down here and the crowds / sponsors reflect that.  There are many clubs struggling in the A-League but hey, it’s lasted 6 years so far and that isn’t too bad I guess.

All I know is that what I witnessed on Sunday night will do the sport no harm.  It was absolutely incredible.

Alliance Française French Film Festival

The 22^nd Alliance Française French Film Festival kicks off in Brisbane on Wednesday night and runs for almost three weeks.  It’s a huge line up with 46 new films in total.  When I saw the list of stars, I was surprised by how many I actually knew.  France does have a great film culture.  You can see films starring Sophie Marceau, Isabelle Huppert, Marion Cotillard, François Cluzet, Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Cécile De France, Jean Reno, Virginie Ledoyen, Audrey Tautou and Kristin Scott Thomas.  That’s a solid list!

Here’s a quick look at a few films which have caught my eye…

Potiche

A captivating new comedy from celebrated director François Ozon, set in the 1970s about a glamorous but neglected housewife who unexpectedly finds herself running the family’s umbrella factory.

Little White Lies

Each year a couple host a gathering at their beautiful beach house where they commence their summer holidays with a group of close friends. Fun, fine wine and seafood mix with sun and sand as they all leave their city stresses behind. But this year, circumstances change, leading to simmering tensions, which threaten to shatter their idyll.

Love Crime

Against the sterile backdrop of a powerful multi-national company, two women – a young ingénue assistant and a senior executive - cross swords. At first they are friendly, but when the older woman starts to take credit for her younger colleague’s ideas, the ground is prepared for all-out war and a dangerous game begins to unfold.

The Clink Of Ice

An alcoholic and misanthropic writer comes face-to-face with a physical manifestation of his own personal suitwearing cancer in this taboo-breaking, intellectual romp from the politically incorrect director, Bertrand Blier.

Of Gods And Men

Set in the mid-1990s and based on a true story, this film follows a community of French Cistercian monks who live in harmony with the local Muslim population deep in the Algerian mountains until they become a target of Islamist fundamentalist rebels. Panic spreads among the inhabitants. The army offers to protect the monks, but they refuse assistance. Should they leave or remain, and if they stay, what will their decision cost them?

You can find out more on the Festival website at http://www.frenchfilmfestival.org/default.aspx.  Tickets are $17.50 for most sessions but there are a few showcase events that cost a little extra (some coming with wine and entertainment).  I’ll hopefully see you there!

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 03 March 2011

Wasted On The Young is an interesting Australian film which was just been released in Australian cinemas.  I saw it at the Brisbane International Film Festival last November and I was excited to see it get a national cinema release in this country.  More than anything, I'm curious to see what the general public will make of it. The film did leave me with a few questions and so I took the opportunity to speak with the star of the film, Oliver Ackland.  Here’s what he had to say…

Matt:  I realise that you’ve been in the business for a little while now but how did you get started as an actor?

Oliver:  In high school we had a theatre sports competition.  I knew a few of the older guys who were in the theatre sports team and basically, they needed more to make up the numbers.  I guess I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time… or the right place at the right time… depending on how you look at it.

Matt:  It almost sounds like an accident?

Oliver:  Yeah.  It was something that terrified me and that kind of attracted me to it.  I needed to explore it because it scared the shit out of me. 

Matt:  If we go forward a few years, you were also the inaugural winner back in the 2009 of the Heath Ledger Scholarship.  Has that really helped you out as an actor?

Oliver:  Yeah, it did help.  It was a boost at the right time.  I was broke and couldn’t afford to get over to Los Angeles.  They flew me over, they gave me money and I was able to meet his parents.  It instilled a bit of “fearlessness” in me I think.

Matt:  Wasted On The Young is the new movie you’re promoting at the moment.  How did you land this role?

Oliver:  It was just through normal channels.  I did an audition and went back in and worked on it with the director.  They brought in other people they had in mind for other roles and we worked through a few of the scenes with the guys.  You walk away, you get back to day-to-day stuff and then after a while, they let you know if it worked out.

Matt:  Because one of the things that surprised me is that you’re much older than the high school teenager that you play in the film.  So how did you convince the director that you were able to play the teenager?

Oliver:  It’s funny.  A lot of the time, you miss out stuff that is your own age because you look a certain way, you look younger.  Finally, there was one that went in my favour because I did look younger. 

Matt:  When I saw this film I realised about half way through that there isn’t a single adult in the entire movie.  The story told entirely from the perspective of these teens.  Can you share with us – what was the director (Ben Lucas) trying to achieve by leaving out the adult angle of the story?

Oliver:  He’s trying to say, well, what’s the point of having adults in the film because they have no bearing on what these kids are doing anyway which is a valid point.  They’re in their own bubble.  We did shoot one scene with my character’s mum in the film and that was cut out.  I think it’s a really brave choice.  It leaves some people going “oh, I don’t believe that because there are no parents in the film” but I don’t think Ben ever set out to make a completely realistic kind of film.

Matt:  One of the film’s big strengths for me, is that I really hated some of these characters.  I mean that in a good way.  Your step-brother in the film, Zack (played by Alex Russell) – he really gets under your skin and you want to see him get what he deserves.  There’s one scene where you’re beating the living hell out of each other.  Did it get really intense on set during those moments?

Oliver:  Yeah, it does.  It’s hard to maintain your cool when you’re doing those scenes.  They yell “action” and you’ve got to go straight into it.  With those scenes, there’s definitely more of a hush around the set.

Matt:  Did you have to do a lot of shots with those or can you get it done in one take with the intensity of the moment?

Oliver:  We didn’t have much time for anything so most of the scenes were done pretty quickly.

Matt:  How long did you get to shoot the film?

Oliver:  About 28 days.

Matt:  The film paints a pretty bleak view of how tough high school can be for some teenagers and the stupid things that they get up to.  Do you think the film is a reflection of reality?

Oliver:  Definitely.  It reflects this “bubble” and this parallel existence that kids live in.  At that age, it does seem like things can be really bleak.  If you’re having problems, it can be really hard to come out the other side.

Matt:  Is there something that you hope people can take away from the film?

Oliver:  I think you simply want the film to be thought provoking.  You want it to challenge people and for people to go away, taking and arguing.

Matt:  A strong theme is the way that the school kids communicate these days through the social networking sites and text messaging.  They’re publishing everything for all and sundry to see.  They can spread lies, perpetuate rumours and cause trouble.  Do you think adults have a full sense of this type of stuff and the way affects some kids today?

Oliver:  I don’t think they do because they didn’t grow up with it.  While adults are still using Twitter and Facebook, I don’t think they’re as savvy as the kids are these days.  They’re also using it for completely different reasons.

Matt:  What’s it been like promoting the film?  I know you were at the Toronto Film Festival to start with which is pretty cool.  It’s the film festival I’d love to go to above any other.  Was that fun being over there?

Oliver:  It was a lot of fun.  It was our first international film festival and it was cool to see the response.  We did Sydney before that and people loved it but in the back of your mind you’re thinking it’s a “home town crowd”.  So it was great to take it overseas and have a really enthusiastic response.  It was a brilliant week with films, bars and restaurants.

Matt:  What kind of reaction did you get from the audience over there?

Oliver:  Really positive.  They all stuck around and asked interesting questions.  It had obviously got under their skin because the Q&A went on for a bit.

Matt:  I’m finish up by asking what’s next?  What have you got in the pipeline Oliver?

Oliver:  I did a little bit on Cloudstreet which is coming out soon.  I also just finished up working on The Slap (a new TV series) in Melbourne.

Matt:  Thanks for speaking with me!

You can read my review of the film by clicking here.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 28 February 2011

Think of the Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons and say out loud “worst Oscars ever!”  I’m trying not to be sensationalistic but that seems to be the general consensus within the online film community.  The world’s leading film critic, Roger Ebert, had this to say on Twitter – “The worst Oscarcast I've seen, and I go back awhile. Some great winners, a nice distribution of awards, but the show? Dead. In. The. Water.”

I couldn’t agree more.  There were some nice touches to the ceremony.  It was great to see them reflect back on some of the films which have dominated the Oscars.  A good example was the opening award of the night – art direction and cinematography – which were dished out my Tom Hanks.  There was a nice tribute to Titanic snuck in.

You can see that great efforts were made to reduce the running time of the ceremony.  The final product was just over 3 hours which makes it one of the shortest in recent memory.  They moved quickly from award to award and got rid of unnecessary tributes and dance numbers.  I also think this is a positive.

All of that said, new hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway were a failure.  I liked their spoof opening (where they inserted themselves in a series of best picture nominees) but from then on in, it was dreadful.  Some are speculating that Franco was “stoned”.  That might explain his apparent disinterest in the ceremony.  Hathaway was trying to give it a kick but she had no material to work with.  A dance number where she poked fun at Hugh Jackman was simply awful.  Who wrote that dribble?  I could say the same for their opening speech where they say hello to their mother / grandmother in the crowd.

It’s as if the producers of the show were playing it too safe.  They wanted to avoid a Ricky Gervais like backlash and so they took no chances.  All the humour was G-rated and there was hardly any controversy.

As has been the case with a lot of other recent Oscars, there was a noticeable lack of surprises.  Tom Hooper winning best director and Inception stealing cinematography were probably the biggest upsets of the night (and that’s not saying much).  It’s nice to see the right people win but you’re always hoping there’ll be a big “shocker” to catch people off guard.  The speeches were also fairly drab.  I don’t think any will be going down in the history books.  I’m sure some will talk about Melissa Leo’s poorly timed “f bomb”.  I didn’t like her speech at all.

The highlight for me might have been seeing Kirk Douglas present the best supporting actress Oscar.  Yes, I realise it was hard to make out everything he was saying but I’m more than prepared to cut him some slack.  To see a 94 year old (who also suffered a stroke 15 years ago) on stage was a magical moment.  He must be one of the oldest, if not the oldest, presenters in history.  Despite being 80 years older than one of the nominees, he still showed he had a great sense of humour.  I couldn’t help but smile as he strung out the announcement of the winner.

I didn’t end up watching the ceremony at home as planned.  I was invited to follow it at the 612ABC studios at Toowong and I was on air providing regular updates with host Richard Fidler.  It was a fun afternoon.  Here’s a photo of the view I had – watching whilst Tweeting – click here.  I also chatted with Spencer Howson in the morning for my special preview and you can listen to the podcast by clicking here.

Oscar Betting

It was a wild ride for me in terms of my Oscar bets.  I had a record $1,450 “invested” in this year’s ceremony and things were looking awfully grim half way through the ceremony.  I had gone for a few roughies and they were all defeated.

Miraculously, Tom Hooper’s best director win and The King’s Speech best picture win saved the night for me.  I finished up $250 which can be offset against my $250 BAFTA loss and my $30 Golden Globes win.  All in all, the net profit for the season was $30.  Could have been a lot better, could have been a lot worse.  I can’t complain.  Here’s my cumulative scoreboard…

1996 – profit of $750 – won on Susan Saranadon

1997 – profit of $300 (cumulative profit $1,050) – won on Frances McDormand

1998 – loss of $250 (cumulative profit $800)

1999 – loss of $250 (cumulative profit $550)

2000 – profit of $620 (cumulative profit $1,170) – won on Kevin Spacey and Michael Caine

2001 – loss of $190 (cumulative profit $980) – won on director Steven Soderbergh

2002 – profit of $480 (cumulative profit $1,460) – won on Halle Berry

2003 – profit of $275 (cumulative profit $1,735) – won on Catherine Zeta-Jones and Adrian Brody

2004 – profit of $150 (cumulative profit $1,875) – won on Sean Penn

2005 – profit of $214 (cumulative profit $2,089) – won on Hilary Swank

2006 – profit of $350 (cumulative profit $2,439) – won on Reese Witherspoon

2007 – profit of $1,463 (cumulative profit $3,912) – won on Eddie Murphy at Globes, Alan Arkin & West Bank Story at Oscars

2008 – profit of $268 (cumulative profit of $4,280) – won on Tilda Swinton and the Coen brothers

2009 – profit of $253 (cumulative profit of $4,533) – won on Mickey Rourke & Kate Winslet at Globes, Kate Winslet at Oscars

2010 – loss of $830 (cumulative profit of $3,703)

2011 – profit of $30 (cumulative profit of $3,733) – won on Social Network at Globes, Tom Hooper & King’s Speech at Oscars

I’m up $3,733 in career earnings and I’ll be aiming for a better effort next year.  I’ll be studying the form in the meantime.

It’s funny that although I preferred The Social Network, I found myself rooting more and more for The King’s Speech as the Oscars season wound down.  I got tired of The Social Network winning every award.  I got tired of Oscar pundits thinking The Social Network had a god given right to win the best picture prize.

To those who think the wins of Tom Hooper and The King’s Speech are a tragedy, I say boo-f***ing-hoo.  It may not have the originality of films like Inception, The Social Network and Black Swan but it has moved audiences.  So many have told me how much they liked it.  Just look at its exceptional box-office takings.  It has over $20m in Australia and over $100m in the United States.  Whether you like or not, the fact remains that people have enjoyed it immensely.  It is far from the worst Oscar winner in history (which some have described it as).

I can also now say that I’ve interviewed an Academy Award winning director!  I spoke with Tom Hooper back in December and you can check out my interview right here.

Oscar Competition

A record number of 95 people entered my 11^th annual Oscars competition.  Thanks to everyone for having a go.  You’ll be happy to know that not a single person scored 0 out of 6.  You all got at least one right.

The toughest category was best supporting actress.  Just 29 out of 95 picked Melissa Leo.  The easiest category proved to be best picture with 77 out of 95 going with The King’s Speech.

For the record, the winners for the 6 categories in my competition were…

Best Picture – The King’s Speech

Best Director – Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech)

Best Supporting Actress – Melissa Leo (The Fighter)

Best Original Score – The Social Network

Best Cinematography – Inception

Best Documentary – Inside Job

For only the second time in my competition’s history, we had someone finish on a perfect score.  Despite the awards being shared around between several films, Solo Fogg managed 6 from 6.  A fantastic effort!  He wins a $100 voucher from JB Hi-Fi and I’ll get him and a guest along to the film preview of his choice.

We had two tied for 2^nd place with 5 out of 6.  The runner’s up prize therefore went to Brian Bedard who was the closest with the tie-breaker.  The age of the best picture presenter was 64 (Señor Spielbergo) and Brian was closest with his guess of 60.  He wins a $50 voucher from JB Hi-Fi for his solid work.  The other entrant to finish with 5 out of 6 was Steve Eltis.

There were plenty on 4 out of 6 and they were Tina Hill, Simon Shaw, Shannon Saxby, Sarah Case, Prue Martin, Preston Towers, Nick Josey, Michaela Murray, Kat Healey, Judi Jabour, Ian Kilner, David Richard, Chris Hassall and Andreas Moutsatsos.

You’ll notice my name isn’t amongst the list.  I could only manage 3 out of 6 in my own competition.  In all, I finished with 16 out of 24.  I lost many of the technical categories as I took a punt in that The King’s Speech might sweep the night.  I was wrong.

I had an extra lucky entrant prize this year which was selected using a random Excel spreadsheet thingy.  That lucky person was Deborah Carmichael who also picked up a $50 JB Hi-Fi voucher.  I’ll be in touch with all the prize winners soon.

Oscar Winners

The awards were generally shared around this year.  The King’s Speech and Inception finished with 4 wins.  The Social Network was close behind with 3.  The Fighter, Toy Story 3 and Alice In Wonderland each nabbed 2.  Black Swan, The Wolfman and Inside Job were the other feature films to pick up single awards.

We had four Australians take home Oscars which was fantastic to see.  Kirk Baxter won best editing for The Social Network.  Dave Elsey won best makeup for The Wolfman.  Shaun Tan won best animated short film for The Lost Thing.  Emile Sherman was one of the producers who shared in the best picture win of The King’s Speech.

None of the Aussie actors were able to take away a golden statuette but it was still great to see them nominated.  It must have been an even bigger thrill for first time nominee Jacki Weaver and I hope it opens up many doors for her in Hollywood.

Here’s a quick rundown of the big winners…

Best Picture – The King’s Speech

Best Director – Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech)

Best Actor – Colin Firth (The King’s Speech)

Best Actress – Natalie Portman (Black Swan)

Best Supporting Actor – Christian Bale (The Fighter)

Best Supporting Actress – Melissa Leo (The Fighter)

Best Original Screenplay – The King’s Speech

Best Adapted Screenplay – The Social Network

Best Animated Film – Toy Story 3

Best Foreign Language Film – In A Better World

Well, we’re done for another year.  I’m sure the major wins and losses will be dissected by many on the internet over the next few days.  It’s now time to get back to reality and focus on the 2011 crop of releases.  Which film will take the Oscar for best picture this time next year?  I’m not sure at the moment but I do hope I have money on it. :)