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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 08 November 2006

The Wrong Man, released in America under the title, Lucky Number Slevin, is a craftily written tale of mistaken identity.  Slevin Kelevra (Hartnett) recently lost his job, got kicked out his termite infested apartment and found his girlfriend sleeping with another man (her excuse is priceless).  Looking to change his fortunes, Slevin has flown to New York to visit an old friend, Nick Fisher.

On setting foot in The Big Apple, Slevin’s luck is about to go from bad to worse.  After getting mugged en route from the airport, he arrives at Nick’s apartment to find the front door wide open.  Nick is no where to be found.  His excitable neighbour, Lindsey (Liu), suspects foul play and wants to investigate further.

The mystery deepens when two oafish looking goons turn up at the apartment.  They think that Slevin is Nick and have come to collect a $96,000 gambling debt which is outstanding.  They don’t believe Slevin cry of innocence and so they take him to meet The Boss (Freeman).  The Boss threatens does buy his story either but is prepared to offer him an out.  If he can kill the son of a rival crime lord known as The Rabbi (Kingsley), the debt will be waived.

There’s a lot more to this story but I can’t continue on.  It’s not that I don’t want to spoil it, rather it would take me many more paragraphs to describe the convoluted plot.  I’d only confuse you.  This characteristic of the film is both a positive and negative.  I love a well written movie and the interaction between these characters is fantastic.  The one-liners and metaphors are incredibly well thought out.  There’s certainly no room to ad-lib.

On the other hand, the story is so complex, that it takes a long time to explain all the twists and turns in the end.  It’s not that I didn’t like the ending but I’d have preferred to see something sharper that is wrapped up a little quicker.

The cast is strong with all pulling an equal weight.  It boosts my opinions of both Josh Hartnett and Lucy Liu, two actors who I think have talent but who have trouble finding the right roles.

In the tradition of Brick and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Wrong Man is a nice blend of mystery and humour.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 22 October 2006

I love trivia and puzzles but for some strange reason, I’ve never been into crosswords.  Every time I try one, I find myself unable to answer a single clue.  How is it that people can complete them?  The answers can be found in the great new documentary, Wordplay.

According to the many people interviewed in the film, the crossword puzzle in the New York Times is regarded as the best in the world.  The easiest crossword appears in Monday’s paper and they become progressively more difficult in the lead up to Sunday’s challenger.  Will Shortz has been the editor of the Times crossword since 1993.  Rather than write every puzzle himself (which would be impossible creatively), Shortz gets help from an army of crossword creators who regularly submit their own.

The film begins with some background information on Shortz and his work at the New York Times.  We hear interviews from celebrities such as Bill Clinton and Jon Stewart as they express their fondness for the Times crossword and the frustration it causes them.  Stewart says it best with his comment that when he completes the puzzle in the USA Today, it just doesn’t make him feel good about himself.

The real focus of the movie though is on the 2005 American Crossword Puzzle Tournament.  Started by Shortz in 1978, competitors flock from across the country and battle for the title of America’s best.  To determine who deserves the prestigious honour, every contestant completes 7 crosswords which points awarded for speed and deducted for errors.  The top 3 scorers go head-to-head in a single crossword final.

The 2005 tournament includes several former champions, those who have gone close but are yet to break through, and a few newcomers.  455 contestants started out on Saturday morning but by Sunday evening, only one will be the winner.  Place your bets.

Wordplay is very similar in both its style and content to the incredible documentary Spellbound, which looked at the lives of 8 children and their quest to become the National Spelling Bee champion.  Whilst Wordplay isn’t as engrossing and suspenseful as Spellbound (which I regard as the best documentary ever made), it still has a lot to offer.

As the competitors complete their crosswords, we get the chance to play along.  Thanks to some cool special effects, we see the clues appear on screen before they are answered.  It gave me great respect for these puzzle solvers who can amazingly finish them in less than 3 minutes.

The film also offers an interesting insight into what types of people are best at crosswords and how their continual analysis of words impacts on their daily lives.  Did you know for example that if you move the “d” at the start of D’unkin Donuts, you come up with Unkind Donuts?  Most of us would never give it a thought but for a select group, the anagram would pop into their head instantly.

If you’re ever looking for an 8-letter word for a terrific movie about solving crossword puzzles, then that’s one clue I can help with.  Try Wordplay.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 30 October 2006

On the 23^rd of February 1945, Joe Rosenthal took a simple black and white photograph.  It was of 6 soldiers raising the U.S. flag atop Mount Suribachi, on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima.  This Pulitzer Prize winning photo has become one of the most famous images of all time.  At the Marine Corps War Memorial in Virginia, you can find a 30 metre high bronze statue (dedicated by President Eisenhower) which is an exact replica.

John “Doc” Bradley was one of the six men in that photograph.  After passing away in 1994, his son uncovered boxes of World War II memorabilia left in his father’s house.  James Bradley was amazed by what he found but couldn’t understand why his dad never mentioned his time on Iwo Jima.  He needed to know more.  After tracking down the family members of the other five soldiers in the photo, James was inspired to write a book about his father’s role in the war and the flag raising itself.

First published in 2000, James’s novel grabbed the attention of director Clint Eastwood (Million Dollar Baby) and screenwriters Paul Haggis (Crash) and William Broyles Jr (Apollo 13).  Together, they have adapted it for the big screen.

Every time a new war film is released, I can’t help but think that I’ve seen it all before.  More often than not, I am wrong.  It’s hard to believe how many tales (both inspiring and disheartening) have come out of World War II.  It was, without doubt, the most significant event of the 20^th Century and it is no wonder that cinematic storytellers are drawn to it.

Clint Eastwood’s film features some frighteningly dramatic action sequences but this isn’t its focus.  Rather, the movie looks at the three surviving soldiers from the infamous photograph and what happened in its aftermath.  John, Rene and Ira (played by Ryan Phillippe, Jesse Bradford and Adam Beach) were paraded around the United States like heroes.  It lifted the spirits of the tiring public and encouraged them to invest in the government’s war bonds.

The intense media spotlight came with side effects.  Ira couldn’t understand how raising a flag made him a hero.  He felt guilty for leaving his comrades behind and longed to return to the battlefield.  Rene, on the other hand, loved being in front of the cameras.  He hoped to use the attention to kick-start a successful business career.  Falling somewhere in between was John.  The quiet John always put on a brave face but his mind had been scarred by the events from Iwo Jima.  The loss of his best friend, Iggy (Bell), will forever torture him.

The film begins a little slowly and I’m not sure why the opening is so fragmented (with flashes back and forward in time).  Once it settles though, Flags Of Our Fathers becomes a very interesting motion picture.  It makes you think about the importance of heroes in dark times.  It makes you think about the power of a solitary image.  It makes you think about memories that can never be forgotten.

The emotional impact sinks in during the final 10 minutes.  The lose ends are tied together and we learn what became of the people involved.  I haven’t read James Bradley’s novel but this is one of the rare instances where the movie has motivated me to do so.  I need to know more.

Perhaps the most attention-grabbing fact about the movie is that in February 2007, Eastwood is releasing another film called Letters From Iwo Jima.  It is also based on the battle of Iwo Jima but instead, is told from the Japanese perspective.  It stars Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai) and is based on the letters of Tadamichi Kuribayashi, the commander of the Japanese army.  I can’t remember this being done before but think it’s a wonderful idea.  Too often we forget that there are two sides to every war.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 18 October 2006

I’ve been putting off this review for a while.  I’ve wanted to write it but haven’t been able to come up with the right words to describe the storyline and how I felt about it.  It’s not the kind of film you can describe in one sentence (and that’s a good thing).

The Hoover family are, to use an overused term, dysfunctional.  As head of the household, Richard (Kinnear) is a self-help guru struggling to make ends meet.  Few attend his seminars and no one is interested in publishing his “nine step” book.  Married to Sheryl (Collette), they have two children.  The eldest, Dwayne (Dano), has taken a vow of silence until he achieves his dream of joining the air force.  He hasn’t spoken in over a year.  Their young daughter, Olive (Breslin) is obsessed with beauty pageants and was the state runner-up in the recent Little Miss Sunshine show.  She’s coached by her foul mouthed grandfather, Edwin (Arkin)

The household is about to welcome a new addition.  Their Uncle Frank (Carell) recently tried to commit suicide after being left by his boyfriend, a young male college student.  The hospital wants Frank is to spend time with his family so he can clear his head and recuperate.  With no where else to go, he enters the Hoover’s strange world.

A simple phone call will send them on unexpected road trip.  The state winner of the Little Miss Sunshine pageant can’t make it to the national final and Olive has been called up as a replacement.  With no money for airfares, this nutty group set off from New Mexico in a dilapidated yellow Volkswagen van and head for California.  It’ll be a very bumpy ride.

A cross between National Lampoon’s Vacation and American Beauty, Little Miss Sunshine has proved to be an audience winner since it premiered at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.  It cost a mere $8m (not bad for a film with three Oscar nominees) and a bidding war following the festival saw it purchased by 20^th Century Fox.  To date, it has taken in $55m at the U.S. box-office and there’s a strong push to see it figure in Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations.

It’s a nice little movie with a fantastic ending but I found myself laughing less than the majority of people at my screening.  Maybe I’ve seen one too many film about warped families.  Maybe I just wasn’t in the right mood at the time.  It’s still well above your average American comedy.  Its multi-layered characters and darker undertones make sure of that.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 29 October 2006

Katrina Skinner (Barclay) is the kind of girl I hate.  She must always be the centre of attention, she has to have everything she wants, and she can be very, very manipulative.  The 19-year- old has a daughter but she seldom takes care of her.  It’s all too inconvenient for this “little princess” and so her father (Morgan) and boyfriend (Dornan) bear most of the parenting responsibilities.  Worst of all, Katrina wants money from everyone.  She expects a continual hand-out from her father to fund her swanky lifestyle.

As much as I hate her, she’s not someone you want to make an enemy of.  Her over-protective older brother, Danny (Bruels), is in prison for killing a shop attendant.  That in itself says enough about her family but the reason makes it all the more chilling – the attendant (rightfully) called Katrina a whore.

She’s a terribly dislikeable character but Emily Barclay’s performance is something to behold.  Katrina really got under my skin.  I just wanted to get up and slap her in the face (but I wouldn’t of course because that's assault).  This is a complement to Barclay and it’s no surprise to see her nominated alongside Laura Linney, Abbie Cornish and Teresa Palmer in the best actress category at this year’s AFI Awards.

The film enters a more sinister chapter when Katrina plots to kill her father.  She intends to use the inheritance to help get her brother out of jail.  With her domineering influence over others, it shouldn’t be a problem getting her friends to help out.

Director Paul Goldman has made two previous Aussie flicks – Australian Rules and The Night We Called It A Day.  Suburban Mayhem is his most interesting flick to date.  Others agree given that it was selected to screen at both the Cannes and Toronto Film Festivals.

If found the storyline a little hard to believe at times but from what I understand, it is based on truth.  28-year-old writer Alice Bell was inspired after attending a series of murder trials.  The accused were often “cold-blooded and callous” and she couldn’t believe it given the circumstances they were in.  So she took the traits and facts from a range of trials and came up with the script.

Last week, Suburban Mayhem was nominated for 12 AFI Awards, the most of any movie this year.  Strangely though, the film was overlooked in the best picture category (which is voted upon by all AFI members as opposed to industry specialists).  I’m tired of saying it but this is yet another great film in what has been a top year for Australian cinema.  May the good times continue.