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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 15 February 2004

House Of Sand And Fog is an unconventional film in which there are two leading characters pitted against other but we are not required to take sides.  It comes to us from the acclaimed book by Andre Dubus III which I read only a few months ago.  I can’t recall seeing a film so truthfully resemble the novel from which it was adapted.

His government turned on him and Colonel Massoud Amir Behrani (Kinglsey) had no choice but to leave Iran and flee with his family to the United States.  The Colonel is a proud man and only his wife Nadi (Aghdashloo) knows that he works two jobs – one as a Council worker and one as a petrol station attendant.   The family rents an expensive apartment but Behrani knows they can no longer afford this.  Their savings are all but gone.

Kathy Nicolo (Connelly) is a troubled woman trapped in a world of depression.  Her family lives on the other side of the country and they don’t yet know that Kathy’s husband walked out on her 8 months ago.  She lives alone in the house her late father left her, struggles to pay her bills with a small cleaning job, and attends AA meetings to help fight her battle against the bottle.

On a Friday morning, a representative of the County Tax Office and two police offiers arrive on her doorstep.  She is to be evicted for an unpaid business tax fine of $500.  Kathy hasn’t been opening her mail and knows nothing of this.  It makes no sense to her since she doesn’t even own a business.  Police Officer Lester Bernham (Eldard) tells Kathy her best option will be to fight the matter with the County and gives her the phone number of an affordable lawyer.

The very next day, the house is bought at auction by Behrani for the bargain price of $45,000.  He has it immediately valued and realises it is worth four times what he paid for it.  It’s the investment opportunity of a lifetime and the profit he will make from the sale will boost the family savings and create a better life for his wife and son.

Kathy learns from her lawyer, Connie Walsh (Fisher), that the County had no right to take the house.  Unfortunately, the subsequent sale to Colonel Behrani is valid and the only way to keep fighting will be through a costly legal proceeding which could take months.  This isn’t acceptable to Kathy who wants the house back now.  She can’t even afford to stay in a hotel and is now sleeping in her car.  Behrani is approached by Connie Walsh who asks that he return the house for the original house but he has no plans to do so.  As he tells her “it is a matter of necessity for me and my family.”  Two people who have never met and done nothing wrong now find themselves pitted against each other.

It’s a gripping story of how a simple mistake can cause a chain reaction of despair.  Emotions have clouded reality and Behrani and Kathy will not stop their quest until the house is rightfully theirs.  Others too will be drawn into their tangled web and the ending itself may come as somewhat of a surprise.  For Russian director Vadim Perelman, this couldn’t be a more ideal screenplay from which to make his directorial debut.  Not a single scene is wasted.

Ben Kingsley has found himself included amongst the best actor nominees at this year’s Oscars as has actress Shohreh Aghdashloo in the supporting category.  Both work brilliantly off each other in a relationship full of complications.  For the talented Jennifer Connolly, it’s yet another chance to shine in an already impressive resume.

It’s a bit gloomy at times but through this fog, there’s a very worthy story being told.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 05 February 2004

They say simple movies can be described in a single sentence.  Timeline is the story of an archaeologist who uses an experimental time machine to travel back to 14^th century France, becomes stuck, and has a group of friends come to rescue him.

A Timeline by Matthew Toomey.

7:02pm – Enter theatre.

7:15pm – Advertisements commence.

7:18pm – Trailers commence (Open Range, One Perfect Day, The Missing).

7:24pm – Film begins.

7:26pm – Eyebrows peak.  I didn’t realise Billy Connolly was in this.

7:31pm – Finish popcorn.

7:34pm – Think to myself “this isn’t too bad”.

7:35pm – Things start to turn against me.

7:40pm – Paul Walker utters a line of dialogue.  I cringe.

7:52pm – Fail to grasp the idea that archaeologists are better fighters than fully trained army men.

7:55pm – Wonder why everyone speaks the same fluent English in the 14^th century as they do in the 21^st century (including the French).

8:00pm – Stomach churns when watching Paul Walker and Frances O’Connor share a first kiss despite being in a life-threatening situation.

8:03pm – Start to realise the film doesn’t make any sense and is completely unrealistic (even for a time travel movie).

8:13pm – Look at watch.

8:18pm – Wonder about how I can adequately sum up my dislike for this movie in my review.

8:22pm – Wonder if John Crichton’s book is better than this.

8:25pm – Think about what I’m doing next week.

8:27pm – See a French actor I recognise from another movie but can’t place his face.

8:29pm – Realise the actor is the guy who played Merovingian in The Matrix: Reloaded.

8:36pm – Look at watch.  Realise there’s about 30 minutes to go.

8:42pm – Struggle to comprehend why a great Australian actress like Frances O’Connor would sign up for this and deliver such mindless dialogue.

8:49pm – Lose complete track of the plot and quietly chuckle at how mediocre the battle scenes look.

8:54pm – Look at watch.  Think about whether I’ll be able to get home in time to see the golf highlights on Fox Sports News.

8:59pm – Realise the David Thewlis character is one of the most useless I have ever seen.

9:01pm – Look at watch.  Realise the end is nigh.  Hope it’ll be a really short conclusion.

9:05pm – Credits start rolling.  Leave theatre immediately.  Over a woman in the lobby say “well I wasn’t expecting a masterpiece but that was terrible.”

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 14 February 2004

I’m a big fan of any true-to-life film which tells both sides of the story.  Examples which quickly come to mind are Quiz Show and The Insider.  I am now also a fan of director Billy Ray, the man responsible for Shattered Glass.  Too many adaptations are given a touch-up by the Hollywood cosmetic brush.  Looking at Glass, I’m sure there are a few scenes which didn’t quite happen the way the film leads us to believe but the overall package appears real, honest and truthful.

The New Republic is a leading American magazine.  On two occasions during the film it is pointed out to us that it’s “the official in-flight magazine of Air Force One”.  The magazine has a relatively small staff and one of those between 1996 and 1998 was Stephen Glass.  Glass was a rising young journalist and the talk of the town in media circles.  Not only did he write for The New Republic but he also published articles for George, Rolling Stone and Policy Review.

On May 18, 1998, Stephen Glass published an article entitled “Hack Heaven”.  It was a piece about how major computer companies were paying off hackers to stop targeting their sites.  A journalist for an online magazine, Adam Penenberg, read Glass’s article then started to research the facts himself to find out why he didn’t know about it first.  It turns out there was a good reason – the article was a complete hoax.

Penenberg approached Glass and The New Republic’s editor Chuck Lane with his claims and threatened to go public with the discovery.  Glass tried to cover his tracks by fabricating notes, creating dodgy websites and phone listings.  Lane initially stood by his man but soon he too was questioning Glass.  In the end, Glass was fired, Penenberg’s article published and a wave of media attention attracted.  A subsequent review of Glass’s previous works found over 20 articles were either partially or fully fabricated.  The illustrious career of this budding 25-year-old had come to an end.

Hayden Christensen (who we all know as Anakin from the new Star Wars movies) gives his best performance.  I like how he relies on repetitive sayings (such as “a million times”) and uses his charm to keep everyone under his spell.  Generating the most buzz is co-star Peter Sarsgaard who found himself nominated for a Golden Globe and only just missed a similar nod at the Oscars.  He brilliantly underplays his Chuck Lane character and isn’t the stereotypical angry boss.  His character always tries to look cool and composed on the outside but through Sarsgaard’s wonderful performance, we sense the lingering doubt and lack of self confidence that swarms his life.

For director Billy Ray, this is his first time behind the camera and he’ll have many more opportunities.  The film is set largely in a small office but he still creates tension and excitement as the story builds.  I also liked his introduction with Glass in the classroom along with the creative opening credits.  It’s exciting to think he did all of this on a budget of just $6m.

Stephen Glass is a very interesting character and once you’ve seen the movie you can check out the tonnes of great material on the internet.  You’ll find all his bogus articles along with some of the other false notes and websites he developed to cover his tracks.  To me, it’s simply fascinating that someone could deceive for so long and if you want to see how he did it, take two hours out of your day and try Shattered Glass.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 01 February 2004

The Sundance Film Festival is the showcase of independent cinema in America.  If I listed some of the recent award winners from this festival you would probably tune out with a blank look on your face.  Budding filmmakers churn out their small films on shoe-string budgets in the hope of success.  Executives and scouts from the big-name studios attend the festival each year and will buy those films they think show promise to release as their own.  This isn’t some noble gesture by Hollywood to reward independent cinema.  The studios are interested largely in profit and pick up cheap Sundance “bargains” to reap a few million dollars in cinemas across the country.  The most famous example would have to be The Blair Witch Project which Artisan Entertainment purchased at the 1999 festival and then beautifully marketed to a total U.S. gross of over $140m.

Sundance is held every January and the 2004 has just been and gone.  Critics from the States have already detailed in their columns those films they think have a chance at making it to cinemas.  It’s not usually a long list.  There are a lot of great films but great isn’t usually good enough.  Only a handful of Sundance films each year will find financial success.

At the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, the critics honoured as their top choices – Capturing The Friedmans and American Splendor.  The later screened in Australia last September (and if you didn’t see it then you really did miss out).  Capturing The Friedmans will open here in the coming months.  But critics aren’t always right so there’s also an Audience Award judged by each member of the general public who attends a film at the Festival.  Last year their winners were… Whale Rider (the New Zealand film loved by most everyone who has seen it) and… The Station Agent.

It’s a simple, elegant story about three people needing friendship but who aren’t necessarily looking for it.  Finbar McBride (Dinklage) is a 4’6” dwarf who has inherited a deserted train station in a small desolate New Jersey town.  Finn has always been fascinated by trains and moves there to escape the bigger city.  He likes to keep to himself and you sense he is sick of people staring and laughing at him in the street.

On his first day at his new home he meets two people who he will soon get to know.  Joe Oramas (Cannavale) operates a small hotdog and coffee van.  He is running the business for his father who is ill.  Olivia Harris (Clarkson) lives alone in town and is still coming to grips with the separation from her husband and the death of her only son.

I was touched in places by Thomas McCarthy’s screenplay and I can see why the film has found such high appeal from audiences.  At the Screen Actors’ Guild Awards in America, their acting peers have considered Dinklage and Clarkson worthy of nominations and yes, they do deserve them.  Dinklage is great in a softly spoken role but Clarkson almost steals the show with her trouble character.  As a footnote, the entire cast has been nominated for best ensemble at the Guild Awards alongside In America, The Return Of The King, Mystic River and Seabiscuit.  That means something.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 07 February 2004

The original Jeepers Creepers was relatively successful in America (grossing $37m) but few saw it when it was released in Australia in January 2002.  It opened weakly in 8^th spot on the charts and was swept away by a range of Oscar flicks, family pictures and other summer blockbusters.  I did catch it though on its opening weekend and was thoroughly surprised.  I called it an “an invigorating shot in the arm for the teen horror genre.”  So I was very much looking forward to this sequel but most everyone else I spoke to was saying “but I haven’t even seen the first Jeepers Creepers!”

Now, in hindsight, I can make an authoritative recommendation.  Pull $4 out of your wallet, head to the nearest video store and rent Jeepers Creepers.  Then, once you’ve enjoyed its original thrills and chills, take it back to the store and do no more.  There’s no need to queue up at the local multiplex for the sequel.  It simply isn’t worth seeing.

The story revolves around a rather grizzly looking creature (played by Jonathan Breck).  For 23 years it sleeps.  For 23 days it eats.  And this cycle has continued for over a thousand years.  We have reached day 23 in its latest feast and the creepers eyes are firmly fixed on a bus filled with school kids.  It fires a sharp object at the bus’s back wheel, disables it and then waits for nightfall.  It just so happens that all mobile phones are out of range and no one is picking up on the CB radio so they’re pretty much helpless.

There’s little much else to tell from here because you already know what to expect.  Some will be eaten and some will escape.  You wouldn’t think it but both films have been written by the same person – Victor Salva.  Jeepers Creepers seemed so new and inventive whereas Jeepers Creepers 2 seems so stale and clichéd.  Anyone know what went wrong?