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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 31 October 2002

Poor Sandra Bullock.  Of her last eight films, not one have I considered worthy of a grade higher than a B-.  Honestly, I do have sympathy because she’s not solely to blame.  Her friends, family and especially her agent have contributed to these misguided career choices.  One day, she’ll dazzle us all with a perfect performance and I’ll retract my degrading comments.  But until then, my harsh judgement will stand.

In this farcical adventure, Sandra Bullock is police detective Cassie Mayweather.  She is called to the scene of a murder with her new partner Sam Kennedy (Chaplin) and begins the search for clues.  There aren’t many but a shred of carpet fabric leads the investigatory team to a suspect who it appears to have committed suicide in his hideaway.  The case is closed but Cassie knows something is not right.

Frustrating to watch, Murder By Numbers has a 0% reality factor.  I have no idea how Bullock solved this mystery - it’s as if she’s a mind reader and knew everything without even having to think about it.  The fragmented screenplay needed a lot more work!  Nothing flows at all and scenes are all over the place!!!  What was up with the sudden relationship between Cassie and Sam?  Were Richard and Justin gay?  Why is Bullock the subject of criticism from her co-workers when she’s seems to have some psychic crime solving ability?  What was the point of the twisted ending?  Why did I waste my Friday night?

The film also takes a disgustingly relaxed attitude towards the victim.  A person was brutally murdered (which we see in graphic flashbacks) but no concern seems to be given to her or her family.  If you ask me, the director’s focus is on the younger stars to turn this into some cheap teen thriller.

Released last week, Red Dragon showed how to make a decent serial killer movie.  Look at these two films side-by-side and you’ll see the vast differences.  The only crime in Murder By Numbers is that of punishing a defenceless audience.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 24 October 2002

Basically, a lot of really crap blockbusters make more money than they should and a lot of super independent flicks make no money at all.  It’s an injustice that will never be in balance but like something out of Cinderella, every now and again, a little indy gem will light up the box-office.

This small film had an even smaller beginning.  Drawing from her own experiences as a Greek girl growing up in the States, Nia Vardalos wrote and performed in a one-woman stage show in Los Angeles.  Vardalos had also written a screenplay but doubted any studio would be interested in producing it.  Actress Rita Wilson saw the show and was so impressed, she insisted her husband, Tom Hanks, take the time to see it too.  Hanks loved it and with help from Gold Circle Films and HBO, put up $5m to finance the project.

Despite being a complete no-name, Vardalos was allowed to star in the film’s leading role.  As Hanks himself said, it “brings a huge amount of integrity to the piece, because it’s Nia’s version of her own life and her own experience.  I think that shows through on the screen and people recognize it.”  As her husband-to-be in the film, another relative unknown, John Corbett, was cast.  He loved the script and in a hotel restaurant in Toronto was telling a friend how good it was.  By sheer coincidence, Vardalos was sitting at a nearby table, overheard the conversation and cast Corbett right there on the spot.

So the film was completed and back in April, My Big Fat Greek Wedding opened on 108 screens across America and made a modest $597,362 to squeeze into 20th place on the charts.  The Scorpion King led the box-office that week with $36,075,875 on 3,444 screens.  With a healthy start, it seemed this risky venture might just manage a positive return.

It is now late September.  My Big Fat Greek Wedding has been 2nd on the box-office chart for three consecutive weeks and has now grossed a total of $110,443,668.  The film is showing no signs of slowing down and with Oscar season set to begin, the hype is starting to build for this “little film that could”.

It’s an elegantly simple tale about a 30-year-old Greek girl, Fotoula (Vardalos) who despite growing up in America, still lives a very Grecian life.  All her family (and 27 cousins) want is for her to get married to a Greek guy, have some Greek children, and cook lots of Greek food.  The plan goes awry when she meets the straight-shooting Ian Miller (Corbett) and her family are horrified that she will marry outside her race and religion.  But nothing will stop this romance and both Fotoula’s and Ian’s families will be forced to change their ways to accommodate this perfect couple...

The jokes are sharp and you see the honesty in the screenplay which appreciates Grecian culture in a lighthearted fashion.  The film reminded me of the Australian flick Looking For Alibrandi with its inter-cultural themes.  Each cast member is unique and well individualised but making the most of some fantastic lines is Nia’s overbearing father played by Gus Portokalos.

With a screenplay lacking in clichés and featuring a perfect balance of laughter and sentimentality, it’s no surprise this film is schmoozing audiences.  I love surprises and here’s a case where the ultimate underdog has taken the top prize.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 31 October 2002

I’d heard little about the film and it had completely disappeared from memory until the trailers started popping up at the Palace Centro.  Almost two years after being released in America, the film has found an Australian distributor and is being screened for all to see.

The film has been a passionate journey for Ed Harris.  Harris had always been touched by Jackson Pollock’s story and bought the rights many years ago with plans of playing the title role.  Like any independent film, finance was hard to come by.  Finally, the opportunity presented itself and not only did Harris give “an honest, true performance” (his words), he made a stylish directorial debut.

Jackson Pollock was an American painter who leapt from obscurity in 1949.  His brand of unique art had him revered within critic circles but few others knew of his ability and he struggled to make a living.  Driven by the unwavering support of his wife, Lee Krasner (Harden), Pollock’s notoriety blossomed when the national publication, Life Magazine, ran a full article on his works.

While the painting itself seemed so simple, the rest of his life was anything but.  He battled depression and constant self-doubt.  Despite his success, his mind would never allow him to enjoy it.  Alcohol was an easy answer and it eventually would destroy their marriage.  Drunk behind the wheel, he died in a 1956 car accident.  A career cut short.

Pollock intelligently explores the issues of depression without resorting to oversimplification.  It’s an incurable sickness and the screenplay does not preach to us any solution of beating it.  We just watch Jackson Pollock fight his demons with no means of escape.  It’s reminiscent of seeing Russell Crowe’s performance of John Nash in A Beautiful Mind.

Marcia Gay Harden’s performance is fantastic and I admire her as one of my favourite under appreciated actors.  If you haven’t heard of her, it’s probably because she’s always playing the “supporting” role.  Recent films include Space Cowboys and Meet Joe Black but her career began on Broadway and still returns there quite often.  Ed Harris also began in the theatre (it was where he met Harden) and gives one of his career defining performances.  You can feel his devotion to the character and thankfully, he too received an Academy Award nomination (although lost to Russell Crowe in Gladiator).

This is quality filmmaking and storytelling.  The two year wait has been worth it.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 24 October 2002

Now, we go back to the beginning.  Red Dragon is a remake of Manhunter only this time, there’s more money to spend and higher expectations to be met.  There’s also an issue regarding Hannibal himself to resolve.  In Manhunter, Hannibal’s character appeared in only a handful of scenes, but given he’s now what the public wants, he’s practically the star of Red Dragon.

And so on with the show.  FBI detective Will Graham (Norton) was the man responsible for capturing Hannibal Lecter and putting him behind (very secure) bars.  He thereafter retired and moved to Florida with his wife and son.  Obviously though, he’ll be lured back into the game and a link is drawn between two families who were butchered in their own home, Detective Jack Crawford (Keitel) calls Will back to display his expertise.

In was Will’s dissection of the mystery that I found most fascinating about the film.  So often, I see people crack cases with utterly implausible logic and fluke chance.  They look blankly at the screen and they suddenly you see their eyes light up and can almost hear the “click” in their brain.  Whilst there are a few crime solving clichés prevalent here, watching Norton piece the puzzle together is the film’s key.  He makes a few bad calls and reaches a few dead ends but his thought process is realistic.

So where does Anthony Hopkins come into this?  Well, Will goes to Hannibal in his cell to look for assistance in profiling the killer.  These scenes aren’t as enjoyable as those between Hopkins and Foster in The Silence Of The Lambs.  I also question how Hannibal seemed to know so much information about the killer which he expresses to Will through cryptic clues.

The identity of the killer may be unknown to them but it’s not to us. We meet Francis Dolarhyde (Fiennes) early in the film working in a video production store.  As the film follows Will Graham’s pursuit of justice, we also follow Francis courting a blind co-worker (Watson) and plotting his next killing.

Director Brett Ratner seems an unusual choice to direct a film which carries such prestige.  His previous works include Money Talks, Rush Hour, Rush Hour 2 and The Family Man.  He himself was dumbfounded why selected to lead this production.  Ratner does a surprisingly admirable job but a predictably commercial flavour, the film does lack the “scare” factor.

All the performances are awesome with Edward Norton and Harvey Keitel deserving their own special mention.  Norton is up there with the best in the business right now  - will he ever put a foot wrong?  I like Keitel’s portrayal as the detective in charge - he keeps cool and gives his full support to Will in all cases despite the obvious risks in using a retiree.

With publicity abound, posters for Red Dragon are offering us the chance to “meet Hannibal Lecter for the first time”.  I accepted the invitation but wasn’t going to meet the host - the other guests were much more interesting.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 31 October 2002

I’ve been saving these adjectives for a rainy day and guess what?  It’s raining!

Quoting from the film’s website, Blurred is the story of a groups of teens on Schoolies Week - there are “three bus nerds, a couple on a train, two hoons in a Holden, two rich girls who’ve hired a limo and a neurotic girl in her mum’s apartment who is about to get a rude shock from the boys upstairs.”

In my theatre, the back two rows were filled with school kids were obviously there for a look at the week that soon awaits them.  Their childish giggling and screaming really ticked me off but not as much as the cast of the film!  These characters are spoilt brats who are just plain dumb.  They think they’re way too cool for school.

The film promotes everything it shouldn’t.  Smoking tabacco, smoking pot, underage drinking, drink driving, dangerous driving, driving without a licence, hitchhiking, breaking and entering, shoplifting, and generally being a public nuisance.

If you’re looking for an example, look no further than the two girls and the limo.  They steal the limo from the driver and drive, while intoxicated, on the main highway.  They crash, flip the car and wind up on a train line.  A train then plows into the overturned vehicle and in most cases, I’d expect the occupants to be found by police in several pieces.  Yet somehow, screenwriter Stephen Davis and director Evan Clarry think this is funny.  They do this by having both girls escape relatively unscathed and then make “hilarious” jokes about the ordeal.  The teen audience in my theatre seemed to love it.

This left the sickest taste in my mouth.  Not only did I hate the film, I hated the fact others had been manipulated into enjoying it.  Wait for the huge revelation in the finale where it seems the whole point of the film is to show that people change and sometimes, friends don’t remain friends forever.  Whoopee!  I certainly didn’t see that coming given that the entire cast seemed incapable of making one mature decision.

There’s certainly nothing blurry about my critique for this monstrosity.  Just when you think it can’t get any worse, the next scene begins.