Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 02 August 2001

As fate has it, Lance is killed after being struck by a city bus and he awakes in heaven.  There he meets one of God’s angels, Mr. King (Palminteri), and his assistant, Mr. Keyes (Levy).  It seems a mix-up has occurred and that Lance isn’t due for another 40 years.  Vowing to set things right and because he thinks he’s a nice guy, Mr. King offers Lance a chance to return to Earth but since his body has already been taken, he’ll have to find a new one for him.

A body fitting his description isn’t currently available so he’s offered a “loaner” - that of wealthy billionaire Charles Wellington who’s just been knocked off by his wife and business secretary.  Lance isn’t thrilled to be “white” but with the thought of money and a beautiful lady named Sontee (King) who’s pressuring Wellington, he takes the body.

For fear of ruining all the surprises (if that’s what you call them), I won’t continue with more plot details.  The film is a remake of 1978’s Heaven Can Wait starring writer-director Warren Beatty with Julie Christie and Jack Warden.  Down To Earth is a glossed up version with a few different twists but it offers the same lesson in life - looks do make a difference.

Chris Rock began his career as a stand-up comedian (and still is one despite a hectic film schedule).  I’m sure he appreciated the role as he himself would have had a few rough audiences over the years.  Few other characters make an impact but I did enjoy the casting choice of Palminteri and Levy as heaven’s guardians.  It’s nice to see Levy branching out from the indy-scene with roles in this, American Pie and Josie And The Pussycats.  As for Palminteri, nothing surprises me anymore for this Oscar nominee who’s starred in everything from The Usual Suspects to A Night At The Roxbury.

There are some funny jokes and a few light-hearted situations but not quite enough to carry the whole film.  The plot itself is a little silly to make seem realistic.  For example, when Lance looks in a mirror he sees himself but everyone else sees him as Wellington.  Clearly this is designed to keep Rock in the film but I question why we hardly ever see the real Wellington and why the other characters don’t seem too deterred by Wellington’s sudden change in personality.  If you want to see Rock as he should be, check out his live comedy routine or even better, see Nurse Betty which opens in three weeks.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 26 July 2001

Final Fantasy is the second film in a month to be based on a computer game (after Tomb Raider).  The year is 2065 and the Earth has become almost uninhabited.  A meteor crashed landed on the planet 32 years ago and brought with it a series of invisible alien life forms that instantly killed everything they touch.  A series of large shelters surrounded by electronic shields are home to those that remain alive but the future is looking bleak.

General Hein (Woods) proposes that his powerful “Zeus gun”, which orbits the Earth, should be used to obliterate the meteor base.  Previous bombing attempts were unsuccessful but Hein believes his weapon has enough force to kill them permanently.  On the other hand, Doctor Sid (Sutherland) believes force is not the answer.  His spiritual research shows that there are eight spirits which when harnessed, will reveal the key to removing the alien “ghosts”.

As these two argue over their theories before the council, Sid’s assistant, Dr. Aki Ross (Ming-Na) has been tracking and collecting these spirits.  She has already found six and just two remain before Sid’s theory can be tried.  Helping her is old friend Grey Edwards (Baldwin) and his crew but they’re not only battling the external elements, General Hein and his army are also making sure they don’t succeed.

It’s obligatory that I talk of the brilliant animation.  Aki seemed the least realistic of the lot but there are some characters who could be mistaken for humans.  At times while watching the film, you forget these people aren’t real.  It must be a delight for directors who don’t have to worry about flubbed lines and reels ending up on the cutting room floor.  Every scene can be changed and crafted to perfection.  It was only six years ago that we first made a computer generated feature and now look how far we come.  In ten years, will we even need actors?

The answer to that question is yes because despite having every characteristic of a human, emotion is lacking.  During the big thrilling finale of Final Fantasy, you won’t be too excited about the fate of these people.  This is something I can only say in hindsight but seeing Arnie hanging from a helicopter (as in True Lies) or seeing Tom Cruise hanging from the ceiling (as in Mission: Impossible) has that hard-to-define quality that is lacking from Final Fantasy.

When you look at box-office figures (which is all some studio executives do), the tale is told.  The film was a huge flop in the States as was another similar Dreamworks picture earlier this year called Titan A.E.  Perhaps the public are saying something?  Computer animation is fine just as long as it doesn’t involve rendered humans.

Valid arguments stem from this.  With so many actors struggling to find work, the Screen Actors Guild won’t be actively promoting a wave of computer generated flicks.  I don’t think they have anything to worry about.  Animation will get better and better but when it comes to action, people don’t go because of the script, they go because of the stunts and they go because of who’s in it.  It’s a lesson that has cost Columbia Tristar $100m.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 26 July 2001

Have just heard the stunning news on the radio that Ben has won Big Brother.  I’ve been touting Blair as the winner since day one and thought it was a foregone conclusion after Sara-Marie’s departure yesterday.  I kind of felt the same way when Nicolas Cage read out Marcia Gay Harden’s name at this year’s Oscars.  Despite being just one year apart in terms of age, Ben has a maturity Blair will never possess and he’s a deserving winner of the $250,000.

Had to drive to Coomera for a long day at work and its ironic that despite being only 500m from the actual Big Brother house all day, I didn’t get even get to see the final show.  But I missed it for good reason.  I had tickets to the Brisbane premiere of Bridget Jones’s Diary.  It’s a film I’ve been talking up for a while (probably since I read the book that Jodie leant me in April) and a few screen caps from the film have provided my wallpaper on my computer for several months.

Boy I loved this movie.  It’s the story of Bridget Jones - a 32-year-old single woman living in England who keeps committing to doomed relationships.  On the dawn of a new year, she begins a diary and vows to keep her new year’s resolutions - to lose 20 pounds, quit smoking and find the right man.  She believes that man to be Daniel Cleaver (played by Hugh Grant) who is her boss at the publishing company where she works.  He’s got a bit of a reputation but like her past suggests, she again falls for the wrong man.  Good casting job in getting Hugh Grant.

Throughout the year, she keeps bumping into Mark Darcy (Colin Firth) - a top barrister whom her mother is trying to set her up with.  Every time they meet, things go dreadfully and both thinks that the other considers them an idiot but there’s an underlying subtext that tells you that something will eventually click between them.  Like the trailer says - “he’s so wrong that he could be right”.

Right from the get-go, I was super impressed with this flick.  It’s directed by Sharon Maguire and I can’t believe this is her first film.  She captures Bridget and her story so well and uses techniques such as quick dream sequences and slow motion shots really effectively.  The film has a really quick pace and I enjoyed the way the novel translated on screen.  It must have been a huge help too to have the book’s original author (Helen Fielding) as part of the script-writing team.

Man, they’ve been talking her performance up for a while but just how good is Renee Zellweger?  This is the first time she’s really impressed me as an actress and she delivers the best performance I’ve seen since Ellen Burstyn (Requiem For A Dream) back in February.  I sooooo desperately hope she earns an Oscar nom next year but the Academy has a tradition of screwing anyone I think has a chance of winning.  Nice to see Colin Firth back on the screen too.  It’s kind of funny that he’s in the film because when Fielding wrote the novel, she wrote the Mark Darcy character with Firth in mind.  She even called him Darcy because it’s the same name of the character Firth played in Pride And Prejudice (which was even a question on tonight’s Who Wants To Be A Millionaire).  How bizarre?  I guess that’s a blurb I’ll have to include in my review.

Oh well, must call it a night.  A pretty exciting day to back up a top weekend - not bad for a Monday.  Memory note - make sure I recommend Bridget Jones’s Diary to everyone and remember not to bore them with frivolous details.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 12 July 2001

Evolution suits Duchovny’s style as it’s not a “laugh out loud” comedy.  Dr Ira Kane (Duchovny) and Dr. Harry Block (Jones) are lecturers at the Glen Canyon Community College in Arkansas.  One evening, a meteor crashes through the atmosphere and destroys the car of young Wayne Green (Scott) who’s working out in the desert.  Ira and Harry investigate the meteor and after taking a sample back to their lab, find single cell organisms living inside.  Is this history in the making?  Is this alien life?

Dreaming each of the Nobel Prize, they try to keep the discovery to themselves but government agents soon arrive and headed by scientist Dr. Allison Reed (Moore), they take command of the crash site.  Within a couple of weeks, the organisms begin a transformation - they are rapidly evolving and adapting to Earth’s climactic conditions.  In the space of one month, they’ve developed further than man has in 5,000,000 years and it’s only a matter of time before they overrun the entire planet.

That’s where our team of heroes comes in.  Ira, Harry and Wayne find the government is oblivious to the true gravity of the situation and realise that it’s up to them to save the world.

From the above description, you could be fooled in thinking this is a sci-fi drama but it’s actually a spoof comedy of the same genre.  Subtlety done, there’s a pleasant uneasiness to the whole film that I believe is it’s greatest plus - you’re never quite sure what you’re supposed to think of the movie because the plot is so ludicrous and yet the characters are so serious.

Ivan Reitman is a director who knows a thing or too about screwball comedies having made Six Days Seven Nights, Junior, Dave, Kindergarten Cop, Twins, Stripes, Meatballs and yes, Ghostbusters.  The film has a few too many similarities with Ghostbusters which I won’t detail for risk of spoiling some of the plot developments I haven’t mentioned.

Despite the hilarity, more could have been made of the material.  There were a few dead scenes and worthless characters detracting from the main storyline.  Despite lukewarm reviews from other critics, I still feel many will enjoy the freshness of Evolution and it’s certainly worth a look.  I’m curious as to what others will make of the whole concept.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 26 July 2001

Questioning his troops, he finds advice in Commissar Danilov (Fiennes) who also acts as a newspaper writer in publishing articles about the war.  He came across a brave young soldier named Sergeant Vassili Zaitsev (Law) who despite the gravity of the situation he faced, killed five leading German soldiers and lived to tell the tale.  Danilov suggests that he write of Vassili in the newspaper and his story will inspire the people of Russia to rally against the Germans.

Vassili’s infamy grows as stories spread of his deadly aim and Danilov continues to publish his accomplishments for all of Russia to read.  The tag of a “war leader” doesn’t sit well with Vassili who now finds himself a wanted man.  Respected German sniper Major Erwin Konig (Harris) has been sent from Berlin with the assignment of eliminating him.  Vassili now has to watch his back with every step he takes.

The film begins with the obligatory scene setting that we’ve come to expect from recent war flicks.  We see the shooting, the fighting, the killing and I understand the seriousness of the situation but it’s hard not to be bored since we’ve seen this over and over again.  After this introduction, Enemy At The Gates improves dramatically as the very interesting true story is told.  Instead of continuing to show us the horrors of the war, we are glued by the simple story of two men hunting each other.

The whole cast deliver excellent performances.  Law and Fiennes are strong and don’t overact or rely on unnecessary dialogue to express themselves - it’s as if they don’t know they’re being filmed.  Rachel Weisz plays a love interest that divides the two and is an ideal casting choice.  She offers much more to period pieces (such as Sunshine and Swept From The Sea) than some of her more conventional films (The Mummy and The Mummy Returns).  Ed Harris is great too as the German sniper – the look he gives is one of fear.

As one of the best war films since Saving Private Ryan, Enemy At The Gates is a compelling movie.  It proves that you don’t need million dollars stunts to create suspense.  A story about heroes and their true importance.