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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 30 May 2006

It’s New Year’s Eve and the passengers aboard the great ocean liner, the Poseidon, are partying hard.  Jennifer (Rossum) and Christian (Vogel) are a young couple celebrating their recent engagement.  Dylan (Lucas) is an ex-Navy man looking to win big at the poker tables.  Maggie (Barrett) is a single mother searching for the right guy.  Richard (Dreyfuss) is hoping to drown his sorrows in the aftermath of a doomed relationship.  Robert (Russell) is a former mayor of New York City and wants to spend quality time with his daughter.  Valentin (Rodriguez) is a waiter who has smuggled new friend Elena (Maestro) on board.

Thankfully for us all, little time is spent developing these characters.  That sounds like a strange statement coming from me but once you’ve seen the film, you’ll know why.  This is a disaster movie.  The point is to put these characters in perilous, unbelievable situations and then see if they live or die.  Writer Mark Protosevich (The Cell) does just that.

A freakish wave strikes and overturns the enormous boat.  Many people are killed instantly by the crushing water, the instant fires and the flying debris.  A small number survive in the ballroom (which hasn’t flooded) and are advised by Captain Bradford (Braugher) to sit tight and wait to be rescued.  This doesn’t sit well with Dylan who thinks it’s only a matter of time before the boat starts to sink.  He takes the abovementioned characters on a hazardous quest to find a way out.

The wave appears about 15 minutes into the film and what follows is an 84 minute adventure that doesn’t let up.  The water is rising and the dangers are escalating.  Whilst I didn’t have much passion for the characters, the terrifying situations did provide an adrenalin rush.  The lengthy scene in the air-conditioning vent was my favourite.

Deserving the praise is director Wolfgang Petersen (Air Force One, The Perfect Storm) and editor Peter Honess (L.A. Confidential, The Fast & The Furious).  There are hundreds of stunts and thousands of special effects and yet they’ve somehow created a fast-paced film that looks believable.  They even had the guts to show the many dead bodies (which are not shown in other disaster movies out of fear of disturbing the audience).

Poseidon is on a par with the recently released Mission: Impossible 3 in that it provides some great action sequences but little else.  I am surprised that the film has performed so poorly at the box-office in the United States.  Is it too soon after Titanic?

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 22 May 2006

I know a lot of people who are going to be interested in seeing this film.  Now that Dancing With The Stars has finished for another season, lovers of dance can get their “fix” with Antonio Banderas and Take The Lead.

At last year’s Brisbane International Film Festival, the audience vote for best documentary went to a film called Mad Hot Ballroom.  It showed the story of three schools in New York City who had implemented a ballroom dancing program for students in the 5^th grade.  They trained and ultimately competed against 60 other schools in a year-end competition.  It was exciting to watch.  The kids stole the show with their innocence.

Take The Lead is the fictional equivalent.  I shouldn’t call it a work of fiction because it’s based on the real life story of Pierre Dulain, a man who started a dance program for underprivileged kids.  When you see the film however, you’ll realise it the story has received a Hollywood facelift.  The dialogue is stiff, the acting is average and there are scenes which will leave you screaming “now I know that didn’t really happen.”

I’m opening myself up for criticism since I don’t know anything about the real Pierre Dulain.  Perhaps this is all true!  The film opens with Pierre (Banderas) walking into a sub-standard public school in New York City.  He’d like to help out by offering ballroom dancing lessons to some of the teenage students.  He says they’ll teach students about respect but deep down, I think he does it because he simply loves dancing wants to impart this love onto others.

Principal James (Woodard) doesn’t see any merit in Pierre’s idea so puts him in charge of after-school detention.  She bets him $5 that he won’t come back after the first day.  It takes time but Pierre finally starts winning over these students (who for some reason are always in detention).  He teaches them the dances such as the waltz and the salsa by mixing his classic music with their modern rap.

It’s very predictable but the spirit of Take The Lead did sink in during the final half hour.  It finishes with a well choreographed dance contest that looks great on screen.  It’s the feature film debut of director Liz Friedlander but she’s picked the right project given her experience with music videos.  She has directed clips by bands included Blink 182, Babyface, 3 Doors Down and Simple Plan.

So if you like the sounds of it, take two steps forward and off you go!

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 27 May 2006

If you liked the first two X-Men films, you’ll enjoy this one too.  It has the same characters and the same overall message but a few unexpected surprises keep it fresh and interesting.

This time around, the mutant world has become divided over a cure which has been developed by regular humans.  Some mutants see it as a blessing.  They don’t want to be different and want to use the cure to become human and to fit back into society.  Other mutants see it as a threat.  They think the humans want to take away their powerful abilities so that they no longer have to live in fear of them.

Most action films have a good side and a bad side.  The X-Men series is a little different because there are more than two sides and the line between good and evil is blurred.  There is a group led by Magneto (McKellen) who want to take vengeful action against humans for their interference in the mutant world.  There is a group led by Professor Xavier (Stewart) who wants to protect mutant rights but will only do so through diplomacy.  There are also the humans themselves.  Some appreciate and respect the mutants whilst others see them as an enemy.  Complicated isn’t it?

There are many characters and each has their own agenda.  The one problem with this is that some cast members receive very little screen time.  Wolverine (played by Hugh Jackman) was one of the most popular characters in the first two movies and has been rewarded with more screen time.  On the other hand, characters such as Rogue (Paquin) and Pyro (Ashmore) appear to have been pushed into the background.  A few of the new mutants (such as Angel) are also underdeveloped and you get the feeling we won’t find out more until the next movie is made.

A new director is at the helm for the third film.  Bryan Singer, who directed the first two X-Men films, is directing Superman Returns (due for release in a month).  Brett Ratner (Rush Hour 2, Red Dragon) is his replacement and has done a good job.  I don’t think he’s as visually creative as Singer but Ratner gets the story across and it still looks pretty cool.

Comic book adaptations have been extremely popular over the past decade.  With their exciting stories and fun characters, I can only hope that the trend continues.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 21 May 2006

Who likes a good zombie movie?  If so, then this zombie movie is for you.  If you haven’t already gathered, I just like saying the word “zombie”.

Slither takes a humorous look at zombies in a similar vein to the 2004 English zombie comedy, Shaun Of The Dead.  It begins with a strange object falling from the sky and landing in the forest near a small town.  It looks like a meteorite but when it opens, a strange, slug-like creature is unveiled.

When a man, known as Grant Grant (Rooker), goes into the forest one evening, he is stung by this slug.  He then starts turning in a rather ugly looking slug himself.  He uses a barn in the forest to hide out and then starts an unusual breeding process with a woman he has taken hostage.

Thousands of small red slugs are then born and they go out into the nearby town in search of human life.  They go in through people’s mouths, travel up into the brain and then transform them into… mindless zombies!!!  Muhahahahaha.

The film doesn’t take itself seriously and hence why it will pride more laughs than thrills.  It’s a good approach to take and you need not be worried about excessive violence or horror.  There are a few squeamish scenes but nothing too confronting.

The film marks the feature debut of director James Gunn.  It may be his first time in the director’s seat but he’s worked as a writer for many years.  He helped pen the screenplays for Dawn Of The Dead and the two Scooby Doo movies.  Perhaps it was his work on Dawn Of The Dead which gave him the inspiration for Slither.

Zombies!

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 25 May 2006

Dan (Ledger) and Candy (Cornish) are a young couple living in Sydney.  The film chronicles their addiction to heroin and the effect it has on themselves and those around them.

When we first meet Dan and Candy, we plainly see that their use of drugs has become a compulsion.  Almost all of Dan’s wages are spent on drugs.  They come up with dodgy excuses so that they can borrow money from family of friends.  The rent on their tiny apartment is long overdue.

When Dan is sacked at work, the situation worsens.  Dan starts stealing and Candy starts prostituting herself.  Both hate what they are doing by they are forced by an inner craving that cannot be subdued.  The resulting depression sees them turn to more drugs and they soon find themselves on an unstoppable, downward spiral.

Watching them go through this are Candy’s parents, Jim (Martin) and Elaine (Hazlehurst).  They know what’s going on but at the same time, distance themselves from the problem.  It’s easier to sit back and blame Dan as opposed to having the courage to help out.

This may sound like your usual “don’t take drugs” movie but there’s more to it than that.  If you look past the obvious message you’ll see a well told story.  Dan and Candy are regular, down-to-earth people.  They are an ordinary couple who you think would have a long, happy and successful life together.  It’s sad to see their lives being ruined but on the other hand, it’s horrifying to see how easily a drug addiction can develop.

Abbie Cornish (Somersault) and Heath Ledger (Brokeback Mountain) have delivered two very moving performances.  The emotional impact of the film would not have come through unless their characters were believable.  You’d bet on both receiving an Australian Film Institute Award nomination (at the very least) later this year.