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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 20 February 2005

The last film of writer-director James L. Brooks was As Good As It Gets in 1997.  It was a very entertaining comedy and earned Academy Awards for stars Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt.  Given his strong reputation, there were many looking forward to catching his latest production, Spanglish.

John Clasky (Sandler) is a renowned chef living in Los Angeles.  As happy as he should be, there’s one person always dragging him down – his wife, Deborah (Leoni).  Deb is a complete neurotic.  She never shuts up, is insensitive to her children, ignores the needs of her husband and is lousy in bed.  She may sound like a nasty piece of work but this is just how Deb is – the screenplay makes you feel slightly sympathetic towards her.

Looking for a new housemaid, John and Deborah find Flor (Vega), a young Mexican mother who can’t speak a word of English.  Not able to understand the troubles going on around her, Flor goes about her daily chores.  Things change though when John and Deb rent a holiday home for the summer and ask Flor and her daughter, Christina (Bruce), to come along.

With Christina able to speak English, Flor finally understand what this family is all about.  She feels sorry for John as he’s a sweet family man who is being dominated by a demanding wife.  After taking a home English course, she’s soon able to communicate with them all and an intriguing relationship will develop with all of them…

Like other Brooks films, there are some witty one-liners and intelligent conversations, particularly in the early stages of the film.  Unfortunately, things unravel in the final hour.  The characters become dumb and boring.  I didn’t at all understand why the film panned out the way it did and what Brooks was trying to say.  Was it a happy ending or an unhappy ending?  After developing them early in the piece, what became of John and Deb’s children?

This isn’t at all a strong cast.  Tea Leoni is too over-the-top and her sobbing and ranting in the finale was terribly distracting.  As for Adam Sandler, I like his attempt to try a different role (as he did in Punch Drunk Love) but this is not for him.  Playing the suppressed husband is not in his repertoire.

A poor performer at the U.S. box-office, Spanglish isn’t hitting the same successful notes that As Good As It Gets could manager.  Worth a look… but only just.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 10 February 2005

My first part-time job was working in a video store.  With an exciting world opening up before me, I told my boss that there were two actors who would define the younger generation – Natalie Portman (after seeing her performance in The Professional) and Leonardo DiCaprio (after seeing What’s Eating Gilbert Grape).  I declared that each would win at least one Academy Award over the course of their career.  Ten years after my bold prediction, both Portman (for Closer) and DiCaprio have deservedly earned themselves Oscar nominations.

At the age of just 17, Howard Hughes inherited his father’s wealthy machine tool company.  It was business he cared little about.  His true love was aviation and Hughes became a pioneer in the industry.  His vast fortune wasn’t all spent on crazy flying contraptions.  In 1927, Hughes spent a whopping $4m in directing a motion picture, Hell’s Angels.  His rise to stardom in Hollywood saw him sleeping with many cinema starlets including the biggest star of all, Katharine Hepburn.

As successful as he was, he’d become more famous for his eccentricities.  Hughes was paranoid about germs and diseases.  During his worst moments, Hughes wouldn’t touch anyone or anything.  He’d lock himself in hotel suites and wouldn’t be seen for months on end.  He may have been a multi-millionaire but you wouldn’t know it when you see the way his life finally panned out…

Martin Scorsese’s film is beautifully shot but it can’t sustain the pace for 170 minutes.  There are so many brilliant scenes I’d like to recount, such as when Katharine Hepburn is first introduced and when Hughes goes head-to-head with Senator Ralph Brewster (played by Alan Alda).  Sadly though, there are moments of boredom mixed within the brilliance.  Too much time is wasted developing Hughes’ condition – I got the point very early on.  You also get the feeling the film’s been heavily edited.  You can’t seriously tell me that Jude Law and Gwen Stefani were supposed to be in the film for such a short time?  Their performances barely meet the definition of a cameo.

Qualms aside, the overall package is still very entertaining.  From the very first scene, you’ll be dazzled by Leonardo DiCaprio.  You’ll be equally impressed by our own Cate Blanchett in her Oscar nominated role.  No expense has been spared either by director Martin Scorsese (who worked with DiCaprio on Gangs Of New York).  I’d hate to think how much was spent on extras and sets in creating the 30s and 40s. 

Howard Hughes didn’t always enjoy the limelight but I think he’d get a kick of seeing his life on the big screen.  An inspiring individual.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 19 February 2005

House Of Flying Daggers is a beautifully film… visually.  When you see it in all its glory on the big screen, you’ll be struck by the cinematography from Xiaoding Zhao.  From the greens of the bamboo forest, to the browns of the open country in autumn and to the whites of a sudden snowstorm – a myriad of colours has been splashed throughout.  I’m not the only one to notice Zhao’s work – he’s been nominated for best cinematography at this year’s Academy Awards (alongside The Aviator, The Passion Of The Christ, The Phantom Of The Opera, and A Very Long Engagement).

Ah, but looks aren’t everything.  Aside from the impeccable camera work, Daggers is a mess.  The director of the film is Yimou Zhang and we saw his last film only a few months ago here in Australia – Hero with Jet Li.  Both films are similar since they tell ancient Chinese stories and use the latest in special effects technology to create exciting martial arts sequences.  Many critics have enjoyed both films but I can honest say that Hero is vastly superior to this effort.

Set in a long forgotten era, a secret army known as the House of Flying Daggers has arisen to overthrow the corrupt government.  No one knows the leader of this army and a police officer named Jin (Kaneshiro) thinks he has a chance to find out.  One of the Daggers, a dancer named Mei (Zhang) has been captured and by pretending to be friend, Jin helps Mei escape from custody in the hope she will lead him to the army’s lair…

I am extremely critical of Zhang’s direction here.  It’s terribly sloppy and the editing looks rushed.  There’s a strange mix of fast-mo, slow-mo and regular-mo which was annoying more than artistic.  Further, you could tell as they panned from one camera angle to the next, that it wasn’t filmed simultaneously.  I know it never is, but you should at least make it look like it is!  One of the first scenes in the film sees Mei perform an elaborate dance.  This is a perfect example of the problems I speak of.  She keeps using her dress to beat on drums despite the fact she’s standing way too far away from them.

The script here isn’t much better.  After a tedious opening, I had thoughts of closing my eyes as the tiredness set in.  Unfortunately, one can’t do so in a subtitled film – you have to watching the screen at all times or you’ll have no idea what is being said.

I’m appreciative of British critics but my jaw hits the floor when I release that Daggers was nominated for nine British Academy Awards.  What were they thinking?  Like a Pamela Anderson or a Paris Hilton, House of Flying Daggers looks promising on the outside but is remarkably unintelligent on the inside.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 06 February 2005

Sky Captain & The World Of Tomorrow is a beautifully shot film which is a blend of both the past and the future.  The lack of colour and grainy look will make you think this was made in the 1950s.  Then again, all the strange aircrafts and robots will make you think it is set in the 2050s.  In my opinion, it has a Star Wars feel to it.

For Jude Law, this is the fifth film in which he has appeared over the Australian summer.  Brace yourself because he also stars in The Aviator which opens this Thursday.  I’m not the biggest Jude Law fan but he’s not too bad in his role as Joe, aka Sky Captain, a pilot who keeps the world safe from its adversaries.

The latest drama will see Sky Captain put to the ultimate test.  Cities around the world have been overrun with giant mechanical monsters who have been stealing valuable world resources.  Just who is behind this fiendish plot?  Following the story for the press is reporter Polly Perkins (played by Gwyneth Paltrow).  Polly and Joe were once married but things are now strictly business.  This isn’t the first time Paltrow and Law have played love interests on screen – you might remember them from 1999’s The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Sure this story is clichéd but that’s it design.  It like a comic book – the action comes thick and fast and little is left to character development.  I had fun for a while and enjoyed the originality (particularly the film’s look).  Still, I struggled to maintain my interest until the very end (when Angelina Jolie makes a short appearance as a much needed ally to Sky Captain).  The gag with the number of shots left in Polly’s camera was a little too drawn out for my liking also.

Slated for release some time ago in this country, Sky Captain & The World Of Tomorrow has finally been released.  After a poor showing in the United States, I suggest you see it soon, before it’s too late…

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 13 February 2005

There are few directors who capture the emotion of people better than Mike Leigh.  My first Leigh experience was 1996’s Secrets & Lies which earned 5 Academy Award nominations, including best picture.  He’s only made a handful of films since with the two most impressive being Topsy-Turvy and All Or Nothing.

Vera Drake (Staunton) is an elderly woman living in a tiny, run-down apartment with her husband, George (Graham), her son, Reg (Marsan), and her daughter Nellie (Keaveney).  Incredibly polite, she can’t help herself sometimes – she just loves helping people out.  Her latest challenge is to find her incredibly shy daughter a husband and she thinks she’s found just the right guy.

Soon though, her uncomplicated life will meet a very abrupt change.  Unbeknown to her family, Vera has been performing abortions for poor young women.  Such a practice is illegal but many young girls cannot afford the 150 pound charge to get it done properly in a doctor’s surgery.  Vera thinks she’s “helping them out”.  When one of Vera’s abortions goes wrong and the girl ends up clinging to life, the police arrive on her doorstep…

A controversial topic, Vera Drake is perfectly balanced.  It does not preach to the audience nor does it favour any one side.  You’ll understand Vera and sympathise with her and yet you’ll understand the police and their motives for doing what they do.  It’s a strong screenplay and Leigh’s direction is also impressive.  Instead of focusing the entire film on Vera, he occasionally breaks away to give us a glimpse into the life of another character.  It all adds up.

Like most other Leigh films, this really is about the people.  Forget glossed up Hollywood phonies, these characters are passionately real and you can’t help but laugh and feel sorry for them at the same.  Take Vera’s daughter Nellie for example.  Wonderfully played by Anna Keaveney, she’s a typical Leigh character.  What I find interesting is that Leigh did not tell the cast (except for Imelda Staunton) that this film was about abortion.  They were given an abbreviated script and didn’t find out until the scenes in question were shot.

Of course, what everyone is talking about is the performance of Imelda Staunton.  Winner of a host of critics’ awards, she’ll undoubtedly lose to Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby) at the Oscars in a fortnight.  It’s a shame because Staunton’s performance is the best by an actress this year.  I don’t know how she harnessed the emotional energy to pull this off.  The final half hour will be gut-wrenching for some.

Just last night, Vera Drake was voted the best British film of the year at the British Academy Awards.  I couldn’t think of more worthy winner.