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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 11 August 2004

Well, it could have been worse, but, um, I don’t know how to finish this sentence.

I myself have just returned from a 5 week trip across Europe and to employ an overused cliché, it was one of the “best times of my life”.  The culture in each country is unique and our tour manager told us to embrace it with the catchphrase – “it’s not wrong, it’s just different”.

You’d think Europe would provide the perfect setting for an American teen flick.  Unfortunately, screenwriters Alec Berg, David Mandel and Jeff Schaffer have combined to create a miserable comedy that exploits European stereotypes and offers no insight into a world far more entertaining than the United States.  To employ an overused cliché, Europe for me was one of the “best times of my life”.  Eurotrip, on the other hand, was one of the “worst times of my life”.  With such a disparaging difference, it’s clear to say that something is amiss.

After some amusing opening titles (the only highlight), we begin with a high school graduation.  Armed with a thick travel guide, Jamie (Wester) and his twin sister Jenny (Trachtenberg) are going to be spending the summer holidaying in Europe.  Best friends Scott (Mechlowicz) and Cooper (Harris) are staying home and have summer jobs lined up.  That is until, Scott releases his German pen-pal is not actually a man but a gorgeous blond with nice tits (yes, we see them many times).  Suffice to say, Scott and Cooper are on the first flight out of there en route to Berlin.

As it turns out, getting to Berlin isn’t as easy as hoped.  Our quartet travel through London, Paris, Amsterdam, Rome and even Bratislava (in Slovakia).  In Paris, the film spends three agonising minutes watching Scott imitate a street performer outside the queue to the Lourve.  How did this make the final cut?  Why not show him heckling some of the illegal immigrants selling Louis Vuitton bags, fake sunglasses or Eiffel Tower statues?

It all unfolds with boring predictability.  There’s plenty of nudity to keep horny male teenagers entertained but if you don’t fit that genre, forget it.  Without giving too much away, it all finishes with a horribly disrespectful display at the Vatican and a pathetically mushy “happily ever after” ending.  If you heard me laughing, it was “at” the film and not “with” the film.

If you look at Eurotrip’s poster, you’ll see the tagline for the film is “no Europeans were harmed during the making of this film”.  Unfortunately, the poster does not discuss how many Europeans were harmed whilst watching the film.  As I say of any film awarded my lowest grade - you have been well and truly warned!

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 05 August 2004

I am fast becoming a very big fan of the Spider-Man series.  I thought the first film was great and this follow up flick is just as good if not better.  This time around, the necessary introductions and such aren’t required so there’s more time for character development and adventure.  It sounds strange to be talking about character development in a big action blockbuster but it’s one of the reasons I enjoyed the film so much.

In Spider-Man 2, we begin with our fearless crusader, Peter Parker, thinking that it’s time to hang up the old spidey suit.  His college results are dropping, he’s lost his job, has no money, has no love life, has few friends and can’t stand the demands of fighting crime 24 hours a day.  Things soon change when a new enemy arrives on the scene – Doctor Octopus (Molina).

Octopus was once Dr. Otto Octavius, a brilliant scientist who worked for one of Peter ’s few loyal friends, Harry.  Octavius had been working on creating a new energy source using cold fusion but in a botched demonstration, he was left with four metal tentacles attached to his spine and a mind which no longer knew the difference between good and evil.

Where it goes from here, I will not reveal.  There were many more plot twists that I expected.  Having seen the trailers numerous times, I could not wait until the scene where Harry finally removes the mask of Spider-Man to reveal his identity.  If you remember, Spider-Man killed Harry’s father at the end of the first film and he’s been out for revenge.  What will he think when he realises his best friend killed his father?  You’ll have to see to find out for yourself.

Both films have been made by experienced director Sam Raimi who has fulfilled all of my expectations.  One very positive comment I have is how this second film did got get bogged down in an abundance of special effects.  There’s a lot of drama and dialogue with Tobey Maguire stepping up to the plate in a surprisingly real and emotional performance.  I have always been impressed with Maguire and hope he sticks with the series in years to come.  I also wish to praise another beautifully sinister film score from composer Danny Elfman and you’ll hear the best of it during the craftily made opening credits.

I was overseas at the time the film was released here in Australia and caught a screening of the film in Vienna a few weeks after its release.  I’m sure glad I didn’t miss it and the huge box-office figures being posted around the globe show that word of mouth is good and the public are liking what they see.  A further sequel is imminent and if the directing, screenwriting and acting stay this good, I only see further good reviews coming from this computer.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 05 August 2004

The film doesn’t deserve much of my time so I’ll keep this short and sweet.  Against The Ropes is just dismal.  I saw it as part of the in-flight entertainment on a Qantas flight from Sydney to Bangkok but felt like complaining since it didn’t meet the definition of “entertainment”.  My friend sitting beside me on the plane watched it also and about every 5 minutes, we removed our headsets and looked at each other with stunned disbelief at how corny it all was.

Based on a true story (pretty loosely I guess), the story focuses on Jackie Kallan, a female boxing promoter trying to make it in a man’s world.  We go through a routine introduction of her being squashed by other males and guess what?  She has a few ego problems along the way but as you’d expect, it all leads to a rosy ending where we can celebrate Jackie triumphing over adversity.  I celebrated the film’s finale by going to sleep and rejoicing that I didn’t waste $10 at a regular theatre to watch it.

I haven’t met the real Jackie Kallan but I can’t possibly believe she is as annoying as Meg Ryan portrays her.  Ryan is so obviously putting on a rough girl accent and you’ll cringe at how fake it all sounds.  I cannot believe studio executives cast her in a role which clearly does not suit.  Other major cast members include Tony Shalhoub and Timothy Daly but I’ll excuse you if you don’t know who they are.

Now that I’ve wasted another 10 minutes of my life on this tripe, I’ll call it a day.  Good night.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 03 August 2004

Laws Of Attraction pairs one of my favourite actresses, Julianne Moore, and the very suave Pierce Brosnan.  Moore plays Audrey Woods, a divorce lawyer who never loses a case.  Sure she works long hours and she hasn’t had a relationship in years but Audrey likes her life – she’s the best New York City has to offer.  Her mother Sara (Fisher) doesn’t share the same viewpoint.  She wants Audrey to find a man.

Enter Mr. Daniel Rafferty (Brosnan), another divorce attorney who has just returned to the Big Apple after a stint on the West Coast.  He too never loses a big case and sure enough, he defeats Audrey at their first head-to-head encounter.  A rivalry ensues and if you catch the drift, an interesting romance develops.

Moore and Brosnan are simply great at delivering lines.  They use a little improvisation, throw in some perfect facial expressions, and have an impeccable sense of timing.  Unfortunately for them, the whole screenplay has the feel of a clichéd play.  It tries to be too cute and witty with the biggest slap in the face coming in the final half hour when it all degenerates into a very predictable, much overused ending.  A few more surprises and twists were need to hold my attention.  On comparison, the film reminds me of last year’s Down With Love with Ewan McGregor and Renee Zellweger.  I found Love showed more flair with Laws getting too bogged down in its limited story

The whole show has been directed by Englishman Peter Howitt who is most famous for Sliding Doors, another romantic tale I found dreary.  I’ll lay most of the blame though on screenwriters Aline McKenna (Three To Tango) and Robert Harling (Steel Magnolias).  After 30 minutes, the novelty wears out and the only reason to remain in the theatre is to watch Julianne Moore and Pierce Brosnan do their best to keep the film together.

I’m not sure what the “laws of attraction” are but in the “laws of movies”, there are just too many broken here to go unpunished.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 05 August 2004

Very little about the past of John Creasy (Washington) is revealed to us but he looks a tired, forlorn figure.  Continually drinking, John has made his way to Mexico City to visit Rayburn (Walken), a long time friend.  Rayburn wants to help out and recommends Creasy for a low paying body guard position for a wealthy family.

You see, in Latin America, kidnappings are a very common occurrence.  The seedy underworld targets the rich and susceptible and can hold family members hostage for exorbitant amounts.  Businessman Samuel Ramos (Anthony) has a 9-year-old daughter, Pita (Fanning), who he wants protected after he and his wife (Mitchell) interview John Creasy, the position becomes filled.

You sense this isn’t a job or a place Creasy wants to be.  He looks disinterested and whilst doing his job with precision, the sense is that he’s going along with it to get enough money to keep on boozing.  But as the weeks pass, Creasy mellows to Pita and for the first time in a long time, life has a purpose.

The crux of the story arrives when Pita is kidnapped in a bloody shootout and Creasy is left for dead.  Whilst unconscious in hospital, the ransom drop is botched and Pita is killed.  When Creasy awakes to learn of this, there’s only one thing in his mind – revenge.  As Rayburn so eloquently phrases it “Creasey's art is death, and he's about to paint his masterpiece.”

So after the long-winded introduction, the film takes on its more interesting side.  It is extremely violent in places but I found particular pleasure in watching Denzel clean out the streets.  I guess you could be critical of its realism – how one person could do all this is beyond me? – but it’s still an entertaining good vs. evil story whilst building towards an unforseen climax.

The story does have its limitations but the standout quality of the film for me was the direction of Tony Scott (Spy Game, Crimson Tide, Top Gun).  The colours are sometimes grainy and there’s a lot of fast paced editing but it looks very good.  He is one of the few action directors I have seen of late to show any creativity.  My favourite trait of the film was its unique subtitles.  They appear randomly throughout (even if English is being spoken) and appear in a variety of fonts in a variety of places on the screen.  Some may be annoyed by this but I found it all the more appealing.

At 146 minutes, Man On Fire is too long but if you can push your way through the first hour, a creative action thriller will be your reward.