Reviews


Directed by: Eric Bress, J. Mackye Gruber
Written by:Eric Bress, J. Mackye Gruber
Starring: Ashton Kutcher, Melora Walters, Amy Smart, William Lee Scott, John Patrick Amedori
Released: March 11, 2004
Grade: B+

Watching The Butterfly Effect is like putting together a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle with few pieces missing.  It’s great fun as you’re going along but there’s a sense of confusion and disappointment waiting for you at the very end.  Then again, any film about the intricacies of time travel is bound to mystify.

The film centres around Evan Treborn who is played by Ashton Kutcher.  I’ll say straight out that Kutcher doesn’t belong here.  I feel unusually sympathetic making this statement because other critics have already given him a pasting.  The rumour is that he cancelled many press interviews after the initial negative reactions and has been very depressed by the whole experience.  It’s not that Kutcher is a poor actor but rather he is a poor choice for this role.  The Butterfly Effect is a deeply serious film and the producers have taken an ill-timed gamble by choosing a lead actor who specialises in comedy.

Evan Treborn suffered from “blackouts” as a child.  He would actively do things but when quizzed later, would have no memory of them.  Neurosurgeons could find no problems but the symptoms were eerily similar to that of Evan’s father, who wound up in a mental institution.  At the age of 13, a series of events (which I won’t detail for fear of spoilage) forced Evan and his mother to leave town forever and start a new life in a new place. 

Now, Evan is a studious 20-year-old quietly celebrating the fact he hasn’t had a “blackout” in over seven years.  He takes a girl back to his dorm but she uncovers a box of journals written by Evan under his bed.  He briefly reads of them and a life long forgotten comes flooding back… literally.  He is taken back in time to the moment he is reading about.  Only he is not there as a passive observer – he can change the events as they unfold.  But as he changes the past, he unknowingly changes the future and the life he will return to will not be what he expects.

There’s plenty of food for thought and I’ve had a good think and read a few internet articles on whether all the events that unfold in this film make sense.  I’m sure if it were possible, the creators of The Butterfly Effect might themselves sneak back in time to change a few elements of the screenplay.  I’m not 100% convinced but I give credit to any filmmaker who still has me thinking after I leave the cinema.  Subsequent to writing this review I’m sure to be asking others for their thoughts.

The star of the show is 16-year-old John Patrick Amedori who plays a younger version of Evan.  When the older Evan travels back into the younger Evan’s body, Amedori perfectly captures the Kutcher persona and delivers his dialogue without the slightest hesitation.  I’d be betting on more good roles and a promising future for this latest teen star.

The “butterfly effect” theory prescribes that “if the initial state of the nonlinear system is changed only slightly, one cannot predict the difference in how each system will evolve over time.”  I guess that also means that no two people who see this film will have the same opinion.  Damn.  Defeats the purpose of writing a review, doesn’t it?

 


Directed by: Jonathan Lynn
Written by:Elizabeth Hunter, Saladin K. Patterson
Starring: Cuba Gooding Jr, Beyonce Knowles, Mike Epps, Wendell Pierce
Released: March 4, 2004
Grade: C

I flat out did not want to see this film.  My grade is reflective of this and too bad if I am being prejudice.  I left home at 12:20pm for a 12:40pm session and seriously contemplated missing the turn-off and going straight into work.  Do you see the seriousness of this statement?  I actually considered missing a movie to work instead.

But then I thought, well, what’s the point of that?  As a critic, I’m going to have to see this trash eventually whether it be at a theatre or at home on video.  So my car made the correct turn and veered in the direction of my nearest multiplex.  In the back of my mind I still hoped for a miracle.  Could the session be sold out leaving me the luxury of returning home?  I was kidding myself (and knew this for sure once I saw all the empty seats inside the theatre).

As I sat there waiting for it start, a painful memory came over me.  I had looked up this film earlier on the internet and it said the duration was 123 minutes.  Now that is a joke.  I tried thinking but couldn’t remember the last comedy I saw that was longer than two hours.  Something’s Gotta Give was 128 minutes but that was more of a romantic drama with a hint of comedy.

So let’s get down to the storyline.  Take a Panadol because this could leave you (as it did me) with a pain in the head.  Darren Hill (Gooding Jr) works in New York for an advertising agency.  He has just been fired because his boss has released his resume was bogus – he never did get a degree from Yale.  Darren likes living the high life but is up to his eyeballs in debt.  Every credit card he has is “maxed out”.

He is tracked down by a private investigator who gives him news that his aunt has passed away.  He has to return to the small Georgian town where he grew up for the funeral.  At the reading of the will, Darren is left stock to the value of $150,000 provided that he lead the church choir and win a bible song contest called the Gospel Explosion.  What were the screenwriters thinking?  So despite knowing nothing about music, he bluffs his way through, recruits a bunch of misfits and finds a lead singer with a beautiful voice (Knowles).  Does he win?  You’ll have to see the film to find out.  Oh hang on, in that case then yes, they win.  And he undergoes a big moral change in the process.

Just have a look at the poster for The Fighting Temptations.  Certainly the worst of the year and how it can encourage any patron to attend is beyond me.  If you do see it, I suggest taking a pen and paper.  Then you can compete with your friends in the latest quiz sensation – “How Many Plot Holes Can You Find?”  My score was 86.

 


Directed by: Mel Gibson
Written by:Benedict Fitzgerald, Mel Gibson
Starring: James Caviezel, Monica Bellucci, Claudia Gerini, Maia Mogenstern, Sergio Rubini
Released: February 25, 2004
Grade: A-

Released on Ash Wednesday, Mel Gibson’s The Passion Of The Christ is already the most talked about cinematic event of the year.  The film has been engulfed in controversy with some religious leaders claiming it falsely accuses the Jews as being responsible for Jesus’ death.  Religion is such a touchy subject and Gibson has taken a big career gamble in making this motion picture.  I confess it’s been many years since I’ve read the Bible so I will not enter into the heated debate over the film’s accuracy.

The Passion Of The Christ depicts the final twelve hours in the life of Jesus Christ.  The film begins with Jesus being arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane and concludes with his ultimate death on the crucifix.  Gibson wanted the film to be shot in the language of the time and at first, he didn’t even plan on having subtitles!  Thankfully for those of us who don’t speak Aramaic, Latin or Hebrew, they have now been included.  If you’re one of those moviegoers adverse to reading words off a screen, try to put aside your doubts as in no way do the subtitles detract from the story.

Now that the film has been released, the talk has switched from its factual accuracy to its graphic violence.  Leading American critic Roger Ebert describes it as “the most violent film I have ever seen” and here in Australia, David Stratton of The Movie Show labels it “the most relentless violent film I have ever seen”.  I dare not argue.  I guarantee that some will walk out of your screening.  The flogging, whipping and scourging of Jesus does not stop for over an hour.  Its highly questionable MA rating (open to anyone over the age of 15) is already raising eyebrows.

Taking on the leading role is Jim Caviezel, one of those guys who probably won’t know by name but may recognise by face.  His major roles to date have been in Frequency and The Count Of Monte Cristo but this film will surely be his signature.  He doesn’t say a lot but you will feel his suffering.  I do hope he is not overlooked this time next year when the award season begins again.  The only other actor you may recognise is Italian starlet Monica Bellucci (The Matrix Reloaded, Irreversible) but as Mary Magdalene, her talented was underutilised.

Braveheart won Mel Gibson the best director Oscar and The Passion Of The Christ is validation of this honour.   He is relentless in his pursuit of a vision and will accept nothing second rate.  I wish that a few other directors in Hollywood shared his passion and enthusiasm.  He is backed by an experienced crew and I single out cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (Fly Away Home) for his beautiful camera work.

I was certainly entranced by the film but do feel a little more substance was required.  I would have preferred the film to begin earlier along the timeline so as to learn more about the supporting characters rather than watch repeated floggings.  I also question the suitability of John Debney’s music score which at times is too loud and melodramatic.

With no leading stars and costing over $30m, The Passion Of The Christ was tipped by some to be a financial flop.  I guess as the saying goes - any publicity is good publicity.  Released in America over the weekend, early estimates show the film will gross in excess of $114m in its first five days.  This ranks it amongst the top 10 biggest openings of all time.  Already heavily discussed, you sense this is a film they will still talk about in the many years to come.

 


Directed by: Peter Hedges
Written by:Peter Hedges
Starring: Katie Holmes, Patricia Clarkson, Oliver Platt, Derek Luke, Sean Hayes, Alison Pill
Released: March 4, 2004
Grade: A-

Pieces Of April is a wonderful low-budget piece built around a touching story.  Director and writer Peter Hedges tried hard to get Hollywood funding but no studios were forthcoming.  Unwilling to relent, Hedges managed to pull $300,000 together and shot the film in two weeks using digital cameras.  There’s no big name stars, top-notch sets or smooth visual effects to sucker audiences here.  All Hedges has to rely upon is the story and thankfully, he delivers.

It’s Thanksgiving but not a time for celebration for the Burns family.  42-year-old Joy Burns (Clarkson) has terminal cancer.  She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband Jim (Platt), daughter Beth and son Timmy.  Deep down the kids know this will be the last Thanksgiving they will spend with their mother.

There’s one regret Joy has and it concerns her eldest daughter, April (Holmes).  They have never seen eye to eye and now the rebellious April lives in New York with her latest boyfriend (Luke).  Against the strong wishes of other family members, Joy has decided to go to New York for Thanksgiving in a final attempt to make peace.

April sees the same opportunity and is trying heartedly to produce a Thanksgiving feast.  She’s got her mum’s turkey recipe and a few other special treats to impress the reluctant family.  And then, the stove breaks down.  There’s no way to cook the turkey and she’s stressfully banging on neighbouring apartment stores looking for someone to help out.  She knows there’s a lot at stake.

The film follows both April’s dinner preparation and Joy’s road trip with equal times spent on each in a rather short film (just 81 minutes).  Peter Hedges is no stranger to writing a good script having previously adapted What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? and About A Boy for the big screen.  He keeps things light in the film’s first half with some unexpectedly great one-liners (particularly from Patricia Clarkson).  Towards the later stages, the film enters its more dramatic phase with a fitting conclusion.  Without revealing more, I was pleased at what point Hedges chose to end the film.  There was no need to draw it out.

Is there a fitting adjective to describe Patricia Clarkson?  She received her first Oscar nomination for this role (lost to Renee Zellweger) and is thoroughly deserving of it.  Clarkson is a darling of the independent film circuit and I am continually applauding her work.  A good film with a small paycheck is always preferred to a bad film with a large paycheck.  I’ve actually now seen her four times in the last seven months on the big screen – the other films being Dogville, The Station Agent and All The Real Girls.

Once again I plead with you to find your way to this film.  You may have to sift through your newspaper to find where it’s showing but the extra effort will pay dividends.

 


Directed by: Mike Newell
Written by:Lawrence Konner, Mark Rosenthal
Starring: Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dominic West, Marcia Gay Harden, Ginnifer Goodwin
Released: February 19, 2004
Grade: B

At Wellesley College, you will find some of the country’s smartest girls.  In the class of 1953/54, there’s Betty Warren (Dunst), Joan Brandwyn (Stiles), Giselle Levy (Gyllenhaal) and Connie Baker (Goodwin) who are all close friends.  In their dormitory of an evening, they study religiously and talk of men and marriage.  It’s a school rich in tradition and the conservative school board likes it that way.

And then along came Katherine Watson (Roberts).  I say this with trepidation and you may already see where I’m coming from.  Katherine is a young teacher with fresh insight, unique teaching methods and different views.  She doesn’t believe a woman’s sole purpose in life is to find a husband.  She believes a woman can also have a college education and a successful career.  Sure enough, the school board is rattled but the students adore her and she’s become the breath of fresh air so desperately needed at Wellesley.

Unfortunately this theme is forced down our throat in large doses.  There’s nothing subtle about the screenplay and it’s all a little too “preachy” to win my vote.  Rather than letting the story tell the message, the message seems to be telling the story.

Julia Roberts is fine in the leading role but too much attention is paid to her plight.  The supporting characters are seldom seen and any emotion we are to feel for them doesn’t come through.  Also hindering their performances is a hurried screenplay which has them changing personalities in the blink of an eye.  I won’t outline specifics here but the development and ultimate fate of Julia Stiles’ character is a very good example.

Katherine finds a love interest in Bill Dunbar (West), a teacher at the school and this does little more than increase the film’s running time.  It’s a trivial subplot when I would have preferred more focus on the two characters Katherine lives with – an aging teacher stuck in a world of routine (played by Marcia Gay Harden) and a teacher fired for a simple mistake but with an interesting past (played by Juliet Stevenson).

I know it’s unrelated to the actual film but I feel compelled to criticise the trailer that’s been showing in cinemas for the past few months.  I’ve seen it several times now and in hindsight, it gives away virtually every plot detail including the finale.  Why show a film’s final scene in the trailer?  Is there any need for this?  Perhaps this is why I found the conclusion so disappointingly brief.

When it comes down to the crunch, Mona Lisa Smile is still worth a look just to see some of Hollywood’s best actresses light up the screen.  Just enough to bring a “smile” to my face.

 


Directed by: Robert Rodriguez
Written by:Robert Rodriguez
Starring: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp, Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes, Enrique Iglesias, Willem Dafoe, Cheech Marin, Ruben Blades
Released: February 27, 2004
Grade: B-

I expected much better.  Once Upon A Time In Mexico is the third film in the series from writer/director Robert Rodriguez following 1992’s El Mariachi and 1995’s Desperado.  Antonio Banderas is back in the leading role but the only star of this film is Johnny Depp.  In the space of twelve months, Depp has shown that an otherwise ordinary character can be turned into something far more interesting.  I’m not the only one who agrees.  The Academy just awarded him with an Oscar nomination for Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl.

Depp plays a corrupt C.I.A. agent looking to kill a Mexican general.  There are many characters in the mix and given it’s been a few days since I’ve seen the film, it’s all become a blur.  Why couldn’t Rodriguez have made a more memorable film?  There’s a president in there somewhere and Antonio Banderas is a drifting guitar player looking to settle an old score.  Eva Mendes and Enrique Iglesias provide eye candy for the younger audience and Willem Dafoe and Mickey Rourke are in there to show that old guys still have what it takes.  That’s about that.

My point is that this film is just a glossed up muddle of action scenes lacking in story.  When you consider his first two films were made for less than $5m, Rodriguez hasn’t done enough with his $29m budget this time around.  He’s paid for some better actors and some half-decent stunt scenes but there’s no flow to the story and aside from Depp, not enough humour to appeal to me.

And that’s my two pesos.