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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 29 August 2004

When we last left Jason Bourne (Damon), we thought we were leaving him for the last time.  Unfortunately for Jason, there are some people who want him found.  When a CIA operation in Berlin goes horribly wrong, two agents are killed and some top secret documents (which the CIA were after themselves) were stolen.  The only clue at the scene is a single fingerprint and investigating agent, Pamela Landy (Allen) has traced it to Jason Bourne.

However, us audience members know that Bourne was never there.  He’s been hiding on the coast of India for over two years with his girlfriend Marie (Potente).  His peace though is to be short lived when he is fired upon by an unknown assailant.  He assumes the CIA has broken their promise and once again come after him.

What now begins is a game of cat and mouse where both are chasing each other.  Landy and her CIA team are in search of Bourne.  Bourne is in search of the CIA to seek revenge and to find out why they want him eliminated.  Jason Bourne is a very cunning individual and Matt Damon plays him very well.  He’s well trained and that is why he has a habit of making the correct choices.  This isn’t one of those cheesy thrillers where our hero is fired upon 8 million times without being hit.  This is well thought out.

The Bourne Identity was released here in September 2002 and it wasn’t a particular favourite of mine.  This time around, I leave the cinema far more satisfied and perhaps it is the influence of new director Paul Greengrass (Bloody Sunday) which provided the biggest improvement.  I can’t ever recall seeing a film so heavily edited.  Some may be annoyed but I was fascinated.  It looks very fast, very real and you’d think Matt Damon did all the stunts himself.  Helping the fast pace is a super film score from John Powell.  I remember his work on The Italian Job and I think I’ll be visiting my nearest music score to pick up a copy of this soundtrack.

It’s another fine performance from Matt Damon who has now launched himself into superstar status along with the Tom Hanks’ and Mel Gibsons’ of this world.  One particular facit I liked was the limp he developed in the later stages.  Once again, it gives the pursuit a heightened sense of reality – he behaves like human unlike the stereotypical action heroes who hardly get a scratch.  The other cast member I can praise is Joan Allen (Nixon, The Contender) who I have always admired.  I have seen very little of this three time Academy Award nominee of late so it’s great to see her back.  She is the most underrated actress of Hollywood today.

The Bourne Supremacy is a very strong package with few weaknesses and it adds up to one of the best action/thriller releases of 2004. 

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 21 August 2004

In a quiet Southern American town, Marva Munson (Hall) is an opinionated woman who regularly attends church and lives her life by the good book.  Her husband passed away many years ago but she remembers him fondly by talking to large painting of the man which rests atop the fireplace.  Her latest gripe has her complaining to the Sheriff about a neighbour playing their hip-hop music too loud.  She’s talking about “songs with the titles spelt all funny.”

There’s a knock at the door and introducing himself is Professor Goldthwait Higginson Dorr (Hanks).  There was a sign in the home’s front yard advertising a room to let and Dorr would like to accept the offer.  Miss Munson’s only stipulation is that she is looking for a quiet tenant.  Dorr will humbly oblige but informs her that he is a member of a gospel band and wondered if she had a wood cellar in which they could rehearse.  The answer is yes and on discovering this, Dorr mutters to himself “this looks promising”.

You see, there’s more to Professor Dorr than his impeccable manners and eloquent dialogue suggests.  His “band” doesn’t know the first thing about music.  They plan on using the Miss Munson’s cellar for something far more interesting, and far more profitable…

Brothers Joel and Ethan Coen are exceptional filmmakers.  Anyone who knows me will often hear me raving and recommending my favourite of their many films, Fargo, which was released back in 1996 and won two Academy Awards.  Others Coen films I have admired include The Big Lebowski, O Brother Where Art Thou? and Intolerable Cruelty.  They are two of the most original screenwriters of the modern era which is why it comes as a surprise to see them making this picture.  You see, this is not an original idea.  It is a remake of a 1955 film of the same title starring Alec Guinness, Cecil Parker and Peter Sellers.

The 2004 version of The Ladykillers begins slowly and perhaps too much time is spent on the introductions of both Miss Munson and Professor Dorr.  Still, you can’t help but laugh at some of Dorr’s ridiculous one-liners.  I’m not convinced Hanks is the right man in this role but Irma P. Hall is certainly the woman to play Miss Munson.  When the film premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the jury (led by Quentin Tarantino) awarded Hall a special prize for her performance.  She so brutally forthwith in her responses and her stubbornness will remind many of their own grandmothers.

If you can remain content throughout the opening half, you’ll enjoy the final payoff in the closing half.  The film steps up a notch and the inventive quirkiness of the Coen brothers shines through again.  It’s not their best film, but enjoyable nevertheless.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 29 August 2004

In last week’s news, I read an article which said that Geoffrey Rush’s performance in The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers would be ineligible for Oscar consideration this year.  The reason?  The film will not be shown in theatres of the United States.  Instead, it will debut directly on the pay television channel (HBO) which helped finance the film.

At the time, I thought little of this information.  Geoffrey Rush already has won Oscar (for Shine) and surely a low budget telemovie couldn’t be that good.  Well, I have once again proven myself wrong in a very surprising way.  Having now seen the film, it would be a crying shame to deny Rush another Academy Award nomination and I hope that buzz generated here at home and in the UK (where the film is also being released theatrically) might change the minds of the HBO executives.

As he was well before my time, I knew very little about Peter Sellers and had seen virtually none of this many films.  Born in 1925, he began his career on radio and determination saw him craft an impressive resume on film.  The early 1960s proved to be his golden era.  Two of his most famous characters were Inspector Jacques Clouseau in The Pink Panther (1963) and three crazily distinct roles in Stanley Kubrick’s. Dr Strangelove (1964).

Sellers was acclaimed as a comic genius but off screen, he was a deeply depressed man who could not find satisfaction in life.  One of his memorable quotes was “If you ask me to play myself, I will not know what to do. I do not know who or what I am.”  He married four times, experimented with drugs and psychics, and had a near-death experience after a serious heart-attack.

Some will be shocked to see such an unflattering account of a man considered so highly in the film industry.  I found it fascinating and although some of the supporting characters (including Charlize Theron and John Lithgow) were a bit rough around the edges, Rush steals the limelight and turns what might well be a standard telemovie, into a great motion picture.  He is deadest brilliant.

It has its down moments but there are several uplifting moments to Sellers’ story to give us all hope.  A very intriguing person he was.  The Life And Death Of Peter Sellers debuted at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and unlike those residents of the USA, you don’t have to wait for the smaller screen.  Geoffrey Rush is lighting up the screen in theatres across Australia.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 17 August 2004

There’s not much too it really – it’s a pure and simple good vs. evil story.  The Rock plays Chris Vaughn, a man who is returning home for the first time in eight years.  He grew up in a small Washington town but left to pursue a career in the U.S. Army.  Now, he’s just looking to find work at the town’s old mill and to catch up with close family and long forgotten friends.

Unfortunately, the “old mill” is now closed and the town’s main source of revenue comes from a newly built casino.  The casino is run by Jay Hamilton Jr (McDonough), a childhood friend of Vaughn who seems to be doing rather well for himself.  Vaughn soon understands why when he sees a croupier rigging a craps game and a subsequent fight breaks out between him and the numerous security guards.

On going to the sheriff to press charges against the guards, Vaughn finds the police very uncooperative.  You see, it’s Jay who is running the town and he will continue to do so thanks to his generous donations / kick-backs to the local authorities.  After Chris’s young nephew overdoses on illegal drugs received from the security guards, Vaughn decides to take matters into his own hands.  He becomes the town’s police chief, appoints best friend Ray Templeton (Knoxville) as his deputy, and begins a campaign to bring down Hamilton’s casino and drug empire.

At less than an hour and a half, it’s an ideal length for a movie of this genre.  It’s just fun action and things are trivialised with useless subplots or long winded scenes.  There’s plenty of fighting, an endless stream of bullets, and an ending sure to leave a satisfied look on your face.  The Rock isn’t the most accomplished actor in the world and he isn’t going to win any Oscars (I hope) but here’s a role he is suited to.  If you’re a fan of him, expect to enjoy Walking Tall.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 22 August 2004

Another superhero has arrived to save the day.  Back in 1944, a young baby found his way into this world from a portal which was opened into another universe.  That baby was raised by Professor Trevor Bruttenholm (Hurt) and has he has now grown into a being with superhuman strength who seemingly cannot be killed.  Played by Ron Perlman, he is Hellboy.

The Professor, Hellboy and another sci-fi creature known as Abe Sapien head an undercover FBI department.  Joining this unit is Agent John Myers (Evans), a fresh graduate who doesn’t know what he is getting himself into.  When he asks of the point to it all, the Professor replies with “there are things that go bump in the night, Agent Myers… and we are the ones who bump back.”

Of course, keeping Hellboy’s identity hidden from the public is an ordeal in itself.  The world isn’t ready to know that such aliens exist on their planet and FBI official Tom Manning (Tambor) is running out of excuses to explain the many unusual sightings of a large red creature roaming the streets.  Unfortunately for Hellboy, he isn’t one who enjoys being hidden away and now that he has an outside love interest in Liz Sherman (Blair), he’s more eager than ever to sneak out of the top secret FBI headquarters.

For Agent Myers, his initiation will become something he will soon not forget.  An evil presence has arrived on the scene who are determined to reopen the mysterious portal and allow those from a long distant universe to invade Earth.  Hell is about to break loose, so to speak.

It’s a rather intricate storyline and you’ll need to pay close attention during the opening half hour or so to understand the backgrounds to these characters.  There’s a few details I am still a bit sketchy on so may wait for the video for a closer look.  On the positive side, this superhero caper isn’t like most others.  Hellboy is very casual and has an acute sense of humour.  The romance angle is also interesting and I found myself empathising with several characters.  Not quite as good as the new Spider-Man series but well up there.

A sequel has already been commissioned for a 2006 release with director Guillermo del Toro and star Ron Perlman returning.  Del Toro is one of a bunch of great Mexican directors finding an audience in America.  If you’ve seen either 1997’s Mimic or 2001’s Blade 2, you’ll be familiar with his previous works.  He’s speciality is the thriller genre and given the dark edge to Hellboy, he’s in his element here.