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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.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 27 June 2004

The Prince And Me is the perfect film for teenage girls.  I’m sure many have dreamed of falling in love with a wealthy prince and to have him reciprocate the feelings.  I may not be fully in touch with the female race but correct me if I’m wrong here.  Back in May, the Crown Prince of Denmark married an Australian commoner in Mary Donaldson and photos were splashed across the cover of every woman’s magazine.

Based on this, here’s a film with appeal.  You may find it hard to believe but the film was written and made before the actual royal wedding which just took place in Denmark.  In this fictitious film, Paige Morgan (Stiles) is a career girl studying hard at college in America.  Eddie (Mably) is the current Prince of Denmark and attending the same college.  The catch being that Eddie wants to get away from his family ties and has not told anyone in America of his royal status.

The two meet, fall in love, have a few differences and then boom, the Prince drops the bombshell.  This moment doesn’t occur until one hour into the film but it’s what the audience has paid their money for.  Up until this part, I found it all rather boring.  Girls were swooning and I understand there needs to be character development but I couldn’t get into the swing of it (even with the alluring Julia Stiles in the leading role).

Once the secret has been revealed, the film changes its setting with the Prince and Paige heading to Denmark.  Yep, there are more trials and tribulations but don’t worry girls, this dream won’t become a nightmare.

Guys, stay home and ladies, get in the queue.  This may sound somewhat sexist but it’s reality of who this film has been made for.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 02 August 2004

The most important film of the year, perhaps even the decade, has lived up to expectations.  That sounds like a big statement to be making but I challenge anyone to find a film of equal stance.  So far, the film has grossed over $100m in the United States to become the biggest documentary in cinema history.  But it’s the subject of the documentary which is the key.  In a country where interest in politics has been waning (the last election had the worst voter turn out ever), millions of Americans are being exposed to a secret government underworld which is best described as “shocking”.  With current polls showing things neck and neck between current president George Bush and Democrat contender John Kerry, every ticket sold to a swing voter is pivotal.

The news and publicity surrounding the film has been strong.  Ever since it won the lucrative Palm D’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, every journalist and his dog have had a say.  Those against Fahrenheit 9/11 have slammed Moore for misleading the American public and attacked supporting film critics for letting their political views influence their reviews.  Unfortunately, these articles have only spawned even more talk about the film and ironically, more people will go and see it.  I ask the question again, how many films have generated such heated discussion in the past few years?

I suppose I should go on the record as saying I am anti-Bush and perhaps this is why I love the film so much.  It’s important to note though that Fahrenheit 9/11 is not just about George W. Bush.  He is the focus but the film looks heavily at the government as a whole, America’s political system and the war in Iraq.  If you think politics are dull, think again.

From a documentary perspective, it’s near perfect.  Filmmaker Michael Moore has gone to great lengths to make it as persuasive as possible based on factual information.  He doesn’t speak often and impressively, Moore lets the footage and interviews do all the talking.  George Bush comes off looking like a fool.  One of the key scenes is footage of Bush on the morning of September 11, 2001 on learning the news that terrorists were attacking America.  You have to see it to believe it.  Also compelling are the many instances where politicians seem to contradict themselves.  What Colin Powell said about Iraq in 2001 is rather different to his thoughts in 2003.

From a crew perspective, credit to film editor, ,for putting it all together.  Moore was editing the film up right until its release date (to ensure the information was as current as possible) but the whole package looks very good and the order and timing of the scenes is well thought out.  An example would be the humorous introduction.  Lacing the whole film is a haunting film score from  which also deserves praise.

My favourite part of the film is the topic of fear.  Moore also explored this in his last film, Bowling For Columbine, but it’s just staggering how easily the government and the media can instil fear and paranoia in not just Americans, but citizens all over the world.

I stand up and applaud the work of Michael Moore and his film Fahrenheit 9/11.  I’d even say it’s got a shot at being the first ever documentary to be nominated at the Oscars for best picture.  This is huge stuff and it goes to show you can be both entertained and educated in a movie theatre.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 20 June 2004

In 1985, friends Joe Simpson and Simon Yates tried to scale one of the highest mountains in Peru – the 21,000 foot Siula Grande.  Others had attempted the climb previously but were unsuccessful.  This only added to the attraction of the mountain for these two young English climbers.  Their adventure has become a commonly told tale in mountaineering circles.  Now, the story has been magically brought to life by Academy Award winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald, and the two men themselves.

Touching The Void is an unconventional film in that it is part film and part documentary.  It is narrated by both the real Joe Simpson and Simon Yates who often appear on screen.  There is also the visual element – two actors, Nicholas Aaron and Brendan Mackey, play the younger Simpson and Yates as we watch the journey unfold.

Why this story is special is how amazingly against the odds their survival was.  Just after starting their decent, Simpson fell and his leg was badly broken.  You’ll cringe when you hear Simpson describe this horrible moment.  At that altitude, such an event is usually a death sentence.  It’s tough enough scaling the walls of rock and ice with two legs let alone one.

We obviously know that both live to tell the tale but how they did so, I will leave for you to discover.  This story sounds very similar to a film I saw a few years ago called Vertical Limit which starred Chris O’Donnell.  I wrote that film off as being commercialised and unrealistic.  I’d think the same here too but that’s what makes it so special – this actually did happen and we’re hearing a first hand account of it all!

Partially funded by the National Geographic Channel, Touching The Void is beautifully filmed.  There’s no bogus locations either – Macdonald and his crew went back to the actual Siula Grande to shoot the entire recreation of events.  I know nothing of the two actors who play Simpson and Yates but they do such a fantastic job that you’ll think you’re watching the real thing.  You feel right there with them.

Few films are this interesting and Touching The Void won the BAFTA Award earlier this year for best British film.  The other nominees were Cold Mountain, Girl With A Pearl Earring, In This World and Love Actually.  There’s some food for thought and another endorsement of just how good this film is.  Dazzling stuff.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 28 June 2004

Sure it’s the school holidays but Mean Girls will lure more than just interested teenagers into the movie theatre.  Already, it’s one of the surprise hits of the year in the States.  It opened with a huge $24m weekend back in early May and has grossed over $80m to date.  Very impressive for a film costing just $17m and carrying few known stars.

The centre of the story is Cady Heron (Lohan), an American girl who has lived in Africa all her life and been home-schooled by her two parents.  With her mother accepting a new job back home, Cady finds herself attending a real school for the very first time.  Now in the 8^th grade, she’s about to enter an unknown world where hormones are racing and bitchiness is at an all time high.

After a rough first day, Cady makes friends with Janis and Damien – two kids who are socially unpopular and often the subject of ridicule.  Not long after though, she is approached by the three coolest girls in the school and offered a place into their friendship group.  Regina, Gretchen and Karen are known as the “plastics” and their popularity earns them both the envy and the ire of almost every other student.

Seeing through the façade of these superficial girls, Cady, Janis and Damien come up with an idea to get revenge and expose them for the “mean girls” that they are.  Cady will become their best friend, gain their trust and then expose their weaknesses and hidden secrets.  It’s certainly not the maturest method and a series of surprising twists and turns take the film into a direction you may not expect.

Sure it’s entertainment but I love the underlying subtext here.  It’s not a stereotypical scenario with definitive good girls and bad girls.  There’s a lot of grey in the story and the characters are often dance around the fine line between good and evil.  Let’s just say you may not always been cheering for the same character.  Such scripts are very rare – particularly in the teen genre.  The final scene is a doozy.

There are lessons in maturity but what won me over was the great comedy.  Some of these characters are hilarious and the pick of the bunch is Tim Meadows (The Ladies Man) as the school principal.  He’s one of the few sane characters in this crazy, mixed-up school and his one-liners sparkle (particularly at the school dance).  I’ve thought about providing examples but you just have to see his lines in context to fully appreciate.

The casting of Lindsay Lohan in the leading role is somewhat ironic.  Last Christmas, she was involved in a huge public feud with another teen actress, Hilary Duff.  Both had dated the same young musician and when Lohan attended the premiere of Duff’s Cheaper By The Dozen, Duff’s mother tried to have Lohan evicted with cries of “Get her out!”  The two have since made up on live television but I do find the whole situation very amusing.

Ah, but this review isn’t going to generate into trashy tabloid journalism.  I’m here to talk about Mean Girls and the news is all good.  Director Mark Waters has put behind the horrors of 2001’s Head Over Heels (one of the worst films I have ever seen) and put a teen film on the market that warrants a look.