Matt's Blog

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 11 April 2011

We’ve reached a Film Pie milestone this week!  On Wednesday night, I’m going to a preview screening of Scream 4.  It officially be the 3,000th time that I’ve dished out a grading to a film.

For those who don’t know my background, my first job out of school was in a video store.  As I was seeing so many movies, I thought I’d start a spreadsheet to keep track of them and my grading for each (on a 9 point scale from A+ to C-).  I kicked off on 1 January 1996 with screenings of Operation Dumbo Drop and Copycat (which I saw while on holidays up the Sunshine Coast).

Over the years, things have expanded somewhat.  In 1998, I started reviewing for Logan 101.1FM.  In 1999, I started up my website (The Film Pie) and an e-newsletter which I sent out to a few friends.  In 2000, I started writing up full length reviews for about 2 films each week.  In 2005, I landed a reviewing gig with Brisbane’s highest rating breakfast show with Spencer Howson on 612ABC.  In 2009, I revamped the website and started up a Facebook group and a Twitter profile.  In 2010, I obtained accreditation on Rotten Tomatoes which helped expand my audience.  Later this year, I’m hoping to attend a big international film festival (plans are in progress).

In my database, I’ve only included films which have had a cinema release in Brisbane since 1996.  Whilst I’ve seen plenty of films from before that time, it’s kind of hard to give them a grade given most of them are already considered “classics”.  I also haven’t included any direct-to-video releases or small films from film festivals because hardly anyone will see them anyway.

I have to admit to feeling a sense of accomplishment having made it this far.  I’m pretty passionate about the things I do but even I’m surprised that I’m still reviewing after more than 15 years.  It’s been a fun ride and the hopefully it will continue into the future.  Being able to see movies ahead of time and interview some actors and filmmakers is a great thrill.

In this week’s blog, I thought I’d reflect back on the past 5,580 days and give you a summary of all the films I’ve seen.  Enjoy!

Total films graded: 2,999 (an average of 4.3 films per week since 1996)

Here’s a summary by grade:

A+ – 44 films

A – 196 films

A- – 424 films

B+ – 537 films

B – 470 films

B- – 450 films

C+ – 418 films

C – 326 films

C- – 134 films

Total films where I’ve written a full review: 1,193 (an average of 2.3 per week since 2000)

Most films seen in a single year:  238 (in 2006)

Total films worthy of an A+:  44

Here’s the list of A+ films by year…

1996 – Fargo, Leaving Las Vegas, Mr. Holland’s Opus, Shine, Romeo & Juliet

1997 – Breaking The Waves, Face/Off, The Ice Storm, Marvin’s Room, The People Vs. Larry Flynt, Titanic

1998 – Jackie Brown, Mulan, Saving Private Ryan, The Sweet Hereafter

1999 – Being John Malkovich, Election, Gods & Monsters, Pleasantville, Snow Falling On Cedars, Thin Red Line

2000 – American Beauty, Billy Elliot, Magnolia

2001 – The Fellowship Of The Ring, Nurse Betty, Requiem For A Dream, Traffic

2002 – Ghost World, Gosford Park, Monster’s Ball, Mulholland Drive

2003 – Chicago, The Quiet American

2004 – Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

2005 – Million Dollar Baby

2006 – Capote, The Departed, Hidden, United 93

2007 – none

2008 – Juno, Persepolis

2009 – The Wrestler

2010 – Inception

Year with the most A+ films:  1997 and 1999 (see above for a list of films)

Longest drought without seeing an A+ film:  553 days (between seeing The Wrestler in January 2009 and Inception in July 2010)

Year with the most C- films: 2003 (Anger Management, Ballistic: Ecks Vs. Sever, Final Destination 2, The Four Feathers, Half Past Dead, Hollywood Homicide, Horseplay, Legally Blonde 2, The Lizzy McGuire Movie, The Master Of Disguise, The Real Cancun, Tomb Raider, Trapped)

Time taken to grade 1,000 films:  2,181 days (I saw Vanilla Sky on 20 December 2001)

Additional time taken to grade 2,000 films: 1,746 days (I saw the Devil Wears Prada on 30 September 2006)

Additional time taken to grade 3,000 films:  1,657 days (I will see Scream 4 on 13 April 2011)

Best film I’ve seen since 1996:  Billy Elliot

Worst film I’ve seen since 1996:  A Sound Of Thunder

Most number of films seen in a single day:  6 (on 7 August 2004 which started at the Palace Centro at 10am and finished at BIFF at the Regent around 1am).

Longest drought without seeing a movie:  22 days (from 28 June 2004 to 19 July 2004 while I was off on a holiday in Europe)

Total review shows done for 612ABC Brisbane:  approximately 245

Total review shows done for Logan 101.1FM:  approximately 585

Total Film Pie e-newsletters sent out:  approximately 640

Total best and worst lists combined:  15 (you can check them all out here).

It’s kind of nerdy to have all of these statistics but hey, I’m an accountant by day so you should expect nothing less.  A big thanks to everyone who reads my reviews on a regular basis or tunes in on 612ABC, Logan 101.1FM or ABC Southern Queensland.  I do love talking about movies and hopefully I’ve been able to provide plenty of helpful advice on what to see and what not to see.  May the good times continue!

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 04 April 2011

	10.  Josh Hutcherson Best Recent Performance:  Bridge To Terabithia (2007) Other Great Performances:  The Kids Are All Right (2010), Winged Creatures (2008), Zathura (2005), Little Manhattan (2005)
	9.  Ryan Phillippe Best Recent Performance:  Flags Of Our Fathers (2006) Other Great Performances:  The Lincoln Lawyer (2011), Stop-Loss (2008), Breach (2007), Crash (2004), Igby Goes Down (2002), Gosford Park (2001), Antitrust (2001)
	8.  Clive Owen Best Recent Performance:  Closer (2004) Other Great Performances:  Duplicity (2009), The International (2009), Children Of Men (2006), Inside Man (2006), Sin City (2005), The Bourne Identity (2002), Gosford Park (2001)
	7.  Christian Bale Best Recent Performance:  The Fighter (2010) Other Great Performances:  The Dark Knight (2008), I’m Not There (2007), 3:10 To Yuma (2007), The Prestige (2006), Batman Begins (2005)
	6.  Matt Damon Best Recent Performance:  The Bourne Supremacy (2004) Other Great Performances:  Green Zone (2010), The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), The Departed (2006), Syriana (2005), The Bourne Identity (2002), Ocean’s Eleven (2001)
	5.  Robert Downey Jr Best Recent Performance:  Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (2005) Other Great Performances:  Due Date (2010), Sherlock Holmes (2009), Tropic Thunder (2008), Iron Man (2008), Zodiac (2007), A Scanner Darkly (2006), Good Night, and Good Luck (2005)
	4.  Leonardo DiCaprio Best Recent Performance:  Catch Me If You Can (2002) Other Great Performances:  Inception (2010), Shutter Island (2010), Revolutionary Road (2008), Body Of Lies (2008), Blood Diamond (2006), The Departed (2006), The Aviator (2004), Gangs Of New York (2002)
	3.  Russell Crowe Best Recent Performance:  A Beautiful Mind (2001) Other Great Performances:  The Next Three Days (2010), State Of Play (2009), Body Of Lies (2008), American Gangster (2007), 3:10 To Yuma (2007), Cinderella Man (2005), Master & Commander (2003)
	2.  Philip Seymour Hoffman Best Recent Performance:  Capote (2006) Other Great Performances:  Doubt (2008), Charlie Wilson’s War (2008), Before The Devil Knows Your Dead (2007), The Savages (2007), Cold Mountain (2003), Owning Mahowny (2003), 25th Hour (2002), Red Dragon (2002), Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
	1.  George Clooney Best Recent Performance:  Michael Clayton (2007) Other Great Performances:  Fantastic Mr Fox (2009), Up In The Air (2009), Burn After Reading (2008), Leatherheads (2008), Syriana (2005), Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), Intolerable Cruelty (2003), Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind (2002), Ocean’s Eleven (2001)

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 29 March 2011

I’m back on deck after illness and a very busy week.  Plenty of things to do and plenty of movies to see.

I saw a couple of films last week that had me thinking “wow, she’s a great actress”.  I was referring to Rosamund Pike in Barney’s Version and Carey Mulligan in Never Let Me Go.  It has prompted me to update the list I keep of my favourite actresses.  The last time I did an update was back in October 2008.

This week, I’ve scoured through my reviews to come up with a current list of my 10 favourite actresses working today.  I started with a shortlist of about 25 and worked my way down from there.  It wasn’t easy.

When I create such a list, I’m looking at two key criteria – (1) the actress has a history of strong performances in great movies over the past 10 years, and (2) any new film starring this actress is likely to grab my attention.

New inclusions in this year’s list are Patricia Clarkson, Amy Adams and Rachel McAdams.  They sneak in at the expense of Laura Linney, Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Connolly.

Honourable mentions this year have to go to Rosamund Pike, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Sally Hawkins, Carey Mulligan, Michelle Williams, Helen Mirren, Marisa Tomei, Zooey Deschanel, Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard and Marcia Gay Harden.

With that said, here then are my 10 favourite actresses.  For each, I’ve listed my favourite performances over the past decade.  Enjoy!

10. Rachel McAdams

Favourite Performances:  Morning Glory (2010), State Of Play (2009), Wedding Crashers (2005), Mean Girls (2004), The Notebook (2004)

9.  Natalie Portman 

Favourite Performances:  No Strings Attached (2011), Black Swan (2010), The Other Boleyn Girl (2008), V For Vendetta (2005), Garden State (2004), Closer (2004), Cold Mountain (2003)

8. Amy Adams

Favourite Performances:  The Fighter (2010), Doubt (2008), Sunshine Cleaning (2008), Charlie Wilson’s War (2007), Enchanted (2007), Junebug (2005)

7.  Nicole Kidman

Favourite Performances:  Rabbit Hole (2010), Australia (2008), Margot At The Wedding (2007), Birth (2004), Cold Mountain (2003), Dogville (2003), The Hours (2002), The Others (2001), Moulin Rouge!  (2001)

6. Patricia Clarkson

Favourite Performances:  Easy A (2010), Cairo Time (2009), Elegy (2008), Good Night And Good Luck (2005), Dogville (2003), The Station Agent (2003), Pieces Of April (2003), Far From Heaven (2002)

5.  Julianne Moore 

Favourite Performances:  The Kids Are All Right (2010), Chloe (2009), A Single Man (2009), Children Of Men (2006), The Hours (2002), Hannibal (2002), Far From Heaven (2002)

4.  Kate Winslet 

Favourite Performances:  Revolutionary Road (2008), The Reader (2008), Little Children (2006), The Holiday (2006), Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004), Finding Neverland (2004), Iris (2001)

3.  Meryl Streep 

Favourite Performances:  Julie & Julia (2009), Doubt (2008), Mamma Mia! (2008), The Devil Wears Prada (2006), A Prairie Home Companion (2006), Lemony Snicket’s A Series Of Unfortunate Events (2004), The Manchurian Candidate (2004), The Hours (2002), Adaptation (2002)

2.  Cate Blanchett 

Favourite Performances:  I’m Not There (2007), Babel (2006), Notes On A Scandal (2006), The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou (2004), The Aviator (2004), Veronica Guerin (2003)

1.  Tilda Swinton 

Favourite Performances:  I Am Love (2010), Burn After Reading (2008), Michael Clayton (2007), The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe (2005), Broken Flowers (2005), Adaptation (2002), The Deep End (2001)

I hope some of your own favourites made the list.  Next week, I’ll unveil my 10 favourite actors.  It’ll be an equally difficult list to put together.

In case you were interested, I updated the list of my favourite 10 directors in October last year.  You can check it out by clicking here.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 15 March 2011

A Roarsome Effort!

To quickly move away from my usual film coverage…

I’ve only been to a few of the Brisbane Roar games this year (I used to have a season pass) but there was no way I was going to miss the A-League grand final in front of a sold out crowd of just over 50,000 at Suncorp Stadium.

The quality of the game was very good and even though it was 0-0 at full time, I wasn’t complaining.  The crowd were right into it too but you could sense their frustration when the Roar got near the goals and felt reluctant to “pull the trigger”.

Once the Mariners had gone 2-0 up half-way through the extra time period, the game was over as far as I was concerned.  We were actually debating amongst us how the crowd would react when the final siren blew.  Would they boo the Roar off the ground despite having gone undefeated 27 straight games?  Us Brisbane-ites are fickle supporters after all.

Someone at work left early and they said the buses outside were jam packed – that’s how many had actually given up and were on the way home.  I asked a friend why he’d left and he said he just couldn’t stand the suffering.  He didn’t want to be there when the Central Coast players started celebrating.

Fiction has to be believable.  Reality doesn’t.  Never has a truer word been spoken.  The Roar go 27 games without defeat and stand 2-0 down in the grand final with less than 4 minutes to go.  As if they could win from there?  What odds were they paying on Betfair?

I’ve watched the highlights about 10 times on the Fox Sports website and it still sends a chill down my spine.  The shock of the commentators and the image of Matt McKay looking up at the sky says it all.  The commentators said that fans were streaming back in from outside (those who hadn’t yet jumped on a bus I guess).

The shootout was also amazing.  It’s the first one I’ve seen live.  You always had a sense that the Roar would pull it off.  Momentum was on their side.  The crowd went bananas after the two saves and most hung around for the presentation.  A guy sitting in front of us summed it up best – “I’m not going to get drunk tonight. I’m going to get blind.”  Here’s out excited reaction just after the game - http://twitpic.com/492t09.

I’m still a sceptic when it comes to the A-League.  I think it’s very hard for a local league in any sport to take a foothold in this country when the best players compete overseas.  It’s like golf.  We struggle to get big names down here and the crowds / sponsors reflect that.  There are many clubs struggling in the A-League but hey, it’s lasted 6 years so far and that isn’t too bad I guess.

All I know is that what I witnessed on Sunday night will do the sport no harm.  It was absolutely incredible.

Alliance Française French Film Festival

The 22^nd Alliance Française French Film Festival kicks off in Brisbane on Wednesday night and runs for almost three weeks.  It’s a huge line up with 46 new films in total.  When I saw the list of stars, I was surprised by how many I actually knew.  France does have a great film culture.  You can see films starring Sophie Marceau, Isabelle Huppert, Marion Cotillard, François Cluzet, Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Cécile De France, Jean Reno, Virginie Ledoyen, Audrey Tautou and Kristin Scott Thomas.  That’s a solid list!

Here’s a quick look at a few films which have caught my eye…

Potiche

A captivating new comedy from celebrated director François Ozon, set in the 1970s about a glamorous but neglected housewife who unexpectedly finds herself running the family’s umbrella factory.

Little White Lies

Each year a couple host a gathering at their beautiful beach house where they commence their summer holidays with a group of close friends. Fun, fine wine and seafood mix with sun and sand as they all leave their city stresses behind. But this year, circumstances change, leading to simmering tensions, which threaten to shatter their idyll.

Love Crime

Against the sterile backdrop of a powerful multi-national company, two women – a young ingénue assistant and a senior executive - cross swords. At first they are friendly, but when the older woman starts to take credit for her younger colleague’s ideas, the ground is prepared for all-out war and a dangerous game begins to unfold.

The Clink Of Ice

An alcoholic and misanthropic writer comes face-to-face with a physical manifestation of his own personal suitwearing cancer in this taboo-breaking, intellectual romp from the politically incorrect director, Bertrand Blier.

Of Gods And Men

Set in the mid-1990s and based on a true story, this film follows a community of French Cistercian monks who live in harmony with the local Muslim population deep in the Algerian mountains until they become a target of Islamist fundamentalist rebels. Panic spreads among the inhabitants. The army offers to protect the monks, but they refuse assistance. Should they leave or remain, and if they stay, what will their decision cost them?

You can find out more on the Festival website at http://www.frenchfilmfestival.org/default.aspx.  Tickets are $17.50 for most sessions but there are a few showcase events that cost a little extra (some coming with wine and entertainment).  I’ll hopefully see you there!