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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 07 April 2008

Semi-Pro is your typical Will Ferrell movie.  That’s the easiest way of describing it.  If you’ve watched Blades Of Glory, Talladega Nights or Anchorman, you’ll know exactly what to expect.  In all four movies, you’ll see (1) Will Ferrell dressing up, (2) Will Ferrell deliberately over acting and (3) Will Ferrell getting laughs from playing an idiotic character.

This time around, he’s playing a 70s basketball player named Jackie Moon.  Moon is the captain, coach and owner of a basketball team known as the Flint Michigan Tropics.  They compete in the American Basketball Association League (ABA).  Jackie loves the sport but he loves himself even more.  If there’s a way of getting himself in front of a microphone or a camera, he’ll find it.

The problem for Jackie is that interest in his team is starting to wain.  They’ve been losing consistently and crowd numbers for home games are at record lows.  Jackie thinks his problems are solved when the ABA agree to merge with the National Basketball Association (NBA) at the end of the year.  The top 4 teams in the ABA will get to join the new league but the remaining teams will be dissolved.  If Jackie can get the Tropics into the top 4, then his team will survive and he can realise his dream of playing in the more high-profile NBA.

To help improve their on-field performance, Jackie brings in a new player.  His name is Monix (Harrelson) and he comes with a shaky reputation.  He seems more interested in stalking his ex-girlfriend (Lynn) than playing basketball.  Also of concern for Jackie is the fact that his team must average a home crowd of 2,000 people per game or else they won’t be considered for the NBA.  He needs to find a way of attracting fans.

This is a bizarre movie.  I laughed quite a bit but it wasn’t because of its intelligent, witty humour.  I laughed at how crazy the whole scenario is.  Some of the scenes are strange to say the least.  The scene at the poker table is a good example.  Looking back on the film, I’d swear that Will Ferrell’s character had Tourette’s Syndrome.  He’d be talking normally and then throw in some completely random profanity.  It’s childish humour but I couldn’t help but smile.

It’ll be interesting to see how long Will Ferrell continues with these types of movies.  He’s tried to branch out into more meaningful films (such as Stranger Than Fiction and The Producers) but he somehow ends up making another low-brow comedy where you have to have your brain switched to the “off” position to sit through it.  I’m not complaining since I think that Ferrell has talent both as an actor and a comedian.  I just don’t want to see him end up like, say, a Chevy Chase.  We’ll see.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 27 March 2008

If you’re a fan of street dancing, you’ll probably get a kick out of Step Up 2 The Streets.  You’ll see some well choreographed dance sequences performed by a young, fresh cast.  The soundtrack isn’t too bad either.

This film is the sequel to Step Up (released in 2006) which starred Channing Tatum, Jenna Dewan and Australian Rachel Griffiths.  Tatum makes a brief cameo at the start of the film but aside from his appearance, this is a different story with different people.  I don’t think this is as good as the original (which I gave a B grading) but it’s still worth a look.

The story is set in Maryland and focuses on a girl named Andie West (Evigan).  She’s part of a crew called the “410” who roam the city and cause trouble with their illegal street dancing.  One of the latest stunts, where they disrupted a bunch of commuters on a city train, made the news.  Andie’s mother died of cancer many years ago and her foster-mum thinks she’s fallen in with the wrong crowd.  She wants to send her to live with her aunt in Texas.

This doesn’t go down well with Andie who pleads for one more chance.  With the help of a new friend named Chase (Hoffman), she gets herself enrolled in the dance program at the Maryland School of Arts.  It’s time to knuckle down and fly right.

There’s an interesting mix of people at the school and Andie quickly makes new friends.  They share her love for street dancing and aren’t exactly thrilled with the old-style dance lessons and programs which are set by the school.  They start up their own street dancing club and start practicing in secret.  Their goal is to compete at a huge underground dance competition known as “The Streets” and prove just how good they are.

As I’ve already alluded to, the dance scenes are the best part of Step Up 2 The Streets.  The best part is probably the finale where the crew showcase their talent in pouring rain at The Streets competition.  It looks great and credit goes to 28-year-old director Jon Chu.

If you’re seeing this movie for its storyline however, don’t get your hopes up.   It doesn’t make much sense when you break it down.  I can’t go into a lot of detail for fear of ruining the film for those who haven’t seen it.  All I’ll say is that transformation of certain characters (such as the big-name dance school teacher) was pretty hard to believe.

Both Step Up and Step Up 2 The Streets have made over $50m at in the United States.  There’s a strong market for this new wave of “dance movies” and I’m sure we’ll be seeing more in the near future.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 03 April 2008

Lars Lindstrom (Gosling) is single 27-year-old guy.  He lives with his older brother, Gus (Schneider), and his pregnant sister-in-law, Karin (Mortimer).  He has a regular job, goes to Church every Sunday and is well liked by everyone in the small town.  He sounds like the perfect catch for a young woman looking for love.  In fact, there’s a cute girl from work named Margo (Garner) is trying hard to get his attention.

The problem for Margo is that Lars has an extremely introverted personality, particularly when it comes to dealing with women.  He actually lives out in the garage (separate from the main house) so that he can avoid interacting with his brother and his wife.  He is a very private person.  Lars’s mother died at childbirth and he was raised as a child by his father and brother.  Could this have something to do with how he turned out?

One day, Lars knocks on the front door of the house and tells Gus and Karin that he’s met a girl named Bianca.  Their initial excitement turns to shock horror when Lars brings her over for an introduction.  Bianca is a sex doll that Lars ordered over the internet!  Lars keeps her in a wheelchair and talks to her as if he were a real person.  Gus and Karin don’t know what to think.  The local psychiatrist (Clarkson) suggests they go along with the façade or else it might further upset Lars’s fragile mental condition.

Soon enough, Lars is taking Bianca everywhere with him.  He takes her to church, he takes her to parties and he takes her on romantic drives.  He even has photos of her at his desk at work.  Everyone in the town starts following the lead of Gus and Karin in pretending that she’s real.  No one has the guts to tell the likeable Lars what they really think so they let the charade continue.  How long can this go on for though?  Is this a permanent condition or will Lars eventually realise what’s going on?

It’s a strange idea for a movie but it deserves a huge wrap for its originality.  Writer Nancy Oliver was nominated for best original screenplay at the Oscars earlier this year (but Diablo Cody’s Juno script went on to win).  This bizarre scenario provides a lot of room for good jokes.  Some of the best scenes involve people meeting Bianca for the first time.  There’s an emotional impact as well – whilst you may laugh at Lars, you feel sympathetic towards him and the people around him at the same time.

As you’d expect, Ryan Gosling (The Notebook) is terrific the leading role.  His character could easy look foolish (talking to a sex doll all day) but Gosling is believable.  It’s hard to describe how but trust me, he is!  The supporting cast are also wonderful.  They include the underrated Emily Mortimer (Match Point), the underrated Paul Schneider (All The Real Girls) and the underrated Patricia Clarkson (Pieces Of April).

I was surprised to learn that the director of the film is an Aussie.  Craig Gillespie (whose only other credit to date was the forgettable Mr. Woodcock) moved to New York when he was 19 years old and studied film at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan.  Having made television commercials for the last few years, Gillespie has stepped up to plate and taken a swing at being a feature film director.  With Lars And The Real Girl, he’s hit a home run.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 24 March 2008

Detective Johnson:   Mr. Toomey, as you would have heard, there was a murder in your apartment building a few nights ago.  We’d like to ask you a few questions.

Matthew Toomey:     No worries.  Fire away.

Detective Johnson:   Where were you on the night of March 24 at around 9:00pm?

Matthew Toomey:     Um, ah, I was actually at the movies.

Detective Johnson:   What was the movie?  Where did you see it?

Matthew Toomey:     It was, ah, um, ah, um, the Hannah Montana 3D movie.  I saw it at the Birch Carroll & Coyle Cinemas at Indooroopilly.

Detective Johnson:   Hmmm, ok.  And who did you see it with?  Is there anyone who can verify that you were at the cinemas?

Matthew Toomey:     Ah, look, I know this is going to sound bad, but I actually saw it on my own.

Detective Johnson:   So you’re telling me that you gave up a Monday night and went alone to see a film marketed at 12-year-old girls?  Do you really expect me to believe this?

Matthew Toomey:     Well it is the truth, I swear.  There were just 4 of us in the cinema and I sat in the second back row to be as inconspicuous as possible.  I didn’t really want to attract attention to myself.

Detective Johnson:   But why were you watching that movie in the first place?  You’re sounding a little suspicious.

Matthew Toomey:     Well, you see, I’m actually a part-time film critic.  I have a website where you can see all my reviews and I also do a segment on 2 radio programs.  I missed the free press screening and so had to pay to see it like everyone else.  Trust me - this is the last film I’d pay to see.  I just went because I had to.

Detective Johnson:   Ok then.  I’ll look into that.  So do you remember who sold you the ticket at the cinema?  Can they confirm your whereabouts at 9:00pm?

Matthew Toomey:     No, I can’t remember, sorry.  I was trying to avoid eye contact with the cashier.  It was embarrassing enough asking for the ticket.  I do remember trying to get a student discount with my Australian Film Institute Membership card but she wouldn’t let me since it was a 3D movie and there was no concession rate.  I had to pay a ridiculous $16.50.  Those cinemas are such a rip off and they really…

Detective Johnson:   All right, calm down Mr. Toomey.  If you really where there and you did see the movie, tell me a bit about it.

Matthew Toomey:     Well, Miley Cyrus in the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus.  She stars in some Disney TV show in America called Hannah Montana.  The show is about a girl who lives a double life.  She’s a normal school girl by day and music star by night.  The movie has nothing really to do with the TV show.  It’s just a bunch of songs that Miley sung at a huge concert somewhere in the U.S.  You can see thousands of screaming kids in the audience.  I guess she’s pretty big over there.  I’d never heard of her until I saw the movie.  The cool twist to the film was that they shot it in 3D.  So you get special glasses to watch the movie with and it does look pretty neat.  If you’re a Miley Cyrus or Hannah Montana fan, I reckon you’d like it.  I can’t see it appealing to anyone else.  You do believe me now, right?  I can show you my 3D glasses if you’d like?

Detective Johnson:   Nah, that’s ok.  Your story is so horribly embarrassing that I’m thinking that it must be true.  I’ll see if the cinemas can confirm your presence on their security cameras.  Look, I’ll give you my card.  If you have anything else you’d like to tell me, please give me a call.  I’ll be in touch.

Matthew Toomey:     Thanks Detective.  Sorry I wasn’t able to be more help.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 29 March 2008

I can remember when I started reviewing movies (back in 1996), that you’d only see a handful of foreign language movies released each year.  Times have changed.  The Palace Centro Cinemas at New Farm recently hosted the Alliance Francaise French Film Festival.  38 French films were screened over 10 days.  Many of these screenings were sold out.

If you weren’t able to make it along, don’t worry.  A few of the movies that screened will be receiving a wider release over the coming weeks.  The first cab off the rank is The Secret Of The Grain.

For those who see a lot of French movies, you might be in for a surprise with this one.  It’s very long (151 minutes), centres on an Arab family living in France and features a bunch of non-professional actors with no prior experience.  You’re probably asking yourself – why is being released?  The reason is because it is a good film and has been well reviewed across the globe.  It won the Cesar Award for best film (the French equivalent of the Oscars) and was singled out for a special jury prize at the prestigious Venice Film Festival.

It’s the story of a 60-year-old named Slimane (Boufares) who is not happy with the way his life has turned out.  He’s worked his entire life at the shipyards but has slowly found himself made redundant.  There just isn’t as much work as there used to be.  He’s worried that he won’t be able to provide for his family in the long-run and that he has been a disappointment to them up until now.

Slimane is a quiet man who keeps to himself.  He does what people ask of him with minimal fuss and without ever complaining.  It’s a terrific performance from Habib Boufares who has never appeared in a movie before.  I respected him but felt sorry for him at the same time.  He’s just an ordinary man living an ordinary life.  I really wanted things to get better for him.

After decades of working for others, Slimane decides to roll the dice and take a chance.  He uses all his savings to buy an old, rundown boat.  He wants to give it a complete refurbishment and turn it into a floating restaurant.  His family are 100% behind him and will do whatever it takes to help him out.  All their efforts go into a huge opening gala night where some influential people have been invited.  It’s an event which could make or break him.

As I’ve already indicated, this is an unusual film.  I can see it annoying some viewers.  For example, there’s a scene which goes for about 10 minutes where the whole family sits around the dining table and share a huge luncheon feast.  They just talk about their lives and what’s been happening.  Whilst the film does tend to drag at times (particularly the ending), I liked this approach.  You get a true sense of what the family is like.  It’s as if I was watching a documentary.

I don’t know who to recommend this film to and I think it will struggle at the Australian box-office.  Still, there’s not a lot of great stuff out at the moment and this is better than most movies currently screening.