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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 28 December 2007

3:10 To Yuma is the first new release “western” I’ve seen in a long time and it’s a damn good one.  Fans of the genre won’t want to miss it.  When you realise that a film of this quality, it makes you wonder why we don’t see more westerns in today’s cinemas.

Ben Wade (Crowe) is a notorious outlaw who is wanted by the authorities.  He and his large posse have robbed many establishments over the years.  He’s been caught before but he always finds a way to escape.

After robbing a stage coach just outside of the town of Bisbee, Wade and his crew slip quietly into town.  They split the money between them and celebrate with a few drinks.  Just as he is about to leave, Wade is spotted and arrested by the sheriff.  Wade doesn’t seem too concerned – it’s as if he’s looking forward the challenge of escaping once again.

It’s decided by the sheriff that Wade will be transported to the jail in Yuma where he will be tried and hopefully hanged.  There’s a train (with a special prisoner section) that leaves every day from the town of Contention at 3:10pm.  It’s a long horse ride to Contention however.  The sheriff is worried that Wade’s posse will intercept them en route and rescue their leader.

Dan Evans (Bale) is a farmer struggling to make ends meet.  He’s overdue on his land repayments and is about to be kicked off the property.  Desperate for money, he accepts an offer to help escort Wade to Contention.  He knows it will be dangerous but the $200 fee is too tempting.  Around six people start out as part of the escort but not all will make it…

3:10 To Yuma is the complete package.  It’s got action, drama, comedy and suspense.  It’s a great way to spend two hours.  The tension keeps building and you know there’s going to be a big climax to finish the movie off.  The setting is terrific too – director James Mangold (Walk The Line) takes up back to a very interesting time in American history.  It’s fun watching them all try to shoot each other with bullets with their ancient pistols.  I don’t know how any of them could shoot straight back then.

Russell Crowe and Christian Bale are two of the best actors going around today and they’re great in this movie.  They can play any role and they prove that here.  The other standout in the cast is Ben Foster (X-Men: The Last Stand) who plays a man in Wade’s crew.  His crazy look and creepy voice make him an intimidating individual.

Load your guns, saddle up and prepare for an adventure.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 20 December 2007

Let me just say that Alice In Wonderland was more believable than this.  National Treasure: Book Of Secrets is perhaps the most far-fetched movie of the year (and that’s saying something).  I called the first film a “fun adventure” and I guess the same can be said for this sequel.  It’s a forgettable “popcorn movie” where you sit back, relax and try not to think too hard.

It begins in a packed lecture theatre where Ben Gates (Cage) and his father (Voight) are approached by a man called Mitch Wilkinson (Harris).  He has a 140-year-old piece of paper which links Ben’s great-great grandfather to the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.  It makes the newspapers the next day and Ben is upset that his family name has been tarnished.

So what does he do?  He goes on a crazy, life-threatening journey to seek the truth.  He will be joined by his best friend Riley (Bartha) and his wife (Kruger).  They make a good team.  Between them, they manage to sneak into the Queen’s study in Buckingham Palace at the President’s Oval Office at The White House.  I guess security isn’t as tough as it used to be.

All the clues are pointing to some lost city of gold.  Many sought it in the 19^th Century but no one could ever find it.  Over time, the legend has been forgotten.  As Ben starts closing in on its location, he realises that he has competition.  Mitch Wilkinson wants to find it first so that he can get the recognition.  He’s prepared to kill to achieve his goal.

I’m not always a fan of Nicolas Cage but I liked him in this role and I think it suits him.  He is backed by some more experienced actors in Jon Voight and Helen Mirren (who plays his mother).  They work well together.

I can’t say the same for the plot.  Whilst I enjoyed the film’s cracking pace (there’s hardly any time to catch your breath), it’s just too silly for my liking.  Everything works out too easily for Ben.  It lacks a “suspense factor”.  You just know he’s going to find a way out of every life-threatening situation and carry on as if it had never happened.  He’s the James Bond of code breakers.

The film’s finale sets up an inevitable sequel.  Let’s just get it over with and move on to a fresh idea.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 26 December 2007

I haven’t dished out an A+ grading in 15 months.  The streak is now over thanks to the arrival of Juno.  Half way through, I knew that this witty black comedy was the best thing I’d seen in a long time.

As the title suggests, it all revolves around Juno MacGuff (Page).  She’s a 16-year-old high school student who has found out that she’s pregnant.  It’s not good news for Juno as a baby is the last thing she wants.  The father is a shy kid from school by the name of Paulie Bleeker (Cera).  They’ve been good friends for a long time.  A night of foolish experimentation has seen them end up in this position.

After giving it some thought, Juno decides against having an abortion.  She tells a good friend that she “could like have this baby and give it to someone who like totally needs it”.  Juno starts flipping through the newspaper (yep, there are ads for prospective parents) and finds the photo of a happy, young couple who are looking to adopt.

Before going to visit them, it’s time to break the news to her parents first (Simmons and Janney).  They’re stunned by the news but don’t “fly off the handle” like you’d expect.  They want to help Juno deal with her situation as best as possible.  Her dad goes with her to meet Mark (Bateman) and Vanessa (Garner), the couple she found in the newspaper.  They’re not quite what Juno expected but she’s more than happy to give them her baby.  The legal paperwork is prepared and the wheels are in motion…

Juno takes a few interesting twists and turns which I’ll allow you to discover for yourself.  It has been incredibly well written by 29-year-old Diablo Cody.  I’m impressed that someone so young has managed to get a screenplay off the ground.  Her success is well deserved though and the fact that the film was made is a testament to her initial script.  It’s intelligent and insightful.

The director is 30-year-old Jason Reitman who made another great black comedy in 2005, Thank You For Smoking.  Reitman is the son of Ivan Reitman, the man behind such great films as Stripes and Ghost Busters).  I guess comedy is in their blood.

Between them, Cody and Reitman have made one hell of a movie.  There’s a perfect balance of funny moments and serious moments.  They have told Juno’s story in a charming, likeable manner.  Every character is memorable and they all have their own quirks and insecurities.  Not a single scene is wasted.

The star of the film is 20-year-old Ellen Page (Hard Candy).  She’s certain to earn an Academy Award nomination for best actress.  I loved her openness and the emotionless, sarcastic manner with which she delivers so many of her lines.  It brought back memories of Thora Birch in Ghost World (a favourite black comedy of mine).  There’s more to Page’s character however and she becomes somewhat uncertain of herself in the lead up to the film’s finale.  Juno is a great character and Page has nailed the role.

My appreciation for this movie is shared by many others.  When it premiered at the 2007 Toronto Film Festival (the most important festival in the world), it finished 2^nd in the audience vote.  The buzz from Toronto has seen the film grow in stature and there’s a possibility it could earn a best picture nomination at the upcoming Oscars.  It was made for a mere $2.5m and has become this year’s “little film that could”.  My favourite critic, Roger Ebert, has honoured it by naming it his best of 2007.

In this review, I’ve mentioned the age of the writer, director and lead actor.  They’re all younger than me (I’m 30).  Have I missed my opportunity to make it in Hollywood?  Or are Cody, Reitman and Page just incredibly talented craftspeople ahead of their time?  I think it’s the later.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 16 December 2007

Ethan and Joel Coen have made some incredible films.  They’ve made my top 10 directors list for as long as I’ve been publishing it on my website.  Their works include Fargo, The Big Lebowski and Intolerable Cruelty.  No Country For Old Men is their latest creation and it’s one of the best films I’ve seen all year.  There’s still a month till the nominations but it looks a lock to be a best picture nominee at the Oscars.

Ah, but don’t be fooled.  This film isn’t for everyone.  Here’s just a splattering of comments from the Internet Movie Database website – “this is easily the worst film I’ve seen this year”, “this movie is just horrible”, “anyone that thinks this movie is clever or deep is certifiably insane”, “I actually saw people angrily walking to get a refund”, “this movie is esoteric garbage”, and “I swear Mortal Kombat was better than this.”

My point is that you’ll either love it or hate it.  My job is to help you work out which category you fit into before you think about seeing it.

Llewelyn Moss (Brolin) is an ordinary man who is hunting animals in a Texas desert.  Looking down from atop a small cliff, he spots an array of cars with dead bodies strewn everywhere.  He goes in for a closer look.  A shoot out has taken place.  There appear to be no survivors.  A stash of drugs has been left on the back of a ute and there’s a large suitcase containing $2m in cash.  Llewelyn thinks for a moment and decides to take the money.  He stashes it underneath the caravan in which he and his wife (Macdonald) live.

It’s a decision he will regret.  The hunter will become the hunted.  With 24 hours, he realises that there are some very nasty people who want that money for themselves and unfortunately, he’s left a trail.  Llewelyn tells his wife to hide at her mother’s and then he hits the open road, looking for somewhere to lay low.

Hot on his tail is a hired assassin with the strange name of Anton Chigurh (Bardem).  He has been hired by some powerful people to get the money back.  Anton is one of the scariest bad guys I’ve ever seen a film.  His mere presence makes everyone around him feel uncomfortable.  I speak of the people in the movie… and those sitting in the cinema audience!  There’s a great scene where he speaks to the owner of a service station in the search for information.  He is pure evil.

Caught up in the story is Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Jones), an experienced police officer is trying to do what is right.  He realises the danger that Llewelyn is in and is hoping to find him before the bad guys do.  As the body count rises, Tom finds himself questioning humanity.  How is it that these people have such little regard for human life?

No Country For Old Men is based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy (All The Pretty Horses).  I haven’t read the novel but I believe it’s a very faithful adaptation.  The ending (which will leave some people unfulfilled) is exactly how the book ends.  What I adored most about the material were the terrific one-liners.  Tommy Lee Jones gets most of them in what is one of his greatest performances.  Every time he opens his mouth, you know that an intelligent, insightful comment will be made.

Another superb quality of the film is its casting.  The main actors are all wonderful but I want to focus on the supporting cast.  I don’t where the Coen brothers find these people.  They may only be on screen for a few minutes but they make those few minutes unforgettable.  I speak of the caravan park manager, the boot salesman, the hotel clerk...

With all these superlatives, you might be wondering why some people haven’t liked the film?  The answer is simple – it doesn’t necessarily give you what you want.  It doesn’t play out like a normal Hollywood thriller where everything is wrapped up nice and neatly.  You have been warned in that regard.

In many ways, No Country For Old Men reminded me of Fargo.  They explore similar themes in a similar setting.   Oh, and there’s one more thing they have in common – they’re both brilliant.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 24 December 2007

I like the idea for this movie.  Animation meets reality.  Giselle (Adams) has just met the man of her dreams, Prince Edward (Marsden), in an animated fantasy land known as Andalasia.  They share a kiss and she realises that he is her one true love.  They are to be married the next day.

This doesn’t sit well with Edward’s mother, Queen Narissa (Sarandon).  She’s not prepared to give up her crown to the bubbly Giselle.  Using her powerful magic, she throws Giselle down a wishing well.  It transports her into the real human world.  Giselle pops out from under a manhole cover and finds herself in the centre of New York City.

Wearing a crown and a huge white wedding dress, Giselle’s appearance makes an impression.  She stands out like a sore thumb.  People look at her like she’s some weirdo.  It gets even worse when she starts asking for directions back to the castle.  Giselle is in way over her head.

A twist of fate will see her fall into the arms of a lawyer named Robert (Dempsey).  He too is confused by her story but feels a little sympathetic.  With some encouragement from his young daughter, Nancy (Menzel), Robert lets Giselle stay the night at his apartment.  The next morning, he tries to help Giselle find a way home.

It’s a little more complicated than that.  On learning that this bride-to-be had fallen down the well, Prince Edward (Marsden) took the plunge.  He too is now in the human world and is looking to rescue Giselle.  To ensure that this doesn’t happen, the Queen has sent one of her loyal henchman (Spall) to get to her first.  The plan is to get Giselle to eat a poison apple.

Enchanted has a lot to offer.  When I saw the trailer, it came across as G-rated family flick which was targeted at young kids.  Whilst that statement is true (in hindsight), I think this film will appeal to romantics of any age.  I don’t want to give too much away in this regard but the response from some of the female audience members at my screening told me that their hearts had been won over.

The key to the whole movie is the performance of Amy Adams as Giselle.  She’s terrific!  Her naive innocence makes her both funny and likeable.  Some have been tipping that a second Oscar nomination (following her 2006 nom for Junebug) is just around the corner.  Just as good is Patrick Dempsey as Robert.  His performance is a lot more subdued but it’s just what is required.  He’s just an ordinary guy trying to make sense of a very strange situation.

Whilst I think the script could have been a little tighter (there were a few too many plot holes for me), Enchanted is a light-hearted adventure receiving a well timed release over the Christmas break.  I think you’re going to like it.