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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 15 July 2007

Ann (Redgrave) is in the final days of her life.  She is confined to her bed and is taken care of by her two daughters, Nina (Collette) and Constance (Richardson).  Slipping in and out of consciousness, Ann mumbles the names Harris and Buddy.  She describes Harris as her only true love and then goes on to say that she killed Buddy.  This comes a shock to Nina and Constance who don’t know what their mother is talking about.  She had never mentioned these people before.

We then slip into the past to fill in the blanks.  Ann (played now by Claire Danes) has just arrived at a beautiful sea-side mansion which is home to two of her best friends, Lila (Gummer) and Buddy Wittenborn (Dancy).  Lila is getting married tomorrow and Ann will be her bridesmaid.  As Lila and her mother (Close) finalise the nitty-gritty details of the ceremony, Ann and Buddy spend time together.  Buddy has always had a crush on Ann and he hopes to take their friendship a step further.

What should be a fun, happy weekend for Ann is about to become far more complicated.  A dashing gentleman by the name of Harris Arden (Wilson) enters the picture.  He is a wedding guest and long-time friend of the family.  There’s an instant attraction between Ann and Harris which only grows in the lead up to the wedding.  This does not go unnoticed by Buddy who realises he now has competition.

My feeble attempts to describe the plot do not do this film justice.  There are many layers to the characters and you will learn more about them as the movie progresses.  This rich story comes from the novel by Susan Minot (first published in 1998) and has been adapted for the screen by Minot and friend Michael Cunningham (author of The Hours).  I’ve seen many two hour movies which were an hour too long.  In this instance, the film feels an hour too short.  With so many characters in the film, there isn’t enough time to develop them all fully.  I wanted to know more about them.

Evening is being advertised as having one of the finest female casts of the year and I cannot argue.  In what is one of her best ever roles, Claire Danes (Romeo & Juliet) is breathtaking.  She lights up the screen in every scene in which she appears.  I’d like to think she’s a chance at an Oscar nomination.

Of the remaining cast, it’s worth pointing out a few interesting relationships.  Vanessa Redgrave and Natasha Richardson play mother and daughter in the film, just like they are in real life.  Mamie Gummer as the young Lila and Meryl Streep as the old Lila look strikingly similar because they are also mother and daughter in real life.

Hungarian-born director Lajos Koltai has been working as a cinematographer since the early 1970s.  Recent credits include Being Julia, The Emperor’s Club and Malena (which earned him an Academy Award nomination).  Now sitting in the director’s chair, he has called on the services of fellow cinematographer Gyula Pados and has created a film with striking visuals.  From the sunlight streaming into the church to the moonlight glistening off the ocean, everything looks beautiful.

Each year, there are usually a couple of movies I like that I didn’t expect to.  Evening was savaged by American critics as being slow, sappy and jumbled.  I guess this film hit the right notes for me with its insights on seizing the day and living life to its fullest.  My thumbs are up.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 01 July 2007

Alison Scott (Heigl) has just been given the promotion of a lifetime.  Working behind the scenes at the E! television network, her bosses now think she is “camera worthy”.  They want her to interview big-name celebrities and include them in one of their major entertainment shows.  To celebrate, Alison and her sister, Debbie (Mann), head to a nightclub for some big celebrations.

Ben Stone (Rogen) is an unemployed loser who lives in a share-house with four other guys.  They love to drink alcohol, smoke weed and create stupid bets.  They are currently designing a website which tells you in which movies celebrities get naked and so the bulk of their day is spent watching videos on the couch.  Looking for a good time one night, Ben and his friends head out on the town.

It is at this point where Alison and Ben first meet.  Both blindly drunk, they listen to each other’s dribble, they dance on the dance floor and then they back to Alison’s place for a one night stand.  When Alison awakes the next morning and sees Ben’s naked body on the bed, she realises that this was a big mistake.  This guy is not her type and they have nothing in common.  She gets rid of him as quickly as possible and Ben gets the message.

Eight weeks later, Alison is throwing up at work.  Horrified that she might be pregnant, she goes with her sister to the supermarket and buys every pregnancy test that they have.  The results are all positive.  The perfect life she had planned out has been ruined in an instant.  Ben is equally stunned when he hears the news.  He’s certainly not ready to be a father.  Between them, Ben and Alison decide to keep the baby and see if they can raise it together.

It may sound like a drama but Knocked Up is very intelligent comedy from Judd Apatow, the writer and director of The Forty-Year-Old Virgin.  By creating humour out of the above scenario, Apatow has opened his film up to a wider audience.  He’s following the theory that the best way of dealing with a serious situation is to laugh about it.  There are many moviegoers who will see this film that might not otherwise have done so if it was a deep, brooding drama.

That’s not to say that this film features “bottom of the barrel” laughs.  The conversations that the characters share are real and insightful.  Guys will be able to relate to Ben’s actions and girls will be able to relate to Alison’s actions.  Couples who see this movie may learn a lot about how the other sex thinks.  It’s reminded me of films such as What Women Want with Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt and The Break-Up with Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston.

Knocked Up is already proving itself as a sleeper hit at the box-office.  It was made for just $33m and has taken over $110m in its first four weeks at the U.S. box-office.  It’s proof that you don’t need a big budget and tonnes of special effects to make a good movie.  What audiences want above all else is a smartly written script.  Knocked Up delivers on that count and it deserves its success.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 12 July 2007

Set in the western suburbs of Sydney, West takes us into the lives of two young men who live in a world consumed by sex, drugs and alcohol.  This isn’t exactly new material.  Twelve months ago, we saw Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish star in Candy - an Australian film with similar themes.

That said, West is a still a strong film.  It is violent, shocking and confronting.  It highlights issues that a big problem for today’s teenagers in lower-class societies.  There’s plenty of food for thought.

The central characters in the film are Pete (Chittenden) and Jerry (Phillips), two cousins who live together.  Pete is a small-time drug dealer who gets his product from bigger players.  Jerry is trying to clean up his act and has accepted a job at a McDonalds-like fast food store.  Each night, you’re likely to find them drinking at a local pub and trying to pick up women.  If unsuccessful on the female front, they’ll hide out in the canals and smoke weed.

When it comes to women, Jerry is the one who always knows what to do and say.  He’s had many one-night stands and loves to brag about it.  Pete is the exact opposite.  His quiet, shy disposition sees him freeze up in the company of women.

At the pub one evening, Jerry and Pete meet Cheryl (Alexy), an attractive blond-haired girl with a bold personality.  Both fall for her but of course it’s Jerry that takes her home.  It becomes more than a one-night stand though and they start spending more and more time together.  This leaves the jealous Pete on the outer.

I’ve just touched the surface of what is an interesting story.  I really enjoyed the dialogue from writer-director Daniel Krige and the characterisation from the young Australian cast.  These characters are dumb and immature but that’s what I liked about them.  They remind me of kids I see roaming the Brisbane streets at night.

One problem the filmmakers recognise is that a film like this is often seen by the wrong people.  It is shown at boutique cinemas (such as the Palace or Dendy) which aren’t frequented by young audiences.  So whilst this film is being released in just 8 cinemas across Australia, they’ve made sure that it’s screening at one particular cinema frequented regularly by teenagers – the Greater Union George St cinemas in Sydney.  It’s good to see.

It’s worth noting that West is rated MA and contains “strong themes, violence and drug use, strong sex scenes and coarse language”.  I believe it’s all necessary to the story but those perturbed by sex and violence might want to give it a miss.  There were a couple of walk outs at my screening.  I stuck it out (although it did give me a bit of a shock) and was happy to have done so.  It left an impression.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 27 June 2007

Despite the fact that we’ve made some very good films over the past two years, Australian made flicks have struggled at the box-office.  Audiences would much rather see a clichéd Hollywood blockbuster than take a chance on a small home-grown movie with great reviews.

Clubland is the latest Aussie release to hit the marketplace and the early indications are promising.  It’s being released in a number of large cinemas across the country (as opposed to just the smaller independent ones) and it’s received some good publicity.  Star Brenda Blethyn, a two-time Academy Award nominee, recently attended a special advance screening here in Brisbane to help promote it.

The story centres on a 20-year-old named Tim (Chittenden) who lives at home with his mother, Jean (Blethyn), and his younger brother, Mark (Wilson).  To say that Tim has lived a sheltered life would be an understatement.  Jean has kept a very tight reign over her son and she isn’t prepared to let go.

Everything changes with the arrival of Jill (Booth), a girl who Tim meets whilst out working as a removalist.  The pair go on a date and soon enough, they’re boyfriend and girlfriend.  As you’d expect, this doesn’t go down well with Jean.  She’s always been the most important woman in Tim’s life and now that things have changed, it’s not easy.  Confrontation ensues and Tim finds himself picking up the pieces.

Clubland is a crowd pleasing movie.  Audiences will find humour in the story and will be able to relate to its characters.  If I have one criticism, it’s that the acting is a little over the top at times.  Jean’s obsessiveness and Tim’s naivety are just too hard to believe.  Are people actually like this or is it being dramatised for effect by writer Keith Thompson?  The most interesting character for me was Tim’s girlfriend (played very well by Emma Booth).  She had some deep seeded insecurities which I wish were explored further.

Those who regularly attend RSL clubs will probably be interested by the film’s setting.  Jean is a part-time comedian and performs at a bunch of RSL clubs across Sydney.  She loves being in front of a crowd.  As a sub-plot in the film, Jean hires a new agent with the hope of landing some bigger gigs.

English actress Brenda Blethyn is the star of the film but there are a few familiar Aussies who make an appearance.  Frankie J. Holden as Tim’s father and Rebecca Gibney as Jean’s best friend are both great.  Richard Wilson, who had the lead in 48 Shades, is almost unrecognisable as Tim’s intellectually disabled brother.

It’s probably not the best Australian film of the year but it’s definitely worth a look.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 08 July 2007

It feels like only yesterday that I was watching the first Harry Potter movie.  In reality, it’s been almost six years.  I’ve been critical of all the sequels released in the past two months but the Harry Potter series is different.  There is depth in each story.  The idea of a two hour movie based on a novel rich in detail is a lot more enticing than a three hour pirate movie with no plot.

The Order Of The Phoenix starts with a dark, menacing tone.  Harry (Radcliffe) is attacked by a Dementor, an evil being which sucks life from you.  He manages to fend off the attack by using powerful magic.  Unfortunately, he performed this magic in the company of a Muggle (someone without magic ability) and so Harry been called before the Ministry of Magic to explain himself.

There are some at the Ministry who want Harry to be severely punished.  They do not believe Harry’s Dementor story or his claims that the dark Lord Voldermort has returned.  Thanks to the help of the persuasive Professor Dumbledore (Gambon), Harry is found not guilty and is allowed to attend Hogwarts School for his fifth year of education.

Not happy with the outcome of Harry’s trial, the Ministry has sent Dolores Umbridge (Staunton) to Hogwarts as its new teacher of Dark Arts.  She is keeping a very close eye on Harry and is reporting on his activities to the Ministry.  Knowing that he receiving no valuable training in his Dark Arts classes, Harry and his friends establish a secret club where they can practice defending themselves against evil spells.  They just have to make sure that Umbridge and her cronies don’t find out about it.

There is a lot more to this story.  Those that have read J.K. Rowling’s novel (and there are many millions of them) will know how it ends.  It won’t stop Harry Potter fans (myself included) from seeing this film.  Screenwriter Michael Goldenberg has done a top job in condensing Rowling’s novel into movie length.  Something is always happening and there are no lulls in the story.

The film has been directed by David Yates, a British director whom I’d never heard of previously.  Yates will also be directing the next film in the series, Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince, which is due for release in November 2008.

Of the cast, there is one clear standout.  Her name is Imelda Staunton and she plays Dolores Umbridge.  Staunton was nominated for an Academy Award in 2005 for her starring role in Vera Drake.  As one of the villains in this tale, Staunton is amazingly obnoxious (that’s a compliment).  I couldn’t wait for the scene where she finally got she deserved.  Every scene in which she features is a highlight.

I’ve liked every film in the Harry Potter series and this one is no exception.  I don’t think it’s as good as some of the others but it still provides much entertainment.  Both kids and adults will be enchanted (and maybe even a little scared in parts).  Bring on the next movie!