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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 09 July 2006

A thirty something year old photographer named Jeff (Wilson) has befriended a 14-year-old girl named Hayley (Page) in an internet chat-room.  The two agree to meet for the first time at a nearby coffee shop.  On Hayley’s insistence, the pair head back to Jeff’s house and you’ll start to fear for her safety.

Very few films have dealt with the issue of paedophilia.  Mysterious Skin, which was released last year, is one of the few good examples.  After watching the above introduction, I thought Hard Candy would be an interesting movie.  I was certain that it would explore the delicate subject matter and give the audience plenty to think about.  How wrong I was.

Without spoiling too much, Hayley gets the upper hand and takes control of the situation.  She has been playing Jeff and wants to punish him for what he is trying to do.  This makes the film utterly ridiculous.  If you’d like some more adjectives, try implausible, silly and farcical.

I have never met a 14-year-old person who speaks and thinks so intelligently.  For most of the film, she is incredibly calm.  Not only does she defeat Jeff mentally, she also overpowers him physically is some scenes.  How is this remotely possible?

The bottom line is that instead of a serious film about paedophilia, we are forced to watch a lame revenge flick.  What’s the point?  Will people feel better watching a paedophile get what he deserves?  Shouldn’t we be equally worried about the 14-year-old psychopath?  The ending itself makes no sense.  I’d love to see what happened after the final scene because it wouldn’t be as clear cut as the ending implies.

In case you’re wondering, the actress who plays Hayley is of legal age.  She’s 19-year-old Ellen Page and you might remember her from the recent X-Men: The Last Stand.   Jeff is played by Patrick Wilson who was last seen in The Phantom Of The Opera.  They “dominate” the film with only three other people listed in the closing credits.

Hard Candy is rated R in Australia for its high level sexual themes and high level violence.  This will prevent anyone under the age of 18 from seeing it.  If you’re over 18, you’ll need to use your own willpower to stay away.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 29 June 2006

Fans of Superman have been waiting a long time.  The last film in the series was released in 1987 and there’s been speculation ever since of a follow up.  Several directors showed an interest in the project and many suggestions were offered as to who should wear the famous blue suit.  In the end, director Bryan Singer (X-Men, The Usual Suspects) and unknown actor Brandon Routh were chosen to bring Superman to 21^st Century audiences.

This new film is set five years after the conclusion of the last.  Superman hasn’t been seen in this time and his homecoming has excited everyone.  Where has he been hiding?  Why has he returned?  Does he have a love interest?  Editor of the Daily Planet newspaper, Perry White (Langella), wants his team of reporters to find the answers.

There are two people who aren’t too enthusiastic about Superman’s return.  The first is Lois Lane (Bosworth).   Lois and Superman were once very close but his sudden disappearance left Lois heartbroken.  It took many years but she finally moved on and found a new love.  His name is Richard (Marsden) and they have a young son.  The fresh news of Superman has stirred feelings in Lois that she thought had been buried.

Villain Lex Luther (Spacey) isn’t too happy to hear about Superman either.  Having just been released from prison, Luther has a new plan to take over the world and doesn’t want his arch-nemesis spoiling it.  He believes he can combat Superman’s physical power with his own mental prowess.  Luther knows Superman’s weakness is kryptonite and he intends to exploit it.

There’s a lot to like about Superman Returns.  I was pleasantly surprised by the great performance turned in by Brandon Routh in the leading role.  He portrays Superman as a funny super-hero who likes the spotlight.  At the same time though, you get the sense that there are parts of his life that he wish he could.  Being a super-hero ain’t easy!  The other cast member who excels is Kevin Spacey.  Both his physical appearance and his dry sense of humour reminded me of Dr Evil in the Austin Powers series (one of my all-time favourite villains).

Conversely, there’s a lot not to like about the film.  At 154 minutes, it’s way too long.  The lengthy introduction was not necessary and the romantic finale feels like it’s never going to end.  These scenes are trying to make the film into more of a drama than an action flick (which I think is a good idea having seen Batman Begins last year) but it’s overdone.  My other gripe would be with the story in general.  Lex Luther’s scheme for world domination, which is pretty silly, isn’t made clear until well into the film.

In the last two months, we’ve been barraged with blockbusters in our cinemas.  There’s been Mission: Impossible 3, The Da Vinci Code, X-Men: The Last Stand and Poseidon.  I’m starting to feel jaded by their relentless marketing campaigns.  This week, Superman Returns has been thrust into the spotlight and audiences will flock to see it.  It’s worth a look but if you think it’s going to live up to 19 years worth of hype, think twice.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 06 July 2006

I couldn’t believe that it’s been three years since the release of Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl.  It made a staggering $653m (in U.S. dollars) around the world and it earned Johnny Depp his very first Academy Award nomination.  Not bad for a movie based on a ride at Disneyland!

Following the success of the first flick, Walt Disney Pictures opened their cheque book and commissioned two sequels.  The third instalment, which is being shot at the moment, is slated for release in May 2007.

If you can remember the original film, Will Turner (Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) helped Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) break out from prison so that he could reclaim his boat, The Black Pearl.  Dead Man’s Chest opens with Will and Elizabeth being arrested for their involvement in the escape.

There’s an ulterior motive behind their arrest however.  The influential Cutler Beckett (Hollander) will offer them a pardon but only if Will can track down Captain Jack.  There’s a unique compass that Jack keeps with him and Cutler wants to get his hands on it.

Across the oceans, Captain Jack is having his own problems.  Buried on a remote island is a treasure chest that contains a valuable secret.  He knows how to find it but he does not have the special key with which to open it.  The man who does is Davy Jones (Nighy), the slimy ghoul who captains the Flying Dutchman.  Davy won’t let go of his prized possession without a fight and so it’s up to Captain Jack to come up with a creative plan if he’s going to steal it…

The opening of Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest is a complete waste.  You could walk in an hour after the movie has started and be no worse off.  Too much time is spent trying to develop the characters and the overly complicated plot.  If you can get through the lengthy introduction though, you’ll find the film does improve.  The action-packed finale sees Captain Jack and Davy Jones engage in an epic battle.  There’s an over-reliance on visual effects (some look a bit fake) but it’s still great to watch on a big screen.

Every laugh in the film is provided by Johnny Depp.  You never know what is going to come out of his mouth next.  Depp has based his character’s eccentric personality on Rolling Stones star Keith Richards and recent news reports have stated that Richards will make a cameo in the third film.  Apart from Depp, the cast are ordinary.  Orlando Bloom has more screen time but does little with it.  Keira Knightley is particularly disappointing in what is a smaller role.

Without revealing too much, I was frustrated by the ending.  Many questions are left unanswered.  It’s obvious that the filmmakers want you to come back in twelve months time and pay more money to see what happens next.  Don’t you just hate that?

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 26 June 2006

In 2002, director Rolf de Heer made The Tracker.  It was a terrific Australian film which was nominated at the AFI Awards for best picture.  As a member of the AFI, I voted for The Tracker but it lost the top prize to Rabbit-Proof Fence.  The good news from the evening was that star David Gulpilil won the AFI Award for best actor.

What I didn’t know at the time was that another great film was in the works.  Gulpilil suggested to de Heer that he shoot a film in Ramingining, an Aboriginal community located near the northern tip of the Northern Territory.  After much thought and collaboration, a screenplay was written by de Heer and the end result is Ten Canoes.

Two stories are told in this film.  The first is of Dayindi, a young man who has developed a crush on a wife of Minygululu.  On a goose egg hunting expedition, he is taken aside by Minygululu and told an ancient tale so that he can see the error of his ways.

This is where the second story begins.  Set hundreds of year before, it begins with a stranger arriving at a small village.  He is looking to trade magical objects and the scared townsfolk soon send him away.  Not long after, the wife of an elder statesman goes missing and the stranger becomes the lead suspect.  The tribesmen want revenge but they may be getting themselves into even deeper trouble…

Ten Canoes wasn’t an easy film to make.  The actors in the film speak Ganalbingu, an Aboriginal dialect.  De Heer needed translators to help explain to the cast what they were supposed to be doing and saying.  The other major problem is that everyone in Ramingining wanted to be involved!  There were heated discussions as to which people should be cast and what elements of the Aboriginal lifestyle should be shown.

Interwoven within the film are some beautiful shots of the Australian landscape.  At the film’s premiere in Brisbane, de Heer spoke about how tough some of those shots were.  At one point, he was standing in a swamp with water up to his waist.  This may not sound difficult but keep in mind that a crocodile spotter was sitting with his gun high atop a nearby tree.

In the words of narrator David Gulpilil, this is a film “like you have never seen before”.  On the other side of the world, at the lucrative Cannes Film Festival, many agreed.  In the Un Certain Regard category (the secondary competition), Ten Canoes won a special jury prize.  I can’t speak for the jury but I know that I liked its unique narrative and absorbing insight into Aboriginal culture.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 29 June 2006

Given the high cost of making a film, planning is paramount.  You have to make sure that the lead actors will be available at the time you wish to shoot.  You have to get copyright clearances when using any identifiable product or song.  You have to provide a budget to the investors to show how ever dollar will be spent.  It’s all done so that the development of the film runs as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

Sometimes though, it all goes wrong.  Shot in New Zealand, production was shut down mid-way through the shoot when star Samantha Morton came down with severe influenza.  When the cast and crew returned three months later to resume, they learned that director Vincent Ward (What Dreams May Come) had pulled out.  Cinematographer Alun Bollinger (The Frighteners) had to step in to complete the shoot.  Ward was reinstated during the post-production and you’ll see his name in the opening credits as the official director.

There were other problems too.  Inclement weather made the shoot more difficult than expected.  Samantha Morton was rumoured to have acted like a “diva” on set which annoyed fellow actors and Ward himself.  Co-star Cliff Curtis was injured when he crashed his car into a house.  The insurers of the film can’t have been happy.

So has the cast and crew overcome these many obstacles?  The answer is no.  River Queen is a terribly disappointing film.  It looks like it wants to be a grand epic but the weak story generated no emotion whatsoever.  Its characters are dreary and I couldn’t care less what became of them.  The production problems are clearly evident.

To quickly cover the plot, River Queen is set in New Zealand in the 1860s.  Britain is trying to colonize the country but is facing opposition from the Maoris.  Irish woman Sarah O’Brien (Morton) has come to New Zealand with her father to help establish the new British colony.  Whilst there, she falls in love with a Maori local and gives birth to a son.  As tensions escalate between the British and the Maoris, Sarah’s son is kidnapped by his paternal grandfather so that he can be raised as a traditional Maori.  Sarah then begins an agonisingly long search to find and reclaim her only son.

At the film’s New Zealand premiere in January 2006, Vincent Ward said of the film “you'll either love it or you'll hate it.”  I've got my answer.