He Died With A Felafel In His Hand
An original, funny, quirky film about share-housing in Australia. Apparently only loosely based on the book by the same name, the film stars Noah Taylor as a struggling writer who has a series of unforgettable share-housing disasters. The film starts promisingly with zappy credits and a fast-paced opening sequence, but by the second sharehouse it really starts to slow down, and begins to take itself a bit too seriously. The dialogue is amazing and the direction smooth, but the plot seemed a bit confused and waffly. Noah Taylor is excellent, however, and this is one of the few really strong Australian films for the 20-35yo audience.
Sweet November
Although simple, and somewhat predictable, the script and vision made it come alive. Nelson (Keanu Reeves) is an corporate player whose life is his work, until Sarah (Charlize Theron) convinces him to live with her for a month and changes the way he looks at the world. You know what's going to happen. It sounds cheesy, and yet... There's an attention to detail - to capturing life accurately, and playfully, that makes you lose yourself in the movie and not care. Theron is excellent and this is one of Keanu's better films (they seem to make a good pair - see Devil's Advocate). It's a common Hollywood fairytale, but the excellent direction makes this fresh.
Traffic
This movie is difficult to review, as it left me unsatisfied, but yet I clearly remember that most of the time I was sitting in the cinema I thought - wow, this is really good! It is a complex film, for adults not in the censorship sense of the term, but because it deals with a hard issue from a mature perspective. The performances were impressive. Even Michael Douglass, who I can't usually can't stand. Del Toro deserves his Oscar nomination and his golden globe. Traffic is a documentary of the drug trade in Mexico and the US, lifted to art by savvy directing and performances. The script must have read a lot like expose journalism, but when each scene is performed nuances of human behaviour are captured that give the material a savage, intellectual edge. Several interwoven storylines are attempted - much more successfully, I think, than Magnolia - and they balance against each other well. By the end it's a little difficult to tell who is working for who in Del Toro's storyline, but that's really the only point of confusion I had. I particularly loved the way the more sinister aspects of the storyline were woven in with everyday images so as to make the audience uncertain about what they usually take for granted. Every scene rang true. The only weakness was in the ending, which was a bit of a cop-out. The junkie daughter's sudden transformation was trite and quite unconvincing, and everybody else's stories ended with a point that... well... it wasn't a high note, and it wasn't a low note, it was kind of 'blah'. I wasn't sure Catherine Zeta-Jones transformation from 'well-meaning member of the PTA' to 'drug lord' exactly made sense either. There was a sense that the female characters (while well acted) were not as well thought-out or understood by the scriptwriter. Although it was nice to see that the actresses looked like normal women, not anorexic CGI's.
Quills
Period drama about the infamous Marquis de Sade. I had to watch this twice to really appreciate it - and on the second watching I picked up more of the historical allusions and carefully crafted dialogue. I didn't expect it to stand up on a second watching, and the fact that it improved really increased my opinion of it. Based on a play, it is tightly scripted and character-driven. The film approaches its period setting with gusto but lacks historical breadth and depth. Whether this is a weakness is probably personal preference. It is a work of fiction, not a documentary, and serious liberties are taken with details about the Marquis. Nevertheless, it is an engaging with particularly stylish directing. Phenomenal acting by Geoffrey Rush (as the Marquis), Joaquin Phoenix, and Kate Winslet - though everyone in the cast is just amazing. (Rush has been nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of the Marquis, and I can only presume Phoenix did not get a supporting actor nomination because he was already nominated in the category for Gladiator.)
Show Me Love
Swedish teen-flick about growing up, with a cute storyline but amazing intensity and an eye for realism. Agnes is in love with Elin, the most popular girl in the school. Elin is fed-up with her small town life, her nightmare is to grow up and get stuck as a housewife while her husband runs off with someone younger. The plot is very, very obvious. But that's okay, because this movie shines in the telling.
Chicken Run
The direction is masterful in Aardman's first animated feature. If you enjoyed Wallace & Gromit, you will love this film, which manages to blend comedy, drama and sheer exhilaration perfectly. The creators continue their fascination with mechanical contraptions, and their meticulous film noir imitation. It is pleasant to see a story with so many nuances in the visuals, which support, rather than accompany the screenplay. The characters are all cliched, but they have a vibrancy and particularity that makes this forgivable.
High Fidelity
Hail Cusack fans of the world, this is one of his best. This movie is hilarious because it's so true to life. Narrated in first person, it's part of the recent trend of films like Fight Club and American Beauty exploring American middle-aged white male angst, though with far less social commentary. The only pity is that some of the acting is ridiculously over/under-done (Cusack's quiet friend, and his girlfriend.).
Chopper
Based on the memoirs of notoriously unbalanced Australian Killer, Mark "Chopper" Reed, this film is experimental and entertaining. It's really refreshing to see and Australian feature film that is actually risque. Chopper has a distinctive look, intense acting, and a dark humour that really brings it alive. The film is not just about Chopper, it attempts to recreate his point of view (inconsistencies and all), and for the most part I think it succeeds. It's only fault is that the version of Chopper we get is limited to the few days he escaped from prison - giving us the famous 'ear-chopping' incident, but not much else in the way of events. You keep waiting for something to happen, but nothing really does. Still, this is well worth a watch.
Scary Movie
I like parody, especially when the person parodying has a real sense of the material they're criticising. Scary Movie is viciously matter-of-fact in seeing the funny side of horror movies. Some of it's toilet humour, but they are so interlaced with character and commentary that they'r actually hilarious. The self-interested characters are refreshing, and the range of styles parodied is impressive. But mostly I liked this film because it was well edited, to the point, and it made me laugh.
Stigmata
This was overshadowed by the awful End of Days at the box office, which is a pity since this film really succeeded where End of Days did not. Stigmata was a thoughtful and provocative piece of the Catholic church. The story held together, the characters were well drawn, and the cinematography was powerful. The premise is simple: A scientist priest (Gabrielle Byrne) who investigates 'supposed' miracles for the Vatican is sent to New York where a young woman, Frankie Paige (), is apparently suffering the Stigmata - the wounds of Christ. Frankie, however, does not fit his profile, lacking any kind of religious conviction, and generally being an ordinary, fun-loving urban woman. Despite being billed as a horror film, Stigmata is rather a psychological thriller with elements of philosophy and romance -- in short, nothing like The Exorcist. It is a story on many levels, and while it keeps moving forward with a definite plot, it also manages to tie in a range of subplots and detail.
Eyes Wide Shut
Surprisingly (consider the absolute mess that was 2001), director Stanley Kubrick showed he was capable of more than loud soundtracks and symbolic imagery in this recent masterpiece. Tension, intrigue, insight, originality, and a spectacular attention to detail were all features of this film. Every scene, every minute gesture was polished and delivered with panash by the competent actors (notably Nicole Kidman). The story's intriguing premise would be spoiled by recounting it here, but it managed to combine a full and intelligent treatment of the themes with a series of questions that lingered long after I departed the cinema. The use of sound is phenomenal. Some critics/directors have said that a film should be understandable from the images alone - Kubrick takes that one step further and gives you a film that could almost be told entirely by the soundtrack. It's certainly not for everyone, but I thought Kubrick's style worked for this movie. (Which was lucky, since versatility was not his strong point.)
The Matrix
A very stylish cyber-punk film, with some interesting ideas, incredible artwork, but nonetheless a fairly cliched plot. The film ends rather suddenly and in a only partially satisfying way - suffice to say that we've been presented the problem, but it hasn't really been solved. Viewed as art (rather than story) The Matrix does much better. Every scene has been carefully storyboarded so it is, essentially, a comic-book brought to life. And although there are some jarring moments, its the best film of this kind since The Crow (and I mean the original). Keanu plays his nerd-cum-hero figure well, Carrie-Ann Moss is perfectly cast in the role of Trinity, Laurence Fishburn fulfils his role as Morpheus, and Hugo Weaving makes a impressively spooky villain. None of the characters are particularly deep or subtle, but they serve their purpose, which is to entertain. The film has three highlights: the first is the superbly plotted first half hour, where the film maintains incredible momentum; the
second are the action scenes, notably the slow-motion special effects, and the superb fight between Neo and Morpheus; finally, there is the presentation of the AI-world (which you'll have to see to appreciate).
See www.whatisthematrix.com.
American Pie
Very, very funny movie about teen angst, and four boys in their final year of highschool who are desperate to get laid. It's an old theme, and one that has been played out with many boring, puerile scripts - but American Pie has a sincerity, and straight-forwardness about it that brings freshness to the idea. You laugh because you identify, and even if the story is somewhat contrived, each scene is so well performed and directed you don't care. Part of what lifts this film is that it never feels like someone replaying their teenage angst - it has an intelligent grasp on every character.
Starship Troopers
To resolve the debate: this film is neither a serious film nor a spoof. It's melodrama. It's some time in the future, and giant alien bugs wipe out half of South America - inspiring a bunch of good-looking students to join the army and fight for glory, or revenge. Sounds schlock and B-Grade, right? Nice directing and a surprising willingness to sacrifice main characters is the first thing that sets it apart. The second is it's subtle, ever-present commentary on war and propaganda. The movie provides us with examples of the propaganda that inspires the clean-cut hero, which is at the same time based in truth, and scarily over-the-top. As the characters are sent out to fight and engage with the aliens, there are more worrying hints, that perhaps the humans started this war in the first place, that the bugs are in fact the underdogs. And although we remain always in the POV of the humans, and the film encourages us to identify with them, this is a clever way of not merely commenting on the propaganda, but forcing the audience to engage with and evaluate it for themselves.
Shakespeare In Love
This was a beautiful, clever movie. An engaging romance with wit, style, and originality (a rare thing indeed). It is a fictional story about Shakespeare (Joseph Fiennes) and the woman who inspired him to write Romeo & Juliet (Gwyneth Paltrow). Gwyneth won her Oscar for this, and while she's good, I don't know if she's exceptional here. She doesn't have to do a lot besides play a young high-spirited woman.