Mb3 Reviews

Don't Say a Word (2001)

How did the screenwriters create such a mess? They'll never tell.

[1/10 · 9 April 2004]

Manhattan psychiatrist Doctor Nathan Conrad (Michael Douglas) leads a fulfilling life. He arrives home to his posh apartment bursting with delight to greet his daughter Jessie, who in characteristic 8-year old fashion wants to play hide and seek with Daddy. The only possible downer in Conrad's life right now is that his much younger wife Aggie (Famke Janssen) has a broken leg and is confined to bed. But Nathan's ability as the super-husband effortlessly takes care of her sponge baths and breakfast in bed – in a few swift camera cuts we see Douglas jiving in the kitchen while whipping up some tasty french toast!

We briefly witness a typical consultation in Conrad's practice, and it's interesting to see Douglas in psychiatrist mode. But Conrad's talents are about to be stretched beyond typical. A former colleague at a mental institution (which looks like it hasn't been cleaned for years) wants him to look over a difficult patient (Brittany Murphy as Elisabeth Burrows.) It's immediately obvious she's been scarred early on in her life, as a result she's done some nasty things that may keep her in the institution for some time. Conrad stays calm and handles her capably.

The next day his perfect world is thrown off the tracks, when his daughter is kidnapped by criminals, led by Patrick Koster (Sean Bean). They want to make amends for a bank heist that failed for them 10 years ago. To do this, Dr Conrad has been chosen as the guy who can deliver a six-digit code, locked away in the troubled mind of his new patient. It's the only way for him to get his daughter back. While his wife becomes demanding and irrational (who can blame her?) he makes the decision from the outset to work as intelligently as he can.

Koster imposes a time limit on Conrad getting the number, threatening his daughter will be killed. The reasons for this are unknown to the audience and probably the scriptwriters. Koster has waited 10 years since the foiled robbery, but why can he only spare 5 hours for Conrad to extract the required digits? Nathan after all is forgoing his usual hourly fee. There is no explanation for incorporating this "ticking clock" element. Making even less sense, this ‘device' is confusingly done away with later on. We are expecting a threat to be carried out, but Koster's supposed ruthlessness falls short like this quite often.

Early on it is enjoyable seeing this close family unit in action. Despite having seen Douglas in many similar roles, he suits the protective husband/father role nicely. Douglas the actor has an instinctive feel of how to play a parent on-screen, and no doubt his real experiences as a father contribute to this.

On the down-side, there are under-developed characters tagging along here. The tough detective Sandra Cassidy is always a step behind the action, and the former colleague of Conrad's played by Oliver Platt has an ambiguous role, even by the end we aren't sure what his character is to bring to the film. His exit involves him being accused of involvement in an unrelated murder which has no bearing on this story. The film then casts this plot point aside, expecting the audience to forget all about this dead end.

Famke Janssen's bedridden wife sees her right out of the action; her only shining moment is when she clashes with one of the baddies. She knows the location of her daughter. Koster sends someone to finish her off, then abandons his surveillance on her before the job is done. Who do you think will be the one to get done? The daughter is unconvincing in the company of the bad guys (a weakness in the script and direction, no fault of the young actress.) At one stage, all too bored with hostage-holding, Jessie starts singing, almost charming a tattooed crim into joining in for the chorus.

Now to Brittany Murphy's performance, and yes, she produces some convincing acting here. She apparently liked to sing to herself on set before takes, so she's quite a natural at playing ‘mentally unstable'. She's a petite girl, far from the presence of the violent attacker she is playing. The writers have written a complex character, but haven't developed the script enough to fully flesh out her complexities. Example: when the storyline needs her character to comply with Douglas in sneaking her out of hospital for a field trip to a subway (a dose of harrowing flashbacks), she conveniently obliges. I wondered if Elisabeth would be straight back in the asylum when this was over. Surely her issues can't be resolved in the space of the 24 hours we witness? Don't watch this film with the aim to gain any insight into psychiatric illnesses.

Nearing the finale, Douglas's ‘caring family guy' physically fights back against the extortionists. Although they do go easy on him - while Conrad is engaged in violent shovel-flinging with one of the baddies, the others stand back and chuckle. This was the biggest disappointment, that a film based around overcoming mental issues is resolved with physicality and a fight-to-the-death sequence.

This film almost works thanks to some engaging work from the lead actor. Those responsible for the screenplay haven't given us enough of the characters we might be interested in. Douglas has to carry the film, it's a perfectly solid performance, but far from any of his great roles. Underwritten characters always result in people we just can't care for. Too much suspension of disbelief is required, due to plot holes and the stupidity of the one-dimensional baddies. For those only looking for action, the opening bank robbery is the height of excitement, and you may get a rise out of the finale, but the script is empty of any intelligent twists, which is essential in a good psychological thriller. Besides, haven't people have had enough of watching terror in New York City, especially when it ends in a graveyard?

2 stars out of 5

Thelma & Louise (1991)

Female empowerment at its most fun!

[31 March 2004]

"...you know, something's, like, crossed over in me and I can't go back, I mean I just couldn't live."

Sometimes it's a male gut reaction is to avoid this sort of movie. But recently I have enjoyed some of the 'chick flicks' I have seen: ‘The Truth About Cats & Dogs', ‘Mystic Pizza', and ‘Something To Talk About' (which is by the same writer as this one.) Thelma & Louise is another one I can wholeheartedly recommend, even to the guys.

This is a classic movie of two types: a female empowerment film, and an American road movie. It follows traditions of both these kinds, but adds a new sort of audaciousness to it all. It gets you right behind the two main characters, experiencing their new-found freedom as they travel cross-country firing guns, robbing convenience stores and evading the law. They are a couple of country women who have been on the receiving end of unfavorable treatment for probably most of their lives, and we witness them take it that one more time before they decide enough is enough, and stand up for themselves. They do it together, and that's what makes their stance work. As good a friends as they are, their stance heightens their friendship even more, and has the audience cheering them on even though they can see them heading further and further towards disaster.

I enjoyed seeing the American countryside along the journey. From the dusty roads in the desert, the mountains and open paddocks, to the bars, hotels and roadside stops. It really gives a true feel of what the American rural areas are like. But what makes this movie is the performances of Susan Sarandon & Geena Davis, who are completely winning & lovable. These are the best roles I have seen each of them in. Brad Pitt is good in the role that shot him to stardom, as is Harvey Keitel as the not-so-ruthless cop chasing them. Michael Madsen & Christopher McDonald have sometimes funny and sometimes scary moments as the boyfriend who won't commit to Louise, and Thelma's terrible husband.

Initially doubtful on what a film like this would have to offer me, it surpassed my expectations. It is a really well-made film, and with Ridley Scott at the helm, it's no wonder, but he also gives it a lot of heart. I thought the ending was perfect; even when it seems it's getting all too much as these girls are being chased cross-state by more and more cops, they never give in. The ending might be sad to some if they dwell on it, but to me the moment that final scene pauses, I had a feeling of exhilaration.

4 stars out of 5.

Legally Blonde (2001)

Not worth seeing this Harvard airhead get revenge on her ex. Case closed.

[4/10 · 9 February 2003]

Elle Woods is a somewhat annoying dumb blonde played by Reese Witherspoon. Elle's ambitions are limited to getting married to the man of her dreams, Warner Huntington III (played by Matthew Davis). But on the night Elle expects Warner to propose, he takes the opportunity to break up with her! He's going to Harvard Law with the aim of being a senator by the time he's 30, a schedule that mandates that he "marry a Jackie, not a Marilyn." Miffed, Elle decides to go to Harvard as well, and is accepted, in the name of diversity. She arrives with her scented, pink resume and her tiny Chihuahua Bruiser. The Harvard crowd are somewhat amused but patronizing.

Along the way she meets the kind and mature Emmett Richmond (Luke Wilson) who is one of the few who take Elle seriously; stuck-up Vivian Kensington who happens to be Warner's new fiancé (Selma Blair); Brooke Taylor Windham (Ali Larter) as a lady who decides on Elle for legal representation late in the movie; and Paulette, an unconfident manicurist who gets a little inspiration through confiding in Elle (Jennifer Coolidge, best known to most teen movie fans as 'Stifler's Mom'.) The rest of the movie is spent as she tries to succeed at law school, get along with everybody, and let a bit of her favorite color 'pink' rub off on everybody.

Much of this film's selling point is due to Reese Witherspoon, who was willing to throw herself completely into the bubbly role of Elle Woods. Perfectly suited to this, she's a confident actress who has risen up the Hollywood ranks and can now sell a flick with her name and face alone on the poster. Her performance is entirely convincing, but this sort of dumb-blonde humour is a product wrapped up nicely for mass-girl-appeal that just doesn't work for a guy like me. I guess it's really not even trying to. So when I say I didn't enjoy it, I've only got myself to blame for hiring it.

It seems Elle has figured out where she wants to go and exactly what she wants to achieve, but I don't think this film can. The movie seems to want to make us completely aware that she is so out of place in Harvard, and many scenes are devoted to demonstrating this to the audience, some of which earn no laughs at all, only humiliation for our central character. Once Elle is settled at Harvard, the movie can't seem to decide which direction to take us in. I can't continue to explain the plot, as there are very few plot surprises left to reveal.

One thing that studios need to avoid is revealing the whole plot line in their trailers. As the movie went along I realised I had already seen every key scene in the trailer. The movie had no more surprises to give me.

The script has weaknesses, with characters changing their attitudes at the drop of the hat. One teacher gives Ella a hard time in her first class, and then the next time we see the teacher, she's convincing her not to drop out of law school and that anything is possible. She is obviously completely out of her league in class, but the script seems to be able to allow her to turn it all around with what seems to be one night of cramming. If only it was that easy in real life! Does Elle have a higher IQ than we are led to believe?

The acting, set designs and direction cannot be faulted. They were all capable enough for this film to be a huge hit, especially with the targeted audience of teenage girls who, I suspect, are attracted by the pink poster and themes of female empowerment. The film was targeted well towards them, and the marketing surely helped this movie along its way in grossing over $100 million. Expect a similar commercial success for the sequel.

Robert Luketic was given the job as director on the strength of his short film, Titsiana Booberini, which was well received at short film festivals across the U.S. such as Sundance and Telluride. Legally Blonde, his first feature film, debuted at number 1 on the U.S. box office ahead of Robert De Niro's The Score & Steven Spielberg's A.I. We will surely see Luketic directing more Hollywood productions after the commercial success of this. Let's hope he's given the opportunity soon to direct a creation of his own.

Out of 5 stars: A 'truly heinous' 2.

Titsiana Booberini (1997)

An award winning short film in a supermarket with "no frills"

[5/10 · 19 October 2002]

"What's the trouble Titsiana, why is it that all the problems in this store seem to happen around you?"

Have you ever been shopping in a supermarket and heard a checkout operator call for service over the speaker phone, only to have the speakers let out an ear piercing squeal? That's the sort of thing that happens to the misfortunate main character of this short film, Titsiana.

She is a dispirited girl who works in a suburban budget supermarket (the now defunct Franklins chain) and is bored with the routine tasks she's required to do. She has the boss from hell, and the other checkout chicks love nothing more than making fun of her. She dreams of having a little respect, and no doubt having a completely different job. She wishes she was more popular and dreams that her co-worker 'Chubbers' would notice her in a different light. She fails to see that she'd probably achieve all of this if she got rid of her awful moustache!

Every now and then she lets her mind wander from repetitive supermarket tasks and escapes into her own musical world, where she sings and dances around as if she were the star of a musical. This brings a smile to her usual cheerless face.

At only 11 minutes in length, this short film is filled with plenty of humour (much at the expense of Titsiana) along with the underlying sadness of the main character. There are a couple of funny incidents that are typical in a supermarket, which earn big laughs. The songs used were original and surprisingly good, they work really well even though each one is quite brief. The only recognizable face in this for me was Aussie actress Sophie Lee, as the nasty Francine Pickles.

Titsiana Booberini became a success story at film festivals around the world, screening on opening night at New York, Colorado, Telluride and Robert Redford's world famous Sundance in 1997. Australian director Robert Luketic has made the huge leap from this, his final year project at the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, to directing a Hollywood feature film, the box-office smash 'Legally Blonde' and signing a 3-picture deal with Miramax.

If the premise of this was to be expanded into a full-blown feature film, as is planned, there would have to be plenty of new ideas added, as there would just not be enough material here to work with. Titsiana's escapism into the world of song reminded me a lot of "Dancer In The Dark", the best film at Cannes in 2000 by Lars Von Trier. However this is a funny and enjoyable as a short film, an exceptional piece of work from a promising Aussie director, who has shown if you are good enough, you can go all the way in the world of film-making. It would be great to see him direct a feature film from a script he has written himself one day.

Traffic (2000)

One of the best films of 2000.

[10/10 · 28 March 2001]

"For someone my age, it's a lot easier to get drugs than it is to get alcohol."

Filmed in 8 different cities with 135 speaking parts, the three stories in "Traffic" unfold against a background of drug deals, drug trafficking and drug addiction. It takes a multi-angled look at the problem and it's effect on people of all walks of life. It looks at the big picture of what is being done to try and restrain the drug trade, and also shows us an intimate look at drug use within families. It illustrates how involvement with drugs has consequences for more than just those who take them, regardless of what race or class you are from. It asks us to think about what can be done about one of society's critical issues, one that affects us all.

Michael Douglas plays the newly-appointed head of the US anti-drugs commission Robert Wakefield, a man shouldered with the responsibility of winning the drug war. His daughter Caroline is the third-ranked student in her class at an exclusive private high school, but is getting into drugs in a big way. Wakefield is oblivious the presence of drugs under his own roof, as he's hardly ever at home. He'll face dire consequences for his ignorance. Amy Irving is convincingly human as Wakefield's wife, Barbara. Caroline's boyfriend Seth (Topher Grace, That 70's Show) also has scenes of big impact, as he escorts Michael Douglas through the seediest of drug neighborhoods to look for his daughter, which teaches him more in five minutes than he could ever hope to learn from years on anti-drug committees.

Douglas' real-life wife Catherine Zeta-Jones plays the innocent (and pregnant) housewife/socialist, Helena Ayala. She is being helped through her turmoil by her husband's business associate, Arnie Metzger (Dennis Quaid). Her husband Carlos (Steven Bauer) has been arrested and stands accused of trafficking drugs across the US-Mexican border. His arrest is due to the work of DEA agents, Montel Gordon (Don Cheadle) and Ray Castro (Luis Guzman). These two have a fun chemistry between them and I really enjoyed seeing them work together again after being great in Boogie Nights.

A cast this good doesn't come along too often. They are all impressive, and full of powerful and credible performances. Much of the acting acclaim this film has received has been for Benicio Del Toro, in his role of Javier Rodriguez, an honest Mexican cop whose job is to stop the illegal import of drugs across the border into the US. He deservedly won an Oscar for best supporting actor for this role. But my personal favorite performance from the film was that of Michael Douglas. His role is low-key for a lot of the time, but he delivers it with perfection. Also worth highlighting is the performance of his on-screen daughter, 18-year old Erika Christensen. She is effective at capturing both the innocence and, later, the lost innocence of her character. I was surprised to learn that this was her first film role. Also watch for small parts from the likes of Albert Finney, James Brolin, Benjamin Bratt and Salma Hayek.

Directed by Steven Soderbergh, who also made Erin Brockovich in the same year, he deservedly won the best director Academy Award for Traffic, after being nominated for both movies. He first got his start with his debut "Sex, Lies & Videotape", and is also responsible for the critically acclaimed "Out Of Sight". He is one of the most promising directors around today and I hope to see more great movies like this one from him. I'm looking forward to seeing his next film, "Ocean's Eleven", which also has a cast of numerous big stars.

Traffic is innovative in terms of it's style, filmed with rough, shaky camera movements, which makes it look like a documentary. The scenes cut back and forth between the different stories, and thanks to some Oscar-winning editing, these transitions never feel forced or made at the wrong time. But the most noticeable look to the film are different color schemes which have been used for each location. This helps the viewer distinguish where we are (again the great work of Soderbergh, who also did the cinematography.) Some viewers have said this made it hard to watch, but I thought it was helpful to separate the stories and make it a visually interesting movie to watch. Music and score wise, there isn't much used, but this adds to the documentary feel.

This movie is hard-hitting and honest. Once you've seen it, it may leave you with some disturbing images. It is a movie that gives you something to think about long after you've finished watching. This film is a "social commentary" that has much to show us about drugs, and it does so by simply observing what is going on, without attempting to provide any answers or preach to us. You, as the viewer, can draw your own conclusions. This is such an important movie, in my opinion a movie that needed to be made. 5 stars.