Film Review: Johnny English Reborn

Johnny English Reborn. Rated PG (mild action violence). 101 mins. Directed by Oliver Parker. Screenplay by Hamish McColl.

How, you might well ask, could Rowan Atkinson ever have hoped to top the brilliance of his endearing sociopath Mr Bean and his historically-challenged anti-hero Edmund Blackadder? Enter inept British Intelligence agent Johnny English, who began life in a series of commercials for a UK credit card company.

When the British Intelligence Agency MI7 learns of a plot to assassinate the premier of China, English is recalled from Tibet to lead the investigation into how the plot can be foiled.

Johnny English Reborn (the sequel to 2003’s Johnny English) is at its best when it nips at the heels of the James Bond movies (the sequences in Hong Kong, the posh Golf Club and the Swiss Alps provide excellent material for a good old genre send-up), and at its worst when everything seems to be taking too long. Resisting the Mike Meyers (Austin Powers) brand of over-the-top genre high-jacking, Johnny English Reborn opts to play it straight. Deadly straight.

Parker’s (Dorian Gray) heavy-handed and laboured direction constantly works against Atkinson’s lightness of touch with the material – resulting in a film that almost appears to be taking itself a little too seriously. There are, however, some inspired moments – of which the recalcitrant boardroom chair sequence is a highlight.

Gillian Anderson (X Files’ Agent Scully) leads the straight-faced supporting cast with deadly seriousness, while everyone (except Atkinson) is upstaged mercilessly by the subplot involving a little old cleaning lady – played to perfection by Pik-Sen Lim (Little Britain, Dr Who).

The in-jokes about product placement in Hollywood movies (the running gags about naming rights to the British Intelligence Agency and a particular brand of automobile) are almost too-clever highlights of Mr McColl’s patchy script. But there are just enough comedic highpoints (Atkinson’s complete inability to pronounce a tricky drug name at a key moment in the story is hilarious) to keep us engaged.

Ultimately, even though Johnny English constantly inspires memories of CONTROL’s hapless Maxwell Smart, Johnny English Reborn is still a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the comedic skills of one of the finest clowns of our generation.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.

Melbourne Fringe: The Dog Theatre Gala

It’s Melbourne Fringe Festival time, and while I don't consider this blog to be a 'What's On' column, the inbox is absolutely bulging with tasty morsels from Melbourne’s Independent Theatre Makers; some of which I will include here in the spirit of independence – which I value greatly.

Peta Hanrahan, the Artistic Director of Australia’s celebrated The Dog Theatre (Winner of Best Venue: Melbourne Fringe Festival Awards 2009 and Winner of Best New Venue: Green Room Awards 2009) has fired the first of her many cannons and announced The Dog Theatre Gala on Friday 7 October, 2011 at the Footscray Town Hall. All profits from the evening will go directly towards supporting The Dog Theatre in the fiercely-contested Fringe Festival marketplace.

The $70 per head Gala package includes:

The Show
A special performance of one of The Dog Theatre’s Fringe Festival offerings Unpack This! In 2008, Geoff Paine (Clive from Neighbours) made headlines when he assaulted his neighbour (so you can imagine the headlines). Mr Paine was ordered by the Magistrates Court to attend a One Day Anger Management Course. He took notes – and Unpack This! is the result. Written by Mr Paine and starring Michelle Nussey, Syd Brisbane, Paine and Ross Daniels, this comedy about two social workers showing six men how to manage their anger promises “pain, regret and tears – and that’s just the counsellors!”

Wine from Enigma Variations
Tamara Irish, former principal of Tarrington Vineyards, along with New Zealand-born Julia Hailes, are progressing towards the establishment of a winery and vineyard – Enigma Variations – at the base of the Grampians in Western Victoria. Tamara and Julia are delighted to welcome the world of independent biodynamic farming and winegrowing to this remarkable piece of land.

The Cheese Board
To accompany your wine, a selection of cream and sharp cheeses, local seasonal fruits and breads selected to complement the Enigma Variations wine.

After the performance guests will have the opportunity to meet and mingle with the cast.

When Friday 7 October, 2011
Time 6.00pm
Where Footscray Town Hall, cnr Hyde and Napier Streets, Footscray

To book your Gala tickets and find our more information about The Dog Theatre’s Melbourne Fringe Festival offerings, visit their website.

Pictured: Geoff Paine and Ross Daniels. Image supplied.

Film Review: Zookeeper

Zookeeper. Rated PG (mild crude humour). 102 minutes. Directed by Frank Coraci. Screenplay by Nick Bakay, Rock Reuben, Kevin James, Jay Scherick and David Ronn.

With its big heart in the right place and an endearing supporting cast of talking animals, it’s surprising that Zookeeper is not a good deal more fun than it is. Even with the input of five writers, the script struggles to become anything other than a very ordinary romantic comedy – which is a shame because it certainly has its moments. The real problem is that combined, they just don’t add up to very much.

Kevin James (Everybody Loves Raymond) is awkward and charming as unlucky-in-love zookeeper Griffin, and the opening sequence where he is unceremoniously dumped by his gorgeous girlfriend Stephanie (Leslie Bibb having a great time), sets us up perfectly for what is only ever an occasionally engaging story about how he tries to win her back.

Coraci (The Wedding Singer) wields a heavy hand over the indecisive script – steadfastly refusing to let the story gain any momentum. No-one is helped by Scott Hill’s (Bruce Almighty, Evan Almighty) pace-less editing of sequences (like the ones at Griffin’s brother’s wedding) that just become terminally dull.

Interestingly, there is a stark contrast between most of the goings-on and a mildly involving subplot between Griffin and Bernie the Gorilla (voiced by Nick Nolte). Donnie Wahlberg (Mark’s brother) is under-utilised in his brief turn as the nasty zookeeper who abuses the gentle Bernie – but as soon as the film appears to be charting its way on a new and more interesting course, we find ourselves back in strained and less-rewarding rom-com land.

The always-reliable Rosario Dawson (Unstoppable) is excellent as Griffin’s colleague Kate, and it’s always good to see Ken Jeong (The Hangover movies) relishing one of his bent cameos (this time as Venom the reptile handler).

In spite of the overall confusion in tone and handling, the message that finally emerges is a good one: which is that maybe you have a good deal less in common with the person you’re trying so hard to impress than you imagined.

Pictured: Griffin (Kevin James) and Bernie the Gorilla in Zookeeper.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.

In memoriam: DVD Review: United 93

My introduction to United Airlines Flight 93 was in the early hours of September 12, 2001. Not owning a television, I was following the hypnotic spectacle on the internet. ('September 11' would later be acknowledged as being the first major international event to have been communicated to the world in real time via the 'net.) I was plugged in to a large number of websites - one of which belonged to United Airlines. At some point during the fiasco, there was a stark, simple message on the company's homepage: "United Airlines regret to announce that we appear to have lost another aircraft." (United Airlines Flight 175, the second plane hijacked, had already been flown into the World Trade Center's South Tower.)

My introduction to the Paul Greengrass film - United 93 - was as a result of the, then, Sydney Film Festival Artistic Director Lynden Barber's decision to include it in his program for the 2006 festival. I was the Events Manager for Barber's final festival and I had taken the opportunity to sneak in to the State Theatre to watch this film. About 15 minutes into it, my mobile phone, silently, announced that I was needed somewhere. We had a huge number of Festival Sponsor post-screening functions immediately following the film - and there was corporate sponsorship banner positioning to be attended to.

The post-United 93 screening functions were, as you might imagine, dire affairs. Ghostly white and subdued, corporate Sydney wandered dazed and undone into their VIP zones - stunned by what they had witnessed. The State Theatre had just had a new 'rock concert' sound rig installed ... and United 93's momentous, layered soundtrack (Martin Cantwell's Sound Editing and John Powell's Original Score) gave it a paint-and-wall-paper stripping run for its money.

****

One of Greengrass's masterstrokes is the casting. John Frankenheimer (The Manchurian Candidate) once said that "casting is 65 percent of directing", and in the case of United 93 the casting is a significant aspect of the work's cinematic torque. The flight crew (pilots and cabin attendants) are all played by real crew - some of whom work for United Airlines. On the ground, the Civilian and US Military Air Traffic Controllers are played by real air traffic controllers – and in some cases, the people who were actually working on the morning of September 11. The passengers are played by relative unknowns, and it is this choice that ensures the film demands an immediate and instinctive respect. There is no "Acting" going on. Yes, there is knowledge and technique … there is commitment and passion … but ultimately, it is the anonymity of these actors that powers their presence in this work in precious and commanding ways. Many Directors and Casting Directors choose this casting path to walk – but very few have succeeded in matching the power of the unreservedly adventurous and uncluttered energy with the material that Greengrass manages to inspire in this work and from his brilliant cast.

The editing by Clare Douglas, Richard Pearson and Christopher Rouse is astonishing and entirely worthy of their Oscar™ nomination (they lost to Thelma Schoonmaker's work on Martin Scorsese's The Departed). Greengrass, too, was nominated for the Oscar™ for Best Achievement in Directing – also missing out to Mr Scorsese.

I have always been greedy for detail - and Barry Ackroyd's Cinematography re-defines the possibilities of the hand-held camera and strikes the perfect aviation-clinical look throughout the 'inflight' interiors. His colours and tones are bone-bearingly real, and his and Greengrass's camera becomes almost lascivious as it prowls the darkest and most unlikely corners of the unravelling horror. From the chaos on the ground to the habitual inflight prattle, Greengrass is everywhere. He pins each and every minute detail of his formidable narrative to your every breath ... choking you with his drive, intention and pace. His virtuoso camera angles are a lesson in themselves and the camera's battle for stability and equilibrium in the post-hijack cabin of United Airlines Flight 93 is unrelenting. That there is even the slightest semblance of hope for a different denoument is the mark of a truly great storyteller ... and the combined skills of his ensemble and crew.

From its simple, eerily familiar and almost routine beginning to the blistering mid-point where the tension can no longer be contained, United 93 is a masterful cinematic ante-mortem examination … and even though forensic investigators have contradicted the popular myth that the passengers managed to make it into the cockpit, the final few minutes of United 93 will connect so brutally with your heart that it may be almost impossible for you to stand it.

It was only through the wide-eyed wonder at what real and raw courage and determination looks like, that I could.

****

The Flight 93 National Memorial


One of the many distinguishing characteristics of the Honour Flight 93 National Memorial is the seasonal variation of the native trees throughout its landscape. The design highlights this feature and will supplement it with a major reforestation effort throughout the site, planting over 140,000 trees at the former coal mine. (Photo by Chuck Wagner)

Film Review: Face to Face

Face to Face. Rated MA15+ (strong coarse language). 88 minutes. Written and directed by Michael Rymer. Based on the play by David Williamson.

Nothing, it would seem, can fuel a debate amongst the literarti like mentioning David Williamson. Punctured with indignation, envy and arch, sweeping generalisations about the value of his creative contribution to Australian Theatre (which is not only important, but vast) – Williamson is most-often derided for bringing characters who inhabit the great, formative Australian middle-class to Australian stages. Quelle horreur!

In his perfectly-structured play on which Mr Rymer’s equally rock-solid screenplay is based, Williamson has mined the gloriously rich territory of conflict resolution. And if Williamson has mined it, then Rymer has excavated it – respectfully acknowledging the inherent security of the story’s stagebound origin (it mostly takes place in one room) while also using – to great effect – flashbacks to the chain of events that has brought everyone to this critical junction in their lives.

Wayne Travers (Luke Ford) is facing the grim prospect of going to jail for what appears to be a pre-meditated act of life-threatening violence against his boss Greg Baldoni (Vince Colosimo). When Jack Manning (Matthew Newton) convenes a mediation between the opposing parties, everyone involved is forced to confront the ugly truths about how they are each responsible for the potentially lethal meltdown of an enthusiastically naïve young worker.

It’s not often that one comments on the casting of a film – but in the case of Face to Face, Greg Apps and Loretta Crawford have absolutely nailed it. This is an extraordinary ensemble of very fine Australian talent – and the film works as well as it does because the cast are utterly committed to every finite detail of the work.

Mr Ford (Animal Kingdom, The Black Balloon, Kokoda, Red Dog) is brilliant as the tortured young labourer, and the camera simply cannot get enough of his cracked-lipped, dribbling, snotty meltdown. If Ford’s is one of the must-see performances of the year so far, Mr Colosimo is on equal footing as the owner/operator of the Baldoni scaffolding and construction company. As his small business, his marriage and his very existence are slowly and systematically disassembled right before his eyes, Colosimo’s marvellously under-stated performance is a masterclass in acting for the camera. His restlessness and awkward self-deprecation are wonderful counterpoints to the extent to which Sigrid Thornton literally unravels as his dutiful wife Claire. In one of the film’s many illuminating moments of contemplation of the toxic consequences of a heartless workplace prank, Ms Thornton holds the screen with a supreme wordless presence and intention. It is one of an almost embarrassing number of great moments.

The real surprise, however, are the (perhaps arguably) lesser-known actors (Robert Rabiah, Ra Chapman, Lauren Clair, Christopher Connelly, Laura Gordon, Josh Saks and Richard Sutherland) who constantly reinforce the fact that the performances in this film are nothing less than a tour de force. Each of them has their moments in the spotlight and account for them magnificently.

Given the luxury of riches in the acting stakes, it might be argued that all Mr Rymer (Angel Baby) and his cinematographer Dennys Ilic had to do was turn on the camera and point it in the right direction. But if point of view is everything in telling stories on the screen, Rymer is always in precisely the right place at the right time, with a dazzling array of single-room-defying shots that capture every detail of the performances. The constantly churning relationships between the key players is superbly maintained, captured and expressed, and Rymer’s outstanding work behind the camera is beautifully matched by Mr Newton’s calm, curious and masterful control of the proceedings in front of it.

It is proving to be a watershed year for Australian cinema – and Face to Face is a powerful, involving, and very welcome addition to the fold.

Pictured: Sigrid Thornton and Vince Colosimo in Face to Face. Image supplied.

Face to Face screens nationally from tomorrow.

Film Review: Priest

Priest. Rated M (horror violence and infrequent coarse language). 88 minutes. Directed by Scott Charles Stewart. Screenplay by Cory Goodman. Based on the graphic novel by Min-Woo Hyung.

Unlike the regrettable Cowboys and Aliens, here is a film that takes its genre mash-up seriously – and achieves what it sets out to do quite superbly.

Set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland that is part Wild West frontier and part bleak, fortress-like city, the prologue (with a generous nod to the story’s graphic novel origins) neatly illustrates the set-up, which has resulted in the plague of vampires being securely locked away in massive, prison-like reservations.

The warrior priests, who led the human resistance against them, are now treated like pariahs – and along with what is left of the human race – are corralled into high-walled cities within a strict, God-fearing society. When word reaches the city that a young family of settlers has been attacked by a new breed of vampires, the priests are reluctantly drawn into battle again for the survival of the human race.

Stewart (Legion) has extensive experience as a visual effects craftsman (Sin City, Blade Runner, Pirates of the Caribbean) and Priest is never less than a dazzlingly stylish visual treat – helped considerably by Richard Bridgland’s (AVP: Alien vs Predator, Resident Evil) marvellous production design, Don Burgess’s (Source Code, The Book of Eli, Spider-Man) evocative cinematography and Christopher Young’s (Hellraiser, Spider-Man 3) atmospheric original score.

Goodman manages to wrangle the seemingly disparate story threads into an entirely serviceable, richly-allegorical screenplay – providing the excellent cast (including Christopher Plummer, True Blood’s Stephen Moyer, Maggie Q and Karl Urban) with enough grit and vampire-menace hysteria to keep it all powering along most entertainingly.

Boasting a perfectly-judged performance from the charismatic Paul Bettany (Legion, Master and Commander) in the title role (pictured), Priest is an immensely engaging film with occasional epic flourishes – of which the eerie vampire hive sequences and the desert-bound finale featuring a priest versus human vampire slap-down onboard a magnificently-realised train are just two perfect examples.

This review was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Final Destination 5

Final Destination 5. Rated MA 15+ (strong violence, blood and gore). 92 minutes. Directed by Steven Quale. Screenplay by Eric Heisserer.

As much as I would love to be able to tell you all about this latest (and apparently final) installation in the celebrated Final Destination horror franchise, I can’t. It was just too scary for me – and the 3D only made it worse (or better – depending on just how much of a horror devotee you are). Chilling, thrilling and utterly terrifying – I guess I will be left wondering what happened after I fled.

This 'review' was commissioned by the Geraldton Newspaper Group.