Welcome to the Film Pie! Brisbane based film critic Matt Toomey has reviewed thousands of movies since 1996. See what's out now, or browse the review archive.

Mini Reviews

Priscilla (out Jan 18) isn’t telling us much. Elvis was a controlling, domineering husband who took plenty of pills and didn’t want his wife on tour. Priscilla was a bored, lonely housewife who read about her husband’s exploits in the tabloids but never really stood up to him. Stars Cailee Spaeny and Jacob Elordi are fine but the material lacks punch. Grade: C+.

The Jungle Bunch 2: World Tour (out Jan 18) is an animated feature about a group of cheeky animals who must team up to save their forest from obliteration. Simple story but liked the banter (plenty of insults/niggling) between the characters. Grade: B.

The Beekeeper (out Jan 11) is a trashy but entertaining action film about a ruthless good guy taking down a bunch of money-stealing bad guys. The plot and performances are above-average for the genre but the fight sequences aren't anything new. Grade: B.

Mean Girls (out Jan 11) is a 2024 movie based off the 2017 musical based off the 2004 movie based off the 2002 book. Australian Angourie Rice gets the lead role and there are roughly a dozen songs during the two-hour runtime. Watchable but not as good as the earlier movie. Direction is uninspiring. Grade: B-.

The Holdovers (out Jan 11) is an exquisitely told tale. Marking the first period piece film of director Alexander Payne, it's a 1970s college tale about three "broken" people forced to spend the Christmas holidays together. Humour is generated from the stinging barbs, well-written one-liners, and expressive faces. These moments are countered by well-timed dramatic shifts. Grade: A.

The Canterville Ghost (out Jan 11) is an animated feature loosely based on the Oscar Wilde short story. A family move into a new home and deal with a pesky ghost. Not ground-breaking but liked the dashes of adult humour and darker themes. Grade: B-.

Night Swim (out Jan 4) is Cocoon meets The Natural meets Poltergeist. It's the story of a family, with a pro baseball player as the patriarch, who discover the backyard swimming pool of their new home is haunted. Enjoyed the set up (opening hour is solid) but the finale doesn't have enough scares or punch. Grade: B-.

The Boys in the Boat (out Jan 4) is a 1930s tale of a college rowing team who go from zero to hero. The handling of the material is as formulaic as it gets, but this film still works because of the energy and emotion generated by the three big rowing races. Such a great story! Joel Edgerton and Luke Slattery the pick of the cast. Grade: B+.

Ferrari (out Jan 4) is set in 1957 and looks at how Ferrari, struggling at the time, targeted victory in the prestigious Mille Miglia 24-hour race to help boost sales. Enzo Ferrari (Adam Driver) isn't the most exciting character and so it falls upon his semi-deranged wife (Penélope Cruz) to generate interest through her power games. Grade: B-.

Next Goal Wins (out Jan 1) is a fictionalised film based off a 2014 documentary about the quest of the American Samoa football team to win their first FIFA World Cup qualifying game. Director Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit) is normally on point when balancing comedy and drama but he’s missed the mark here by skewing too much towards goof. Star Michael Fassbender overplays every emotional beat as the team's coach. Grade: C+.

Dream Scenario (out Jan 1) starts promisingly but quickly loses momentum. It's the story of a boring, ordinary guy (Nicolas Cage) who randomly appears in the dreams of thousands across the country. This could have been a wonderfully messed-up dark comedy but, as shown in the limp, illogical finale, it's ultimately a journey to nowhere. Grade: C+.