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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 31 March 2022

Don’t judge a book by its cover.  It’s a message that’s pushed very, very, very strongly in The Bad Guys, the latest animated feature from Dreamworks.  Those looking for nuance will be disappointed but, given this is targeted largely at kids, the focus is on a simple storyline with cute, fun characters.  It’s like a Looney Tunes cartoon except with better production values.

We meet these “bad guys” in a quick-paced introduction.  Wolf (Rockwell) is their cunning leader, Snake (Maron) is a master safe-cracker, Tarantula (Awkwafina) is a renowned computer hacker, Shark (Robinson) is a master of disguise, and Piranha (Ramos) is willing to fight anyone.  Not afraid to rob a bank or steal precious artifacts, they’re described as the “most diabolical criminals of our time” and they wear it like a badge of honour.  To use Wolf’s own words – “we may be bad… but we’re so good at it.”

The argument put forward is these five characters are bad… because that’s what society expects of them.  People are naturally afraid of wolves, snakes, spiders, sharks, and piranhas and so they never had a chance to begin with.  What if there was a way to break the stereotype, give them a fresh start, and turn them into “good guys”?

The team is arrested after a botched robbery at the aptly titled Gala for Goodness and they’re fortunately provided a rehabilitation opportunity by the generous governor.  Instead of sending them to the slammer, she hands them over to the much-loved guinea pig, Professor Marmalade (Ayoade), who will put them through a series of tests and make them better creatures.  He’s out to prove there’s a little bit of good in all of us.

As the central figure, Wolf seems to be channelling the mantra of Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.  You never know which side he’s playing (sometimes he doesn’t know either) and he continually changes his persona to fit each situation.  Does he truly want to be good?  Or is it all part of the “most relaxing con ever”?  His views are sharpened during a predictable, semi-rushed finale.

There’s a local connection with the movie based on a children’s book series first released by Australian author Aaron Blabey in 2015.  He’s now published more than a dozen books about these characters which highlights their popularity around the world.  Websites state a recommended reading age of 6-12 years old which fits with what we see on screen.

Production values are strong and it’s easy to see kids engaging with these villains-turned-heroes.  The voices have been astutely selected with the distinctive Sam Rockwell, Awkwafina and Richard Ayoade standing out as the best of the bunch.  Alex Borstein also rates a mention as the city’s emotional police chief. 

I’d have preferred a narrative with more complexity but The Bad Guys knows its audience and knows what it’s trying to sell.  One for the kids.

You can read my chat with the book's author, Aaron Blabey, by clicking here.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 21 March 2022

All long-time filmgoers have a handful of movies they’d describe as “hidden gems”.  I’m speaking of films you love despite the fact they didn’t fire at the box-office, weren’t beloved by critics, very few people have seen them.  An example I often refer to is Still Life, a tear-inducing British drama about a council employee (Eddie Marsan) who organises funerals for people who have died with no friends and family.  I named it my second favourite release of 2014 (behind Boyhood) and yet, it took in just $9,481 at the box-office in the United States.

Italian filmmaker Uberto Pasolini was the gifted writer-director behind Still Life (he’s also an Academy Award nominee for producing The Full Monty) and now, for the first time in almost a decade, he’s back behind the camera and making another terrific film.  Several years ago, Pasolini picked up a newspaper and read a short article about a single father with a 4-year-old son.  The dad had a terminal illness and, with no immediately family and just a few months left to live, he had to help pick an adoptive family to raise his child.  That tale became the bones for Nowhere Special.

You don’t even need to see this movie to appreciate the emotion involved with such a story.  Just picture yourself in the same situation.  With the clock ticking, imagine the pressure of having to choose someone to raise your 4-year-old child.  What if you make the wrong choice?  Another question to be answered is what you elect to leave behind in a “memory box” if the child grows up and wants to learn more about his biological father.  So as not to create a lingering sense of sadness, would it be better if the kid didn’t know anything at all?

Pasolini doesn’t milk this story any harder than needed.  Tears will flow regardless.  We just follow the window-cleaning father, John (Norton), as he teams up with good-natured social workers in “auditioning” new parents for his son, Michael (Lamont).  Intermingled with this, we have heartfelt scenes where father and son enjoy simple pleasures such as walking to school, attending a carnival, and eating fairy floss.  The kid is largely oblivious but we, as the audience, know the significance of these moments in the mind of the dying John.  In lieu of a physical villain, the “bad guy” is time and the lack of it that remains in John’s life.

James Norton (Happy Valley, Little Women) is sensational in the lead role and deftly illustrates the emotions from such a situation – from the deep love of a child to the growing fear of death.  It can’t have been easy extracting such an important performance from 4-year-old newcomer Daniel Lamont but Pasolini has done as well as can be expected.  Over 100 boys auditioned with Lamont deservedly getting the nod.

He’s not exactly a household name but Nowhere Special solidifies the reputation of Uberto Pasolini in my eyes as being a wonderful storyteller.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 30 March 2022

Established in 1828 and located in an iconic building in London’s Trafalgar Square, The National Gallery is home to one of the world’s great collection of paintings.  It includes works from Claude Monet, Johannes Vermeer, Paul Cézanne, Rembrandt, Vincent van Gogh, Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.  The cost of insuring the paintings is unaffordable (many are deemed to be “priceless”) and so a heavy burden falls on the shoulders of security and other staff to keep them safe and in good condition.

In the long history of The National Gallery, only one painting has ever been stolen.  On 21 August 1961, 57-year-old retired British pensioner Kempton Bunton snuck into the museum while the security system had been disabled (cleaning was underway) and stole a 19^th Century work of Francisco Goya entitled The Portrait of the Duke of Wellington.  It has recently been acquired by the Gallery for the sum of £140,000.

Bunton wasn’t a big fan of the painting.  He didn’t steal it to display on his living room wall or to sell on the black market.  Bunton was angered by the British Government requiring all residents with a television set to pay a “licence fee” and so he’d stolen the painting as a mean of protest.  It was a classic kidnapping and ransom.  Writing anonymously to newspapers, Bunton agreed to return the painting but only if a significant donation was made by the Government to help pay TV licence fees for poorer residents.

If you love a good “truth is stranger than fiction” tale, The Duke is for you.  It’s also noteworthy in the sense it marks the final movie of director Roger Michell who passed away unexpected last year at the age of 65.  His previous credits include Notting Hill (my personal favourite), Changing Lanes, Hyde Park on Hudson, and the documentary Nothing Like a Dame.  He had a knack for extracting great performances from his cast.

That’s again the case here.  Academy Award winner Jim Broadbent (Iris) relishes the chance to play such a fun character and that same vibe will rub off on audiences.  It’s hard not to cheer for Kempton Bunton despite the fact he’s a criminal.  The most entertaining scenes in the film are where he pleads his case, with the help of a creative defence lawyer (Goode), in a packed court room.  Helen Mirren (The Queen) works nicely off Broadbent with her more serious role as the concerned wife. 

The story is over-simplified in places but The Duke will please many thanks to its charming leads.  An interesting story.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 16 March 2022

He’s never been nominated for an Academy Award and he’s never had a leading role in a big Hollywood blockbuster… but few would turn down the opportunity if offered the career of English actor Timothy Spall.  The 65-year-old has been in the business for over four decades and he’s worked under the guidance of directors including Mike Leigh, Kenneth Branagh, Cameron Crowe, Alfonso Cuarón, Tim Burton and Pablo Larraín.  He’s a gifted character actor with a knack for elevating the projects he’s involved with.

That’s again the case with It Snows in Benidorm, the latest from Spanish director Isabel Coixet (The Secret Life of Words, Elegy) which has been co-produced by Pedro Almodóvar (All About My Mother).  Spall plays Peter Riordan (Spall), a man who willingly admits his life is boring and unambitious.  He lives alone in a sparce apartment with no wife, no kids, and no pets.  He goes through the same routines each day and he’s worked as a bank manager for many years – a job that feels more of a monotonous, depressing chore than one offering hope and fulfilment.

These early scenes are terrific.  Spall, under the guidance of Coixet, creates a character who many with understand and empathise with.  It’s at this point where the film shifts tone and takes a different narrative path.  Pushed into early retirement, complete with a generous redundancy package, Peter decides to travel to Benidorm, a seaside holiday town in eastern Spain, to catch up with his brother for the first time in several years.

Within hours of his plane touching down, Peter realises something is amiss.  His brother has gone missing.  Unsure how worried he should be, he starts to ask questions but it’s difficult given he speaks no Spanish and knows very little about his brother’s work and lifestyle in Benidorm.  What follows is a curious, intriguing adventure.  Peter steps out of his comfort zone and learns as much about himself as he does about his brother’s location and wellbeing.

It Snows in Benidorm is an interesting tale that reminds us of the importance of romance, friendships, and general human connection.  Spall skilfully brings the character to life with splashes of narration helping us understand his insular nature.  His opening line is a great example – “neither the weather nor people can be trusted.”  You grow to care more about Peter’s wellbeing than that of his missing brother (one of the film’s unusual charms).

With a solid supporting cast, It Snows in Benidorm is two hours well spent at the cinema.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 22 March 2022

Texas, 1979.  Three men and three women have rented a run-down guest house on a remote farm to shoot a “quality” porno movie to be viewed in people’s homes using the new medium of VHS.  There’s a producer (Henderson), a director (Campbell), an assistant (Ortega), a well-hung male lead (Mescudi), and two female stars (Goth and Snow).

I was reminded of the closing scene of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights when Mark Wahlberg whips out his schlong in front of a dressing room mirror and naively proclaims “I am a big bright shining star.”  The simply-titled X opens with something similar – albeit from a female perspective.  It immediately tells us that while these characters have good intentions (for the most part), their dreams of success and stardom are simply delusions.  Nothing about the porno they’re making will improve their financial or social standing.

It’s at the half-way mark where X morphs from a comedy-drama into a violent horror flick.  Writer-director Ti West is no stranger to the genre having made films including Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever, The Innkeepers and The Sacrament.  West uses well-trodden formulas here (such as splitting everyone up to create multiple subplots) but the characters act in a rational, realistic manner which gives the film credibility.  They’re not the sharpest tools in the shed but you’ll care about them more than you might expect (the interesting backstory helps).

I wasn’t as convinced by the “villains” but X is still an above-average horror movie with several moments that will catch audiences off guard.  It’s got a decent script, an energetic cast, and lots of style.  I had to laugh at a random split-screen musical interlude half-way through.  There’s another memorable moment, humorously shot by cinematographer Eliot Rockett, involving a naked Scott Mescudi standing outside the front door in the middle of the night.  These scenes highlight that the film is as light-hearted and entertaining as it is creepy and gory.

West was fortunate enough to get renowned American production company A24 to rely on economies of scale and put up the money to make two movies about these characters and their messed-up world.  They were shot back-to-back in New Zealand in early 2021 and, based on the early hype/success for X, we can expect to see the next instalment very soon.  A tease of this very different film (a prequel) is offered after the closing credits so be sure to stick around.