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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 19 December 2022

It’s not going to change the world but as a film trying to offer laughs, entertainment, and big-hearted messages for younger audiences, Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile fulfils its mission.  Adults won’t mind it either.  The source material is a 48-page children’s picture book authored by American Bernard Waber and first published in 1965.  I haven’t read it myself (must have missed it in kindergarten) but it’s easy to see the appeal given it’s centred on a cute crocodile who knows how to sing.

I’m reminded of an animated feature we saw earlier in the year, The Bad Guys, in that it reminds us not to “judge a book by its cover”.  The instinctive reaction is to run away from a crocodile (and several characters do that in this movie) but as we soon learn, Lyle is a shy, clumsy, sensitive creature who we shouldn’t fear.  The first member of the Primm family to realise this is Josh (Fegley), a young boy who discovers the crocodile hiding in the attic of a New York City townhouse recently rented by his two busy parents (Wu and McNairy).

The singing Lyle (voiced by Shawn Mendes) becomes the catalyst for good things.  The introverted Josh is struggling with a new school and a new city but, thanks to Lyle’s playful antics, he “comes out of his shell” and develops confidence and independence.  It’s not long before Josh’s parents learn about Lyle (it’s hard to hide a crocodile) and, somewhat unexpectedly, it brings the family closer together and more receptive to overdue changes (like the dinner menu).

Brought to the screen by the directing team of Will Speck and Josh Gordon (Blades of Glory, Office Christmas Party), Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile moves at a quick pace and doesn’t get bogged down with superfluous subplots.  A great example is Lyle’s backstory which features a fun supporting performance from Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men) who first finds a baby Lyle in an exotic animals store. Covering these details in a speedy introduction frees up more time for us to get to the film’s heart – the bond between Lyle and Josh.

13-year-old Winslow Fegley, the younger brother of Oakes Fegley (Pete’s Dragon, The War With Grandpa), is very good in a role that many children will relate to.  It’s nice to see a story that depicts anxiety (showing kids it’s something a lot of people go through) while showing there are ways to open up and deal with it.  These real-life themes are nicely balanced against the humorous absurdity of a singing crocodile living in New York City.

Released on Boxing Day alongside the equally likeable Puss in Boots: The Last Wish here in Australia, there’s no shortage of quality family offerings this holiday season.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 07 December 2022

There is no doubt (warning: there may be doubt) that Matilda the Musical is one of the best stage shows of the 21^st Century.  Roald Dahl’s 1988 novel was already terrific… but Dennis Kelly (book) and Tim Minchin (music and lyrics) transformed it into a musical which is just as memorable.  It’s humorous, it’s emotional, and it’s not afraid to get really dark (a rarity when it comes to family-oriented stuff).  It boasts a fantastic, well-crafted music score and, through performances across the world, has allowed a plethora of young actors to showcase their rising talents.

It was always a matter of when, not if, the show would be adapted for the big screen.  It has been spruiked since 2013 and after years of waiting, director Matthew Warchus (also responsible for the stage musical) has finally completed what fans have been waiting for.  It’s not a like-for-like adaptation however.  A few changes have been made to trim roughly 20 minutes and have it sneak in under the two hour mark (for the benefit of those with shorter attention spans).

If you’re new to the material, it’s the tale of super smart young girl named Matilda who is the product of two selfish, ignorant, rotten parents.  Unable to find proper adult guidance at home, two kind people fill the gap – a knowledgeable librarian who provides wonderful books to read, and a softly-spoken schoolteacher who can easily detect Matilda’s intelligence.  In addition to the parents, there’s one more villain threatening to upend Matilda’s life – the nasty, power-hungry school headmaster who thinks of children like scum.

I’m a fan of Matthew Warchus (Pride) but the direction here is a little scrappy and haphazard.  When compared to some of the great modern day movie musicals (e.g. Moulin Rouge, Chicago, La La Land) you’ll realise the elaborate musical numbers don’t flow smoothly.  A little magic has been lost in the editing room with the uneven mix of close-ups and long shots.  One exception is the “School Song” which comes across very well.

Despite those qualms, it’s hard not to be won over by this movie given the strength of the source material.  The songs are so damn good!  Warchus has also struck gold in finding 13-year-old star Alisha Weir who has a fantastic voice and the perfect look for the title role.  She beat out thousands of others as part of a lengthy audition process.  Emma Thompson continues her sensational year (hot on the heels of Good Luck to You, Leo Grande) and creates an ideal can’t-wait-till-she-gets-what-she-deserves villain in headmaster Miss Trunchbull.

It’s hard to match the joy and energy that comes from a live performance and while this adaption falls a touch short, it’s still heaps of fun.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 16 December 2022

Winning one Palme d’or (the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival) is a career-defining achievement but to win two is something special.  It’s a position that 48-year-old Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund (Force Majeure) now finds himself in.  He won the award in 2017 for his offbeat dark comedy The Square and he’s followed it up five years later with his next film, Triangle of Sadness.  It’s worth noting that, coincidence or not, both titles contain the name of a shape.

This latest effort is split into three chapters which have overlapping characters but different settings.  It opens by introducing us to two young, good-looking models (Dickinson and Dean) who argue about etiquette when paying the bill at a restaurant.  The middle act takes place on a $250 million luxury yacht where the hard-working staff and alcoholic captain (Harrelson) tend to the needs of the uber-wealthy guests.  The climax is reminiscent of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies and sees a group of people fending for surviving after becoming stuck on a deserted island.

It’s heavy handed in places but Triangle of Sadness can be admired for many reasons.  It’s a great film to discuss with friends as you dissect the themes being explored in relation to class structures within society.  As articulated by Östlund in interviews, it also has something to say about “good looks” being used as currency.  Whether we like it or not, we live in a world where beauty can be just as important, if not more so, than brains as people climb corporate and social ladders.

For those who don’t want to delve deeply into messages, Triangle of Sadness can still be enjoyed as an outlandish spectacle.  The lengthy scene where the two models disagree about who should pay for dinner is reminiscent of a Curb Your Enthusiasm skit.  A sequence where cruise ship guests become violently ill after eating a lavish dinner in the middle of a storm could be borrowed from low-brow comedy given the abundance of shit and vomit.  The open-endedness to several subplots in the film’s finale taps into a director’s fun in teasing audiences (such as Christopher Nolan in Inception).

Of the cast, Philippines-born Dolly de Leon is getting the most awards season attention thus far for her hilarious performance as a cleaning lady who comes to prominence in the final act.  She’s terrific but so too is the broader ensemble.  Some actors only appear in a handful of scenes by they leave an impression – a great example being Swedish actress Mia Benson as a deluded guest who demands the yacht’s non-existent sails be cleaned.  There’s a tinge of sadness to the film’s release however given the unexpected death of 32-year-old star Charlbi Dean (who plays Yaya) in August.

Ruben Östlund could never be accused of creating dull movies and if looking for something wild and eyebrow-raising, Triangle of Sadness fits the bill.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 29 November 2022

The word has been used in Russia for several decades but in 2017, “kompromat” made its way into the English database of Dictionary.com.  It is defined as “compromising and incriminating material that is sometimes forged or fabricated, used to sabotage or discredit a political opponent or public figure.”  It came to prominence within the media when allegations emerged that Russian officials had gathered “kompromat” on President Donald Trump which could be used against him.

This new French drama is the tale of an Alliance française director, Mathieu Roussel (Lellouche), who has spent several months posted to the Siberian region of Russia along with his wife and young daughter.  Mathieu doesn’t know precisely why (there’s several possibilities) but he’s annoyed someone within Russia’s powerful Federal Security Service (FSB) who have fabricated evidence to charge him with child abuse and accessing child pornography.

Facing a 15-year stint in prison, a small group of people will do their best to get Mathieu out of the country before the trial.  These include his no-nonsense defence lawyer, a Russian co-worker (Kulig), and officials at the French embassy in Moscow.  On his tail are a group of nasty looking FSB folk who travel across the country in pursuit of their target after skipping his house arrest.

The film is clunky in the way in which it portrays Mathieu.  There’s an early scene where he hosts Russian officials at a French ballet which includes homoerotic themes.  Suffice to say the officials don’t take it well.  On the other hand, we see him being quite resourceful as he sneaks around the country avoiding detection.  It’s hard to believe a French teacher could be so blind to basic Russian culture while also having the skills of Jason Bourne.

There’s still much to take away from this however and the fact it’s based on actual events is high on that list.  It highlights the corruption that exists within the Russian government and the ways they can use the police, the media, and the judicial system to silence those who don’t share their views.  It also reminds us that not everyone in Russia supports the controlling government and, through the character of Svetlana, we learn there are people willing to risk their own lives in defiance.

Those looking to know more about the subject may be interested in Yoann Barbereau’s memoir, Escape from Siberia: My Epic Journey to Freedom, which delves more into the true story behind Kompromat.  While this film is rough around the edges, it’s a yarn deserving the full big screen treatment.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 14 December 2022

In terms of filmmaking, there is very little, if anything, that James Cameron has left to prove.  He will go down in history as one of the most successful directors of all time.  His early years featured classics such as Aliens, The Abyss, and the first two Terminator movies.  In 1997, Titanic won a record 11 Academy Awards (the record still stands) and became the highest grossing movie of all time in the United States.  That benchmark stood for 12 years until Cameron’s very next film, Avatar, bettered Titanic’s domestic gross in just 47 days and would go on to make a phenomenal $2.75 billion at the global box-office.

Having waited over a decade, Cameron finally takes audiences back to the world of Pandora for another adventure involving our beloved blue characters.  It’s epic in terms of cost ($350-$400 million), epic in terms of duration (193 minutes), and epic in terms of technological advancement.  The film has been shot to make the most of 3D cinema (which we haven’t seen much of in recent years) and certain action scenes utilise the smoother, but seldom used, 48 frames per second rate as opposed to the traditional 24.

Avatar: The Way of Water provides an incredible spectacle.  The visuals make you think that every other action flick of the past decade was made in the 1950s.  It’s head-scratching that Cameron can create such a stunningly beautiful world with bright, clear, easy-to-follow battles (the sound effects are great too) while all other directors keep churning out the same dark, grainy, repetitive-looking stuff.  Maybe it’s a budget thing?  Maybe Cameron is simply in a league of his own?

I’m not as enthusiastic when it comes to narrative.  I was never bored in Avatar: The Way of Water but the five-person writing team take few chances and go down a familiar, well-worth path.  I feel like I’ve seen this type of action story 10,000 times now – one where people make reckless decisions and put their lives in danger because nothing is more important than “family” and keeping them safe.  Given the 68-year-old Cameron has three more sequels planned, it could give The Fast and The Furious franchise a run for its money in who pushes the family theme hardest. 

To provide a quick synopsis, the Earth is still dying and a small group of well-armed human soldiers are hoping to “pacify” the Na’vi locals on Pandora and take over the planet as their own.  Their latest scheme is to adopt Na’vi avatars, sneak through local defences, and take down Jake Sully (Worthington), the heroic human-turned-Na’vi who has become a thorn in their side.  In addition to Jake, the “good guy” side includes his partner (Saldaña), their four kids, a new clan of people, a teenager named “Spider” (Champion), and a bunch of super-smart fish.  Some subplots are resolved whilst others will carry over into future movies.

Considering all other studios have run for the hills and are putting up nothing against it (last week’s box-office in the U.S. was the worst in 11 months), Avatar: The Way of Water will be one of this year’s biggest hits.  See it on the biggest screen you can find.  It’s review-proof.