Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 21 May 2018

Disney had a lot to lose when it purchased Lucasfilm in 2012 for the sum of $4 billion USD.  It all comes down to numbers.  The average Star Wars film has a production budget of around $250 million.  When you throw in marketing and overhead costs on top of that, you’re in a position where a film needs to pull in some serious coin to make a profit – whether it be in ticket sales, DVD sales, TV rights or merchandise.

Solo: A Star Wars Story is the 4^th film to be released since the acquisition and while the last 3 have been hugely successful (they’ve grossed a combined $4 billion), this movie had Disney worried.  Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Lego Movie) were fired by producer Kathleen Kennedy midway through the shoot due to “creative differences” and replaced by Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind).  There were also rumours that star Alden Ehrenreich (Hail, Caesar!) needed an acting coach and was struggling to recreate the character made famous by Harrison Ford in the late 1970s.

I’m not sure who ultimately deserves the credit given the director change but Solo: A Star Wars Story, as a finished product, is an entertaining film.  We learn how Han Solo got his name, how he met Chewbacca, how he first fell in love, and how he came into possession of his coveted starship, the Millennium Falcon.  You don’t need to be a Star Wars devotee to understand what’s going on.  This works as a standalone feature.

For those already familiar with these characters, the film sits on the Star Wars timeline somewhere between Episode III and Episode IV.  We’re told it’s a “lawless time” with the galaxy overrun by crime syndicates in search hyperfuel – an extremely powerful energy source that is in short supply.  The film’s best action sequence arrives at the end of the opening act.  Working under a blood thirsty crime lord named Dryden Vos (Bettany), Han teams up with his quasi-girlfriend, Qi’ra (Clarke), and a shady criminal, Tobias Beckett (Harrelson), to steal a shipment of hyperfuel from a fast-moving train.

The run time is a lengthy 135 minutes but there’s more than enough material to hold your attention.  In fact, one could argue more time was needed to expand on key subplots.  Qi’ra and Han spend three years apart but when they finally get back together, it’s odd that neither wants to talk in detail about her past and newfound allegiance to Dryden Voss.  Some action scenes are also rushed such as an encounter with a space monster.  It’s over before there’s even a chance to get the heart racing.

These nit-pickings are relatively trivial though.  He may not have perfected Harrison Ford’s personality from the earlier movies but Ehrenreich brings a distinctive hairstyle and easy-going nature to the title role.  He’s well supported by a great group of actors.  It terms of a stand out, it’s hard to go past Phoebe Waller-Bridge who plays a sassy, feminist robot who has fallen in love with her master and has views of changing the world.

The last few Star Wars films have had a darker tone and while I expect that trend to continue with the untitled Episode IX, due to be released in late 2019, Solo: A Star Wars Story tips the scales back in the other direction and is a fun, likeable adventure.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 03 May 2018

For those keeping score at home, Tully marks the third collaboration between director Jason Reitman and writer Diablo Cody.  They first paired up in 2007 with the brilliant coming-of-age comedy Juno, the story of a sarcastic teenage girl (Ellen Page) and her unplanned pregnancy.  Cody won an Academy Award for her original screenplay.  That was followed in 2011 with Young Adult, the absorbing tale of a 30-something year old woman (Charlize Theron) battling depression who tries to rekindle memories from her high school years.  Both films are “must see” viewing.

Cody solidifies her reputation as one of the best writers in the business by creating another great character in Tully.  Her name is Marlo (Theron) and she’s a struggling mother with two kids and another on the way.  She’s tired, she’s overworked and she’s lacking in self-confidence.  There’s a humorous moment where Theron, who put on more than 20 kilograms for the role, describes her sagging body as looking like “a relief map for a war torn country.”

The biggest problem for Marlo is that she’s getting next-to-no support.  Her husband works long hours and whilst he thinks he’s loving and caring, that’s not really the case.  He spends more time in the bedroom playing video games than talking to Marlo about her day.  Adding to their troubles is the fact their eldest son has learning difficulties and his teachers, who describe him as “out of the box”, think he’d be better suited by one-on-one tutoring.  This is something they clearly cannot afford.

Marlo is reluctant to ask for help but following the birth of her third child, she accepts the financial assistance of her brother (Duplass) and employs a “night nanny” named Tully (Theron).  I wasn’t familiar with the job previously but it refers to a person who comes into the home and looks after a newborn child during the night so the parents can take a break and rest.  Tully is more than just a night nanny though.  She’s a breath of fresh air who uproots the household in a manner similar to Mary Poppins.  She cleans the house, organises all the kids, and becomes an invaluable friend to a reinvigorated, charged up Marlo.

So where is all this going?  That’s a question I wrote in my notebook as the film moved into its curious final half-hour.  There’s more to this narrative than you think and so the plot developments are best left unspoiled.  Central to everything is the terrific performance of Charlize Theron (Monster).  I can’t directly relate to her scenario but you can see from her facial expressions and body language that she’s in desperate need of help and companionship.  This is a worthy character study and it’s hard not to feel sympathy towards Marlo and her plight.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 18 May 2018

The 2018 Alliance Francaise French Film Festival recently wrapped up after screenings at 10 locations across Australia.  More than 184,000 tickets were sold which is a clear sign of the love and appreciation for French cinema in this country.  A few of the more popular features from the festival will now get a wider release and the first “cab off the rank” is Aurore, the latest vehicle to star the popular Agnès Jaoui (Look at Me, The Taste of Others).

I’m reminded of the saying “life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans”.  That seems to be the case for 50-year-old Aurore who has spent the last few decades raising a family but now finds herself alone and unsure what to do next.  She’s separated from her husband, her kids have grown up and become independent, and she’s battling the early stages of menopause (complete with hot flashes).  She works as a waitress in a small café but it’s a struggle to stay motivated given the monotonous work and the remarks of her sexist boss.

The catalyst for change arrives in the form of a childhood sweetheart, Totoche (de Montalembert).  He was Aurore’s first love and they dated as teenagers but for whatever reason, things didn’t work out and they both went their separate ways.  It’s clear that he’s remained on Aurore’s mind based on her reaction when they bump into each other.  Could they possibly fall in love again after more than three decades apart?

As all of this goes on, Aurore is battling to keep other parts of her world in order.  Her elder daughter (Such) is pregnant – a fact she’s not entirely comfortable with given her daughter’s relatively young age.  There’s a little tension between the two as a result.  Her younger daughter (Roy-Lecollinet) is discovering love for the first time and with it, a clouded judgement.  There’s a humorous moment where Aurore comes home and hears them having sex in the bedroom upstairs.  Her best friend, Mano (Arbillot), is borderline deranged but her comedic antics leave a smile on her face.

There’s no huge twist or ground breaking revelation here.  This a character study about an ordinary woman looking to restart her life.  She makes a few mistakes and errors of judgement along the way but she’s likeable, warm-hearted and endearing.  She’s the kind of character who deserves a happy ending.  It’s a nice performance from Agnès Jaoui who works well under the guidance of director Blandine Lenoir.

Blending comedy, drama and romance, Aurore is easy to watch and easy to like.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 03 May 2018

If you’re unfamiliar with United States politics, Senator Ted Kennedy was the younger brother of the late John F. Kennedy and in the late 1960s was touted as a possible Democratic candidate for the Presidency.  That changed on the evening of 18 July 1969 when he was involved in a single vehicle car accident on Chappaquiddick Island.  The car, which Kennedy was driving, went off a narrow bridge and finished upside down in a shallow body of water.  Kennedy escaped the vehicle but the woman in the passenger seat, a 28-year-old campaign specialist by the name of Mary Jo Kopechne, was trapped and did not survive.

Directed by John Curran (Tracks), the first half of Chappaquiddick provides background information on Kennedy (played by Jason Clarke) and chronicles the night of the accident.  Some facts are indisputable.  For example, we know that Kennedy did not report the accident to the local police until 10 hours after it occurred.  Other details are sketchier.  Did Kopechne drown instantly or did she survive the crash and die of suffocation while waiting to be rescued?  Was Kennedy drunk at the time?  Curran’s film hedges its bets by offering alternate viewpoints (such as the contrasting views of two doctors).

The second half of the movie is an exercise in how to bungle a cover up.  Kennedy’s close advisers, including former Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara, do everything in their power to protect Kennedy’s career.  The truth becomes irrelevant.  It’s all about crafting a credible story that keeps their man in the clear and which could be believed by the authorities and the public. 

This works to an extent.  Kennedy has a natural charm and believability.  We seem him talking to the police, his secretaries and his friends and they blindly accept his version of events.  The same goes for the parents of Kopechne who are heartbroken by the death of their daughter but don’t see the need for an autopsy given Kennedy’s assurances about what happened.  The fact the accident occurred at the same time as the Apollo 11 moon landing was another stroke of good fortune in keeping it off the front page of newspapers.  Things start to unravel though when Kennedy makes a few conflicting statements and a group of inquisitive journalists start asking tough questions.  The focus turns to damage control.

I’m always fascinated by political elections and the key issues that influence voters.  Some have staunchly partisan views and will support the same political party of their entire life regardless what policies are proposed.  Some swing from election-to-election and will look more closely at policies and the performance of the incumbents.  Others don’t care at all and won’t even make the time to turn up to the polling booth and vote.

There’s a poignant sequence at the end of Chappaquiddick which includes interviews from American voters weighing in with their thoughts on Ted Kennedy in in the aftermath of the accident.  Many were prepared to forgive and forget about his actions.  It makes you wonder if these people would have the same view if a different politician was involved or if those behind Kennedy hadn’t spun up an alternate version of the “truth”.  There’s plenty of food for thought.  It also feels eerily relevant today given the current U.S. President is quick to deride attacks against him as “conspiracy theories”.

I wasn’t fully convinced by the lead performance of Australian Jason Clarke.  There are moments where his character is so dumb but others where he is so shrewd.  Still, this is a compelling, eye-opening true story with a worthy punchline as the credits start to roll.

You can read my interview with director John Curran by clicking here.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 16 May 2018

Spurred on by fantastic word of mouth, Deadpool was one of the big success stories of 2016.  It exceeded the expectations of analysts to gross $783 million at the international box-office (the 9^th highest film of that year) and surprised many critics when it earned a lucrative Producers Guild Award nomination (losing to La La Land).  It was a question of when and not if a sequel would be made.

If you weren’t interested in the original, you won’t be interested in this.  You can stop reading.  For everyone else, the film sticks very close to the format used in the unorthodox original.  Deadpool (played by Ryan Reynolds) continues to break through the fourth wall and talk directly to the audience.  There’s even a scene where he discusses the box-office of the first movie!  The end result is something that’s part action blockbuster and part mockumentary.

While Deadpool generated interest as a worthy origin tale, Deadpool 2 struggles when it comes to an engaging story.  After his wife is killed by gangsters, Deadpool slips of the rails and considers ending his own life.  The problem is that his superpowers have made him indestructible.  When a villain fails as expected, Deadpool cheers him up with the thought – “don’t feel bad… even I can’t kill me.”

Don’t fret.  This isn’t meant to be dark and depressing.  Deadpool gets a new lease on life when he meets an angry 14-year-old mutant, going by the name of Firefist, who is in need of love and affection.  Those who saw the brilliant Taika Waititi comedy Hunt for the Wilderpeople will instantly recognise the child actor as New Zealander Julian Dennison.  He’s even retained his Kiwi accent for the role.

The narrative is fairly jumped from this point on with several characters fighting for attention.  Firefist was abused in a mutant orphanage and now seeks a violent revenge against those who wronged him.  Cable (Brolin) is a Terminator-like soldier who has travelled back in time to complete an essential mission to protect mankind’s future.  We’ve also got a few folk returning from the earlier movie including Deadpool’s bartending friend (Miller), his blind housemate (Uggams), his eccentric taxi driver (Soni), and a mutant made of steel.

So what does it all add up to?  Not much.  In the lead role, Ryan Reynolds feels like he’s peddling the same type of jokes from the original.  The material that generated “laugh out loud” moments two years ago could only get a smile from me this time around.  Perhaps my expectations were too high or perhaps I’m in the minority.  Not everyone in the cinema was laughing but there were still plenty having a good time.

As touched on above, it’s the story that’s the biggest letdown.  Those characters returning from the original have nothing new to offer and Firefist isn’t an interesting “bad guy”.  The lone exception is Josh Brolin who is terrific as the time-travelling Cable.  There’s something intriguing about his character from the get-go and the curious mission he has been set – travelling from the future to alter the past.  It looks like we’ll be seeing a lot more of him in future instalments.

Complete with the violence, profanity and sexual references that made the original so distinctive within the superhero genre, Deadpool 2 tries hard but cannot match the sheer fun of its predecessor.