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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 23 March 2016

There were a few tiffs between the superheros in The Avengers franchise but we haven’t seen anything on this scale before.  The title sums it up quite clearly.  For those that saw 2013’s Man Of Steel, it ended with Superman (Cavill) taking on the villainous General Zod who was intent on obliterating the planet.  People got killed, buildings got destroyed but in the end, Superman emerged the victor.

The opening scenes of this sequel relive those moments through the eyes of Bruce Wayne (Affleck).  He was caught unawares and never got the chance to don his Batman costume and get involved in the battle.  All he did was help save a friend who found his legs trapped under a heavy iron beam.

Superman’s methods weren’t flawless but let’s cut to the chase – he saved the world.  Without him, the human race would be gone, finished and kaput.  For some odd reason though, Batman sees him as a threat.  He’s worried that as Superman has such incredible power, there’s a risk he could turn bad himself one day and destroy us all.

It turns out the feeling is mutual.  Superman sees Batman as being “above the law”.  Instead of letting the justice system do its work, he believes that the masked crime fighter is dishing out his own brand of punishment to those who deserve it.  Why can’t we all just get along, huh?

The conflict between the title characters is really, really hard to buy into and the screenplay drags it out as long as possible.  In the rare moments where they come face-to-face, each misses a simple opportunity to clear the air and set the record straight.  Their respective “advisers” offer little in the way of counsel.  Alfred Pennyworth (Irons) makes the occasional sarcastic comment as he walks around Batman’s lair.  Louis Lane (Adams) is juggling a million other balls in the air.

There is an actual “bad guy” in the film and it’s a name you should have heard before – Lex Luthor.  He’s the most interesting character in the film with Jesse Eisenberg giving a great performance.  His mannerisms and nonsensical mutters are proof that the guy is both a gifted genius and a deranged psychopath.  He’s got heinous plans of his own but they play second fiddle to the Batman v Superman show for the most part.

This is a puzzling mess of a film.  There are plenty of subplots but they don’t fit together very well.  Holly Hunter plays a U.S. Senator who is asking questions about the risks of unfettered power.  Laurence Fishburne plays a newspaper editor who is influencing public debate about superheroes through his publication.  They’re interesting concepts but they play second fiddle to the tiring, relentless action sequences.

There are a couple of nice twists and a few teases as to what awaits in future instalments of this franchise.  That’s not good enough however.  It’s hard to generate tension when watching Batman and Superman fight and squabble for roughly 150 minutes.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 13 March 2016

“We may be through with the past, but the past ain’t through with us.”  It’s one of my favourite lines from Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia.  A masterpiece of cinema, Anderson’s 3-hour epic featured a group of inter-connected characters living in Los Angeles who were in search of forgiveness for past misdeeds.

That quote feels appropriate when getting to the heart of The Daughter.  It’s set in a small Australian town that is on the brink of collapse.  The local sawmill has been providing work for more than a century but times are tough and it’s about to close its doors for the last time.  Residents are already packing up their belonging and heading to bigger cities in search of new opportunities.

The gloomy mood hasn’t put a stop to the plans of Henry (Rush), the mill’s owner and a well-respected member of the community.  He’s getting remarried in a few days and his much younger wife-to-be, Anna (Torv), has meticulously planned a lavish reception.  The event is also significant because of the attendance of Henry’s son, Christian (Schnedier).  He now lives in the United States and this is his first trip back to his birthplace in more than 15 years.

Henry and Christian put on a few smiles but it’s clear they have a strained relationship.  Henry invites him a special pre-wedding dinner but Christian chooses to catch up with old friends instead.  Instead, he spends the night catching up with two childhood friends who have tied the knot – Oliver (Leslie) and Charlotte (Otto).  They now have a teenage daughter, Hedvig (Young), who is in search of romance and adventure.  Also in the mix is Oliver’s retired father, Walter (Neill).

This is a film you need to be patient with.  There’s a lot of backstory and time needs to be spent building the relationships between the respective characters.  Writer-director Simon Stone uses quick, overlapping scenes to keep things moving at an appropriate pace. 

You’ll have a sense that it’s leading up to something significant and yes, that’s exactly what happens.  The film’s tagline eloquently phrases it – “keep your family close and your secrets closer.”  Skeletons are pulled from the cupboards and lives will be changed forever.  Everyone should be able to relate.  No matter how hard we try, there’ll always be a time when our emotions get the better of us and we’ll say stuff that we immediately regret.

The narrative is loosely based on The Wild Duck, a 19^th Century work from Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen.  Stone adapted it for the stage in 2011 (it won 4 Sydney Theatre Awards) and decided it also work as a feature film.  Academy Award nominated producer Jan Chapman (The Piano) saw the stage play and also decided to jump on board.

These characters have to suffer a heavy emotional toll and thanks to some outstanding performances, those same feelings will resonate with audiences.  I’d never heard the name Odessa Young a few months ago but after her powerful appearance here and in Looking For Grace, I’m convinced she’s got a bright future.  It’s hard to single anyone out though.  The likes of Geoffrey Rush, Sam Neill and Ewen Leslie are equally good.

Selected to screen at lucrative film festivals in Venice, Toronto and London, The Daughter again shows that Australians can make great films.

You can read my chat with director Simon Stone by clicking here.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 20 March 2016

Pantelleria is a small volcanic island off the south west coast of Italy.  It has a population of just 7,000 people and is home to a nature reserve and a large lake that was formed from a volcanic crater.  It’s not your typical holiday destination but it’s where rock star Marianne Lane (Swinton) finds herself.  Having recently undergone vocal cord surgery, she needed to find a peaceful place where she could keep a low profile and recuperate.

The opening 5 minutes of the film doesn’t feature a single ounce of dialogue.  You wouldn’t expect it either given that Marianne can’t talk.  She’s driving around and lying on the beach with her current partner, Paul (Schoenaerts).  That all changes with arrival of Harry (Fiennes), Marianne’s ex-boyfriend who turns up unexpectedly with a young woman named Penelope (Johnson) who he claims is his long-lost daughter.

Loosely based on the Swimming Pool, a 1969 French-Italian film, director Luca Guadagnino admits he was interesting in the story because it featured “a quartet of people entangled in their own nostalgic desire for one another.”  That’s not a bad way of describing it.

Harry is certainly the catalyst.  He never shuts up and he’s continually changing the subject matter.  He regrets losing Marianne several years ago and he’s determined to win back her affections.  He cunningly reminds her of their great times together and he’s quick to paint Paul as being a boring, sleepy individual who doesn’t fit her personality.  He’s not subtle in the slightest.

Where will it all head?  Paul realises that Harry is a threat but he’s being careful not to lose his cool and retaliate.  Marianne is starting to have a few doubts but her inability to speak makes it difficult to communicate with both her suitors.  The big mystery in this equation is Penelope.  She comes across at the naive pawn but she too knows how to play a few mind games.

In the same vein as Guadagnino’s breakout film, I Am Love (which made my top 10 list in 2010), A Bigger Splash is rich when it comes to visual imagery.  The character’s eyes start to wander and so too does the zooming camera lens.  There are many tight close-ups of body parts including torsos, feet and teeth.  There’s also an abundance of full frontal nudity which you wouldn’t expect if this was made in America.

There’s a series of short flashbacks which hinder the narrative.  They don’t offer enough in terms of background information and only reiterate what we can already see from the current day storyline (i.e. Harry and Marianne once had a strong connection).  The performances make this worthwhile though.  It’s a curious piece and you’re never quite sure which characters have the upper hand.  It makes the ending even more intriguing.

You can read my chat with director Luca Guadagnino by clicking here.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 09 March 2016

Batman Vs. Superman hits cinemas across the world in two weeks.  The production was announced at Comic-Con back in 2013 in front of thousands of screaming fans.  More new stories were written a month later when Ben Affleck was named as the caped crusader.  Since then, the publicity department has churned out 4 different trailers and numerous TV ads.  Clips have been shown on late night talk shows as the stars do their own promotion.

The approach for 10 Cloverfield Lane could not be more different.  Few people even knew this movie was being made until less than two months ago.  A trailer was shown in the United States before screenings of 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi and caught many film lovers by surprise.  Director Dan Trahctenberg and producer J.J. Abrams are behind the low-key release strategy.  It’s a throwback to the pre-internet days where the first time you heard about a movie was seeing a trailer on the big screen.  It’s how Dan himself first learned about Jurassic Park in 1993.

That trailer was just the start of what has been an elaborate tease.  It doesn’t contain a single ounce of dialogue until the last few moments where John Goodman screams “don’t open that door” to an equally frightened Mary Elizabeth Winstead.  Exactly what is he referring to?  The film’s title has also got people talking.  Given the use of the word “Cloverfield”, many have been asking if this is a prequel, sequel or spinoff to the 2008 monster film that was also produced by Abrams.

The film is released tomorrow in Australian cinemas and everyone is still in the dark.  I went searching for a few audio clips to use for my radio programs and couldn’t find anything.  That’s highly unusual.  So too is the cast list which contains just three names – Goodman, Winstead and Gallagher Jr.

I usually say that the less you know about a movie going in, the better.  Well, everyone’s in that position with 10 Cloverfield Lane because so little has been made public about the plot.  I think that’s part of the reason I liked the film so much.  There are unexpected twists, surprising turns, and you have no idea what is going to happen from scene-to-scene.  It held my attention throughout.

I have somehow found a way to use 400 words without actually mentioning anything about the premise myself.  It’s the will of the director and I’d love for audiences to enjoy it in the same spoiler-free way.  Some will be frustrated by the film’s unorthodox nature but as someone who sits through 200 movies a year, it’s a breath of fresh air.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 14 March 2016

The talking animals that inhabit the town of Zootopia are told that “anyone can be anything.”  It’s part of the reason why Judy (Goodwin) wants to be a police officer. Such positions are usually held by larger animals such as lions, leopards and rhinos but she wants to break down barriers and become the first rabbit to wear an officer’s badge.

Her protective parents, who have 275 other children, aren’t quite as taken with the idea.  They offer her the advice that “it’s okay to have dreams but don’t believe in them too much.”  They’d rather she help manage the family carrot business than put her life in danger each day as a cop.

Judy finishes police school and graduates top of her class but it’s still not going to make her life any easier.  On her first day of work, she is assigned parking duty by her boss, a buffalo named Bogo (Elba).  He doesn’t believe in her abilities and is leaving the “meatier” assignments to the other officers within the force.

The tension between them reaches a tipping point when Judy brazenly takes on a missing person case.  A river otter hasn’t been seen for two weeks and his distraught wife (Spencer) is in desperate need of answers.  Bogo delivers an ultimatum that Judy immediately accepts.  She has 48 hours to find the otter and prove herself.  If not, she must hand in her badge and resign.

There’s no doubt that Judy has skills but she will need some help to get to the bottom of this mystery.  That’s where Nick Wilde (Bateman) enters the picture.  He’s a sly fox who has been making a small fortune as a con artist on the streets of Zootopia.  They form an uneasy alliance which develops into an unexpected friendship.

The film’s messages aren’t exactly subtle.  It’s clearly making reference to the discrimination, prejudices and stereotypes that exist in our own society.  It wants younger audiences to ask questions about our world and think of answers that can make it better.  It’s not all black and white though.  She’s the hero of the story but even Judy makes a few inappropriate comments that she must acknowledge and learn from.

The heart of Zootopia is the bond that develops between Judy and Nick.  Each has preconceived notions of the other when they first meet.  That slowly dissipates as the film progresses and they learn more about their respective backgrounds.  It turns out they’re not as different as they first realised and that a book shouldn’t be judged by its cover.

Stepping back from the movie’s key themes, the creative team behind the project deserve praise for crafting a fun, complex world.  There’s a brilliant moment where Judy and Nick seek help from the Department of Motor Vehicles.  Their search for quick answers is delayed by a slow-moving sloth who won’t be setting any touch typing records.  It’s just one example in a film that includes yaks, shrews, polar bears, weasels and a singing gazelle.

Directed by Byron Howard (Tangled) and Rich Moore (Wreck-It-Ralph), this latest effort from Walt Disney Animation Studios is cute, entertaining and important.