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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 07 August 2013

Most would be familiar with the phrase that “you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.” I guess the cinematic equivalent is that “you shouldn’t judge a movie by its trailer.”

When I first saw advertisements for Now You See Me a few months ago, it tweaked my curiosity. A group of four magicians are standing on a stage in Las Vegas in front of a sold-out audience. For their final trick of the night, they pull a man from the crowd, teleport him into a bank vault and then have him steal millions of dollars – all of which is handed out to those in the crowd. How did they pull it off?

It’s an amazing trick… but I’m not talking about the bank vault thing. Rather, I’m referring to the trick played on those who pay money to see Now You See Me. The opening credits roll, the stage is set and then SHAZAM… all sense of logic magically disappears. The plot has more holes than a donut shop and the more you think, the more frustrated you will become.

It’s a shame because I love a good heist flick. We see someone come up with a creative plan to steal a small fortune. Recent examples which come to mind include the Ocean’s Eleven series, The Italian Job, The Thomas Crown Affair and Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels. It wasn’t the greatest of films but even 2011’s Tower Heist had its moments.

The reason the aforementioned films are so entertaining is because despite their light-hearted nature, they still come with a strong enough dose of believability. This is where Now You See Me suffers. It has a great cast, led by the likes of Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo and Woody Harrelson, but their plan relies on far too many coincidences and far too many events beyond their control. They’re not as smart as the screenwriters would have us think.

The film keeps one major detail from the audience – the identity of the person who taught these four magicians and helped them pull off the robbery. We don’t know who it is. Nor do the four magicians (which is kind of strange given that they’re trusting this person enough to commit criminal offenses). All is revealed in the final minutes and you can expect a few audible groans from those seated in the near vicinity. I don’t want to sound like I’m flogging a dead horse but IT MAKES NO SENSE!

Having spent 6 weeks inside the top 10 at the box-office in the United States, for a total take of $115m, Now You See Me has been one of the sleeper hits of the year so far. I have no idea why.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 24 July 2013

How do you kill someone who cannot be killed? I don’t know the answer. Neither did the villains in this film. It didn’t stop them trying for two hours though. They showered the Wolverine with sharp arrows… nope, didn’t work. They pumped him full of bullets… nah, no luck. They pushed a samurai sword through his heart… pfffff, no chance.

Don’t get me wrong – I didn’t think the bad guys would walk off into the sunset with the Wolverine’s dead body draped over their shoulders. The problem I’m alluding to is that this film doesn’t offer much in the way of excitement or suspense. Aside from a slightly unexpected plot development in the final minutes, it does things by the book.

It opens with our leading man, known as Logan (Jackman), keeping a very low profile in a small American town. He’s hiding from the world and still coming to grips with the death of his former flame, Jean (Janssen) – you’ll need to watch 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand to help bring you up to speed on that subplot.

Logan is a tired, forlorn figure but he will be thrust back into combat when he pays a quick visit to a dying friend in Japan. Yashida owns one of the world’s wealthiest companies and, knowing that his days are numbered, he has agreed to give full control to his granddaughter, Mariko (Okamota).

Not everyone is happy with this decision. The Japanese Yakuza try to kidnap Mariko but thankfully, Logan is able to use his sharp claws and his regeneration powers to save the day. Oh, and in true Hollywood style, they fall in love.

There are plenty of expendable henchmen to do the dirty work but the head villain providing them direction is a scientist known as the Viper (Khodchenkova). I’m not exactly sure what her plans are going forward but in the short term, she’s determined to capture the Wolverine and harness his powers.

The Wolverine was given a spin-off back in 2009 (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) and I don’t know why 20^th Century Fox decided to give him another. The X-Men series works best when it brings together all of the mutants, both good and bad, and pits them against each other in a series of physical and moral confrontations. As you’ll see from a quick clip during the closing credits, that looks like it’ll be offered in next year’s X-Men: Days Of Future Past.

This film tries to go down a darker route with an inference that Logan is contemplating suicide so that he can be reunited with Jean. It’s a subplot with potential but it’s not fleshed out in enough detail. The strange dream sequences, which are designed to show his fragile mental state, are best described as “head-scratching”.

I’m sure many will see The Wolverine for the sole reason that it stars the increasingly popular Hugh Jackman (Les Miserables). He’s a solid actor but it’s a role that doesn’t require much. It’s as if director James Mangold (Walk The Line) told him to turn up with chiselled abs and be prepared to drop the occasional swear word for comedic effect.

After months of comic book / superhero movies, they’re all starting to feel the same. I’m getting tired.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 30 July 2013

Unknown a decade ago, the film world is now very familiar with the names Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg. They created the cult hit Shaun Of The Dead in 2004 and followed that up with the equally amusing Hot Fuzz in 2007. After branching out on a few different projects (Wright directed Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World and Pegg starred in a bunch of films), this creative duo have reunited in time for The World’s End.

The story begins in the year 1990 with five teenagers setting out on an epic pub crawl through the small town of Newton Haven. Guided by a map, they hope to finish a pint at the 12 pubs that make up the infamous “Golden Mile”. They didn’t stand a chance. Things were getting wobbly by the time they arrived at the 5^th pub and the night came to a messy end shortly after.

We now slip forward to the current day and see that these five guys have all grown up and gone their separate ways. They’ve got wives, kids, jobs, mortgages. Well, all of them except for Gary (Pegg). He still lives with his mother in Newton Haven and clings to the memory of that fateful evening, describing it as “the best night of his life”.

Shaun Of The Dead and Hot Fuzz offered some goofy laughs but The World’s End is a much darker offering from Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg. Gary is a sad, lonely human being. He’s a forty-something year old who never grew up. He parties hard, he drinks heavily and never takes any responsibility. In fact, he still drives around in the same rundown car that he’s had since he was 17. Even the music in the tape deck is the same!

Forever stuck in the past, Gary gets in touch with his four old friends and puts forward a proposal – let’s all get together in Newton Haven for a catch up and see if we can finally complete the Golden Mile. None of them are really that keen. Andrew (Frost) sums it up best when he tells Gary – “you remember the Friday nights, I remember the Monday mornings.” In the end, they’re all guilt-tripped into going along after Gary reveals that he’s been having a tough time since his mother recently passed away.

The early scenes are tough to watch – not because of the gloomier material but because Gary is such a selfish, obnoxious, irritating character! Many of us will be able to relate to the pain that his friends are going through. There’s often a sense of intrigue when first meeting up with an old chum who you haven’t seen in years… but then after a few minutes, you quickly realise why you haven’t stayed in touch – you’re now very different people.

If you’ve seen the trailer or advertisements, you’ll know where the film is heading next. What begins as the story of an alcoholic trying to reconnect with old friends… becomes a science fiction adventure where an alien race starts inhabiting the bodies of humans to make us better people. The sudden twist in genre reminded me of Robert Rodriquez’s From Dusk Till Dawn (released back in 1996).

It’s this second half of The World’s End that audiences will enjoy most. The crazy scenario provides an opportunity for Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and the rest of the cast to showcase their comedic talents. I don’t think it’s as funny as Shaun Of The Dead or Hot Fuzz but it’s still worth your time.

You can read my interview with director Edgar Wright by clicking here.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 22 July 2013

For decades, Lee Liberace was one of the world’s most well-known entertainers. He would play to sold-out shows every night in Vegas. He would pop up on television and in mainstream films. He even performed for President Truman at the White House in 1950.

Liberace spoke elegantly and was a brilliant pianist but he was just as well known for his flamboyant attire and lavish lifestyle. On Youtube, I was able to find Liberace’s appearance on a 1974 British talk show where the interviewer was told to “ask him for his autograph because knowing him, he might sign it in gold.”

I’ve always found it a curious part of human nature that we can so much about how we are perceived. We have the ability to create a public persona that can differ wildly from our private one. I can’t help but reflect on the recent death of 31-year-old Glee star Cory Monteith who most knew was as a fun, relaxed, happy-go-lucky guy. He was a role model. What we didn’t know was that behind closed doors, Monteith was battling a serious substance abuse problem.

It’s a theme explored by Academy award winning director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic) in Behind The Candelabra. Liberace loved attention and loved the spotlight… but the version of himself that he chose to share with the world lacked one notable detail – the fact that he was gay.

Liberace’s sexuality was known to his close friends and colleagues but he worked strenuously to keep this information from the public. He would feed the media with stories about his girlfriends and the time he lost his virginity. When the Britain’s Daily Mirror published an article in 1956 implying that Liberace was a homosexual, he sued and the newspaper and received a record amount in damages.

There was much to the life of Lee Liberace but Behind The Candelabra focuses largely on Scott Thorson – Liberace’s teenage boyfriend who he first met in 1976. They shared a peculiar relationship to say the least. Was Liberace just after a dumb, fresh-faced toy boy to satisfy him in the bedroom? Was Thorson just after money and a chance to break into the entertainment industry? Or were these two actually in love, despite the head-turning age difference between them?

Michael Douglas (Wall Street) turns in a charming performance as Liberace. It’s a shame that the film doesn’t spend more time exploring the way in which he and his staff, some loyal and some not-so-loyal, kept his secret hidden for so long. Instead, the screenplay of Richard LaGravenese (The Fisher King) spends too much time on Thorson (which I guess is because it's based on his own novel). It’s a nice performance from Matt Damon but it’s hard to be interested in a character that comes across as a dull nobody.

Don’t expect any Oscar nomination for Michael Douglas’s performance. While it is getting a small cinematic release in Australia, the film was released as a telemovie in the United States back in May. Steven Soderbergh couldn’t convince a Hollywood studio to invest in a “gay love story” and so it was the cable network HBO would took the chance and put up the cash.

It turned out to be a good move. The film recorded the network’s highest ratings for a telemovie since 2005 and earned 15 Emmy nominations including acting nods for both Douglas and Damon. The awards are handed out in mid-September and I suspect Behind The Candelabra will win many of them.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 29 July 2013

For two guys who have made a career out of landing small supporting roles, many where shocked to see Nat Faxon and Jim Rush standing on stage at the Oscars last year with the coveted 13 ½ inch statuette in their hands.  They weren’t there for their acting talents.  Rather, they were part of the writing team for The Descendants (along with director Alexander Payne) which picked up the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay.

Following in the footsteps of many other screenwriters, Faxon and Rash have made the transition to directing with their feature debut, The Way Way Back.  It’s a nicely told coming-of-age tale and centre stage is an introverted 14-year-old named Duncan (James).

His parents recently separated and instead of spending the summer holidays with his dad (his preference), Duncan is being forced to accompany his mother (Collette) and her new boyfriend (Carrell) to a simple beach house in a sleepy seaside town.  It’s not where he wants to be.  He doesn’t want to be hassled about his shy nature by his mother’s boyfriend.  He doesn’t want to hang out with the drunk neighbours at backyard barbeques.  He doesn’t want to have to make new friends.

In the leading role, newcomer Liam James delivers an immensely likeable performance.  Duncan comes across as a sweet, good-natured kid but you get a strong sense that he’s not comfortable with himself.  He’s bottled up his adolescence insecurities and he seemingly has no family or close friends to confide in.

That changes when he meets Owen (Rockwell), a goofy, care-free guy who manages Water Wizz – a local waterslide park.  Owen develops a soft spot for Duncan and offers him a part-time job so he can earn a few dollars over the summer.  What started out as the worst holiday ever… is about to become one he will never forget.

Many of us will have memories of our favourite family holidays and that’s exactly what The Way Way Back is trying to tap into.  We visit exciting places, we do surprising things and we make new friends.  This film’s best scenes are those at the waterslide park where some fun, light-hearted moments are shared between Duncan, Owen and the rest of the Water Wizz staff.  Duncan slowly emerges from his shell and it’ll leave you with a satisfied smile on your face.

Not as strong are the subplots involving Duncan and his family.  We’re never treated to their full history and so we don’t understand the extent of Duncan’s connection with his father (who we never meet) nor the strange relationship shared between Duncan’s mother and her new flame.  These elements needed to be fleshed out in more detail or scrapped entirely.

My thumbs are still up though.  The Way Way Back was produced for just $5m and it’s great to see it being released theatrically in Australia.  If you’re tired of superhero movies and want to be charmed by a heart-warming comedy, this is the film for you.