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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 19 March 2014

If you think it’s tough getting a film made here in Australia, try being a female director from Saudi Arabia. It’s a country that has no movie industry. You can’t walk down to your local multiplex because cinemas are banned. The only way to watch any kind of movie is on TV or DVD.

Further, Saudi Arabia is one of the worst countries when it comes to women’s rights. They are expected to wear a black cloak and head covering when they appear in public. They are not allowed to drive and are discouraged from using public transport. They must not interact with any men with whom they are not familiar.

Blending comedy with drama, Wadjda explores this inequality through the eyes of an 11-year-old girl (Mohammed) living with her mother (Abdullah) in the capital city of Riyadh. Wadjda is at age where she wants to rebel not just against her overbearing parents but also against her society’s rigid rules. She doesn’t like covering her hair. She doesn’t like taking orders from her school’s headmaster. She doesn’t like seeing her mother treated so poorly by her father (who is considering taking on a second wife).

There’s one thing she wants beyond anything else – a bike. Women generally aren’t allowed to ride a bike but Wadjda doesn’t care. She wants to race against a boy who lives across the street. With a bike already picked out from a nearby toy store, Wadjda’s only problem is coming up with the cash. An opportunity then presents itself. Her school is hosting a Qur’an recital competition with a substantial cash prize. It’s going to take a lot of study but she’s a very determined young girl…

This is a film to be admired for both its on-screen and off-screen story. Wadjda is reportedly the first film to have been shot entirely in Saudi Arabia. It adds a layer of authenticity (as you’d expect) but it also provides a great backdrop for cinematographer Lutz Reitemeier. There are numerous scenes where the focus is not on the characters but rather the intriguing setting. We look inside a standard Saudi home and observe the happenings out on the streets.

Director Haifaa Al-Mansour had to direct many of the film’s outdoor scenes from inside an equipped van. While there’s nothing to prohibit a female from making a movie, she couldn’t be seen giving orders to men in public. It only further underlines the film’s key theme. Through this simple, fictional tale, Al-Mansour has found plenty of room to highlight the oppression of women in Saudi Arabia. It will be an eye-opener for some.

Nominated for best foreign language film at the 2014 British Academy Awards (the first Saudi film to ever achieve such an honour), Wadjda one of the most important films that you will see this year.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 11 March 2014

If nothing else, The Monuments Men offers an interesting titbit of information concerning World War II that many won’t be familiar with. In late 1944, as the war neared its conclusion, President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave the order for roughly 350 soldiers to head into Europe and to recover a plethora of famous art works and statutes that had been stolen by the Nazis for Adolf Hitler’s private museum.

It’s impossible to give all of these men and women credit in a single movie and so this screenplay, written by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, focuses its attention on just 7 soldiers. Frank (Clooney) leads the group and tries to stay abreast of their respective missions. It’s his goal to make sure Michelangelo’s David keeps standing and that da Vinci’s Mona Lisa keeps smiling.

Of his small team, James (Damon) heads to Paris to gather information from an art curator (Blanchett) who worked for the Nazis. Richard (Murray) and Preston (Balaban) go in search of an iconic altarpiece stolen from a Belgian church. Donald (Bonneville) travels to Bruges to protect a famous statue. Walter (Goodman) and Jean Claude (Dujardin) head to the frontline to follow some important leads.

The tone of this film is surprisingly light. I should have expected this given the cast includes the likes of Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin and Bob Balaban. Their adventures allow plenty of room for humour (not all jokes hit the mark) and there’s a sweet film score from composer Alexandre Desplat (Moonrise Kingdom, Philomena).

There are a few moments that offer something a little more dramatic, more thought provoking. These 7 guys encounter fellow soldiers who can’t quite get their head around the mission. Why would they want to risk their lives to save a few pieces of art? What should their families be told if they get caught in the line of fire and don’t make it back home?

While it’s an interesting tale, the screenplay does feel like it has too many characters and too many subplots. Not only are we seeing things from the perspective of the soldiers, we are also taken inside the world of the Nazis to see what’s behind their art-stealing ways. Oh yeah, and there are some Russians with their own motivations.

The film ends on a nice note (with George Clooney’s real-life father playing an older version of his character) but you can’t help but think The Monuments Men should have made more of its great starting material.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 13 March 2014

Nick Frost trained for 7 hours a day, 5 days a week, for 7 months. That’s how long it took for him to becoming a convincing salsa dancer. All the hard work was done at the renowned Pineapple Dance Studios in London – a place where top dancers perform with the hope of being spotted by dance companies, record labels, television networks and film studios.

Frost has admitted that he got a few strange looks and a few laughs from fellow dancers. Given his larger, not-so-athletic build, they clearly didn’t think he was Pineapple-material. It’s an interesting behind-the-scenes story that highlights exactly what Cuban Fury is trying to say.

Frost plays Bruce Garrett – a guy who was a champion salsa dancer in his teenage years but gave it away after being bullied, teased and beaten by some bigger high school students. Two decades have since passed and Bruce has decided to dust off his dancing shoes, team up with his old coach (McShane) and try to reignite his passion.

There’s an ulterior motive though. He’s not doing this solely to dispel the naysayers. Bruce wants to impress Julia (Jones) – a new employee at work who has a similar love for salsa. He doesn’t have the courage to ask Julia out on a date because it’d be like “a butterfly going out with a parsnip.” Instead, he’s going to build up his self-esteem by getting into shape and proving himself on the dance floor.

Making life extremely difficult is Drew (O’Dowd) – a villainous co-worker who is also looking to seduce Julia and is happy to squash Bruce is the process. Some may find his character over-the-top but he’s the key to the whole film. Because Chris O’Dowd (The Sapphires) has created such a vile, nasty, sleazy, disgusting, offensive individual… it makes us cheer for Bruce even harder.

This is a classic underdog tale. We’ve seen it before and we’ll see it again. It’s telling you not to bow to conformity, not to do what everyone else does. Sometimes you’ve just got to go out, take a chance and follow your dreams. We’ve seen kids’ films reiterate this message again and again – see Kung-Fu Panda, Cars and Turbo. Cuban Fury can be categorised as the adult equivalent.

We’ve grown accustomed to seeing Nick Frost in supporting roles (Kinky Boots, The Boat That Rocked) or working alongside good friend Simon Pegg (Shaun Of The Dead, Hot Fuzz). In Cuban Fury, he gets the chance to take the helm in what is a rare leading role. While it’s O’Dowd who steals much of the film, Frost proves himself a worthy protagonist and earns a few decent laughs.

This film’s weakness is the fact that it’s so unadventurous. Yes, there’s room for humour within the limited storyline but it’s not stretching beyond that. It’s a simple crowd pleaser – pure and simple. There are no surprises and everything pans out just as you might expect. This won’t be satisfying enough for some audience members… but I know a few who will find this sufficiently entertaining.

You can read my chat with star Nick Frost by clicking here.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 05 March 2014

In the mid-1970s, most 27-year-old Australians would be settled on a career path and thinking about getting married (if not already). That wasn’t the case with Queensland-born Robyn Davidson. She was bored of the city life. She was tired of her generation. It was time to escape, time to go on an adventure, time to “discover” who she really was.

In 1977, she set out on a 2,700km trek from Alice Springs to the west coast of Australia. She was guided by a map, her loyal dog and four feisty camels. That’s it. Davidson didn’t want any company or any conversation. It’s something she wanted to do completely on her own.

It didn’t quite work out that way. While she’d have rather kept the whole thing quiet, Robyn needed money to buy the camels and supplies. She reluctantly approached National Geographic who saw potential in the story. They provided the cash and in return, Davidson agreed to write a feature article when it was all over. Further, a photographer would meet her at several checkpoints along the way to grab a few images.

It’s kind of ironic that what started out as a very private journey… has now become a tale that inspires so many. The article was a hit and Davidson became a media sensation. People wanted to meet her, speak to her. To answer all the questions and put the whole story to rest, she put pen to paper and in 1980, released the novel Tracks. It too became a hit and was read widely in Australian schools.

There’s been talk for decades about adapting the book for the big screen. In the early 1990s, a version was touted with Julia Roberts in the leading role! After numerous false starts, it finally fell in the hands of Oscar winning producer Emile Sherman (The King’s Speech) who enlisted an American director, John Curran (The Painted Veil), to turn the words into pictures.

Chosen to screen at the prestigious Venice and Toronto Film Festivals late last year, Tracks has now completed the festival circuit and is weaving its way into cinemas. Its first stop is here in Australian and it’s a nice touch that it’s been released on the same day as J.C. Chandor’s All Is Lost. Both films are low on dialogue and so you’ll have to watch and observe rather than listen.

I’m reminded of what 12 Years A Slave director Steve McQueen told me a few weeks ago – “What we say isn’t all that crucial. It’s what we do that provides the evidence”. It’s an apt way of describing Tracks. We don’t need a lot of narration from star Mia Wasikowska (Alice In Wonderland) to tell us how she feels and what’s she’s thinking. We can see it for ourselves through her great performance – mixing moments of toughness with moments of vulnerability.

The narrative is a touch sluggish, repetitive at times but there’s still a lot to like about Tracks. The best sequence in the film sees Davidson interact with an Indigenous elder (played by Roly Mintuma) who guides her through sacred lands. They don’t speak the same language but they quickly find a way of communicating.

Some will simply see this film as just “a thing that happened”. The hope is that others will connect with it a little more deeply. You’ll think about the rigidity that exists within today’s conformist world. Could you drop everything, ditch your smart phone and go on a year-long adventure? Would you come back a different person? Would you come back a better person? It’s at least worth the thought.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 12 March 2014

Three guys go drag racing through busy streets and on a crowded freeway. They drive into oncoming traffic. They cause accidents. They reach speeds of roughly 270 miles per hour. As they near the finish line, one of them intentionally clips the back wheel of his fellow competitor in front, trying to knock him out of the race. Yep, it works. The car spins, flips, falls off a bridge and then bursts into flames. Its occupant is killed instantly.

Who’s the bad guy in this situation? The guy who deliberately caused the accident? I don’t think there’s any question about that. The problem with Need For Speed is that it tries to portray everyone else as a “good guy”. It’s the wrong move. No moral compass was used in the making of this film. It’s a repugnant mess that tries to glorify a group of adrenalin junkies who love to endanger the lives of others.

The film’s “hero” is Tobey Marshall (Paul) – a top-notch mechanic from the small town of Mount Kisco, New York. He’s described as “Mr Strong and Silent” and it’s a fair description. Perhaps that’s just how he grew up. Perhaps he was inspired after watching Ryan Gosling in Drive.

Having been released from a two year stint in prison following the death of his good friend in the aforementioned street race, Tobey decides to prove to everyone that he’s learned nothing from the whole experience. He gets his hands on a multi-million dollar car (yeah, right) and then sets out on a cross-country trip to California for a lucrative invitation-only race. He’ll be accompanied by a car-loving female (Poots) to give the film some kind of romantic angle.

His motivation for breaking his parole and going on the trip can be summed up in one word – revenge. You see, Tobey was part of the street race… but it was the other guy, Dino Brewster (Cooper), who caused the crash that killed his friend. Dino didn’t serve any time behind bars though. Despite there being dozens of witnesses and a plethora of closed circuit television cameras, no one was able to place Dino at the crime scene. Not a good look for the incompetent police force in Mount Kisco.

Despite not having driven a car for two years, Tobey seems to have picked things up pretty quickly. He certainly hasn’t lost the art of jeopardising lives and evading the authorities. Helped by his enabling friends, one of whom owns a plane (fairly standard), they drive like maniacs from New York to California to get there in time for the big race.

It’s a shame this film has such moral issues because the driving sequences look great thanks to the work of director Scott Waugh (Act Of Valor) and cinematographer Shane Hurlbut (Terminator Salvation). They’ve found some picturesque shooting locations and they’ve extracted every last ounce of energy from the gifted stunt drivers.

That’s where I draw the line in terms of positives. The writers have framed this as a “good versus bad” story when it should have been a “bad versus bad story”. There’s a scene where Tobey is in desperate need of car and of all the people who could possibly assist… he is helped by the sister of his late friend. That’s right. He may as well have said – “look, sorry my stupidity contributed to the death of your brother… but do you know how I can get my hands on a fast car so I can risk even more lives?” Of course, such words are never said. That would be making Tobey look like a schmuck (and we can’t have that).

Need For Speed leaves a bad taste in the mouth… and it’s not from the over-salted popcorn.