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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 02 January 2024

The films aren’t connected but this new outing from director Michael Mann (Heat, The Insider) serves as an appropriate prequel to James Mangold’s 2019 Oscar-nominated release, Ford v Ferrari.  Mangold’s film was set in the first half of the 1960s and centred on the financially strapped Ford Motor Company as they tried to defeat Ferrari at the famous Le Mans race.  Mann’s film is set in 1957 and looks at how Ferrari, struggling themselves at the time, first garnered the upper ascendancy.

Drawing from the 1991 non-fiction book of acclaimed racing writer Brock Yates, the movie is centred on company founder Enzo Ferrari (Driver) and balances up his rocky life, both on and off the racetrack.  It wasn’t a great time for the business as sales were stagnant and bankruptcy was looming.  Following the mantra of “win on Sunday, sell cars on Monday”, his sights were set on winning the prestigious Mille Miglia 24-hour race which would boost the brand and the bottom line.

The racing scenes aren’t too bad (dangerous, old-school cars) but the film is more interested in exploring Enzo’s tumultuous personal life.  His marriage to Laura (Cruz) was on the wane and she was looking for a lucrative cash settlement before agreeing to any formal separation.  At the same time, Enzo was in a long-term relationship with another woman (Woodley) with whom he had fathered an illegitimate child.  They were taken care of via secret, off-the-record payments through the company.

They’re different films with different approaches but I didn’t feel the same passion and engagement here as I did for Ford v Ferrari.  Adam Driver (Marriage Story) gives it his best shot as the stoic Enzo but he’s a bit of a dullard and it’s hard to appreciate the reasons for his success.  Penélope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) has more to offer as the semi-deranged wife.  She feels over-the-top at times but I love the way she uses her power, and she has plenty of it, to maximum effect.

I’m a fan of Michael Mann (The Insider is a masterpiece) but wrestled with his artistic choices here.  There’s a sequence at an opera house which tries to provide backstory, but it comes across as awkward and distracting.  When it comes to the big racing climax, a brief introductory scene involving a random family (it takes place in a kitchen) is contrived, gratuitous and unnecessary.  It’s the sort of stuff that belongs in a B-grade action flick.

I’ll do some more reading about Enzo Ferrari… but that’s because this film only tweaks the curiosity instead of fully satisfying it.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 21 December 2023

Take it with a grain of salt… but my advice to the twenty-something-year-olds of today is to get out there and see the world.  There’ll be plenty of time to get married, have kids, and pay back an exorbitant mortgage.  You don’t want to be an old geezer looking back with regret at all the fun stuff you never had time for.  Do it sooner rather than later – an added benefit being you’ll have some wonderful memories to talk about and carry for majority of your life.

That theme is at the heart of Migration, a new animated feature from French director Benjamin Renner (Ernest & Celestine).  The screenplay was crafted by the acclaimed Mike White (Enlightened) but, given other commitments he had in making The White Lotus, the reins were then handed to Rener and the hardworking artists at Illumination, the production company behind franchises including Despicable Me and Sing.

The story is centred on a family of four Mallards (wild ducks) who live a routine existence in a cosy pond.  The dad, Mack (Nanjiani), is a change-hating pessimist who wants his teach his two children about the dangers and harsh realities of the world while the mum, Pam (Banks), is a gentler soul who prefers the softly-softly approach.  The kids have an instinctive sense of adventure, but Mack rules the roost.  He comfortable with life at their idyllic pond and doesn’t see any reason to take risks and travel beyond it.

That position shifts when a group of fellow ducks drop by for the day while migrating to Jamacia for the winter.  Mack finally gives in to family pressure and, joined by their Uncle Dan (DeVito), they set off on a similar adventure.  The 90-minute film is structured in a way where they go through a series of funny escapades along the way involving pushy herons, a caged parrot, New York City pigeons, and a villainous human chef.

I enjoyed Migration.  The themes are neatly articulated, the story is entertaining, and the characters are cute.  There are also some great jokes – my favourite being one birds pooping in the sky as opposed to the ground.  Of the cast, Danny DeVito (The War of the Roses) gets plenty of great one-liners as the grumpy uncle, and Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick) impresses as the nervy dad described by his son as being “scared of everything in the world.”  Awkwafina (The Farewell) and Carol Kane (Hester Street) also have fun with their supporting roles.

If looking for easy-to-like family entertainment over the Christmas holidays, Migration is a decent choice.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 26 December 2023

There’ll always be an audience for feel-good.  There are times when we want to go to the movies, relax with a beverage, and see good things happen to good people.  All the subplots are neatly wrapped up inside of two hours and the grinchy characters get what they deserve (or undergo a remarkable transformation).  Next Goal Wins, the latest from Oscar-winning filmmaker Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit) would be described as such.

There’s a backstory to the backstory.  In 2011, directors Mike Brett and Steve Jamison spent 14 weeks in American Samoa shooting a documentary (also called Next Goal Wins) as the local men’s soccer team tried to quality for the FIFA World Cup.  The team were ranked last in the world and, having never won a qualifying match in history, they’d brought in respected Dutch-American coach Thomas Rongen to turn their fortunes around.  The film took home the prize for best documentary at the 2014 British Independent Film Awards.

In the same manner as The Walk and Rescue Dawn, Next Goal Wins is a fictionalised movie based off a documentary.  Waititi and co-writer Iain Morris (The Inbetweeners) have given it the full Hollywood treatment.  The recognisable Michael Fassbender (Shame) steps into the shoes of the coach, jokes have been inserted at any opportunity, and the narrative coated in sugar to make it as sweet as possible.

It’s a structure we’ve seen used before in sporting flicks.  Fassbender’s character has taken the job with extreme reluctance and would rather be drinking booze (all forms) than coaching an inept group of misfits.  That is until he starts falling in love with the local community and bonding with the kind-hearted team members, each providing a subplot (one player is transgender for example).  It’s a tale where they help him as much as he helps them… and it culminates with a defining match against neighbouring Tonga.

As a fan of director Taika Waititi, I wish I liked this more.  It’s already such a great story (illustrated by the documentary) and I don’t know why they felt the need to embellish it further.  The likes of Will Arnett and Elisabeth Moss have been cast to boost the film’s appeal but their cameos are corny, contrived, and pointless.  Waititi is normally on point when balancing comedy and drama (see Boy or Hunt for the Wilderpeople) but he’s missed the mark here by skewing too much towards goof.  This is most evident when watching Fassbender overplay every emotional beat (subtlety doesn’t exist).

If looking for more authenticity with the subject matter, I’d suggest hunting down the original documentary on a streaming service.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 19 December 2023

Every now and again, I have a spirited debate in the office with a work colleague about Yorgos Lanthimos’s 2015 release, The Lobster.  It’s the tale of a man (Colin Farrell) who must find love in 45 days to else he’ll be turned into the animal of his choosing.  I enjoyed the film for its surprising, messed-up, quirky nature and its dark sense of humour.  My fellow employee hated it for exactly the same reasons.  It highlights that Lanthimos isn’t for everyone and the level of entertainment is dictated by personal comedic tastes.  His other works, including Dogtooth and The Favourite, provide further proof.

Poor Things is another wild journey!  It’s based on the 1992 novel of Scottish author Alasdair Gray which in turn has been adapted by Australian Tony McNamara (The Rage in Placid Lake).  It’s the story of an experimenting scientist (Dafoe) who has taken a baby’s brain and placed in the body of a deceased woman, Bella Baxter (Stone), and brought her back to life.  She can barely communicate at first but, as the brain matures, so too does her vocabulary, actions, and view of the world.  It’s easy to see why comparisons have been made Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Emma Stone has already won an Academy Award for best actress (La La Land) but she’s being talked up as a possible two-time winner for her performance here.  Her appearance doesn’t change but over the course of 141 minutes, her disposition transforms from that of an incoherent child… to that of a cunning, calculating adult.  Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight) is also very good as Duncan Wedderburn, a wealthy lawyer who seduces Bella and triggers her insatiable sexual appetite.  This explains the MA-rating in Australia and tag of “strong themes, sex, coarse language and nudity” – just mentioning in case you’re prudish.

The premise is bananas and so too is the execution.  Lanthimos and his crew have crafted a dystopian version of London which, in blending old and new, has been described by production designer Shona Heath as a science-fiction movie set in the 1890s.  The unsettling music compositions of Jerskin Fendrix adds to the film’s eye-raising vibe, and the deliberate overacting of key cast members (Ruffalo a standout) throws in a wild dash of farce.

A strength of Poor Things are its layers.  Simplistically, you could watch the film as a light-hearted spoof filled with sex and surprising one-liners.  If willing to think more deeply, it can provoke thoughts about gender, control, power, science, fate, and death.  What right did the scientist have in reusing the body of the dead woman?  How should the relationship between Bella and Duncan be perceived?  How much of our kindness is nature versus nurture?

Poor Things is a wee-bit sluggish in places and I think they overdo certain jokes (the sex stuff) but it’s still as memorable and distinctive as Lanthimos’s prior outings.  Not a film you’ll soon forget.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 26 December 2023

The idea is a good one.  Nicolas Cage, who is attracted to these sorts of wacky roles (see Adaptation, Pig) plays a hideously boring, ant-loving college professor by the name of Paul Matthews.  Married with two kids, Paul’s life is stuck in neutral.  Instead of taking the initiative, doing the research, and publishing the book he’s long spoken about, Paul wallows in self-pity and finds excuses to justify his apathy.

In the same vein as a viral meme, Paul is about to go from a compete nobody… to one of the most famous people in the world.  For no explainable reason, he starts appearing in the dreams of thousands across the United States.  He doesn’t do much in the dreams – he’s described as being “like an awkward guest at a party” – but he quickly becomes a celebrity who is being courted by news stations, talk shows, and advertising agencies.  They all want to cash in on Paul’s “dream pandemic.”

It’s at this point where Kristoffer Borgli’s film runs out of momentum.  Does it have anything meaningful to say?  I’m not sure.  It references topics like celebrity and “cancel culture” but has little to offer.  A major hindrance is the lack of logic.  I’m fine with the silly premise but when the innocuous dreams turn more sinister, the public’s reactions make zero sense.  How is no one able to separate real life from fiction?  Two scenes in particular – one involving a therapy group, and one at a school play – were enough to ruin the promising signs of the opening act.

Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage (Leaving Las Vegas) gives it his best shot in portraying a sorrowful loser.  One of the film’s best moments occurs in the opening ten minutes when he catches up with an ex-colleague and nervously tries to get something off his chest.  The script doesn’t offer him enough though.  The contributions of supporting players such as Michael Cera (Superbad), Tim Meadows (Saturday Night Live), and Dylan Baker (Happiness) are trifling in terms of both comedy and drama.

The trailer gives off fun vibes but if you’re thinking Dream Scenario is going to be a wonderfully messed-up dark comedy to rival the best work of Charlie Kaufmann (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation), think again.  It takes us on a journey to nowhere… and the limp finale is proof of that.