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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 29 November 2009

And what a great job they’ve done.  Jonze didn’t want to make a children’s film.  Instead, he “set out to make a movie about a childhood”.  The story’s protagonist is a 9-year-old boy named Max (played by Max Records in his first movie role).  Max is a typical kid at that age – fun-loving and adventurous yet immature and naive.  He’s also got a lot of strange feelings building up inside of him.

Max always wants to be the centre of attention and he gets frustrated when his mum and older sister don’t reciprocate.  One night, he runs away from home and finds himself in a strange fantasy world inhabited by large monsters.  They initially threaten to eat Max but he convinces them otherwise by telling them that he’s a king who has come to rule them.  The monsters have been looking for a leader for some time and they anoint Max by providing him a gold crown.

At first, everything is great.  Max receives all the attention he demands and he makes a bunch of new friends.  All the decisions he makes are fruitful.  He even helps the monsters establish a new home – a giant fort with a series of underground tunnels.

Ah, but it’s not always easy being the king.  These monsters are battling their own strange feelings of inadequacy and insecurity.  A division develops between some of them and Max doesn’t know how to make things right.  He’ll need to quickly learn from this fast-paced lesson in maturity or else he could end up as the monster’s next meal.  Max’s old life is taking on a much greater appreciation.

Spike Jonze is one of the world’s most gifted filmmakers and his credits include Being John Malkovich and Adaptation.  He gave himself a big challenge in taking Where The Wild Things Are to the big screen but Jonze was up to the task.  It’s a dazzling film to watch on the big screen – from the close ups of Max’s face (whose emotions are always showing) to the panoramic shots of this fantasy world.

 Let’s not forget the “wild things”.  If they all look very real to you… then that’s because they are.  They weren’t created with digitally.  The creature crew spent 8 months designing and building actual monster suits for actors to inhabit.  The only special effects are the monster’s faces – which were later altered to match up against the dubbed voices.  You won’t notice it at all.

The film could be quite scary in places for young children – a fact I have no problem with.  It’s nice to see a family-orientated movie that contains “fear” as part of its repertoire.  It’s a feeling that we all deal with and too often it is overlooked in films of a similar vein.

Shot on the southern coast of Australia just outside Melbourne, Where The Wild Things Are is a terrific movie for people of any age to enjoy.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 18 November 2009

Stephanie Meyer’s books have captivated the world’s romantics.  Is it because women harness a secret fantasy to fall in love with the bad guy?  Is it because this pair of “star crossed” lovers reminds us of our experiences?  Is it because Robert Pattinson is just really hot?  Don’t ask me to pinpoint a precise reason.  All I know is that people really, really, really want to see this movie.

So what’s it about?  It will help if you’ve seen the original Twilight.  In this second instalment, Edward (Pattinson) dumps Bella (Stewart) and then disappears.  He still loves her but is doing this to protect Bella.  He knows that they cannot be together – given that he’s a vampire and she’s a human.  Trying to make it work will only prolong the agony and expose Bella to unnecessary risks.

Bella doesn’t see it this way but she doesn’t have a choice.  In the months following the break up, she shuts herself off from the rest of the world.  She cries, she stays at home and she ignores all her friends.  On the heartache scale, this one ranks pretty high.

Trying to pull back Bella’s dark curtain is her best friend, Jacob (Lautner).  They start spending more and more time together with Jacob promises to never break her heart.  Bella is tempted to give in to her developing feelings for Jacob but something holds her back.  She has visions and dreams of Edward and thinks that perhaps, they may one day be together again.

There are more than a few similarities to Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet.  There’s a nice moment early in the film where Bella and Edward are watching it in class at school.  I’m sure it’s no coincidence.  When I started thinking about Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of Romeo & Juliet (with Leonardo DiCaprio and Clare Danes), I realised that New Moon doesn’t have the same level of energy and passion.  It gets bogged down in a sea of melodrama with not as much action and suspense as I’d have hoped.

I can’t say much about the acting either.  Edward comes across as such a dull character.  I don’t know what Bella sees in him.  Watching Robert Pattison with his sparkly skin and blood shot eyes just didn’t do it for me.  I wanted to see her character developed further but I still enjoyed Kristen Stewart’s performance.  By highlighting Bella’s insecurities, she seemed more real than anyone else.

There’s a new director at the helm of New Moon with Chris Weitz (About A Boy, The Golden Compass) taking over from Catherine Hardwicke.  I couldn’t tell the difference – which is a good thing.  I liked the creative fantasy world in which this tale is set.  Kudos go to the team of cinematographers and there’s also a nice film score from Alexandre Desplat (The Queen).

Striking while the iron is hot, the next film in the Twilight series is slated for release in June next year.  It’s called Eclipse and we’ll once again see a barrage of media hype and a wave of special midnight screenings.  I look forward to seeing it but I’m hoping for something a little more interesting.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 29 November 2009

Katie (Featherston) and Micah (Sloat) are a happy young couple who live together.  Of late, Katie has been hearing strange noises during the night and it’s starting to freak her out.  Micah buys a new state-of-the-art video camera to put her mind at ease.  He sets up in the bedroom each night and they fast-forward through the footage the next day to see if they spot anything unusual.

I’ve seen my fair share of horror films and I’m seldom do I feel any emotion.  I know in the back of my head that it’s only just a movie.  That said, there were scenes in this movie that sent a shiver down my spine.

On one of the first nights in which they use the camera, the bedroom door partially closes and then reopens.  That may not sound too spooky but when you’re sitting in a packed cinema which is deathly silent (the movie has no soundtrack) then you’ll think again.  For anyone who believes in ghosts and other such paranormal beings, this probably isn’t the best film to watch before bedtime.

The film’s intensity builds and builds.  I don’t want to say too much because I want you to be caught off guard, as I was.  It’s important to shriek and scream (as many did at my preview screening).  With regards to the sudden climax, it’s worth pointing out this wasn’t how the film originally ended.  After being scared out of his wits when he first saw it, acclaimed director Steven Spielberg suggested an alternate ending and this was ultimately used in the film’s world wide release.

Paranormal Activity has a few other odd qualities to help distinguish it from other horror films.  There are no opening credits or closing credits.  At the end, you’ll be simply left with a blank screen and your own troubled thoughts.  That may be good for some but not for others.  The film has made more than $100m at the U.S. box-office and as you’d expect, a sequel which has been scheduled for 2012.  I hope it’s better than the follow up to The Blair Witch Project (which was made in a similar vein ten years ago).

If you are going to see this movie, I strongly recommend that you see it late at night during its opening week.  The bigger the crowd, the better the atmosphere. 

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 18 November 2009

Mark’s life is about to improve greatly however when he learns how to lie.  He can say whatever he wants and people will believe him.  It all starts at a bank when the teller says he only has $300 left in his account.  Mark says it must be a computer error and that he thought it was $800.  The teller apologises for the error and pays him the larger sum.  No questions asked.  This could be the start of something big and Mark’s chances with Anna are set to improve.

It’s an interesting premise but after about 20 minutes, the novelty wore off.  There’s only so far you can take this idea.  This might have made a good short film but it struggles into a full length feature.  It slipped off the rails when Mark speaks to his dying mother in a hospital.  He tells her of a wonderful world which exists in the afterlife.  She’ll be blissfully happy and own her own mansion.

Mark is overheard by the hospital staff and soon enough, he’s front page news.  Everyone wants to know about heaven and Mark suddenly develops a god-like status.  How long can he keep this charade going?  Too long if you ask me.

Ricky Gervais is the one of the funniest entertainers today.  A few weeks ago, he was announced as the host of the 2010 Golden Globe Awards.  I’m sure he’ll do an awesome job.  Gervais is also highly regarded in Hollywood.  The Invention Of Lying includes cameos from the likes of Jason Bateman, Edward Norton and Philip Seymour Hoffman.  These guys don’t just lend their services to anyone.  They appear here because they’re fans of Gervais.

He was funny in The Office, he was funny in Extras but sorry, he’s just not funny here.  There are some weird subplots also.  One involves a suicidal neighbour (played by Jonah Hill).  Another involves a strange series of movies churned out by the movie company where Mark works.  Why do they simply read stories as opposed to acting them out?  I didn’t think acting constituted lying.

I do have the power to lie (thankfully) but I swear, I’m telling the truth here.  The Invention Of Lying was not as good as I thought it would be.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 22 November 2009

Ever since he was young, Flint Lockwood (Hader) has dreamed of being a successful inventor.  On his bedroom wall are posters of guys like Alexander Graham Bell and Nikola Tesla.  Unfortunately, Flint is not yet in their league.  He has some wonderful ideas but he struggles to put theory into practice.

I should mention that Flint is from a small community who live on an island in the Atlantic.  The town’s income is derived from sardine fishing.  When the world realised just how yucky sardines were, business fell through the floor.  The residents are now struggling financially and the mayor is looking for a way to revitalise the town.

Flint’s time to shine has arrived.  He has invented a machine which will make it rain food.  He sends it up into the atmosphere and then types his menu into his laboratory computer.  It rains hamburgers, it rains bacon and eggs, it rains ice-cream.  Everyone is well fed and Flint becomes the island’s most popular person.  He even finds a love interest – a weather reporter named Sam Sparks (Faris).  All his dreams have come true.

What goes up, must come down however.  Flint soon realises that his revolutionary weather machine has a few problems.  With everyone eating so gluttonously, waste lines are starting to expand.  Just wait until you see the mayor.  Further, the size of food falling from the sky is getting bigger and bigger.  Something’s got to give.

This fun children’s film with a catchy title is sure to generate interest as we approach the Christmas school holidays.  As you’d expect from a film of this nature, some notable stars have provided their voices to the movie.  James Caan is great as Flint’s old fashioned father.  Mr. T is also good as a police officer trying to keep everyone in line.

I admit that I found the storyline somewhat limited.  You kind of know everything that’s going to happen before it does.  I didn’t laugh as much as I thought I would either.  It’s more wacky than humorous – something that I know kids won’t have a problem with at all.

Screening in 3D in selected cinemas (always a plus), Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs is a watchable animated flick but not one that’s overly memorable.