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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 16 September 2024

When the god-awful Transformers: The Last Knight underperformed financially and critically in 2017, the producers pushed the reset button and created two prequels, Bumblebee (2018) and Rise of the Beasts (2023).  Their box-office was sub-par but I liked both for their charismatic human leads, Hailee Steinfeld and Anthony Ramos.  They’re two of the better entries in the franchise and I’d happily watch them again.

The series has now reached another fork in the road.  Instead of continuing with the current-day universe, director Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4) and the writing team have gone back to the dawn of time to show the first interactions between two iconic Transformers, Optimus Prime and Megatron.  It’s a risky move as it’s a 100% animated feature with no live-action scenes or humans for audiences to latch onto.  You only need to think back to the 2007 original, starring Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, to realise how much has changed.

The storyline has been moulded from the “David and Goliath” template of smaller folk standing up against corrupt, dominating superiors.  Orion Pax (Hemsworth) and D-16 (Tyree Henry) are close friends who toil away in the mines of the planet Cybertron.  It’s not long before they learn an evil truth about their leader, Sentinel Prime (Hamm), and they set about righting the wrongs.  The end goal is to locate a long-lost object known as the “Matrix of Leadership” which will make them heroes and ensure the planet’s survival.

The fully animated approach allows the creators to go with a lighter tone.  We don’t need to sweat the fate of a likeable human or Earth’s future.  We also know these two lead characters survive given they have appeared in later movies in the Transformers timeline.  The focus is therefore on a series of small, mini adventures where characters escape from perilous situations… while humorously squabbling at the same time.

The movie works as a comedy but when the drama dial is turned up, I wasn’t as convinced.  Sentinel Prime comes across as a weak baddie with weird motivations.  I don’t think we ever truly understand him.  When it comes to the falling-out between Orion Pax and D-16, it’s similarly rushed and muddy.  I struggled with D-16’s character arc and the suddenness in which he transformers from a nice-guy hero to a stubborn villain.

The big-name cast includes the distinctive voices of Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johannson and Steve Buscemi.  I preferred the last two movies but if you’re interested in this universe and a fully animated product, Transformers One has just enough on offer.

You can read my chat with director Josh Cooley and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura by clicking here.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 09 September 2024

I have vague recollections of reading books as a child, such as the works of Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl, but I don’t recall Harold and the Purple Crayon.  I know of purple dinosaurs, Wiggles and Teletubbies… but not a crayon.  Perhaps it was an American thing?  The internet refers talks of a much-loved 1955 children’s picture book from American author Crockett Johnson.  It’s the tale of a 4-year-old boy who, powered by a magic purple crayon, can draw anything he wants and then make it come to life.

Director Carlos Saldanha has been a long-time fan of the material.  Firstly, he has children of his own and loves the theme of developing a strong imagination and using it to get yourself out of trouble.  Secondly, he has a successful career making animated feature films (Ice Age: The Meltdown, Rio, Ferdinand) and so he appreciates the importance of being able to draw at a young age.  When approached by the studio and asked to direct, it was an easy choice to sign up.

There’s more than one way to skin a cat and in this case, the writers have gone with a live-action interpretation.  Harold (Levi) resides within the confides of the book but, by drawing a door with his purple crayon, he transports himself into the real-life world that exists beyond its 64 pages.  He is accompanied by his two pet animals, a moose (Howery) and a porcupine (Reynolds), who are transformed into human form.

It’s a straight-forward narrative intended more for kids than adults.  During the first half, humour is derived from watching the naïve Harold adjust to a 3D world and its nuances.  He befriends a widowed mother (Deschanel) and her son (Bottani) who provide shelter and a short education.  To give Harold’s character arc more purpose, he goes in search of the book’s Jesus-like author to ask questions about his creation.

A villain is required, and he arrives in the form of Gary (Clement), a disgruntled librarian annoyed that publishers aren’t interested his own science-fiction manuscripts.  He wants to get his hands on the valuable purple crayon to transform the world in his own selfish ways.  What follows is a standard good versus evil tale which is kept simple and sanitised for the young children.

I know I’m not the target audience, but I expected more laughs and creativity.  The characters’ misadventures aren’t particularly interesting, and an opportunity has been missed given the source material.  There’s no standout amongst the cast with Zachary Levi portraying Harold as a silly goof (every emotion is overplayed) and the likes of Tanya Reynolds, as the porcupine-turned-human, relegated to a weird break-and-enter subplot. 

If looking to entertain the family over the upcoming school holidays, I’d go with the Australian-made Runt over this.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 16 September 2024

Over the past century, robot movies have spanned a broad spectrum.  Some portray them as evil, world-destroying machines (The Terminator, 2001: A Space Odyssey) whereas others portray them as cute, cuddly companions (WALL-E, Big Hero 6).  As it’s an animated feature targeted at family, it should come as no surprise that The Wild Robot fits into the later category.  Many will already be familiar with the title character having read the illustrated books of American author Peter Brown (there are three in total published between 2016 and 2023).

We begin with our freshly made robot, who becomes known as Roz (Nyong’o), washed up by accident on the shoreline of a small island.  She was made to serve humans and complete routine tasks but, with the island being deserted, she instead befriends the many animals who reside there.  Roz uses her incredible computing power to interpret animal languages and speak to them – a plot device which creates the film’s dialogue (opposed to something like the Shaun the Sheep Movie).

When Roz inadvertently steps on a bird’s nest and crushes a bunch of goose eggs, her motherly nature kicks in.  One egg remains intact, and she takes it upon herself to raise and care for the young creature.  He is named Brightbill (Connor) and working with an eclectic group of creatures including a fox (Pascal) and an opossum (O’Hara), Roz works on instilling Brightbill with three critical skills – eating, swimming, and flying.  This will ensure his survival and ability to travel to warmer climates during the winter.

The Wild Robot is a sweet film.  Younger crowds will engage with the easy-to-follow narrative and loveable characters, adults can chuckle at a few darker jokes (the opossum losing a kid), and all can enjoy the dramatic finale where lives are at stake.  Director Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon) was inspired by the painting-like animation of the great Hayao Miyazaki, and he’s created a film which is beautiful to look at – from the intricacies of Roz’s design (loved her lighting), through to red-heavy landscapes when a wildfire ravages the island.

The voice cast is headlined by Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) who finds the right blend of rigidness and emotion in bringing Roz to life.  Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us) has fun as the cunning fox while rising star Kit Connor (Heartstopper) gets the job of melting hearts with his portrayal of the young, nervous goose.  Take the kids these school holidays and enjoy.

You can read my chat with writer-director Chris Sanders by clicking here.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 05 September 2024

I recently revisited Beetlejuice and I don’t think it’s aged particularly well.  It was a nice-sized hit when released in 1988 (it snuck into the top 10 of the annual box-office in the United States) but looking back from today, I see it as a slight, cartoonish horror-comedy about ghosts and the afterlife.  There’s a handful of laughs and great make-up work (which won it an Academy Award) but I’d argue other supernatural comedies of that era, such as the original Ghostbusters, offer a more complete narrative (gotta save the world!) with better characters.

Director Tim Burton and the three-person writing team had an opportunity to rethink the material for the 21^st Century and create something fresh.  Instead, the film comes across a poorly conceived homage to the original with little else to offer.  There are several subplots but at its core, it’s about the now middle-aged Lydia Deetz (Ryder) who has problems to overcome after the ghost Beetlejuice (Keaton) re-surfaces for the first time in decades.

Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara are the three actors who reprise their roles from the original.  Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis don’t appear, and their absence is explained with a throw-away line.  Jeffrey Jones isn’t in the movie either but, for reasons I can’t understand, the writers decide to make him the focal “missing” character who is spoken about throughout the film.

Ryder goes too far with the “kookiness” but the interplay with Jenna Ortega (Scream), who plays her ashamed teenage daughter, is the film’s strongest attribute.  I’d argue it’s the only plot point worth following.  Justin Theroux (Mulholland Drive) plays a scummy TV producer and Monica Bellucci (The Passion of the Christ) plays a jilted lover, but their underdeveloped characters are so one-note that it’s impossible to take them seriously.  Why not given them more backstory and nuance?

Beetlejuice was just a supporting player in the 1988 movie and while he gets a more screen time here, it’s not to the film’s benefit.  We’ve just got Michael Keaton, his face smeared with make-up, acting quirky and making inappropriate comments.  Could he not have more to do?  In failing to advance his character in any meaningful way, it reinforces the view this a generic “cash grab” sequel where profit takes precedence over story.

Keep the expectations low for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 10 September 2024

Runt is an Australian family flick that takes cheesiness and corniness to a new level… but the cast are so damn likeable that they make it fly.  It’s set in the fictitious rural town of Upson Downs where farmers have been doing it tough given a lengthy drought.  A rich, villainous businessman (Thompson) has been using it to buy cheap land from financially-desperate owners and there’s one final property he has his eyes on – that owned by the likeable Shearer family.

The mum (Barber) and dad (Courtney) are struggling and so the unlikely hero in this tale is 11-year-old Annie Shearer (LaTorre) who enters her untrained dog, Runt, in a local obstacle course race and, in miraculously winning first prize, gets a shot at a national and then international title.  The prizemoney would be enough to save the farm but there’s two major “hurdles” to overcome – an arrogant jerk (Day) who has his own eyes on victory, and Runt’s “stage fright” when performing in front of crowds.

Runt is the creation of West Australian author Craig Silvey and it’s not his first adaptation for the big screen.  He helped translate his 2009 novel Jasper Jones into a 2017 movie directed by Rachel Perkins.  It too was a strong family drama (a slightly heavier tone) which ultimately earned six AACTA Award nominations including a nod for best picture.  Runt (the book) was first published in 2022 and after receiving acclaim, including a win for Book of the Year at the Indie Book Awards, the movie rights were quickly actioned.

Director John Sheedy (H is for Happiness) helms this production and, as touched on above, it’s the choice of actors he deserves most praise for.  Born and raised on the Gold Coast, youngster Lily LaTorre (Run Rabbit Run) is fantastic as the 11-year-old Annie.  Child actors tend to be a little wooden with their performances, but LaTorre comes across as a “natural” with her cheeky smile, relaxed nature, and wide emotional range.  Hopefully it’s the start of a long career.  The likes of Jai Courtney (Terminator Genisys) and Deborah Mailman (The Sapphires) add to the ensemble with their own likeable roles.  The dog is great too!

The two villains (Thompson, Day) are overdone but it’s a minor quibble for what is a fun, easy-to-watch Australian feature.  Take the kids have a good time.