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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 03 December 2017

I love the irony of good things coming out of bad things.  Ed Wood is regarded as one of the worst filmmakers of all time.  In the 1950s, he directed a string of movies that featured incoherent storylines, dreadful acting, laughable special effects and dubious editing. When making Plan 9 from Outer Space in 1959, he used footage of the late Bela Lugosi despite it having been shot for a completely different film!

The humorous silver lining is that Ed Wood was so bad… that they have developed a cult-like status over time.  Acclaimed director Tim Burton even made a hilarious comedy about Wood in 1994 that won two Academy Awards – best make-up and best supporting actor (for Martin Landau).  How could anyone have predicted that Wood would become one of the most memorable filmmakers of the era?

History appears to be repeating itself when it comes to director Tommy Wiseau.  Very little is known about his background but it was San Francisco, 1998 where he met a young wanna-be actor named Greg Sestero.  After moving to Los Angeles and struggling to find work, the pair agreed to make their own movie with Wiseau serving as writer, director, producer, financier and lead actor.

When it premiered in June 2003, the audience laughed hysterically at how awful it was.  Critic Scott Foundas described it as a movie where people would ask for their money back within 30 minutes.  The script had gaping holes, scenes were shot out-of-focus, dialogue was out of sync, and the acting was abysmal.  In its first two weeks of release, it made just $1,900 in ticket sales across a handful of theatres.

Word then started to spread.  Crowds flocked to cinemas in Los Angeles to have a laugh and it wasn’t long before it was being screened at film festivals across the world – including here in Brisbane.  I don’t know why… I don’t know how… but Tommy Wiseau found fame by entertaining audiences in a way he could never have imagined.

The Disaster Artist is a wonderful comedy that takes us inside the making of Wiseau’s iconic film.  James Franco serves as both director and lead actor and I have to smile when hearing the awards season buzz about his performance.  He could win awards for best actor by recreating the performance of one of the worst actors.  He’s joined in the film by a couple of long term collaborators, brother Dave Franco and good friend Seth Rogen, as well as a lengthy list of Hollywood stars who pop in for well-timed cameos.

I’d argue that the movie doesn’t provide as much insight into Tommy Wiseau as it should.  It doesn’t answer any questions about where he was born, how he made his fortune, and why he believes so strongly in himself.  Still, it’s a fascinating story that will leave many in hysterics.  It doesn’t matter if you’ve seen The Room or not.  You’ll be laughing regardless at this truth is stranger than fiction tale.

It’s hard to pick a specific highlight but perhaps the most memorable scene is a part where Wiseau appears in his own film for the first time.  He utters the famous “oh hi Mark” line and the reactions from his crew and fellow cast members are pure gold.  Another great feature of the film is the closing credits sequence where you see how closely the art in The Disaster Artist mirrors the reality of The Room.

In playing a crew member, there’s a great line where Seth Rogen says about the hapless production – “the best thing I can ever say is that no one will ever see it.”  How far we’ve come since then!

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 19 November 2017

In Bad Moms 2, the writing team added a layer of complexity but introducing three grandmothers to cause trouble for the film’s three leading ladies.  Those behind Daddy’s Home 2 came up with the same idea when working on a screenplay for the popular original (released back in 2015).

For those needing a refresher course, Daddy’s Home starred Will Ferrell as an insecure stepfather trying to win the affections of his two stepchildren.  He was making progress until their real father, played by Mark Wahlberg, arrived back on the scene.  After a silly battle to see who could get the upper hand, the film ended with both extending the olive branch and agreeing to be “co-dads”.

Given that things ended so acrimoniously at the end of the last movie, Daddy’s Home 2 needs to find a new way to make conflict.  This is achieved by going one back one generation and bringing the two granddads into the equation.  John Lithgow plays the father of Will Ferrell whilst Mel Gibson does the same for Mark Wahlberg.  They have similar personalities to their children which becomes a recipe for trouble.

It’s Gibson’s character that starts the chaos.  He’s an aggressive, macho guy who is disgusted that his son is allowing his kids to be raised by another man.  Most wouldn’t have a major problem with this.  They’d appreciate that not all relationships go the distance and when parents re-marry, custody of children often needs to be shared around.  Unfortunately, he doesn’t share this view and he’s doing whatever he can to cause tension between the two fathers.

The other similarity with Bad Moms 2 is its pitch to be a Christmas movie.  That film was set in the days leading up to Christmas and dissected all the stressful planning that goes into the lead up.  For Daddy’s Home 2, the arguments are around which households will get the honour of hosting Christmas lunch and dinner.  It’s Gibson who forces his own compromise on them all – he’s rented a luxurious house for everyone so that festivities can take place at a neutral venue.

It’s one of my all-time favourite movies and I was stunned to read last month that Mark Wahlberg asked God to forgive him for starring Boogie Nights (released in 1997).  He later clarified by saying that he didn’t regret the role but he’s not sure if he’d make the same choice today as a 46-year-old man who is married with 4 kids.  It doesn’t fit too well with his religious beliefs and his ability to serve as a role model for his family.

That statement gets to the heart of why Wahlberg is appearing in movies like Daddy’s Home 2.  It’s a lightweight, family-friendly comedy that promotes familiar, wholesome values.  It’s not rude and crude like Bad Moms 2 – the most obvious point of difference between the two.  Whether you like this or not will ultimately come down to your own sense of humour.  For the record, I lean more towards the edgier comedy offered up in the Bad Moms franchise.

This film will have its fans and will find its audience but it didn’t offer enough laughs for me.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 29 November 2017

I’m trying to think of another year when we’ve had so many Christmas-themed movies released.  In the past few weeks, we’ve had Bad Moms 2, Better Watch Out, Daddy’s Home 2 and The Star.  The next entrant to throw its hat in the ring is The Man Who Invented Christmas – a drama directed by British Indian filmmaker Bharat Nalluri (Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day).

The origins of this movie are an interesting story in their own right.  Les Standiford is an American historian with an interest in acclaimed 19^th Century British author Charles Dickens.  In 2008, he completed a work that was part biopic, part fiction.  The title aptly summed it up – “The Man Who Invented Christmas: How Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol Rescued His Career and Revived Our Holiday Spirits.”  That novel served as the source material for this film.

The better parts of this adaptation are those based on well-known facts.  Charles Dickens was a much-loved author following the success of Oliver Twist but by 1843, it had been several years since his last big hit.  He was now struggling financially and given the lukewarm sales of “Barnaby Rudge” and “The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit”, many believed his career had peaked.

It was at this point where he came up with the idea for what would become one of his most famous works – A Christmas Carol.  If you’ve never read the book or seen a film/TV adaptation, it’s the tale of a miserable old man, Ebeneezer Scrooge, who is visited by a series of ghosts at Christmas and transformed into a better man.  It became so popular that the word “scrooge” became part of common vernacular.  You’ll now find it as a noun in any dictionary.

Where Nalluri’s film struggles is the fantasy elements.  We are provided with a series of flashbacks that show us Dickens’s (Stevens) tough upbringing and the rocky relationship he had with his father (Pryce).  These show that his dad was the original inspiration for Ebeneezer Scrooge.  As this goes on, Dickens is visited by a miserable ghost of his own (Plummer) who feeds him lines which end up as part of the finished novel.

These scenes are clearly an attempt to retell A Christmas Carol from a different perspective but it comes across as jumbled and confused.  Given the number of successful adaptations of Dickens’ work, what is this film trying to add that hasn’t already been achieved?  If you’re looking to be moved emotionally, watch the 2009 animated feature directed by Robert Zemeckis.  If you’re after something a bit more fun, try the 1982 musical that featured the Muppets.  There are countless other adaptations where the messages and themes come through more clearly.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 15 November 2017

Marvel did it with The Avengers and now DC Comics is trying to do the same with Justice League.  You get the sense there’s a little impatience though.  Marvel gave each of its characters a standalone movie across a three year stretch before bringing them all together for the first Avengers movie.  That’s not the case in the DC Universe.  Three heroes in Justice League (The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg) are being seen for the first time.

It’s for this reason that the opening hour is spent introducing the characters and bringing them together.  Some we’re already familiar with.  Batman (Affleck) is a brooding, emotionless man who jokes that his superpower is “being rich”.  After slaying a bug-like creature, he gets a strong sense that dark times are coming to Earth and that he’ll need a little help to defeat the next villain.  For this reason, he enlists the precocious Wonder Woman (Gadot).  She prefers to keep a low profile but realises that her services will be required.

The new additions all have something different to offer.  The Flash (Miller) can move at breakneck speed and generate an electric charge in the process.  Aquaman (Momoa) can control the movement of water whilst also communicating with creatures that live under the sea.  Cyborg (Fisher) is a human-turned-robot who has incredible power thanks to his metal arms and legs.

There’s just the one “bad guy” for them to stop – a ho-hum alien named Steppenwolf.  He’s come to Earth to locate three power boxes which, if brought together, will allow him to transform the planet into his own version of hell.  He’s not a particularly creative or engaging villain and he’s easily the weakest part of the movie.  That’s even more obvious when you compare him to Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum or Tom Hiddleston in the recent Thor: Ragnarok (a vastly better film).

The action scenes feature so much colour and so much CGI that you’d question whether actors were even needed.  They did nothing to get my blood pumping.  It’s just a repetitive, goofy smash-a-thon that lacks the character development that made Wonder Woman so great (also a vastly better film).

The most interesting battle is to see which character has the funniest one-liners and it’s Ezra Miller who comes out on top as The Flash.  His light-hearted, insecure nature reminded me of Tom Holland in Spider-Man: Homecoming (you guessed it – a vastly better film).  The other characters are trying to outsmart each other in the comedy stakes but they’re too hard.

The budget of Justice League was reportedly $300 million and if you ask me, that money was not well spent.      

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 28 November 2017

In doing the publicity rounds for this film, author R.J. Palacio has been recounting the real life story that inspired her book.  She was with her 3-year-old son in a shop when he started crying in fear after seeing a young girl with craniofacial differences.  Palacio didn’t want to embarrass the girl and so rushed out of the store with her son.  This didn’t go unnoticed however.  The mother of the girl calmly said to her child “I think it’s time to go” and it was that moment that resonated with Palacio.  She asked herself – what could she teach her own children so that they wouldn’t react the same away again?

Wonder (the book) was the answer to the question.  First published in 2012, it became a best seller that was also picked up to be part of school curriculums.  The film rights were bought not long after and having gone through a bunch of writers and directors over the past few years, it fell upon Stephen Chbosky to bring it to the screen.  He’s familiar with youth-orientated dramas having written and directed The Perks of Being a Wallflower in 2012.

The story is centred around August “Auggie” Pullman (Tremblay), a 10-year-old kid who was born with a rare condition that has affected both his skull and face.  He tells us during the film’s opening that he’s gone through 27 surgeries that have helped him to breathe, to see and to hear.  Given all the operations and given his not-so-normal appearance, his parents (played by Roberts and Wilson) made the decision to home school their child.  They wanted him to give him a great education whilst not subjecting him to the inevitable bullying of the school playground.

It’s time for that model to change though.  Auggie’s parents realise that’s there more to a school than just education.  Their son needs the chance to interact with others, develop social skills and make lifelong friends.  That gets to the crux of where this film is set.  Auggie is enrolled in the local middle school and we follow the ups and downs of his school year.

There’s an added layer of narrative that helps gets the film’s themes and messages across.  There are moments where the story breaks away from Auggie and follows other characters that have been influenced by his life.  These include his old sister, Via (Vidovic), and his new best friend, Jack Will (Jupe).  The moments involving Via resonate strongly – she puts up a tough face but deep down, she struggles with the lack of attention relative to her younger brother.

It’s a little simplistic in places but it’s hard to be critical of such a heart-warming film.  Many will remember Jacob Tremblay’s skilful performance in Room and he’s just as good here in the leading role.  It’s hard to believe he’s just 11 years of age.  The supporting characters all get their chance to impress.  Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson continually stress as Auggie’s loving parents whilst Mandy Patinkin and Daveed Diggs offer wise words as teachers at Auggie’s school.

As part of the film’s release, a push has been made for people to take up the “Choose Kind Challenge.”  They can get a jar, choose a token (such as a marble or a button), and then deposit one into the jar for every kind act they perform.  The end goal is to fill the jar and in the process, make the world a better place.  It’s a nice idea that illustrates the power than films have beyond the walls of a darkened cinema.