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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 20 May 2014

Time can get away from you. It’s hard to believe that it’s been 14 years since director Bryan Singer launched one of cinema’s most successful superhero franchises. X-Men was released in July 2000 and the follow up, X2, was released three years later. That was it for Singer. He jumped off the fast-moving X-Men train and went in a different direction with a superhero reboot (Superman Returns), a WWII thriller (Valkyrie) and a fairy tale adaptation (Jack The Giant Slayer).

That is, until now. Singer is back in the director’s chair for X-Men: Days Of Future Past and he’s created an entertaining action flick with a predictable, yet still engaging, premise. It begins in the not-to-distant future where the planet has been all but obliterated by a series of highly sophisticated robots known as Sentinels. They were the creation of Dr Trask (Dinklage) – a military scientist trying to rid the world of mutants. Unfortunately, it all went pair shaped when the robots killed not just the mutants… but also the entire human population.

It’s a bleak opening. A flyover across New York City reveals to be a dark, depressing, uninhabited place. You might be wondering how the few surviving X-Men can get themselves out of this situation. Even if they could defeat the powerful Sentinels, what would be the point? The planet has already passed the point of repair.

The solution comes in the form of a familiar plot device – time travel. Shadowcat (Page) transports the Wolverine (Jackman) back to the 1970s where he will try to “end the war before it begins”. His task is to prevent the vengeful mutant Mystique (Lawrence) from killing Dr Trask at a peace summit in Paris. It was this event that kick started the Sentinel program and set the human race on a path from which it would not recover.

It’s a storyline that allows for a little creativity. We already know these characters… but now we have a chance to go back and time and conceive a new version of them. Wolverine has to find a way of uniting Professor X (McAvoy) and Magneto (Fassbender) despite the fact they are fierce enemies. It’s a cool approach and I’d best describe it as a subtle reboot (except with the same actors).

There’s also room for humour. 27-year-old Evan Peters (American Horror Story) steals the film with a 10-minute cameo as the mutant Quicksilver. With the ability to move as supersonic speeds, his skills are invaluable when Wolverine and Professor X try to break into the Pentagon. It’s the scene you’ll remember most.

Previous X-Men films have gone overboard with the number of characters but X-Men: Days Of Future Past has found the right balance. The focus is on the big four – Jackman, Lawrence, McAvoy and Fassbender. The other familiar names only pop up in “cameo” type roles (which is appropriate). My only qualm with the cast is that Peter Dinklage (Game Of Thrones) should have been given more to do as the film’s keynote villain.

The next step in the franchise is the unimaginatively titled X-Men: Apocalypse which is slated for release in 2016. We’ll do it again then.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 07 May 2014

Healing is the third Australian-made feature to be released in local cinemas in as many weeks. Ordinarily, I’d say that’s good news. It’s always nice to see home-grown product getting a chance in this country. Unfortunately, the other two films struggled at the box-office. 52 Tuesdays earned just $24,000 in its first weekend. Canopy could only manage $13,000 over its first four days (I saw it in a completely empty cinema on a Friday night).

They’re not bad films. Both Canopy and 52 Tuesdays are definitely worth seeing. The problem is that (1) they’re only screening on about 10 cinemas across Australia, and (2) no one knows about them. You won’t see them advertised during Masterchef. You won’t see their posters at bus stations. You won’t see their stars being interviewed on Sunrise, The Today Show or The Project.

I say all this not to complain. I’m a realist. I don’t have a magic solution that can generate publicity for Aussie films. The point I’d like to make is that it’s important for me to talk about films like Healing. If you’d rather give it a miss and save your money for Godzilla next week, that’s fine. I just want you to know that there are alternatives, made by local filmmakers, that are as entertaining as your traditional Hollywood fare.

Healing is set in almost entirely in a rural correctional facility. It’s best described as a working farm. Prisoners perform basic tasks and try to offer some value back to the community before they are granted release.

A new inmate, Viktor Khadem (Hany), has everyone talking. He’s already spent 18 years behind bars and his stay at the correctional facility is his first step towards freedom. Viktor would prefer to stay out of trouble but that’s not going to be the case. A few prisoners have set up a small drug dealing operation and they see Viktor as a threat. A correctional officer sums up the situation best – “someone needs to have a chat to someone before something happens to someone.”

That’s not really the crux of the film though. At its heart, Healing is a story of forgiveness and rehabilitation. Viktor saves an injured falcon that became stuck in a barbed wire fence. With the approval of his correctional officer (Weaving) and a nearby animal sanctuary, he helps build an aviary that will house injured birds. They can then be nursed back to full health and released into the wild.

It’s not hard to see the metaphor here. The birds need rehabilitation but so too do the prisoners. As Viktor bonds with the injured falcon, he releases that he must also let down his guard. Having been isolated for almost two decades, the time has come to open up about his past, make peace with his son (now a 23-year-old), and prepare himself for the future.

Healing is rough around the edges. It’s trying too hard to be a warm-hearted, feel-good story. It chooses not to delve too deeply into these characters’ darker pasts and it uses a one-dimensional bad guy (played by Anthony Hayes) to create sympathy for the protagonists. It’s a little formulaic, simplistic.

I still liked this film though. It has something to say about the importance of therapy (whatever the form) and the power of forgiveness. There’s much to reflect upon when leaving the theatre. Life is complicated and too often do we try to brush aside / ignore certain problems. The central performances of Hugo Weaving (who worked with director Craig Monahan on The Interview and Peaches) and Don Hany also deserve praise.

Well, there you go. You can watch Bad Neighbours with Zac Efron and Seth Rogen. Or you can watch Healing with Don Hany and Hugo Weaving. They’re both out this week. They’re both worth a look. The choice is yours.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 14 May 2014

A Godzilla movie doesn’t require a lot of explanation. You should know what to expect. In this adaptation, we learn that that the United States’ nuclear weapon testing program in the 1950s had nothing to do with the protection of its own borders. They were trying, unsuccessfully, to kill this giant creature that lives beneath the sea. The good news is that Godzilla disappeared after that. The world’s oceans are expansive and he decided to keep a low profile. Well, until now…

This film didn’t win me over with its human characters. Bryan Cranston is the guy who forecasts doom and gloom but no one will take him seriously. Aaron Taylor-Johnson is a hero who keeps putting himself in harm’s way to save the day. Elizabeth Olsen is a mother trying to protect her young child. Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins are the scientists who have an explanation for everything. David Strathairn is the military guy who would prefer to use weapons as opposed to common sense.

These are characters we see continually in disaster movies. None of them are particularly charismatic, they all do what you’d expect, and you probably won’t care about their fate. That said, once you realise that the human characters aren’t the focus of the film, you can sit back and admire everything else.

In a similar vein to last year’s Pacific Rim, this is an epic “monster movie” and it’s been nicely shot by British director Gareth Edwards (Monsters). He teases the audiences with glimpses of the creature early on. You don’t get the expansive helicopter flyovers. We’re only seeing things from the perspective of the characters (or even from behind a mask in the case of Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s first full look).

The visual effects are impressive (a tsunami sequence is a highlight) but so too is the cinematography of Seamus McGarvey. You can tell that he’s trying to give this film style – from the use of camera angles, to the insertion of dust and flying debris. The score of Alexandre Desplat felt overbearing at times but you can the intention – to create something imposing, something epic.

One can argue that the film has some underlying messages too. Ken Watanabe’s character asks the question as to whether man controls nature or whether it is the other way around. Those going to see this film solely for its action sequences probably won’t care… but for others, you may be a surprised to find more depth than the trailers suggest.

The story needed more. I struggled to get up my head around the background material (how were they hiding the monster for so long in Japan?) and the attack plans didn’t seem all that logical (using trains then helicopters?). Still, there are enough positives in Godzilla to outweigh the negatives. It’s worth a look.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 03 May 2014

Entitled Bad Neighbours here in Australia (to avoid confusion with the long-running television show that no one watches any more), the film begins with a simple introduction of our characters. Mac (Efron) heads a rambunctious college fraternity that has just moved into a quiet street. Teddy (Rogen) and Kelly (Byrne) are his next door neighbours – an adventurous couple struggling to readjust their lives following the birth of their first son.

What follows is a two hour game of “an eye for an eye”. Mac throws a huge get-together with alcohol, drugs, women, and anything else you might expect. The only people not having a great time are Teddy and Kelly. They’re next door, lying in bed, and unable to get to sleep over the deafening party sounds.

There are a few unsuccessful attempts at civility but it’s time for the battlelines to be drawn. There’s no way these two households are going to be able to live a few metres apart. Teddy and Kelly will formulate a series of cunning plans to ensure the fraternity is kicked out. Mac and his buddies (which include Dave Franco and Christopher Mintz-Plasse) will retaliate in the hope that their neighbours will give up and find a new home in a new suburb.

You don’t need to pick a side here. You can just sit back and watch the absurdity of the situation. Directed by Nicholas Stoller (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him To Greek), Bad Neighbours is a raunchier-style comedy with plenty of laughs. The logistics of several jokes don’t make a lot of sense (such as scene where Mac breaks into Teddy’s work and installs an exploding air bag on his chair) but they’re funny anyway.

It’s been a good few weeks for Zac Efron. He picked up the MTV Movie Award for best shirtless performance (for That Awkward Moment). Now, he’s found himself a decent role (after a string of duds including The Paperboy, Parkland, The Lucky One, New Year’s Eve and Charlie St. Cloud). He injects his extroverted character with the right mix of likeability and arrogance. Perhaps it’s the start of his own Matthew McConaughey-style renaissance (minus the Oscar).

He’s not the only actor scoring points here. Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne (using her Australian accent for a change) share some great scenes together. This is evidenced by a lengthy exchange where they debate how to first tell the fraternity to “keep it down”. They want to get the message across… but they also want to find just the right tone so that they still sound like cool, friendly neighbours.

The story itself could have been a little tighter. I couldn’t work out if Teddy and Kelly were responsible parents or not. They want to stop the fraternity so their newborn son can get a good night’s sleep… but on the flipside, they give serious consideration to taking their baby to a late-night music concert.

With some cute pop culture references (the fraternity throw a Robert DeNiro party) and a few of well-time cameos (headlined by Lisa Kudrow), Bad Neighbours makes the occasional comedic stumble but thankfully, it has more than enough energy to make it to the finish line.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 12 May 2014

Child’s Pose is centred on a car accident. A young man, travelling down a freeway, changes lanes to overtake the car in front. His vision impaired by the other vehicle, he strikes a 14-year-old boy who was trying to run across the freeway. The boy is killed instantly.

Who’s to blame? Was the driver travelling at more than 140km/hr as suspected by the police? Did he have drugs or alcohol in his system? What about the driver of the car in front? Should he have slowed down to let the car behind overtake a little easier? Does the child bear some responsibility? Where were his parents? Why was he crossing a busy freeway?

Despite what you might think, this isn’t a “who did what” thriller. The camera’s attention isn’t focused on any of the abovementioned characters. Child’s Pose is told from the perspective of Cornelia (Gheorghiu) – the well-to-do mother of the car’s driver. She’s had a rocky relationship with her son for a number of years but is now trying to help him out in this time of need.

Cornelia is a tough character to get your head around… and that’s part of this film’s appeal. There’s a scene where her shaken son admits that he was driving 140km/hr, well above the speed limit, but she convinces him write down a significantly lower figure on his police statement. It’s her protective nature kicking in. She’s not concerned about guilt or innocence. She just wants to make sure, rightly or wrongly, her son stays out of jail.

That may sound rather sinister but how would you react in the same situation? What would you do if one of your children ran afoul of the law? How far would you go to support them? Cornelia implores with her son that pay his respects and attend the funeral of the deceased boy. Is her softer, compassionate side showing through? Or does she simply believe that showing empathy and attending the funeral will help her son’s chances if charges are laid?

Shot in Romania, Child’s Pose picked up the Golden Bear for the best feature in competition at the 2013 Berlin Film Festival. Luminita Gheorghiu (who I’d never heard of before) delivers a superb performance that earned her a nod for best actress at the 2013 European Film Awards – losing to Veerle Baetens in The Broken Circle Breakdown (which coincidentally is also released in Australia this week).

Exploring morality and forgiveness, mixed with a curious family dynamic, Child’s Pose is an involving piece of cinema.