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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 01 January 2014

Set 70 million years ago, Walking With Dinosaurs is a live-action family film that centres on a young dinosaur named Patchi who is trying to find his place in the world. He will encounter many other dinosaurs in his travels, some who will be his friends and others who are looking to eat him.

It’s clear this film is targeted at a younger audience. It’s not designed to appeal to the masses like a Jurassic Park. The story is kept simple (it runs for just 87 minutes) and there are even some small educational elements. The film pauses every so often to give us a few titbits of information on the scary dinosaurs that we see on screen. This includes their name, their origin and their diet.

Some of the character transformations are rushed (such as that of Patchi’s older brother) and I don't quite think there’s enough here to keep youngsters entertained. The dinosaurs are cool though.  Directors Barry Cook (Mulan) and Neil Nightingale had an $80m budget to work with and so they do look very realistic. An Australian-based company, Animal Logic, was behind the bulk of the special effects. They are well established within the industry having worked on such films as The Matrix trilogy and Happy Feet.

It’s not a huge cast but two voices you will probably recognise are Justin Long (Dodgeball) and John Leguizamo (the voice of Sid in the Ice Age series). You can see that they’re trying to make their respective character as fun and exciting as possible. Not all of the dinosaurs talk though. Most of them get their message across through a fierce roar.

I don’t think the expectations are too high for Walking With Dinosaurs (20^th Century Fox didn’t even preview it to critics in Brisbane) but if you’ve seen Frozen and you’re looking for a way to occupy your young kids for a few hours over the school holidays, this could be a viable option.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 23 December 2013

During the September school holidays, a journalist asked me what I look for in a good animated feature. Two thoughts immediately came to mind. Firstly, the film has to appeal to both kids and adults. It’s been done before (see Shrek) and it can significantly broaden the audience and yes, the box-office. Secondly, the film needs to be original. People want fresh storylines, fresh ideas and fresh concepts. You need to give them something to remember.

It’s this second quality that has been lacking from most animated features over the past few years. Back in the early 1990s, when I was growing up, Disney dominated the market place. It wasn’t a monopoly… but it wasn’t far off it. They’d release one BIG film each summer and no one dared to compete. The fact that animation was a once-a-year event helped keep audiences engaged, invigorated.

Fast forward to the year 2013 and we’re now seeing more than a dozen animated features released here in Australia. The likes of Pixar, Dreamworks, Sony, Paramount, 20^th Century Fox and Studio Ghibli have all crept into Disney’s space. Instead of dazzling us with originality, most of this year’s efforts have stuck to safe, formula-driven, moral-heavy storylines. They’re about “being yourself” and “following your dreams” and “never giving up”. That’s fine… and I realise the animation is always top-notch… but when you get the same stuff again and again, it gets tiring.

Frozen succeeds because of its great story and its catchy musical numbers. Sure, there are messages and morals that you can take away from cinema (such as “fear will be your enemy”) but they’re not the focus. Loosely based on the 19^th Century Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale The Snow Queen, the film follows a young princess named Elsa (Menzel) who has the power to create ice and snow. Unfortunately, she doesn’t know how to control her powers and so she has locked herself away from the world and has kept her distance from her energetic sister, Anna (Bell).

She can’t hide forever though. The kingdom needs a queen and Elsa must take the throne following the death of her parents. Things go smoothly at the coronation... until Elsa loses her composure and her secret powers are revealed. She flees into the mountains and the kingdom is brought a standstill, now covered in snow. With a small group of new friends, including a talking snowman (voiced by Josh Gad), Anna goes in search of her older sister to remedy the situation. There will be complications.

In his efforts to find actors who were willing to improvise and push the boundaries of each character, producer Peter Del Vecho discovered that those from the theatrical world were the best fit. Just as importantly, they could also sing. Stars Kristen Bell, Idina Melzel, Jonathan Groff and Josh Gad all found stardom on Broadway and they use their own voices to bring the film’s many musical numbers to life. It’s been a while since we’ve seen this many songs in a Disney film. I’m still struggling to get the beautiful “Let It Go” out of my head.

It’s ironic that since the animated feature category was introduced at the Academy Awards in 2001, a Walt Disney Animation Studios production is yet to take home the coveted statuette. That might be about to change thanks to Frozen.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 30 December 2013

Released in August 1964, Mary Poppins was one of the most loved, most successful family films of all time. It spent 6 weeks atop the box-office charts in the United States and grossed a total of $31m (that’s about $233m in today’s dollars). It received 13 Academy Award nominations (just one short of the all-time record) of which it won 5 including best actress for Julie Andrews.

Given the movie’s popularity you’d think that the creator of Mary Poppins, Ms Pamela Travers, would be thrilled. Her novels had been brought to life on the big screen and now could be enjoyed by a much wider audience across the globe. The film would rejuvenate interest in her work and would provide a substantial, long-term royalty stream. It was all good, right?

Nope. Roughly a decade ago, Australian television producer Ian Collie came across a biography written by Valerie Lawson on the life of Pamela Travers (who had passed away in 1996). It revealed that Travers had continual conflicts with Walt Disney and the Sherman brothers (who wrote the film’s catchy songs). She didn’t like the finished product and she never allowed a sequel to be made. This fascinating behind-the-scenes tale, combined with the fact that Travers was born in Australia, inspired Collie to produce his first documentary, The Shadow Of Mary Poppins, which aired on the ABC back in 2002.

Things didn’t end there. Writers Sue Smith and Kelly Marcel took the story and transformed it into a script for a feature film. It would explore Pamela Travers’ childhood, her prickly personality, her heated arguments with Disney, and the reasons why she was so reluctant to give up the rights to Mary Poppins. The project was green lit by Walt Disney Studios and that brings us to where we are today. Saving Mr Banks is the finished product – a Hollywood movie with two Oscar winning actors in the leading roles, Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Emma Thompson as Pamela Travers.

The film was bound to attract controversy and several negative articles have already been written. They have concerns as to whether the film provides a balanced, impartial view of events given it was funded and produced by Walt Disney Studios. They also argue that it’s too pro-Disney, anti-Travers. I’m not as fussed. The only way this film was going to be made was through Walt Disney Studios as they own the intellectual property. Further, while I think the film’s finale at the Mary Poppins premiere is a little misleading, there’s enough content to help audiences form an objective opinion on its characters.

Saving Mr Banks is an enjoyable, likeable film. I was particularly interested in the conflict and chaos that went on behind closed doors. You may find some parts hard to believe (such as a scene where Pamela Travers refuses to let them use the colour red in the movie) but if you stay during the closing credits, you’ll hear the actual audio of the real Travers during production meetings. She was as strong-willed as the movie suggests.

The film has a few nice emotional moments too. Travers’ upbringing in Australia is told by way of flashback and it blends nicely with the 1960s storyline. There are also some great exchanges, both comedic and heartfelt, shared between Travers and her friendly chauffeur in Los Angeles (played by the terrific Paul Giamatti).

A year ago, we saw the release of Hitchcock – a film that took us inside the life of the popular director and his work on the acclaimed thriller Psycho. I don’t know if this is the start of a new “movies based on moves” trend but what I can say is that Saving Mr Banks is worth the price of admission. At the very least, it’ll make you want to revisit the fun that was Mary Poppins.

You can read my chat with producer Ian Collie by clicking here.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 21 December 2013

Most won’t be familiar with the name in Australia but Martin Sixsmith was a British journalist who worked for the BBC in the 1980s and then later took on senior roles within the Tony Blair government and the UK public service. He resigned in 2002 after a widely publicised disagreement with a government “spin doctor” and took on a new career as an author and documentarian.

In early 2004, Martin was approached at a party by a woman who sought help unravelling a mystery. Her mother, Philomena Lee, had recently revealed a long held secret. In the summer of 1951, Philomena had been swept off her feet by a young man at a county fair. They had a “good time” and nine months later, she gave birth to a son.

It was a situation that brought much shame to Philomena’s conservative parents. They didn’t want anyone to know their 18-year-old daughter had a child outside of wedlock and so she was immediately banished to a Catholic convent. The nuns were not of the forgiving kind. Philomena was used as slave labour in the laundry and when her son had reached the age of 3, she was forced to give him up for adoption.

For close to half a century, Philomena had wondered what had become of her son. She had tried to get information from the convent but records had strangely disappeared. It was clear they weren’t going to be helpful. He took some convincing but Martin offered his skills as an investigative journalist to assist Philomena. What followed as a fascinating series of discoveries that culminated with Martin publishing a book in 2009 entitled “The Lost Child of Philomena Lee”.

Brought to the screen by Academy Award nominated director Stephen Frears (The Queen, High Fidelity), Philomena is one of this year’s best releases. It’s an emotional tale that exposes a dark chapter within the Catholic Church. Controversy was always going to follow. New York Post critic Kyle Smith described it as “90 minutes of organised hate”.

To describe the movie as such is very narrow minded… at least in my opinion. Yes, it’s highlighting some bad things within the Catholic Church but it goes far beyond that and delves into the idea of forgiveness. At what point does an act become unforgiveable? Martin and Philomena have differing points of view with each trying to convince the other during several key scenes.

Not only is the film an interesting real-life drama, it also works as a buddy comedy thanks to the versatile performances of both Steve Coogan and Judi Dench. There’s fun to be had exploring the generational gap and listening to their varied thoughts on the world. There’s tension, there’s frustration, but there are also moments of connection. Coogan co-wrote the script with friend Jeff Pope and it was nice to see them take the best screenplay prize at the Venice Film Festival back in September.

Taking second place in the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival (behind the much acclaimed 12 Years A Slave), Philomena offers laughs, tears and a few surprises. It’s a crowd pleaser… and a good one at that.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 27 December 2013

“Atticus says you can choose your friends but you sho' can't choose your family, an' they're still kin to you no matter whether you acknowledge 'em or not, and it makes you look right silly when you don't.” These were the words of youngster Jeremy Atticus Finch in Harper Lee’s iconic novel To Kill A Mockingbird. It’s also a quote that best sums up the theme of August: Osage County.

Following the death of their father (Shepard), three sisters have returned to their childhood home in Oklahoma for the funeral. It doesn’t take long for the arguments to begin. The person picking most of the fights is their mother, Violet (Streep). I can best describe her as a chain-smoking, pill-addicted, attention-seeking matriarch who loves to complain.

Violet has mastered the art of “pushing someone’s button”. She takes great pleasure from it. When she gets a moment alone with her middle daughter, Ivy (Nicholson), she criticises her hair, her lack of makeup and then says “you look like a lesbian”. When invited to the Florida wedding of her youngest child, Karen (Lewis), her response is short and sweet – “well I don’t really see that happening, do you?”

Based on the Tony Award winning play by Tracy Letts, this film adaptation is to be celebrated for its great performances. You’re unlikely to forget Streep’s vindictive persona and sharp insults any time soon. There’s room for a little sympathy towards her character… but not a lot. Chris Cooper is also terrific as Violet’s brother-in-law. He’s a quiet, unassuming man but he’ll put his foot forward when the time is right. Other cast members I don’t want to overlook are Julia Roberts (who has been picking up some award season attention) and the underrated Margo Martindale (Million Dollar Baby, Dead Man Walking).

The film doesn’t offer a lot in terms of narrative. It’s set over a few hot days in August (hence the title) and is best described as an observational character study with a lot of dialogue. Some of the conversations are immensely entertaining (such as the family meal around the dinner table) but others are a touch tiring, repetitive. They’re not as real or absorbing as what you might see in a Mike Leigh film (the master of observational drama).

I recently saw a television ad for August: Osage County (see here) which had some light, fluffy music and then asked us “to celebrate the holidays” in “the year’s most outrageous comedy”. That’s false advertising. This is a miserable fucking movie… and that’s meant to be a compliment. It’s not Snowtown-dark but it’s still a bleak look at a troubled family who can’t escape each other. Julia Roberts, playing the eldest daughter, sums up their lives best – “Thank God we can’t tell the future. We’d never get out of bed.”