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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 25 September 2013

Having made some great dramas in the past including The Bank and Balibo, Australian director Robert Connolly was looking for something very different for his next project. He found it in the pages of Tim Winton’s award winning novel from 2005, The Turning. The end result? You’re unlikely to find a more original film-going experience this year.

For starters, this isn’t one film. It’s a collection of 17 short stories told one after the other. Each has a different director with Connolly getting a mix of friends and colleagues to contribute. They include established directors such as Warwick Thornton (Samson & Delilah) and Tony Ayres (The Slap) as well as actors-turned-directors such as Mia Wasikowska (Alice In Wonderland) and David Wenham (Gettin’ Square).

The film’s budget was split equally amongst the 17 directors and each was asked to adapt one of the short stories from Winton’s novel. When you put them all together, it’s a lot to get your head around. Each chapter has a different tone, a different style, a different cast. Connolly describes the film as liking setting foot in an art museum – some pieces will jump out and grab you while other pieces won’t interest you at all. If you’re seeing it with friends, there should be plenty to discuss afterwards, whether you like the movie or not.

Another point of differentiation is the film’s length – it clocks in at a whopping 180 minutes. Don’t worry though. You won’t be sitting on your ass the entire time. Connolly has obtained approval from cinemas to have a 20 minute interval at the half way mark. You’ll be able to get up, stretch the legs, go to the bathroom and replenish your drink at the bar. It’s a nice touch. The last time I remember an interval in a movie was Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet, released back in 1996.

Those who see the film during its first two weeks will also be provided with a complementary program. It’s another homage to the world of theatre and in addition to being a nice keepsake, it provides some food for thought after you’ve left the cinema. You can read up about each director and pick up on some of the details that you might have missed during the first viewing.

I’ve often believed that the less you know going into a film, the better. You simply jump on the director’s shoulders and see where he or she takes you. That said, I think a little background information is required for The Turning (at least in my opinion). For example, it took me a while to realise that some of the characters in these stories are the same – despite being played by different actors. There are clues to help you along the way but they’re not easy to pick up, especially if you’re not looking for them.

This is a tricky film to review in the sense that I feel like I should be grading each of the 17 short stories. Some come with a strong emotional climax and my favourites included Big World (about two guys travelling in a Kombi across Australia), Aquifer (about a man who hears a news story that brings back memories of his childhood) and Commission (about a son who tracks down his estranged father living a solitary existence in the remote outback).

On the flip side, there were some stories that left me bored, unresponsive. They either didn’t ring true (such as the story of a disillusioned AFL footballer who quits the sport in the middle of a big match) or didn’t seem to have much of a point (such as a story involving Cate Blanchett and Richard Roxborough who turn up at the wrong house for a Christmas party).

Despite my admiration for several of the short stories, I didn’t take away a great deal from the film as a whole. There’s a recurring theme about the past and how it’s difficult to escape but given that the stories are so difficult to link (because of the different cast/style), it doesn’t come through strongly.

I don’t want to sound too negative though. While The Turning didn’t fully satisfy my cinematic appetite, at least it’s bold enough to be different. I’m glad to have seen it.

You can read my interview with creator Robert Connolly by clicking here.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 16 September 2013

There were roughly 60 people at the preview screening I attended a few weeks ago for One Direction: This Is Us. Of those, 4 were male. One was a father with his two kids. Another was a teenager accompanying his girlfriend. That just left myself and a friend – who I invited along so we could catch up… but also because I felt too insecure to see this film on my own.

You’d be hard pressed to find another release in 2013 with such a narrow niche audience. If you’re a fan of One Direction (of which a significant percentage are teenage girls), then you’re likely to love this. It’ll be the best film you’ll see all year! You’ll be screaming when they take off their shirts and you’ll be swooning when they do something cheeky.

But what if you’re not a One Direction fan? Is it still worth seeing? The answer is a clear no. We’ve been treated so some great music documentaries over the years that take us inside the industry and show us the many ups and downs. Examples include Searching For Sugar Man, Metallica: Some Kind Of Monster and Dig! The power of these documentaries is that they take an obscure subject matter and extract a narrative that can engross a wide audience (and not just fans of the artists).

That’s not the case here. One Direction: This Is Us feels like a 90 minute advertisement that has been created to further promote the One Direction brand. Liam, Harry, Louis, Niall and Zayn travel across the world as part of their Take Me Home Tour and take turns talking about their love for their fans, their family and the other members of the band. This is interwoven with a bunch of songs and footage of teenage girls screaming and/or crying. That’s all there is to it.

Given that the group has only been together since 2010, they don’t exactly have a huge catalogue of hits to choose from. We see them perform their most famous songs – including “One Thing” and “What Makes You Beautiful” – but they have to fall back on cover versions to make sure there’s enough music content in the film. Songs they’ve borrowed include Wheatus’s “Teenage Dirtbag” and Blondie’s “One Way Or Another”.

The film has been directed by Morgan Spurlock – the man who helped change the fast-food industry in 2005 with his Oscar-nominated Super Size Me. It’s hard to understand why Spurlock was attracted to a project like this (well, aside from the pay cheque). Was there a clause in his contract preventing him from including anything negative? The closest we get are the band members getting tired because of their “gruelling” tour schedule. They don’t complain though. They’re too nice, too mature to do that.

It ties back to a broader problem with society and our desire to look at things through rose-coloured glasses. Are we not allowed to display any sign of weakness, insecurity? Politicians now speak like robots – repeating the same slogans and buzzwords again and again. They know if they show any doubt in their party’s policies or leadership, they’ll be hung by the media. How dare they be honest and give us their personal opinion!!!

Sorry for my divergence. Let me try to tie this back to the film. While it’s sweet to hear from the boys’ parents and their fanatical supporters, I grew tired of all the compliments and back slapping. Did no one have an opposing point of view? I wish I could have heard from their minders and security personnel. Perhaps they could have offered a more insight into the boys’ personalities and the extent to which their lives are managed to help protect the valuable One Direction brand.

Meh, I should probably stop complaining. While I’ll confess that some of their songs are catchy, this film wasn’t created for “non-Directioners”. There’s footage of a passionate fan who says – “I know they love me even though they don’t know me.” That’s who this film is meant for.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 22 September 2013

It remains one of my favourite lines from a movie. In the opening scene of Alfonso Cuarón’s 1998 adaptation of Great Expectations, Ethan Hawke sets the stage by saying – “I'm not going to tell the story the way it happened. I'm going to tell it the way I remember it.” It’s a perfectly articulated reference to the fact that our memory of events changes over time, whether we realise it or not.

This is concept is explored further in Stories We Tell – a wonderful documentary from 34-year-old Canadian filmmaker Sarah Polley. For those unfamiliar with Polley, she started her career as an actor – appearing in movies such as Dawn Of The Dead, Go and The Sweet Hereafter. In 2006, she moved behind the camera and picked up an Academy Award nomination (adapted screenplay) for her feature debut, Away From Her. This was followed by the amazing comedy-drama Take This Waltz which made my top 10 list last year.

We often see filmmakers drawing on their own experiences but a film doesn’t get much more personal than this. Stories We Tell recounts Polley’s attempts to unravel a mystery within her own family. For many years, her brother and sisters joked that she looked nothing like her father. As she grew older, that joke transformed itself into a question. Could this be true? What if her dad was not her biological father? Did her mother have an affair with another man?

It wouldn’t be fair of me to reveal any more details about the plot. This is a film that builds intrigue and offers a few surprises. Just when you think you know where it’s heading and what it’s emphasising… the film unexpectedly changes direction. It’s so beautifully done. It’s like a subtler version of the infamous 2010 documentary Catfish which followed a guy trying to track down as a girl with whom he’d shared an online relationship through Facebook.

The story is told through a range of interviews intermingled with archival footage. Given that her mother died of cancer when she was just 11-years-old, Polley had to go in search of her mother’s old friends and work colleagues to find answers. She also speaks with her older siblings who turn their interrogation back on her. Why is she making the movie? Who is interested in hearing the secrets of a small, unknown family from Toronto?

The reason is that while the focus may seem narrow, Stories We Tell has a much broader message. To loop back to my earlier point, there’s a moment in the film when Polley notes that “the truth about the past is often ephemeral and difficult to pin down”. Through her interviews, Polley hears varying perspectives on her late mother and different versions of events. How does she know which to believe? Were the interviewees hiding something? Or had their recollection changed over time? I’m guessing these are questions that a police detective must ask themselves every day.

There aren’t enough female directors working in Hollywood and we’ve seen numerous articles on the subject that try to promote the work of the very best. I’m a big fan of Mira Nair (The Namesake) and Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty) but with three outstanding films now under her belt, Sarah Polley is now on top of my list.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 11 September 2013

Since mid-March, I’ve seen just over 100 films in Brisbane cinemas of which 15 have been sequels/reboots. You can add one more to that total with Riddick – the third instalment in this franchise following Pitch Black in 2000 and The Chronicles Of Riddick in 2004. Vin Diesel (Fast & Furious) is back in the leading role but aside from an insignificant cameo from Karl Urban, it’s a completely new cast.

I can’t remember much from the earlier films (well, it has been 9 years) and this film doesn’t provide much in the way of background. It’s opens with an injured Riddick (Diesel) stuck on an unknown planet and doing whatever he can to survive. Water is hard to find and he must fend off an array of nasty creatures including wild dogs and some kind of scorpion thingy. Both have long, sharp teeth.

Riddick eventually finds a deserted settlement and is able to activate an emergency beacon. Help won’t be forthcoming though. Two spaceships arrive filled with heavily armed men looking to kill Riddick. They’re bounty hunters and are hoping to cash in on a substantial reward – which will be doubled if Riddick is brought back dead as opposed to alive.

That sets the stage for the remainder of the film – a cat and mouse game where Riddick tries to evade and outsmart the bounty hunters. He may not be much of a conversationalist but Riddick has the strength, the intelligence, and the knowledge of the local area to be a formidable opponent. His goal is to steal one of the spaceships and escape this desolate planet.

I’m a little surprised to see this franchise being reinvigorated. The 2004 sequel had a budget of more than $100m and struggled to recoup that at the international box-office. Writer-director David Twohy has gone with something smaller this time. Riddick was produced for just $38m and it comes with a smaller cast and shorter action sequences.

Put simply, it’s not a great film but it’s still watchable. I like the setting and the freaky alien creatures that Riddick encounters. You know he’s going to survive… but it’s not always obvious as to how he’s going to do so. It’s also fun watching him get the better of the bounty hunters. The film doesn’t shy away from violence and as an example, there’s a graphic scene that involves someone’s head being sliced open like a tomato (which got quite a laugh at my preview screening).

That’s about all there is to it. Vin Diesel doesn’t say a lot – and that’s a good thing. He speaks in a dull, monotone voice and it’s often hard to work out if he’s just mumbling or actually saying something! Fans of Diesel won’t have a problem but others might be wondering how he’s developed a reputation as an action hero (particularly given his similar personality traits in the Fast & Furious franchise).

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 18 September 2013

As part of my non-film related life, I sit on the Board of Golf Queensland and am manager of the Queensland men’s amateur team that competes once a year against the other states. Most of them would have dreams of going on and becoming a successful professional golfer. They’d hope to play for millions every week in the United States and follow in the footsteps of other successful Queenslanders such as Greg Norman, Adam Scott and Jason Day.

Will they all make it? Hell no! The world of professional sport can be incredibly difficult to break into. While 10 Australians have made more than $500,000 this year on the U.S. PGA Tour, there are hundreds of other professionals struggling here in Australia. They travel from town-to-town and compete against each other in pro-ams where the prize pool doesn’t often exceed $15,000. A 10^th place finish (still pretty good) might only get you $250. It’s a tough way to make a living.

So what do I say to the members of the Queensland golf team? Should I be a realist? Tell them that the odds of making it are ridiculously slim and that it’s time to start thinking about a back-up plan or another career? Or do I need to play the role of a dreamer? What if they are one of the lucky ones? How will they succeed if I’m not offering encouragement and support?

Movies on this subject usually favour the same point of view. In fact, there are two films out this week that have the same theme. In Planes, we follow a small crop duster who wants to compete against the much bigger planes and win a lucrative around the world race. He’s a massive underdog but he goes on to win the race and prove the naysayers wrong.

Turbo centres on a young snail (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) who is fascinated by motor racing and in particular, the Indianapolis 500. But it’s not like a snail can enter the race, right? Wrong. After being exposed to nitrous oxide in an accident, Turbo suddenly develops ridiculous speed. He is found by a simple taco truck driver (Pena) who, with the help of some other snails, finds a way of getting Turbo into the race where he’ll become a media sensation!

Another common attribute of such films is the way that they make you want to cheer for the underdog. To do so, they portray the favourite / current champion as an arrogant schmuck (despite this seldom reflecting reality). Here, Turbo finds himself up against the top driver in the sport – the villainous Guy Gagné (Hader) who will use every dirty tactic in the book to make sure he retains the Indianapolis 500 title.

The film is taking a safe, familiar approach with its “no dream is too big” message. I’d like to see family-oriented flicks take a few more chances but for what it is, Turbo makes for decent viewing. The story is easy to follow, the characters are cute and the voices have been well chosen. There’s also room for a few jokes when exploring the ever-so-slow life of a common garden snail.

Given that it eclipses both Planes and The Smurfs 2, Turbo is my pick of the animated features over the September school holidays.