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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 04 January 2026

I visited New York City in July 2022 and had the chance catch three shows on Broadway – A Strange Loop, which has just won the Tony Award for best musical, The Music Man, a revival to showcase the talents of Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, and MJ the Musical, a work celebrating Michael Jackson with a stellar lead turn from Myles Frost.  There was one show I wanted to see but ran out of time.  Created in the UK in 2017, Six finally made it official debut in New York four years later and, thanks to its healthy box-office, it’s still showing there today.

A movie version will never be as good as a live stage show but I’m glad to have finally engaged with the material through this film.  It’s not an adaptation but rather, director Liz Clare, has used an array of cameras to film a performance of the musical which took place at the Vaudeville Theatre in London in June 2022.  You couldn’t ask for a more experienced cast.  The women who dazzled audiences with the show’s debut on West End are the same women you’ll see on screen.

Clocking in at a relatively short 90 minutes, Six: The Musical Live! concerns itself with the wives of King Henry VIII who were married to him for various periods between his coronation in 1509 through to his death in 1547.  The opening song introduces us to the six women, and we get a brief glimpse of their personality and their fate.  For example, two were brutally beheaded.  From there, each gets their moment in the spotlight with a unique song delving into their time with the King of England.

It’s hard to separate the show from the movie in creating this review.  As a newbie to the material, I found it to be a simple, entertaining romp with a charismatic cast.  I’d probably say the same thing if watching it live in West End or on Broadway.  It’s not emotional and I don’t think the songs are hugely memorable (maybe I need to see it again) but it’s a cool way of providing a history lesson while also reflecting on Henry VIII’s legacy.  It’s like Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton except with a lighter tone and a less complex premise.

Giving my energy levels a much-needed jolt, Six: The Musical Live! was good fun!

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 29 December 2025

There’s a line in The History of Sound, currently in cinemas, where a character offers two choices on how to deal with life’s troubles - “you could get sad, or you could sing about it.”  That same theme is at the heart of The Choral, the latest collaboration between director Nicholas Hytner and writer Alan Bennett (The Madness of King George, The History Boys).  They share an identical setting too with both trying to find a glimmer of happiness against the backdrop of World War I.

Set in a fictitious England town, Oscar nominee Ralph Fiennes (Conclave) plays Dr Henry Guthrie, an experienced conductor recruited to lead the local church choir.  In the eyes of many within the conservative community, he arrives with metaphorical “baggage” as he recently spent time working in war-torn Germany, he doesn’t believe in God, and he’s a homosexual.  Wondering how he got the job? He was the only man with sufficient skills who hadn’t been conscripted into the army.

Fiennes adds star power and has the most screen time, but The Choral is best described as an ensemble piece where the supporting characters are equally important.  I speak of the townsfolk, both young and old, who are using the choir to fulfil their own needs.  Some see it as a place to find comfort among friends, some have stumbled into a romantic connection, while others use music as a form of catharsis to forget the horrors of war.  It’s a considered approach by Bennett but in juggling so many subplots, they don’t all get the attention to resonate with full emotion.

The Choral is “fine” but I’m not sure I can use a more superlative adjective.  It’s well-intentioned but trying too hard.  As an example, Bennett adds repetitive humour by having Guthrie annoy his superiors with German references, but the set-up and the subsequent response feel too scripted.  I had a similar reaction to meatier storylines, such as a young woman anxious awaiting her missing husband to return from battle.  It’s formulaic and the dialogue lacks spontaneity.

The film’s highlight is a final-act sequence involving Tony Award winning actor Simon Russell Beale as the charismatic English composer Edward Elgar (I won’t spoil by revealing more).  It allows The Choral to escape it’s predictable, war-centred path and surprise audiences with unexpected drama and well-earned laughs.  A shame the opening half wasn’t as engaging.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 04 January 2026

I read an interview with director Richard Linklater (Boyhood) where he said every filmmaker who’s been working the industry for a long time should consider making a movie about making a movie.  It’s because “every film is its own dramatic production.”  In this case, Linklater has avoided his own works and instead, recreated a behind-the-scenes dramatization of Breathless, a 1960 French film which marked the directorial debut of 29-year-old Jean-Luc Godard.  Art is subjective but many consider Breathless, which won best director at the Berlin Film Festival, as one of the most important films ever made.

When asked what I look for in a great movie, I often speak of originality.  That same view was held by many young people in France in the late 1950s and hence, the French New Wave era was born.  The likes of Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut and Jacques Rivette, in addition to many others, would make movies with tiny budgets, improvised dialogue, quirky narratives, long tracking shots, fragmented editing, natural light, impromptu locations, and handheld cameras.  They weren’t loved by everyone, but these films found an audience – they were wildly different and appealed to those looking for something fresh, bold and rebellious.

Nouvelle Vague is not intended to be an intricate, fact-heavy exploration of French New Wave cinema.  There’s plenty of online material, including documentaries, if that’s what you seek.  Like the style itself, Linklater’s film is more of a loose, observational piece that captures the “vibe” of the time.  Aside from Jean-Luc Goddard himself, played by a sunglass-wearing Guillaume Marbeck in his feature film acting debut, characters drift in and out of the story.  Shooting it in black and white further adds to its charm.

There’s laughs to be had as Godard, much to the annoyance of his producer, purposely zigzags his way through the 20 days of production.  Reminiscent of Ed Wood, it’s as if he has no care for quality and continuity.  He’s re-writing the script over a morning cigarette, he’s calling in sick unnecessarily, and he has little regard for crafts such as make-up and cinematography.  You’ll be wondering how the film became a critical and financial success and it’ll inspire many newcomers to watch Breathless for the first time.

With the dialogue largely in French, another first for Linklater, Nouvelle Vague won’t wow you with emotion but as a relaxed, fun, playful outing, it delivers in spades.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 24 December 2025

I’ve said it before – if you’re a studio looking to do a reboot/remake, you’re better to go with a bad film.  It gives you a much better chance of improving on the original!  That’s the approach adopted by writer-director Tom Gormican because the 1997 Anaconda was a garbage.  I gave it a C-grading, its current public IMDB score is a paltry 4.9 out of 10, and it was nominated for 6 Razzie Awards including worst picture (losing to The Postman).  It won’t rank too highly on the resume of stars Jennifer Lopez, Ice Cube and Jon Voight.

This 2025 edition makes the right decision in being a self-aware, spoof-like comedy.  It stars four lifelong friends who loved watching Anaconda as teenagers growing up and now, with one of them securing the film rights, they set out to make their own modern-day reboot.  Doug (Black) will write the script and director, with Griff (Rudd), Kenny (Zahn), and Claire (Newton) taking on the acting roles.  With minimal experience and next-to-no budget, they head to the Amazon, meet a snake handler, and start work on their “indie style” project.

Anaconda is far funnier than I expected.  It brings back memories Ed Wood, Tropic Thunder, and The Disaster Artist in that we’re watching a good movie about people making a terrible movie.  I enjoyed the comedic chemistry between the quartet with each have a distinctly different vibe – from Paul Rudd (Ant-Man) with his ego-driven persona, through to Steve Zahn (That Thing You Do) as a spaced-out alcoholic.  Brazilian actor Selton Mello (I’m Still Here) adds to the entertainment with scene-stealing portrayal of the quirky snake guy.

An additional promotion point is that the shoot took place here in Queensland with support from the State and Federal Government.  Visual effects play a part, but I was sufficiently convinced we were in the Amazon despite the locations being in our own backyard – Springbrook National Park and Purling Brook Falls on the Gold Coast being among them.  Further, the final stages of production were interrupted when Cyclone Alfred swept through in early March 2025.

It’s back-to-back outings for writer-director Tom Gormican where he blends reality and fiction in pursuit of laughs.  The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent saw Nicolas Cage play a warped version of himself caught up in criminal arms dealing.  It was a good idea but wasn’t well executed (repetitive, convoluted).  Gormican does a much better job with Anaconda and yeah, while it does features goofily large snakes, the jokes land and the characters arcs have more heft.

If looking for amusement over the Christmas holidays, Anaconda could be your answer.  A rare example where the remake significantly surpasses the original.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 29 December 2025

Seriously Red was one of my favourite Australian movies of 2022 in that it focused on the interesting lives of music impersonators.  The characters were fictitious, but the industry is real.  It’s arguably more eye-opening than a biopic about a famous musician, such as the recent Bruce Springsteen film, because these folk aren’t known celebrities.  We’re following people who could never generate fame and fortune from their own work and so they mimic the talents of others.  It allows them to scratch their own burning artistic itch while, hopefully, putting a smile on audiences’ faces.

Song Sung Blue explores the same world but with a more commercial scope.  It’s got star power with Oscar nominees Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables) and Kate Hudson (Almost Famous), it has a $30 million budget, and it’s set in the United States.  Most importantly, it’s based on a true story, and this adds a layer of credibility.  It’s also a relief because there are parts I would have otherwise dismissed as cheesy nonsense – such as a scene involving Eddie Vedder!  A few details have been changed to make the narrative fit a 2-hour running time but the more I read about the real-life individuals, the more I realise their essence has been nicely captured by writer-director Craig Brewer (Hustle and Flow).

It was in 1987 that Mike Sardina (Jackman) and Claire Stingl (Hudson) met for the first time.  They both loved performing on stage but realised they were never going to succeed with their own songs.  Hence, they created a tribute band called “Lightning and Thunder” with Mike imitating/interpreting the iconic Neil Diamond and Claire channelling the late country-pop singer Patsy Cline.  They didn’t set world on fire, nor did it bring them significant wealth, but it made them happy.  They developed a small, passionate fan base in Wisconsin and across their two decades together, there were some fun highs… and a few dark lows.

I’ve said it countless times, but I like seeing good things happen to good people.  The script deserves credit but the cast, from the leads through to the supporting players, do a stellar job in portraying them as “good people”.  Yes, there’s drama and tragedy, but the film wisely avoids including a formulaic villain (such as a dodgy manager or enabling drug dealer).  They’re likeable characters and you want them to succeed.

The Pearl Jam concert was the film’s highlight for me – a beautiful, stirring moment where Mike and Claire reach the top of the mountain after much adversity.  The camera lens zooms in on friends and family members in the audience, and their joyous reactions adds to the emotional impact.  I also enjoyed the injection of humour as evidenced by Mike’s desire to open his shows with the lesser-known song “Soolaiman” as opposed to the over-played “Sweet Caroline.”

Likely to generate fresh interest in the music of Neil Diamond, Song Sung Blue is story I’m glad has been brought to the big screen.