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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 12 November 2025

Movies set in a dystopian universe with high wealth inequality where poor folk risk their lives in a reality television program as entertainment for the masses.  It sounds extremely niche but it’s a growing genre.  We saw it earlier this year with The Long Walk (it’ll make my annual top 10 list) and other entries include The Hunger Games franchise, Series 7: The Contenders, and Battle Royale.  The Running Man can be included too – not just this entry but also the 1987 film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.  A 1982 novel authored by Stephen King provides the source material.

Directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World), this remake has been adapted to integrate 21^st Century technology.  Desperate for money to help his sick child, Ben Richards (Powell) has reluctantly entered “The Running Man”, a popular TV show where contestants start at the TV studio, get a 12-hour head start, and are then hunted by trained assassins.  If they can evade capture for 30 days, they’ll win a life-changing one billion “new” dollars.  There’s a slight catch though.  In the program’s history, not a single player has survived to win the cash.

Richards hopes he’ll be the man and Wright’s film starts promisingly.  We’re introduced to Dan Killian (Brolin), the show’s producer who cares about television ratings above all else.  There’s also the charismatic host, Bobby T (Domingo), who energises the audience and provides nightly updates about the whereabouts of the contestants and killers.  An early sequence where Richards evades capture in a rundown apartment building, wearing just a towel, is a highlight.  The odds are stacked against him but he's a fit, shrewd, intelligent individual.

Sadly, The Running Man peters out with an increasingly unrealistic narrative.  As the villainous producer, Josh Brolin (Milk) is a lacklustre, one-note character who exudes confidence but never feels threatening.  He’s smart enough to manipulate footage using visual effects to galvanize the public against Richards… and yet he’s foolish enough to let Richards live so attacks can be shown “live”.  Why not just pre-record and say it’s live?  The finale itself is a chaotic mess.  Subplots are resolved too quickly, and the sudden shift in crowd sentiment feels phoney.

The tone is also muddled.  This should be an intense thriller but, as illustrated by a scene headlined by Michael Cera (Superbad), it’s too light in places.  Do we really need Home Alone-style escapades and a kooky grandmother?  Further, the silly way Richards miraculously dodges a barrage of bullets conjures up, unnecessarily, memories of action tropes and cliches.

Wright adds energy with colour, spectacle and fast-paced editing and while it helps stave off the boredom, it’s not enough to overcome the script’s limitations.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 30 October 2025

Australian band Real Life shot to fame in 1983 when their debut single, “Send Me an Angel”, reached the top 10 on the Australian charts.  Now, 42 years later, it’s been used as the appropriate climax to the new movie Good Fortune.  Keanu Reeves (The Matrix) plays a dopey angel named Gabriel who comes down from heaven to help people in need.  Well… actually… his responsibilities are very narrow.  Unlike some of his fellow angels, Gabriel’s job is to prevent car accidents by tapping people on the shoulder when they’re texting and driving.

He wants to do more though.  Against the wishes of his superior (Oh), he intervenes in the life of a documentary film editor, Arj (Ansari), who is close to rock bottom.  Arj has no money and no home.  He sleeps in his rundown car and earns a meagre living as a gig economy worker.  He gets paid to deliver food, complete odd jobs, and stand in line for hours at popular cafes.  After a lengthy opening act (about 30 minutes), Gabriel finally intervenes and lets him switch lives for a few days with Jeff (Rogen), a multi-millionaire venture capitalist with a stunning mansion overlooking Los Angeles.  The goal is for Arj to see that while life can be challenging, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

It backfires in a massive way.  It turns out that wealth does make you happier and Arj discovers a loophole that allows him to stay permanently in Jeff’s “world”.  This is bad news to Jeff who is stuck in the opposite scenario.  He’s gone from super wealthy… to dirt poor, and from having a beautiful home... to living on the street.  It’s an adjustment he’s struggling with (obviously).  As for Gabriel, he’s been punished for the mayhem by losing his wings and angel status.  The only way to set things right is for them to team up and convince Arj to willingly relinquish his improved existence.

Written and directed by comedian Aziz Ansari, Good Fortune has its moments.  Keanu Reeves is the cast’s MVP and it’s fun to watch him experience human things for the first time.  It’s like Brad Pitt in Meet Joe Black but with more humour and silliness.  When Reeves is on screen, the film is at its best.  I was less enamoured by the screenplay.  Ansari goes for a crowd-pleasing finale that creates a win for everyone but what he’s crafted is forced and not genuine.  I didn’t believe the close out of these character arcs.  Further, he has something valid to say about insecure work in the 21^st century but goes about it in a very blunt, simplistic manner.

I’ve seen worse and I’ve seen better.  Good Fortune may not work as a profound, message-driven piece but if looking for easy laughs, you’ll have a good time.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 05 November 2025

An action movie doesn’t have to be wildly original.  Provided you get the technical elements right, you’re on a winner.  That’s my best attempt to explain my appreciation for Predator: Badlands.  You’d think the 9^th instalment in a 38-year franchise might be running on “low fuel”, but American director Dan Trachtenberg has crafted a tale with an interesting world and interesting heroes.

I’ll concede the story is rudimentary.  Dek (Schuster-Koloamatangi) is a fearsome alien predator who can kill almost anything… but that doesn’t exempt him from family drama.  His powerful dad thinks he’s the weakest member of the clan and demands that he be killed.  Dek escapes in the nick of time and, via spacecraft, flees to one of the most dangerous planets in the universe.  He intends to prove his worth by slaying an “unkillable” creature known as the Kalisk but before doing so, he’s forced into an alliance with Thia (Fanning), a damaged robot sent from Earth.

As strange as it sounds, I cared about these two characters!  I realise one is an alien, one is an android, and dialogue is minimal… but that doesn’t mean you can’t cheer for them.  It taps into our tendency to root for underdogs and those down on their luck.  It’s satisfying to see them get the upper hand over their adversaries even if the film succumbs, at times, to action cliches.  Elle Fanning (The Great) brings well-timed humour to the role of Thia.  He’s unrecognisable but I also admired what New Zealand actor Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi brings to Dek – a balance of strength and vulnerability.

It’s the crew who do the heaviest lifting in taking the script and realising it on screen.  I can’t imagine how many different sound effects were required – from the weird noises generated by the planet’s varied inhabitants, through to the swishes of attacking plants and sharp-edged grass.  It’s easy to overlook the work of sound designers and editors but movies like Predator: Badlands place their work front and centre.  The same can be said of the make-up and prosthetics teams (Dek is great) and the visual effects folk in creating a planet where deadly trouble lies around every corner.

The predicable finale can’t quite deliver a memorable, knockout punch but if you’re a fan of the genre or the franchise, Predator: Badlands is above-average entertainment.   

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 27 October 2025

I tried to explain the films of 52-year-old Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos (The Lobster, The Favourite, Poor Things) to colleagues at work… with limited success.  They’re warped, messed up, and can’t be summarised easily.  You need to watch yourself and then see if his dystopian worlds and dark humour gel with your own sensibilities.  I’m an admirer of his work, primarily for the memorability and wacky entertainment value, but his movies can drag.  Subplots are dragged out longer than necessary and humour is repeated.

The same could be said of Bugonia, his latest feature which recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival.  Marking the 4^th time she’s worked with Lanthimos, the film stars Oscar-winner Emma Stone (Poor Things) as Michelle Fuller, a fast-paced, hard-working CEO for a large pharmaceutical company.  She is kidnapped by two men, played by Jesse Plemons (The Power of the Dog) and newcomer Aidan Delbis, and tied up in the basement of a remote home.

They’re not seeking a ransom or making a political statement.  Rather, the duo are conspiracy theorists who, after reading a plethora of online forums, believe Michelle is a part of an alien race who will soon destroy the planet.  They shave her head (believing hair is a communication tool) and demand that when the lunar eclipse occurs in four days’ time, Michelle take them aboard her spaceship and help them negotiate Earth’s survival with the alien leaders.

There’s a lot to like about Bugonia.  I relished the back-and-forth power games between Stone and Plemons’ respective characters as they each try to get the upper hand.  She can’t physically strike back (she’s tied up) but, if she plays along with his games and pretends to be an alien, could she gain his trust and her freedom?  The humour is incredibly dark but the best subplot in the film involves a local police officer, played by comedian Stavros Halkias (Tires), with a questionable past.  The arc he’s able to develop in just two scenes is brilliant.

The screenplay is somewhat contrived and while I enjoyed the visuals in the closing sequence, I wasn’t sold on the finale (I won’t spoil).  The more you think about it, the less sense if makes.  Further, we don’t develop a sufficiently thorough understanding of the protagonists.  Black-and-white flashbacks add flecks of backstory but, given their limited intelligence, why are the kidnappers so certain of their conspiracy theory-like views?  With regards to Michelle, we know little about the company or her leadership style except for a repetitive joke about what time staff can clock-off of an afternoon.        

Based on a 2003 South Korean film, Bugonia held my attention for the two-hour running time but it’s far from being Yorgos Lanthimos’s best work.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 05 November 2025

Die My Love serves up a confronting, unflinching look at postnatal depression.  When we meet Grace (Lawrence) and Jackson (Pattinson), they’re a blissfully happy couple who have moved into the rural home of his late uncle and have one thing primarily on their mind – sex.  For those after feel-good entertainment, soak up this opening 15 minutes because it’s the only time we see these two with a hopeful, positive attitude.  It’s all downhill from there…

Grace gives birth to a baby boy and in the months that follow, their relationship sours.  Jackson’s work requires him to travel out of town and that leaves her home alone with a lack of purpose, a lack of direction.  Filmmaker Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin) delves into the minutia of her monotonous days – from barking back at their noisy dog, to licking windows, to stretching her limbs, to mindlessly drinking alcohol.  It’s a reminder of the weird things we do at home when no one is watching.

At first, we could construe her actions as trivial boredom, but it becomes apparent her mentality is not as it should be.  Her emotions are shifting every few minutes and they’re hyper-exaggerated to the point of derangement.  Jackson is the exact opposite and by maintaining a stoic tone, you could ask if he’s only adding to Grace’s frustrated, bipolar-like nature.  She starts “acting out” in the company of others, including her mother-in-law (Spacek), and no one is sure how to react.  Viewers will feel similar as they try to size Grace up and understand why she is the way she is.

Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook) can be applauded for her lead turn as the troubled Grace.  Her actions create a sense of anxiety that imparts itself onto the audience.  It’s hard to watch at times.  It illustrates depression is not easy to explain and not easy to treat.  Robert Pattinson (The Batman) is more of a supporting player given Jackson is often away (Grace is the focus) but it’s still a noteworthy performance with the pair capturing the drama of a disintegrating relationship without relying on grandiose duologues.

Did I want a more though?  Yeah, probably.  I’m fine with the heavy tone but sought for a broader arc.  The observational-style approach adopted by director Ramsay becomes tiring.  I wanted to see Grace evolve in a more meaningful way, whether it be good or bad.  There’s a fleeting sequence where she is checked into a mental health facility but instead of using it as an opportunity to explore treatment options and understand her psyche, the screenplay quickly skips forward to her release.  Further, more needed to be made of LaKeith Stanfield’s character.

Likely to generate a range of opinions, particularly with regards to the climax, Die My Love is both interesting and elusive.