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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 09 August 2022

As a director, it’s nice when your first big movie is a massive hit.  On this same weekend 23 years ago, The Sixth Sense arrived in American cinemas and the line “I see dead people” became one of the most memorable in movie history.  It was the second highest grossing flick of 1999 (behind The Phantom Menace) and it made M. Night Shyamalan a household name… and a dual Oscar nominee for writing and directing.

The upside for Shyamalan is that it gave him more creativity freedom.  He could take chances on weird, not-so-audience friendly movies and still have the backing of big studio money with little interference.  The downside for Shyamalan is that with such early acclaim, it became harder to meet the public’s now higher expectations.  I’ve enjoyed some (emphasis on “some”) of his works but most would agree that nothing has matched what he achieved as a 28-year-old with The Sixth Sense.

Jordan Peele finds himself at a similar point in his career.  The comedian-turned-filmmaker won the Academy Award for best original screenplay in 2017 with his debut feature, Get Out, and he followed that up two years later with Us.  Nope marks his third outing and he’s sticking with what he’s become known for – a supernatural, horror-style flick where perplexed audiences are kept guessing throughout. 

To the credit of the studio, and this is probably because of Peele’s strong influence, very few details are given away in the trailers and promotional material.  Stars Daniel Kaluuya (Judas and the Black Messiah) and Keke Palmer (Hustlers) play siblings responsible for a long-running horse wrangling business.  Their personalities are polar opposites and this makes for feisty, pull-no-punches banter between the pair – particularly since sales are slow.

What follows shouldn’t be spoiled but even if I tried, it’d be difficult to describe.  Some weird, unexplainable stuff goes on at the ranch and it brings together an eclectic group of characters to get to the bottom of it.  They are headlined by an inquisitive tech guru (Perea), a theme park operator with a curious past (Yeun), and a talented cinematographer on a constant search for the perfect shot (Wincott).

I’m split down the middle on this one.  It’s the kind of movie where you’re never bored but you’re also never fully buying into events as they unfold.  It’s a “round peg in a square hole” at times as Peele can’t quite get the storyline to marry up with the themes he’s selling.  The cinematographer is one character I’ll be forever scratching my head about.  Is it poor development… or am I simply a moron for not understanding him?

Maybe Nope will require multiple viewings to appreciate more deeply?  Maybe I’m just overthinking it?  It’ll get people talking but, at least for now, Get Out remains Peele’s high-water mark.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 02 August 2022

Juniper fits nicely into the genre I call “two people reluctantly coming together and unexpectedly helping each other out.”  There’s an element of predictability which such films but when done well, they remind us about the value of great friendships and connections.  This particular effort was funded by the New Zealand Film Commission and marks the feature film debut of director Matthew J. Saville (not to be confused with the Australian director of the same name – sans the J initial).

The two unlikely folk in this instance are a teenage boy and his grandmother.  He is Sam (Ferrier) – a rugby-loving kid who attends a boarding school in New Zealand and is struggling to deal with his mother’s recent death.  Rebelling against his father (Csokas) and the school principal seems to be his way of processing grief. 

She is Ruth (Rampling) – an alcoholic, insult-loving grandma who broke her leg while living in England and has been brought by her son to New Zealand to recuperate.  The pair want nothing to do with each other at first.  Sam would rather hang out with friends than look after his injured nan (who he hardly knows).  Ruth hates the idea of being waited upon and yearns for her independence back.

With the dad conveniently written out of the story (he goes to London for “business matters”), the stage is set for the Sam and Ruth show.  She needs help physically, he needs help mentally, and they subsequently forge a much-needed friendship.  Ruth loves pushing his buttons and asking about his friends and his sex life.  Sam seems to enjoy their verbal stoushes and is quick to fire back with insults and pointed questions of his own.

The script is decent but it’s the two worthy central performances which drive the film’s emotional soul.  The experienced Charlotte Rampling (45 Years) has fun in portraying Ruth as a 70-something-year-old woman with a 20-something-year-old mindset.  She delivers her barbs with precision.  In the case of newcomer George Ferrier, Juniper marks his first lead role in a motion picture and he brings the right amount of innocence and naivety to the character of Sam.  Hopefully this is the start of fruitful career.

Released in New Zealand almost a year ago, it’s taken a while for Saville’s film to make it across the Tasman Sea and it’s nice to see it getting a run, albeit a limited one, in this country.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 07 August 2022

There’s no shortage of recent product delving into the life of Princess Diana.  Kristen Stewart earned a first Academy Award nomination earlier this year for portraying the beloved royal in Pablo Larraín’s Spencer.  Princes William and Harry commissions two television documentaries about their mother which premiered in 2017.  Fans of the popular television series The Crown will remember the arrival of Diana in series 4.  There was even a much-maligned Broadway musical that premiered in November 2021, simply titled Diana, that was savaged by critics and closed after just 33 performances.

This begs the question – why do we need yet another film about this subject?  Is there enough demand to meet the increasing supply?  The Princess is a documentary that covers the life of Diana from her engagement to Prince Charles in 1981 through to her death in 1997.  When it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival back in January, directed Ed Perkins stated that he tackled the project because he felt they had a “different perspective or vantage point” to previous works.

It’s certainly different in terms of approach.  Using the same technique adopted by Asif Kapadia in the brilliant 2010 documentary Senna, Perkins relies entirely on archival footage to create a narrative.  There are no current day interviews with Diana’s friends and family looking back on her life.  There are no recreated scenes to depict what may have happened behind closed doors.  There is no narration telling us what to think.

Instead, the filmmakers use video extracts from news reports, talk shows, paparazzi, and random home movies (some of it never seen before).  I’ll give credit to Perkins and lead editors Jinx Godfrey (The Theory of Everything) and Daniel Lapira (The Boat) in weaving the hundreds of hours of footage into a fast-paced, two-hour documentary.

The best moments are those where the camera catches a concerned looking individual (usually either Charles or Diana) and you can tell, particularly from a disgruntled look or shift in their eyes, exactly what they’re thinking.  Another highlight is the poignant closing sequence which, backed by a moving music score from Martin Phipps, reminds us of the public’s outpouring of grief in the days following Diana’s death.

It’s hard to fault the skill which has gone into The Princess but, despite what Perkins suggested at the world premiere, I’m not convinced it provides anything new in terms of “perspective”.  If you’re a young person unfamiliar about Charles and Diana’s marriage, it’s a good introductory eye-opener that provides motivation to do more research.

For everyone else however, it’ll be hard to maintain interest levels throughout given we already know this story.  There’s no change in terms of heroes or victims either.  With the exception of Princess Diana, everyone comes off looking sketchy and Perkins points his finger at the media/paparazzi in having a major role to play in Diana’s difficult years.  I’ll make the point again – this is not new information.  If being asked to watch an umpteenth movie about the princess, this needed to offer more.   

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 27 July 2022

You can theorise and speculate but you never truly know how you’ll handle a perilous situation until it happens.  What will be your first instinct and will you regret it in the aftermath?  If you’re looking for a great film on this topic, check out Ruben Östlund’s Force Majeure from 2014.  An avalanche descends on a ski resort and, in a split-second decision, a man runs safety while leaving his wife and children behind.  Suffice to say it causes a bit of tension in the days which follow!

The Forgiven isn’t as strong but it taps into the same ideas.  David (Fiennes) and Jo (Chastain) are a well-to-do British couple holidaying in Morocco.  It sounds idyllic but they’d rather not be there.  Their relationship is strained and they’ve only made the trip so as to attend the party of an old friend (Smith) who they don’t like anyway!  Their actions reaffirm the saying – money doesn’t necessarily make you happy.

Driving in the middle of the night towards their holiday villa, the car strikes a local Moroccan boy and kills him instantly.  The bulk of the film is then devoted to the way in which this couple deal with the tragic event – both in terms of their physical actions and their mental scars.  As the driver of the car and someone who had a few alcoholic drinks before stepping behind the wheel, David becomes the film’s focus.  It’s a textbook case of grief’s five stages – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

It’s the audience’s responsibility to size up these characters and form their opinions.  Was it a true accident or was David at fault?  Can his actions be forgiven by the boy’s family?  Does Jo have any responsibility to bear?  Should the party still go ahead?  Is it time to flee the country?  Writer-director John Michael McDonagh (The Guard, Calvary) leaves us with plenty to ponder in that the heroes and villains of this tale are not made clear.

The scenes involving Jo and the boozing party hosts/guests become repetitive but the film is at its best when following David.  Unwilling at first, he agrees to escort the body of the boy back to his home town and attend the funeral with his family.  I’ll leave it up to you to decide his reasons for doing so (guilt, remorse, forgiveness, fear) but most will agree it’s a terrific performance from Ralph Fiennes (The English Patient) who, as he often does, relishes the chance to play a complex individual.

Making the most of its Moroccan scenery, The Forgiven provides an interesting story worth reflecting on.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 03 August 2022

It’s an easy setting to describe.  We’ve got the famous bullet train in Japan which takes about three hours to travel from Tokyo to Kyoto.  On board is the son of a famous crime lord, a locked briefcase containing $10 million, and a bunch of experienced assassins with missions to complete.  It may sound intense but the narrative is given the lightest possible touch by director David Leitch (Deadpool 2).  There are heavy splashes of blood/gore but for the most part, this is crafted as a comedy.  The characters spend that much time delivering witty one-liners that they barely have time to fight for their lives.

Bullet Train features a substantive, handsomely-paid cast.  Headlining the bunch is Brad Pitt as a self-described “unlucky” guy who, despite a pessimistic view of the world, seems to be doing okay.  His particular assignment is simply to steal the briefcase and get off the train and the first stop.  The other assassins have more complex agendas but, as we learn through rushed flashbacks, they all seem to have a connection with a mysterious figure known as “The White Death”.

This is a movie where the colourful train, hip soundtrack and famous actors provide a “gloss” that mask its flaws and unoriginality.  It’s the same jokes used again and again and again.  As an example, Brian Tyree Henry plays a hitman who, having loved the show as a child, uses Thomas the Tank Engine metaphors when describing adversaries.  It’s a quirk that’s funny at first but is quickly overused.  The same applies to a cameo from a well-known Hollywood actor (I won’t spoil) who pops up halfway through.

Oscar winner Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) oozes charm but it’s not enough to compensate for his one-dimensional character who barely raises a sweat, and nonchalantly rambles on about bad luck and philosophy.  The overarching theme of “fate” is beaten into audiences as if we’re a puppy dog who needs constant training and reminding.  I wanted to shout at the screen – “I got it the first five times you said it!”

It’s rare to be saying this about an action comedy but the film’s strongest attributes are its art and set decoration.  The bullet train is a cool location for such a tale and the talented craftsmen give the 16 carriages (10 economy, 6 first class) a distinctive look – from the stylish bathrooms, to the sumptuous snack service, to a carriage filled with plush toys.  The action sequences, while disobeying the laws of physics at times, aren’t too bad either and offer a few surprises.

A friend summed it up best – “if this was on Netflix and starred a bunch of nobodies, it would be terrible.”  The cast do their best to elevate the material but it’s not enough to sustain interest levels for over two hours.