Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 19 December 2012

Directed by:	Christopher McQuarrie
Written by:	Christopher McQuarrie
Starring:	Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins, David Oyelowo, Werner Herzog, Jai Courtneyl
Released:	January 1, 2013
Grade:	B+

A man gets into a white mini-van and drives to a quiet parking lot in central Pittsburgh.  He parks on one of the upper floors and slips a quarter into a parking metre.  The time has come.  He looks across the river with his long range rifle and starts firing.  Five random people are killed.  The man then jumps back into his van and flees the scene.

With 24 hours, the police have made an arrest.  The car, the gun and a fingerprint on the coin in the parking metre have led them to James Barr – an ex-army guy who now lives a solitary life.  He fits the profile and the evidence is overwhelming.  The District Attorney (Rodin) and lead detective (Oyelowo) just need to Barr to sign a confession statement and that’s it, the case will be closed.

As a member of the audience, we know that Barr is innocent.  Oh, and don’t worry.  I’m not giving away any spoilers.  Writer-director Christopher McQuarrie (an Oscar winner for his screenplay for The Usual Suspects) toyed with the idea of not revealing the real killer’s identity but it would be too hard to keep that secret from the audience (who would already realise something is suspicious).  Further, test audiences much preferred the version where the real killer is known at the very start.

The characters don’t know this though.  Before being beaten into a coma whilst in custody, Barr wrote three words on a piece of paper – “get Jack Reacher”.  There’s a file on Reacher but details are sketchy.  He has no phone number, no email address and no driver’s licence.  All they know is that he was once a military police officer and that he “disappeared off the grid” about two years ago.

They won’t need to find him as Jack Reacher (Cruise) has already found them.  He turns up at the office of the District Attorney and introduces himself.  Reacher isn’t sure why Barr requested his presence (they weren’t even friends) and on quickly looking over the evidence, he comes to the same conclusion as the investigators – Barr is guilty.

He’s not leaving town just yet though.  Persuaded by Barr’s defence attorney, Helen Rodin (Pike), Reacher agrees to take a look at the crime scene and the case files.  The deeper he digs, the stranger things get.  When he is attacked a group of strangers in a bar, Reacher realises that something is clearly amiss.  Why is someone trying to stop him?

Fans of Lee Child’s novels may be disappointed (since Reacher is supposed to be 6’5”) but I had no problems with Tom Cruise in the leading role.  Who cares if he’s shorter in stature?  What’s more important is that Cruise has created a protagonist that is full of personality.  He has a sharp sense of humour (evidenced in so many scenes) and a smart, calculating mind that allows him to put the pieces together and extract evidence from possible witnesses.

The character that doesn’t work is Helen Rodin, the defence attorney.  Going against the advice of her father and her firm, she took on an unwinnable case – defending a man who is clearly guilty.  Why?  That question is never answered.  When Reacher starts digging up evidence that suggests Barr might be innocent, she’s suddenly disbelieving.  Again, why?  This is not a criticism of the beautiful Rosamund Pike (An Education) but rather the way in which her role has been framed.

On the whole, this is an engaging action-thriller that’s been nicely directed by McQuarrie.  The opening sequence, which doesn’t contain a single trace of dialogue, shows us that this won’t be a formulaic, paint-by-number exercise.  McQuarrie wants to give it a little style.  A clear highlight is a realistic car chase sequence that makes use of some great camera angles.  The odd casting of documentary filmmaker Werner Herzog, as the film’s villain, is also a cool move.

Things fall into place too easily in the finale but having now seen the film twice, I can confidently proclaim that Jack Reacher is worth a look – whether you like Tom Cruise or not.

You can read my chat with writer-director Christopher McQuarrie by clicking here.

 

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 10 December 2012

Directed by:	Peter Ramsey
Written by:	David Lindsay-Abaire
Starring:	Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Isla Fisher, Jude Law, Dakota Goyo
Released:	December 13, 2012
Grade:	B+

The villain is Pitch Black (Law).  His goal is to stop the children of the world from the believing in those who make it so special.  I’m speaking of Santa Claus (Baldwin), the Easter Bunny (Jackman), the Tooth Fairy (Fisher) and the Sandman.

I guess they had to stick to the novel by William Joyce but since when was the Sandman so revered?  Maybe it’s an American thing.  I got presents from Santa, chocolate from the Bunny and money from the Fairy.  My parents forgot to inform me about the Sandman but apparently he brings sweet dreams and a good night’s rest.  He’d be useful today to be honest.

You’d think that these four gifted leaders would be able to stop the bogeyman Pitch but they’re going to need a new addition to their team to get the job done.  I’m speaking of Jack Frost (Pine) – the man who brings us winter with its fresh snow and cold winds.  He’s been chosen by the mysterious Man in the Moon to join the ensemble.

Jack Frost has been around for hundreds of years but he’s never been able to understand his true purpose.  Further, he can’t comprehend why children don’t believe in him.  He brings them so much joy through snow days (where school is cancelled) as well as the fun of bobsledding through the snow or building a huge snowman.

Rise Of The Guardians is targeted at young audiences and whilst I liked the story, I have a few doubts as to whether kids will be able to follow the intricacies of the storyline.  There’s a lot to explain including how the tooth fairy has the ability to keep memories and how Pitch has the power to stop others from believing.  A friend’s young son was also puzzled as to why the Easter Bunny has an Australian accent.  We can blame Hugh Jackman for that!

That said, I still think this is another strong effort from the team DreamWorks Animation.  The imagery is superb.  From the wind rustling through Jack Frost’s white hair to the panoramic vistas as they fly through the sky, it all looks amazing.  Those prepared to pay an extra few dollars can experience it with the benefit of 3D.

What got me over the line with Rise Of The Guardians was the intriguing character of Jack Frost.  We see from the very opening scene that he has a long-forgotten past and I enjoyed following his journey of self-discovery.  Chris Pine is a good fit for the role of Jack Frost and through his voice, you sense the doubt and insecurity that clouds his mind.

Some have described the film as at the children’s equivalent of The Avengers.  Instead of characters from comic books, our action heroes are the legendary folk who our parents told us about growing up.  It’s a worthy analogy but it hasn’t been able to put bums on seats.  The film has battled in its opening two weeks in the United States and won’t match the box-office of more successful animated features this year such as Brave and Wreck-It-Ralph.

 

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 16 December 2012

Directed by:	Ang Lee
Written by:	David Magee
Starring:	Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Adil Hussain, Gerard Depardieu, Rafe Spall
Released:	January 1, 2013
Grade:	A

My sole-surviving grandmother passed away last week at the age of 90.  She was a strong, funny, opinionated woman who always took an interest in my life.  It’s sad to think that we’ll never share another conversation and I’ll no longer have the pleasure of picking her up from her home (where she lived since 1946) on Christmas morning.

Where is she now though?  I was raised as a Catholic and so I’m supposed to believe that she’s with God in heaven and that one day, we’ll see each other again.  As a realist, that’s a very hard theory to subscribe to.  When I complete personality profiling exercises, they always confirm that I’m a person who acts based on fact as opposed to instinct.  Do I believe in an afterlife?  Given there is no evidence, I don’t see how I can.

It’s funny though.  At the funeral last Friday, the emotion of the situation forced me to surrender my level-headed logic.  I wanted to believe in heaven.  I wanted to believe that my grandmother was looking down on us with a smile on her face.  Such thoughts gave me comfort.  They were easier to deal with than the more realistic alternative.

I’m reflecting on this experience because a similar message can be found within Life Of Pi.   Despite what our head may say, there are times when we need to give in and just have faith.  That in itself is not easy.

The film begins with a young writer (Spall) looking for the subject of his next book.  He has been told to speak with a man named Pi (Khan), an immigrant born in India who now resides with his family in Canada.  The writer has heard that Pi’s story is so amazing that it will make him believe in God.

Burning with curiosity, the writer turns up at Pi’s home and introduces himself.  The nonchalant Pi plays the situation somewhat coyly.  He confesses that he’s not sure if the story is worthy to be adapted into a novel.  He agrees to tell it though and deep down, you get a sense that he’s looking forward to the challenge of convincing the writer.

Pi transports us back to 1970s India where his younger self (Sharma) is living with his family in Pondicherry, India.  His father is a zookeeper and the inquisitive Pi has spent a large chunk of his life surrounded by an assortment of animals from around the globe.  Due to the increasing political unrest within India, the family has decided to sell the animals and move to a more stable life in North America.

Sadly, the freighter ship on which they are travelling encounters a freak storm and sinks in the middle of the night.  It all happens in a flash.  After slipping off the deck and being knocked unconscious, Pi wakes up on a lifeboat drifting aimlessly across the ocean.

He’s the only person on board… but Pi quickly realises that he’s not alone.  Hidden beneath the lifeboat’s tarpaulin are a zebra, an orangutan, a hyena and a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker.  The animals escaped from their cages during the storm and also sought refuge in the small boat.

Suffice to say that this isn’t a situation that can remain stable for very long.  A savage tiger is not going to sit idly by when his next meal lies just a few feet away.  The other three animals are quickly devoured while Pi manages to escape the tiger’s claws by lying on a makeshift raft attached to the back of the lifeboat.

We know that Pi survives, evidenced by the fact that he is still alive to tell the story, but how did he pull it off?  What does one do when stuck on a tiny boat in the middle of the Indian Ocean with next-to-no food while in the company of a Bengal tiger?

Things become less and less plausible with each passing scene and it will certainly put audiences to the test.  Will you buy into this?  Do you think these events really happened?  Can you ignore the niggling doubts and suspend your sense of disbelief?  If you can do it for a film like Transformers, why not for a story such as this?

I’m trying to be a little cryptic while still providing a sense of what Life Of Pi is all about.  Even if you don’t connect with the key themes, it’s hard to fault the precise direction from Ang Lee (The Ice Storm, Brokeback Mountain).  The special effects are seamless (especially the attacking tiger) and the absurdly beautiful cinematography from Claudio Miranda (Tron: Legacy) adds to the film’s mystery and illusion.

The movie is based on the novel by Yann Martel which won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction back in 2002.  You could make an argument that the early stages of the film are a little slow but I think screenwriter David Magee (Finding Neverland) has done a very good job given the circumstances.  It can’t have been easy given much of the book is spent following the deteriorating psyche of a teenage boy stuck in the middle of the ocean.  There are no other characters for him to interact with!

You’ll have to be patient during the middle section but don’t worry, it’s worth it.   I saw this film several weeks ago while holidaying in Beijing and I haven’t been able to shake the thought-provoking finale.  Don’t expect to leave this story behind as you exit the theatre.  Life Of Pi has something to say.

 

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 02 December 2012

Directed by:	Jason Moore
Written by:	Kay Cannon
Starring:	Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Rebel Wilson, Skylar Astin, Ben Platt, Anna Camp
Released:	December 6, 2012
Grade:	A-

We’ve seen teen films that revolve around dance contests (Step Up) and cheerleading contests (Bring It On).  Pitch Perfect uses the same formula and applies it to the world of a cappella.  For those unfamiliar with the term, I’m speaking of a group of singers who perform a song without using background instruments.

There are many players in this ensemble but most subplots seems to revolve around Beca (Kendrick) – a freshman who is about to start college.  After being overheard singing in the dormitory shower, she is strongly pursued by an all-female a cappella group known as the Bellas.  They’re in desperate need for fresh blood and to avenge their defeat in last year’s collegiate titles.

It’s something the introverted Beca would rather not be involved in.  She loves music… but singing isn’t her thing.  She dreams of being a DJ and spends her spare hours mixing songs together on her laptop.  Her father doesn’t approve however (as is often the case in such movies).  This forces Beca to join the Bellas and prove to her father that she can commit to a project and interact with others.

I’ll cut to the crunch and say that the broader story isn’t that important here.  What you need to know is that Pitch Perfect has a fun, likeable spirit.  It’s not a game-changer within the genre but I know plenty of people, myself included, who will have a great time watching this.  It’s like an episode of Glee in hyperdrive.

What makes the film work is the huge assortment of well-crafted characters.  Kay Cannon, a writer on the 30 Rock television series, has come up with a screenplay that seems to give the right amount of time to each individual. 

There’s the bossy, insecure leader of the Bellas.  There’s the cocky, arrogant leader of a rival group known as the Treble Makers.  There’s the singer who seemingly has no voice.  There are the two crazy commentators who pop up at each a cappella competition.  They’ve all got their idiosyncrasies and they’ve all got their fair share of witty one-liners.  It’s the kind of movie where the whole cast deserves credit as opposed to just one or two standouts.

The premise allows the characters to sing a variety of songs which contribute to the film’s terrific soundtrack.  The list includes Kelly Clarkson’s “Since You’ve Been Gone”, Flo Rider’s “Right Round” and Rhianna’s “Don’t Stop The Music”.  It’s not all modern stuff though.  A reference in the film to The Breakfast Club allows for the use of the Simple Minds song “Don’t You (Forget About Me)”.

With a surprising number of laugh-out-loud moments, Pitch Perfect is one of the year’s most entertaining releases.

 

 

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 15 December 2012

Directed by:	Rich Moore
Written by:	Rich Moore, Phil Johnson, Jim Reardon, Jennifer Lee
Starring:	John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Alan Tudyk, Ed O'Neill
Released:	December 26, 2012
Grade:	A-

If you asked people to name their favourite animated features, many will list films from the Toy Story franchise.  Even I can admit shedding a tear during Toy Story 3.  It’s such a simple yet beautiful idea – a world where the toys we play with come alive whenever we leave the room.  The emotional element kicks in when the child grows up and the toys are no longer required.

Wreck-It-Ralph takes that same concept and applies it to the world of video games.  It’s a cool idea.  By day, kids flock to an amusement arcade to play their favourite games.  By night, the doors are closed, the lights are switched off and the characters develop a will of their own.  They can move between the games through the power cables and they often hang out in the main adaptor – known as Game Central Station.

Not all the game characters are happy however.  After three decades of playing the same bad guy over-and-over, Wreck-It-Ralph (Reilly) is starting to show signs of depression and fatigue.  He’s tired of destroying things while the hero of his game, Fix-It Felix Jr., (McBrayer) gets all the love and attention.

It reaches the point where starts attending a self-help group, known as Bad-Anon, where video game villains can get together and talk about their problems.  Regular attendees include Clyde from Pac-Man, Bowser from Super Mario Bros and Smoke and Kano from Mortal Kombat.  They lean on each other for support and recite their creed – “I am bad, and that’s good.  I will never be good, and that’s not bad.  There is no one I’d rather be, than me.”

Wreck-It-Ralph still isn’t satisfied though.  He wants to be the good guy for once.  Going rogue, he disguises himself and slips into a neighbouring video game, Hero’s Duty.  He’s after the game’s top prize, a large gold medal, and thinks that wearing it around his neck will finally give him the respect and honour that he deserves.

Oops.  It doesn’t quite work out that way.  Ralph’s foolishness kick starts a chain reaction of events that threatens many of these characters.  Because he’s no longer present in his own game, the manager of the arcade thinks that it’s “out of order” and that it’s time to permanently pull the plug.  Two other games are threatened when a nasty green Cy-Bug escapes from Hero’s Duty and slips into a racing game known as Sugar Rush.

The idea of a video game movie has been floating around Disney for close to 20 years but no one was able to perfect a screenplay that fitted with the material.  It took the arrival of writer-director Rich Moore (who started his career on The Simpsons) to finally pull it off and create something that is equally amusing for both children and adults.

Wreck-It-Ralph is one of the year’s best animated features (if not the best) and it’s the attention to detail in the tightly-written script that gives it such an edge.  I love the way in which the intricacies of the video game world are explained including the plight of forgotten game characters and what can often lie behind a “glitch”.

The broad premise also allows the animation team to vary the look and feel of the film.  Within the boundaries of the Wreck-It-Ralph game, everything is rigid and restrictive – from the movement of the characters to the design of the main building.  This can be easily contrasted with the action-packed environment in the technologically advanced Hero’s Duty and the silly, colourful world that can be found inside Sugar Rush.  The use of traditional computer game sound effects is also a nice touch.

While there’s plenty of fun to be had, the film follows in the same vein as other Disney releases and contains a strong underlying theme about the value of standing up for one’s self.  This is explored not just through Ralph but an important subplot where he befriends Vanellope von Schweetz (Silverman), a 9-year-old girl who dreams of being a racer within Sugar Rush.

I’m sure it’ll help if you were a fan of arcade games growing up but as someone from the complete opposite background, I can vouch that Wreck-It-Ralph is still wonderfully entertaining and a perfect choice for families over the Christmas school holidays.

You can read my interview with director Rich Moore by clicking here.