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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 15 April 2025

If you heard of a movie called Drop, there’s an array of possibilities as to what the title could refer to.  Is it about mountain climbers worried about falling into an icy crevasse?  Could it be about stockbrokers dealing with a plummeting bear market?  What about gangsters organising a place to exchange a kidnaped person for a suitcase full of cash?  It’s unlikely that your first guess would be what this new film from director Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day) is about.

It’s referring to AirDrop, the process by which someone nearby can share photos, videos and other files using their mobile phone.  So how is this the premise for a Hollywood thriller?  Allow me to explain.  Violet (Fahy) is a single mother who has finally harnessed the courage to go on a first date with a new guy, Henry (Sklenar), at a classy, rooftop restaurant.  It’s a rare night out of the house for Violet and so her sister (Beane) has taken on babysitting duties for her young son.

Within minutes of walking into the restaurant, Violet receives a “dropped” message on her phone.  She shrugs it off at first but after the pestering continues, she relents and looks at the messages.  Suffice to say it ain’t good.  A villainous person has broken into her home and, unless Violet does exactly what she’s told at dinner, the life of her son and sister will be in jeopardy.  Adding to the drama is that she knows it’s someone in the restaurant (you must be close by to AirDrop) but she’s unsure who.  Screenwriters Jillian Jacobs and Chris Roach tease audiences with several suspects.

At a quick-paced 95-minutes, Drop isn’t a bad idea for a movie.  It’s a fresh approach on the whodunit genre as we watch our hero think through the situation, manage her stress levels, and outsmart her adversary.  Yeah, it’s a little far fetched but it’s still fun to think about what you’d do in the same situation.  Violet is warned not to tell anyone what’s going on, but could she find a way to alert someone about the imminent danger?  What if they’re in on it?  Who can she trust?

Drop held my attention, but the finale doesn’t offer enough to match the early intrigue.  It’s a little clumsy and contrived.  Still, this is a good-enough mystery thriller with a worthy lead performance from Meghann Fahy who will be known to audiences for her turn in the second season of The White Lotus.  It’s also a good reminder to not be checking your phone at dinner!

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 01 April 2025

The Easter school holidays have arrived in Australia and with it, a new animated feature provides an option for parents looking to entertain their children.  The film’s origin takes a bit of explaining.  Captain Underpants is a long-running book series about two fourth grade students who write their own comics.  It was adapted into a 2017 animated feature.  Dog Man was one of the comics the two kids created within the Captain Underpants universe and hence, making that into a movie is described as a “story within a story”.  Make sense?

A short introduction expounds the background to the titular character.  A successful police officer and his loyal dog arrive on a rooftop and try to defuse a bomb left by a nasty cat, Petey (Davidson).  They are unsuccessful (a wild plot point) and badly injured in the subsequent explosion.  They won’t survive individually and so the doctors at the hospital have no choice but to sew the dog’s head onto the human’s body and we have… drumroll please… Dog Man!

It sounds perverse but writer-director Peter Hastings, adapting from the works of author Dav Pikey, taps into the humour of the situation.  Dog Man still serves as a shrewd police officer trying to apprehend bad guys, but he demonstrates the traits of a playful, easily distracted dog.  As an example, an annoyed real estate agent is quicky able to dispense of Dog Man by throwing a tennis ball outside and having him instinctively run after it.

The crux of the film is centred on Dog Man’s attempts to apprehend the villainous Petey before he can further wreak havoc on the city.  Other key players include an intrepid news reporter (Fisher) looking to cover the story, a police chief (Howery) wishing he was more popular in the community, an adorable cloned cat (Calderon) trying to find their place in the world, and a reinvigorated fish (Gervais) with psychic skills.

A modest hit in the United States when released back in January, Dog Man is fast-paced fun.  It has a sense of humour reminiscent of television shows such as The Simpsons and Family Guy.  It’s joke after joke with some targeted at adults and others targeted at a younger crowd.  When you throw in the distinctive voices of Pete Davidson and Ricky Gervais, you’ve got the right ingredients to bring the comic books’ pages to life.  Dog Man himself is the only character who doesn’t speak (he can only bark) and that adds another memorable layer with audiences trying to interpret his physical expressions and movements.

Wrapped up inside of a tight 89 minutes, Dog Man comfortably won me over.  Hope there’s future instalments!

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 09 April 2025

As a fan of spy thrillers including the Bond, Bourne and Mission: Impossible franchises, I wanted to enjoy The Amateur.  The cast includes the likeable Rami Malek and Laurence Fishburne, and the source material is a novel authored by Robert Littell, a “he’d have seen a few things” journalist who worked as a foreign correspondent for Newsweek during the 1960s.  As a footnote, a Canadian adaptation was released in 1981 starring John Savage and Christopher Plummer but didn’t do much at the box-office.

Sadly, this 2025 version lacks credibility, and this will make it difficult for audiences to buy into the drama and emotion.  It begins with a top-notch CIA cryptographer, Charles Heller (Malek), learning his wife (Brosnahan) has been murdered by terrorists while attending a business conference in London.  Heller uses CIA intel to identify the suspects and takes the information to his superior (McCallany).  The bigwigs don’t want him working the case, rightly so given the conflict of interest, but Heller uses blackmail to get his wish.  It’s not long before he’s travelling to Europe on a false passport and hunting his wife’s killers.

The Amateur is the kind of movie where characters, depending on what is needed to prolong the narrative, are either incredibly smart or incredibly dumb.  There’s no denying Heller is a shrewd computer whizz but the fact he could be trained for a few hours and then become a field operative with the talents to take down renowned terrorists… yeah, I’m not so sure.  A scene where he picks the lock at a quiet apartment building while getting instructions from a YouTube video playing at full volume – it’s laughable stuff. 

Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix) as a fellow CIA operative and Caitríona Balfe (Belfast) as a helpful source add a splash of interest with their supporting roles.  Their motivations are uneven (Fishburne is an assassin one minute and then best friends the next) but that’s more an issue with the script as opposed to their decent performances.  I was less impressed with Oscar winner Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody) who struggles as the film’s protagonist.  I didn’t believe he was smart/lucky enough to pull off some his elaborate plans.

There’s also something off-putting about Heller’s blind rage in avenging his wife’s killers and portraying him as the simplistic hero.  The CIA we see within the film is rife with corruption and while that’s a convenient plot point to allow Heller to “go rogue”, it’s a shame the film doesn’t ask moral questions of the character and whether his protocol-ignoring actions are the right ones.  Is this how all CIA agents should act in the same situation?

Unable to be redeemed by a big finale (it’s weak), The Amateur is trying too hard to be cool.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 31 March 2025

Action films don’t usually add to one’s knowledge bank, but Novocaine is an exception to that rule.  It introduced me to the untreatable medical condition “congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis” which is otherwise known as CIPA.  It’s an extremely rare nervous system disorder where the person cannot feel pain or temperature.  Many don’t survive beyond the age of 25 because injuries and infections go unnoticed (they can’t feel them), and an inability to sweat leads to high body temperatures.

Credit to screenwriter Lars Jacobson who has found a humorous means to weave CIPA into a fast-paced action comedy.  Our protagonist, Nathan Caine (Quaid), is an assistant manager for a San Diego-based credit union.  He suffers from CIPA and must be extremely careful about his daily routines.  He avoids eating solid foods (in case he bites his tongue and doesn’t realise) and sets an alarm every 3 hours to designate a bathroom break.  On a personal note, he lives alone, struggles with making friends, and now keeps his medical condition a secret after being bulled at high school.

Two happenings set the stage for the film’s essence.  Firstly, he finally garners the courage to go on a date with a colleague, Sherry (Midthunder), who has expressed a romantic interest.  Secondly, Sherry is then taken hostage by bank robbers after a heist gone wrong.  Quickly dispensing of his introverted nature, Nathan then goes on a passionate chase across the city to rescue his newfound love.  The “bad guys” inflict an array of bruises, gashes, and broken bones but hey, when you can’t feel pain, it’s a lot easier to carry on and keep fighting back.

Novocaine is an entertaining jaunt.  I’ll concede that it doesn’t always make sense, and you must “lean into” the silliness but if looking for a movie which nicely balances comedy and action, it’s a clear winner.  Jack Quaid has had a nice start to year with this lead turn coming on top of the strong Companion (a shame it underperformed at the box-office).  He fits nicely into the role of Nathan Caine and creates a humorous blend of shyness, stupidity, and bravery.  He’s a character worth rooting for.

Like last week’s A Working Man, it’s the villains who drag things down.  I realise the film has an intentionally goofy tone, but I hoped for more in terms of their ambition and personality.  They’re a dull bunch.  The better material has been saved for the two San Diego police detectives, played by Betty Gabriel (Get Out) and Matt Walsh (Veep), trying to piece the increasingly bizarre series of events together.

A good recommendation for those in need of amusement… it’s thumbs up for Novocaine.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 07 April 2025

The Zone of Interest, one of the best films of last year, looked at a Germany family living a normal life during World War II while thousands of Jews were murdered in a concentration camp next door.  It highlighted how “easy” it can be to turn a blind eye to atrocities in our own backyard.  Small Things Like These explores similar themes.  The characters are fictitious but it is centred on actual events which took place in Ireland across several decades.  The particular setting here is 1985 with the source material being a highly acclaimed novel, shortlisted for the Booker Prize, authored by Claire Keegan.

The film is also notable as it marks the first performance of Cillian Murphy since he won the Academy Award for his leading turn in Oppenheimer.  It’s hard to imagine a bigger contrast between the two movies and the two characters.  There, he was part of a 180-minute, big studio funded epic playing an acclaimed nuclear physicist dubbed “the father of the atomic bomb.”  Here, he’s part of a 98-minute, low-budget indie.  He steps into the dirty shoes of Bill Furlong, a poor, softly spoken coal trader named who resides with his wife and five daughters in a small Irish town.  Bill comes across as a kind-hearted man, but his quiet nature leaves you wondering what he’s thinking on the inside.  Is he content with life?  Is he happy?

We follow Bill’s interactions with a variety of folk, but the film’s one-two punch comes from his dealings with a convent run by secretive nuns.  Bill delivers coal on a regular basis and he’s seen enough to know something isn’t right within the convent’s walls.  When a young woman passionately pleads for help, he faces a tough moral decision.  Is he prepared to stand up to the power of the Catholic Church and risk alienation from the religious townsfolk?  On the flipside, is it possible to bottle his feelings and continue to ignore?  Reflections on his own childhood, which we see as flashbacks, shape his answer.

Shot on a small budget and co-produced by Matt Damon, Small Things Like These is a subtle, moving drama.  Director Tim Mielants does a terrific job capturing the essence of the time – from the gloomy weight of poverty through to the glimpses of joy brought from Christmas holidays.  Screenwriter Enda Walsh uses dialogue only when necessary and slowly ratches up the tension.  Perhaps the best scene in the film is an exchange between Bill and the convent’s head, played by Emily Watson (Breaking the Waves), who is quick to weave her charm, influence, and money.

Winner of best picture at the Irish Film & Television Awards (edging out the equally good Kneecap), Small Things Like These is a stirring character study and an important history lesson.