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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 26 December 2023

The idea is a good one.  Nicolas Cage, who is attracted to these sorts of wacky roles (see Adaptation, Pig) plays a hideously boring, ant-loving college professor by the name of Paul Matthews.  Married with two kids, Paul’s life is stuck in neutral.  Instead of taking the initiative, doing the research, and publishing the book he’s long spoken about, Paul wallows in self-pity and finds excuses to justify his apathy.

In the same vein as a viral meme, Paul is about to go from a compete nobody… to one of the most famous people in the world.  For no explainable reason, he starts appearing in the dreams of thousands across the United States.  He doesn’t do much in the dreams – he’s described as being “like an awkward guest at a party” – but he quickly becomes a celebrity who is being courted by news stations, talk shows, and advertising agencies.  They all want to cash in on Paul’s “dream pandemic.”

It’s at this point where Kristoffer Borgli’s film runs out of momentum.  Does it have anything meaningful to say?  I’m not sure.  It references topics like celebrity and “cancel culture” but has little to offer.  A major hindrance is the lack of logic.  I’m fine with the silly premise but when the innocuous dreams turn more sinister, the public’s reactions make zero sense.  How is no one able to separate real life from fiction?  Two scenes in particular – one involving a therapy group, and one at a school play – were enough to ruin the promising signs of the opening act.

Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage (Leaving Las Vegas) gives it his best shot in portraying a sorrowful loser.  One of the film’s best moments occurs in the opening ten minutes when he catches up with an ex-colleague and nervously tries to get something off his chest.  The script doesn’t offer him enough though.  The contributions of supporting players such as Michael Cera (Superbad), Tim Meadows (Saturday Night Live), and Dylan Baker (Happiness) are trifling in terms of both comedy and drama.

The trailer gives off fun vibes but if you’re thinking Dream Scenario is going to be a wonderfully messed-up dark comedy to rival the best work of Charlie Kaufmann (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation), think again.  It takes us on a journey to nowhere… and the limp finale is proof of that.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 11 December 2023

I’m not sure which family member provided the first introduction, but I remember loving the Gene Wilder-led Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory growing up.  It was fun and colourful and memorable.  That admiration never dissipated but as I matured, so too did my thoughts about the film.  I garnered a better sense of its darkness (especially compared to family films of today), its portrayal of human greed, and illustration of wealth inequality.  It also warmed the heart to see Charlie finish up on top!

Wonka serves as a prequel to the aforementioned 1971 flick (ignore the rubbishy Johnny Depp one from 2005) and is set 25 years before the infamous Golden Ticket competition.  Details are scant in Roald Dahl’s novel and so the writing team of Paul King and Simon Farnaby, who created the cult-hit Paddington 2, had flexibility in developing a Willy Wonka backstory.  They’ve gone with something lighter and are depicting Wonka as a kind, hopeful, optimistic individual.  He’s anything but the defeated recluse we know from the earlier movie.

I’ve been a huge fan of Timothée Chalamet since his breakout, Oscar-nominated performance in Call Me by Your Name and, in playing the title role of Wonka, he again illustrates his diversity as an actor.  His talent is on show from the opening scene – a musical number where he arrives in the big city with 12 silver sovereigns in his pocket and a hat-full of dreams.  Chalamet’s dancing/singing skills are charming but it’s the blend of quirkiness and sincerity he brings to the character which makes Wonka easy to root for.  He’s also skilfully channelling a few mannerisms of Gene Wilder – a fact that will be picked up by many adults in the audience.

 The narrative is centred on Willy Wonka as he encounters the wrath of a powerful “chocolate cartel” when, in honouring his late mother (Hawkins), he tries to open his first shop.  They sense his genius and want him stopped to protect their own bottom lines.  The corrupt Chief of Police (Key) should have better things to do (the “non-stop murders” perhaps?) but he too has been bribed by the three cartel leaders and is helping execute Wonka’s demise.   

There’s much going on inside the film’s brisk 116-minute running time and while it could easily have become overstuffed with unnecessary subplots, King does a great job reigning it all in as director.  The story is easy to follow, the musical numbers fit nicely, and the production values are strong.  It fulfills its mission in being an old-school, big-hearted family flick where there’s something for everyone.  Kids can laugh at the colourful Oompa Loompa (Grant) while adults can appreciate key themes (“the greedy beat the needy”).

One could be cynical about Wonka (I’ve seen a few negative reviews) and while I admit it’s not revolutionary, I was won over by its magic. 

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 21 December 2023

Take it with a grain of salt… but my advice to the twenty-something-year-olds of today is to get out there and see the world.  There’ll be plenty of time to get married, have kids, and pay back an exorbitant mortgage.  You don’t want to be an old geezer looking back with regret at all the fun stuff you never had time for.  Do it sooner rather than later – an added benefit being you’ll have some wonderful memories to talk about and carry for majority of your life.

That theme is at the heart of Migration, a new animated feature from French director Benjamin Renner (Ernest & Celestine).  The screenplay was crafted by the acclaimed Mike White (Enlightened) but, given other commitments he had in making The White Lotus, the reigns were then handed to Rener and the hardworking artists at Illumination, the production company behind franchises including Despicable Me and Sing.

The story is centred on a family of four Mallards (wild ducks) who live a routine existence in a cosy pond.  The dad, Mack (Nanjiani), is a change-hating pessimist who wants his teach his two children about the dangers and harsh realities of the world while the mum, Pam (Banks), is a gentler soul who prefers the softly-softly approach.  The kids have an instinctive sense of adventure, but Mack rules the roost.  He comfortable with life at their idyllic pond and doesn’t see any reason to take risks and travel beyond it.

That position shifts when a group of fellow ducks drop by for the day while migrating to Jamacia for the winter.  Mack finally gives in to family pressure and, joined by their Uncle Dan (DeVito), they set off on a similar adventure.  The 90-minute film is structured in a way where they go through a series of funny escapades along the way involving pushy herons, a caged parrot, New York City pigeons, and a villainous human chef.

I enjoyed Migration.  The themes are neatly articulated, the story is entertaining, and the characters are cute.  There are also some great jokes – my favourite being one birds pooping in the sky as opposed to the ground.  Of the cast, Danny DeVito (The War of the Roses) gets plenty of great one-liners as the grumpy uncle, and Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick) impresses as the nervy dad described by his son as being “scared of everything in the world.”  Awkwafina (The Farewell) and Carol Kane (Hester Street) also have fun with their supporting roles.

If looking for easy-to-like family entertainment over the Christmas holidays, Migration is a decent choice.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 06 December 2023

Technology evolves and with it, the medium of cinema.  Black and white silent films became colourful talkies.  Physical film was binned in place of digital hard drives.  Elaborate sets and miniatures were replaced with the latest CGI.  Despite the changes, there are some filmmakers with an affection for “old school” techniques.  We saw it recently from Christopher Nolan who, for Oppenheimer, shot the three-hour epic on 65mm without any digital effects.

82-year-old Hayao Miyazaki, director of the Oscar-winning Spirited Away and other great works, has stuck with a familiar approach his entire career.  In an era where almost all animated features are created using computers (Toy Story kicked it off in 1995), Miyazaki still firmly believes in hand drawn imagery and the power of the pencil.  Passionate in his beliefs, he’s gone so far to describe computer animation as an “insult to life”.          

Miyazaki has referred to The Boy and the Heron as his last movie (although he’s said that before) and, while he hasn’t given any interviews about the completed project, he’s drawn from his own upbringing in creating the story.  Set during World War II, it’s the tale of a 12-year-old boy, Mahito (Padovan), who moves to the countryside with his father following the death of his mother in a tragic hospital fire.

It’s at the new home where Mahito is whisked into an assortment of alternate worlds which feature a conniving heron, nasty parakeets, a helpful maid, and a wise wizard.  They provide Mahito with life lessons while guiding him back home.  Miyazaki has a knack for creating weird, wonderful characters but these folk are a notch below what we’ve seen in prior works.

There are two version of The Boy and the Heron screening in Australian cinemas – one with the original Japanese actors/dialogue, and one dubbed into English during Hollywood actors.  I saw the later and the cast includes the distinctive voices of Robert Pattinson, Christian Bale, Gemma Chan, Florence Pugh, and Willem Dafoe.  Regardless of which translation you watch, it’s hard not to be wowed by the animation (a delivery room scene involving wind swept paper is a highlight), and the delicate music score of long-time collaborator Joe Hisaishi. 

The weakness here is the narrative.  It’s a weird mix of storylines which don’t generate humour and/or emotion until the final 20 minutes or so.  I was hoping for a more engaging adventure in the same vein as Spirited Away (which I must have watched a dozen times by now).  Perhaps there’s deeper material I’ll appreciate more on a second viewing but for the moment, The Boy and the Heron is fine as opposed to fantastic.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 19 December 2023

Every now and again, I have a spirited debate in the office with a work colleague about Yorgos Lanthimos’s 2015 release, The Lobster.  It’s the tale of a man (Colin Farrell) who must find love in 45 days to else he’ll be turned into the animal of his choosing.  I enjoyed the film for its surprising, messed-up, quirky nature and its dark sense of humour.  My fellow employee hated it for exactly the same reasons.  It highlights that Lanthimos isn’t for everyone and the level of entertainment is dictated by personal comedic tastes.  His other works, including Dogtooth and The Favourite, provide further proof.

Poor Things is another wild journey!  It’s based on the 1992 novel of Scottish author Alasdair Gray which in turn has been adapted by Australian Tony McNamara (The Rage in Placid Lake).  It’s the story of an experimenting scientist (Dafoe) who has taken a baby’s brain and placed in the body of a deceased woman, Bella Baxter (Stone), and brought her back to life.  She can barely communicate at first but, as the brain matures, so too does her vocabulary, actions, and view of the world.  It’s easy to see why comparisons have been made Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Emma Stone has already won an Academy Award for best actress (La La Land) but she’s being talked up as a possible two-time winner for her performance here.  Her appearance doesn’t change but over the course of 141 minutes, her disposition transforms from that of an incoherent child… to that of a cunning, calculating adult.  Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight) is also very good as Duncan Wedderburn, a wealthy lawyer who seduces Bella and triggers her insatiable sexual appetite.  This explains the MA-rating in Australia and tag of “strong themes, sex, coarse language and nudity” – just mentioning in case you’re prudish.

The premise is bananas and so too is the execution.  Lanthimos and his crew have crafted a dystopian version of London which, in blending old and new, has been described by production designer Shona Heath as a science-fiction movie set in the 1890s.  The unsettling music compositions of Jerskin Fendrix adds to the film’s eye-raising vibe, and the deliberate overacting of key cast members (Ruffalo a standout) throws in a wild dash of farce.

A strength of Poor Things are its layers.  Simplistically, you could watch the film as a light-hearted spoof filled with sex and surprising one-liners.  If willing to think more deeply, it can provoke thoughts about gender, control, power, science, fate, and death.  What right did the scientist have in reusing the body of the dead woman?  How should the relationship between Bella and Duncan be perceived?  How much of our kindness is nature versus nurture?

Poor Things is a wee-bit sluggish in places and I think they overdo certain jokes (the sex stuff) but it’s still as memorable and distinctive as Lanthimos’s prior outings.  Not a film you’ll soon forget.