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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 22 August 2023

He was just a film student at the Swinburne Institute of Technology when Paul Goldman first met iconic Australian music producer Michael Gudinski in 1979.  As part of a first-year university assignment, Goldman had helped make a music video for the Nick Cave helmed band The Boys Next Door.  Gudinski was impressed by the video, had Goldman spruce it up with a bit more money, and it was soon being played on national television.

Goldman has since forced a successful directorial career which includes over 200 music videos (he won an ARIA Award in 2007) and a handful of feature films including Australian Rules and Suburban Mayhem.  Now in his mid-60s, there’s something poetic about Goldman making a documentary about Michael Gudinski given he kick started his career over four decades ago.  This was intended to be a detailed TV mini-series but following Gudinski’s unexpected death in 2021, a more concise 2-hour feature length documentary became the approach.

If you’re new to the subject matter, Gudinski was a “larger than life” personality within the Australian music industry who founded a record company, Mushroom Records, when just 20 years of age (incredible!).  He was inspired by the lack of local music on Aussie radio and wanted to provide budding artists with more creative control and opportunities to fill that gap.  There were a lot of financial ups and downs in the early years but bands which kept the company afloat included Skyhooks and Spitz Enz.

The film covers many angles to Gudinski’s life including the fractured relationship with his father (who disapproved of his career choice), his diversification into tour promotion for singers like Frank Sinatra, the sale of Mushroom Records to Rupert Murdoch, and the career/style pivots required to remain an industry heavyweight.  Goldman pulls from an array of current and archival interviews to generate a fast-paced narrative.  Those we hear from include Jimmy Barnes, Bruce Springsteen, Ed Sheeran, Sting, and Kylie Minogue.

As someone not hugely familiar with the intricacies of Gudinski’s life, this is a fun, enlightening documentary.  He had his fingers in a lot of pies!  It doesn’t shy away from Gudinski’s flaws (he admits them himself in old interviews), but it also celebrates his incredible contribution to the Australian music scene and the number of people who benefited.  There are many terrific behind-the-scenes stories including the way he helped lure certain artists, and his realisation that big theatrical concerts could generate more revenue than CD sales.

For anyone with an interest in the music industry, Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story is interesting from start to finish.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 14 August 2023

I recently played golf with an American man who was on the 20^th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Centre in New York when struck by a plane in September 2001.  He was able to escape using the fire stairs but, not realising the gravity of the situation, he left his BlackBerry device in the office.  This made it harder to get in touch with worried friends and family in the aftermath to let them know he was safe and well.

In addition to the fascinating tale of survival, the man’s story triggered by memory of BlackBerry phones.  It’s a brand name I hadn’t heard in years!  Their first device was an email pager released in 1999 and by 2010, they’d beaten the likes of Motorola, Nokia, and Samsung to control roughly 50% of the smartphone market in the United States.  Today, it’s market share is 0% – the result of poor business decisions, and the rise of Apple’s revolutionary touchscreen iPhone.

Directed by Canadian filmmaker Matt Johnson, who also has a feature role in the movie, BlackBerry draws from a 2015 book and creates a semi-fictionalised history of the company inside of two hours.  It is focused on three specific time periods.  The first is 1996 when businessman Jim Balsillie (Howerton) teams up with existing CEO Mike Lazaridis (Baruchel) to commercialise the original idea.  The second is 2003 when they dramatically expand operations, with a touch of illegality, to thwart a takeover attempt.  The third is 2007 when things start to go off the rails and competitors make their move.

BlackBerry isn’t as juicy as its source material.  It feels every character has been overdramatised.  During the slow opening act, Baruchel and Johnson portray the co-founders as clueless, socially awkward geeks with zero commercial acumen.  I don’t know how they landed business deals in the first place.  As co-CEO, Glenn Howerton is channelling Ari Gold from Entourage with his no-idea-about-technology, phone-smashing schtick where he verbally denigrates anyone who shares a different view.  It gets tiring and repetitive.

The film’s second hour is the better half.  It’s more interesting to watch these people screw things up than succeed.  That said, the two writers have made odd choices by showing us trivial, unnecessary events, like the drama of cancelling of “movie night” due to a tight deadline, instead of more detail regarding the stock option fraud, and the ice hockey manager fall-out.  Supporting characters, like Michael Ironside as the hard-ass Chief Operating Officer, are also underutilised.

The Blackberry tale will provide great fodder in business textbooks but as a movie, this rags-to-riches-to-rags film isn’t as engaging as I’d hoped.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 21 August 2023

Framed as an action-thriller, Sound of Freedom is about a Homeland Security Investigations agent, played by Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ), who risks his life and becomes an undercover operative in trying to free hundreds of children from sex traffickers in Colombia.  It’s a worthy subject matter with the narrative loosely based on the life of American Tim Ballard who spent 12 years working for the agency.  As is often the case, details have been embellished in places (e.g. the jungle finale never happened) to make it more cinematic.

Whether you like the film or not, Sound of Freedom has become one of the most successful and talked about movies of 2023.  It’s a rare instance where the chatter surrounding the film, as opposed to the content itself, has fuelled that success.  It has grossed $175 million USD thus far in the United States which, remarkably, is more than the take for the latest Indiana Jones, Mission: Impossible, and Transformers flicks.  It’s a staggering total for a film which cost just $14 million and required the support of over 6,000 investors via a crowdfunding campaign to reach completion.

It’s hard to watch this film in isolation of the growing controversy of the past month.  There’s a lot to consider and digest.  Angel Studios created a “Pay it Forward” initiative and thus far, over 15 million people have purchased a ticket “for someone who would not otherwise be able to see the film.”  However, photos have been shared on social media showing “sold out” screenings with lots of empty seats.  The huge box-office may be technically correct… but what portion of tickets sold were used?  Opinions vary depending on who you speak with.

Another sticking point has been the film’s depiction of child trafficking.  What we see here is simple – a stranger abducts a bunch of children attending a fake acting audition.  Experts argue most cases are more nuanced and involve psychological manipulation and people the children already know.  Angel Studios has since acknowledged this on their website stating the writers took “creative liberties” and the kidnappings seen in the movie “do not represent the majority.”  It asks the question – should you look at Sound of Freedom as an eye-opening exploration of a very serious topic… or is it just an unrealistic, over-the-top Taken-style action piece?

The most startling detail has been the interest from the far-right political movement known as QAnon.  They have been promoting the film heavily on message boards (more dollars for the box-office) and, while not covered in the film, they are drawing a connection with a belief that left-leaning Hollywood liberals participate in child sex trafficking rings to harvest blood.  Director Alejandro Monteverde has staunchly distanced himself from such interpretations but, with the likes of Donald Trump, Elon Musk and Mel Gibson promoting the film publicly, Monteverde’s views are of little interest to conspiracy theorists.

Almost two months after its U.S. release, Australian audiences can now see what the fuss is about and form their own views.  In critiquing Sound of Freedom purely on its artistic merit, I’ll describe it as a ho-hum thriller with average dialogue, an unsophisticated narrative, weak supporting characters (Mira Sorvino???), and some half-decent action pieces.  The film will be remembered… but perhaps not for the reasons the producers had hoped... unless that was always their intention.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 08 August 2023

We’ve seen many video games adapted into movies, but Gran Turismo is slightly different in that it’s the true story of a video game narrative playing out in real life.  In 2006, a British businessman came up with the idea for GT Academy, a television series where the best racing gamers across Europe would compete against each other in physical cars.  It asked an interesting question – could skills garnered from years of simulator training at home… make them just as good as a professional driver on an actual racetrack?

Director Neill Blomkamp (District 9) and the three-man screenwriting team have applied Hollywood’s cosmetic brush in crafting something palatable for the widest audience possible.  Yes, it’s based on a true story, but parts come across as manufactured.  As a simple example, there’s one moment where a trainer provides useful competitor intel to his driver in the moments before the first race.  It might make for “good cinema” but yeah, you’d have thought this info could have been passed onto the driver well beforehand.

The narrative is focused on Jann Mardenborough (Madekwe), a British teenager and university dropout who is selected for the inaugural GT Academy and, when he proves his worth, gets a chance to compete on a professional circuit (in reality, Mardenborough won the 3^rd series of the show).  It features the sort of scenes you might expect – arguments with his parents about the sport’s dangers, musical montages when he hits the gym, rivalries with fellow competitors, and races featuring an assortment of ups (high speed passes) and downs (unexpected crashes).

The film’s biggest positive is the performance of David Harbour (Stranger Things) as Jack Salter, a former driver with a troubled past who is brought in to help Mardenborough realise his potential.  He becomes a father figure and the honest-feeling interactions between Salter and Mardenborough, particularly in the second half, get to the core of the film’s uplifting themes – fighting mental demons, overcoming adversity, and following your dreams.

The other two high profile cast members aren’t as convincing.  Orlando Bloom (The Lord of the Rings) stars a Danny Moore, a Nissan marketing executive who pulls the strings at the GT Academy.  He’s a forever shifting character (sometimes helpful, sometimes villainous) but I never fully understood his rationale and motivations.  What does he get out of it all?  Oscar nominee Djimon Hounsou (In America) plays Mardenborough’s father but it’s role that requires little more than looking concerned while watching races on television.

Gran Turismo should lure fans of the super-successful video game but as an engaging car racing flick, it’s a few laps behind the likes of Ford v. Ferrari and Rush.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 17 August 2023

As someone who subscribes to the “less you know, the better” mantra, I tend to avoid movie trailers where possible.  I’d rather go into the cinema, be surprised, and not anticipate certain jokes/plot points.  That said, I recommend watching the trailer for Strays to understand just how depraved its humour is.  Just like the popular Ted, this is not a film for children.  The Australian Classification Board has dished out an MA rating for its “strong crude humour, sex, course language, and drug use.”  Not what you might expect from a flick centred on cute, talking animals!

I enjoyed Strays for what it is.  This isn’t a profound, deep, life-changing comedy.  It wins points for its sheer shock value – making inappropriate, eyebrow-raising jokes about things you wouldn’t expect.  I lost count of the references to humping, genitals, butt-sniffing, and faecal matter.  There are also “completely out of left field” moments like the cameo of a Hollywood star who plays an avid bird watcher.  It’s hard not to laugh and the randomness and stupidity.

The plot isn’t hugely critical (it’s jokes above all else) but for those interested, Reggie (voiced by Will Ferrell) is a naïve, 2-year-old Border Terrier who has been abandoned hours out of town by his unemployed owner, Doug (Forte).  Finally coming to the realisation that Doug is a scumbag who never loved him, Reggie teams up with three other “off the leash” strays brought to life by the voices of Jamie Foxx (Ray), Randall Park (Fresh off the Boat), and Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers).  The later deserves credit for using an exaggerated Australian accent which is humorously annoying.

With the characters introduced, our four “heroes” then go on a road trip back to Reggie’s hometown to inflict an extremely painful revenge on the unsuspecting Doug.  To help pad the film out to its 93-minute run time (an appropriate length), a few skit-like misadventures are thrown in during the middle act.  Without giving too much away… highlights include the interactions with a narrator dog (voiced by Josh Gad) at a carnival, and the crazy method used to steal a set of keys.

The production values of director Josh Greenbaum also deserve a shoutout.  He’s found great dogs and expert trainers in bringing the narrative to life – a way of limiting the visual effects and making it feel more real.  I won’t be taking my mum along to Strays but if you’re after a filthy, foul-mouthed outing to the cinema, here’s the movie for you.