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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 05 April 2023

It’s back-to-back weeks of reinvigorated stinkers.  Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves arrived in cinemas last Thursday and was considerably better than the lame 2000 effort.  This time around, we have The Super Mario Bros. Movie which is trying to improve on the live-action box-office flop, starring Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo, released back in 1993.

The original arcade game was by the Japanese gaming company Nintendo back in 1983.  While this film is likely to tweak the curiosity of long-time fans and gamers, I’d describe it as a movie targeted more at kids than adults.  The story is straight forward, the characters are simple, and the humour is easy to understand.  The bright colours and fun sound effects are another reason it will resonate with the younger crowd.

Writer Matthew Fogel (Minions: The Rise of Gru) wastes no time introducing us to the two heroes, Mario (Pratt) and Luigi (Day).  They’re hat-wearing plumbers from Brooklyn, New York who, despite a flashy television advertisement, are struggling to get their small business off the ground.  This doesn’t seem to be a surprise to their extended family who aren’t offering much support.

Those problems will soon be overshadowed by a set of much bigger ones.  They get sucked down a green sewer pipe and end up in an entirely different universe filled with cute toadstools.  The pair become separated (a traditional plot device) with Mario encountering an assortment of characters in search of his brother.  The list includes a wise princess (Taylor-Joy), a fire-breathing turtle (Black), and the showboating Donkey Kong (Rogen).

In making the film as likeable as possible, the directing duo of Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic (Teen Titans Go!) have gone with an array of classic songs including Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero”, and A-ha’s “Take on Me”.  These tunes, along with the bombastic music score of Brian Tyler and Koji Kondo, provide an appropriate backdrop to the hectic action scenes.  Of the voice cast, Jack Black has the most fun as the villainous, mood-shifting turtle who wants to marry the princess and rule the world.

As the tentpole animated feature of the Easter school holidays, The Super Mario Bros. Movie won’t blow you away emotionally… but it offers a tight 92-minutes of entertainment to keep children occupied.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 27 March 2023

I realise that most decisions are financially driven but when it comes to remakes and reboots, I’ve always thought it best to redo a stinker as opposed to a big hit.  It’s hard to improve on (near) perfection so why not start with a much lower benchmark?  That is certainly the case with Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves.  The 2000 movie was a critical and box-office failure (it made my worst 10 list that year) and it was followed by two direct-to-DVD releases which have been largely forgotten.

Going against the Golem effect, a theory that lower expectations leads to lower results, I’m happy to say Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Amongst Thieves is an entertaining action-adventure which confirms this franchise has a pulse.  It will clearly appeal to fans of the popular role-playing game, first published in 1974, but those new to the material can enjoy it in equal measure.  It works because (1) the tone is extremely light and it doesn’t take itself too seriously, and (2) the quality cast is fully aware of this.

Two Hollywood stars headline the group of heroes.  Chris Pine (Wonder Woman) plays a widowed father who has escaped from prison and is on a mission to locate a magical tablet that can reincarnate his late wife.  Michelle Rodriquez (The Fast and the Furious) plays a tough, no-nonsense barbarian who is rarely on the losing end of battle.  Rounding out the “good guys” are an experienced spellcaster (Page), a glitchy sorcerer (Smith), and a shape-shifting druid (Lillis).

Fresh from his memorable performance in Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, Hugh Grant (About a Boy) effortlessly steps into the shoes of the scheming villain.  He creates the film’s most interesting character – a power-hungry, wealth-grabbing swindler who can sweet talk his way out of any difficult situation.  He’s sneakily taken control of the kingdom and, despite what the people of Neverwinter may think, he’s not the least bit interested in his citizens’ wellbeing.  The role is a perfect fit for Grant who is both humorous and cunning.

It’s the one-liners which make this a winner, but the action isn’t too bad either.  There’s a Hunger Games style competition towards the end which makes great use of a labyrinth and some nasty critters.  There’s another scene in an underground cavern which gives off Indiana Jones-type vibes.  The directing duo of Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley (Game Night) have proven themselves in holding our attention for the 134-minute running time.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Amongst Thieves will surprise many… in a positive way.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 02 April 2023

In the same vein as Ford v Ferrari, Moneyball, and Jerry Maguire, Air provides behind-the-scenes insight in the world of sports management.  The scope here is narrow.  Set over a few weeks in 1984, it’s centred on a group of key staff at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon as they try to sign the much hyped 21-year-old basketballer Michael Jordan to a sponsorship deal before the start of the new NBA season.

Inspired by The Last Dance which he watched during the early stages of the pandemic, first-time writer Alex Convery crafted a script, and it found its way into the hands of Oscar winners Ben Affleck (Argo) and Matt Damon (Good Will Hunting) via their new production company, Artist Equity.  Affleck took the reins as director (and also a supporting role) while Damon stepped into the shoes of lead character Sonny Vaccaro, a scout/marketer at Nike who was tasked with identifying up-and-coming basketball players worth signing.

Noticeably absent from the film is the character of Michael Jordan.  The logic of Convery is that not seeing Jordan makes him “more mythological and mystical” but I’m unconvinced about this creative decision.  It becomes a weird distraction by film’s end.  In the handful of scenes in which Jordan appears, such as the final pitch meeting in the Nike boardroom, he is either shown from behind or obscured by other actors.  It’s an odd big-screen debut for actor Damian Delano who plays Michael Jordan in a film about Michael Jordan… and yet we don’t see him.

Another nigglingly annoying element of Air is its over-the-top montage to the year 1984.  I’ve no problem with the fun opening credits, which will bring back memories for those who lived through the era, but I’m unsure why it needed to be repeated, albeit fleetingly, at other stages.  Just let the cool sets and costumes (with an emphasis on Ben Affleck’s running gear) speak for themselves.  Do we really need unexpected clips of Ghostbusters and popular 1980s candy?

While I’m not fully on board with the artistic approach, Air is still an engaging movie because of its story, people, and dialogue.  It offers well-crafted comedy as illustrated by a scene where Affleck’s CEO character arrives late to the pitch meeting and tries to explain himself.  It also offers points of reflective, honest drama.  Perhaps my favourite moment of the film is an innocuous conversation between Damon and Jason Bateman (as the Vice-President of Marketing) as they talk about their personal lives while sharing coffee in an empty office as they work over the weekend.

Every member of the cast pulls their weight.  Damon is terrific as the overweight, nerdish scout (his speech at the end is a cracker), Chris Messina is amusing as Jordan’s ruthless, foul-mouthed agent, Matthew Maher is great as the chance-taking shoe designer, and Viola Davis is inspiring as Jordan’s negotiating mother.  The real Michael Jordan, who was involved with the production, specifically requested Davis early in the casting phase.  It’s also great to see Rush Hour’s Chris Tucker in his first movie role in 7 years.

One could argue the script is over-romanticised (it’s so easy to look back at events with the benefit of hindsight) but I like the way is addressed via two scenes at a convenience which serve as bookends to the main show.  Air knows what kind of film it wants to be… and it does it very well.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 22 March 2023

There’s a scene early in this film where our hero is told “not even you can kill everyone.”  It may be factually accurate… but it won’t stop the unkillable John Wick from trying.  In the same vein as the earlier movies, which kicked off as a surprise success story back in 2014, this is the kind of action flick where the dead body count feels higher than the number of words spoken.

And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  This is a franchise that knows exactly what it wants to be.  It’s not a James Bond spy flick with an intricate story about villainous conspiracies, and it’s not a Marvel superhero movie bringing together popular comic book characters from the past century.  There’s nothing flash about the storylines in the John Wick movies (they make no sense) but they provide great entertainment because of the well-choregraphed action sequences.

Former stuntman Chad Shalelski returns as director (he’s made all the John Wick movies) and once again, he’s crafted distinctive fight sequences which will jolt, shock and energise audiences.  The actors and stunt crew deserve praise but worthy of similar credit are the production design, set decoration, cinematography, and lighting teams.  They make the most of the terrific locations which include a boutique hotel, a pumping nightclub, a long set of stairs, and the famous Arc de Triomphe in Paris.

There’s creativity shown with the fights themselves.  One highlight occurs in a hotel kitchen where a blind assassin, played by Donnie Yen, slays a group of henchmen using martial arts and a few musical doorbells.  It’s so ridiculous… that it works!  Another great battle occurs in a building where Oscar-nominated cinematographer Dan Laustsen (The Shape of Water) and editor Nathan Orloff (Ghostbusters: Afterlife) go with a single, unedited overhead shot which will have you shaking your head with disbelief.

An action film needs a “bad guy” and the responsibility in John Wick: Chapter 4 falls on the shoulders of Bill Skarsgård (It) who is very good.  From his haircut, to his fancy suits, to his quirky accent, Skarsgård has a character who is cool and unlikeable in equal doses.  In terms of the other cast members, 58-year-old Keanu Reeves continues to defy Father Time with his action heroics, and veteran Ian McShane remains a huge asset with his distinctive voice.  It’s worth noting this is one of the last movies of Lance Reddick who sadly passed away last week at the age of 60.

There is only so long an action movie can hold by attention and despite the many positives, 169 minutes is an unnecessarily long run time.  This could easily have clocked in at two hours and been just as good.  Still, the finale is worth the wait and in my eyes, there’s yet to be a bad film in this solid franchise.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 29 March 2023

At the Jusarang Community Church in Seoul, South Korea, one will find a hole in the side of the building referred to as a “baby box”.  It’s a place where people can anonymously leave a baby they can no longer care for.  It is manned 24 hours a day and, since its creation in 2009 by the Church’s pastor, over 2,000 babies have been “dropped off”.  Unless the mum/dad has second thoughts and returns soon after, the babies are carefully looked after and then given the opportunity to be adopted.

This real-life location serves as the opening setting for Broker, a fictional tale from Palme d’Or winning director Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters).  It’s a difficult film to summarise quickly and that’s part of its allure.  There are two guys (Kang-ho and Dong-won) who have stolen a baby from the box and are looking to sell him on the black market.  There are two police detectives (Doona and Joo-young) who are following closely and seeking to catch them in the act.  There is the baby’s mother (Ji-eun) who pops up unexpectedly while fleeing serious problems.  A few other players, including a young kid, also have a part to play.

Broker succeeds in being an interesting, not-sure-where-it’s-going thriller, and as a big-hearted family drama.  Kore-eda throws in a few unexpected twists along the way which will change opinions about the key characters.  These subplots add complexity and allow the narrative to morph into something deeper and thought-provoking.  It has something to say about successfully raising a child and how there are many different types of family structures that can achieve a positive outcome.

The performances are sublime.  Song Kang-ho (Parasite) won the Best Actor prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and is terrific as the morally conflicted thief.  Bae Doona (Cloud Atlas) is excellent as the hard-ass detective who slowly reveals a softer side.  Singer-turned-actress Lee Ji-eun (Shades of the Heart) skilfully illustrates the contradictory thoughts of a struggling mother.  Is giving up her newborn the right thing to do?

Parasite helped expand the popularity of South Korean cinema with Western audiences and if the country keeps churning out films as good as Broker, that interest is likely to be sustained.