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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 16 June 2013

According to Wikipedia, there are at least 640 zombie movies. I’ve got a hunch that many of these went “straight to video” but still, it’s a subject matter that filmmakers are turning to again and again and again.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from World War Z but I was hooked within the first 20 minutes. After a quick getting-to-know-you sequence in the family kitchen, Gerry (Pitt) and his family get in their car and go for a drive through Philadelphia. As they reach the city centre, they find the traffic is backed up on every street, police motorcycles are flying past and helicopters are hovering above. What is going on?

It’s a great scene because we’re only seeing things from Gerry’s perspective. We know something is wrong… we just don’t know what it is yet. An explosion in the distance kick starts the pandemonium. Thousands of people are running through the streets and screaming loudly. For those in cars, it’s time to drive as if the road rules no longer apply.

It’s time for the big reveal. This isn’t a terrorist attack. We’re dealing with ZOMBIES! Once they get their teeth into you, it’s only a matter of seconds before you’re a new member of the growing zombie army. Gerry and his family manage to escape the mayhem but only thanks to his former employer – the United Nations. They orchestrate a daring helicopter rescue and fly the family to the safety of a U.S. navy ship stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

It is there where Gerry realises the gravity of the situation. The President of the United States has been killed and the Vice President is missing. Zombie attacks are being reported across the globe and the computer models suggest that it’s only a matter of time before the planet is completely overrun.

Gerry also learns there was an ulterior motive behind his rescue. Given his expertise as a top-notch investigator, he has been asked to return to the mainland and locate the original source of the virus. He will accompanied by a doctor and a well-armed military team. It’s an extremely risky assignment but Gerry reluctantly agrees realising it’s the only way his wife and two children can be guaranteed lodging aboard the ship.

We’ve seen a bunch of action blockbusters so far this summer (Iron Man 3, Star Trek Into Darkness, Fast & The Furious 6) but this is the first time we’ve seen one offer suspense. This is not just because of the freaky looking zombies. It’s also because of the perilous situations crafted by the screenwriters (who have drawn from Max Brooks’ 2006 novel of the same name). With every major scene, you’ll be asking yourself – how the hell are they going to get out of this?

In the leading role, Brad Pitt is a good fit as the film’s strong yet reluctant hero. Ok, so it’s a bit of a stretch to think that he can pull off so many amazing escapes but still, it’s hard not to admire his character’s calm demeanour and the common-sense way in which he goes about the task at hand. Watching him unpick the mystery of the zombies is far more interesting than similar films which focus on “shooting anything that moves”. This is most evident during the finale.

Throw in a few unexpected plot developments and World War Z adds up to an engaging action-thriller. Do see it.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 05 June 2013

We haven’t seen a lot of documentaries released in Brisbane cinemas this year. By my count, Ping Pong is just the 4^th. It’s a peculiar choice in the sense that it hasn’t come with much fanfare. It has won no major awards of note and has an Internet Movie Database score of just 6.7 out of 10 (not particularly flash).

Perhaps they’re trying to cater for those, myself included, who have short attention spans. Ping Pong clocks in at just 76 minutes. I can’t think of another release over the past year with such a low running time.

Getting to the film itself… Ping Pong is a straight forward, no frills documentary that follows a group of table tennis players in the lead up the 2010 World Championships in China. So what’s so special about these particular players? The answer is their age. This is a special event for those who have reached the ripe old age of 80. In fact, there’s a player from Australia (Dorothy De Low) who recently celebrated her 100^th birthday! That’s pretty damn cool.

It’s interesting to hear their perspectives on the value of table tennis. First and foremost, it’s provided them with a way of staying active. There’s one competitor who entered a nursing home in 1997 and yet now, at the age of 89, is entering the world championships for the first time. It’s also funny to see how competitive they still are. There’s one lady who seems to be on an obsessive quest to add to her expansive gold medal collection back home.

It’s a curious subject matter but I had the feeling that more could have been achieved by director Hugh Hartford. We rush through the table tennis scenes and they don’t generate much excitement. We don’t even get to see the scores – we just know if the player has won based on the final point. It’s nice to delve into the background of these competitors but the film also veers off on some strange tangents. Why did we need to be shown a room in a nursing home where dead bodies are stored?

Table tennis isn’t a huge sport in this country but if Ping Pong inspires a few older folk to get busy and get into the game… that can only be a good thing.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 12 June 2013

Some quick facts to bring you up to speed – (1) After Earth is set about 1,000 years into the future, (2) humans were forced to flee Earth and they now live on a planet called Nova Prime, and (3) their new planet is under attack from “fear sensing” creatures known as Ursas.

If this makes the film sound like an exciting science fiction adventure, think again. This is a family orientated film… and by that, I mean that it’s a family orientated vehicle for Will Smith. Some dads will get their kid a new bike. Other dads get their kid the leading role in a $130m action blockbuster. Given that Will Smith is the film’s co-writer and co-producer, I’m pretty confident only one actor auditioned – his 14-year-old son, Jaden.

Will Smith takes on the role of Cypher – a leading general within an important peacekeeping organisation. His strong leadership has helped save the planet from numerous alien attacks and he is highly regarded by his troops. Unfortunately, Cypher doesn’t seem to have the right work-life balance. He’s spent too much time saving the world and not enough time with his son, Kitai (the role gifted to Jaden Smith).

Cypher’s wife (Okonedo) comes up with a way of remedying the situation. Kitai can accompany his father on a routine mission into a space. That way, Cypher can still fulfil his duties while spending quality time with his son. What could go wrong?

As we soon find out, a LOT could go wrong. The spaceship encounters problems and is forced to make a crash landing on the planet Earth (how convenient). Most of the crew were killed and the only two survivors were Cypher and Kitai (also convenient). The only way they can be saved is if they can locate the ship’s rescue beacon that detached during the crash. They can’t do it together though. Cypher’s leg is broken and so it’s up to Kitai to travel 100km across Earth’s rugged terrain and activate the beacon. Oh, and I should also mention that there’s one of those “fear sensing” aliens on the loose.

So is Will Smith using this film to help push the acting career of his son? Um, yes… and it couldn’t be more obvious. Let it be noted that Will Smith is a HUGE box-office drawcard. Between 2002 and 2008, he starred in 8 consecutive movies that grossed more than $135m in the United States. Studios pay him big dollars, they put him in exciting leading roles and then they sit back and reap the profits.

That’s not the case here. It doesn’t happen often but we’re seeing Will Smith in a supporting role. On top of that, it’s as if every emotion has been erased from his memory. He speaks in a robotic, monotone voice and I’d strongly argue that it’s the most boring character he’s ever played. This is a deliberate decision though. He’s being a “good father” and giving all the flashy action scenes to Jaden.

The problem is that Jaden Smith struggles to carry this film. When you think about other action leads this year – Robert Downey Jr in Iron Man, Chris Pine in Star Trek, Vin Diesel in Fast & Furious 6 – you realise that he’s not up to the task. If you’re going to engage the audience, you need someone who is strong and charismatic. Jaden Smith is not that. His character comes across as immature, over-emotional and it’s hard to believe he can extract himself from so many perilous situations (always at the last minute too).

After Earth doesn’t offer much by way of story either. The theme is well-defined (yay for a father and son getting to know each other) but the execution is messy. As part of his journey, Kitai bumbles his way through an assortment of obstacles that resemble levels in a video game. There’s one scene where he’s trying to outrun a series of giant baboons. It’s clear these baboons are faster and are closing in… but every time we switch to a new camera angle, they’re suddenly further away. What could have been an exciting sequence is anything but.

Nominated for an Academy Award in 2000 for The Sixth Sense, director M. Night Shyamalan has struggled in recent years. After a string of failures (Lady In The Water, The Happening, The Last Airbender) it’s reached the point where his name is mud. That may sound harsh but how else can you explain why he isn’t mentioned in the two trailers for After Earth? There’s always the chance he’ll return to form with a great comeback feature but sadly, that day is not today.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 03 June 2013

Now in its sixth instalment, The Fast & Furious series continues to amaze. I’m not talking about the content of the movies… but rather the faith shown by fans over the past 12 years. When it opened two weeks ago in the United States, Fast & Furious 6 took in $97.4m over its first three days. That’s the biggest opening in the franchise to date and it’s no surprise that a 7^th film is already in production. Star Vin Diesel is hopeful that there’ll be a “trilogy of trilogies”. I’m sure his agent won’t mind either.

When The Fast & The Furious premiered back in 2001, the focus was cars, cars, cars. There’s only so far you can take such a concept and so we’ve seen the series take a graduate shift towards a more generic style of action film. I’m speaking of insane villains, over-the-top storylines and elaborate chase sequences.

At the beginning of Fast & Furious 6, we find our heroes have been travelling across the globe and enjoying their newfound wealth. It’s a nice life but Dom (Diesel), Brian (Walker) and Mia (Brewster) are quickly learning an age old truth – there are some things more important than money. They’d love to be able to return home and catch up with friends over a backyard barbeque but unfortunately, they’re still wanted criminals in the United States.

But wait! There has to be a happy ending, right? Diplomatic Security Service agent Luke Hobbs (Johnson) pays Dom an unexpected visit. Hobbs speaks about a rogue British Special Forces soldier named Owen Shaw (Evans) who plans on assembling a weapon of mass destruction and using it for villainous purposes. Don’t ask me much more as I’m unsure about the specifics of weapon and his motives.

Since the best of MI6 and the CIA aren’t up to the case (for reasons also never explained), it has fallen on the Fast & Furious gang to save the day. In return, they will be pardoned for their previous crimes and given clear passage to return to the United States. There’s still hope for that backyard barbeque!

I’ve generally been a fan of this series (well, except for the awful Tokyo Drift) but this new instalment is a letdown. It’s a forgettable premise with a forgettable bad guy. I saw this film a week ago and am struggling to remember much more than what I’ve detailed above. It’s nice to see the return of Letty (Rodriguez), thought to have been killed in the fourth film, but there’s not much in the way of new character development.

As for the action scenes, I think they go too far. I support excitement with a dash of realism. That doesn’t include jumping off a speeding car, flying 20m and then catching someone mid-air. That doesn’t include chasing a plane down an airport runaway that goes for roughly 80km. Further, did we really need such fast-paced editing? With so many characters, I often had trouble working out who was fighting and who had the upper hand.

It’s interesting that the scene which generated the most excitement from the audience was the sneak peak of Fast & Furious 7 that features at the start of the closing credits. It highlights the disappointment of what this film “could have been” but brings a sense of anticipation of how fun the next film could be.

You can read my interview with director Justin Lin by clicking here.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 09 June 2013

It takes some encouragement from her daughter but Anne (Magi) is ready for a fresh start. Her mother recently passed away, her kids have moved out of home and she’s been divorced for a decade. There’s nothing keeping her Estonia and so she’s decided to accept a position as a live-in carer in Paris. She studied French in college but this will be her first trip to France’s capital city.

Anne has been employed by a man named Stéphane (Pineau) to look after an elderly woman named Frida (Moreau). Their connection is not made clear at first but we learn that these two were once lovers. It was a short lived affair and the two have remained close friends ever since. Frida professes that, along with her late husband, he’s one of only two men that she’s ever cared about.

Stéphane doesn’t provide much in the way of instruction to Anne and she quickly discovers that this will not be an easy assignment. Frida is a wealthy lady with a beautiful Parisian apartment… but she’s also rude, stubborn and reclusive. On her first full day, Anne does what she is asked and prepares croissants and tea for breakfast. Frida isn’t happy though. She scoffs that the croissants taste like plastic and she tips the tea on the floor.

I’m sure there are many elderly folk that will never change. We don’t often see them in movies however. We prefer stories about those who have an epiphany. They suddenly appreciate the richness of life and the value of good company. I speak of films such as Driving Miss Daisy, Gran Torino and The Visitor.

In this case, a trust starts to develop between Frida and Anne. They come from very different backgrounds but deep inside, they’re both realise that they’re lonely people looking for someone who will listen. In the words of Humphrey Bogart – “this could be the start of a beautiful friendship.”

There’s not much more to it than that. With only three characters of note, this is a simple, agreeable, dialogue-driven tale. It’s not preachy and for the most part, it’s not filled with artificial drama. An icon of French cinema, 85-year-old Jeanne Moreau delivers a tender performance as the grouchy yet insecure Frida. She is well supported by Laine Mägi and it’s a nice touch to see her character walking the streets of Paris by night and exploring the city’s wonders for the first time.

There’s a subplot late in the film involving Frida’s past involvement with an Estonian choir that feels a little forced, messy. It detracts only slightly from what is a warm-hearted piece of French cinema.