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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 02 April 2013

I’ve stood on a stage in front of a thousand people and delivered a speech. No problems. I do live radio every week on Brisbane’s highest rated breakfast program. No problems. Could I stand on a stage in front of 50 people and try to be a stand-up comedian? Hell no! I can’t think of many things more terrifying. Even if you fed me the jokes, I’d struggle to deliver them. Humour is not my strong suit.

Sleepwalk With Me is a very personal film for Mike Birbiglia. That’s not just because he’s the director, writer and lead actor. It’s also because the story is semi-autobiographical. He first told it as part of an off-Broadway play in New York City in 2008 and now, it has been brought to the big screen with the help of Ira Glass, the host and producer of the popular radio program This American Life.

When we first meet his character in the film, known as Matt instead of Mike, my first reaction was to cringe. It’s like he’s borrowed from the works of Woody Allen and created a neurotic, irritating fool who narrates and over-analyses every part of his life. Perhaps that’s what the real Mike is like. He’s been with his girlfriend, Abby (Ambrose), for more than 8 years and he’s tired of fielding questions about when they’re going to get married.

So why hasn’t he popped the question? Well, Matt is waiting until he gets his life in order first. He’s sick of working late nights behind a bar for a minimum wage. He’d much prefer regular, high-paying gigs where he can showcase his stand-up comedy routine. Perhaps he could even be fortune to get his own television sitcom in the same vein as Jerry Seinfeld.

Once you see Matt’s attempts at comedy, you’ll realise such goals are not dreams… but delusions. He’s utterly hopeless. A small piece of advice will steer him in the right direction though. After talking to a fellow comedian about his up-and-down relationship and a recurring sleepwalking problem he has at home, Matt incorporates this material into his act. Suddenly, he’s getting laughs. Suddenly, he’s getting paid.

It takes a while to find its feet but Sleepwalk With Me develops into an interesting film about an interesting person. You’ll be curious to know how Matt deals with his new comedic success and what effect it has on his relationship with his long-time girlfriend and his close family. It also offers a nice insight into the world of a struggling stand-up comedian. For every Robin Williams, Chris Rock or Louis C.K., there are a thousand others driving 50 miles for a gig that will barely cover the cost of their petrol.

Shot on a small budget, the film premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and has been popping up, to generally good reviews, at other film festivals across the United States. Mike Birbiglia has been in Australia for the Sydney and Melbourne Comedy Festivals (proof that his story does have a happy ending) and it’s allowed his film to get a small release in this country. If you’re interested in the subject matter, you’ll have to make sure you find time to see it.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 17 March 2013

It was just a few weeks ago that we were “treated” to Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters – an attempt to take a simple children’s fairy tale and transform it into a 90-minute action movie. Hopefully you didn’t get a chance to see it. The film was awful.

Thankfully, Hollywood has redeemed itself with much more interesting fairy tale adaptation. Calling the film Jack & The Beanstalk would probably turn away older audiences and so the producers have come up with the more “manly” title – Jack The Giant Slayer.

We follow two characters concurrently during the opening scenes – Jack (Hoult) lives with his poor uncle in a rundown shack in the countryside. The roof is leaking badly and so Jack has been sent to the castle to try to sell his trusty horse for a few gold coins. There, he meets a monk who is desperate for a horse but only has a handful of beans he can provide in exchange.

At the other end of the social ladder is Isabelle (Tomlinson), a princess in line for the throne and who is closely watched by her over-protective father (McShane). She’s tired of being cooped up inside the castle walls and is not happy that she’s being forced to marry one of the King’s closest advisors, Roderick (Tucci). Isabelle flees the castle and goes in her search of her own life, her own adventure. It leads her to Jack’s front door.

Cue the action. One of the magic beans slips through the floorboards and sprouts into a ridiculously large beanstalk that shoots like a rocket into the sky. Jack manages to avoid the carnage but the house, with Isabelle still inside, is now amongst the clouds at the top of the beanstalk.

Under the instruction of the King, a team of soldiers led by the loyal Elmont (McGregor) goes in search of Princess Isabelle. Jack also volunteers his services, despite being afraid of heights. When they finally make it to the top of the intricate beanstalk, they discover a world that was thought to be legend. It is home to a nasty group of giants who have a fetish for the taste of human flesh.

The dialogue is cheesy but there’s still plenty of fun to be had with Jack The Giant Slayer. For starters, there are a few twists in this tale. Not all the characters make it to the end and some meet their demise much earlier than expected. The visual effects are also top notch. It has given director Bryan Singer (The Usual Suspects, X-Men) the ability to create giants that are scary, menacing and imposing. You’ll be wondering how the humans can escape their enormous grasp.

It’s not a bad cast either. A decade ago, Nicholas Hoult was an unknown kid cast alongside Hugh Grant in About A Boy. Now, he’s the lead actor in a $195m Hollywood blockbuster. Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones) entertains as a villain and Ewan McGregor, complete with his delightful English accent, fits nicely into a hero-type role.

Best suited for family audiences and not afraid to throw in a splash of violence, Jack The Giant Slayer is a likeable, easy-to-watch adventure.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 24 March 2013

Some filmmakers like to transport us back in time. Already this year, we’ve revisited the 19^th Century to follow a determined U.S. President in Lincoln, a vengeful bounty hunter in Django Unchained and a forsaken socialite in Anna Karenina.

It’s time to go a little further back in time. The talented DreamWorks Animation crew are taking us back to a prehistoric era and introducing us to one of this planet’s first human families – the Croods. Much has changed over the past 4 million years… but it seems family dynamics are still very much the same.

Grug (Cage) and his wife Ugga (Keener) are doing the best they can to raise their three children. Eep (Stone) is the eldest - an adventurous girl who wants to go out and explore the world, despite the wishes of her overprotective father. Thunk (Duke) is the middle child – a not-so-bright boy who appears to have been dropped on his head a few too many times. Sandy (Thom) is the youngest – an incoherent girl who seems to have the characteristics of a rabid dog.

They’re an odd assortment of characters and they live in a very scary world. I’m not quite sure why but they seem much smaller compared to the creatures around them. There’s a particularly nasty lizard that is chasing them for his next meal. For this, and several other reasons, the Croods spend much of their time hiding in a darkened cave, guarded by a heavy boulder. Grug doesn’t want them to meet the same fate of other families who once resided in the area.

Their safe, solitary existence is about to come to an abrupt halt. In a similar plot development to last year’s Ice Age 4: Continental Drift, these characters are forced to abandon their home when the world’s tectonic plates start to shift. There are earthquakes, lava and blackened skylines. They will be guided to safety by a “caveboy” known simply as Guy (Reynolds). Having recently lost his own family, he too is looking for a new place to call home.

Kirk De Micco and Chris Sanders are credited as the film’s writer-directors but they had help from veteran actor John Cleese who contributed to the first few drafts of the script. It’s certainly nothing new. The story covers a bunch of family-friendly themes that have become entrenched within the animated feature genre. The feisty, red-headed girl, looking to explore the world against the wishes of her domineering father, reminded me of last year’s Academy Award winner, Brave.

That’s not to say The Croods isn’t an enjoyable movie. There are some fun, Flintstones-like gags that make reference to the era’s primitive technology (such as the way they take photos). The animation is very good, exemplified by a fast-moving running sequence during the film’s early stages. The voices have also been well chosen and you’re likely to enjoy the entertaining squabbles between Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone and Ryan Reynolds. It’s their three characters, nicely named I might add, that dominate throughout.

Four family movies are being released in Brisbane cinemas over the Easter period and they’ll all be scrambling for a share of the lucrative box-office. I wouldn’t describe it as “memorable” but The Croods still looks like the pick of the bunch.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 13 March 2013

For decades, Burt Wonderstone (Carell) and Anton Marvelton (Buscemi) dazzled audiences with an elaborate magic show in Las Vegas. You’ll note that I’m speaking in past tense. They are dazzling no longer. As they stand on stage and look out into the auditorium, they can see a few people and lot of empty seats.

The hotel’s manager, Doug Munny (Gandolfini), delivers an ultimatum – they either come up with a new act to lure customers or they can start looking for another job. They give it a try with a fresh outdoor stunt… but Burt’s selfish, egotistical behaviour sees it fail in spectacular fashion. It’s the last straw for Anton who tells Burt that they’re finished – both as work colleagues and as friends.

With their show now officially canned, Burt doesn’t know what to do next. He’s used to being the star. He’s used to having his name in neon lights. He’s used to living in a hotel with 24 hour room service. Now, he’s out of a job and thanks to some bad investments, he has only $200 to his name.

It’s a harsh reality check but three people will help get Burt back on his feet. As his long-time assistant, Jane (Wilde) offers support. She wants to see Burt return to the big stage with a view to getting a bigger role herself. As his long-time idol, Rance Holloway (Arkin) offers inspiration. The two meet by chance with Rance providing some wise words that allow Burt to rediscover his passion.

And then there’s Steve Gray (Carrey). He’s offering motivation… but not intentionally. Steve is the new magician in town and has already established a popular cable television program so that he can show off his talent. Burt has no intention of being upstaged. He wants to beat Steve Gray at his own game.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is the kind of film that creates laughs by having characters who look funny and speak funny. I only wish the dialogue itself was funny. The jokes are obvious and drawn out but I’ll confess there were a few moments that left me smiling. The best is saved for last – we get to see what goes on “behind the scenes” of a very cool trick.

Fans of Steve Carell should enjoy his exaggerated performance with Jim Carrey and James Gandolfini also deserving a mention. Don’t get too excited though. It is nice seeing them on screen again (particularly Carrey) but this so-so script, credited to four different writers, doesn’t given them a lot to work with. They’re capable of so much more.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 19 March 2013

Someone needs to offer a university degree in how to be a successful super villain. On the big screen, we see their plans foiled again and again. It’s not hard to see why either. They keep using the same ideas and they keep falling for the same tricks. At the very least, these villains should be watching Austin Powers on a regular basis.

In A Good Day To Die Hard, we head to Russia and are introduced to a guy named Yuri Komarov (Koch) who is about to give evidence in a high profile case. There’s massive corruption within the Russian government and Yuri knows the location of a top secret file that will expose the truth. As you’d expect, there are many that don’t want that file to see the light of day. Heading the list is Viktor Chagarin (Kolesnikov), a dodgy government official looking to protect his own interests.

The court house will soon resemble a war zone. A group of heavily armed men blow out the side of the building and try to grab Yuri Komarov before he is able to testify. It turns out they’re working for Viktor Chagarin and they have just two tasks – (1) get Yuri to reveal the location of the file, and then (2) kill him.

Thankfully, two Americans will save the day. We’re all familiar with John McClane (Willis), the cannot-be-killed hero from the last four Die Hard movies. This time though, he’s reluctantly teaming up with his son, Jack (Courtney), who has been working for CIA for a number of years. They rescue Yuri, after a lengthy car chase, and plan of getting him out of the country. They just need to track down the file first.

They shoot their machine guns, they leap off buildings and they blow stuff up. If you’re going to see this film purely for its action scenes, you’re likely to be satisfied. They dominate the 97 minute running time.

For me though, it’s not good enough. The plot is weak. At one point, we end up in Chernobyl and discover a huge stockpile of weapons-grade uranium which is going to be used by the bad guys. It’s so unoriginal. The film also lacks the comedy and the suspense that I remember so fondly from the first Die Hard movie. If you watch these films back-to-back, the deficiencies become even more obvious. Just start by comparing the villains. Could the bad guys in A Good Day To Die Hard be any less interesting?

Bruce Willis looked pretty tired by the end of the film. I know how he felt.