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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 24 July 2021

On the recommendation of the resort manager, two families and two other couples visit a beautiful beach surrounded by an unusual rock formation.  It takes a while for them to realise what’s going on but there’s something funky about the beach and it’s causing them to age at a rate of roughly 2 years per hour.  Unless they can find a way to escape (all obvious exits prove fruitless), they’ll have all died of old age in just over a day.

It’s an intriguing setup and it’s no surprise to see it come from the mind of Oscar nominated director M. Night Shyamalan, the man responsible for thrillers including The Sixth Sense, The Visit and Split.  It won’t take long for audiences to be asking themselves the same questions – what’s with the beach, who’s responsible, why have these people been chosen, and will they escape?  If you’ve seen the trailers and TV advertisements, you’ll probably have these questions front of mind before the opening titles.

I didn’t mind the punchline (which I won’t spoil) but everything else is frustrating and tedious.  If you’re going to make me wait 90 minutes for a worthy finale, at least give me interesting characters to care about in the lead up.  That’s the biggest issue with Old.  These people are so bland and boring to listen to.  Fleeting backstories are established (e.g. a marriage on the rocks) that end up having no relevance and, given their respective professions, it’s surprising how clueless and clouded they are when it comes to good decision making.

The film’s other major problem is making the idea look convincing on screen.  As the children age noticeably, Shyamalan tries to be creative with obscured camera angles (so as to avoid casting 10 different people in the same role) but it becomes a distraction.  It’s also hard to understand the super-fast ageing process.  I can see the physical transformation but how are these people, particularly the kids, growing so quickly in terms of knowledge and maturity without life experience?  The more you think about it, the less sense it starts to make.

Shyamalan will continue to make interesting films but when his career is said and done, this is will be forgettable entry on his resume.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 12 July 2021

Where do you go where you die?  It’s the age-old question which has been theorised in movies including What Dreams May Come, The Lovely Bones, Coco and Soul.  Brazilian-born writer-director Edson Oda, in his feature film debut, looks at the subject from the opposite end of the spectrum - where are you before being born?

Oda has created a fascinating world that is light on detail but big on intrigue.  There are a select group of people, who have already lived on Earth and passed away, that get to choose who is born next.  Will (Duke) is one such person and the bulk of the film is spent watching him test a small group of candidates, all who appear in adult form, to decide which one is worthy for human life.  The successful applicant will be born 9 months later as a baby while the rest fade away into oblivion (a process that is as simple as it is sad).

That’s not the end of it though.  Using a wall of old televisions in his living room, Will keeps a close eye on his previously selections now living on Earth.  He takes studious notes about their activities and their mindset.  He also uses VHS tapes to record major events (e.g. one of them is about to get married) and places it on their “permanent record” in giant filing cabinets.  It’s part of Will’s self-education.  He wants to see who is happy and who is not to help shape future decisions about the types of candidates he should select.

The reason Will is currently interviewing for a “vacancy” is because a young woman he previously selected just committed suicide.  It’s left him in a state of shock and together with a close friend (Wong), he looks back over old notes and recordings to understand why she took her own life and how he missed the warning signs.  He shouldn’t dwell (there’s no big boss to scold him or ask questions) but it’s clearly something he can’t let go.

It’s a great concept but there’s a lack of tension and meaning that preventing me from fully latching on.  The applicants don’t cross paths too often and so the bulk of the film is spent on semi-repetitive one-on-one interview sessions between Will and each character.  It’s hard to work out what he’s looking for.  That said, there are some beautiful sequences where Will helps each of them create one great final memory before fading away.  Star Winston Duke (Black Panther, Us) is at his very best in these scenes.

It doesn’t quite deliver on its emotional mission but Nine Days takes chances and deserves a look.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 19 July 2021

Underappreciated – it’s a feeling we’ve all experienced in varying degrees.  It’s certainly front of mind for the title character in this new Spanish comedy from director Icíar Bollaín (Take My Eyes, The Olive Tree).  Rosa (Peña) is a 45-year-old single mother/grandmother who has given up so much helping others, she never has any time to invest in her own health and well-being.

A reason she is so often called upon is because she isn’t married and lives alone.  When her brother (Armando) is spending late nights in the office, he gets Rosa to look after his kids, make them dinner, and get them to bed on time.  When her widowed father (Barea) needs to go to medical appointments, Rosa is always the one called upon because her other two siblings use dubious excuses to indicate they’re “too busy”.

The same applies at work where Rosa is a costume designer for locally made films.  She gets minimal pay and is seldom recognised for the immensely long hours put in to make sure every costume looks right and fits perfectly.  She’s long dreamed of opening her own clothing design business but she lacks the start-up capital and support to get it off the ground.

Rosa’s supressed frustration finally comes out into the open when she makes a life-changing decision – to get married.  There’s a catch though.  She’s not marrying anyone else but rather, she’s marrying herself.  It’s her unique way of taking a vow and promising to put her own wants and desires above others for once.

The strongest comedic elements in the film stem from the fact Rosa hasn’t told her close family about the idea.  They’ve assembled at a seaside Spanish town thinking she’s marrying some guy they’ve vaguely heard about.  Rosa keeps the “surprise” to herself and plans to reveal it all at the small, intimate ceremony but chaos ensues when her father, brother and sister start meddling the planning and things quickly spiral out of Rosa’s control.

It’s an offbeat idea for a movie and Rosa’s Wedding succeeds because of the beautiful lead performance of Candela Peña.  The early scenes do a great job depicting the reasons behind Rosa’s frustrations (her siblings are wonderfully obnoxious) while also showing she isn’t perfect herself (illustrated by the semi-fractured relationship with her grown daughter).  Peña brings the right mix of confidence and insecurity to the character and, while we may not want to do the same thing ourselves, we appreciate why she’s taking such an unexpected step in her life.

Perhaps there’s not quite enough material to last the full 97 minutes and a few elements stretch more into farce that warm-hearted comedy but Rosa’s Wedding is easy to like.  Others agree given the film earned 8 Goya Award nominations (the Spanish equivalent the Oscars) including a nod for best picture.  Check it out.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 05 July 2021

When it comes to music biopics and documentaries, the tendency is to focus on well-known artists.  It’s a lot easier to sell tickets and make money when you’re pitching it to the millions of existing fans who adore the likes of Johnny Cash, Freddie Mercury, Elton John, Ray Charles, Amy Winehouse and Aretha Franklin. 

On top of that, it’s also advisable to pick musicians with massive highs and massive lows.  If you want to create something theatrical and dramatic, it helps when the subject matter has battled drug addictions, marital difficulties and/or financial woes.  Audiences like to see their “heroes” rise to the top, fall down, learn from their mistakes, and then overcome adversity to rise again.

The Sparks Brothers bucks that trend.  It’s a documentary that chronicles the livelihood of two brothers from California, Ron and Russell Mael, who formed a music duo known as Sparks in 1967.  They’ve released 25 albums across more than five decades (which you’d describe as a solid, steady career) but none of their songs ever made it to #1 in a major market.  If interviewing people on the street, I’d bet a sizeable portion of the population have never heard of them before (myself included).

From what we learn in the film, Sparks have developed a cult-like following with many in the music industry.  I like the tagline used on the poster in that they’re “your favourite band’s favourite band”.  It highlights that whilst they never achieved award-winning, millionaire-type fame, their music has shaped and influenced so many other artists that did.

The film follows the natural, chronological order of events – beginning with their first album release in the 1960s and following their career through to the current day.  It’s the creation of director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) and it’s hard to believe how many people he got to speak on screen about their admiration and interaction with Sparks over the years.

Wright first met the brothers 6 years ago and he was inspired by how they could keep reinventing themselves and changing their music again and again over half a century.  It’s easy to see the attraction.  I too was immensely entertained listening to Ron and Russell open up – they’re fun, likeable, self-deprecating guys with a great sense of humour.  The same applies to Wright who infuses the documentary with his own off-beat comedy (such as creative subtitling).

The film will appeal to Sparks fans but it’ll be just as enjoyable for others.  It’s nice going into the cinema and not having any preconceived views about the subject (which might not be the case for a Freddie Mercury or Elton John biopic where you know how it will pan out).  It may sound like a stretch at 140 minutes but The Sparks Brothers is one of the year’s best documentaries and will engage you from start to finish.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 12 July 2021

Cinema has always been a mix of art and commerce.  There are actors, filmmakers and craftsmen who are willing to work for free (or close to it) if it gives them creative control and the chance to make something distinctive, meaningful and personal.  On the flip side, there are big Hollywood studios who are focused largely on box-office figures and who will use their influence to make casting and script decisions that maximise ticket sales.

Space Jam: A New Legacy feels like 99% commerce and 1% art.  The lead actor has been chosen because he’s one of the most accomplished basketball players of all time and not because he’s a scene-stealing, nuanced actor.  The endless film references (everything from Austin Powers to Casablanca) have been chosen because they promote existing Warner Bros. product and not because they’re the right fit for the narrative.  The movie itself has only been made because the 1996 original was financially successful and not because there were unresolved subplots that required resolution.

The storyline borrows from formulas utilised in the last film.  NBA star LeBron James (in what I hope isn’t a reflection of reality) portrays himself as a close-minded dad trying to push a basketball career on his not-so-willing son, Dom (Joe).  When he witnesses his son mucking around on the backyard court of their multi-million dollar home, a deadpan LeBron is quick to pull him into line and offer groan-inducing motivational quotes like “you can’t be great without putting in the work.”  For whatever reason, LeBron can’t see that his son is a computer programming prodigy who would rather make video games about basketball than play it professionally himself.

Anyway, through a convoluted series of events involving Warner Bros. executives, LeBron and Dom find themselves sucked into a Tron-like computer world run by the villainous Al-G Rhythm (Cheadle).  He divides the pair and sets up a basketball game that will decide the future of the human race.  LeBron and the Looney Tunes, headlined by Buggs Bunny, take on some of the best players in the world in the Dom-designed video game.  If they’re not in front when the final buzzer sounds, LeBron, his family, and millions of spectators (bizarrely including Pennywise from It) will be trapped in the computer world forever.

Don Cheadle isn’t too bad as the villain and the special effects crew deserve credit for seamlessly blending the animation and live action.  That’s all I have in terms of positives.  The dull, simplistic script limits any potential for this film to become something more fun, more interesting.  The only message (“just be yourself”) is rammed home ad nauseam and the climactic basketball game, with a curiously low scoring final quarter, drags on forever (it’s close to half the entire movie).

The original Space Jam is looked back at fondly but I don’t think this inferior sequel will be held in the same regard.