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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 08 October 2024

I did a straw poll around the office last week to see who knew the name Christopher Reeve.  As expected, the results were largely divided based on age.  Older folk knew him as the actor who played Superman in the four movies of the 1970s and 1980s, and whose life was forever changed after a horse-riding accident rendered him a quadriplegic in 1995.  Younger folk were unfamiliar given he passed away in 2004 and the role of Superman has been taken on by a fresh generation of actors in several movies and television shows.

Directors Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, nominated at the BAFTAs several years ago for their excellent documentary McQueen, return to the genre and have crafted an attention-grabbing film about Christopher Reeve.  It’s never easy encapsulating one’s life inside of two hours but they’ve done a terrific job using a mix of interviews and archival footage.  Reeve’s own thoughts are also on display as the filmmakers have pulled from his own audio books, recorded prior to his death, and made him the quasi-narrator of his own tale.

Told in a non-linear way, the movie spans a 30-year period.  We go back to the 1970s and learn that because of a troubled upbringing, Reeve used acting as a means of escaping his family and pretending to be someone else.  He started out on stage – working alongside the likes of Katharine Hepburn and Jeff Daniels, and becoming life-long friends with Robin Williams.  He would soon become one of the most famous people on Earth when, despite being cast a relative unknown, Superman became the highest grossing release of 1978.  The film drops interesting titbits of information regarding the production of the four Superman flicks.

There’s also a heap of material between 1995 and 2004 as we see Reeve deal with the accident, both physically and mentally, and try to find a new path for himself in the world.  Working closely with Reeve’s children, Bonhôte and Ettedgui had access to old home movie footage which audiences can now see for the first time.  It’s a “warts and all” look – highlighting the strain it took on the broader family, while also showing Reeve’s strength and bravery.  He was a likeable guy and, as alluded to in the film’s title, he was as much as “superman” behind the screen as he was on it.  Current day interviews with Glenn Close, Susan Sarandon, and Whoopi Goldberg add further insight into the person he was.

Reeve’s legacy continues today as his children maintain a charitable foundation raising money for research into stem cells and spinal cord injuries.  While his life was tragically cut short, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story reminds us that the way we deal with misfortune, not the misfortune itself, is what ultimately defines us.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 24 September 2024

We’ve seen “body switch” movies like Big, Freaky Friday, and 13 Going on 30, where immature youngsters instantly become adults and realise the grass isn’t as green on the other side.  My Old Ass has similar themes, but Canadian writer-director Megan Park (The Fallout) takes a different approach.  Instead of switching bodies, an 18-year-old Elliott (Stella) ingests psychedelic drugs and is visited by the 39-year-old version of herself (Plaza) from the future.

It’s a question many adults have asked.  With the benefit of maturity and hindsight, what advice would you give to your teenage self if you ever had the opportunity?  The interactions between the two Elliotts are hilarious as they argue back-and-forth.  The older Elliott dispenses sage advice about enjoying the time you have and staying close to family.  The younger Elliott wants to know what the future has it store – is she married, successful, happy, rich?

Clocking in at an appropriately tight 89 minutes, My Old Ass is an excellent comedy which should be seen for two main reasons.  Firstly, it boasts a dazzling lead performance from 20-year-old Maisy Stella in what is her first performance in a feature film.  I loved her extraverted, interrupting nature, her facial expressions (which say so much), and the relaxed, natural way she engages with others.  She’s created such a fun, likeable character and it’s easy to invest in her fate.  I can’t wait to follow Stella’s career going forward.

Secondly, while the themes aren’t revolutionary, the film provides a timely reminder about appreciating life’s little things.  The best monologue is offer by Chad (White) who, as Elliott’s love interest, talks about the “last time” we do certain things and how we often don’t realise and savour these moments.  There’s also strong commentary about being kind to your parents and siblings, and how being “young and dumb” isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Australian Margot Robbie (Barbie) serves as one of the film’s producers and it’s easy to see why she was attracted the project.  Filled with lots of quirky details, such as Elliott’s brother’s obsession with Saoirse Ronan, My Old Ass is one of this year’s best releases.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 03 October 2024

Hollywood tends to play it safe when it comes to sequels.  They’re too afraid to take chances and so they stick to the same templates and formulas audiences lapped up the first time around.  That’s not the case with Joker: Folie à Deux.  I wasn’t enamoured by the film, but I give credit to returning director Todd Phillips (The Hangover) for creating something madly different from the original.  If you’re going down, you may as well go down swinging!

Released in late 2019, Joker received 11 Academy Award nominations (the most of any comic book adaptation in history) and, in addition to Joaquin Phoenix’s unforgettable performance, the film stood out from the superhero pack as it was centred entirely on a villain.  This wasn’t a stereotypical, over-the-top “bad guy” stealing nuclear codes with an army of incompetent henchmen.  Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) was a strange, complex, troubled human being who was the product of broader societal issues.  I described it at the time as a Ken Loach film set in the superhero realm.

Joker: Folie à Deux is set two years later where Fleck has been incarcerated for his previous crimes and is awaiting trial.  There’s no issue as to his guilt (he murdered a talk-show host on live television) and so his shrewd lawyer (Keener) is going with an insanity plea.  She is working with psychologists, digging up details from Fleck’s troubled upbringing, and showing the jury he suffers from multiple personality disorder.  The man who murdered five people is not the real Arthur Fleck.

Working with co-writer Scott Silver (8 Mile, The Fighter), Phillips has crafted a 138-minute movie which is part courtroom thriller, part romantic drama.  Media interest in Fleck’s case is through-the-roof (it’s the first publicly televised trial in Gotham’s history) and it evolves into a circus as the judge struggles to keep a reign on proceedings.  As that goes on, Fleck strikes up music-loving romance with Lee Quinzel (Gaga), a fellow patient at the Arkham State Hospital who is obsessed with his darker side.

There are a few interesting ideas swirling around here but the film lacks the clarity of the original.  The best element is the curious connection between Fleck and Quinzel and the extent to which each other understands the intent of the relationship.  It’s rare to have a comic book movie with such a thought-provoking desire (you’ll have lots to chat about with friends afterwards).  I also liked the addition of unexpected musical numbers to again, create a point of different from the first movie.

The rest is ho-hum.  The courtroom scenes drag, the lawyer interactions become repetitive, and not enough is made of Oscar nominee Brendon Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin) as a chatty security guard.  I was hoping the film would explode with a burst of new subplots and themes but, aside from the romance, that never eventuates.  Marking the first time Joaquin Phoenix has ever appeared in a sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux is likely to generate a wide, wide range of reactions.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 16 September 2024

When the god-awful Transformers: The Last Knight underperformed financially and critically in 2017, the producers pushed the reset button and created two prequels, Bumblebee (2018) and Rise of the Beasts (2023).  Their box-office was sub-par but I liked both for their charismatic human leads, Hailee Steinfeld and Anthony Ramos.  They’re two of the better entries in the franchise and I’d happily watch them again.

The series has now reached another fork in the road.  Instead of continuing with the current-day universe, director Josh Cooley (Toy Story 4) and the writing team have gone back to the dawn of time to show the first interactions between two iconic Transformers, Optimus Prime and Megatron.  It’s a risky move as it’s a 100% animated feature with no live-action scenes or humans for audiences to latch onto.  You only need to think back to the 2007 original, starring Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox, to realise how much has changed.

The storyline has been moulded from the “David and Goliath” template of smaller folk standing up against corrupt, dominating superiors.  Orion Pax (Hemsworth) and D-16 (Tyree Henry) are close friends who toil away in the mines of the planet Cybertron.  It’s not long before they learn an evil truth about their leader, Sentinel Prime (Hamm), and they set about righting the wrongs.  The end goal is to locate a long-lost object known as the “Matrix of Leadership” which will make them heroes and ensure the planet’s survival.

The fully animated approach allows the creators to go with a lighter tone.  We don’t need to sweat the fate of a likeable human or Earth’s future.  We also know these two lead characters survive given they have appeared in later movies in the Transformers timeline.  The focus is therefore on a series of small, mini adventures where characters escape from perilous situations… while humorously squabbling at the same time.

The movie works as a comedy but when the drama dial is turned up, I wasn’t as convinced.  Sentinel Prime comes across as a weak baddie with weird motivations.  I don’t think we ever truly understand him.  When it comes to the falling-out between Orion Pax and D-16, it’s similarly rushed and muddy.  I struggled with D-16’s character arc and the suddenness in which he transformers from a nice-guy hero to a stubborn villain.

The big-name cast includes the distinctive voices of Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johannson and Steve Buscemi.  I preferred the last two movies but if you’re interested in this universe and a fully animated product, Transformers One has just enough on offer.

You can read my chat with director Josh Cooley and producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura by clicking here.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 02 October 2024

Set in 1930s London, The Critic draws from a 2015 novel (Curtain Call) authored by Anthony Quinn.  The owner of The Daily Chronicle newspaper has passed away and the business has been handed to his middle-aged son, David (Strong), who is looking to restore the struggling paper to its rightful place as a widely read, family-friendly publication.  Redundancies will be required.

One individual in his sights is Jimmy Erksine (McKellen), a theatre critic for 40+ years who has developed a reputation for his humorous barbs and brutal insults.  He’s an arrogant, self-centred person (“I doubt out readers can read”) with a penchant for cigarettes and alcohol… but he’s still incredibly powerful person who few can stand up to.  His pen has the sway to make or break a theatrical production.

The firm advice from David is to tone down the negativity (“more beauty, less beast”) but Jimmy is undeterred.  Tapping into the “freedom of expression” argument, he’s sticking with the harsh approach which has built his reputation.  The film might get you thinking about the obligations of critics and at what point the metaphorical line is crossed.  Which side will you take – David’s or Jimmy’s?

That’s about as far as my interest levels were maintained as the second half develops into a contrived, less-nuanced thriller involving a wannabe actress, Nina Land (Arterton), who seeks Jimmy’s critical favour.  Power games ensue and the narrative becomes less about freedom of speech, and more about silly plot twists (which I won’t spoil) to keep audiences guessing.  The characters struggle to stay true to themselves.

Academy Award nominee Ian McKellen (Gods & Monsters), now 85 years of age, has fun as the film’s title curmudgeon but he doesn’t get a lot of support from the script or the supporting players.  As an openly gay man, he can relate to another of the film’s themes – his character is a closeted homosexual who risks being arrested for “indecent behaviour.”  However, I’m not sure this subplot is given ample time nor is it telling us anything new.

The Critic starts with promise but fizzles out in the later stages.