Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 11 August 2025

You only get one life and so you’ve got to make the most of it.  It’s a mantra I follow and, while its not revelatory, it’s a piece of advice I like giving to younger folk.  That theme as at the core of The Life of Chuck, a new film from director Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep) based off a short story authored by Stephen King (The Shining, It).  It’s a reminder to see the world, take chances, make friends, and have fun.  Enjoy life because you never know when Death will come knocking.

While it’s a valuable, powerful message, its delivery in The Life of Chuck is a little frustrating.  The story revolves around Charles Krantz, a character we see… but don’t really get to know.  He has an emotionally fraught upbringing when his two parents are killed in a car accident and goes on to discover a passion for dance and accounting.  Oh, and he seems like a nice, genuine guy.  That’s about it.  The film is scant on other details including the relationship he shares with his wife and son.

Perhaps this is due to the film’s unusual structure which is both cool and annoying.  Mirroring the Stephen King novella, it’s split into three very different acts and told in reverse chronological order.  The first two chapters show Chuck as a middle-aged adult, played by Tom Hiddleston (Thor), while the lengthy final section depicts him as a youngster, played by Jacon Tremblay (Room) and newcomer Benjamin Pajak.  I applaud the unusual approach but needed more narrative.  It unfortunately falls upon a narrator (Nick Offerman) to provide heavy-handed monologues explaining each character’s history and mindset.

I’d still recommend this though and that’s largely thanks to the direction of Mike Flanagan.  From the way he depicts the bizarre happenings in the opening act, through to a public elaborate dance sequence, Flanagan uses musical and visual stimulation to engage audiences and compensate for the screenplay’s shortcomings.  The weaving of characters and imagery between the chapters, such as a simple hand-waving gesture picked up from his grandmother, also leaves a positive impression.

Since 2012, every winner of the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto Film Festival has earned an Academy Award nomination for best picture.  The Life of Chuck took the honours last September but after an underwhelming release in the United States two months ago (it made just $7 million USD at the box-office), that streak is a near certainty to end.  Perhaps Neon bungled the marketing campaign or perhaps the movie isn’t as good as hyped-up Toronto audiences would have us believe.  It’s probably a combination of both.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 29 July 2025

There are several awards each year that honour the gifted performances of animals on the big screen.  The Palm Dog is “dished” out at the Cannes Film Festival and the 2024 winner was the Border Collie seen in Anatomy of a Fall.  People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) hand out a series of awards, punily titled the “Oscats”, which promote kindness to animals.  Media outlets light-heartedly pitch for a new Oscars category given the “performances” featured in films including The Banshees of Inisherin, EO, Inside Llewyn Davis, and The Artist.

I didn’t think much of The Friend, but I’ll concede it’s a film which may weave its way into the hearts of dog lovers.  Iris (Watts) is a New York City-based writer rocked by the suicide of a friend and colleague, Walter (Murray).  In the aftermath of his passing, Iris is asked to take custody of Walter’s loyal Great Dane, Apollo.  It’s a difficult situation for them both.  Apollo slips into a depressive state and doesn’t understand why his long-time master is no longer around.  Iris lives in a small, one-bedroom apartment and in addition to animals being banned in the building, she lacks the time to care for a needy dog.

You can see where this movie is going from the outset.  Based on a 2018 novel from American author Sigrid Nunez, it’s a tale about the value of canines in shaping our lives.  A dog is the last thing Iris wanted but, with each passing day, she forms a closer connection with Apollo which provides comfort and purpose.  In the case of the Great Dane, he slowly warms to his new owner’s mannerisms and rediscovers a sense of happiness. 

There’s not much to take away from the rest of the narrative.  There are subplots involving Iris’s interactions with Walter’s ex-wives and college students but they’re not particularly enlightening.  Bill Murray (Lost in Translation) is promoted on the film’s poster but is seldom seen given his early demise.  Aside from Iris, the only human character arc of interest is that of the building manager (Solis) who faces a dilemma when his employment obligations clash with his moral compass.

If you’re a dog lover though, don’t let my negatively dissuade you from seeing The Friend.  If there really was an Oscar for best animal performance, Apollo would be a serious contender.  He’s fun to watch!

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 07 August 2025

Weapons wastes no time in building intrigue.  A young narrator explains that at 2:17am one evening, 17 young children from a small town ran out the front door of their respective homes and disappeared into the night.  The common link is that each kid was part of the same class at elementary school and taught by the popular Ms Gandy.  A month has since passed with the parents’ grief turning into anger.  They’re frustrated by the lack of answers coming from local authorities.

Writer-director Zach Cregger, who burst into the spotlight three years ago with the impressive Barbarian, splits the film into six chapters which each telling the story from a different perspective.  There’s Ms Gandy (Garner), a frustrated parent (Brolin), an alcoholic police officer (Ehrenreich), a homeless drug user (Abrams), the school principal (Wong), and a quiet young boy (Christopher).  Each segment is like a jigsaw puzzle piece.  You can't appreciate the “full” picture until you see them all woven together.  It’s not a new cinematic technique but Cregger uses it to great effect.

If you’re a fan of horror-thrillers, Weapons delivers in spades.  This genre can often box itself into a corner by building early suspense but then realising there’s no logical path to a credible finale.  That’s not the case here.  I won’t reveal spoilers… but I will say ending fits with the material, doesn’t overstay its welcome, and provides food for thought (don’t expect everything to be explained).  The direction is top notch with Cregger using a myriad of ways to extract tension – from a simple lock of hair being cut from someone’s fringe… to a bloody battle at a gas station… through to a peculiar way of running.

The characters have also been well crafted with emphasis on Emmy winner Julia Garner (Ozark) as Ms Gandy.  She’s a heroic, inquisitive person worth rooting for but, at the same time, we see her flaws.  Her good intentions are often undermined by poor decision making.  The whole cast deserve praise.  The experienced Josh Brolin (Milk) and Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story) showcase their talents with nuanced performances while 9-year-old Cary Christopher displays a range of emotion as the unsettled Alex.

Holding your attention from start to finish, Weapons is not a film you’ll easily forget.

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 28 July 2025

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in Mr and Mrs Smith.  Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise in Eyes Wide Shut.  John Krasinski and Emily Blunt in A Quiet Place.  Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?  The category is actors married in real-life who appear together in the same movie.  The latest addition to the list is Dave Franco (Now You See Me) and Alison Brie (GLOW) who, after marrying in 2017, appear as an on-screen couple for the first time in the aptly titled Together.

There’s local connection here too.  It marks the feature film debut for Australian writer-director Michael Shanks who shot the film at Docklands Studios in Melbourne.  To have lured two well-known American actors for the production is a testament to Shanks’ script.  It’s predictable (you can see events coming before they happen) but it’s still an inventive outing that creatively blends horror with romance.

 As for the premise, Tim (Franco) and Millie (Brie) are a long-term, unmarried couple who have moved from the big city to a small country town roughly two hours away.  It’s not ideal for Tim who is pursuing a fanciful dream of becoming a musician.  The change is tailored for Mille who has accepted a new job and wants to make a difference as a passionate schoolteacher.

The pair go on a small hiking trip to get a feel for their neighbourhood but after accidentally falling into an underground cave, their lives are forever changed.  Weird stuff starts happening.  Whenever they’re not in the same vicinity, a mysterious force finds a way to pull them back into each other’s orbit.  When kissing or lying next to each other, their bodies produce a sticky, mucus-like substance that is difficult to remove.  Unable to comprehend why this is happening, Tim and Millie are seemingly helpless to stop it from escalating further.

I’m not sure the characters stay true to themselves in the final ten minutes but for the most part, Together kept me entertained.  I liked the banter between Franco and Brie which is sometimes playful and sometimes heated.  The make-up and visual effects teams do impressive work on a small budget.  Dark comedy is used at opportune times (a scene in a bathroom cubical).  The distribution rights were picked up by Neon for $17 million USD and it’s easy to see why this was the biggest acquisition to come out of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival back in January.

See it with friends as you’ll have fun debating afterwards!

Details

Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 06 August 2025

There have been several iterations of Mary Rodgers’ 1972 children novel Freaky Friday.  This movie serves as a sequel to the popular 2003 cinema release starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan.  Both stars have returned for Freakier Friday along with a host of supporting players including Mark Harmon, Chad Michael Murray and Stephen Tobolowsky.  It works as a standalone film but it’s clearly pitching itself at the family-friendly fan base which has grown over the past two decades.

Under the guidance of Canadian director Nisha Ganatra, the stakes have been raised for this follow-up.  Instead of two people switching bodies… we now have four.  Anna (Lohan) is now a middle-aged single mum who works as a music agent in Los Angeles while her own mother, Tess (Curtis), is still humorously meddling in her life.  After a whirlwind romance, Anna is set to marry Eric (Jacinto), a fellow single parent, but their lives are made complicated as their respective teenage daughters, Harper (Butters) and Lily (Hammons), do not get along.  They’re as different as chalk and cheese.

A dodgy psychic then lays the groundwork for the film’s promised mayhem.  They wake up one morning to find Anna has swapped bodies with her daughter while, more bizarrely, Grandma Tess has swapped with her soon-to-be granddaughter-in-law.  Eric has somehow escaped unscathed.  The quartet have been given a riddle about breaking the “curse” but with the wedding ceremony only days away, the clock is ticking…

Freakier Friday is simple, harmless entertainment.  It requires a stronger attention span to remember who is in each body but, in the same vein as the original, it’s about creating wacky scenarios the women must bluff their way through.  At home, Anna conjures excuses as to why she suddenly can’t kiss her fiancé and at work, she “wings it” while managing a stressed, high-profile client.  The cast have fun with their exaggerated behaviours and that vibe should impart itself on audiences.  The outtakes shown during the closing credits are further evidence of the film’s goofy vibe.

The themes are laid on thickly and several of the character personalities are rushed (it’s amazing how easily things are resolved) but there’s still a likeable spirit to Freakier Friday, elevated by the cast, which makes it worthwhile.