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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 10 September 2024

Runt is an Australian family flick that takes cheesiness and corniness to a new level… but the cast are so damn likeable that they make it fly.  It’s set in the fictitious rural town of Upson Downs where farmers have been doing it tough given a lengthy drought.  A rich, villainous businessman (Thompson) has been using it to buy cheap land from financially-desperate owners and there’s one final property he has his eyes on – that owned by the likeable Shearer family.

The mum (Barber) and dad (Courtney) are struggling and so the unlikely hero in this tale is 11-year-old Annie Shearer (LaTorre) who enters her untrained dog, Runt, in a local obstacle course race and, in miraculously winning first prize, gets a shot at a national and then international title.  The prizemoney would be enough to save the farm but there’s two major “hurdles” to overcome – an arrogant jerk (Day) who has his own eyes on victory, and Runt’s “stage fright” when performing in front of crowds.

Runt is the creation of West Australian author Craig Silvey and it’s not his first adaptation for the big screen.  He helped translate his 2009 novel Jasper Jones into a 2017 movie directed by Rachel Perkins.  It too was a strong family drama (a slightly heavier tone) which ultimately earned six AACTA Award nominations including a nod for best picture.  Runt (the book) was first published in 2022 and after receiving acclaim, including a win for Book of the Year at the Indie Book Awards, the movie rights were quickly actioned.

Director John Sheedy (H is for Happiness) helms this production and, as touched on above, it’s the choice of actors he deserves most praise for.  Born and raised on the Gold Coast, youngster Lily LaTorre (Run Rabbit Run) is fantastic as the 11-year-old Annie.  Child actors tend to be a little wooden with their performances, but LaTorre comes across as a “natural” with her cheeky smile, relaxed nature, and wide emotional range.  Hopefully it’s the start of a long career.  The likes of Jai Courtney (Terminator Genisys) and Deborah Mailman (The Sapphires) add to the ensemble with their own likeable roles.  The dog is great too!

The two villains (Thompson, Day) are overdone but it’s a minor quibble for what is a fun, easy-to-watch Australian feature.  Take the kids have a good time.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 03 September 2024

Director Janine Hosking has always had a love for horses and in 2021, she reached out to those involved with Winx and asked if they’d contribute towards a feature-film length documentary.  They were more than agreeable.  In looking for a screenwriter, Hosking then teamed up with journalist Andrew Rule who has published an authorised biography of Winx in 2018.  He serves as the film’s narrator – providing facts with a splash of colour.

If new to the story, Winx was an Australian racehorse with a career spanning five years between 2014 and 2019.  Within this country, she set records for consecutive races won, the most Group One titles, and the most prizemoney earned.  The narrative could be approached from multiple angles but Hoskings and Rule focus on two key individuals – trainer Chris Waller and regular jockey Hugh Bowman.  The film is as much about them and their own backstories as it is about the famed horse.

Winx’s achievements were incredible but again, in condensing the material for cinemas, the filmmakers zero-in on two key achievements – the record four consecutive Cox Plates (the most prestigious race in Australia), and the 33-consecutive race triumphs which began in May 2015 with a smaller Group Three win on the Sunshine Coast.  A theme which comes through is the enormous pressure they all felt behind the scenes in keeping the streak going and satisfying the demands of her growing fan base.

There’s something for everyone here.  For horse racing fans already knowledgeable of Winx’s records, they’ll glean interest from the range of interviews including owners, trainers, strappers, commentators, farriers, and jockeys.  They explain everything from the horse’s name through to the precise training/spelling regimes which led to Winx’s success.  There were a few superstitions too!  Trainer Chris Waller is particularly emotional when reflecting on events and that passion is translated onto audiences.  Even if you’re not a racing enthusiast, there’s a fair chance you’ll still be engaged by this once-in-a-lifetime tale and the way a simple mare became the most talked about animal in Australia.

The film noticeably shies away from some elements of the sport.  For example, there’s never any talk about gambling and race-odds.  Further, in keeping a positive tone, there’s a lack of tension and conflict.  Everyone is largely agreeable and so much of the footage, particularly the archival stuff, consists of great race wins and expressive celebrations.  I’m fine with the approach but it does feel like it’s lacking eye-opening, thought-provoking revelations which are often found in award-winning documentaries.

Enhanced by a strong film score which ratchets up during the big races, A Horse Named Winx provides a nice summary of a great chapter in Australian horse racing.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 09 September 2024

I have vague recollections of reading books as a child, such as the works of Enid Blyton and Roald Dahl, but I don’t recall Harold and the Purple Crayon.  I know of purple dinosaurs, Wiggles and Teletubbies… but not a crayon.  Perhaps it was an American thing?  The internet refers talks of a much-loved 1955 children’s picture book from American author Crockett Johnson.  It’s the tale of a 4-year-old boy who, powered by a magic purple crayon, can draw anything he wants and then make it come to life.

Director Carlos Saldanha has been a long-time fan of the material.  Firstly, he has children of his own and loves the theme of developing a strong imagination and using it to get yourself out of trouble.  Secondly, he has a successful career making animated feature films (Ice Age: The Meltdown, Rio, Ferdinand) and so he appreciates the importance of being able to draw at a young age.  When approached by the studio and asked to direct, it was an easy choice to sign up.

There’s more than one way to skin a cat and in this case, the writers have gone with a live-action interpretation.  Harold (Levi) resides within the confides of the book but, by drawing a door with his purple crayon, he transports himself into the real-life world that exists beyond its 64 pages.  He is accompanied by his two pet animals, a moose (Howery) and a porcupine (Reynolds), who are transformed into human form.

It’s a straight-forward narrative intended more for kids than adults.  During the first half, humour is derived from watching the naïve Harold adjust to a 3D world and its nuances.  He befriends a widowed mother (Deschanel) and her son (Bottani) who provide shelter and a short education.  To give Harold’s character arc more purpose, he goes in search of the book’s Jesus-like author to ask questions about his creation.

A villain is required, and he arrives in the form of Gary (Clement), a disgruntled librarian annoyed that publishers aren’t interested his own science-fiction manuscripts.  He wants to get his hands on the valuable purple crayon to transform the world in his own selfish ways.  What follows is a standard good versus evil tale which is kept simple and sanitised for the young children.

I know I’m not the target audience, but I expected more laughs and creativity.  The characters’ misadventures aren’t particularly interesting, and an opportunity has been missed given the source material.  There’s no standout amongst the cast with Zachary Levi portraying Harold as a silly goof (every emotion is overplayed) and the likes of Tanya Reynolds, as the porcupine-turned-human, relegated to a weird break-and-enter subplot. 

If looking to entertain the family over the upcoming school holidays, I’d go with the Australian-made Runt over this.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 15 August 2024

“If there is something unsaid or undone in your life, it is never too late to rectify it.”  That quote from Icelandic writer-director Baltasar Kormákur (101 Reykjavík) gets to the heart of Touch.  His daughter gave him Ólafur Jóhann Ólafsson’s novel as a Christmas present in 2021 and, enthralled by the material, he bought the film rights within a week.  His goal was to lure audiences with a complex romantic story but tell it in a quiet, understated way.  He’s achieved just that.

Two timelines have been carefully woven together with the help of editor Sigurður Eyþórsson.  The first takes place in the late 1960s when Kristófer (Palmi Kormakur) is a young Icelander studying economics at a university in London.  Disenfranchised by the university’s right-leaning administration, he drops out and accepts a job at a local Japanese restaurant.  He starts out washing dishes but it’s not long before Kristófer’s passion is noticed by the restaurant’s owner, and he becomes an apprentice chef.

The second takes place in early 2020 as COVID spreads and airlines/hotels are on the cusp of shutting down.  Plagued by health issues, a now 70-something-year-old Kristófer (Ólafsson) gets one of the last flights from Iceland to England to track down a woman, Miko, he met a half-century earlier while working at the restaurant.  The two had a brief, intimate relationship as youngsters but lost touch for reasons explained late in the film (I won’t spoil).  Kristófer has never forgotten their blissful time together and goes in search of his long-lost love before his own clock runs out.

Touch is a beautiful film bolstered by its unorthodox cast.  Icelandic actor/pop star Egill Ólafsson was recently diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and only had enough energy to work for a few hours each day.  In playing the older Kristófer, you get a sense his personal battles helped shape the character.  He’s created a likeable, kind-hearted man with a splash of humour and stubbornness.  While he’s not big on dialogue, you’ll be cheering for him to succeed.

In looking for someone with a “John Lennon gentleness”, Baltasar Kormákur struggled to find the ideal actor to play the younger version of Kristófer.  In the end, he cast his own son!  It sounds nepotistic, but Kormákur had sign off from the film’s producers who were wowed by his audition tapes.  I agree with their decision as Palmi Kormákur brilliantly captures the softly spoken nature of the role, and the character’s overall authenticity.

Shot across Iceland, England, and Japan, Touch is a credible romantic tale that touches the heart and offers a few laughs along the way.  If all cinema was this good, this world would be a better place.

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Written by Matthew Toomey

Created: 05 September 2024

I recently revisited Beetlejuice and I don’t think it’s aged particularly well.  It was a nice-sized hit when released in 1988 (it snuck into the top 10 of the annual box-office in the United States) but looking back from today, I see it as a slight, cartoonish horror-comedy about ghosts and the afterlife.  There’s a handful of laughs and great make-up work (which won it an Academy Award) but I’d argue other supernatural comedies of that era, such as the original Ghostbusters, offer a more complete narrative (gotta save the world!) with better characters.

Director Tim Burton and the three-person writing team had an opportunity to rethink the material for the 21^st Century and create something fresh.  Instead, the film comes across a poorly conceived homage to the original with little else to offer.  There are several subplots but at its core, it’s about the now middle-aged Lydia Deetz (Ryder) who has problems to overcome after the ghost Beetlejuice (Keaton) re-surfaces for the first time in decades.

Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Catherine O’Hara are the three actors who reprise their roles from the original.  Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis don’t appear, and their absence is explained with a throw-away line.  Jeffrey Jones isn’t in the movie either but, for reasons I can’t understand, the writers decide to make him the focal “missing” character who is spoken about throughout the film.

Ryder goes too far with the “kookiness” but the interplay with Jenna Ortega (Scream), who plays her ashamed teenage daughter, is the film’s strongest attribute.  I’d argue it’s the only plot point worth following.  Justin Theroux (Mulholland Drive) plays a scummy TV producer and Monica Bellucci (The Passion of the Christ) plays a jilted lover, but their underdeveloped characters are so one-note that it’s impossible to take them seriously.  Why not given them more backstory and nuance?

Beetlejuice was just a supporting player in the 1988 movie and while he gets a more screen time here, it’s not to the film’s benefit.  We’ve just got Michael Keaton, his face smeared with make-up, acting quirky and making inappropriate comments.  Could he not have more to do?  In failing to advance his character in any meaningful way, it reinforces the view this a generic “cash grab” sequel where profit takes precedence over story.

Keep the expectations low for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.