Trailers Week 58: 16/08/15

Trumbo

A quick film history lesson for you guys. In the post-war period, the USA was in the grip of terror surrounding the threat of communism. And the biggest threat it seemed came out of that pinko, leftist Hollywood. So to show they meant business, the US government sought to weed out the subversive elements of the film industry. One of their targets was witty screenwriter Dalton Trumbo. Already the subject of a documentary of the same name (with one of the funniest movie scenes ever), this biopic looks like it will focus on the comedy in Trumbo's life. Starring Bryan Cranston, Louis CK, Diane Lane, Stephen Root, John Goodman and Helen Mirren.

The Hateful Eight

Quentin's back with another western, this time about a group of bounty hunters who want to cash in and collect the alive part of a bounty. But one of them doesn't want this to go down. A reverse Reservoir Dogs if you will. Starring all of Tarantino's favourites; Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Walton Goggins, Bruce Dern and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Ride Along 2
Kevin Hart and Ice Cube return for more of the big man/little man schtick.

Burnt
This looks like Whiplash with food. A prodigy chef aims to open the best restaurant in the world. Starring Bradley Cooper getting his Gordon Ramsey on, Sienna Miller, Daniel Brühl, Omar Sy, Alicia Vikander and Emma Thompson.

Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List
Two friends come up with a cunning way not to fight. Don't kiss boys? This looks like the flimsiest movie ever. One poke and it will all fall apart. Starring Victoria Justice and Pierson Fode. And no, I didn't just make up those two obviously fake sounding names.

Life
Retells the story of the friendship between actor James Dean and photographer Dennis Stock. Starring Dane DeHaan, Robert Pattinson, Joel Edgerton and Ben Kingsley.

Addicted to Fresno
Two sisters attempt to get out of the hell they've found themselves in. Starring Judy Greer, Natasha Lyonne, Fred Armisen, Aubrey Plaza, Molly Shannon, Ron Livingston and Malcolm Barrett.

Stonewall
Disaster director extraordinaire Roland Emmerich (Stargate, Independence Day) goes decidedly small with this fictionalised account of the 1969 Stonewall riots in New York City. Starring Jeremy Irvine, Jonathan Rhys Myers, Joey King and Ron Perlman.

 

Trailers Week 57: 09/08/15

The Dressmaker

A high class dressmaker returns to her rural Australian hometown after living in London for many years, where the locals are less than welcoming. Starring Kate Winslet, Liam Hemsworth, Judy Davis, Sarah Snook and Hugo Weaving.

Zoolander 2

Just because he's so stupid.

Deadpool (NSFW)

No one is ever able to play this comic book character, basically because they've written into the comics that he is Ryan Reynolds, or at least looks like him. Also, the only superhero movie worth making. I am super looking forward to this self referential character and I know they will do him justice. Also starring Morena Baccarin and TJ Miller.

Visions

I don't know what to say about this rather bland looking horror film, mainly because I just don't get it. Starring Isla Fisher, Gillian Jacobs and Jim Parsons.

About Ray

An important movie about transgender awareness, a young girl decides to go through the transitioning process and deals with the confusion from the people around her. Starring Elle Fanning, Naomi Watts, Susan Sarandon and Tate Donovan.

The Last Witch Hunter

Vin Diesel plays an immortal who had hair at one stage. I'll let that image sink in.

By The Sea

Brad and Ange team up for their first movie together since Mr and Mrs Smith and this one looks decidedly more dramatic.

Fantastic Four

I think we can all be in agreement now that a Fantastic Four movie will never work. This is the fourth attempt (you think the symbolism of that number would be lucky) and it just didn't work on any level. Even director Josh Trank doesn't like it.

In 1997, new childhood friends Reed Richards (Owen Judge) and Ben Grimm (Evan Hannemann) work on Reed's teleporter. Seven years later, Reed (Miles Teller) and Ben (Jamie Bell) present their science project to their science teacher to a lukewarm reception. They do get the attention of Dr Franklin Storm (Reg E. Cathey) and his daughter Sue (Kate Mara), who are working on the same project: interdimensional travel. They bring Reed to work on their project with the help of Franklin's renegade son Johnny (Michael B. Jordan) and reclusive scientist Victor Von Doom (Toby Kebbell). Once they complete the project, Reed, Ben, Johnny and Victor recklessly use the machine to go to the other dimension, where an accident occurs leaving Victor for dead and the other three with their respective powers. Sue gets hers when trying to bring them back.

What I have just told you is more than half the movie. If you think that that is spoiler-y, let me tell you, there is nothing to ruin about this movie. The climax of this movie happened so suddenly and so soon, that I turned to my friend and said "I think it's finishing". That's because this movie has a big problem with time. Both the shortness of the film itself (it's only 99 minutes) and what it does with that run time. It is about an hour of build up to when the characters get their powers, barely any time to develop the characters, first appearance of the villain (surprise it's Doctor Doom) and then death of main villain. All up I think there are two major action sequences and they don't last very long.

Despite the lack of character and action, the design of the film is pretty nice to look at. All four have a great design in their post accident bodies, but particularly that of Ben Grimm. In the last movies, he was just Michael Chiklis in a rubber suit, so making the character CGI is a big improvement. Also Doctor Doom's design is pretty cool (he has been fused with his spacesuit). While we're on the subject of Doctor Doom, why do all the film iterations try to give him the same origin of powers as the others. He's a witch doctor from Latveria (although they do make an attempt to hint at that).

The actors in this movie don't really get time to develop much of a character at all. Miles Teller disappears for a large chunk of the film, Kate Mara acts rather moody and Michael B. Jordan tries hard (but I feel his best stuff probably ended up on the cutting room floor). Pre transformation Jamie Bell is quite good, but then his performance is lost in the CGI. Toby Kebbell is the same, as he usually gives quite nuanced performances. Reg E. Cathey however will never live up to his character of Martin Querns on Oz though.

Basically just a tease at what could have been a rich exploration into what might have been, Fantastic Four falls dramatically short of any semblance of a good superhero movie.

Jack's Thoughts - Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

My face after leaving this movie

While Ed praised the latest Mission: Impossible instalment, he admitted that he wasn't the resident fan of the series. That's where I come in.

I said in my review of the first Mission: Impossible film that the franchise began as Hollywood's response to James Bond. Five movies in and they have cemented that fact, whilst becoming their own thing entirely.

I'm not going to go into plot details because you can read those on our official review. This is just going to be me explaining how much I love this movie and the reasons why. The first being the plot. I know, I know, I wasn't going to go into it and I'm not. But this movie's plot works really well. The franchise is known for its twists and turns, some you see coming and some you don't. All in all though, it's one hell of a roller coaster ride that will keep the adrenaline running throughout the entire film.

Secondly, Tom Cruise. Say what you will about him having an insane private life, but that doesn't distract from the fact that he is a really really good actor. And that stems from the fact that he loves what he does and it shows in his performances, but none so more than the character of Ethan Hunt. Hunt is Cruise's own character that he has perfected over the last twenty years and no one else could play him, making him the complete opposite of James Bond. What I love about Hunt in relation to Bond is that while he is almost an unstoppable machine, he is also infallible. Right from day one, the character has found himself in more dire situations than any character and Cruise puts himself in those situations for the authenticity, such as hanging off a flying plane. Insane!

Now specifically this movie is great because it is entirely self-referential to the entire series. There are overt and covert references to every movie, from a rabbits foot to a super subtle reference to chewing gum that will only appeal to die hard fans of the series. The film also throws in the famous mission giving sequence, but with a huge twist, thus throwing the entire conceit on its head. We also have a huge number of jokes about how this mission can't quite be impossible.

But what about all the other great characters in this movie. Well, as Ed said, Benji (Simon Pegg) is the stand-in for the main audience, always amazed at Ethan's complete and utter insanity as well as caring for him (although I have always found Ethan Hunt the more relatable character). Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames) is the other hallmark of the series bringing his dry, but funny charm to the movie (he also represents the long standing fan of the films). Brandt (Jeremy Renner) represents the audience members who try and think about these movies from a rational point, but failing to do so and in the end coming around to see things "the only way".

That brings me to the character of Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson). Instead of playing the usual "Bond girl" of the Mission: Impossible series, she is presented as a female equivalent of Ethan Hunt. She is often as ruthless as he, but her motives are also the same. What I love about this movie in particular is that there is no sexual element between Ethan and Ilsa as there has been in the past movies. He truly respects her and sees her as an equal, which I think is a huge step forward for a big Hollywood movie like this.

"Your mission should you choose to accept it...." is find a bigger fan of this film series than me. Because Rogue Nation just cemented my already strong love. I might even go so far as to say I love it more than Bond....

Last Cab to Darwin

There are certain Australian films that are totally immersed in our cultural relevance; The Castle, The Dish and Kenny among others. However it's rare to find a film from our homegrown industry which balances social issues, local folklore, comedy and raw emotion quite as well as Last Cab to Darwin, Jeremy Sims' and Reg Cribb's long-running project, starring Darryl Kerrigan himself, Michael Caton.

Rex (Michael Caton) is cab driver in Broken Hill, New South Wales, a local town where he's good friends with everybody. When he's not having a beer with his mates, he's at home with his dog - affectionately named Dog - or snuggling up on the porch with his neighbor and mistress, Polly (Ningali Lawford), although he's not very open about the fact that he's secretly dating an Aborigine. Despite all the people who know and love him, Rex feels alone, and to make matters worse his cancer has progressed to the stage that he only has approximately three months left to live. After hearing Dr. Nicole Farmer (Jacki Weaver) discussing the recently passed euthanasia laws in the Northern Territory, Rex decides that he'll do what he does best and drive all the way to Darwin, in the hope that he'll get a chance to die with dignity. 

About 12 years after he was telling lawyers to "go and get stuffed" and arguing over the price of jousting sticks, Michael Caton signed on to the lead role in Last Cab to Darwin, and after years of script re-writes and funding debacles, the film is getting an unusually widespread release around Australia. An international theatrical run is unlikely at this stage but I certainly hope something will come of it, because as we burgeon on potentially our best year in two decades as an industry, this film certainly sets the bar high for local productions. It's also sure to be a high-point in Michael Caton's career, because as much as I love Darryl Kerrigan, there's no doubt that this is Caton's best performance to date. The dry wit and down-to-earth attitude of a lonely, dying taxi driver is perfectly encapsulated in his portrayal, to the point that it's almost impossible not to love and sympathize with Rex.

Jacki Weaver is good as the soft-spoken, yet determined Dr. Nicole Farmer - although her role could have been more fleshed out - and Mark Coles Smith exudes charisma as the somewhat confused, but always entertaining Tilly. Some elements of the plot feel slightly too contrived, particularly when Rex and Tilly just happen to connect with a backpacker who's also a well-trained nurse, but overall this is a well-written, character driven film.

With a story that could have so easily rolled into road-trip cliche hell, Sims adroitly swerves around the obvious to tell a provocative story about Rex, and surprisingly does justice to almost all the supporting characters. There's an eloquence to the ease with which Last Cab to Darwin approaches a range of different issues - both personal and social - without blatantly commenting on the fragility of the human condition.  There's a definite mateship between Rex and his friends, even when they selfishly avoid his personal issues and choose to just natter over a beer, and on some level the film recognises the apartheid nature of the outback which we don't necessarily hear about in the coastal regions of Australia.

In a Q&A after the screening, Sims described Rex as Darryl Kerrigan's alter ego, an introvert that firmly believes that nobody would miss him if he were to be euthenised, allowing him to initially undertake the journey without too much personal struggle. "I'm a Cab driver Doc. So I'm gonna drive my cab until I can't drive it any more". In this respect, it's as much a film about learning to better understand just what we all mean to each other, as it is a spark toward the almost-dormant euthanasia debate.

Whilst central to the story, euthanasia and all the opinions around it are handled with a suitably light touch. The film convinces its audience that its a worthwhile debate but also manages to represent all the perspectives. We understand the position of Dr. Farmer, who comes off as slightly selfish in her push to support euthanasia. We see the effects of Rex's decision on those that love him, and most importantly, we're entirely sympathetic to Rex himself, no matter what decision he finally decides to make.

Last Cab to Darwin is a fantastic road film, taking a sensitive issue that will relate to a global audience and treating it with all the respect it deserves, perfectly situated in a unique setting with a character that will no doubt go down as a memorable element of Australian cinema. The message of the film isn't necessarily that everybody should have the right to die with dignity when they choose, but rather that everybody should have the right to live a gratifying life.

Trainwreck

Judd Apatow's last few movies have been getting a tiny bit more serious than his earlier films. Trainwreck (based on an autobiographical script by comedienne Amy Schumer) straddles a fine line between being a serious and silly comedy.

Amy (Schumer) is taught a valuable lesson by her father Gordon (Colin Quinn) when she is younger: the idea that monogamy is outdated and doesn't work. Flash forward twenty years and Amy still follows this rule, sleeping with as many guys as possible, despite dating gym-junkie Steve (John Cena). Amy works for men's magazine S'nuff and is assigned the job of writing an article about sports doctor Aaron Connors (Bill Hader), with whom she has her first serious relationship. Confused by her feelings, she looks to her younger sister Kim (Brie Larson) for guidance.

Schumer definitely brings her own brand of comedy to the table here. Her TV series Inside Amy Schumer questions the gender pigeonholing that takes place in society and in a way Trainwreck follows suit, although taking a more autobiographical tone and mixing that with Apatow's mass appeal filmmaking. The movie does make a decent attempt to ask why can't women go and sleep with as many guys as they want in the same way men do. However, this attempt only makes up the first third of the film. The remainder seeps into typical rom-com territory, with Amy eventually succumbing to the archetypical female in a romantic comedy. In fact the entire second half of the film is pretty by the book in that regard.

Overall however, the film is pretty funny. Schumer isn't as crass as Melissa McCarthy but finds the right balance of dirty jokes, as well as jokes about her ineptitude with sports (sports being a major part of this movie). The film also has one of the funniest funeral scenes I have seen outside of Death at a Funeral. The film also handles its more tender moments with grace.

The performances are a bit of a mixed bag. Schumer does an okay job at taking the lead role, but the best parts for me were Colin Quinn and basketball player LeBron James. Quinn brings his usual acerbic dry delivery to the role, making Amy's father Gordon a memorable character. James plays against how you think he would be in real life, super protective of his friend Aaron's feelings and a bit of a sensitive soul. British actress Tilda Swinton is extremely unrecognisable as Amy's boss Dianna, all fake tan and hair done up. It's actually quite a remarkable thing to see if you are a fan of her work. Hader isn't at all trying in this film, instead letting Schumer take the limelight. Brie Larson has also done better elsewhere.

There are some great smaller supporting roles and cameos. Mike Birbiglia plays Amy's brother in law who annoys her with his extremely submissive personality. Randall Park hilariously plays one of Amy's colleagues and Ezra Miller is also funny as the office intern. There are some great cameos by Matthew Broderick, as well as Daniel Radcliffe and Marisa Tomei who both appear in a film within a film called The Dogwalker.

Although it could have been better in terms of its structure, Amy Schumer's first foray into feature film writing is pretty funny and enjoyable to watch.

Trailers Week 56: 02/08/15

The 33

Casting actors that are native Spanish speakers in a film about the Chilean mining disaster of 2010 doesn't distract from the fact that the film is still in English. I'm pretty sure the miners involved speak Spanish, so why not just have it be in that language. Starring Antonio Banderas, Rodrigo Santoro, Jacob Vargas, Juan Pablo Raba and Mario Casas.

The Night Before

This Seth Rogen-Evan Goldberg comedy looks like it will follow along in the same tradition of their other films and I really like those, so I'm looking forward to this one. To top it off, it's a Christmas movie that really captures what the season is all about. Three best friends have their last annual Christmas Eve night before finally accepting that they have to grow up. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anthony Mackie, Seth Rogen, Jillian Bell and Lizzy Caplan.

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Look, I'm gonna be honest, I don't quite understand the political ammo that the Benghazi attack represents in US media. And this movie looks like it is going to be super political. Starring buff John Krasinski.

Zipper

Patrick Wilson plays a mash up of Bill Clinton and Frank Underwood in this thriller about a politician who can't keep his pants on. Also starring Lena Headey, Dianna Agron, Richard Dreyfuss, Ray Winstone and Christopher McDonald.

Queen of Earth
Wow, it's been so long since I've seen a trailer with a voiceover. Starring Elisabeth Moss and Katherine Wasterston.

Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine
Documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney is not known for pulling punches in his movies. Expect no less from his look at Steve Jobs.

Spotlight
This film follows the investigative journalist team who blew the lid on sexual abuses in the Catholic Church in Boston. Starring Michael Keaton, Liev Schreiber, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Stanley Tucci, Billy Crudup and John Slattery.

6 Years
A drama about a young couple who have only been with each other start to question their relationship. Starring Taissa Farmiga and Ben Rosenfield.

Room
This scary looking movie is about a mother and her child who have been kidnapped and trapped in a single room. Starring Brie Larson, Joan Allen and William H. Macy.

Some Kind of Beautiful
Pierce Brosnan plays an older version of his character from Mrs Doubtfire who ends up sleeping with two sisters. Also starring Jessica Alba and Salma Hayek.