Tag: Better Than Average Bear

Review: Mickey 17

So, you’re Bong Joon-ho. Your film Parasite unanimously wins the Palme d’Or, becomes the highest-grossing South Korean film in history, and pulls off the Guinness World Record feat of scoring Academy Awards for Best Picture, International Feature Film, Original Screenplay, and Director. Naturally, your next move is a sci-fi black comedy romance with Robert Pattinson.

For those only half-watching Bong’s career, this might seem like an odd, left-field pivot into Hollywood. But let’s not forget: Snowpiercer already took him there, and Okja brought the titular genetic super pig to Netflix screens. This is hardly new ground for a filmmaker whose tongue has always been planted firmly in cheek.

Based on Edward Ashton’s 2022 novel Mickey7, writer/director Bong leans into the same over-the-top satire as Okja, landing somewhere near Starship Troopers. The film follows Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) and his childhood friend Timo (Steven Yeun), who flee Earth for the offworld colony of Niflheim after falling into debt over a Macron business.

Without reading the fine print, Mickey signs on as an ‘Expendable’—a human drone sent in for the dangerous work. When he dies (which he has, sixteen times by the time we meet him), he’s simply printed again with his memories intact. Things get complicated when Mickey 17 is mistakenly presumed dead and Mickey 18 takes his place.

There’s very little subtlety to MICKEY 17, which might be one of the most glorious things about it. The expedition is led by failed political candidate turned cult leader Kenneth Marshall (Mark Ruffalo), whose followers wear red caps with slogans on them. Yes, it’s that kind of picture. Yet in a film where Pattinson regularly flops out of a printing tube like meat, and Marshall’s wife Ylfa (a wonderfully unhinged Toni Collette) has an unhealthy obsession with sauces, you can’t afford to take half-bites.

One of the joys of the first half of the film is watching Pattinson’s take on the monotony of functional immortality. Between the daily grind and being dispensed in increasingly absurd fashion, Mickey 17 has resigned himself to eke out existence just as it is. A light romance with security agent Nasha (Naomi Ackie), who has remained his girlfriend since his first iteration, adds a sliver of emotional grounding.

With the arrival of Mickey 18—and a wonderfully chaotic dual turn from Pattinson—the film shifts gears. The discovery of giant bugs on Niflheim sets up broad satire on the nature of colonisation, religious fanaticism, and arguably, immigration as well. Here, Ruffalo and Collette deliver their batty best, skewering everything from conservative televangelists to political leaders like, well, you know.

There’s possibly too much happening in the last act of MICKEY 17, particularly during an extended denouement that tries to pull the rug out from under us more than once. Still, Bong’s film remains a sharp and enjoyable sci-fi flick with a brain—one smart enough to know when to be stupid.

2025 | USA, South Korea | DIRECTOR: Bong Joon-ho | WRITERS: Bong Joon-ho | CAST: Robert Pattinson, Naomi Ackie, Steven Yeun, Toni Collette, Mark Ruffalo | DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros. Pictures (USA), Universal Pictures (Australia) | RUNNING TIME: 137 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 6 March 2025 (Australia), 7 March 2025 (USA)

March 5, 2025
Review: Guns of Redemption

The western genre has changed a hell of a lot over the past century. Once the dominant force in cinematic storytelling, it’s now mostly the domain of filmmakers with a genuine passion for the era. While Kevin Costner’s multipart Horizon saga tackles the genre on the grandest scale possible, director Brian Skiba works with smaller, but no less faithful, strokes in GUNS OF REDEMPTION.

Set sometime after the Civil War, the film follows a preacher (Sean Astin) trying to rebuild a community’s church. He’s aided by a taciturn stranger known only as Luke (Casper Van Dien), a man determined to leave his violent past behind.

That is, until General Bork’s (Jeff Fahey) mobile brothel rolls into town, dragging Luke back into his gunslinging ways to protect sisters Charlotte (Kaitlyn Kemp) and Anna (Siena Bjornerud). Soon, there’s a ticking clock to save the women and put an end to Bork’s reign of terror.

From its title to its familiar plotting, GUNS OF REDEMPTION isn’t reinventing the wagon wheel. Instead, Kieth Merrill’s screenplay keeps the focus tight on its four central characters. Once the gunplay starts, the film unfolds as a lean series of escapes, wagon chases, and inevitable shootouts in the woods.

Van Dien remains a solid leading man, playing his gunslinger like a wounded animal backed into a corner. But it’s truly Bjornerud and Kemp who carry the film’s dramatic weight, alongside Liz Atwater as Lulu, a fellow captive sex worker—giving us characters to root for. Meanwhile, Fahey, a seasoned western veteran, feels as though he was born into the role of Bork, delivering a menacing, pitch-perfect villain.

Skiba and cinematographer Elliott Montello make full use of the Kentucky locations, from wagon trails cutting through lush green fields to the climactic battle in the trees. Some effects betray the film’s low-budget origins, but never to a distracting degree.

Skiba has built a career on these straight-up genre flicks, and GUNS OF REDEMPTION doesn’t stray far from the model of his recent work. Still, with a growing collection of westerns under his belt—and more on the way—he continues to carve out an enjoyable niche.

2025 | USA | DIRECTOR: Brian Skiba | WRITERS: Kieth Merrill | CAST: Casper Van Dien, Jeff Fahey, Kaitlyn Kemp, Siena Bjornerud, Sean Astin | DISTRIBUTOR: Shout! Studios | RUNNING TIME: 97 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 7 March 2025 (Digital)

March 4, 2025
Review: Rocky’s

The hangout film is a time-honoured tradition, often following characters as they transition from one stage of life to the next. While typically the domain of teen fare, it becomes even more compelling when applied to later-life changes. Such is the case with Benjamin Cohen and Max Strand’s ROCKY’S, a film that navigates the grief process through a group of old friends.

In their youth, Charlie (Jasai Chase-Owens) and his friends loitered in the parking lot of the titular 24/7 neighbourhood deli. But after going to college, Charlie drifted apart from his hometown crew. Following the death of his ex-girlfriend, he returns for the funeral—and a reluctant reunion.

From Charlie’s perspective, everything is the same but different. Danny (Gil Perez-Abraham) is secretly seeing Sophia (Ani Mesa), unbeknownst to her boyfriend. Noah (Branden Lindsay) is dating someone nobody believes exists. Socks (Steven Maier), the wildcard, wields a realistic BB gun with careless ease. With the funeral looming and old tensions simmering, a breaking point feels inevitable.

As expected from a hangout film, ROCKY’S is in no hurry to force conclusions—or even resolutions. Shot on location in a parking lot overlooking a baseball field, its world feels untethered to a specific time. At moments, it evokes the 1990s, the spiritual home of the genre; at others, it feels sharply contemporary. Yet more than anything, the appeal lies in simply spending time with these people.

While most of the cast aren’t newcomers, their relatively unknown faces—paired with the film’s unhurried rhythm—lend it a lived-in authenticity. Balancing comedy and pathos, Cohen and Strand seamlessly juxtapose a parking lot brawl with quiet moments of revelation and raw honesty. Comparisons to Cameron Crowe and Kevin Smith are inevitable, but ROCKY’S never feels like an imitation.

Skipping the typical indie festival circuit for a straight-to-digital release, ROCKY’S seems content to find its own groove. It may not revolutionise the genre, but it reinforces that there’s a hungry audience for films like this—ones that don’t need to shout to be heard.

2025 | USA | DIRECTOR: Benjamin Cohen and Max Strand | WRITERS: Benjamin Cohen and Max Strand | CAST: Stanley Simmons, Ben Cook, Gil Perez-Abraham, Jasai Chase Owens, Ani Mesa, Sharlene Cruz, Steven Maier, Brandon Lindsay, Dante Palimteri, Dani Foster | DISTRIBUTOR: Gravitas Ventures | RUNNING TIME: 80 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 21 January 2025 (Digital)

February 24, 2025
Review: The Monkey

Some of the best Stephen King adaptations have come from his short stories and novellas, from Stand By Me and The Shawshank Redemption to The Mist. Perhaps it’s because King’s work provides the bones and lets filmmakers create their own cemetery.

Like Rob Savage’s recent take on The Boogeyman, writer/director Osgood Perkins takes the framework of King’s titular short story—first published in 1980 and later collected in Skeleton Crew—and gleefully runs amok in an expanded version of that world. Perkins wastes little time showing us his intentions, as a blood-splattered Capt. Petey Shelburn (Adam Scott) attempts to rid himself of an organ-grinder’s monkey toy with predictably bloody results.

Yet the bulk of the story focuses on his children, twins Hal and Bill (Christian Convery). After finding the monkey among their father’s belongings, a series of bizarre deaths start occurring around the squabbling brothers. Following the loss of their mother (Tatiana Maslany) and the apparent eradication of the monkey, the pair grow further estranged.

Cut to 25 years later, and weird stuff starts happening again. The adult Hal (Theo James) struggles to connect with his own son (Colin O’Brien), who resents Hal’s lengthy absences. Yet as bodies begin to drop—someone evidently controlling the monkey again—it quickly turns into a messed-up bonding road trip.

King’s original short story has often been praised and interpreted as an exploration of intergenerational trauma, inherited guilt, and parenthood in the face of an absent father. Perkins’ version retains all of this but delivers it with such a gleeful sense of the macabre that you can sit back and enjoy the chaos for what it is.

What might surprise you, especially after Perkins’ unnerving Longlegs, is just how funny THE MONKEY can be. Each death—from a decapitation at a teppanyaki restaurant to one involving fish hooks and a mailbox—somehow manages to sneak up on you, even with a giant neon signpost lighting the way.

Much of this is thanks to the sublime editing from Greg Ng and Graham Fortin, whose scalpel-like precision inserts gags and jump scares with deft timing. Set against Perkins’ ’90s-by-way-of-the-’70s aesthetic, it feels like walking through a surreal funhouse drenched in human goop.

The rest is down to a completely deadpan James, whose narration maintains the story’s literary origins while dryly observing the horrors around him. Playing dual roles in the film’s back half, it’s only a slight tonal shift towards the silly that keeps this from fully sticking the landing.

Still, in every other way, THE MONKEY is an unhinged delight. It won’t just join the ranks of other possessed doll films but will earn its cult status for its mix of Sam Raimi-esque dark humour and self-aware references aimed squarely at the core horror faithful.

2025 | USA | DIRECTOR: Osgood Perkins | WRITERS: Osgood Perkins (based on the short story by Stephen King) | CAST: Theo James, Tatiana Maslany, Elijah Wood, Christian Convery, Colin O’Brien, Rohan Campbell, Sarah Levy | DISTRIBUTOR: Roadshow Films (Australia), Neon (USA) | RUNNING TIME: 98 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 20 February 2025 (Australia), 21 February 2025 (USA)

February 18, 2025
Review: Captain America: Brave New World

This latest installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) arrives at something of a juncture. It’s not just a new hero taking on Steve Rogers’ legacy but one navigating a vastly different landscape. Where a Marvel film was once a tentpole event, it’s now simply another chapter in an ever-expanding multimedia web.

Which is why stepping into CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD might come with a nagging sense of having missed something. Not only is this the 35th entry in the MCU, but it directly follows the 2021 Disney+ miniseries The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. A quick Wiki refresher might be advisable before heading into the cinema.

Marvel Comics have long paralleled the real world, so it’s little surprise that the MCU has had its own US presidential election. Former general and Hulkbuster Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) now sits in the Oval Office. After a successful covert mission, Ross invites Captain America Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and his new sidekick Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez) to the White House. To Sam’s surprise, he’s asked to restart the Avengers.

Yet when the president’s life is endangered by those closest to him and one of Sam’s allies is framed, Cap and Torres must team up with no-nonsense operative and former Widow Ruth Bat-Seraph (Shira Haas) to uncover the truth. What they find reaches deep into the bowels of MCU history.

Within the Captain America framework, the character has previously headlined a WWII adventure, a political thriller, and an all-out superhero brawl. BRAVE NEW WORLD leans into the thriller territory carved out by The Winter Soldier. But where Anthony and Joe Russo were charting fresh ground, director Julius Onah’s film is just as interested in looking back as it is forward.

The film’s first half does much of the heavy lifting, reestablishing Ross as a changed man since The Incredible Hulk (literally, thanks to the late William Hurt’s recasting). Constant references to daughter Betty, a villain from the past, and some choice cameos ensure its continuity within the broader MCU. The world’s response to Celestial Island finally gives some closure to the bombshell left at the end of Eternals nearly four years ago.

For the most part, this works, and the action is reliable if unspectacular. Through a series of rapid-fire fistfights, Wilson is established as every bit as formidable as his predecessor, albeit more reliant on gadgets. A standout sequence sees Captain America and his would-be Falcon dogfighting above a fleet in the Indian Ocean.

Yet for a film with five credited screenwriters, one has to wonder if this is the best they could come up with. They play it almost aggressively safe, stitching together investigative beats with set-pieces, rolling out the villain reveal, and leading up to the inevitable digital smackdown. If you’ve seen any of the promotional material, it’s no spoiler that Red Hulk and Captain America face off on the streets of Washington, D.C. The CG-heavy battle feels like a throwback—but perhaps there’s something vaguely comforting about that.

Still, it’s hard to shake the feeling that this is just placeholding. After spending six episodes pondering his worthiness to carry Cap’s shield in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Sam finds himself rehashing some of those same anxieties here. Mackie is every bit the leading man, but the narrative struggles to let him shine as much as the in-universe doubters.

By the time the inevitable post-credits scene rolls, one wonders if we’ve actually moved forward at all. CAPTAIN AMERICA: BRAVE NEW WORLD is a solid enough entry but could have just as easily played out on Disney+. In some ways, it already has. Or maybe, in a world already overflowing with real-world political chaos, Marvel’s brand of action politics is starting to feel downright conventional.

2025 | USA | DIRECTOR: Julius Onah | WRITERS: Rob Edwards, Malcolm Spellman, Dalan Musson, Julius Onah, Peter Glanz | CAST: Anthony Mackie, Harrison Ford, Danny Ramirez, Shira Haas, Carl Lumbly, Xosha Roquemore, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Giancarlo Esposito | DISTRIBUTOR: Disney | RUNNING TIME: 118 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 12 February 2025

February 12, 2025
Review: Companion

SPOILER ALERT: While this review avoids revealing the myriad twists and turns that make the film a delight, it does touch on some basic plot elements that might be considered mild spoilers.

Who needs messy human interaction or even dating apps when you can fall for the algorithm itself? From Westworld and Blade Runner to Ex Machina and Black Mirror, the intersection of love, humanity, and technology has long been fertile ground for storytelling.

In Drew Hancock’s striking directorial debut, he flips the script on this familiar trope by exploring a world where artificial companions don’t complete us but amplify our worst instincts. While its shopfront premise might evoke Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Air Doll or Maria Schrader’s I’m Your Man, this darkly funny thriller proves to be something far more disarmingly clever.

Iris (Sophie Thatcher) is, to borrow a phrase from Olivia Newton-John, hopelessly devoted to Josh (Jack Quaid). She bends over backwards to please him, even agreeing to a vacation with Josh’s friends, including Kat (Megan Suri) and her sleazy Russian boyfriend Sergey (Rupert Friend).

Despite Kat’s barely veiled hostility, Iris starts to find her groove with the group, including lively couple Eli (Harvey Guillén) and Patrick (Lukas Gage). That is, until Sergey makes an unwanted advance, forcing Iris to kill him in self-defence. It’s at this shocking juncture that the film drops its first bombshell: Iris is not human but a companion robot, meticulously designed to fulfil Josh’s every whim.

From here, it would be criminal to reveal anything more. I went into this having avoided almost all pre-release buzz, and it made all the difference. Like one of those crime films where every plan spirals disastrously out of control, Hancock’s script doles out one curveball after another. What sets COMPANION apart, though, is how unexpectedly funny it is amidst the chaos.

Hancock uses sharp, well-timed humour to cut through the tension, elevating the film beyond Stepford Wives comparisons into something far more winking. By weaving in themes of #MeToo and toxic masculinity, the film transitions into an exploration of autonomy and control. Following in the thematic footsteps of Don’t Worry Darling and Don’t Blink, Hancock’s film truly comes alive when Iris confronts her lack of agency, transforming into a more compelling story.

This pivot gives Sophie Thatcher a platform to showcase her incredible range. Known for her role in Yellowjackets and her supporting turn in Heretic, Thatcher delivers a standout performance, effortlessly embodying Iris’ malleable personality, which literally shifts at the push of a button. Jack Quaid, meanwhile, easily sheds his voice-acting familiarity from Star Trek: Lower Decks and Strange New Worlds to convincingly portray the deadbeat boyfriend. And Rupert Friend? His eerie transformation into Sergey is so complete it feels almost unsettling.

As Hollywood—and society at large—grapples with the implications of artificial intelligence, COMPANION arrives as a timely reflection on the balance of power in all relationships, not just those between humans and technology. It may not change your perspective on AI, but it will undoubtedly leave you chuckling long after its final twist.

2025 | USA | DIRECTOR: Drew Hancock | WRITERS: Drew Hancock | CAST: Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Harvey Guillén, Rupert Friend | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures (Australia), New Line Cinema (USA) | RUNNING TIME: 97 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 30 January 2025 (Australia), 31 January 2025 (USA)

January 24, 2025
Review: Anora

Following The Florida Project and Red Rocket, Sean Baker had set a high bar for himself, and ANORA seemed to rise to the occasion when it snagged the Palme d’Or at Cannes earlier this year. Yet, while the film brims with Baker’s signature style, it also reveals cracks in his approach, occasionally veering from lyrical observation into exploitative voyeurism.

Baker wastes no time establishing the tone, opening the film with an unflinching, intimate look at exotic dancer Anora (Mikey Madison)—or Ani, as she prefers to be called. The camera lingers on her private performances and the transactional moments in back rooms with clients. It’s a provocative opening, one that sets the stage for Ani’s journey, but it immediately raises questions about whether Baker’s gaze is empathetic or merely indulgent.

That question seems to find its answer in the frenetic energy of the film’s first act. The arrival of rich kid Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn), the son of a Russian Oligarch, plunges Ani into a whirlwind week of indulgence and excess. Baker leans into the chaos, punctuating the edit with seemingly gratuitous sex scenes, mirroring Ivan’s reckless abandon—like his boyish glee while rolling on the bed, eager for his first paid encounter with Ani. The segment culminates in a quickie Vegas wedding, where the film abruptly pivots.

Once Ivan’s parents catch wind of the impulsive nuptials, they dispatch his godfather Toros (Karren Karagulian) alongside henchmen Garnick (Vache Tovmasyan) and Igor (Yura Borisov) to force an annulment. Chaos ensues as Ivan bolts, leaving Ani screaming and the hired muscle scrambling across town in pursuit of the petulant groom.

As virtually any discussion of ANORA will tell you, Mikey Madison is the undeniable star here. No matter how much punishment the script hurls at her—and it’s lamentably quite a bit—she remains nothing less than raw and genuine. Spending much of the lengthy runtime in a state of perpetual distress, Ani’s escalating calamities echo the relentless spiral of Red Rocket’s protagonist. Yet, this familiarity breeds a sense of repetition, as if the film, like Ani herself, refuses to let the night end because it knows the fragile supports will collapse in daylight.

It’s also around this point that you might question whether Anora as a character is stretched a little too thin. Baker has a knack for crafting deeply flawed leads, with Simon Rex’s Red Rocket antihero being a prime example. (Though, let’s face it, the humour in Red Rocket leaned uncomfortably on the predatory undertones of an older man grooming a teenager). Here, Baker populates ANORA with few, if any, likeable characters, and while Madison imbues Ani with fire and fury, the role lacks the layered humanity of Bria Vinaite’s Halley in The Florida Project. The only exception comes in a few awkwardly tender moments from Borisov, but even these are fleeting.

Ultimately, ANORA is a tightly focused character study driven by a powerhouse performance, but it runs out of meaningful things to say about its subject. By the film’s final moments, Ani’s decisions and emotional fractures cry out for a nuanced understanding of women’s experiences, something Baker’s semi-exploitative gaze can’t quite provide. Perhaps, in the end, Baker’s penchant for provocation has overshadowed the story he set out to tell.

2024 | USA | DIRECTOR: Sean Baker | WRITERS: Sean Baker | CAST: Mikey Madison, Mark Eydelshteyn, Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, Aleksei Serebryakov, Darya Ekamasova | DISTRIBUTOR: Kismet (Australia), Neon (USA) | RUNNING TIME: 139 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 26 December 2024 (Australia), 18 October 2024 (USA)

December 17, 2024
Review: The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

Animation has long been drawn to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth. As early as the late 1930s, Walt Disney toyed with the idea of adapting The Hobbit, while Rankin/Bass and Ralph Bakshi took on the challenge in the 1970s and 80s with varying degrees of success.

Kenji Kamiyama’s THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM, however, feels like a bridge between eras. It draws as much from the visual language of Peter Jackson’s six live-action adaptations and the rich tradition of Japanese cinema and anime as it does from its animated predecessors. It also doesn’t hurt that Miranda Otto returns to narrate the film as the character of Éowyn.

Set 180 years before the events of The Lord of the Rings, this animated tale shifts its focus to Hera (Gaia Wise), the daughter of Helm Hammerhand (voiced by Brian Cox), the King of Rohan. When tragedy strikes following Wulf’s (Luke Pasqualino) failed proposal to Hera, the son of Freca launches an invasion of Rohan.

In response, Hera and Helm lead their people to seek refuge at the Hornburg, where they hold out against the Dunlendings. This legendary stronghold, etched into the history of Middle-earth, will eventually come to be known as Helm’s Deep.

Drawing primarily from Appendix A of The Lord of the Rings (and with some inspiration from Unfinished Tales), Kamiyama and the writing team face the challenge of fleshing out a largely skeletal narrative. However, the film cleverly sidesteps this with Éowyn’s opening narration: “Do not look for tales of her in the old songs. There are none.” This gives the filmmakers room to expand on the legend, carving out a space for originality within the established mythology.

Hera proves to be a compelling protagonist, her strength and determination anchoring the story, while Wulf embodies a straightforward, single-minded villainy. Yet, for a narrative reaching well over two hours, some of the material feels (as Bilbo might put it) stretched a little thin. Tolkien’s legendarium often thrives on cycles and repetition—like the echoes of Beren and Lúthien in Arwen and Aragorn—and while this story is canonically rooted in the Appendices, it’s hard not to notice parallels to the motifs of the Battle of Helm’s Deep in Jackson’s films.

Visually, THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM is a feast. Frame by frame, the film captures the grandeur of Middle-earth, with the iconic Aotearoa New Zealand locations lovingly recreated alongside familiar settings like Edoras and Isengard. However, it’s in Kamiyama’s bolder departures that the animation truly shines—most notably in a gobsmacking sequence featuring an eldritch Watcher in the Water devouring an oliphaunt whole, a scene that brims with imagination and menace.

Some of this was achieved through an innovative blend of motion capture, translated into a gaming engine to determine 3D environments, and then recreated in 2D to get a more authentic fluidity to the movement. While this technique elevates the gloriously staged battle sequences, it occasionally falters, with some character movements feeling stiff and reminiscent of puppetry.

THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM may not resonate with the same impact as the films and books from which it draws inspiration. At times, its repeated nods to the new tenant of Isengard, wizards and Mordor’s search for rings leave it tethered to its role as a prequel rather than standing firmly as a standalone tale. Yet, this is a direction I’d wholeheartedly encourage for the franchise—a foray into stories rich with potential that don’t demand a sprawling trilogy to unfold. Kamiyama’s film isn’t without flaws, but its ambition and approach make me eager to see more in this vein.

2024 | USA, Japan | DIRECTOR: Kenji Kamiyama | WRITERS: Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews, Phoebe Gittins, Arty Papageorgiou | STORY: Jeffrey Addiss, Will Matthews, Philippa Boyens (Based on characters created by J. R. R. Tolkien) | CAST: Brian Cox, Gaia Wise, Luke Pasqualino, Miranda Otto | DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros. Pictures (USA), Universal Pictures (Australia) | RUNNING TIME: 134 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 12 December 2024 (Australia), 13 December 2024 (USA)

December 10, 2024
Review: Wicked

For musical theatre fans, the original Broadway production of Wicked holds a special place in many hearts. Based on Gregory Maguire’s novel and riffing on L. Frank Baum’s Oz stories, the musical is one of the few to break the billion-dollar mark in Broadway revenue and has been performed worldwide in multiple languages.

This brings us to the biggest challenge for film adaptations of stage musicals: while countless live performances and cast variations ensure no two shows are ever exactly alike, a film locks us into a single interpretation. In adapting Wicked for the screen, director Jon M. Chu and screenwriters Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox have added an extra hurdle for audiences by dividing the story into two separate films, disrupting the natural flow of a two-act musical.

This first chapter of WICKED (or Wicked: Chapter 1, as it’s ornately titled on screen) quickly distinguishes itself from Stephen Schwartz and Holzman’s stage version, opening with a lavish display of CGI monkeys and sweeping digital landscapes. We see the Ozians celebrating the recent death of the Wicked Witch of the West, slain by a young girl from Kansas.

However, Galinda (Ariana Grande), who will later become Glinda the Good Witch of the North, tells a tale that might change the celebrants’ minds. She and the green-skinned Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) first crossed paths while studying at Shiz University. Elphaba’s skin colour and uncontrolled powers initially set the two at odds, but they become friends against a backdrop of growing prejudice. As talking animals in Oz are mysteriously driven out of cities, the only person who might help is the Wizard (Jeff Goldblum).

By expanding the characters and backstories—drawing partly from Maguire’s novel—it’s clear why the decision was made to split the story into two parts. There’s so much exposition that, while it works in the shorthand of the stage, doesn’t always translate to the more visually oriented medium of film. Even so, at 160 minutes, WICKED takes as long to tell one act of the story as the entire original stage production.

Director Chu and the creative team use that time to paint the screen with extravagant production numbers and ornate costumes. “The Wizard and I,” for example, starts with Elphaba running around Shiz grounds and ends atop a digital clifftop. Another number takes place amid a vast set of rotating cogs filled with books. Conversely, a scene set in a nightclub, featuring animal bands and surreal objects, teeters on the edge of Cats territory.

What anchors it all are the lead performances. Erivo’s Broadway background brings gravitas to Elphaba, with vocals powerful enough to reach the back of the theatre next door. Grande’s comic timing—recently showcased on SNL—and impressive high notes make her an ideal Galinda/Glinda. Supporting players Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum are a welcome addition, though the latter’s Rex Harrison-esque talk-singing is curtailed by shortened songs.

The climactic “Defying Gravity” ends WICKED on a literal high note, blending action sequences with one of musical theatre’s most iconic modern duets. Still, as we brace ourselves for a lengthy interval before Act 2, maintaining this momentum may prove challenging. At least this extended intermission offers ample time for a snack and a loo break.

2024 | USA | DIRECTOR: John M. Chu | WRITERS: Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox (Based on the musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman and the novel by Gregory Maguire) | CAST: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures | RUNNING TIME: 160 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 21 November 2024 (Australia), 22 November 2024 (USA)

November 20, 2024
Review: Red One

The only thing in steeper decline than mainstream Christmas films at this time of year is perhaps the ‘Santa movie.’ Yet here we are in 2024, and Amazon-MGM is dropping a $250 million seasonal gift like we’re part of the biggest, movie-themed Kris Kringle exchange.

Taking the throwback route to Christmas action, director Jake Kasdan and Fast & Furious series writer Chris Morgan channel a blend of Die Hard and Scrooged, crafting a holiday blockbuster with all the wild escalation of a modern event film.

The plot is simplicity itself: Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson) heads up Santa’s security team. Disillusioned with the growing Naughty List, he’s ready for retirement—but when Santa (J.K. Simmons) is kidnapped by a former foe (Kiernan Shipka), Drift teams up with deadbeat dad and mercenary tracker Jack O’Malley (Chris Evans) to save Christmas.

We’ve seen this buddy-comedy formula enough to recite it by heart, from Aruba to Germany, black ops sites to toy store basements. One cynical father’s redemption arc is all that’s missing to ensure a holiday save. Yet somehow, it’s the little details that make this reindeer-driven sleigh take off. Kristofer Hivju is perfectly cast as Krampus, adding depth to the Santa mythos. Santa’s workshop leans more Arthur Christmas than Elf, yet feels entirely fitting. Yes, my unabashed Santa love probably makes me biased, but damn if it isn’t a riot of cynical fun.

With bombastic action and Marvel-worthy effects, Drift wields an Ant-Man-style gadget that can grow and shrink toys on command, blending right into this magical world. The giant CG snowmen continue the theme of jacked Christmas figures, making for an exciting punch-out in the Caribbean.

The cast is spot-on: Simmons is a fully jacked Santa, carbing up on cookies while Johnson spots him at the gym; Shipka eats up every scene, and Lucy Liu as the head of M.O.R.A. (Mythological Oversight and Restoration Authority) brings a ‘Men in Black’ vibe to the Santa universe, hinting at a potential spin-off.

This high-concept swing is rare in today’s franchise-heavy landscape, and while box office numbers may keep films like this on streaming in the future, it captures something of a family film—brimming with explosions, winks, and a few heartfelt speeches. As I left the cinema, I overheard a kid imitating Krampus’s sleigh, transported for a few hours to a magical world. At that moment, I was taken right back to December 1985 and Santa Claus: The Movie. Is it any wonder I still devour Christmas films by the bucketful—or that I still believe in Santa?

2024 | USA | DIRECTOR: Jake Kasdan | WRITERS: Chris Morgan (Based on a story by Hiram Garcia) | CAST: Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, J. K. Simmons, Kiernan Shipka | DISTRIBUTOR: Amazon MGM Studios (USA), Warner Bros. Pictures (International) | RUNNING TIME: 123 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 15 November 2024 (USA), 22 November 2024 (Australia)

November 18, 2024