Tag: Universal

Review: F9

It’s 2001. Actor Vin Diesel had turned in some fan favourite supporting performances in Saving Private Ryan and the cult hit Pitch Black. Director Rob Cohen casts him alongside The Skulls co-lead Paul Walker in The Fast and the Furious after Timothy Olyphant declined the role. The movie is Point Break on land, but it’s a success. Two decades later, it has spawned eight sequels, a spin-off and an animated series. This is Vin Diesel’s timeline, and we are just living it in.

Picking up some threads from The Fate of the Furious (or F8 if you’re nasty), F9 sees Dominic Toretto (Diesel) living the blissful family life in the country with his wife Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) and son. When his old crew turns up with news that Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) has disappeared — and his McGuffin too — Dom reluctantly goes back into the field. Especially when he learns that his old foe Cipher (Charlize Theron) and a familiar face (John Cena) are involved.

From its humble street racing origins, the Fast and the Furious franchise has continuously relied on the principle of escalation. While the early entries attempted to be something of an anthology series on various racing crews, from the fourth entry onwards returning director Justin Lin has attempted something closer to a singular universe. The crew rapidly became mercenaries for hire, pseudo government agents and even super spies being chased by submarines.

This time out, Lin not only ties in his past entries — even making black sheep Tokyo Drift a central plot device — but quite literally shoots the franchise into the stratosphere. This means the return of some characters we thought were dead. It also means globetrotting from Montequinto to the Caspian Sea, Edinburgh, Cologne and, of course, Tokyo. Lucas Black turns up in a goofy cameo, as does a major past ally. (We won’t spoil it here, but some of the promotional posters do that already).

One of the more ambitious threads is a whole new backstory for young Dom in 1989 (played by Vinnie Bennett). Opening with flashbacks to a young Toretto on the racing circuit with his late father Jack (J.D. Pardo) and pit crew Buddy (Michael Rooker), it’s an arguably convoluted way to justify the introduction of a hitherto unmentioned Toretto sibling. More cynically, it could open the door for future spin-offs. Did someone say the Young Toretto Chronicles?

Yet we’d be lying if the main attraction wasn’t the action sequences. From the physics-defying bridge jump early in the film, there’s some impressive elements here. The biggest set-piece follows the series tradition of dragging stuff behind cars, and this time its super magnets instead of cables. Then there’s the rocket propelled car that slips the surly bonds of Earth and dances the skies on laughter-silvered wings. Yes, they really did it, right before killing a plane with a truck. Is it dumb? Hell yes it is. Is it my kind of dumb? See the previous answer.

At this point, having progressed from jacking DVD players to shooting a car into space, a sequel based around time travel is about the only place this franchise can go. Perhaps Toretto will get behind the wheel of a DeLorean in the ultimate Universal crossover. So, I’m calling it now: F10: Fast to the Future. Don’t pretend you wouldn’t be first in line to see it.

2021 | USA | DIRECTOR: Justin Lin | WRITERS: Daniel Casey, Justin Lin | CAST: Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, John Cena, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang, Michael Rooker, Helen Mirren, Kurt Russell, Charlize Theron | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures | RUNNING TIME: 145 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 18 June 2021 (AUS), 25 June 2021 (US)

June 23, 2021
Review: Tina

Tina Turner was 45 when she released ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It’ and the multi-platinum Private Dancer album. Five years later, she released ‘Simply (The Best).’ It’s worth noting that two of her biggest hits came decades into a career filled with professional and personal peaks and troughs that took her to Thunderdome and beyond.

Filmmakers Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin (LA 92) explore those highs and lows in the simply titled TINA. Starting with her early R&B performances in the 1960s, and continuing through an abusive relationship with Ike Turner, it culminates with Turner as a stadium-filling hit machine.

With apparently unprecedented access to Turner, now living in Zurich with her husband Erwin Bach, Lindsay and Martin take us through Turner’s life in a fairly straight chronological fashion. In some ways, this is a typical ‘talking heads’ piece intercut with archival footage. Yet when the story is as fascinating as this, just sticking to the facts is more than enough to carry the narrative.

TINA takes us through the early days, where the artist would perform a monumental four shows a night. While contemporary Tina is through talking about Ike, the filmmakers use a 1981 People magazine article and interview tapes to chronicle his abuse. We see Phil Specter introduce her to the wall of sound, elevating her voice on ‘River Deep Mountain High’ (1966) and launching her solo career. Of particular interest are some of the lesser known years, when Turner worked cabaret in the early 80s prior to her first ‘comeback.’

In addition to new and archival pieces with Turner, new pieces with the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Angela Bassett (who played Turner in 1993’s What’s Love Got to Do With It) and biographer Kurt Loder offer insight into various stages in her career. Katori Hall, who co-wrote the book for the jukebox musical Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, is also a frequent commentator, with the Broadway opening serving as an end cap for the film.

While dedicated Turner fans are unlikely to find anything new here, you’d still be hard pressed to find a more engaging document about her whole life and career. Describing that journey, Turner said in a 1985 interview, “I’m a girl from a cotton field that pulled myself above what was not taught to me.” As the film closes out with ‘The Best,’ it’s hard to disagree with one of the great survivors and entertainers of our time.

2021 | USA | DIRECTOR: Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin | WRITER: Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin | CAST: Tina Turner, Angela Bassett, Oprah Winfrey, Kurt Loder, Katori Hall | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal, HBO Max (US), Berlinale 2021 | RUNNING TIME: 118 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 1-5 March 2021 (GER), 27 March 2021 (USA)

March 9, 2021
Review: Trolls World Tour

If nothing else, TROLLS WORLD TOUR has made history for the being one of the highest selling direct-to-digital titles as a response to Coronavirus social distancing practices.

It’s kind of a shame that the official history of this film will be forever associated with a deadly pandemic, although it’s plot of embracing diversity and coming together to face a virulent foe certainly has parallels with the real world events surrounding its release. (Mind you, it’s not got the worst association of a Troll sequel).

Taking place sometime after 2016s Trolls, Poppy (Anna Kendrick) is now adjusting to life as Queen while her pal Branch (Justin Timberlake) has an unrequited love thing happening. Yet Queen Barb (Rachel Bloom) of the Rock Trolls (well, 80s hair metal) wants to homogenise the music of all the realms, and Poppy’s misguided trust may undo their pop life forever.

I’ve never done hallucinogens, but watching this Trolls sequel I’m not entirely sure I ever need to. As the psychedelically coloured props ping from cut-out exposition stickers to the birth of a glitter baby and a dance sequence set to ‘Groove is in the Heart,’ it’s evident that the one desire of director Walt Dohrn was to create a psycho mashup remix trip.

Yet it somehow also deals deftly with tolerance, cultural appropriation and the tension between Gen X and millennials in one candy-coloured package. My initial apprehension was that rock was going to be portrayed as the easy-target enemy: it smacked of the reactionary anti-rock movements of a bygone era. That was quickly abated by some sharp observations about cross pollination of genres.

It’s evident that the film takes none of it too seriously, offering ‘Who Let the Dogs Out’ and ‘Gangnam Style’ as exemplars of the best pop has to offer. However, like many chart hits it’s clearly written by a team – in this case Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger (the Kung Fu Panda team), Elizabeth Tippet, Maya Forbes (Infinitely Polar Bear) and Wallace Wolodarsky (The Simpsons).

This leads to a massive tonal disparity between scenes, and the train-of-thought drug trip approach only gets it so far. Trying to have its cake and eat it too, dialogue and plot points are over-simplified and explained for younger audiences, indicative that TROLLS WORLD TOUR is a film that never had a specific audience in mind.

Still, it’s hard to be too critical of a film that is ultimately about tolerance. If any film was being beamed directly into our homes during a global crisis, it’s kind of fitting that it’s one that teaches us to recognise each other’s strengths and embrace community.

2020 | US | DIRECTOR: Walt Dohrn | WRITERS: Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger, Elizabeth Tippet, Maya Forbes, Wallace Wolodarsky | CAST: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Rachel Bloom, James Corden, Ron Funches, Kelly Clarkson, Anderson Paak, Sam Rockwell, George Clinton, Mary J. Blige | DISTRIBUTOR: Netflix | RUNNING TIME: 91 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 10 April 2020 (US Digital)

April 17, 2020
Review: Dolittle

In 2019, Robert Downey Jr. completed a journey that he’d begun 11 years earlier, making his eleventh and (apparently) final appearance as Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In 2020, he follows this up with a role that sees him remove items from a flatulent dragon’s butt.

For context, that reductive introduction is alluding to the fact that DOLITTLE – loosely based on Hugh Lofting’s series of books – is a story for younger children. In an animated opening sequence, we learn that the gifted veterinarian and animal whisperer Dr. John Dolittle (Downey Jr.) shut himself off from the world following the death of his beloved Lily.

Years later, young ragamuffin Stubbins (Harry Collett) stumbles into Dolittle’s menagerie seeking help. As luck would have it, so does Lady Rose (newcomer Carmel Laniado), who has been sent to fetch the reluctant Dolittle’s help in curing the ailing Queen Victoria (Jessie Buckley). Sailing off to find the mysterious fruit that can help her, old rival Dr. Blair Müdfly (Michael Sheen) secretly works to bring down both the Queen and the good doctor.

The widely reported production problems are evident from the start of DOLITTLE, a film that often struggles to find a happy medium between ‘effects feature’ and ‘light comedy.’ Indeed, there are jarring stretches of narrative leaps where it’s obvious that entire scenes were cut, abandoned, or perhaps never completed. The voice-over work from talking parrot Polynesia (Emma Thompson) acts a kind of narrative sticky tape, one that attempts to hide some of these story sins.

In fact, with The LEGO Batman Movie’s Chris McKay and TMNT’s Jonathan Liebesman allegedly brought in for reshoots, one wonders how Syriana and Gold helmer Stephen Gaghan got involved in the first place. So, what’s most surprising is that there’s still an entertaining romp at the heart of this thing. Part of this is thanks to RDJ just doing his thing, a variation on his persona to date but filtered through a Welsh accent – abeit one that often feels disembodied by ADR.

Targeting that sweet kiddie demographic means a massive voice cast, so all those eight-year-old fans of Ralph Fiennes, Jason Mantzoukas, Kumail Nanjiani and Rami Malek will have their little socks rocked. Seriously though, the voice cast is remarkable and is probably the star power – all of whom are presumably ‘just wanting to make something their kids can watch – that lifts this out of your average kiddie fodder.

At the end of the day, DOLITTLE is a film where a shy gorilla kicks a tiger in the nuts. Younger audiences will undoubtedly love the combination of slapstick and adventure, although there are some surprisingly dark parts that will scare the youngest among us. Either way, this won’t be the last time this story is told, and it’s just a shame that whatever original vision this picture had got lost in production hell.

2020 | US | DIRECTOR: Stephen Gaghan, Dan Gregor, Doug Mand | WRITERS: Charles Randolph| CAST: Robert Downey Jr., Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen, Emma Thompson, Rami Malek, John Cena, Kumail Nanjiani, Octavia Spencer, Tom Holland, Craig Robinson, Ralph Fiennes, Selena Gomez, Marion Cotillard | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures (AUS)| RUNNING TIME: 102 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 16 January 2020 (AUS)

January 16, 2020
Review: Cats

Before anything else, we must agree that Cats has always been seriously weird. Despite that, it’s one of the biggest musicals of all time, with the original West End run lasting for a then record-breaking 21 years. It was a Jellicle choice and the public made it repeatedly.

Tom Hooper, who previously helmed Les Misérables in 2012, is not the first to attempt to bring Andrew Llyod Webber’s megamusical to the screen. David Mallet’s 1998 direct-to-video production is pretty much an edited recreation of the stage play, whereas Hooper and co-writer Lee Hall (Rocketman) set their cats loose in a digital playground of a neon-coloured fever dream.

Loosely based on the poems of T.S. Elliot, even those familiar with the musical will probably acknowledge that the narrative doesn’t make a lick of sense. After a young cat named Victoria (ballet dancer Francesca Hayward) is thrown sack-first into an alley, she gets drawn into the world of the Jellicle Cats on the night of the Jellicle Ball where they must make the Jellicle Choice of which of them will ascend to a new life on the Heaviside Layer.

Got it? You’d be forgiven for exclaiming, “What the hell is a jellicle?” before hearing the word (a bastardisation of “dear little”) several hundred more times. Based on a series of nonsense poems for children, the film follows the musical by essentially showcasing each of the characters in turn as they sing their stories for Old Deuteronomy (Judi Dench). Presented in this way in a film, it’s a swirling morass of ideas and songs that don’t necessarily connect in a logical fashion. It’s either an artistic collage or the most messed-up variety show you’ll see this year.

On a pure technical level, this is arguably the most digitally assisted musical since Moulin Rouge. From the opening shots, Hooper’s London is a surreal explosion of ideas glimpsed from cat height. At the moment the first cat person appears on screen, our brains don’t quite connect the human faces with the ‘digital fur technology’ and ears that make up the rest of their bodies. The overall effect is quite jarring, a kind of “uncatty valley” if you will.

While oversized props are used to maintain the cat eye view of the city, at other times the technology being used to shrink people just looks out of place. At its most benign its some dodgy green screen work. At its most disturbing, Rebel Wilson peels off her fur suit to reveal another suit underneath, orchestrating a troupe of computer-generated mice and cockroaches with human faces. That’s just two songs in. That sensation you feel in your throat is the urge to scream in sheer terror after glimpsing the abyss.

The hero songs range from the silly (Wilson on “The Old Gumbie Cat”), to the reworked (Jason Derulo as “The Rum Tum Tugger”) to the sheer fun (Danny Collins, Naoimh Morgan and Hayward on “Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer”). “Beautiful Ghosts,” a new song co-written by Weber and Taylor Swift (who appears briefly on “Macavity” opposite the eponymous villain Idris Elba) is quietly emotional and fits in nicely with the familiar numbers.

If anything detracts from its impact then it’s only the proximity to “Memories,” delivered multiple times by the powerful voice of Jennifer Hudson. While the character feels like a side-story for much of the film, when Hudson steps into the spotlight it’s pure theatre. On the flip side, a finale (“The Addressing of Cats”) sung by Judi Dench seems to go on forever.

The thing about CATS is that if you’re in, then you’re all in. Nonsensical ear-candy is kind of the name of the game, and the faithful will have already bought the tickets to the next session. Yet the rest of us may find ourselves pinned against our seats, eyes wide and jaws open for 110 minutes wondering what the hell we just saw.

2019 | UK/US | DIRECTOR: Tom Hooper | WRITERS: Lee Hall, Tom Hooper| CAST: Francesca Hayward, James Corden, Judi Dench, Jason Derulo, Idris Elba, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift, Rebel Wilson | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures | RUNNING TIME: 110 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 26 December 2019 (AUS)

December 19, 2019
Review: A Dog’s Journey

The films based on Bruce W. Cameron’s series of dog related books are an oddity. The basic premise sees a dog repeatedly killed off and reincarnated for our entertainment. You know, for families. That it still somehow manages to be endearing is the real miracle.

Picking up a few years after A DOG’S JOURNEY, an older boss dog Bailey (voiced by Josh Gad) has been happily reunited with his first owner Ethan (Dennis Quaid) and his wife Hannah (Marg Helgenberger). Shortly after their emotionally abusive stepdaughter Gloria (Betty Gilpin) whisks away granddaughter CJ, the old doggy shuffles off the mortal coil. Before he dies, Ethan asks him to return to look after the older CJ (Kathryn Prescott). Which he does repeatedly.

There’s very little messing with the formula laid out in the first film, with the team of screenwriters – made up of Cameron, Cathryn Michon (Muffin Top: A Love Story), Maya Forbes (Infinitely Polar Bear), and Wally Wolodarsky (The Simpsons) – gleefully putting their audience through the emotional wringer. As we go through break-ups, love stories, cancer scares, and abusive partners, no opportunity is missed to sell the maximum amount of Kleenex.

With Quaid and Helgenberger confined to bookend roles, many of the other characters tend to be of the stock variety. After all, they are playing second fiddle to the pooch. GLOW‘s Gilpin is horrible to everyone in her orbit, at least until she suddenly isn’t, and the same goes for CJ’s string of often arseholic boyfriends. Counterbalancing this is the essential goodness of childhood friend Trent (Henry Lau), who has the most complete arc through a brief sickness.

There’s otherwise very little drama to the film, beyond the moment to moment micro-tragedies. With each rebirth, Bailey has very little trouble finding CJ, and people seem to be far more accepting of the who reincarnation idea this time around. By the time we make it to the super happy ending, you will believe that all dogs go to heaven.

A DOG’S JOURNEY arrives in Australia months after its US debut, with our theatrical release coinciding with the home release in North America. Yet perhaps this is the best way to enjoy this little pocket of furry fantasy, completely divorced from expectation, with your head out the side of the proverbial car window, enjoying the breeze of a summer’s day.

2019 | US | DIR: Gail Mancuso | WRITER: W. Bruce Cameron, Cathryn Michon, Maya Forbes, Wally Wolodarsky | CAST: Marg Helgenberger, Betty Gilpin, Henry Lau, Kathryn Prescott, Dennis Quaid, Josh Gad, Jake Manley | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 111 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 16 August 2019 (AUS)

August 17, 2019
Review: Palm Beach

For those of you not familiar with the area, Palm Beach is part of the northern beaches of New South Wales. The affluent area, known as “Palmy” apparently, is known for two things: the Home and Away backdrops and rich people. Rachel Ward’s PALM BEACH focuses on the latter.

To mark his birthday, Frank (Bryan Brown) and his wife Charlotte (Greta Scacchi) throw a multi-day event at their fancy Palm Beach home. Gathering Frank’s old bandmates together for the first time in years – including Leo (Sam Neill) and Billy (Richard E. Grant) – old tensions and secrets start to emerge.

Kind of The Big Chill for the Antipodes, PALM BEACH takes its sweet time to get where its going. Aspirational nostalgia porn for the privileged (predominantly white) Boomer set, it’s the kind of drama you get when the core audience hasn’t had to deal with anything more confronting than how much of their money they will spend on decanting white wine.

This Australian all-star cast is an enviable line-up, although most of them are running the basic plays of the slight set-up. Built around a series of micro-crises – from the positioning of a chimney to the relationship woes of the “young” couple (Claire van der Boom and Aaron Jeffery) – the major crisis concerns the questionable parentage of Charlotte’s son (Charlie Vickers). Jacqueline McKenzie, on the other hand, barely gets to do anything beyond dancing around in the background.

As the major crisis is resolved thanks to a deus ex machina of sorts, the slow build-up means its all much ado about nothing. Feeling like several seasons of a soap opera strung together, one’s appreciation of PALM BEACH will ultimately depend on how much you relate to the players. So former rock bands with properties worth seven figures should be fine.

2019 | Australia | DIRECTOR: Rachel Ward | WRITERS: Joanna Murray-Smith, Rachel Ward | CAST: Sam Neill, Bryan Brown, Greta Scacchi, Frances Berry, Ryan Bown | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 98 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 8 August 2019 (AUS)

August 7, 2019
Review: Hobbs and Shaw

There’s a rumour going around that the Fast & Furious franchise is headed into space. For a series that started with dudes street racing in LA, this seems like a leap: but lest we forget that The Fate of the Furious saw The Rock redirect a torpedo with his bare hands. If the series is headed for the atmosphere, HOBBS & SHAW might just be the launchpad.

After MI6 agent Hattie Shaw (Vanessa Kirby) attempts to deliver a virus McGuffin, she is stopped and framed by the superhuman Brixton (Idris Elba). Federal agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) and mercenary Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) are activated by their respective people, and they must put aside their manly differences and learn to be fighty together.

In order to accept HOBBS & SHAW, you must come to terms with the fact that it doesn’t play by any rules of cinema or logic. You must accept that the franchise now has legitimate genetically engineered super villains. You must accept that the Samoans are so powerful, they can destroy a mercenary army with traditional weapons. You must also accept that the 52 year-old Statham and the 31 year-old Kirby grew up together as kids.

Operating on the simple premise of escalation, the entire film can be summed up by the pancakes The Rock consumes early in the film. They are oversized, completely unnecessary, and you know there’s still a whole lot of syrup to come. From brutal hand-to-hand moments to the more ridiculous car-versus-aircraft sequences we’ve come to expect, no sink is left out.

Designed completely to be a Rock and Statham delivery device, Deadpool 2 and Atomic Blonde director David Leitch relies on the charismatic presence of these two stars, with cameos from the likes of Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Hart, Eddie Marsan, Eiza González, and Helen Mirren adding to the insanity.

This is probably the point in the review where one would talk about technical aspects of the film, point to a few key action sequences, and highlight the amazing special effects. All of which are top-notch, of course, but that scarcely matters when the enjoyment to be had is in the sheer ticking clock momentum of one chase after the next. Even trying to explain the physics of Elba leaping onto a horizontal motorbike would be folly.

It’s clear from the multiple mid and post-credits scenes that there are plans afoot for multiple sequels with an overarching villain. I say bring it on! Multiple trucks, a heavy duty chain, and a fully armed helicopter can’t tear The Rock apart. If this franchise is headed into space, we mortals are powerless to stop it.

2019 | US | DIR: David Leitch | WRITER: Chris Morgan, Drew Pearce| CAST: Dwayne Johnson, Jason Statham, Idris Elba, Vanessa Kirby, Helen Mirren | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 136 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 1 August 2019 (AUS)

August 1, 2019
Review: Yesterday

There’s a large chunk of the world that was born knowing the lyrics to The Beatles’ songbook, presumably having learned them in utero. It forms some of the conceit behind fellow British icon Richard Curtis’ screenplay for YESTERDAY, a greatest hits package around which a film has been built.

Struggling singer-songwriter Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) is about ready to give up on his career, despite the protestations of his cheer squad/manager/childhood best friend, Ellie (Lily James). When a strange event causes a global blackout, Jack is in a traffic accident that causes him to lose several of his teeth – while the world loses all memory of The Beatles. Spotting an opportunity, Jack soon becomes an overnight success with the Lennon-McCartney playlist.

There’s something vaguely familiar about YESTERDAY from the start, perhaps recalling a similar thread in the 1990s sitcom Goodnight, Sweetheart. Yet this is kind of the point: we’re in on the joke with Jack from the start because the Beatles are ubiquitous. As people shrug while Jack plays a bona fide classic, we share his frustration. (It also leads to at least one winking joke about Neutral Milk Hotel).

Structured around 15 Beatles songs, it tends to run a bit literal at times: the arrival in Los Angeles triggers “Here Comes the Sun,” a near mental breakdown results in “Help!” and what else do you debut in Russia but “Back in the USSR”? The latter introduces a subplot about a couple of characters who perhaps remember more than anybody else, albeit one that doesn’t really go anywhere. Part of the conceit is accepting some massive plot leaps, but if it was too complicated it probably wouldn’t work at all.

Most of the narrative is split into two parts. The main thrust is a satire (of sorts) of the music industry, with Kate McKinnon playing a variation on similar roles she’s had in the past. Ed Sheeran is also the star who acts as Jack’s mentor, having become the go-to cameo in everything from Game of Thrones to Home and Away. Thankfully, he’s in on the joke, particularly when he suggests that “Hey Jude” would be better served as “Hey Dude.” The other half is, of course, a rom-com.

While Danny Boyle’s name is on the tin, this is still unquestionably a Curtis Brand™ love story. Once we suspend our disbelief that anybody could be on the fence about Lily James, it’s still a weird romance based on guilt trips and constructed conflicts. Nevertheless, YESTERDAY is mostly an inoffensive and fun journey through an iconic songbook, or as one character puts it, “It’s just nice to hear the songs again.”

2019 | UK | DIR: Danny Boyle | WRITER: Richard Curtis| CAST: Himesh Patel, Lily James, Ed Sheeran, Kate McKinnon | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 116 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 27 June 2019 (AUS)

June 24, 2019
Review: The Dead Don’t Die

“This isn’t going to end well,” cop Ronnie Peterson (Adam Driver) repeatedly reminds us. He’s right, of course, introducing us to the self-aware approach indie filmmaker Jim Jarmusch takes in THE DEAD DON’T DIE. Yet when films are as a fun as this, it’s all about the journey and not the final destination.

Over the last four decades, Jarmusch has crafted his 16 or so features at his own pace. From the pondering of Permanent Vacation (1980) to the poetry of Paterson (2016), Jarmusch has continued to examine the United States through the eyes of outsiders. So it’s no surprise that his deadpan zombie movie quietly holds a mirror up to contemporary America.

Police officers Cliff Robertson (Bill Murray) and Ronnie Peterson (Adam Driver) have noticed that something is wrong in Centerville. It’s not just the otherworldly mortician Zelda (Tilda Swinton) or backwoodsman Hermit Bob’s (Tom Waits) penchant for stealing chickens either. As the Earth’s axis has shifted due to polar fracking, the daylight is out of whack and the dead aren’t staying where they are supposed to be.

The tone is set early on when, following the credits featuring Sturgill Simpson’s “The Dead Don’t Die,” Murray’s character comments that the song sounds familiar when it comes on the radio. “Because it’s the theme song,” deadpans Driver’s Ronnie, signalling that nothing in this film is to be taken too seriously. It’s not a style that will appeal to everyone, but one that should be familiar to Jarmusch fans.

Like Dawn of the Dead and its followers, THE DEAD DON’T DIE tackles consumerism and politics in typical Jarmusch fashion. The undead are drawn to things they knew in life: Iggy Pop and filmmaker Sara Driver are as ravenous for coffee as they are for flesh. Even before the zombie attacks, Farmer Miller (Steve Buscemi) dons a red “Keep America White Again” cap. It’s not subtle, but it’s not wrong either.

Backed by a stellar cast, a veritable who’s who of indie cinema, everyone is both playing to and against type. The sword-wielding Swinton is every bit the alien the memes want her to be, walking (and talking) at right angles. Driver carries around a Star Wars keyring on his Smart Car keys, and his reason for knowing the outcome is just as meta. It’s weird, but it’s designed to embrace anybody who identifies as such.

It all ends exactly as Driver predicts, and if any criticism could be levelled it’s that it wraps up far too quickly. In a perfect universe, there would be TV series following the adventures of Murray and Driver, with Waits acting as the Log Lady of Centerville. It’s Jarmusch’s pocket of strange, and we’re just visiting it for a while. Or as Waits puts it, “What a fucked-up world.”

2019 | US | DIRECTOR: Jim Jarmusch | WRITER: Jim Jarmusch| CAST: Bill Murray Adam Driver Tilda Swinton Chloë Sevigny, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Caleb Landry Jones, Rosie Perez, Iggy Pop, Sara Driver, RZA, Carol Kane, Selena Gomez, Tom Waits | DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures, Sydney Film Festival | RUNNING TIME: 103 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 14-19 June 2019 (SFF), 24 October 2019 (AUS)

June 17, 2019