Moana (December 2016)

Official Australian release date: 26/12/16. Viewed: 30/12/16.

Director: Ron Clements

Actors: Auli’I Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Rachel House, Temuera Morrison

Genre: Adventure/Comedy

Rating: PG

‘Moana’ is a near-flawless family film from Disney. It’s got pretty much everything: comedy (mostly from a chicken!), pathos, a good journey with some adversity to overcome, some self-discovery, a great sidekick, some songs, the death of a loved one (the Grandma [House]) and heaps of great animation/scenery.

The Chief (Morrison/Jango Fett), doesn’t want Moana (Cravalho) to leave their Pacific island, for fear of the big ocean, but she has to follow her destiny and find Maui (Johnson) to restore the heart of Te Fiti and restore balance to the islands. Maui obviously starts out as a bit of a jerk, but he endears himself to us with his well-meaning ways and hilarious moving-tattoos. The lava monster’s cool, but not too scary – definitely OK for kids over 3.

It’s great to see/hear Polynesian actors, songs (particularly the tribal drums) and ancestral art/tattoos. There’s a great voice cast – the Grandma is touching – and Clement (Flight of the Conchords) is hilarious as the giant/evil crab. However, it’s Moana’s film and she’s charismatic, feisty and respectful, depending on the situation (helps that they chose a 14-year-old Hawaiian to play her!). She probably sings a few too many songs for me (think there’s about seven in the film), and they definitely could’ve done without The Rock’s song! It all ends happily, with her people voyaging again.

Overall: Great looking and sounding ocean adventure.

Gav's Rating: 4 stars. 

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (December 2016)

Official Australian release date: 15/12/16. Viewed: 15/12/16.

Director: Gareth Edwards

Actors: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Ben Mendelsohn, Riz Ahmed

Genre: Sci-Fi/Action/Adventure

Rating: M

‘Rogue One’ (or “Star Wars Episode 3.5”) is the first standalone Star Wars film (excluding 2008’s CGI ‘The Clone Wars’ film), which is both its strong point and part of it’s burden. It’s hard to write a review objectively, since Star Wars is one of my favourite things ever, and almost every second scene is a reference to something from the Star Wars universe, so it’s hard to imagine it from a context of someone coming in not having seen anything else Star Wars. And frankly, if you haven’t seen the original trilogy, you need a good hard look at your priorities in life!

I say this is like episode 3.5, but it’s actually more like episode 3.9, with the ending leading directly into ‘A New Hope’. The film centres on how the Rebel Alliance obtained the Death Star plans, that allows Luke Skywalker to blow it up. The introduction of Krennic (Mendelsohn), Galen Erso (Mikkelsen) and his daughter, Jyn (Jones) is done well, but there’s not that much backstory. Basically, Galen’s forced to build the Death Star, explain why there’s a clear design flaw, and the rebels are sent on a frantic chase to steal the plans and get them to Princess Leia in time.

There’s a decent cast, with Yen & Jiang probably the best (even though I’m not sure you learn their names?), Rook (Ahmed) as the Imperial defector who grows in importance, Cassian (Luna) the rebel pilot who’s had to do plenty of unpleasant deeds, and the droid K-2SO (Tudyk), who steals almost every scene he’s in. Saw (Whitaker), Mon Mothma (O’Reilly), Bail Organa (Smits) and the CGI Tarkin don’t have that much to do. There’s obviously a few cameos, with Darth Vader getting two scenes. I did like the film, but I probably wanted to like it more than I did. It tries hard, but it’s hard to connect with the characters, especially as we know how it’s going to end. The best bits by far are seeing the new planets, the Death Star in action, the set-design/feel of Yavin 4 and the rebel fleet, and the space battle at the end.

Overall: Solid Star Wars film – not mind-blowing, but doesn’t detract from the originals.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars. 

Office Christmas Party (December 2016)

Official Australian release date: 08/12/16. Viewed: 07/12/16.

Director: Josh Gordon & Will Speck

Actors: Jason Bateman, T.J. Miller, Olivia Munn, Jennifer Aniston

Genre: Comedy

Rating: MA

‘Office Christmas Party’ does what it says on the box – it’s a comedy revolving around a workplace Christmas Party in Chicago. It used to be a family business, but now Clay (Miller) runs the office and his sister Carol (Aniston) is trying to shut him down. Josh (Bateman) is the CTO and Tracey (Munn) his IT head/love interest. To boost morale, Clay, Josh & Tracey decide to have a huge Christmas Party – and the debauchery ensues.

The support cast is pretty great – Mary from HR (McKinnon, in a terrible Xmas jumper), Jeremy from Customer Relations (Corddry, always funny), Fred from Accounts (Park, with his weird fetish) and Nate from IT (Soni, almost his same cab-driver character from ‘Deadpool’, great to watch), plus a crazy pimp (Bell). The plot is pretty thin and padded with a car chase and the typical “rave to some techno” scenes. The “love story” between Josh & Tracey is almost non-existent.

It’s the same directors that bought us ‘The Switch’ with Bateman and Aniston, but it’s nowhere near as fun or inventive as ‘Horrible Bosses’, or last year’s ‘The Night Before’ – and as far as “adult” Christmas films go, not even close to ‘Bad Santa’. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments, and a few good jokes thrown in, but often it seems like it’s being crude or stupid for no reason.

Overall: Decent throw-away Christmas comedy.

Gav's Rating: 3 stars. 

Arrival (November 2016)

Official Australian release date: 10/11/16. Viewed: 15/11/16.

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Actors: Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg

Genre: Sci-Fi / Drama

Rating: M

 

‘Arrival’ is a different, semi-realistic take on the alien invasion film. It spends a little time introducing us to Louise (Adams), a translator, and then we get to see the UFO that’s landed (technically hovering) in Montana. It’s one of 12 – she’s tasked with opening communications with the aliens. Some great shots of the ships (more like giant smooth rocks) and a good job of showing the different climate/atmosphere in and around them.

It’s definitely not your typical alien film – there’s a lot of tension and build-up, and no big battles or gory moments. Ian (Renner), a theoretical physicist and Colonel Weber (Whitaker) are there to help Louise, but it’s pretty much up to her to determine how to communicate with the aliens (or giant squids). The music can be a bit overbearing at times, and the flashbacks seem to interrupt at times, but it all comes together at the end.

Didn’t blow my mind, but it does delve a little deeper into how the world would realistically handle a potential threat of this magnitude. Would have loved to have seen more of the different perspectives from each site/country. An interesting enough reveal, if not totally unique (I’ve definitely read it in a novel or two before) and a nice message at its core.

Overall: Not exceptional, but well-made sci-fi with a twist.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.

Hacksaw Ridge (November 2016)

Official Australian release date: 3/11/16. Viewed: 31/10/16.

Director: Mel Gibson

Actors: Andrew Garfield, Vince Vaughn, Teresa Palmer, Hugo Weaving

Genre: Action / War

Rating: MA

‘Hacksaw Ridge’ (sounds like a good horror movie!) is a World War II film that does an admirable job of spending almost half the film in America, before they even ship off to Japan to fight. This gives us plenty of time to meet Desmond Doss (Garfield) and his family and find out how/why he ticks. He decides he can’t sit by why others go off to defend America, but he also conscientiously objects to killing another human, so can’t use any weapons. Big moral dilemma and the film deals with it well. It also gives us time to care about some of the other characters in the unit, so we know who’s who when the fighting starts.

It’s kind of amazing Mel Gibson has only directed five films, considering two of them (Braveheart’ and ‘Apocalypto’) are classics – with this film soon to join them. He could turn into the next Eastwood… He also knows his way around a war film, having been in ‘Gallipoli’, ‘Air America’ and ‘We Were Soldiers’, so it’s no surprise ‘Hacksaw Ridge’ is handled expertly. It’s nice to see him populate the film with quality Australian actors (it was filmed in Sydney) – Weaving as Doss’ dad, Griffiths as his mum, Worthington as his Captain, Palmer as his girlfriend, Nable as a Lieutenant, Bracey as his nemesis and Roxburgh as the Colonel.

When they do arrive at Okinawa, Japan, obviously all hells breaks loose, with some great shots of the artillery explosions, then the chaos of bullets, grenades and blood – certainly no punches pulled when it comes to the body count or the gore shown. The scenes with Doss rescuing dozens of his injured comrades from the battlefield are astounding. Garfield really shines as Doss and it hits home how much of a hero he was – highlighting that there’s always room for some good in the harsh world.

Overall: Excellent and unique the war film.

Gav's Rating: 4 stars.

Doctor Strange (October 2016)

Official Australian release date: 27/10/16. Viewed: 29/10/16.

Director: Scott Derrickson

Actors: Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Mads Mikkelsen

Genre: Action / Fantasy

Rating: M

‘Doctor Strange’ is the 13^th (14^th? 15^th? Even I’m losing count!) Marvel film, and continues the trend of 'Guardians of the Galaxy', ‘Ant-Man’ and ‘Deadpool’ – not the most well-known comic book characters, but they’ve given chance to breathe and create their own energy separate to the Avengers, and are more fun because of it. Simple premise here – Dr Stephen Strange (Cumberbatch) is a famous, conceited, surgeon who has a car accident and can no longer fully use his hands. In search of radical treatments, he visits Nepal and encounters Mordo (Ejiofor) and The Ancient One (Swinton).

He – like us – has to surrender everything he thinks he knows and enter the world of mysticism, spells and magic. There’s some funny scenes and remarks as he comes to grips with these new possibilities in the world. The film is actually funnier than I thought it was going to be, since Dr Strange is no Spider-Man or Deadpool in terms of quips, but it’s handled well. The director, Derrickson, is coming off a patchy output at best – ‘Deliver Us From Evil’, ‘Sinister’, ‘The Day The Earth Stood Still’ – but does a decent job of keeping the pace up and not having too long between scenes with action. Some of the “city/room-bending” scenes are great to watch.

While the tone is sometimes dark and “we’re all just a speck in this world, which is only part of one universe, let alone the multiverse”, it’s generally upbeat and handled more with awe and fun than seriousness and fanaticism. Christine (McAdams) serves as the real-world foil and Kaecilius (Mikkelsen) is an adequate bad-guy. Cumberbatch carries the film and is a douche when needed, and a strong presence at other times. The end-credits scene has a nice quick Thor appearance. I look forward to seeing more of Dr Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Overall: Good entry into unknown territory for Marvel.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.

Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (October 2016)

Official Australian release date: 20/10/16. Viewed: 22/10/16.

Director: Edward Zwick

Actors: Tom Cruise, Cobie Smulders, Danika Yarosh, Patrick Heusinger

Genre: Action

Rating: M

The second Jack Reacher film (based on Lee Child’s 18^th book, ‘Never Go Back’) is much the same as the first film – still not as good as the novel, but a serviceable action film nonetheless. I’m not sure why, if they’re going to franchise the series, they don’t go in chronological order? It takes most of the plot from the book: a Military Police Major, Turner (Smulders) is framed for espionage, so Reacher (Cruise) decides to exonerate her by finding/killing who has set her up.

It’s amazing Cruise doesn’t appear to have aged at all in 4 years! People still hate that he’s not the 6 foot-plus hulk from the books, but Cruise brings an intensity to the role, while not always being stony. The difference is that instead of being a loner, he’s paired up with Turner and Samantha (Yarosh), so there’s three of them on the run, making for a different dynamic that doesn’t always work, especially since he’s not the most paternal. Since it’s a cruise film, there’s plenty of running – see above – which even Smulders gets in on!

It’s certainly not bad – enough hand-to-hand fights and shoot-outs to tick the ‘action’ box, as well as a bit of a murder-mystery to be solved. The main issue is it’s a little long and there’s nothing unique in it – it’s all pretty standard and unforgettable.

Overall: Adequate action flick.

Gav's Rating: 3 stars.

Sully (October 2016)

Official Australian release date: 8/9/16. Viewed: 15/10/16.

Director: Clint Eastwood

Actors: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Mike O’Malley, Laura Linney

Genre: Drama

Rating: M

‘Sully’ is the biopic of Captain Chesley Sullenberger (Hanks) and his First Officer, Jeff Skiles (Eckhart) who had to land their plane in New York’s Hudson River in 2009, after both engines failed directly after take-off. Even though it was all over within five minutes, the film does a great job of exploring a bit of what happened before, a lot of what happened directly after and plenty of the investigation. It’s edited well, so it’s not all chronological.

Surprisingly, this is Eastwood & Hanks’ first collaboration, and they’re both in good touch here – Hanks is the no-nonsense, but relatable soon-to-be-retired pilot, Eckhart is the slightly-younger and more enthusiastic co-pilot and Eastwood keeps the narrative flowing and never allows it to get too boring, technical or bogged down in the passenger’s experiences. Linney is sparingly used as Sully’s wife Lorraine, and Porter (O’Malley) is head of the NTSB investigation – essentially the ‘bad guy’.

The film works as an investigation/mystery, casting some doubt, but also has plenty of tension and action showing the actual crash and aftermath. While it’s not sad per se, it did almost bring a tear to my eye in some parts, as it is a feel-good film at its heart, with “this is some good news that New York really needed – especially when involving a plane” really hitting home.

Overall: Well-made, well-acted true story.

Gav's Rating: 4 stars.

Deepwater Horizon (October 2016)

Official Australian release date: 6/10/16. Viewed: 3/10/16.

Director: Peter Berg

Actors: Mark Wahlberg, Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Gina Rodriguez

Genre: Action / Drama

Rating: M

‘Deepwater Horizon’ (already sounds like an ominous novel!) is a disaster film about the BP oil rig off Louisiana, in the Gulf of Mexico, that blew up in 2010 and caused the largest oil spill in US history (800 million litres). Mike (Wahlberg) is the Chief Electronics Technician on the floating rig and they set-up his home life (Hudson is his wife and gets a few token scenes), as well as Andrea (Rodriguez), the helmsman. When they get to the rig, the Transocean rig workers – Jimmy (Russell) is the boss – are clearly distinguished from the BP visitors/owners, including Vidrine (Malkovich).

The film is intentionally overt in painting BP as careless, profiteering “sons of bitches” and almost the sole cause of the disaster, which is probably not 100% accurate, but can’t be too far off. Great line from Mike: “Hope is not a strategy”. After 40min of setting the scene – with the set apparently one of the biggest ever built –  the action begins and the pace doesn’t slow at all after. There’s some great underwater shots and the issues with pressure are explained well enough. The last hour is a hectic and tense amalgamation of explosions, gushing oil, people getting thrown around by explosions and Mike and Jimmy trying to evacuate everyone off the rig.

This is Berg and Wahlberg’s second film – after the great ‘Lone Survivor’ – and it’s a well-made disaster film, with no dead air, not too much posturing, a likeable lead in Wahlberg, builds tension well and then has some awesome shots of the rig burning and exploding. Nice memorial at the end.

Overall: Very solid action/disaster flick.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.

Kubo and the Two Strings (October 2016)

Official Australian release date: 18/8/16. Viewed: 2/10/16.

Director: Travis Knight

Actors: Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron, Matthew McConaughey, Rooney Mara

Genre: Adventure

Rating: PG

‘Kubo & The Two Strings’ is a stop-motion animation film set in ancient Japan – and it’s superb. Kubo (Parkinson) is a young, one-eyed boy who lives outside a small town and tells stories with origami characters that come to ‘life’ when he plays his guitar – this is amazing to watch and expertly done. When he finds out his Grandfather is the Moon King (Finnes) who wants to steal his remaining eye, he sets out on a quest to find the mystic armour.

He’s helped by Monkey (Theron), his guardian, & Beetle (McConaughey) a samurai man-sized rhinoceros-beetle – Beetle has the best lines and quips in the film and really adds to the adventure. PG is right – I’m not sure I’d let a child under 8 see this, due to some of the darker scenes and it does deal a fair bit with death and spirits (the ‘sisters’ [Mara] are particularly scary!). This studio, Laika, is on a roll (‘Coraline’, ‘ParaNorman’ and ‘The Boxtrolls’ – all good), and with ‘Kubo’, they’re starting to give Pixar a run for their money!

The plot is essentially predictable, but it’s the heart the actors and animators infuse the characters with that makes this film stand out. It looks stunning and there’s plenty of imaginative and original things that pop-up throughout. Highly recommended.

Overall: A fun and unique adventure.

Gav's Rating: 4 stars.

The Magnificent Seven (October 2016)

Official Australian release date: 29/9/16. Viewed: 1/10/16.

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Actors: Denzel Washington, Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Peter Sarsgaard

Genre: Action / Western

Rating: M

‘The Magnificent Seven’ is perhaps an unnecessary remake – almost 56 years, to the day – but it’s just as good as the original. Still the same simple premise – a Western, where a small town is being overthrown by a villain, so they hire a bunch (well, seven, to be precise!) of drifters to help them fight to save the town. It’s still set in the 19^th century, but the main differences are that the town’s not in Mexico this time, and there’s much more focus on the church (not necessarily religion).

The leader this time is Chisolm (Washington), a bounty hunter (Yul Brenner’s character), with Faraday (Pratt) a wise-cracking gunslinger (Steve McQueen’s character), Goodnight (Hawke) a former sharpshooter, Billy (Lee) a knife-master, Vasquez (Garcia-Rulfo) the Mexican, Red Harvest (Sensmeier) the Comanche and Horne (D’Onofrio) – the best character – as the mountain man. Still no real motivation for them to help the town is given, but let’s go with it anyway. Sarsgaard is good as Bogue, infusing him with plenty of contempt and no empathy. Bennett is OK, but mostly a token female character.

Does what a good Western should – plenty of shoot-outs, sweeping vistas, explosions, horses riding and jumping, staring from under hat brims, and a healthy death toll! Has a few slow points in the first half, but the battle for the final 30min or so is done very well. Doesn’t necessarily add to the original, but nor does it do it a disservice. A straight-down-the-line 3.5.

Overall: Good cast deliver a solid Western.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.

Sausage Party (August 2016)

Official Australian release date: 11/8/16. Viewed: 16/8/16.

Director: Greg Tiernan & Conrad Vernon

Actors: Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig, Michael Cera, Edward Norton

Genre: Comedy

Rating: MA

‘Sausage Party’ is… well, just plain nuts! Probably the best description is “absurd”. It’s certainly unique, being the first ‘adult’ GCI film (not just a cartoon like the ‘South Park’ movie) and it does all it can to push the boundaries of making sure you remember it’s not a kids film (even though it starts with a song), with so many swear words, racial stereotypes, sexual innuendo and drugs in the first 30min that you can’t forget it’s a Seth Rogen film. Frank (the sausage, Rogen) and his girlfriend Brenda (the bun, Wiig) can’t wait to get out of their packages and be united in the “Great Beyond” outside the supermarket.

When Barry (Cera) and Carl (Hill), Frank’s sausage buddies, are bought and find out the truth of what happens to food, they try to return to warn the others. The voice actors are great – Sammy (bagel, Norton), Lavash (Krumholtz), Teresa (taco, Hayek), Douche (Kroll), Firewater (Hader), Grits (Robinson), Honey mustard (McBride). It’s part road trip, part action/‘Die Hard’ and part stoner rom-com. The “human world” vs “food world” distinction is done well, with faded colour vs vibrancy. Some of Rogen’s almost-sermons on not following the religious crap you’re fed without proof is good, but the anti-religion message is lost in the chaos.

It’s not as uproarious as I was hoping – it’s certainly funny and has a lot of chuckles, but there wasn’t many truly hilarious moments for me. Part of that is my expectations being too high – I’ve been waiting for this film for three years and it’s nowhere near as good as ‘Knocked Up’, ‘Superbad’ or ‘Pineapple Express’. Some of the best bits are the morbid/violent bits, not necessarily the dialogue. The last 20min or so didn't really work for me - a bit too much. There’s so much going on and so many things to look at and listen to that some jokes are lost or skipped over.

Overall: Crazy – in a mostly good way.

Gav's Rating: 3 stars.

Bad Moms (August 2016)

Official Australian release date: 11/8/16. Viewed: 14/8/16.

Director: Jon Lucas & Scott Moore

Actors: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Christina Applegate

Genre: Comedy

Rating: MA

‘Bad Moms’ (not sure why the spelling wasn’t changed in Australia, like ‘Bad Neighbours’ was – lazy work, distributors) is a straightforward comedy, delivering what it should – easy laughs with not much seriousness. The irony is that the film was written and directed by two men… Amy (Kunis – the standout star here) is a mother of two, juggling all the chores and school drop-offs with a job and a disintegrating marriage. She semi-loses it when Gwendolyn (Applegate), the uptight PTA president, pushes her too far and challenges for the PTA leadership so all the mums have less stress and things to worry about in their lives.

Kiki (Bell) is good as the repressed mother of four, but single mum Carla (Hahn) really steals the show, with her attitude and wisecracks. The montage when they go to the shops on their first night out together is gold. The other cast get some time, but not much, so it’s really these three vs Applegate. The kids are good, but don’t have much impact either.

The soundtrack’s crap, but there’s a message in here somewhere. It’s not that raunchy or dirty – except for a few moments – but does have way more laughs than I was expecting. Kunis is funny, sensitive, looks exceptional and carries the film. The end credits have the stars and their real-life mums reminiscing on couches – surprisingly touching.

Overall: Light and breezy fun.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.

Suicide Squad (August 2016)

Official Australian release date: 4/8/16. Viewed: 4/8/16.

Director: David Ayer

Actors: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Joel Kinnaman, Viola Davis

Genre: Action / Comedy

Rating: M

‘Suicide Squad’ is on par with ‘Batman v Superman’ (if you didn’t mind that, you won’t mind this and if you hated that, you probably won’t like this either) and the film acts as its sequel and a stop-gap until ‘Justice League’ comes out next year. It’s also DC trying to compete with Marvel’s ‘Deadpool’ which was MA and about an antihero who kills people – although this is only rated M. Still, a few people are killed and there’s plenty of violence, but it probably has more in common with ‘Ghostbusters’ than ‘Deadpool’.

The film does a great job of introducing the characters in the first 20min, with everyone getting their own song and “profile”, and each of them gets a bit of backstory as the film progresses – Deadshot (Smith, an assassin), Harley Quinn (Robbie, Joker’s girlfriend, in those amazing “pants”), Joker (Leto, with his metal teeth making him sound a little like Ledger), Boomerang (Courtney, doing his best Tom Hardy in ‘The Revenant’ impression), Diablo (Hernandez, pretty much Human Torch), Killer Croc (Akinnuoye-Agbaje) and Enchantress (Delevingene, a witch). There should’ve been more of how Batman (Affleck) put them all in prison, but he only gets 2min screentime, and the Joker not much more – obviously setting up a Joker v Batman film somewhere down the line. Waller (Davis) is the true villain and she manipulates well to get this “team” together and “controlled” by Flag (Kinnaman) to go on a rescue mission, that soon turns into a suicide mission.

The main issue is the “ultimate” bad guy is one of them – Enchantress. She creates a swirling vortex-thing that we’ve seen a million times and they have to stop her. The problem is the same for all superhero films – why not call in the rest of the heroes? In this case, where are Batman, Wonder Woman and The Flash? The tone is sometimes light and funny, but then gloomy and “we’re still the bad guys and are still probably going to die” the next. It doesn’t ruin the film, but sometimes makes it hard to read. The soundtrack is great throughout and often keeps the tone fun. The action and fight scenes are done well, but the film probably outstays it’s welcome by 10min. No one, even Smith, hogs too much screentime and it definitely doesn’t always work, but is a mostly fun ride.

Overall: Not a bad comic book movie.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.

Maggie’s Plan (July 2016)

Official Australian release date: 7/7/16. Viewed: 31/7/16.

Director: Rebecca Miller

Actors: Greta Gerwig, Ethan Hawke, Julianne Moore, Bill Hader

Genre: Comedy / Romance

Rating: M

‘Maggie’s Plan’ is a fairly simple romantic-comedy – quite light and breezy, with a few laughs and nothing too dramatic to bog it down. Maggie (Gerwig) works at a New York university and her “plan” is to have a child by herself, since she’s ready to be a mother (she’s only meant to be 29, mind) and “borrows” some sperm off an old friend. The “plan” goes astray when she meets John (Hawke), a professor/anthropologist who’s trying to write a novel, and falls in love with him.

This is obviously further complicated by the fact John’s married to Georgette (Moore), another professor – but she’s Danish – and Maggie unwittingly becomes a homewrecker. She technically ends up with three kids – hers and John’s, plus her two step-kids John & Georgette already had. Tony (Hader) and Felicia (Rudolph) play her long-married friends and have most of the laugh-out-loud moments. After a few years, Maggie’s sick of John and her new “plan” is to get him back together with Georgette, which Tony accidentally gives away.

The film’s not as madcap as it may sound, and Gerwig plays Maggie as innocent and charming. It’s real fun watching Hawke & Moore out of their comfort zone – Hawke as the bumbling/ignorant guy who has no idea what’s going on in his life and Moore as a straight-and-narrow foreigner, but her accent is hilarious and her character a little deeper than it first appears. The film probably needed a bit more of Hader & Rudolph, but it’s all quite sweet and nice, including the ending.

Overall: Easy-going rom-com.

Gav's Rating: 3 stars.

Jason Bourne (July 2016)

Official Australian release date: 28/7/16. Viewed: 29/7/16.

Director: Paul Greengrass

Actors: Matt Damon, Tommy Lee Jones, Alicia Vikander, Vincent Cassel

Genre: Action

Rating: M

‘Jason Bourne’ (or Bourne 5) is kind of unnecessary after the superior ‘Bourne Ultimatum’, but Bourne/Webb (Damon) does find out a little more about his past and why he became a super-spy. Thankfully, the film holds up well as an action film in its own right, if you’re not comparing it to the other films in the franchise. It starts Bourne, now in his mid-40s, living off the grid in Greece and bare-knuckle boxing for fun/penance. Unbeknownst to him, Nicky (Stiles) has hacked the CIA and copied all their black-ops files, including “Treadstone”, and finds Bourne to tell him what she’s found. From there, the hunt begins!

It’s kind of like the ‘Mission Impossible’ and ‘Bond’ films now, in that if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it – it’s comfortable getting back in touch with the characters and hand-held camerawork that Greengrass uses as Bourne goes around efficiently dismantling the “bad guys” – which usually turn out to be rouge CIA operatives. The Asset (Cassel) is sent to “take care” of Bourne by Dewey (Jones), the craggy old CIA Director. Heather (Vikander) is the up-and-coming CIA cyber-expert and does well to keep you guessing who’s side she’s actually on.

The fight scenes are fast and furious, the score is great – always pounding away in the background, so you feel like there’s never any respite, which there isn’t for Bourne – they tick off about six countries, there’s an interesting debate on security vs privacy in the digital age, and best of all, the cars chases are exceptional – shot from all different angles, plenty of destruction everywhere and no CGI to be seen! Solid ending too.

Overall: Frenetic spy/action thriller.

Gav's Rating: 4 stars.

Lights Out (July 2016)

Official Australian release date: 21/7/16. Viewed: 23/7/16.

Director: David F. Sandberg

Actors: Teresa Palmer, Gabriel Bateman, Maria Bello, Alexander DiPersia

Genre: Horror

Rating: M

‘Lights Out’ is a semi-conventional haunted house film, with one person being haunted, but the rest of the family able to see the spirit/demon/ghost/whatever, rather than one of those movies where it’s only visible to the kid. Good start, with the shadowy apparition offing Paul (Burke), who is Rebecca (Palmer)’s step-dad, Martin (Bateman)’s dad, and Sophie (Bello)’s husband. Turns out the thing can’t appear or been seen in the light and lurks in the shadows…

The film does a good job of introducing the characters, including Rebecca’s boyfriend Brett (DiPersia), but also doesn’t let too long go without any scares or tension. The beauty of the evil being in the shadows means that you’re always looking behind characters or in the corners of every shot! The backstory of how Diana was Sophie’s childhood friend emerges and goes some (but certainly not all) of the way to explaining the haunting.

There’s a decent body count, scares, tension and shocks throughout, a good score, and it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. The ending is good and logical. All the actors, including the kid, are above average. One of the better horror films I’ve seen in a while – scary, without being too stupid or gory.

Overall: Well-made horror fun.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.