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.

Swiss Army Man (July 2016)

Official Australian release date: 14/7/16. Viewed: 20/7/16.

Director: Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert

Actors: Paul Dano, Daniel Radcliffe

Genre: Comedy / Drama

Rating: M

An odd mix of ‘Cast Away’ and ‘Weekend At Bernie’s’, ‘Swiss Army Man’ is better than both those films, thanks to it’s unique look at life, friendship and loneliness – as well as the fact that it has two great actors fully committed to their characters. Hank (Dano) is stranded on an island when he finds Manny (Radcliffe), a corpse washed up on the beach. The excessively flatulent body helps him get back to the mainland (somewhere in Washington, Oregon, or northern California) – a great opening 10min. Still lost and starving in the wilderness, this is when Hank figures out that Manny can speak – and the whimsy begins! The next 20min are a little slow as Hank has to explain everything to Manny (including ‘Jurassic Park’!), but then the adventure begins.

Once they’re on the move, the editing is pacier, the scenery looks great, the things Hank makes are wonderful and there’s some true laugh out loud moments. The absurdity of it all is quickly forgotten, as Hank discovers Manny’s “superpowers” and there’s a great montage and some great stunts by Radcliffe. The dialogue between the two is fun, with Manny getting to almost learn like a child and ask inappropriate questions. You almost forget the character’s dead, until they do something, like flop his head, to remind you he’s a talking cadaver!

One thing that keeps the film light and fun is the score by Andy Hull and Robert McDowell, which uses no lyrics, just amazing harmonies (do’s, ah’s, ba’s, la’s) all layered on top of each other – usually starting from something Hank or Manny says. Quite inventive and it suits perfectly. The ending is done quite well, with their return from the bush, but you truly feel you’ve been on a journey with them and feel their friendship. For a directorial debut, the Daniels have done a great job – I look forward to what’s next!

Overall: Unique, mostly fun, look at friendship.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.

Ghostbusters (July 2016)

Official Australian release date: 14/7/16. Viewed: 15/7/16.

Director: Paul Feig

Actors: Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones

Genre: Comedy / Sci-Fi

Rating: PG

‘Ghostbusters’ is the reboot of a classic comedy everyone saw growing up, the 1984 original. This has a pretty similar plot – they’re a bunch of nerdy outcasts, with Erin (Wiig) and Abby (McCarthy) childhood-friends-turned-scientists, Holtzmann (McKinnon) as the odd engineer and Patty (Jones) as someone with a car. When the under-developed villain, Rowan (Casey), starts transporting ghosts ‘across the barrier’, with plans to unleash the “fourth cataclysm”, the Ghostbusters have to save the day against a giant ghost-thing destroying New York. Sound familiar?

Kevin (Hemsworth) is their dumb secretary and gets a few laughs, but like most of the side characters, he’s under-used and doesn’t add too much to the plot – there’s also Andy Garcia as the mayor, Charles Dance as a Professor, Matt Walsh as a Government agent, Zach Woods as a tour guide, Karan Soni as the delivery boy, and obviously Murray, Aykroyd, Hudson and Weaver appear in small cameos – almost pointlessly so. The CGI’s bright and colourful and the tone’s light throughout, even when all the ghosts are unleashed. It gets a little silly and over-the-top at the end, but wraps up neatly.

It’s not as good as Feig’s other recent films (‘Bridesmaids’, ‘The Heat’, ‘Spy’), but it does top ‘Ghostbusters II’. Plenty of jokes, with most working, except McKinnon really annoyed me as the weird one-note character. Definitely feel like Wiig could’ve had a few more jokes. The film certainly doesn’t tarnish the reputation or memory of the original – or match it for fun and adventure – but it doesn’t necessarily add a whole lot to the Ghostbusters world/franchise either.

Overall: Not as good as the original, but has its moments.

Gav's Rating: 3 stars.

Goldstone (July 2016)

Official Australian release date: 7/7/16. Viewed: 5/7/16.

Director: Ivan Sen

Actors: Aaron Pedersen, Alex Russell, Jacki Weaver, David Gulpilil

Genre: Drama / Thriller

Rating: M

‘Goldstone’ is the sequel to ‘Mystery Road’, a decent Australian outback murder-mystery, but I actually liked ‘Goldstone’ better, as it has more unknowns and undercurrents than it’s predecessor. Pedersen is back as Detective Jay Swan, but he’s a bit more disheveled this time, having gone through some type of trauma in his life. He arrives in Goldstone, a tiny outback town, looking for a missing girl and isn’t really welcomed and has to try to find her with resistance from everyone.

The cast is great – Josh (Russell) is the only police officer for 100’s of kilometres and it’s great to see him wrestle with what’s right vs what he can and can’t turn a blind eye to; Maureen (Weaver) is the crazy-eyed, false-smile mayor; Jimmy (Gulpilil) & Tommy (Lewis) are local aboriginal elders, and while Gulpilil’s role is small, it’s significant; Johnny (Wenham) is the greedy mine manager, supplying jobs (and alcohol); and May (Davidson) is a woman trapped in a tough situation. Josh and Jay clash, as he doesn’t need outsiders interfering, and Maureen and Johnny certainly don’t want their racquet foiled.

Plenty happens, even though there’s lots of great scenery shots, as well as some from overhead (crane or helicopter), that look amazing. It’s filmed in western Queensland, but could be anywhere in the Northern Territory, South Australia, Western Australia or New South Wales – extremely desolate and at times, beautiful. It’s a slow burn, but everything comes together strongly for the final 20min, with a good ending. Plenty of social commentary – aboriginal interests vs mining interests; city vs country way-of-life; greed vs ethics; but in the end, it’s an above average cop thriller that works on a few levels.

Overall: Enjoyable piece of Australian cinema.

Gav's Rating: 3.5 stars.