Author: Natalie Teasdale

I want to share with other movie fans those amazing films that get under your skin and stay with you for days: the scary ones, the funny ones; the ones that get you thinking. With a background in creative writing, photography, psychology and neuroscience, I’ll be focusing on dialogue, what makes a great story, if the film has beautiful creative cinematography, the soundtrack and any movie that successfully scratches the surface of our existence. My aim is to always be searching for that ultimate movie, to share what I’ve found to be interesting (whether it be a great soundtrack, a great director or links to other information of interest) and to give an honest review without too much fluff. BAppSci in Psychology/Psychophysiology; Grad Dip Creative Arts and Post Grad Dip in Creative Writing. Founder of GoMovieReviews.

Wonka

GoMovieReview Rating: ★★★★Wonka

Rated: PG

Directed by: Paul King

Screenplay Written by: Paul King, Simon Famaby

Story by: Paul King

Based on the Character Created by: Roald Dahl

Produced by: David Heyman, Alexandra Derbyshire, Luke Kelly

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Calah Lane, Keegan-Michael Key, Paterson Joseph, Matt Lucas, Mathew Baynton, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson, Jim Carter, Tom Davis, Olivia Colman, Hugh Grant.

‘A place to escape to.’

The origin story of Willy Wonka (Timothée Chalamet) is delightful with attention to detail and a wry humour that is the trademark of director and writer, Paul King (creator of Paddington (2014) and Paddington 2 (2017)).

The story of Wonka follows Willy as he disembarks from aboard a ship to land in England to create and sell his amazing chocolates, a skill he learned to love from his mother (Sally Hawkins).

Whistling is heard before the singing begins as Willy stands atop the ship’s mast, ready to embrace the world while brandishing his hat full of dreams.

I freely admit I’m not a fan of musicals, so I was bracing myself.

But I liked this one.

I was grinning all the way through this movie; the particular brand of Paul King humour had me laughing out loud, the timing and facial expressions and ‘surprisingly good form,’ of these unique characters added to the delight of this movie as Willy makes chocolates that don’t just taste good but have the added bonus of flight or the feeling of a night out or creating a choreographed day like being in a cabaret.

But for Willy to sell his chocolates, he must first get past the establishment of the Chocolate Cartel: Arthur Slugworth (Paterson Joseph), Prodnose (Matt Lucas) honest to the point of being obnoxious (and then incredibly funny), and Fickelgruber (Matthew Baynton) who can’t say, ‘poor’ without becoming nauseous.

The cartel manages to keep their position as the top purveyors in town by paying off officials with chocolate, including the Chief-of-Police (Keegan-Michael Key) who’s girth continues to expand the more bribes he consumes.

Willy also manages to find himself trapped working in a washhouse, run by, Mrs. Scrubbit (Olivia Colman), after signing a contract without reading the fine print.

Trapped but not down, Willy meets his fellow inmates, Noodle (Calah Lane), an orphan and cynic with a mysterious past who tells Willy that his belief in the kindness of strangers landed him in a room in the staff quarters (where the sink is also the toilet).

Then there’s ex-account Abacus Crunch (Jim Carter), the never-speaks Miss Bon Bon (Freya Parker), Piper Benz who knows the underground (Natasha Rothwell), and aspiring comedian, Larry Chucklesworth (Rich Fulcher) who can speak like he’s underwater.

A rag-tag team, a kid wanting to make chocolate and singing does not sound like my cup of tea, but there’s an irresistible charm here, think Rowan Atkinson as a chocoholic priest.  Then High Grant as an Oompa-Loompa, described by Willy as a small orange man who’s green hair shines in the moonlight.

But what really got me giggling was the villainous Bleacher (Tom Davis) in his dungarees made to show a bit of thigh.

The aspiring comedian character should not have been funny with his try-hard jokes, but the detail and facial expressions like a small poke of the tongue just before cutting to the next scene added that surprising bit extra and that’s what made this movie such a delight to watch.

Instead of a tired re-wash, Wonka is a refresh of Roald Dahl’s classic character: it’s magical and all very sweet (excuse the pun), and gets away with that sweetness because it’s just so funny.

 

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes

Rated: M

Directed by: Francis Lawrence

Screenplay Written by: Michael Lesslie and Michael Arndt

Based on the Novel by: Suzanne Collins

Produced by: Nina Jacobson, p. g. a, Brad Simpson, p. g. a., Francis Lawrence, p. g. a

Executive Producers: Suzanne Collins, Mika Saito, Jim Miller, Tim Palen

Starring: Tom Blyth, Rachel Zegler, Peter Dinklage, Jason Schwartzman, Hunter Schafer, Josh Andrés Rivera and Viola Davis.

‘Run.’

The prequel to the Hunger Games series: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes follows Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth) in his younger years.  Before he becomes President of Panem.

He runs with his little cousin, Tigris (Hunter Schafer) through the snow searching for something to eat.  The dark days.  The hungry days.

His once prosperous family struggle to survive in the Capitol after his father Crassus dies in a trap, set by the rebels.

Their survival depends on Coriolanus making a name for himself in the Capitol, starting with the 10th Annual Reaping Ceremony.  Only this year, Head Gamesmaker Dr. Volumnia Gaul decides to shake things up.  The people have stopped watching the Hunger Games.  She needs to make the Games more entertaining.

This tenth year, each Tribute will be nominated a Mentor to liven things up.  Each Mentor is tasked to showcase their Tribute, to make the people love them, to want to watch them; to hope they don’t die and to then become the winner.

When each of the Tributes are introduced via the small black and white television screen, Snow sees his Tribute for the first time: the defiant, Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler).

When selected, she sings then tells the world to kiss her arse.

And so begins the story of the Songbird and the Snake.

Watching the evolution of Coriolanus is set into three parts.

The end of Part II: The Prize, saw a hopeful end to what felt like a long movie.

Then Part III appeared on screen.

Did I say this is a long movie?  It goes for 2 hours and 37 minutes.  It felt longer.

But Part III is what pulls the story together, lifting the experience with a nod of understanding, so if you can make it to the end, it makes the rest of the film worth watching.  Not a great endorsement, and I say that because it’s more than a bit cheesy.  Like the film’s trying to be a musical in between the rest of what is traditionally, The Hunger Games so the tone of the film felt off.

Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray has an amazing voice, but the introduction was premature, felt forced and was far overshadowed by the lament of the Mockingjay in the previous series.

There’s still the action of fighting to the death, and aside humour from host, weatherman, ‘And smile.  That’s why we have teeth,’ amateur magician, Lucky Flickerman (Jason Schwartzman).

And the villainous, Dr. Volumnia Gaul, has some twisted theories about humanity that evolve in conflict with the Academy’s dean, Highbottom (Peter Dinklage).

Peter Dinklage as the dean gives some gravitas to the superficial tone of the young adult story – but the feeling of superficial persisted.

I didn’t relate to any of the characters.  And there were plenty in the film.  It all felt like bit parts, even Lucy Gray felt superficial.  Only the character Coriolanus was rounded-out, which was the point, to understand the origin story of the character, I guess.

But wow, this film takes commitment, all the way to the end to get any satisfaction from watching; it’s somehow bloody yet dry, until that last chapter.

 

Saltburn

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.3/5)

Rated: MA15+Saltburn

Directed by: Emerald Fennell

Written by: Emerald Fennell

Produced by: LuckyChap

Director of Photography: Linus Sandgren

Editor: Victoria Boydell

Starring: Barry Keoghan, Jacob Elordi, Rosamund Pike, Richard E. Gran, Alison Oliver, Archie Madekwe, Carey Mulligan.

‘I loved him.  But was I in love with him?’

The chaos of the first day at college sees Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) wandering through the Oxford crowd with his tie and jacket – ‘Hey, cool jacket,’ says a fellow student.  Not in a good way.

Oliver’s a ‘Norman with no mates.’

He spies Felix (Jacob Elordi) through the crowd – happy, popular, beautiful.

Oliver watches him.  It’s creepy, but kinda sweet because he’s so polite about it.  The scholarship boy infatuated.

Felix feels sorry for him.

He invites Oliver to stay with his family at Saltburn for the summer:

‘If you get sick of us, you can leave.  Promise.’

There’s an immediate immersion into the story, irresistible and fun with a dark humour, where college professors care more about who your parents are then if you’ve read the recommended reading list – who reads the St Jame’s Bible the summer before starting college?

The storyline is reminiscent of a modern day, The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) – the studious and brilliant boy trying to get ahead in life infatuated with the charming rich, seemingly unattainable.  The invitation to stay.  The inevitable dead bodies.

But Saltburn is also funny and visceral with vomit and spit and menstrual blood. Not off-putting, not sexy even.  It made the unreality of the setting feel more authentic.

Barry Keoghan as Oliver, is quite frankly, a revelation.

And there’s a perfect balance of characters – writer and director, Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman (2021)– directorial and screenplay debut) drawing everything into the camera so the film edges up to the right side of the absurd, keeping the story more mystery and erotic thriller rather than delving into fantasy because the fantasy is the setting and Oliver’s desire, with no holding back.

Oliver’s willingness to be All, to give all, is weirdly endearing while knowingly manipulative.  The audience’s perception twisted like the storyline.

Fennell uses reflections to see the shadow of self, of Oliver only realised later because the reflection of water and the face in a table surface also looks beautiful, disguising what lies underneath.

The use of shadows to add definition.  Those close shots of Oliver’s eyes looking into another – the damaged younger sister, Venetia Catton (Alison Oliver) and smug family friend, rich because of the Catton’s guilt, so basically part of the family, Farleigh (Archie Madekwe) – hypnotise with the wilfulness of Oli.

And seeing Carey Mulligan as ‘Poor Dear Pamela’ does not disappoint.

Can you tell I liked this movie?

Those dark humorous moments are pure gold, Rosamund Pike as Elspeth Catton (ex-model and mother who can’t stand ugliness), stating, ‘the police keep getting lost in the maze.’ You can imagine the hilarity of the moment because it shouldn’t be funny but it just is.

It’s also the pauses from the characters, the individual nuances in body language that delight, the idiocy of the classic English denial played so well by Richard E. Gran as the patriarch, Sir James Catton.

Each performance is outstanding, the character roles perfectly balanced.

Then the humour edges towards the callous changing the mood as the story turns so there’s another layer under the surface: there’s a fine line between dark humour and callousness like there’s a fine line between love and hate.

Saltburn is inviting, surprising, edgy and a pleasure, like a guilty indulgence, to watch on the big screen.

This is the second powerhouse film from Emerald Fennell and I’m very much looking forward to seeing what comes next.

 

The Exorcist: Believer

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★

Rated: MA15+ The Exorcist: Believer

Directed by: David Gordon Green

Screenplay by: Peter Sattler and David Gordon Green

Based on the Characters Created by: William Peter Blatty

Story by: Scott Teems, Danny McBride, David Gordon Green

Produced by: Jason Blum, David Robinson, James G. Robinson

Starring: Leslie Odom, Jr., Ann Dowd, Jennifer Nettles, Norbert Leo Butz, Lidya Jewett, Olivia Marcum and Ellen Burstyn.

‘The power of Christ works through all of us.’

Created as a sequel to the Academy nominated (first horror film to ever be nominated for Best Picture) ‘The Exorcist’ (1973), The Exorcist: Believer finds Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn), the mother of Regan, alone without her daughter who was possessed all those years ago.

After publishing a book about her experience of seeing her daughter undergo an exorcism, releasing her from the demon, Pazuzu, Chris loses Regan again when her daughter can’t forgive her mother for sharing her story with the world.

Walking into the cinema, I wondered if Believer was going to be a legacy movie; like the reboot of the Halloween franchise, Blumhouse is creating, The Exorcist franchise, but I found the legacy aspect here a red herring.

The reminder of Regan was more a touchstone, a cameo, not a continuing thread.

The Exorcist: Believer follows new character, Victor Fielding (Leslie Odom, Jr.), first seen taking photos of fighting dogs in Haiti.

He captures the stills of violence well, his curiosity in the capture of life, while his pregnant wife interacts with it.  She’s a peaceful character, meditative in her wander through the streets, the markets.

A little boy pulls her away for a treat.  A blessing.

A ritual to protect her unborn child: Angela.

Then an earthquake strikes, the chaos of sound rising and falling, images flipping; the peal of a bell sounding through a muffled deafening after the world begins to crumble.

Then back to Victor.  He has to make a choice.

There’s a build to the story, the foundation of the father and daughter relationship a contrast to the inevitable possession of daughter: Angela (Lidya Jewett).

And her friend, Katherine (Olivia Marcum).

Two young girls, two families, a circle back to Haiti and ritual, a circle back to the catholic church to perform the exorcism.

To understand what is happening to his daughter, Victor reaches out to Chris MacNeil, to the catholic church, but the difference here is the exploration of community and combined ritual to fight against evil, so there’s a different take of the view of religion, with the touchstone of the familiar.

‘Are you looking for Regan?’  The question asked from possessed cracked lips and yellow, blood-shot eyes.

Analysing the story, I realise I didn’t find the movie all that scary – because of that familiar aspect to the possessed.

There’s some jumps and twists.  And I appreciated the restraint, building the relationships of the characters rather than over-extending the exorcism (there’s still projectile black spew – classic).

What started to draw a cold shiver was drawn from the montages of cuts back and forth of a young girl reading an old tale of dragons, a ‘snick snack’, as a search continues for lost girls who wander in the woods.

And those new cracks, those hints of old folk lore could have expanded into suspense but were instead filled with a harking back to the beginning of the franchise.  To Regan.  That didn’t really go anywhere.

It will be interesting to see what comes next.

 

Dracula: Voyage of the Demeter

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★☆ (3.2/5)DRACULA VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER

Rated: MA15+

Directed by: André Øvredal

Screenplay by: Bragi F. Schut, Stefan Ruzowitzky and Zak Olkewicz, based on “The Captain’s Log” from Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Produced by: Brad Fischer, Mike Medavoy, Arnold Messer

Executive Produced by: Matthew Hirsch

Starring: Corey Hawkins, Aisling Franciosi, Liam Cunningham, David Dastmalchian.

‘Evil is aboard.  Powerful evil.’

It’s 1897 when merchant ship, The Demeter is seen off the coast of Whitby, England.

The ship’s sails are torn, the hull blackened and like a ghost ship, there are no surviving passengers.

Based on the chapter, The Captain’s Log from the iconic literary novel, Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897), this is the tale of the vampire’s voyage from his homeland across the seas to England.

The setting of the film is aboard the ship, where the captain (Liam Cunningham) and his crew, including last minute addition, Clemens (Corey Hawkins), a doctor looking for passage home, find themselves trapped as the horror begins; first the animals are found slaughtered, then the crew of the ship.  And there’s no way to escape.

Director, André Øvredal (Scary Stories To Tell in the Dark (2019), Trollhunter (2010), and a recommendation to watch if you haven’t already, The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016)) focusses on Dracula as the monster – his visage more bat than man, with glowing yellow eyes and needlepoint teeth.

There is no sympathy for the monster, from the outset, Dracula is cast as the ‘Devil’s Serpent,’ a killing machine – and when the animals are found ripped apart, the audience is set firmly against the undead as Dracula preys on the living who have no hope and no understanding of what they’re dealing with.

Until the crew discover Anna (Aisling Franciosi), a girl they first believe is a stowaway, but after blood transfusions from Clemens to save her, she becomes the crew’s only way of understanding the evil that is sailing with them.  She’s not the bad luck that has befallen the ship.  She’s a survivor.

There’re clever devices used to ramp-up the tension, firstly those on board trapped as they wait for the sun to set so the film plays out like a slasher formula as Dracula feeds, picking each member off, one by one.

The crew knock on wood to communicate from the bowels of the ship, so there’s this listening out to hear that knock, to hear if someone’s trapped and about to literally be eaten.

It’s dark, raining, the sea throws the ship back and forth and there’s a monster on board: It’s the perfect set-up for a horror movie.

And I really wanted to love this film.  I’m a fan of the Dracula genre, and horror-thrillers, and there’s a good cast here – Liam Cunningham as the captain (you’ll recognise as Davos Seaworth from Game of Thrones) has just the right amount of gravitas and scores well for humanity putting the audience firmly behind well, the humans.  And the soundtrack adds a foreboding atmosphere, building the tension so there’re some good scares (someone sitting behind me yelped on more than one occasion, which was good fun).

There’s something to be said for watching a scary movie in the cinema where the audience is collectively given a jump.

But because it has that slasher formula, the film starts to feel predictable.

 

Oppenheimer

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.3/5)Oppenheimer

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Written for the Screen by: Christopher Nolan

Based on the Book: American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martine J. Sherwin

Produced by: Emma Thomas p.g.a, Charles Roven p.g.a, Christopher Nolan p.g.a.

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damo, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Casey Affleck with Rami Malek and Kenneth Branagh.

‘The most important thing to happen in the history of the world.’

When a film opens with a quote about Prometheus stealing fire from the gods and giving it to mankind to then be punished forever in hell, you know you’re in for a heavy ride.

And in the 3 hours of viewing, there was a lot to unpack; the foundation, however, of the film is a character study of J.  Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy): the father of the atomic bomb.

There are different threads in the story of the film, as the narrative follows main character Oppenheimer through his introduction, a flash forward in time, then back to his original research and forging of friendships and collaborators such Isidor Rabi (David Krumholtz), Niels Bohr (Kenneth Branagh) and yes, Albert Einstein (Tom Conti) (and kind of amazing to think of Einstein still alive less than 100 years ago).

At first the film is about the science, about Oppenheimer’s research into quantum mechanics and the idea of a star dying, cooling, the density getting greater and greater creating a gravitational pull so strong that it sucks in everything, even light.

This was the second wave of physicists exploring relativity after Einstein published his theory.

‘Algebra is like sheet music, can you hear the music?’

And Oppenheimer, overseas, absorbed all he could from the universities of England to Germany; he wanted to explore it all, then bring it back to America – no one was researching quantum mechanics in America.

He meets a girl, Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh) – a member of the Communist party.  His brother’s a member too.  His personal life is something that is called into question later, the later referenced in black and white, so there’s another layer to the story, like the love life of Oppenheimer is another layer to his personality.  His personal life with, later, wife Kitty (Emily Blunt) and children another story added to his life.

Then, World War II breaks out.  The atom has been successfully split.  Rumours of the Germans working on an atom bomb reach America.  They’re already two years ahead.

What choice do they have but to try to beat the Germans because if they don’t, the war, the world is ended.

This is where the suspense ramps up.

OPPENHEIMER

It’s the time of creation, collaboration, to experiment and research, the pressure to beat the Germans, while keeping the research secret from the Russians, the threat of spies and suspicion, so the thought of using the bomb is lost in the science of successfully making the weapon.

Then, it’s time for Trinity: the first ignition of the atom bomb’s power.

The way the explosion is captured on screen was like watching rage unfold over and over.

Nolan comes through loud and clear with the way he handles the suspense of the countdown to the explosion and the aftermath literally a tremor in the background of Oppenheimer’s world.

The play of sound and silence and the crackle and vibration all combine like Oppenheimer’s mind has just been set on fire.

There’s the image of many feet stomping and the world softening at the edges to let through a little bit of crazy.

And it feels like this is the end of the story.

But from the beginning, there’s the flash forwards to a time where Oppenheimer is being questioned about his part in the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  And about his connections to the Communist Party and the suspicion of information leaked to the Russians.

As hinted in the opening of the film, there’s the stealing of fire, then there’s the punishment.

In the film, it feels like the aftermath.

Here is the exploration of guilt.

And there’s a distinct change in feeling as Nolan explores Oppenheimer’s character, showing his exposure as the image of him sitting naked – he layers the feeling.

There’s more to the story than the science and the suspense, Oppenheimer is also about the psychology of a world that now has the capacity to end it – the film continues, and yes it feels long, but the full circle of understanding Oppenheimer and the world’s response to the galactic event of the atom bomb being unleashed needed time to get the full extent of the very human response of the politicians, the scientists who helped create the atom bomb and Oppenheimer.

It’s complicated, suspenseful, political, scientific and psychological.  It’s a lot.

But that raging fire and those blurred edges and uncertainty around Oppenheimer’s character to then reveal the truth of all those involved in the creation of the bomb added up to a sophisticated film that demanded full attention.

Somehow, Nolan has captured an aberration using Oppenheimer as a voice.  And that takes brilliance.

 

Rainbow Video

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★☆ (3.8/5)Rainbow Video

Directed by: Jessie Scott

Featuring: Philip Brophy, Ian Haig, Cassandra Tytler, Xanthe Dobbie, Jean Lizza, Diego Ramirez and Spiro Economopoulos.

Released as part of the 2023 Melbourne Documentary Film Festival

Rainbow Video is a deep dive documentary about what is fast becoming a myth, the video store.

This is a discussion, a conversation with locals who work in stores (or worked in stores), curators, film lovers, collectors, distributors and artists all talking about movies, about the ‘video logic’ of choosing a movie to watch based on a cool cover, or a cult book recommendation that can only be found, in store.

It’s about ‘opportunities of discovery,’ and ‘organised hording.’  And I loved watching it.

The conversation is told through the view of a hand-held camera with cuts to the rainbow vision of titles to shop front displays and opening hours to watching a customer rent a DVD that was so simple yet somehow riveting.

In rare moments, you can hear the crew of the film ask a question off mike, which adds to the inclusive feel of the documentary, but the voice of the director, first time film maker, Jessie Scott, is heard through the video cuts added to the discussion – those moments of Melbourne, of seeing people walk down the street, a tram whooshing by setting the scene for the introduction to a local video store that until recently, used to be a weekly, even bi-weekly journey.

I kept smiling as I got caught up in the joy of the contributors talking about all things video: the search, the conversation, the recommendations and the culture of the video store.

The artists talk of their own projects and creative process as they stand on a ream of blue paper or while sitting to have a friendly black dog come into view with tail wagging – all to a peppy soundtrack.

It’s like the audience is invited into the conversation.

And what an interesting conversation – it gets philosophical and creative and inspiring, a little political and a little sad as the credits show the video stores featured in the documentary are mostly closed.

It’s about transition and the idea of the tangible to the weightlessness of digital and what that means in the context of watching a film.

I recently went to my local library and decided to spend some time looking through their CD collection.  I felt like finding something new.  Something I might not think of listening to and found 15 disks to take home.  I was chuffed so took a photo of the CDs all laid out to post on Facebook, to get the reply – ‘Ever heard of Spotify?’  And was sad that someone just didn’t understand the spirit of finding something new and unexpected.

Watching this documentary made me feel like meeting my people because it taps into that fun of discovery.

It’s an interview of people who really know what they’re talking about, who are genuine film lovers and fascinating which says a lot about Scott as a film maker because she’s framed the discussion so well.

Barbie

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★☆ (3.7/5)Barbie

Rated: PG

Directed by: Greta Gerwig

Written by: Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach

Produced by: Tom Ackerley, Robbie Brenner, David Heyman, Margot Robbie

Starring: Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, America Ferrera, Kate McKinnon, Issa Rae, Rhea Perlman, Will Ferrell, Michael Cera, Ariana Greenblatt, Ana Cruz Kayne, Emma Mackey, Hari Nef, Alexandra Shipp, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Ncuti Gatwa, Scott Evans, Jamie Demetriou, Connor Swindells, Sharon Rooney, Nicola Coughlan, Ritu Arya, Dupa Lipa and Helen Mirren.

Because Barbie can be anything, women can be anything – right?

Set in a world where every day is the ‘best day ever,’ Stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie) wakes up every morning with a smile on her face and tiptoes.

It’s all hanging out with the girls, impromptu musical numbers, Ken (Ryan Gosling) obsessed and only alive in the gaze of Barbie and Barbies’ ruling the world and perfect sunny weather with nothing but blue skies day, after day, after day…

Until those irrepressible thoughts of death invade Stereotypical Barbie’s peace of mind.

It’s time to go visit.  Weird Barbie, AKA Gymnast Barbie (Kate McKinnon).

An outcast in Barbie Land, Weird Barbie is forever doing the splits and keeps a dog that pooh’s hard plastic pellets (this is an actual creation where you lever the tail and the dog pooh’s – tee hee).

Gymnast Barbie knows what’s wrong because that’s how she became, weird.  Once upon a time her owner, a young girl going through a punk phase, decided her Barbie should have her hair hacked and face… changed.

Stereotypical Barbie’s human must be doing something similar but instead of angry, this human’s world is falling apart and the emotions are starting to influence the Barbie.

The only way to stop the dark thoughts and get Barbie’s feet where they should be is to find the person who’s having the thoughts.  It’s time to leave Barbie Land and enter the human world.

But Barbie?  In the real world?  It’s not going to end well.

‘It’s a repeat of Skipper in Key West,’ says CEO (Will Farrell) of Mattel (which for some reason still cracks me up).

It’s not long before Barbie is arrested and of course Ken’s along for the ride because he can’t be without Barbie.

And she might need someone who specialises in ‘Beach’.

Instead of the idealised matriarchal world they expected, Barbie and Ken soon realise that men are raised to a far higher level of power than in Barbie Land.

And Ken loves it.  If only he was qualified to do anything more than stand on the ‘Beach’.

At its foundation, Barbie the movie is a feminist comedy – a strong description, but the script doesn’t pull punches as Barbie tackles the patriarchal society of the real world.

One of the all-male Mattel executives says, ‘I’m a man without power – does that make me a woman?’

So Barbie is faced with the idea of death and a world dominated by men.

The discussion of the awkward position of women in society is refreshing.

I get the, damned-if-you-do-and-damned-if-you-don’t scenario.

And I’ve never heard the difficulties declared in the way the real human woman character, Gloria (America Ferrera) who’s a Mattel employee and mum of teenage-full-of-angst Sasha (Ariana Greenblatt), describes to Barbie: what it’s like to be a woman who can’t be fat, can’t be too skinny, has to say, ‘healthy’, while actually be skinny.  Has be assertive but grateful.  Be a sexy partner but caring like a mother but not a replacement for a mother.   Has to have a career but not be selfish.  Has to be successful but not so successful to make other people uncomfortable.  And it goes on.  And it all has the ring of truth about it.

It’s almost like the Barbies are the women born in the 50s who opened up the world in the 70s so women could become career women, and have babies – but in reality, there’s still a cage built of expectation.

Sometimes the message of the movie is a little dated like the idea of construction workers all being men.  And the only-alive-when-you-look-at-me-Barbie, Ken is an unbalance in the other direction.

But there’s a fresh outlook here.  That has genuinely funny moments.

The film was well-cast with Ryan Gosling as Ken helping keep it endearing as he too tries to understand his position in a patriarchal society versus a matriarchal society, then to find a place that understands the individual.

Then the message gets deeper as the idea of patriarch and the creation of Barbie is a construct created to intellectualise a confusing world; to try to control or understand, before we die.

As if I wasn’t already depressed in the middle of a Melbourne winter.

But then, it’s about girls and women, mothers and sisters and daughters all just being themselves.

So I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of the message, with the added funny moments and a lasting feeling that tapped into a space unexpected – to feel good about myself and other women.

 

The Flash

GoMovieReview Rating: ★★★1/2The Flash

Rated: M

Directed by: Andy Muschietti

Screenplay by: Christina Hodson

Story by: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein, Joby Harold

Based on Characters from: DC

Produced by: Barbara Muschietti, Michael Disco

Starring: Ezra Miller, Ben Affleck, Sasha Calle, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Maribel Verdú, Kiersey Clemons, Antje Traue and Michael Keaton.

The Flash (Ezra Miller) naming himself, ‘The janitor of the Justice League’ feels like he’s always cleaning up after Batman.

But Batman’s his besty.

So when the latest disaster hits Gotham City and the Justice League are busy elsewhere, it’s up to The Flash AKA Barry Allen, who’s in the middle of trying to buy a sandwich from a server who isn’t his usual server and he’s going to be late AND he’s hungry and trying to feed himself because if he doesn’t his body will literally run out of fuel…  Well, Barry steps up, or rather, steps forward with arms bent at the ready.

It’s a silly beginning – think falling babies from a collapsing skyscraper while The Flash breaks into a falling vending machine to eat.

The film takes a moment to get traction (ha, ha).

Then the film shifts gear, cue the strings of the soundtrack, pan to dad in jail for the murder of his wife and mother of Barry:

‘I loved you first’.

It’s an unsubtle shift but leads to a poignant moment with Batman (Ben Affleck) – he’s a character who can relate.

Then flash again (ha, ha, sorry, can’t seem to help myself with this one), the film flashes back to a time when Barry’s mother was alive.  Back to a time when he can save her, because if he can run faster than the speed of light, the theory runs, he can turn back time.

Enter, The Chrono Ball.

This is where most of the effects come into play: the surrounding faces of the past nightmarish as The Flash runs in the Ball’s centre, making time warp backwards.

But of course, changing the course of the past will always lead to changes to the future and added to the risk of changing the world forever, General Zod (Michael Shannon) returns to the past.  To a past that no longer has metahumans.

Until Supergirl (Sasha Calle) is rescued.

They need all the hero’s they can muster to beat the Kryptonian general from destroying the Earth completely this time.  In the past.

The film gets entertaining once Barry meets his past self so that verging on the silly overacting tones down to an overly enthusiastic Barry who meets older and wiser future Barry.

The effects also help off-set some of the silliness – The Flash quoting himself as a Barbie Girl in a Barbie world, well, that was one of the OK funny bits, but you get where I’m going.  The humour just did not hit until The Flash meets his younger self – the chemistry better and more balanced.

And then there’s the return of Michael Keaton as the hermit Batman of the past (who is somehow older and yet explained so well with a bowl of spaghetti by said hermit Batman).

Really, I can’t believe how good it was to see Michael Keaton as Batman again.

Once the balance got going with the characters, there were some genuinely funny moments – seeing The Flash run around without being able to flash around did tickle.

And there’s some themes running (ha, ha) through the storyline so it’s not all superficial flashy trash – ‘not every problem has a solution,’ etc.

The future self, teaching the past self, worked better than expected.

And the film felt full, with every second of every frame brimming with as much dialogue and effects as possible.

Didn’t always hit the mark, but there’s enough of a foundation here to enjoy the entertainment.

 

You Hurt My Feelings

GoMovieReviews Rating: ★★★You Hurt My Feelings

Rated: MA15+

Directed by: Nicole Holofcener

Written by: Nicole Holofcener

Produced by: Anthony Bregman, Stefanie Azpiazu, Nicole Holofcener, Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Starring: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Tobias Menzies, Michaela Watkins, Arian Moayed, Owen Teague, Jeannie Berlin.

‘We’re so lucky.’

You Hurt My Feelings finds Beth (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) finishing her second book; a work of fiction in follow-up to her somewhat, ‘it-should-have-done-better,’ lamented by her mother (Jeannie Berlin), memoir.

It’s Beth’s wedding anniversary.  Having dinner with her husband Don (Tobias Menzies), a therapist, it’s obvious that husband and wife have a loving, solid relationship.

‘You’re a good kisser,’ Beth tells him.

It’s sweet.  Too sweet for son, Elliott (Owen Teague) who works as a manager, selling marijuana while finishing writing his first play.

Beth is desperate to get her hands on the script but he’s not sharing, just yet.

Elliott feels his mother has lied to him, overestimating his talents growing up.

And finds his parents’ sharing their food a ridiculous habit.

You Hurt My Feelings is a film about family and how each individual fits into that dynamic.

Beth and sister, Sarah (Michaela Watkins) spend a lot of time together, discussing the important things in life, ‘Should I be buying better socks?’

It’s a deceptively simple film.

Then the sisters overhear Don telling Mark, husband to Sarah, how he doesn’t like the second book.

Beth is devastated.

It’s like the worst lie has been told to her face about what is her foundation of self: if Don doesn’t like her book, how can he respect her?

The style of the film allows the characters space, as they each struggle to overcome the obstacles of every-day life: Don second guessing his ability as a therapist leads to some of the rare funny moments in the film, ‘for some reason he doesn’t want me pointing at him,’ says one client about her husband partnering her in therapy but seemingly, not in life; arguments the never-ending melody of their relationship.

Beth’s brother-in-law, Mark (played by Arian Moayed) is another point of light as an actor who wonders if he still has what it takes, only remembered for his supporting role in, ‘a movie about pumpkins.’

Interior designer sister Sarah wonders what’s the point when a client doesn’t understand her taste, or more that she doesn’t understand her client’s taste.

It’s a film about the individual’s struggles in life and how Beth processes the deception of Don constantly telling her he likes the book, when he really doesn’t.

There’s a lot of space here, for the characters to be themselves, the expansion and growth of each character the foundation of the narrative.

But that space is created with mundane dialogue, ‘Wait mum.  Do we have bagels?’

‘I don’t know, I’ll check.’

Yes, the honesty is sweet, the psychology of the family subtle, leaving a feeling of the authentic, the performances making the most of the dry every-day.  And there’s a feeling of completion, a resolving and growth when the pieces of drama click into place.

But I thought it would be funnier.

You Hurt My Feelings is a bit New York, more drama than comedy and more about socks than expected.

‘Adorable?’ as sister Susan keeps exclaiming?

It grew on me.