Film Review: Turbo

Turbo. Rated G. 96 minutes. Directed by David Soren. Screenplay by Darren Lemke, Robert D Siegel and David Soren.

Verdict: An absolute winner for the whole family.

A cute little snail called Theo (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) who dreams of breaking out of his ordinary little garden-variety existence and winning the Indianapolis 500? What’s not to like? As it turns out, absolutely nothing – as Theo takes on his hero, the vain French-Canadian Indy 500 champion Guy Gagné (Bill Hader), in a supremely entertaining race to the finish line.

Lemke, Siegel and Soren’s screenplay boasts some hilarious moments (a crow’s rather unfortunate demise becomes excellent pay-back), but also wins points for holding fast to its motivational “No dream is too big, and no dreamer too small” through-line. The world of the film refreshingly departs from a typically white, middle-America and takes us into a poverty-stricken mall, where Tito (Michael Peña), a taco truck driver and his taco-making brother Angelo (Luis Guzmán) are struggling to make a living.

Together with the other tenants including manicurist Kim-Ly (brilliantly voiced by The Hangover’s Ken Jeong), mechanic Paz (Michelle Rodriguez), and hobby-shop owner Bobby (Richard Jenkins) who makes custom snail shells for their motley collection of snails, Tito shares Theo’s ambition to be more than anyone else believes is possible. What makes Turbo so engaging is its delightful assortment of original and charmingly idiosyncratic characters – all perfectly voiced by a uniformly excellent voice cast.

Soren, making his feature-length debut, delivers the story to the screen with immense skill and an obvious passion for the journey of his loveable characters, while also making an impression as the snail who can’t ‘tuck’ back into his shell. But if I had to pick a favourite character, it would be the ubiquitous snail White Shadow (Michael Bell), who for some inexplicable reason, made me laugh more than I have laughed in a movie all year.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Riddick

Riddick. Rated MA15+ (strong violence and coarse language). 118 minutes. Written and directed by David Twohy.

Verdict: Vin Diesel’s loveable rogue Riddick stars in this entertaining deep space outing.

Beginning with Pitch Black (2000) and followed by The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), this third instalment in the series of films about wanted criminal Richard B Riddick (Vin Diesel) is an invigorating, entertaining and, at times, fantastically inventive affair.

If there is a distinct disadvantage in not having seen the first two films (a character from Pitch Black is referenced extensively), there is still much to enjoy about Twohy’s (the first two films and the chilling A Perfect Getaway) determination to expertly and efficiently mine the sci-fi/wild west-inspired world he has created.

Abandoned on a desolate planet, Riddick activates an emergency beacon in the hope that a passing spaceship will rescue him from the planet’s hostile predators. Two spaceships eventually arrive, but onboard are bounty hunters determined to capture Riddick and take his head back to the powers that be ‘in a box’. While our ever-resourceful anti-hero sets out to turn the tables on his foes, the planet’s ferocious alien creatures threaten to exterminate them all.

Riddick works successfully on many levels, but mostly courtesy of David Eggby’s (Pitch Black, Mad Max) moody and atmospheric cinematography, and some excellent creature action – especially the amphibious scorpion-like predators that star in much of the film’s early action set pieces, only to make an unforgettable return later.

The excellent supporting cast of marauding hunters features an impressive turn from ex-Sydney-based Rugby League footballer Matt Nable as Boss Johns (the father of Pitch Black’s villain William) who leads one group of bounty hunters, and Jordi Mollà as Santana, the unpredictable leader of the opposing group.

Ultimately though, it’s impossible to ignore Vin Diesel’s mutually reciprocal love affair with the camera. While you are either a Vin Diesel fan or you’re not, it is clear he has a genuine affinity with the titular character, and brings him to life with gravel-voiced flair and marvellously under-stated humour.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: White House Down

White House Down. Rated M (action violence and coarse language). 131 minutes. Directed by Roland Emmerich. Screenplay by James Vanderbilt.

Verdict: More than just the sets and props are reduced to rubble in this chest-thumper.

You’ve got to hand it to Emmerich (2012, The Day After Tomorrow, Godzilla, Independence Day). He’s the go-to guy whenever Hollywood thinks they need to blow-up The Whitehouse again for whatever reason. And obligingly, he does – not in quite the same spectacular fashion as he did in Independence Day (1996), but boom, and the most influential building in the world is reduced to smouldering rubble. Perversely, watching this film in the week we remember the attacks of September 11 in 2001, it’s as compelling as it is grotesque.

The mess of contradictions that surround Emmerich’s film-making career make him infuriating to watch. His The Day After Tomorrow (2004), which he has also wrote, was a spectacular achievement. His re-imagining of an ice-bound New York (and the rest of the planet) was brilliantly realised, and sequence after sequence remains extremely watchable. He also revealed himself to be a fine dramatist, particularly with the unforgettable sequences involving the glass-roofed shopping mall and the tanker that drifted up the middle of a New York street.

With White House Down, it’s business as usual as ex-soldier and Secret Service Agent wannabe John Cale (Channing Tatum doing a fine Bruce Willis impersonation) finds himself making the sure that President James Sawyer (Jamie Foxx) gets out of The Whitehouse alive after it is taken over by some guys with Iraq war-sized chips on their shoulders. Complicating matters is that Cale and his daughter Emily (an excellent Joey King) were in the middle of a tour of The Whitehouse at the precise moment it was taken over, and Emily, of course, is taken hostage.

Vanderbilt (The Amazing Spider-Man, Zodiac) throws everything at this turgid affair. His long, patriotic and uninspired screenplay is only saved by a fine comedic line shared between Tatum’s bluff and Foxx’s bluster, which both actors play like there will be no tomorrow.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.

Film Review: Red 2

Red 2. Rated M (violence and coarse language). 116 minutes. Directed by Dean Parisot. Screenplay by Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber.

Verdict: Mary-Louise Parker saves the day in this derivative but entertaining old pot-boiler.

You’d think that by managing to reunite the top shelf cast from Red (2010) we’d have been guaranteed something memorable. While far from being a complete waste of time, the Hoebers’ cheerfully derivative screenplay (they also wrote the first instalment) treads a well-worn track and is only saved from becoming an easily dismissible parody by an entertaining turn by Anthony Hopkins as the crazy old nuclear scientist Edward Bailey and Mary-Louise Parker’s standout return as Sarah.

Sarah (Parker) is trying to enjoy domestic bliss with her retired covert operations agent boyfriend Frank (Bruce Willis). They are shopping for household appliances when the zany Marvin (John Malkovich) tracks them down to warn Frank that the baddies are after them again. A sinister operation known as ‘Nightshade’ is causing tension around the globe, and someone (notably Neal McDonough’s icy operative Jack Horton) is out to end the lives of everyone associated with it.

Much as she did with the first instalment, it is the least well-known Parker (Weeds) who walks away with the film. It doesn’t hurt that Sarah gets all of the comedy and is the only genuinely interesting character journey on offer. Watching her become more and more involved in the ‘disarm the weapon of mass destruction’ plot is delightful, and the scenes in which she accounts for Frank’s ex-lover Katya (a perfectly smouldering Catherine Zeta-Jones), are the film’s funniest running gags.

Parisot (Fun with Dick and Jane, Galaxy Quest) wisely gives his megastars all the room they need to strut their stuff, even if his primary responsibility appears to have been keeping up with them. If Malkovich wins the award for most reaction shots in a Hollywood film this year, it is always a real pleasure to watch Helen Mirren (The Queen), who has a ball sending herself (and the genre) up mercilessly.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.