The battle for your Boxing Day bucks is on, as new releases hit the big screen
CHRISTMAS always comes a day late for Australian movie fans, but this year’s Boxing Day releases will have stiff competition against Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Leigh Paatsch reviews the Boxing Day offerings and current releases.
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WITH blockbusters including action-comedy Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Matt Damon’s dramedy Downsizing and Disney-Pixar’s animated Coco all vying for our Boxing Day bucks this year, it’s no surprise Hugh Jackman returned home to Australia last week to make a song and dance about his contender, The Greatest Showman.
And all of today’s new releases still have Star Wars: The Last Jedi to contend with. It remains a hot ticket for those who have yet to catch it, as well as those wanting to see it again.
The Herald Sun’s Leigh Paatsch reviews the Boxing Day offerings.
NEW RELEASES
COCO (PG)
A glorious place where music comes back from the dead, US, 109 min
Four stars
After cruising along on sequel-fuelled autopilot for a few years, Pixar Animation finally kicks everything back into top gear with Coco. As a stand-alone work in the Pixar canon, it is a clear notch below their 2015 instant classic Inside Out, but a darn sight better than the studio’s most recent original work, The Good Dinosaur.
The place and time we are vividly transported to is Mexico’s famous Day of the Dead festival. It is here we meet aspiring mariachi Miguel (voiced by newcomer Anthony Gonzalez), a 12-year-old guitar prodigy straining against his family’s blanket ban on music.
On the eve of festivities in his village, Miguel finds himself magically transported to the afterlife, where he will search high and low for his great-great-grandfather Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt). The netherworld into which Miguel and his ultra-adorable canine sidekick Dante must journey is pure Pixar creativity at its eye-popping visual best.
JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE (PG)
A fun game, sometimes overplayed, US, 111 min
Three stars
Kind of a sequel. Kind of a reboot. Kind of happy to do its own thing. That’s the wash-up for this frenetic follow-up to the cherished 1995 family adventure gem Jumanji. As everyone should recall, the original movie followed its young characters as they were caught inside a board game come to life. A generation on, and the stereotypical youths of this tale are now stuck inside a video game come to life.
But wait, there’s more (arguably, too much more). All the teens have now been body-swapped into adult avatars. Which means a nerdy teenage guy will now have the brawny bravado of a Dwayne Johnson. A mousy teenage girl will now have the babelicious bravado of a Karen Gillan. (Oh, and in the movie’s best jokey twist, a foxy teenage girl will now have the flabby frame of a Jack Black.) No doubt, this is empty-calorie escapist fun for the most part, even if it sometimes overcooks what remains a simple recipe to entertain.
DOWNSIZING (M)
Making the most of that shrinking feeling, US, 133 min
Four stars
An unconventional, yet accessible movie experience founded, quite literally, upon a little idea writ large. A spellbinding first act lays down the ground rules of a fascinating concept: to solve the planet’s overpopulation problem, people can volunteer to be medically miniaturised to a size of 12cm.
Those who sign up to join this new world of mass reduction get to live out their days in absolute luxury on special minute housing estates. As with any promise of all mod cons, there must be some hidden cons buried somewhere in the fine print, right? The fella to find this out is a regular working Joe named Paul (Matt Damon).
Though Downsizing has been described in some quarters as a satirical comedy, that is selling the whole thing short. The pure ambition of the story is laced with a sincerity that is rare in a Hollywood production. Co-stars Kristen Wiig, Christoph Waltz. Written and directed by Alexander Payne (Nebraska, Sideways).
THE GREATEST SHOWMAN (PG)
Hugh dares, wins again, US, 105 min
Three stars
Hugh Jackman sings! Hugh Jackman dances! Hugh Jackman wears a top hat, tails, and exclaims ‘Huzzah!’ You’re not in La La Land anymore, people: this is a weapons-grade musical of the old school, loaded to its high-spirited hilt with forced smiles and wilful warbling.
If you are not ready to enter a world where conversations can suddenly become rousing singalongs, and pleasant strolls can suddenly become spectacular production numbers, consider yourself warned. In a true-ish tale of the formative days of the American circus, Jackman embraces the lead role of famous 1800s showbiz impresario P.T. Barnum with such an enthusiastic bear hug that resistance is pretty much not an option.
Can get too cheesy for its own good sometimes, even though the 10-plus original songs on the soundtrack connect quickly and strongly. Co-stars Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Zendaya.
HUGH JACKMAN PROVES HE IS GREATEST SHOWMAN
THE FLORIDA PROJECT (MA15+)
When growing up is all about never letting it get you down, US, 115 min
Four-and-a-half stars
Beautiful, heartbreaking and unassumingly masterful, The Florida Project is undoubtedly one of the best movies of 2017. The movie’s rare quality is all the more unique because a majority of its cast — with the obvious exception of Willem Dafoe, set to win an Oscar for his performance — has never acted before.
The story unfolds over the first weeks of summer in Orlando, Florida, amid a ragged collection of rundown budget motels that flank the famous Walt Disney World theme park. Six-year-old Moonee (Brooklynn Prince, an astonishing performance from one so young) is being raised to fend for herself by her struggling single mother, Halley (Bria Vinaite).
Keeping what passes for a protective eye in this part of the world is the property’s manager, Bobby (Dafoe). Your abiding memory here will be that of Moonee, still finding a way to float through childhood, even if the river ahead through life looks like running dry.
BREATHE (M)
Fighting to prevent a last gasp, UK, 118 min
Two-and-a-half stars
The directorial debut of the celebrated motion-capture acting pioneer Andy Serkis (Caesar from Planet of the Apes) is an interesting, if ineffectual, biopic. This is the true story of Robin Cavendish (Andrew Garfield), a young Brit who contracts polio and is rendered quadriplegic in the 1950s.
Given months to live by doctors, Cavendish battles the dire diagnosis with the stubborn support of his wife Diana (Claire Foy of Netflix’s The Crown). It is only with the intercession of a resourceful academic (played by Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville) and his invention of a wheelchair with an integrated respirator that Robin gets his chance to go on living.
Given the inspirational subject matter, it is slightly disappointing that the movie settles for drawing mild admiration instead of winning total adoration. Nothing to fault with the performances here, so Serkis and his team must cop the blame for an opportunity missed here.
ALREADY SHOWING
PADDINGTON 2 (G)
Hit the paws button again, UK, 102 min
Four stars
The 2014 adaptation of Michael Bond’s wonderful Paddington books performed a minor miracle. Not only did the filmmakers capture the spirit of everyone’s favourite marmalade-addicted Peruvian bear, they also crafted one of the finest family movies of any era.
The good news on the sequel is that one good minor miracle deserves another: Paddington 2 is the equal of its predecessor, not allowing standards to slip anywhere. That’s a fantastic effort when you consider little Paddington (voiced to perfection by Ben Whishaw) spends a fair whack of the flick doing jail time with some highly unsavoury types.
Paddington has been framed for robbery by actor-turned-crook (Hugh Grant), so it is up to his good friends the Brown family (Sally Hawkins is a standout as the mum) to clear the little bear’s name. Meanwhile, Paddington becomes best buds with the meanest bloke in the slammer, Knuckles McGinty (Brendan Gleeson). An all-ages delight.
STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI (M)
Nothing is final as the Force intensifies, US, 152 min
Three-and-a-half stars
The Star Wars saga celebrates its 40th anniversary doing exactly what it must — bringing the world together as one in a way no other movie franchise can. You are never alone as long as the Force is with you. There are plenty of big philosophical questions to ponder, and a lot of escapist eye candy to gorge on. The balance between moving the Star Wars juggernaut forwards with new material, and pleasing loyal fans with call-outs to the franchise’s greatest hits, is struck very effectively throughout. The story doubles back to where previous episode The Force Awakens left off. Series heroine Rey (Daisy Ridley) has arrived at the remote island sanctuary of long-lost Jedi master Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). While The Last Jedi works very well in the thrill-ride department, it does not always get it right when servicing the development and relevance of its many featured characters.
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