Movie Review – The Peanut Butter Falcon

Premiering at South by Southwest last year, indie sleeper hit The Peanut Butter Falcon makes its way into Australian cinemas this month.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ½
Rhys Pascoe

Written and directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz, The Peanut Butter Falcon centres on Zak (Zack Gottsagen), a 22-year-old with Down Syndrome, who lives in a retirement home in North Carolina. An avid fan of wrestling, Zak is known as a ‘flight risk’ to staff. When he finally flees the facility in the dead of night to seek out his wrestling hero the Salt Water Redneck (Thomas Haden Church), it’s up to his carer Eleanor (Dakota Johnson) to track him down.

After spending his first night on the run sleeping under a tarp on a fishing boat, Zak crosses paths with thief and fisherman Tyler (Shia LaBeouf), who is on the run himself after upsetting two fellow crabbers. Together, the two outsiders head out in the sticks in search of somewhere to hide, and along the way forge a special friendship.

While Nilson and Schwartz’s twee script isn’t going to win any awards for originality, The Peanut Butter Falcon does win you over through sheer charm and sincerity. Zak and Tyler’s escapades in the woods are wholesome AF. They eat watermelons (and wear them as helmets), use bottles as target practice and work on their secret handshake.

Between this and the recent Honey Boy, LaBeouf continues to take his career in new and interesting directions. Johnson has deftly moved on from the Fifty Shades saga with some equally varied choices, this film included. However, it’s Gottsagen who (rightly) shines brightest. His pure onscreen presence pairs beautifully with LaBeouf’s abrasive runaway, until all the rough edges and animosity have melted away between the two.

On paper, the film sounds like it was cooked up using a ‘my first indie film’ starter kit, but by the end of its trim 97-minute run time, the heartfelt ‘friends are the family you choose’ narrative warms the cockles of your heart, even if you cynically think you have seen this kind of movie before (you definitely have). When all is said and done, The Peanut Butter Falcon sells us this idea that we should be out there living life, not sitting around pushing papers and – you know what – it’s hard to argue with that.

The Peanut Butter Falcon is available in Australian cinemas from January 30

Image courtesy of Rialto Distribution

Movie Review – American Honey

Possibly the most poignant American road movie since Easy Rider.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
Corey Hogan

Teenager Star (Sasha Lane) seems to have very little in her impoverished life, as evident when we meet her scrounging around for food in dumpsters to feed the kids of the white trash family she squats with. So when she happens upon a group of energetic and similarly proletarian teens, and is propositioned by their flirtatious leader Jake (Shia LaBeouf) to join them as they travel across Midwest America, there’s nothing to lose. She enters a world of homeless but happy kids doing everything they can to survive while still partying as hard as possible along the way. An explosion of highs and lows, mixed with the emotions and impulses of growing up await Star on the open road.

It’s difficult to pinpoint what kind of a film Andrea Arnold’s (Fish Tank, Wuthering Heights) American Honey is, since it’s really more of an experience; a kinetic painting of youth enthusiastically splashed against a canvas of economic disparity. Though the odd bit of traditional storytelling peeks around the corner here and there, with a sort-of romance between its two somewhat star crossed leads, most sense of a narrative structure is completely AWOL. This is a montage of raw moments, a haze of hormonal feelings pulsating in and out to the throbbing rhythm of its pop and rap soundtrack. Coming of age may be nothing new, but Arnold’s vision of it is unique, vibrant, hypnotic and infectiously optimistic.

Working in her standard 4:3 aspect ratio combined with guerrilla handheld cameras, Arnold keeps things at an incredibly intimate and private scope, really giving the illusion that we’re with the kids in their impetuous travels. We’re granted a contrasting look at the opposing ends of America’s class scale, which speaks wonders but never passes judgement; both the rich and the poor are shown to be capable of equal virtue and malice. Most refreshing is its portrayal of a generation too often partnered with cynicism; these are simply young people making the most out of life that they can with an inspiring amount of ambition and idealism.

Andrea Arnold supposedly stumbled upon Sasha Lane at a beach while on spring break, and her idea to have her film led by someone unfamiliar with acting is a hugely effective one. It doesn’t feel like acting really – Lane just is Star, going with the flow and simply being a teenage girl as life washes over her. On the other hand, we’ve all been aware of Shia LaBeouf for quite some time, which is where he defies all expectations, giving what is likely his best performance. He’s unlike he’s ever been before here – a shaggy, complex bundle of messy energy tied up in a rat tail – and it’s abundantly clear that he’s having much more fun here than he did in any studio film.

An intensely visceral and gleeful juncture of growing up in poverty, American Honey is possibly the most poignant American road movie since Easy Rider.

American Honey is available in Australian cinemas from November 3

Image courtesy of Universal Pictures

Movie Review – War Dogs

Lock and load, but don’t get too trigger-happy – Todd Phillips and company aim for comedy-drama gold but sadly miss their target.

⭐ ⭐ ½
Corey Hogan

David Packouz (Miles Teller) is a Miami Beach massage therapist who’s made a bad investment in unwanted linen sheets; a decision made worse when his girlfriend Iz (Ana de Armas) announces that she’s pregnant. Running into his old school buddy Efraim Diveroli (Jonah Hill) at a funeral, he learns that Efraim has made a living exploiting a little-known government loophole that allows small businesses to place bids on U.S. military contracts. Desperate for money to support his family, David teams up with Efraim and the pair become war dogs – independent middle-men buying weapons and equipment cheap and selling them at an inflated price, all without ever seeing the merchandise.

There’s a very interesting story somewhere in the midst of War Dogs, but sadly Todd Phillips (The Hangover Trilogy) – unlike his arms peddling anti-heroes – hasn’t quite managed to milk it for all it’s worth. It seemed at first glance as if the comedy director was going for his “take me seriously” moment, embedding his brand of bromantic hijinks into a girthy true tale to create an entertaining, eye-opening romp worthy of awards recognition; not unlike Anchorman director Adam McKay did with The Big Short. It has Scorsese-size ambitions, and there is the odd occasion where War Dogs feels like this is an almost achievable goal; disappointingly, it squashes its chances of succeeding The Wolf of Wall Street on account of its frustrating laziness.

Most of the film’s problems can be boiled down to its creative decisions – or lack thereof. Structure and story-wise, it’s one of the oldest clichés in the book. Miles Teller narrates, opening on his protagonist who’s in over his head, kidnapped and staring down the barrel of a gun. Then we backtrack a few years to his humble beginnings, and his climb up the ranks from rags to riches in through-and-through Scorsese fashion, until the inevitable climactic point of pandemonium is met. It’s a story we’ve seen far too many times, and the true material it’s sourced from isn’t fresh enough to make War Dogs feel like it’s reinventing the wheel.

Phillips can’t seem to decide what genre he’s in either. There are certainly moments early on that raise a few chuckles, but despite being sold as humour-heavy in the trailer, the laughs dry up; fans expecting another Hangover might be surprised by how little comedy there is. Conversely, it isn’t weighty enough to cut it as a drama either – we’re told the stakes and danger is high, but we never really feel it; there’s little emotional heft and our characters aren’t likeable enough to care all that much for. Again, it’s simply too light a touch for what could have, and should have been a complex picture.

Miles Teller continues to do little to prove his star power post-Whiplash, perhaps still struggling to match the sheer intensity of that role. Jonah Hill delivers the better performance of the pair, his moral-less entrepreneur amusing as he cackles wickedly and makes unpredictable moves. But we’ve seen this dramatic role from Hill before, and much better, in Moneyball and (once again) The Wolf of Wall Street. Supposedly Jesse Eisenberg and Shia LaBeouf were once attached to these roles, though it’s hard to imagine them faring much better under Phillips’ rote direction.

What we’re left with is an entertaining enough popcorn pic. The boys are shown to idolise and channel Scarface – if only Phillips had the balls to make them as ruthlessly compelling as the Cuban crime lord.

War Dogs is available in Australian cinemas from August 18

Image courtesy of Roadshow Films

Movie Review – Fury. 1.5 Stars

After viewing Akiva Goldsman’s Winter’s Tale earlier this year, I did not think I would ever encounter an equally confusing film, but newly released war film Fury comes very close.

Review by Cherie Wheeler

It’s 1945, and although World War II is coming to an end, the American troops remain in German territory, and the fighting wages on. Written and directed by action filmmaker David Ayer, Fury follows Don “Wardaddy” Collier (Brad Pitt) who commands a tight knit team that operate a tank after which the film is named. Following the death of one of their comrades, the freshly recruited Norman Ellison (Logan Lerman) is ordered to join the crew, but he is not exactly welcomed with open arms. Norman struggles to cope with the horrors of war, and this coupled with his aversion to violence causes his popularity among the other men to suffer even further. After a devastating loss on the battlefield that leaves Fury as the last US tank standing, Collier convinces his men to join him on a suicide mission in which they are outnumbered by Germans, 60 to 1. Shia LaBeouf, Michael Peña and Jon Bernthal also star.

Like a lot of viewers, I have certainly seen my fair share of war movies. From the earlier films (Bridge On The River Kwai ), to those released this year (Lone Survivor), to those covering the Vietnam War (Full Metal Jacket), to films about the more recent wars throughout the Middle East and Afghanistan (Black Hawk Down), from American TV shows (Band of Brothers), to Australian feature films (Beneath Hill 60); my point is that I have a lot of previous viewing experience with which to compare this latest film, and I can honestly say that Fury might just be the worst war film ever made.

The root of the problem lies with David Ayer’s utterly baffling screenplay. For the majority of the film I was sitting there wondering; why is this even happening right now? There is no plot structure or storyline; events simply unfold without any meaning or purpose. I struggled to explain the narrative in my plot synopsis above, and the suicide mission I refer to (which is marketed as the key plot point in the film) actually only takes place in the last 30 minutes.

Each of the five main characters that comprise the tank team are highly underdeveloped, and riddled with inconsistencies. For example; Jon Bernthal’s character does not seem to know whether he respects his commander, loathes him, or loves him to the extent that he would die for him, and he tends to flit between each of these states without any justification. Collier is equally erratic, which becomes most apparent when he starts screaming, “I’m going to hold this crossroad,” and insists on taking on this completely pointless endeavour that will have no impact on the war whatsoever. At first his men object to his insanity, but naturally, out of loyalty to him, they eventually decide to help him in this ridiculous mission.

Perhaps Ayer was simply trying to demonstrate the absurdity of war, and the madness that overcomes men as a result of being subjected to this, which may explain the irrational actions of each of the characters, but this is not just cause for the many bizarre events that comprise the overall narrative. A near half hour scene in the home of two German women is a prime example. This scene, much like the film as a whole, has so much potential, but in the end it comes across as a hot mess. Far too many ideas and subplots were packed into this scene, consequently none of them were able to be fully explored, and all of them were executed poorly.

I have a lot respect and admiration for Brad Pitt and his acting abilities, but honestly, what the hell was he thinking when he agreed to take on this project? He is satisfactory in the lead role; whilst he does not excel, at least he isn’t dreadful, unlike some of his co-stars.

For almost 80 per cent of the movie Shia LaBeouf looks like he is about to burst into tears, as if he has been sniffing onions in between takes. The southern accent he puts on is so thick that most of the time you will have no idea what he is saying. All of the cast members throw an excessive amount of emotion around the screen that comes across as both contrived and at times unnecessary. Logan Lerman is the only saving grace in the film. Young Australian actor Xavier Samuel has a brief appearance early on, and at first I was a little disappointed that he did not snag Lerman’s role, but afterwards I realised that this was a blessing. A lead role in this film may have ruined Samuel’s career, which is still in its infancy.

I must give credit where credit is due, however, and the sound design throughout Fury is quite good, although not as good as that in Lone Survivor. There are some interesting shots here and there, such as a pull focus from a close up of the boots of a dead man hanging in the streets, to a wide shot of the American tanks slowly rolling down the main road. The opening scene of a German soldier on horseback is also shot beautifully, and during this scene there is an instance of violence that is very confronting, which led me to believe that the rest of the film would follow in this style, but sadly it was all downhill from there.

The only reason I did not walk out of the cinema when watching this film is because of my need to write this review, consequently I am giving Fury 1.5 stars.