Child’s Play

Rated: MA15+Child's Play

Directed by: Lars Klevberg

Screenplay by: Tyler Burton Smith

Produced by: Seth Grahame-Smith and David Katzenberg

Executive Producer: Chris Ferguson

Starring: Gabriel Bateman, Aubrey Plaza, Brian Tyree Henry and Mark Hamill as the voice of Chucky.

‘Are we having fun yet?’

‘I guess.’

‘Yay!’

Child’s Play (1988) is a classic horror movie I remember watching when I was about twelve-years old.

I remember it was about a doll and it was scary; and I remember cringing and trying to get to sleep after seeing feet hanging out the end of a bed getting sliced by a knife.

So, I knew I was waking into a movie about a killer doll. But was somehow surprised by the horror, meaty horror at that, where the writing and the performance of single mom Karen (Aubrey Plaza) and son Andy (Gabriel Bateman) suspended reality enough to get a decent scare going when this life-like Buddi doll, doesn’t get possessed or start off being evil, but becomes a serial killer by mimicking what people do; by doing what he thinks his best buddy Andy wants him to do.

Afterall, he is a Buddi doll.

Chucky would do anything for his best mate.  Including ripping the skin off faces, hanging people, stabbing and setting up angle grinders to saw pesky people in half.

Child’s Play re-imagined manages to give a classic horror, but somewhat hard to swallow concept, a believable hook.

Here, we have ‘Chucky 2.0’ based on the technology of today – where electronics are interconnected, wireless and activated by voice command.

So all we have to believe is that Chucky is an animated doll capable of responding to commands like Siri or Alexa.

Sure there were contrived moments like a person with broken legs, bones broken through skin, still able to crawl rather than writhing in agony; and rope around a neck suddenly loosened when a body falls to the ground.  But it still kind of hung together.

And that had a lot to do with the tone of the film, director Lars Klevberg balancing the gore and horror with some dark humour that really hit the mark, like the question of why is there fruit involved?!

Just think watermelons being a similar shape to a decapitated head.

Yep, Child’s Play is gory and funny with Mark Hamill voicing the evil doll that is Chucky, surprisingly effective on so many levels – childhood, Star Wars, evil doll.  Why not?  If the voice fits.

There’s enough essence of Chucky-the-original to keep fans happy, while the fresh take lifts the original concept somewhere the audience can laugh with and not at – a close call for me at the beginning of the film, saved by the wry performance of Aubrey Plaza and the likable Brian Tyree Henry as Detective Mike who lives down the hall.

The Secret Life Of Pets 2

Rated: PGThe Secret Life Of Pets 2

Directed by: Chris Renaud

Co-Directed by: Jonathan Del Val

Written by: Brian Lynch

Produced by: Chris Meledadri, p.g.a., Janet Healy, p.g.a

Voices by: Kevin Hart, Tiffany Haddish, Patton Oswalt, Eric Stonestreet, Jenny Slate, Lake Bell with Harrison Ford.

‘If you pee on it, you own it’:  The wisdom of Terrier Max.

We all love our pets and their shenanigans.  My cat Cloud, AKA Cheeky brat, AKA Ching-Chong-Chunk is a constant source of entertainment and companionship.

The Secret Life Of Pets (2016)) managed to tap into that delight of humans and what we imagine our pets get up to when we’re not around.

Here, in The Secret Life Of Pets 2, we get Terrier Max (Patton Oswalt) returning with the loveable house-mate and mutt, Duke (Eric Stonestreet), along with pomeranian Gidget (Jenny Slate) taking a steam in the dishwasher and Chloe (Lake Bell) teaching Gidget the way of the cat.

The characteristics of animals we know and love are captured in detail making me smile in recognition, cat-meowing-in-sleeping-human-face included.

So starting out, all I could think was, Adorable.

In this next instalment, Max is coping with the introduction of another member of the family, baby Liam.

With Max stress-scratching we see the running theme of fear and rising to the challenge of life and facing fear, all cumulating when the family visit a farm.

Here we meet a wise farm dog and crazy stalker turkey.

All the birds are crazy-eyed and brainless, managing to always get me giggling.

Then there’s this side-story with an evil circus and lion and rescue mission from wolves I didn’t really get.

The humour was more slapstick as well, moving away from the cheeky pet behaviour that makes The Secret Life Of Pets so good.

Sure, this side-mission added adventure and was perhaps aimed at the youngsters in the audience; but I didn’t really sense a positive response from the kids either.

The super-hero bunny Snowball (Kevin Hart) with Daisy-the-brave (Tiffany Haddish) felt like another story from another movie.  And it didn’t really gel because the attachment to Max and Co. was already made.

I just wanted to keep watching Max at the farm and Gidget and the cat Chloe back at the city apartment block – that’s what I was interested in.  That’s what I found funny: the behaviour of the characters as pets, not as super-hero adventurers.

So, some of the film I adored; the rest, not so much.

Wild Rose

Rated: MWild Rose

Directed by: Tom Harper

Written by: Nicole Taylor

Produced by: Faye Ward

Starring: Jessie Buckley, Sophie Okenedo, James Harkness, Jamie Sives and Julie Walters.

Wild Rose is a Glasgow county music film opening on Rose-Lynn’s last day, ‘in the jail’: she’s wild and free and ready to pick up her dream of becoming a country (not western) singer.

Three Cords and the Truth.

That’s what Rose-Lynn (Jessie Buckley) has tattooed on her forearm.

But like the tag on her ankle and the curfew she must keep while on probation, Rose-Lynn is tied-down with the responsibility having two kids, each born before she turned eighteen.

With the kids left with granny (Marion, played by Julie Walters) while she was put away for a year, it’s like she’s forgotten she’s a mother.

How is she going to get to Nashville and become a famous country singer and look after two kids?

I find there’s a particular darkness to these UK, character-driven films, like the cold of the place brings a heaviness with all the wooly jumpers and indoor living – not that Rose-Lynn was partial to jumpers, she was more about denim skirts and white cowboy boots.

Wild Rose has that same dry heaviness broken with golden light brought by this incredible voice from the bratful Rose-Lynn.  It brought tears to my eyes when she sang, every single time.  So by the end of the film the tears were streaming because what was heavy, turned into life-affirming.  Like the heaviness of everything else made her voice sound more pure.  Which is what country music is, I guess.

Which is something writer Nicole Taylor wanted to share, “The way the emotionality in it helps people open up, certainly in places such as Glasgow. I’m from Glasgow and all my life I’ve been obsessed with Country music. I think it’s popular in places and among people who are not used to talking about their feelings. Who might not even know their own feelings. But when they hear Country – which is raw and pure and unashamedly emotional – it’s a way to process things and have a cathartic experience [….] It’s a language for the emotionally inarticulate – and that’s Rose-Lynn!”

And Jessie Buckley was great for this role.

I could relate to the young lass and her Gallus behaviour (as the Glaswegians would say, meaning full of cheek, irrepressible, doesn’t care if she’s rude, but not in an obnoxious way).  Middle class and missing her youth, Susannah (Sophie Okenedo) employing Rose-Lynn as her ‘day woman’ (cleaner) introduces this torn and talented singer as light; like she’s a breath of fresh air.

But Rose-Lynn has been unlucky learning her life lessons.  Except for that voice.

And we see the affect her need, to use her talent instead of taking responsibility, has on her mother – the performance from Julie Walters has to be noted here, with that look of sadness, realisation and pride in her eyes.

It’s about this journey with the music used to show Rose-Lynn’s talent, what she was born to be, versus the responsibility of her choices, her kids and eventually her life.

So it’s more about Rose-Lynn learning what she really wants out of life and how her choices have landed her where she never saw coming while dreaming about where she thought she should be.

More family drama than expected but a solid story with some beautiful moments.

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters

Rated: MGodzilla: King Of The Monsters

Directed by: Michael Dougherty

Written by: Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields

Produced by: Mary Parent, Alex Garcia, Brian Rogers, Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni

Executive Producers: Zach Shields, Barry H. Waldman, Dan Lin, Roy Lee, Yoshimitsu Banno and Kenji Okuhira

Starring: Vera Farmiga, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Kyle Chandler, Millie Bobby Brown, Bradley Whitford, Thomas Middleditch, Charles Dance, O’Shea Jackson Jr, Aisha Hinds and Zhang Ziyi.

Moving on from 2014, when the world realised that gigantic monsters exist, that the titans who once ruled the world could rise again, the Russell family has been blown apart after the loss of their young son, Sam.

Emma (Vera Farmiga) has thrown herself into research, continuing the synchronising of bio-acoustics that her ex-husband Mark (Kyle Chandler) abandoned.  He’s left civilisation behind to study wild animals in the wilderness.  Mark emails his daughter, Emma (Millie Bobby Brown) to keep in touch, but really, he’s run away from the family, to hide his grief.

Family drama aside, this next instalment in the Monsterverse is all about the titans, the 500-foot-tall monsters that are awoken to wipe out the human race, to bring about Armageddon.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters reveals the secret crypto-zoological agency Monarch, that continues to study and protect the titans.  New titans are discovered and kept hidden from the world as the government fights Monarch in court, to force the agency to reveal everything about these monsters and once and for all destroy the threat.

I don’t want to reveal too much of the story (if you haven’t already seen the film) because there’s a few surprises here and new monsters added to the universe.  Those who know the creators, Toho (who released a series of films featuring these giant monsters creating the kaiju eiga genre) will recognise the awesome creatures: Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah; monsters never seen on screen outside of Japan, until now.

I’ve got to say I couldn’t help but grin with the reintroduction of Godzilla.  The build of suspense with the soundtrack giving the familiar gigantic monster something like magnificence.

Again, Godzilla rises when the future of humanity is at stake, as other titans are awoken, destroying the disease that has been killing the planet for thousands of years: humans.

It’s becoming a common theme in cinema these days: humans killing the planet. Seems the best excuse to kill off cities and people because humans are destroying the environment.   But it gives the story here a good foundation for destruction.

There’s more about Godzilla and his origins, his role in living alongside humanity giving the monster something like a personality so I really wanted to cheer him on.

It was the humans I found to be insincere with a lot of standing around looking up with shock plastered on their faces.

Not that all the characters were bad – Bradley Whitford as Dr. Rick Stanton was a cracker.

And thankfully the delivery of some pretty ordinary dialogue improved as the effects ramped up.  Probably because the human relationships weren’t as much of a focus when buildings started to get flattened and monsters started screeching at each other during epic battles for domination.

The tremendous sound of these monsters was deafening, making the floor in the cinema vibrate.

As director Michael Dougherty states, ‘These are popcorn movies,’ yet there’s a little more to Godzilla II with some unexpected twists in the storyline to keep it interesting and the monsters really come to life on the big screen.

Rocketman

Rated: MA15+Rocketman

Directed by: Dexter Fletcher

Written by: Lee Hall

Produced by: Matthew Vaughn, David Furnish, Adam Bohling, David Reid

Executive Produced by: Elton John, Steve Hamilton Shaw, Michael Gracey, Claudia Vaughn, Brian Oliver

Starring: Taron Egerton, Jamie Bell, Richard Madden, Gemma Jones and Bryce Dallas Howard.

‘You’ve got to kill the person you were born to be and become the person you want to be.’

Rocketman is the biopic of the ‘magnificent’ Elton John.

The film introduces the man, the musician, the stage performer in dramatic fashion: a red daemon with glittery horns and red feathered wings.  We see the ending to the chaos of his success.

‘I am Elton Hercules John’, he states to Group in rehab with the admission of addiction: the drugs, the sex and of course the shopping.

We’ve all heard of Elton John – I’m certainly aware of his fame and the costumes he’s worn during his performances.  But what this film shows is who Elton used to be: Reginald Dwight, the piano prodigy.

At five-years of age Regi was able to hear and play anything on the piano.

And he goes on to succeed as a pianist, in the classics, eventually finding himself backing a blues and soul group, Bluesology.  He asks the lead singer of the group – how can an overweight white man become famous?

By performing his own songs.

Reginald has the music but not the words.

When the lyrics of Bernie Taupin (Jamie Bell) are thrown in his hands while auditioning for an agent, it’s fate.

And the performance Regi makes at the Troubador, where Neil Young plays to sell-out crowds, is something like magic.

The trick of this film is how that magic is conveyed through the screen to get that feeling where the moment has arrived.  The Life Defining Moment.

I could feel the pressure before Regi’s performance.

But instead of freezing, he becomes something else.  He becomes Elton John.

He Becomes, taking everyone up with him.

I saw Taron Egerton in Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) and remember Elton made a cameo appearance in this, I’ve got to say, disaster of a film.

But worth it if it brought these two artists together.

Taron is, yep, magnificent in his role as the tortured, messy and heart-broken genius.  I can’t think of anyone else better suited to play the part.  Taron also performed all the songs.

Which leads me to highlight, Rocketman has moments of being a musical.  Well, is a musical; a genre I find hard to stomach.  It’s just cheesy when someone sings what should be spoken, really knocking me out of the fantasy of reality on screen.

I was worried when I saw the 50s styled dances, twirling with their washed-out petticoats circling the colourful five-year-old Reginald.  But as Taron played those Elton John songs, it was more like a concert with surreal illumination, reflecting the state of mind of the man performing, night after night.  His success explosive.

There’s a story to be told about this shy extravert (a contradiction but a point made about the man and his complex layers); there’s heartbreak and being alone, up above, on the cloud of his success – above the clouds because he’s so high.

And there’s redemption, growth and his nana (Gemma Jones): ‘Crumbs, that was energetic.’ She says, bless her white cotton socks.

Makes that meteor, right up there in the stratosphere somehow relatable.

Despite its musical elements, I found Rocketman completely absorbing.

John Wick 3 – Parabellum

Rated: MA15+John Wick 3 - Parabellum

Directed by: Chad Stahelski

Screenplay by: Derek Kolstad and Shay Hatten and Chris Collins & Marc Abrams

Story by: Derek Kolstad

Based on: Characters Created by Derek Kolstad

Produced by: Basil Iwanyk, p.g.a., Erica Lee, p.g.a.

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Laurence Fishburne, Mark Dacascos, Asia Kate Dillon, Lance Reddick, Saïd Taghmaoui, Jerome Flynn, Jason Mantzoukas, Tobias Segal, Borban Marjanovic, with Anjelica Huston and Ian McShane.

Time is a running theme in this third instalment of John Wick, building the pressure after Winston (Ian McShane), Manager of The Continental, New York makes John excommunicado (re-cap: The Continental being a hotel that’s a safe haven for assassins seeking sanctuary under the rule of the powerful organisation and international assassin’s guild, The High Table).

John has broken the one rule that cannot be broken: killing another assassin under the protection of The Continental.

Winston has given John one hour before the end of his protection leaving him exposed to an open contract sent to every assassin in the world; the bounty: 14 million dollars.

This is the consequence of John’s revenge.

All he wanted was peace.  But for John to find peace, first he must make war.

I found myself immensely satisfied in the continuity of seeing John Wick in action, 10 minutes after the hanging end of John Wick 2.

The bones of the series continues here, with the same operators taking the same calls for the same organisation.  But take that continuing thread and pull tighter.

The action here is phenomenal – I’d go as far as saying more entertaining and fiercer than the two before. I’m talking knives, hatchets and ninja moves.

Like the familiar Continental concierge, Cheron (Lance Reddick) says, ‘This is serious business’

It’s like watching the fight scenes live, Keanu going into four months of intensive training before shooting so he could fight the scenes himself.  And he outdoes himself, again and again while retaining that incredibly likeable dry sense of humour.

Just when I felt myself start to loose focus, John Wick starts slapping a guy, another assassin appears out of the shadows, the dogs start attacking.  And it’s all played-out in settings of old world charm filled with red velvet and ballerinas to the vibrant burnt orange sands of Morocco to the steaming streets of New York and artefacts set in glass creating a maze so the slash of samurai or the jab of a dagger splinters the glass or John just gets thrown through it.

Aside from the returning favourite characters (can’t forget Laurence Fishburne as reigning Bowery King) there’s new characters to build another dimension and give context to the man, John Wick: The Director (Anjelica Huston) who runs a school for assassins, hinting at John’s Romani past and Sofia (Halle Berry) from John’s origins, a fellow assassin (and the best role I’ve seen Halle Berry in years).

I’m such a fan of Asia Kate Dillon in the TV series, Billions, I was chuffed to see her cast here as The Adjudicator played with cold calculation as she deals out The High Table’s demands with predatory eyes.

So the action is ramped-up with gritty realism, and we get an expansion of the John Wick universe.

Look, some of the story gets a bit thin in places, but it’s so entertaining and the character John Wick is so likeable I was happy to let some of the dubious motivations slide.

I’m still reeling from those fight scenes that somehow managed to tap into that fight response fueling the experience with adrenaline.  It’s just relentless, the hit after hit, I could feel the force as I laughed and cringed and grinned through all the blood and violence because it’s so hardcore it’s funny.  On purpose.

Instant action-thriller classic.

The Realm (El Reino)

Rated: MThe Realm

Directed by: Rodrigo Sorogoyen

Written by: Isabel Peña, Rodrigo Sorogoyen

Produced by: Gerardo Herrero, Mikel Lejarza, Mercedes Gamero

Starring: Antonio De La Torre, Mónica López, José María Pou, Nacho Fresneda, Ana Wagener, Bárbara Lennie, Luis Zahera, Francisco Reyes, María De Nati, Paco Revilla, Sonia Almarcha, David Lorente, Andrés Lima and Oscar De La Fuente.

Spanish with English subtitles

A fast-paced political thriller, The Realm follows Manuel López Vidal (Antonio De La Torre), a Party member who’s just been given the nod to become the next Party leader.

But when a fellow member becomes embroiled in allegations of corruption, the stain spreads as ‘Operation Amadeus’ uncovers the depth of corruption, including Manuel.  Not only is his position under threat but his freedom and even his life.

There’s a lot going on in this film: the layers of character, relationships and Spanish politics.

The dialogue is non-stop with a soundtrack of techno beats as we follow the Party members with hand-held cameras to keep the pace sprinting.  We follow behind Manuel, we follow him into the backseat of a car as the door closes, we see footage from an iPhone showing the Party members living The Life on the sunny deck of a boat as it speeds along the blue waters of their obvious success.

We see Manuel as he fights for his life, using everything he’s got.

The film slows down momentarily when Manuel meets with political journalist, Amaia Marín (Bárbara Lennie), making yet another deal, asking for her patience – they clink their glasses, ‘To patience’.

And there’s the patriarchal figure of the Party and regional head, José Luis Frías (José María Pou) who tries to give pause to the madness of politician trying to out-smart the other: when there’s silence, when a look is not returned, there’s a reason more important than one’s curiosity.

There are many characters, all trying to survive – the film washes over the depth of the many, focussing more on the individual, Manuel, on his intelligence, his family, his cunning.

The Realm shows the underbelly of Spanish politics, shining the light on those entrenched in back-hand dealings made in a government where corruption is the norm; where power protects power.

It took me a while to get absorbed into the pace of the film, to figure out exactly what was going on in the story or where the film was headed.  But the confusion and complication are all part of the intrigue – there’s more to this film than a cerebral political thriller, like there’s more to politics than the game-playing of corrupt politicians.

The Hustle

Rated: MThe Hustle

Directed by: Chris Addison

Story by: Stanley Sharpiro & Paul Henning and Dale Launer

Screenplay by: Stanley Sharpiro & Paul Henning and Dale Launer and Jac Schaeffer

Produced by: Roger Birnbaum, Rebel Wilson

Starring: Anne Hathaway, Rebel Wilson, Alex Sharp.

Loosely based on, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) starring Steve Martin, Michael Caine and Glenne Headly, The Hustle features two con-women: the low-brow Lonnie (Rebel Wilson) harking from Australia, and the high-class Josephine (Anne Hathaway) who’s decided to settle in the French Riviera where all the super-rich marks are just begging to be ripped off.

After conning her way through men willing to pay for her fake sister’s boob job, the ‘big-titted Russel Crowe’ decides to head to well, bigger waters.

Much to the disgust of super-snob Josephine, this con-woman from Cootamundra is muddying the pristine hunting ground she calls home: either she brings Lonnie in for training or Lonnie brings attention to her most obvious yet effective swindles, leaving any con exposed.

Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway make a good team as the snobby plum-in-the-mouth, skinny-girl-in-distress cover for the heartless con artist versus the crude and rude but gets the job done Aussie.

Rebel has still managed to win me over with her, I’m a bratful big-girl getting away with it because I’m adorable.

And we get some gems in the script, like, ‘You can’t cheat an honest man’ – the Danish gambling addict obviously not honest while trying to sell his wife’s precious jewels; he’s more a cross between a Nazi and Gollum a, ‘Nazi-Gollum.’

So there’s some funny moments and fresh ideas here, more than the reversal of genders in this re-make or refresh of a classic, con trying to out-con a fellow con.

Although, Steve Martin is hard to beat.  I can’t tell you how many times I watched, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels growing up.

But The Hustle is a good bit of fun even if a bit light on the drama.

POKÉMON Detective Pikachu

Rated: PGPOKÉMON Detective Pikachu

Directed by: Rob Letterman

Story by: Dan Hernandez & Benji Samit and Nicole Perlman

Screenplay by: Dan Hernandez & Benji Samit and Rob Letterman and Derek Connolly

Based on: the “Detective Pikachu” video game developed by Creatures Inc.

Produced by: Mary Parent and Cale Boyter

Starring:  Ryan Reynolds, Kathryn Newton, Suki Waterhouse, Omar Chaparro, Chris Geere, Rita Ora, Ken Watanabe and Bill Nighy.

Based on the worldwide phenomenon of, Pokémon and video game, “Detective Pikachu”, this film literally features the beloved Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds) wearing a detective hat.

Tim Goodman (Justice Smith, whom you’ll remember from, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018)) lost his ambition to become a Pokémon Trainer when his mother died and his father, Detective Harry Goodman, moved away to Ryme City; a place where Howard Clifford (Bill Nighy) has created a city, not just with Pokémon living in it, but with humans and Pokémon working and living, side-by-side.

After finding out his father has gone missing, Tim travels to Ryme City to discover there’s more to his father’s past than he realised.

Junior journalist, Lucy (Kathryn Newton), with a nose for a good story, seeks the answers to Detective Goodman’s disappearance, only to find Tim without a Pokémon partner – ‘Why does everyone keep asking me that!’.

When a Pikachu appears in his father’s apartment, instead of the characteristic Pokémon stating their own name, like, “Psy-Duck.  PSY-Duck?”  Or in this case, “Pika Pika” – Tim can understand this mysterious Pikachu: this  little guy is talkative, coffee addicted and a self-proclaimed detective.

So the somewhat lonely 21-year-old (not so much with Pikachu dancing on this shoulder), nosey journalist and talkative Pokémon investigate the mystery surrounding Tim’s father.

POKÉMON Detective Pikachu is a combination of animated puppets and live actors – the Pokémon critters brought to life so you just want to reach out and give Pikachu’s fur a scratch, setting his back-leg twitching.

The kids in the audience, ooo’d and ahh’d, particularly at the beginning and introduction into the world of Pokémon (and before the action ramped up): this is a kid movie.

I don’t know why I expected the humour to be more adult.  Probably because Ryan Reynolds does the voice-over of Pikachu.  And although the script doesn’t have that edgy satire I’ve grown used to from Reynold’s characters, this is brilliant casting as he voices some genuinely funny moments like Pikachu making decisions based on ‘feeling it in his jellies.’

There are many amusing moments like the Cubone baby with the bad temper reminding Tim’s best mate Jake (Karan Soni) – would have like more of this character in the film – of his mother.  But the jokes were more of the PG variety: cute and sweet.

The action and effects ramp-up as the story progresses, giving the film some suspense and creating some drama with the hope Pikachu and his human, Tim, make it out of yet another scape.  And we get the conflict between Tim and his father with the breakdown of their relationship after his mother died, and of course the romance between the two human investigators.

So, not the edgy clever I was hoping for, but we get the expected cuteness with some good laughs and action along the way.

Top End Wedding

Rated: MTop End Wedding

Directed by: Wayne Blair

Written by: Joshua Tyler and Miranda Tapsell

Based on a Concept by: Miranda Tapsell, Joshua Tyler and Glen Condie

Produced by: Rosemary Blight, Kylie du Fresne, Kate Croser

Starring: Miranda Tapsell, Gwilym Lee, Kerry Fox and Huw Higginson.

I feel like I’m glowing after watching Top End Wedding – a blushing bride?!  No, but when director Wayne Blair introduced the film he, said, ‘This is good energy.’

And I’ve got to say, I feel it.

Top End Wedding is a warm-hearted, funny movie about Lauren (Miranda Tapsell) who’s just made Associate at her law firm in Adelaide and Ned (Gwilym Lee), also a lawyer, but quits his job when he decides it’s wrong to indict a woman for stealing incontinence pads.  And then offers her a tissue as she cries on the stand.  Not for her incontinence but for her tears.

When Ned proposes, Lauren whole-heartedly says yes.

With only eleven days leave given by her ball-breaking, super-organised boss, Hampton (Kerry Fox), Lauren decides she wants to get married in Darwin.  Her home town.  Where her parents still live.

When Ned and Lauren arrive, they find:

Mum (Daffy, played by Ursula Yovich) has gone missing, leaving;

Dad (Trevor, played by Huw Higginson) a wreck and crying and hiding in the pantry, listening to music where eventually he says, ‘I can’t listen to anymore 80s chick music.’

Ned and Lauren’s relationship gets tested as the pressure of the wedding and family weighs on their shoulders.  Yet, in the end.  It’s all about coming home.

I didn’t expect to enjoy this film as much as I did.  And writer and lead Miranda Tapsell had a lot to do with the warmth and beauty of this story.

Producer, Rosemary Blight tells of Miranda wanting to do a romantic comedy: ‘I thought there’d be a whole lot more after The Sapphires and there’d be these feisty, funny Aboriginal screenplays. It didn’t happen. So I wrote it myself.’

There’s a great partnership here, between Miranda and director, Wayne Blair, both previous collaborators on the highly successful, The Sapphires (2012).  All the parts work so well.

Top End Wedding feels like a down-to-earth film but there’s a lot of sophistication going here with the timing and segue of scenes and details like all the many different tribes of Aboriginals shown on a map of Australia as the couple travel across the country.

There’s beautiful scenery shot from: Darwin to Kakadu National Park, Katherine, Nitmiluk National Park also including the people of the Tiwi Islands dancing and singing, welcoming the audience into their world, onto their land.

And the soundtrack invites you in, the score from Antony Partos using the ukulele, mandolin and acoustic guitar, and pitched down acoustic guitar so it feels like you’ve been invited to sit around a camp fire.

But it’s the humour that got me – where a lump of sugar is dropped in a cup of tea despite the indecisiveness of an Englishman: do I or don’t I want that lump of sugar?  Drop.

The bumbling Brit does OK: there’s nothing wrong with his ‘gum nuts’.

One of my favourite scenes is the golden light held in the air of a white wooden hall, ceiling fans slowly rotating high overhead as an 80s love song plays by a boy she hasn’t met, yet…

See, GLOWING.

What a gorgeous film.  Loved it.

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