The Film Pie

The Film Pie Monopolistic movie news, reviews and insights from Brisbane, Australia.

The opinions expressed by Matt Toomey are final and no correspondence will be entered into.

12/08/2026

The End of Oak Street (out Aug 13) is hit and miss. I liked the concept, setting, and unexpected splashes of dark comedy... but it succumbs to a pet hate of mind – characters making overtly dumb decisions to prolong the narrative. It follows a family who are transported back in time and must battle for their lives against hungry dinosaurs. Grade: B.

11/08/2026

Case 137 (out Aug 13) takes a little while to get going but it builds into an affecting, engrossing drama about police corruption. Léa Drucker, in her César Award winning role, plays an investigator seeking the truth after a young Frenchman is brutally injured at a protest in Paris. Grade: A-.

09/08/2026

One Night Only (out Aug 13) is what you’d get if asking George Orwell to write a fluffy romantic comedy. Think of a cross between 1984 and Notting Hill. Set in a bizarre world where s*x outside of wedlock is legal for only one night each year (it makes no sense), leads Monica Barbaro and Callum Turner have great chemistry - both comedic and romantic. Liked the supporting players and music score too. Grade: B.

05/08/2026

Super Troopers 3 (out Aug 6) is a disappointing instalment to the film series which began in 2001. If you like repetitive, low-brow toilet humour, maybe you’ll get some laughs from it. Grade: C.

05/08/2026

Ice Cream Man (out Aug 6) gets close to a passing grade but ultimately, it falls short. The editing is haphazard, the performances of the child actors are awful, and there are not enough interesting characters or subplots to keep viewers engaged. Didn't mind the ending. It's the gory tale of an Ice Cream Man who turns the kids of Bayleen Bay into zombie-like killers. Grade: C+.

04/08/2026

Young Washington (out Aug 6) looks at the military rise of George Washington in the 18th Century and what would lay the platform of him becoming the first President of the United States. It's moderately interesting but very much an action-fest in the later stages. Grade: B-.

03/08/2026

Holy Days (out Aug 6) is an overly simple story elevated by its cast. Jacki Weaver, Judy Davis and Miriam Margolyes star as three nuns, based in New Zealand, who go on a road trip to save their convent from villainous property developers. Grade: B-.

03/08/2026

Teenage S*x and Death at Camp Miasma (out Aug 6) is from director Jane Schoenbrun (I Saw the TV Glow) and is the story of a young filmmaker trying to reinvigorate a tired horror franchise. It's an interesting concept but as the weirdness grew from scene-to-scene, my interest levels wained. grade B.

29/07/2026

Spider-Man: Brand New Day (out Jul 30) continues the successful franchise which Tom Holland remains a perfect fit for the title role. This doesn't want to be a simple, action-heavy film with Spider-Man defeating more bad guys. The opening half is a cool mystery (who's the villain, what's happening to Spidey's DNA) and the second half is an emotive drama as our vulnerable hero grapples with tricky scenarios where it's hard to discern right from wrong. Grade: B+.

27/07/2026

The Blue Trail (out Jul 30) is a Brazilian film set in a semi-dystopian world and follows a 77-year-old woman who flees town and goes on a series of misadventures after the government attempts to place her in a "colony" for old folk. I liked the lead performance and the film's general weirdness, but the story was a little too slight for me. Grade: B-.

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