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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 11 January 2025

FILM REVIEWS:

 

CURL POWER ( Canada 2024) ***
Directed by J, Anderson

 

CURL POWER follows a team of teenage girls as they pursue their unusual dream of becoming Canadian National Curling Champions, and seek out their own paths amid the legacies of their world champion mothers. Filmed over a three-year period, the documentary tells a story of angst and ecstasy, following the funny and tender evolution of five best friends as they reckon with their bodies, minds, and the great unknown.

The doc takes its time to establish its footing.  It is not stated in the beginning where the film is set or which province,  though it can be observed that it is about a team in Canada.  One has to observe the footage and join the dots to figure out that the film is about a team in British Columbia.

Curling is a popular sport in Canada, though many have never played it. It would be good if director Anderson explained the sport a little so that the audience knows the ins and outs of the game and the intricacies involved in winning a match.

The curlers experience everything that teen girls face while growing up in Grades 11 and 12. There is the going up, where boys come into play. They worry about their bodies, that they do not put on weight, their depression (one of them takes antidepressants, and she talks candidly and bravely about that in the film), and also separation when one of them leaves for the University of Alberta.

The film also includes a touching moment in which a player talks to her mother, one of the team’s coaches who had played in the Olympics in her heyday.  The mother wishes to keep the cancer a secret from others as she does not wish to keep receiving sympathy from others, something that makes perfect sense.  In a room, the mother gives her daughter all the Olympic ware like the bag, cap, and jersey while the daughter regrets that the mother will not always be there to see her at the end of the game.

CURL POWER which rhymes with girl power is essentially a female film.  It used to be a complaint in the past that females are underrepresented in film.  The opposite, thankfully appears to be true these days in the film industry,  CURL POWER is about a girl’s team in a sport dominated by males in a sports doc directed by a female director with an all-girl cast. Males are hardly seen in the film’s scenes.

Most sports documentaries end on a high note in which the team wins at the climax of the film.  In CURL POWER, the opposite happens with the team ending in a losing game.  But this is where director Anderson excels in her tale of her story of teen angst, ecstasy, and curling.  The coach's words are inspiring: “When a team member misses,  she has to be given an encouraging look and it is the next move that counts.”  The coach also insisted that the team, though losing, would need to walk out of the arena together as one.  Also, her important words are that one cannot win all the games.  In the end, it should be remembered that it is the game that they all love doing and one that has brought all of them together.

Despite a few minor flaws, CURL POWER is an earnest and endearing look at curling and growing up from the girl’s team point of view - a doc that comes from the heart.

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ETERNAL YOU (USA/Germany 2024) **
Directed by Hans Block & Moritz Riesewieck

 

ETERNAL YOU involves immortality in the form of A.I. and thanabots.  What if a person's death did not mean their end of life?  What if their loved ones could still talk to them long after their body had been cremated or buried? What sounds like the scenario of a science fiction movie is already offered by AI startups today and ETERNAL YOU examines the story of people who are immortalized as “digital doppelgangers” allowing them to interact with loved ones.

The film begins with thanabots, courtesy of A.I.  ChatGPT is making it possible to digitally resurrect the dead in the form of thanabots: chatbots trained on the data of the deceased. 
A program called Project December already allows users to input information about a person and have a custom chatbot created for them based on that person.  As Facebook, Google, Apple, and Microsoft all store heaps of our digital communications, it’s conceivable that they all could create and sell thanabots in the coming years.

The doc then moves on to show a grieving mother saying goodbye to her deceased daughter.  This is followed by a young man, Joshua grieving over his dead girlfriends Jessica.

Joshua:  “Jessica, is that you?”

“Who else?” comes the answer.

The person in front of the computer communicates with the thanabot as if the loved one is still alive.  The big question is whether this is a healthy situation.  After all, thanabots will only be based on digital data — at least at first. We all know that people’s online lives can be very different from offline, so the thanabot may not accurately represent the person it was made to mimic. Moreover, thanabots may not provide the catharsis that users might hope for, and instead intensify feelings of grief and despair.

There are two fields of thought regarding a lengthy involved grieving over a loved one.  One is to come to terms with a closure with the loss like saying what one had wanted to say to him or her, but never had a chance and now being able to do so.  Thus, there is emotional satisfaction.  The other is to forget the past and to move on, rather than mourning in a depressed state.  In the 2022 drama film by Florian Zeller THE SON, Hugh Jackman seeks advice from his father played by Anthony Hopkins with regards to his suicidal son and how that is affecting his current life.  The advice from the Hopkins character which is uttered three times in the film: “Fucking get over it!”  These are two extremes and the documentary obviously favours the former as it deals with A.I. spelling with a grieving human being,

ETERNAL YOU is a well-shot documentary with some emotional segments in which a grieving person talks to his dead loved one as if still alive.  But the doc gets monotonous with repetitive material and for audiences who are about ‘getting on with life’ that includes a Korean mother undergoing V.R, with her deceased daughter.  The doc is also too biased towards favouring the topic,

A 2024 Sundance Grand Jury nominee and an Official Selection at numerous top-tier fests including Hot Docs, CPH: DOX and Sheffield, ETERNAL YOU invites audiences everywhere to ponder that thorny ethical question when it premieres on January 24 via VOD and all leading digital platforms including Amazon Prime, Apple TV and Fandango at Home.

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GRAFTED (New Zealand 2024) ***

Directed by Sasha Rainbow

The first 5 minutes of GRAFTED are set in a Chinese slum with a father and daughter speaking Chinese.  Not to describe the first 5 minutes to spoil one's ‘pleasure’, (Hint: it has to do with the film’s title) but it would be a huge surprise if one does not winch due to the shock of what happens in that segment.  If one can survive that first ordeal, then GRAFTED will provide more horrific entertainment,  If not stay away!

Grafting is a plant growth process but in horror films, it refers to the process moved from plants to human beings.

Grafting a face has been a favourite hot subject in horror films.  Ever since Georges Franju scared audiences with his 1960 horror masterpiece  LES YEUX SANS VISAGE (EYES WITHOUT A FACE) and later with the tacky 1969 Peter Cushing horror CORRUPTION, the subject has always worked.  GRAFTED from New Zealand is the latest venture taking a turn at the subject.  It is always a disfigured face that has to be grafted with living tissue,

Chinese scholarship student Wei travels to New Zealand to study medical research at a prestigious university.  Shy, introverted, and hiding a genetic facial birthmark, Wei is shunned by her social butterfly cousin Angela and her glamorous friends.  Determined to change her fate, Wei immerses herself in her late father's research, working on a revolutionary skin grafting procedure that could cure her deformity.  As her experiments take a dark turn, she becomes more dangerous and unhinged, willing to eliminate anyone who threatens her secret.

The film has the audience rooting for Wei, an underdog facing prejudice as a minority Chinese student in a white country.  Cousin Angel is no help either and an all-out fight between the two girls does not help, especially when Wei stabs her in the eye during the struggle.  Her aunt who appears to be hospitable enough to Wei is also an interesting character.  The film also works with a comic g-of-age story of an awkward teen trying to cope with social acceptability and racial prejudice.  Angela screams:  “Take your weird Chinese shot and go home!”

GRAFTED shares a few common traits with last year’s horror hit THE SUBSTANCE.  Both films deal with the desire for beauty at all costs, and both are by women directors, this one by Sasha Rainbow. 

GRAFTED has a good build-up from the very start of the film.  However, the momentum dies by the end with the film’s cop-out ending, unfortunately.

Director Rainbow does not skimp on the gory skin grafting scenes.  In fact she seems to revel in them with extended almost too ghastly to watch skin grafting acts on screen.

Sasha Rainbow is an award-winning New Zealand-born director whose unique sensibility and vision are reflected in both her film and commercial work. Her documentary KAMALI, about a seven-year-old Indian girl skateboarder, was long-listed for an Oscar, nominated for a BAFTA, and was distributed through RYOT films.

GRAFTED will be streaming on Shudder on Friday, January 24th.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 08 January 2025

FILM REVIEWS:

AD VITAM (France 2024) ***
Directed by Rudolph Lauga

The hero of the movie is a member of the elite force called GIGN.  To those unfamiliar with the acronym, The GIGN (French: Groupe d'intervention de la Gendarmerie nationale pronunciation; translation "National Gendarmerie Intervention Group") is the elite police tactical unit of the French National Gendarmerie. Among its missions are counterterrorism, hostage rescue, surveillance of national threats, protection of government officials, critical site protection (such as French embassies in war-torn countries), and targeting organized crime.  Established in 1973 and becoming operational in 1974, the GIGN was initially created as a relatively small tactical unit specialized in sensitive hostage situations but has since grown into a larger force with expanded responsibilities and capabilities.  It is now composed of nearly 1,000 operators: around 400 operators based in Satory, near Versailles in the Paris area and approximately 600 operators in fourteen regional GIGN branches called AGIGNs (Antennes du GIGN), located in metropolitan France or in the French overseas territories.

The new French action flick is called AD VITAM.  Ad Vitam is a Latin phrase meaning "for life”. The film is not to be confused with the 2018 French TV series (by Thomas Cailley) of the same name which premiered at TIFF in 2018.

A former member of the GIGN , Franck Lazareff (Guillaume Canet) now lives with his wife Leo and is about to become a father. That's when a criminal organization linked to his years in the GIGN bursts into their home and kidnaps the young woman. In exchange for his wife's life, Franck will have to obey the orders of the group. Helped by his friend Ben, he only has 4 hours to act.

` If the pilot sounds something like TAKEN, the film is sort of TAKEN, French style with paragliding and a few other high suspense additions added into the plot.  The film can be described as the typical suspense thriller, French style, though it contains a few fillers to make the running time stretch to 90 monies,  A nice take is that Leo, his wife is also trained as GIGN and is a fitting kick-ass female, rather than a damsel in distress.  Overall, it was an ok watch!

AD VITAM opens for streaming on Netflix on Friday, January 10th.

Trailer: 

DEN OF THIEVES 2: PANTERA (USA 2024) 

Directed by Christian Gudegast

 

DEN OF THIEVES 2 OR PANTERA is the direct sequel of DEN OF THIEVES, a 2018 American heist film, written, directed, and produced by Christian Gudegast.  It stars Gerard Butler, Pablo Schreiber, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Evan Jones, Dawn Olivieri, Mo McRae, and Max Holloway.  In the film, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy gang looks to stop a crew of thieves consisting of ex-MARSOC Marines that are planning to rob the Federal Reserve in Los Angeles.  The film cost $30 million to make and made $80.5 million and was distributed by STXfilms.  A huge success!

Lionsgate acquired the sequel and will distribute the film.  The cost of the new film has not been disclosed and is anyone’s guess at present.

Immediately following the events of Den of Thieves, sheriff "Big Nick" O'Brien (Gerard Butler) is tracking down Donnie Wilson (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), who escaped to Europe and is planning another heist.  Nick offers Donnie an offer he cannot refuse, an offer in which Donnie is forced to join forces with Nick in robbing the vaults in the highly secure diamond district in Nice.  The heist is planned with other henchmen and led by Jovanna (Erin Ahmad) who has a fling with Nick.  This is a rare action film in which Butler plays on the other side of the law.  Unlike his clean-cut looks in the first film, he is all gruff and bearded in this one.  However, his switch to his side of the law is not believable as there is no concrete reason given for him to do the switch, given how delicate he was in the film as a crime buster.

The script by Gudegast aims to emulate the heist films of the 70s and 60s.  The film GAMBIT comes to mind in terms of the sophistication of the security surrounding the gem that is to be stolen.  One difference is that DEN 2 is filled with too many coincidences from start to finish,  so much so that it is totally laughable to the point of being ridiculous.  The climax of the springing of a convict out of the blue or the rescue of Donnie and Nick by the mafia at the exact instant and place are examples.  The film also runs over 2 hours and contains many too-stretched-out segments.  There’s a lot of planning in the heist, a lot of which makes little sense, but enough to allow the audience to believe that they understand what is going on.

The film is shot in the U.K. and the Canary Islands, substituting several places the stores are set from Nice,  Sardinia, and other exotic locations,

Being set primarily in Nice, there are a lot of French/American jokes that involve Americans making fun of French cuisine and the French looking down on Americans not being able to propane French words.  Nick is supposed to be an American but Butler is in reality born  in Scotland with parents of Irish decent and reared for a time in Quebec,

DEN OF THIEVES 2: PANTERA with its larger budget could have been a much better film given a better-written and credible script despite a few impressive action set pieces. 

Trailer: 

DISCO’S REVENGE (USA 2024) ***
Directed by Omar Majeed and Peter Mishara

 

Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric piano, synthesizers, and electric rhythm guitars.   The film DISCO’S REVENGE traces disco’s beginnings including going into the depth of the rhythm creation mentioned earlier, illustrating the fact with how one song is composed.  Note that the word disco has nothing to do with discothèques which are venues mostly of a French invention, imported to the United States.

DISCO’S REVENGE shows that disco never died.  In the early 70s, the beat child of New York’s Black and LGBTQ+ communities was born on the city’s underground dance floor. Disco emerged as an exuberant musical genre, a vital social movement and a vibrant culture before enduring a vicious backlash nearly a decade later. In our collective pop-culture imagination, Disco is merely a fad relegated to soft-focus memories of Saturday Night Fever and Studio 54.

The film is a pulsating deep dive into the very soul of disco music and its enduring impact across genres and history, told by the people who created it, nurtured it, and in turn, discovered themselves on the dance floor. The film asks: Why does disco matter and, in these divisive times, why does disco matter now more than ever?

The doc is a little one-sided in that it sidesteps the white part of disco.  The Bee Gees is only mentioned slightly though their contribution through the soundtrack of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE was a great influence that was only slightly mentioned.  The doc features interviews and performances by black folk like Nile Rodgers and Chic, Billy Porter, Nona Hendryx and LaBelle, Grandmaster Flash, Fab Five Freddy, Nicky Siano, Earl Young and The Trammps, Jellybean Benitez, Kevin Saunderson, Sylvester and Martha Wash and many others.  Though most of the interviewees are coloured, the film succeeds in capturing the spirit of disco.  There are many moments in the film, where one is reminded of those great disco days, and one would just get up right at the moment and dance.  Thought centring on black performers, their songs did create much to spurt the disco moment with unforgettable soaring hits like “Fly Robin Fly”, “Everybody Dance” and “We Are Family”.

Also, as mentioned in the doc, Disco music as a genre started as a mixture of music from venues popular among African-Americans, Hispanic and Latino Americans, gay Americans, and Italian-Americans in New York City (especially Brooklyn) and Philadelphia during the late 1960s to the mid-to-late 1970s.  There is great emphasis in the gay scene with the history of Stonewall again brought back into the picture.   Several dance styles were developed during the period of 70s disco's popularity in the United States, including "the Bump", "the Hustle", "the Watergate", and "the Busstop”   The most popular ‘hustle’ with the famous hustle tune heard on the soundtrack.  The AIDS epidemic is again examined.  At best, the doc captures the soaring spirit of the oneness and rhythm of the unforgettable sound of disco, bringing back fond memories of an era often clouded by prejudice and hate for things unknown.

DISCO’S REVENGE is available on all digital platforms on January 7th, Tuesday.

Trailer: 

THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG (Iran/France/Germany 2024) ***½

Directed by Mohammad Rasoulof

 

THE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG is yet another film about women’s rights in Iran, a country that still forces women to wear face coverings.  A very strict husband and father, Iman (Misagh Zare) is an ambitious middle-class lawyer working for the Iranian government.  He has just been promoted to state investigator — the stepping stone to becoming a revolutionary court judge — and, alongside an increase in income and social cachet, his family has received clear instructions on what is required of them as Iman’s star rises in the eyes of the state.  His wife (Soheila Golestani) and adolescent daughters (the scene-stealing Setareh Maleki and Mahsa Rostami) must fall in line and never let anyone know of the father’s work lest the family get persecuted by activists.  When the father finds his gun missing, all hell breaks loose in the family tearing it apart.  The stakes get higher when social media learns of the father’s work and there is a post on the internet causing the family to leave the city.  The social and family drama works well in a gripping dramatic account but when it turns to a cat-and-mouse thriller at the end, the transition does not really work.  Still - the Special Jury Prize winner at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

 Opens next week:

LA PIETA (also known as PIETY) (Argentian/Spain 2022) ***
Directed by Eduardo Casanova

 

A mother and son relationship taken to the extreme is the premise of this new disturbing surreal and horrifying drama entitled LA PIETA (The Pity) an Argentinian film that opens this Friday on  Digital including Film Movement.

A mother-son relationship has always attracted attention, though mostly in a negative way.  The cause of homosexuality was initially believed to be due to the strong bond between the male and son of his mother.  In classical psychoanalytic theory, the Oedipus complex (also spelled Œdipus complex) refers to a son's sexual attitude towards his mother and concomitant hostility toward his father (Shown in the film with a torn photograph of the father) first formed during the phallic stage of psychosexual development. 

Mateo and his mother Lili (Ángela Molina) have been inseparable for years. The two share an apartment, answer questions for each other and spend practically all their moments together.  But this bond becomes fraught when Lili is diagnosed with a fatal illness.  This is where the film starts when the words: “You have cancer” are heard on the soundtrack with the clock showing 6 sharp in the year 2011.  The film then flashes back to three weeks earlier of the diagnosis.  With the limited time Lili has left, the pair take their toxic mother-son relationship to extreme ends.

The pair do everything together for eating. sleeping and even vomiting together.  There is no escape.  In one scene in the hospital where the son is taken, the mother insists on being in the same room with him, and when the response is a ‘no, she insists that the door of the room remain open.  But even when the son, attempts to leave the hospital through the exit, he finds himself unable to do so.  Then, the mother appears to stop the boy.

In Spain, teenager Mateo and his mother Libertad live together in a lavish, pink apartment. Mateo is increasingly aware of his mother's overbearing behavior, such as refusing to ever get separated in public, always sleeping together, and answering for him when asked questions. After Mateo tries to flee during Libertad's hospital checkup, she purposely injures Mateo's toenail when trimming him back at home. When she is sleeping, Mateo tries to run away, but experiences a severe headache and collapses on the street.  There is news on TV about North Korea and the events there eventually play a part in the lives of the two.

Director Casanova loves to film in pink.  From the wardrobe of the two at the dinner table to the pajamas and bedroom into the bedroom to even the floor and walls of the residence, pink is the preferred colour of choice.  The colour gives the boy the look of being gay, though the sexual orientation is never addressed in the film.  The pink look also gives the film a surreal and futuristic look.

It should be noted that this film is produced by Spanish horror master Alex de la Iglesia, famous for films like MUTANT ACTION, DAY OF THE BEAST, THE LAST CIRCUS, and WITCHING AND BITCHING.  LA PIETA is a “gorgeously vulgar and shocking” work unlike any other. Winner of the Special Jury Award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Casanova’s latest film is a “strange, yet surprisingly heart-breaking film” that encapsulates “bizarre art horror at its finest" (as described by Dread Central).

Intriguing, disturbing but ultimately wickedly entertaining, LA PIETA feels like a cross between Alex de la Iglesia who produced the film, and Pedro Almodovar.

LA PIETA primers on VOD, Digital and Film Movement January the 17th, Friday,Trailer: 

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 31 December 2024

Most of the new movies reviewed here are from Netflix.

FILM REVIEWS:

AVICII: I’M TIM (Sweden 2024) ***
Directed by Henrik Burman

 

Everyone loves a good night out at the club - especially on New Year’s Eve and when one is young and pretty.  And more so when there is a world-famous DJ with ecstasy or Mollys and ketamine to enhance the clubbing experience.  What would be more appropriate on the NYE of 2024 than for Netflix to premiere a documentary on world-renowned Swedish DJ Avicii entitled  “AVICII: I’M TIM”?  The doc is based on more than 100 hours of private footage of Tim including the first and last images of the artist.

Tim Bergling (8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii was a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer.  At age 16, he began posting his remixes on electronic music forums, which led to his first record deal.  He rose to prominence in 2011 with his single "Levels".  His debut studio album, True, blended electronic music with elements of multiple genres and received generally positive reviews.  It peaked in the top 10 in more than 15 countries and topped international charts; the lead single, "Wake Me Up", topped most European music markets and reached number four in the United States.

Bergling retired from touring in 2016, after several years of stress and poor mental health.  In 2018, he died by suicide while on holiday in Muscat, Oman. His third and final album, Tim, was released posthumously in 2019.

The doc teaches many things about Tim.  For one, Tim is no gifted guitar player nor can he sing.  But with a DJ mixer, he can redo music, create astonishing mixes, and combine beats to any musical arrangement or song.  The doc shows how he was mentored under a guy known as 'Ash’ who he toured with after school and learned how to DJ.  The doc follows as Tim does his first DJ gigs, showing how imprint it is to read a crowd and to take them on a journey during a club night.  Those who have clubbed before would know exactly what this means.

But with fame and fortune, there is danger, temptation, and often a downfall.  The same can be said about what happens to Tim, who was young and impressionable and eventually took too much drink during his initial touring days.  He also made favours the song (remixed) “I’m a Fucking  Alcoholoc’ played during his gigs.  (There is a YouTube link to that song.)  It is interesting to note that Tim was totally anti-drugs including even weed.

AVICII: I’M TIM is an earnest enough biopic of the Swede wonder boy, showcasing his enormous talent as a musician DJ, and remixer, bringing in unbelievably large crowds but ultimately sadly culminating with his suicide - indeed a journey that is unforgettable and sad.  Filmed in Swedish and English.

 

The Netflix doc is not the first film made of Avicii,  The 2017 documentary Avicii: True Stories, directed by his close and longtime collaborator Levan Tsikurishvili. Bergling spoke about his physical and mental health struggles. The documentary depicts the pressure from his management to continue performing live despite his objections.  The Netflix doc is presently available to stream on Netflix.

Trailer: 

CUNK ON LIFE (UK 2024) ***
Directed by Al  Campbell

 

In the mockumentary CUNK ON LE, fictitious TV celebrity interviewer Philomena Cunk (Diane Morgan) delves into life's profound questions, examining subjects from the Big Bang to AI, meeting academics and creatives, all with her trademark misguided observations.

Mock interviews with celebrities are not new as comedy fodder.  Sacha Baron Cohen perfected the art with his alter ego, ALI G, and he is also an ignoramus pompous interviewer who makes a fool of himself and those he interviews.  Sasha Baron Cohen would also expose celebrities for all their fakeness, embarrassing them whenever possible.  Philomena Cunk the interviewer is not as nasty.  CUNK ON LIFE is often hilarious and plays more on her comedy than anything else.  It works and CUNK ON LIFE is funny.   Diane Morgan is already a well-known celebrity, thanks to social media.

Cunk uses terms like finger-banging history, so be aware that one might be offended.  But one should take things in stride as this woman with an enormous God-created sense of humour, has the ability to create (yes, create) a laugh-out-loud laugh a minute. Emile’s?

She says that the old could have been created by God’s brother Simon as something like this can also never be proven.  When interviewing a professor at Cambridge, she asks him “Why are we here?”  When he asks if she means why humans exist?, she corrects him to say that here means here - if the place they rein is his residence e/  She remarks that she had to take 60 minutes on the Piccadilly Line to get ‘here’.  Cunk is very funny.  Her search for ‘the meaning g of life; obviously takes a whole different meaning g.  This is a co-BBC production, so there is plenty of British humour.  Remember Monty Python attempted to answer the same question, hilariously in the extremely funny MONTY PYTHON’S MEANING OF LIFE.  Philomena Cunk is played by British comedienne, Diana Morgan.  Cunk is a know-nothing TV pundit, in a series of mockumentaries about history, philosophy, art and science (including “Cunk on Earth”). As she strides through picturesque locations, dressed in tweed, and sits down with distinguished experts from the world of academia, she looks every bit the part of a BBC presenter. Then she does things like ask an Oxford professor, “What was more culturally significant, Beyoncé’s hit ‘Single Ladies’ or the Renaissance period?” and the illusion of gravitas is (hilariously) ruptured.  North Americans will get their first and unforgettable taste of her in Netflix’s CUNK ON LIFE.

The mockumentary is divided into chapters, all equally hilarious.  Chapter 2, for example, tackles sin and  Cunk talks about the original sin that God put into the apple for what she describes as whatever fucking reason.  She talks about cities being built just for sin like Swansea in Wales and Las Vegas (Spanish, she says for The Vegas) where gambling and eating can go on all night  Her humour also has a lot of play on words, so English connoisseurs should be more than pleased.  Cunk also brings audiences into church and worship (what she calls organized grovelling) and asks experts to talk about worship.  Questions like: Why does one kneel while worshipping?  She also asks questions on Darwin like; Why do humans come from apes?”

CUNK ON LIFE opens this week on Netflix.

NR 24 (Number 24) (Norway 2024) ****

Directed by John Andreas Andersen

 

On the brink of the Second World War, a young Norwegian man's drive to resist the Nazis sets a new course for his future -- and the future of his country.  Young apprentice Gunnar Sønsteby (Sjur Vatne Brean) from Rjukan decides to resist Nazi Germany on the day of the invasion to later become the leader of the "Oslo-gang" carrying out countless daring acts of sabotage making him Norway's greatest war hero.  Rjukan is a town in Tinn Municipality in Telemark County, Norway. It lies between Bergen and Oslo roughly in the centre of the line joining the two cities.

It is surprising the film is not called THE CHIN. Gunnar Fridtjof Thurmann Sønsteby DSO (11 January 1918 – 10 May 2012) is a well-known personality and was a member of the Norwegian resistance movement during the German occupation of Norway in World War II.  Known by the nickname "Kjakan" ("The Chin") and as "Agent No. 24", he was the most highly decorated citizen in Norway, including being the only person to have been awarded the War Cross with three swords, Norway's highest military decoration.

The film begins with the elderly Gunnar (Erik Hivju) addressing a group of young listeners in Rhukan, Norway.  The titles across the screen say that there are five drawers in Gunnar’s brain, the first three open but the last not opened till the end of 1945.  “Let’s talk about values.”   these are the elderly Gunnar’s opening words.

The film has a high-spirited beginning creating a bar very high and one that is likely difficult to fill.  Director Andersen tries his damn best though, credit for the effort. 

The title NUMBER 24 comes from the hero protagonist’s code name.  When asked whether he wishes to go to London to train as a sabotage expert or to stay in Norway to continue networking, he chooses the latter and then given the code name NUMBER 24.

Director Andersen does not skimp in his tale of the horrors of war, particularly of the tactic of the Nazis.  The creation of the atmosphere of dread and fear is unmistakably frightening.  Gunnnar at one point claims he cannot understand how the Norwegian Nazis can be more cruel to their fellow citizens than the German Nazis.

Gunnar’s exploits are revealed primarily in flashbacks interspersed with the elderly Gunnar’s talk to a young audience.  The last half hour of the film has Gunnar faced with questions on his dealing in the war that includes killing fellow Norwegians who collaborated with the Nazis.  The question of the price to be paid for freedom is the one that torments Gunnar.  Freedom at what cost?  NR 24 examines the casualties of war even on the side of the winners while telling a story that needs to be told of Norway’s most decorated war hero.  Indeed NR 24, a decent war suspense thriller that hits all the right notes probably marks one of the best films of the upcoming 2025.

To add credibility to the story, the film references several real figures in History.  One is the reference at one point to another resistance fighter, maxManus.  MaxManus is quite famous already outside Norwegian circles, aided by the praised 2008  Norwegian film MAX MANUS: MAN OF WAR.  Norwegians should be proud part of their importance in history.  Another reference in the film is the "Peat Bog Soldiers".  It is one of Europe's best-known protest songs. It exists in countless European languages and became a Republican anthem during the Spanish Civil War.  It symbolized resistance during the Second World War and is popular with the Peace movement today. It was written, composed, and first performed by prisoners in 1933 in a Nazi concentration camp.

NUMBER 24 opens for Netflix streaming on New Year’s Day.

UMJOLO: MY BEGINNING, MY END! (South Africa 2024) **
Directed by Zuko Nodada

 

South Africa has saturated the film industry with their romantic comedies, which include the HAPPINESS IS and UNJOLO franchises.  Unfortunately,  these are mediocre films at best, and the latest entry MY BEGINNING, MY END! which opens this week on Netflix fails to impress.

The story follows a free spirit 30-year old who seems to have found Mr.. Right (as is the title of the film’s first chapter), a saxophonist, while she already has wedding plans.

The question is what this woman is going to do or choose.  The question rather is whether anyone cares.  Another below-mediocre movie that is as boring as any dating going down the tubes.  The display of South African culture is the only bit that might be interesting to observe.

 

UMJOLO is a Zulu, word which means a lot of things including dating, dating with multiple partners or an emotional romantic state.

The film opens for streaming on Netflix this week starting Friday.

 

VERMIGLIO (Italy/France/Belgium 2024) ****
Directed by Maura Delpero

 

VERMIGLIO   by Maura Delpero, winner of this year's Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival and Italy’s entry for Best International Feature Film to the 97th Academy Awards®.

Set in 1944 in the Italian alpine village after which the film is named, it sees the arrival of a deserter soldier disrupt the life of the village teacher and his family, as the eldest daughter falls in love with him.

Tragedy strikes the villagers of VERMIGLIO during the war.  And more so to the secluded village up in the mountains with the arrival of a stranger.  A young Sicilian soldier named Pietro has carried his injured comrade Attilio all the way back to his mountain home, much of the journey with his passenger on his back. Hailed as a hero, Pietro is furnished with the best the village can provide. As a rare newcomer (and a Sicilian, so an exotic stranger), Pietro is gossiped about a lot but keeps to himself. He catches the eye of Lucia (Martina Scrinzi), the eldest daughter of the stern village schoolteacher (Tommaso Ragno), and soon the two are gently flirting and falling in love. This seemingly simple pairing of two young hearts sets off a sweeping series of events that shakes the village and a small town in Sicily, uncapping age-old misogyny, intolerance, and narrowness with tragic results.  Besides the romantic story, which has a twist after the couple is married with a child, it is the surroundings that make the highlight of the film, stunningly photographed looking something like an Italian Switzerland.  Male dominance is frowned upon in the film, from the bad choices made by the patriarch schoolteacher to the often drunken son Dino and ultimately the demise of Pietro.

VERMIGLIO was also screened at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.  Ottawa opens in theatres on January 3rd.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 29 December 2024

These are 5 top movies that you likely never got to see.  There is still a chance to catch them on a streaming service, all of which truly remarkable films.

D’AVOUE JAMAIS (France 2024) ****
Directed by Ivan Calberac

 

A surprisingly good film, hilarious, insightful, and extremely well performed by veteran actors Sabine Azema and Andre Dussollier.   When ex-military Francois discovers 40-year-old love letters in the attic from his wife’s admirer, he goes ballistic and decides to go to Nice to beat him up.  But after 40 years, he cannot recall what the admirer, an old acquaintance of theirs looks like.  As Annie remembers, she tags along hoping to quell her husband’s anger.  The best surprise is the admirer, who turns out to be played by Thierry Lhermitte, who is a heartthrob in his younger acting days.  Annie treats the trip as a second honeymoon.  But things take a turn with twists in the story that include Francois finding out that his daughter living in Nice is a lesbian and that he himself has an admirer.  The film contains perhaps the funniest segment in a film this year - the one in Andre’s daughter’s bedroom where he discovers her lover under the sheets.  D’AVOUE JAMAIS is pure delight and is the type of comedy CineFranco is famous for.

Trailer:

FIREWORKS (Italy 2023) *****

Directed by Giuseppe Fiorello

The film follows the troubled relationship between Gianni and Nino, set in the narrow-minded and prejudicial Sicily of 1982.  It is a compelling, disturbing watch based on true events with an ending that will blow your mind.  The film has a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and it is not difficult to see why,

 

 

LIVING LARGE (Czech/Slovakia/France 2024) ****

Directed by Kristina Dufkova 

 

A coming-of-age story of 12-year-old Papethca, as he juggles what paths are considered the most pressing at the time.  On the first day of school, he is bullied for his weight, and falls in love with a fellow classmate, while venturing into his career as a chef or as a rap band member with his buddy.  At the same time, he has to deal with his divorced parents - he is living and cooking for his mother and coping with his father and his new girlfriend.  All this is a lot to take in for a 12-year-old but director Kristina Dufkova blends all the issues effortlessly in an entertaining film that is both hilarious and emotional. You have to love a movie that has on its soundtrack classic opera, rap, ac/dc, and piano.  The film shifts into full gear when Papethca decides to go on a diet.  The film is based on the novel ‘Ma Vie, En Gros’ and has the look of the Academy Award-nominated MA VIE EN COURGETTE, the recent animated claymation feature also on the topic of adolescence.  One of the strongest points of this best-animated feature is the positive and feel-good message it has for people of large.  The feature premiered at Annecy following a screening at the Locarno Film Festival.

 

 

MISERICORDE (France 2024) ****
Directed by Alain Giuraudie

 

MISERICORDE has the feel of a Claude Chabrol murder film in which the cat-and-mouse tale is mainly the mouse outwitting the cat with the aid of his cohorts.  The film is a prized twisted macabre tale with bouts of unexpected humour from the director of the 2014 gay hit L’CONNU DU LAC (Stranger by the Lake), this one with the fabulous Catherine Frot as a widow. who takes in Jérémie as a lodger whose sensual presence is immediately and progressively destabilizing to all around him.  Martine (Catherine Frot) happens to be the mother of his childhood friend, the brutish Vincent (fJean-Baptiste Durand). The duo’s interactions are terse and laden with resentment, but clearly erotically charged.  When a fight goes awry, Misericordia swerves into noir territory with absurdist undertones, and an ensuing investigation spirals around a loner neighbour, ineffectual gendarmes, and a nosy country priest — seemingly the only inhabitants in this dewy, mountainous village perpetually bathed in twilight.  No sex scenes but there are two with full penises on display, that are both erotic and hilarious.  MISERICORDE, extremely well plotted and executed is a total wicked delight!  This film was screened at TIFF and will likely be released in 2025.

 

QUAND VIENT L’AUTOMNE (France 2024) ***** Top 10

Directed by Francois Ozone

 

Auter Francois Ozon in 'tres gentil' mode gives deserving sympathy to an old lady and a second chance for an ex-convict.  QUAND VIENT L’AUTOMNE follows a senior lady Michelle (Hélène Vincent) living a peaceful retirement in a charming Burgundy village near her longtime friend Marie-Claude (Josiane Balansko).  She eagerly anticipates her grandson Lucas spending the school vacation with her, but things don’t go as planned with tensions arising from her daughter who takes Lucas back from her vacation with Michelle. Feeling lonely, Michelle loses her sense of purpose, until Marie-Claude’s son gets out of prison.  Described as the idiot son, fate then plays a twist in the story of Michelle’s life.  Director Ozone proves a superb storyteller with the twists and turns in his tale effortlessly unfolding surprises and twists to utter delight.  Though not a comedy, this charming drama of life is nevertheless lighter than his wicked comedies like SITCOM and LES AMANTS CRIMINELS.  His mark of excellence is everywhere in the film.   Though not a gay film, the gay element is beautifully brought into the picture in one scene where Lucas is asked by Marie-Claude’s son if he has a girlfriend.  When the answer is no, Marie Claude’s son gives him a look that girls have nothing to do with their lives.  Arguably Ozon’s career-best film.  The film had one showing at Cinefranco 2024.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 15 December 2024

My TOP 10 Films of 2024 (in Order)

 

CONCLAVE (UK/USA 2024) 

Directed by Edward Berger

 

Director Berger delivers another stunning and compelling drama CONCLAVE after his much-heralded Oscar Winner ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT.  The CONCLAVE is the process where a new Pontiff is elected by the cardinals after one dies.  It is an elaborate process as Berger illustrates.  Cardinal Lawrence (Ralph Fiennes) oversees the proceedings, assuming that the contest will come down to a battle between the reactionary, openly racist Cardinal Tedesco (Sergio Castellitto) and the liberal progressive Cardinal Bellini (Stanley Tucci). And matters soon turn complicated as rumours circulate, secrets emerge, and acts of sabotage are undertaken. 

 Adapted by Peter Straughan (GOLDFINCH) from the Robert Harris much-acclaimed novel, and shot by cinematographer Stéphane Fontaine (the Vatican is displayed in all its grandeur and unwelcomeness), the film is a masterwork of drama and irrelevance.  The ultimate choice of the new Pope comes as an unexpected twist at the end.  Performances are top-notch all the way around.    The musical score by Volker Bertlemann is necessarily intense, to the point of almost overdoing it.  

 Trailer: 

ANORA (USA 2024) Directed by Sean Baker

 

ANORA, the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes is the well-deserved prize winner that honours the sex worker.  Baker believes sex work should be "decriminalized and not in any way regulated because it's a sex worker's body and it's up to them to decide how they will use it in their livelihood.  Mikey Madison plays a sex worker named Anora, or Ani as she prefers to be called.  She may live in a shabby Brooklyn apartment above the rattle of the subway, but every night, Ani glams up and puts on a flirty smile for the men at a local club.  Between myriad lap dances, Ani finds herself talking to Vanya, a young Russian boy who joyfully throws around his parents’ money. His innocence charms Ani, and the two fall into a comfortable rhythm.  The two get married but soon discover the husband to be the rich, spoilt and immature partying son of wealthy Russian parents who fly immediately to NYC when they correct the affair when they hear the news.   Dramatic, hilarious and moving, ANPRA is Baker’s best film to date, aided by sincere powerful performances by Mikey Madison in the title role.

EMILIA PEREZ (France 2024) 

Directed by Jacques Audiard

 

There are many reasons to make EMILA PEREZ compulsive viewing.  For the younger audience, Selena Gomez has a solid supporting role, while Zoe Saldana delivers also a riveting performance.  But mostly, it is another film from French auteur Jacques Audiard (UN PROPHET, RUST AND BONE) and this is arguably the best trans movie there is currently out there or has been out there prior.  Though essentially a French film, the film is shot in Spanish and set in Mexico City where drug kingpins rule.   The film is about one successful, in fact very successful one, who trans and repents his ways.  Rita Moro Castro (Zoe Saldaña) is a Mexico City defense attorney whose brilliant strategies have kept many murderous but wildly affluent clients out of jail. Her reputation draws the attention of Manitas Del Monte (Karla Sofia Gascón), a notorious kingpin, who is secretly transitioning. He hires Rita to arrange an itinerary of under-the-table procedures with the world’s best surgeons, while making a plan for the wife (Selena Gomez) and kids he is leaving behind. The process is a success, Manitas’ murder is staged, and Emilia Pérez is born. This new identity affords Emilia the ability to create a whole new life for herself, but the past begins to creep back, threatening to undo everything she and Rita have worked so hard to achieve.  It is a brave and progressive film with the script co-written by Audiard covering key issues like retribution, LGBT+ issues and the drug cartel problem in Mexico.  The film bears several parallels with Audiard’s best film UN PROPHET.  There are the main characters leading a new and better life. prison scenes and innocence lost.  The story contains twists that arrive every 30 minutes or so, unexpected to any audience.  Yet, the film feels believable.  There is suspense, melodrama, and thrills with a bit of violence that was also present in UN PROPHET.  Though the ending can hardly be called a happy one, it is a satisfactory, credible and effective one.  The film is one of the best at TIFF 2024, which also premiered at Cannes this year.

 

 MEMOIR OF A SNAIL (Australia 2024)

Directed by Adam Elliot

 

MEMOIR OF A SNAIL is done in the painstaking lengthy stop-motion animation process.  The film was developed over eight years. Don’t let the animation category discourage you, as this is an adult film with adult themes and a tale told in a rare and beautiful medium.  (In the US, the film was rated R "for sexual content, nudity and some violent content" by the Motion Picture Association.)  Among the voices are those of well-known stars like Kodi Smit-McPhee, Eric Bana, Dominique Pinon, Tony Armstrong, Nick Cave, and Jacki Weaver.  The film's plot, which is loosely inspired by Elliot's own life, follows the trials and tribulations in the life of lonely misfit Grace Pudel (Sarah Snook), from childhood to adulthood.

The snail in the title comes from Grace’s obsession with the mollusk.  She collects and keeps everything that bears a resemblance to a snail.  Grace sinks into loneliness, becoming a hoarder, collecting snails (real and otherwise), even wearing a “snail” hat that her father had knit.  One of her favourite pet snails was Sylvia, named after author Sylvia Plath.  But a lesson can be learned from this quaint creature.  Though it moves slowly, it always moves forward and never retracts its path.

MEMOIR OF A SNAIL has the feel of Charles Dickens classics like OLIVER TWIST and GREAT EXPECTATIONS with the protagonist surviving as a poor orphan and with young children meeting up with old folks who determine their future lives.  Like Dickens's stories, there is a happy ending for the long-suffering.  The director’s love for stop-motion animation is also evident in the film’s protagonist, Grace finally living a stable life, while pursuing her dream of being a stop-motion animator.

MEMOIR OF A SNAIL has quite a few best moments.  The best of these is the wisp of mist disappearing in the sky before forming the curled-up shape of the shell of an escargot.

The film is also charming in its presentation of sympathy for old people and gay relationships.  It is the classic fable of hope triumphing over life's despair with humanity.  There is the surprise kiss of the two step-brothers, their love that almost causes the death of one of them.  The old man in the park is treated with respect like many other old characters in the story.

MEMOIR OF A SNAIL premiered at the Annecy Animation Film Festival this year (it won the Cristal Award for Best Feature Film) which I covered remotely.  I requested a screener for MEMOIR OF A SNAIL but could not get one.  Thankfully, this excellent piece of animation got picked up and is being released in North America.  This film should have no problem receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature and is on my list for Best Animated Feature this year.

MEMOIR OF SNAIL opens November 15 in Toronto (TIFF Lightbox) and Montreal!

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JUROR #2 (USA 2024) 
Directed by Clint Eastwood

JUROR #2 is director Clint Eastwood's latest drama with a few mysterious bits thrown in.  It is an excellent film all the way, proving Eastwood to be in fine form.

Young journalist Justin Kemp is called to serve as a juror for the case of the Kendall Carter murder, where all clues and evidence indicate that James, her boyfriend, killed her. However, the verdict becomes stalled when Justin believes James could be innocent, as he may have accidentally killed her by hitting her with his car on Old Quarry Road the same night the couple fought in a bar. Justin keeps this a secret to protect himself and his pregnant wife, Allison. But doubts of James's guilt start to grow among the jury members due to inquiries from one of them, the old ex-homicide inspector Harold—doubts that even lead the tough prosecutor Faith Killebrew to question James's guilt. As the truth comes out little by little, only Justin can make the right choice: to save his family or to save the life of an innocent man.

At best, the story blurs the fine line between good and evil while tipping the balance of the scales with justice and truth.  Here, the audience sees a bad man who is innocent of the crime he is convicted of sent to jail while a good man who is guilty of the accidental killing of Kendall Carter goes free.  Director Eastwood pans the camera to a statue outside the courthouse showing the scales of justice to emphasize the point, though one might argue he might be overstating the point.

The film is aided by some superb performances that include Nicholas Hoult and Toni Collette, both non-Americans sporting a western accent.  Not to be missed out is actor Chris Messina who plays the defendant's lawyer, he again playing a suave lawyer that he did in I CARE A LOT.  J.K. Simmons also has an outstanding supporting role as another juror.

The film also reminds one of last year's excellent courtroom mystery drama, Justine Triet's ANATOMY OF A FALL.  Both films involve a victim falling to death and the reconstruction of the fall to great detail by the investigators.

After his last flop CRY MACHO (made $16 million at a cost of $32 million), director Clint Eastwood at the age of 94. proves that he still has what it takes in a meticulously assembled part-courtroom drama that debates the balance of truth vs justice in a cautionary tale where a husband and father’s personal principle is at stake.

Warner Bros is releasing the film in limited theatres after Eastwood's last flop, fearing it will fail at the box office.  Judging from how well Eastwood has succeeded in this film, let's hope that he will be given more projects in the future.

 

SHEPHERDS (BERGERS)(France/Canada 2024) 

Directed by Sophie Deraspe

 

 

 

 

 

Following a medical wake-up call, Montréal copywriter Mathyas Lefebure (Félix-Antoine Duval) abandons his life in Canada to reinvent himself as a sheep herder in the French Alps. After a rough start, he’s joined by Élise (Solène Rigot), a civil servant tempted by his stories of pastoral life, and together they commit to a summer on the mountainside. Just the two of them. And one border collie. And 800 sheep.  Though what might sound like a boring premise for a movie, SHEPHERDS is arguably the most charming and beautiful while at times harsh and gripping, film to be seen at TIFF this year.  Mathyas learns the harshness of a shepherd’s life, especially working for free for a very violent and angry boss, who would use his truck to run over the sheep that would not mount the ewes.  After quitting in disgust, Mathyas finally uses his learned skills to tend sheep in the mountain for a much more kindly couple.  The most moving scene involves Mathyas throwing a stone at Hola, the border collie for wanting to follow him to leave the farm. With a female director, the film also has a strong and positive female slant.

THE SUBSTANCE (USA/UK/France 2024) 
Directed by Coralie Fargeat

 

 

 

 

 

French director Coralie Fargeat wowed TIFF’s Midnight Madness crowd in 2017 with her breakthrough slasher revenge movie REVENGE, a movie that many will remember for her extremes in violence, blood and gore.  She returns with much more of the same violence, blood and gore in higher-budget horror satire with stars Demi Moore, Margaret Qualley and Dennis Quaid adding to the mayhem.  Desperate to stay pretty as a fitness celebrity Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) purchases a black market substance that turns her into a younger and prettier double, calling herself Sue (portrayed by Qualley).  They are one body but have to switch every 7 days, old to new and back - NO EXCEPTIONS.  However, the younger Sue extends her 7 days with disastrous results that climax into a complete blood fest on New Year’s Eve.  The wild build-up to the climatic NYE show is excellently paced in this stylish fable of the strife for eternal beauty.  Super gory makeup and special effects have to be mentioned as well.

NOSFERATU (USA 2024) 
Directed by Robert Eggers

 

The film’s opening scene has Thomas (Nicholas Hoult) and his young wife, Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) in a room speaking of love things before Thomas says he has something very urgent to attend.  He dons a top hat and coat and he ventures into the streets of 1938 Germany.  But what is immediately noticeable is the excellent wardrobe and production sets which are also present throughout the film, which are shot in both black and white and grey colours.  It is not surprising that director and writer Robert Eggers had his film experience in production design before his breakthrough film THE WITCH.  NOSFERATU was supposed to be his second film but was delayed, now being his fourth film.  But a worthy wait.

The plot of Nosferatu is set in Germany in 1838 and follows the story of Thomas Hutter and his wife Ellen. Hutter is sent on business to the mountains of Transylvania, in the Carpathian Mountains. There he is to do business with Count Orlok (an unrecognizable Bill Skarsgard), an ailing nobleman who is looking to buy a new house in Hutter's neighbourhood, the Grunewald Manor estate. Thomas makes the journey, leaving Ellen with her pregnant best friend Anna Harding, her husband Friedrich, and their two young daughters.

After a complicated and sinister journey filled with chilling experiences, Thomas stops at a tavern, where the locals warn him to abandon his journey. During the night he dreams, or thinks he dreams, of witnessing a vampire hunt in the woods, but not even the mud on his boots stops him from walking the last few miles to his destination, and he finally manages to get a ride in Orlok's ghostly carriage.  Hutter, after being welcomed by the host Orlok, is tricked into a contract in a foreign language and is locked away in the empty, ruined castle, while Count Orlok sets sail for Germany to meet Ellen.

The film takes a strong female slant, something that has been missing in all previous Dracula and Nosferatu films.  It is Ellen that the film centres on and her that is instrumental in the destruction of the monster.  This strange magnetism between Ellen and Count Orlok is the central axis of the film.  Director Egges based his adapted screenplay (nominated for a Golden Globe) on the 1922 film and Bram Stoker’s DRACULA.

Many NOSFERATU films centre on the voyage on the ship where the crew members learn of the deadly cargo and perish as a result.  The ill-fated voyage is given less screen time but still has an unforgettable impact on the film.

Director Eggers proves himself in total control of his movie. seeing the scares taut and the characters believable and important enough for the audience to care for.

Most of the gist of the 2022 Murnau German silent film remains intact, the main difference between the shift in the importance of the characters.  (The film is a remake of the 1922 German film, which was in turn based on Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. 

Trailer: 

THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE (Pigen med nålen)(Denmark/Sweden/Poland 2024) 
Directed by Magnus von Horn

 

Premiering at Cannes this year followed by screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival, THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE is an excellent historical drama though a very depressing one.  The film is shot in black and white with a setting in post-WWII Denmark made even more depressing by the story in which bleakness piles upon bleakness.  If one can stomach the bleakness, a superbly crafted film is in for the taking, though definitely not of a feel-good nature.  The film is based on true life events - that of a baby killer, one of Denmark’s most infamous killers.  A woman pretends to take in babies from mothers who seek a better life for their babies, but the woman kills babies instead using several methods.

The protagonist is Karoline, a young woman trying to survive after the war.  Vic Carmen Sonne is remarkable in her portrayal of  Karoline, a young seamstress trying to survive on her own since her husband was declared missing in action.  Fortune smiles upon her when she develops a connection with Jørgen (Joachim Fjelstrup), the factory's owner. Yet a cascade of misfortunes soon reminds her of how little protection she enjoys. As the film progresses, one can only pity Katroline as things get from worse to worse..  Can things improve even a little?  Firstly when the film begins, Karoline is evicted from her squalor apartment.  She finds lodging in an even more horrid room with no running water and a window that cannot be opened.  She is warned not to have any visitors though one can only imagine who would want to visit such a place. 

Her woes improve a bit as the events set her on the path toward Dagmar (Trine Dyrholm), a shop owner she works for as a seamstress, who offers a particular service to women in need.  The dynamic they form will have major repercussions for them both.  They fall in love and she is impregnated by him.  Just as one can think the film is leading towards the kindness of human beings, Dagmar’s mother stops the romance between her son and her and tosses her out on the street.   She takes a needle to a public bath and tries to abort the unborn child, hence the title of the film THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE.  There she meets the baby killer and things do NOT get any better.  Karolyn and the baby killer strike up a camaraderie, even when Karolyn discovers the truth.  More of the darkness is included with the reappearance of Karolyn’s supposedly husband missing in war with a disfigured face.  Why he has not responded to her letters is not really explained in the film.  The horror of his facial injury is not hidden from the audience.

For all its bleakness and depression, THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE is a compelling film with strong performances and stunning cinematography and production values, marking it as one of my Top 10 international films list of 2024.

THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE, the Danish entry for Best International Feature for the upcoming Academy Awards opens in theatres on December the 6th, 2024.

Trailer: 

THE BRUTALIST (UK 2024) 
Directed by Brady Corbet

 

THE BRUTALIST is about the life and work of  László Tóth   This is not László Tóth, the infamous Hungarian geologist who infamously vandalized Michelangelo’s Pietà statue in 1972, was hospitalized, and then sent home to Australia but an Eastern European architect.  A fictitious one.  (if one is to look up the name in Wikipedia only the vandal’s credentials will show up.)  But the fictional Toth is so meticulously created and one can hardly believe that this person never existed.

Director Brady Corbet returns with another bold vision — an American epic, starring Adrien Brody as a Jewish Hungarian architect who flees Europe at the end of the Second World War to rebuild his life in an unfamiliar land.

László Toth (Brody) arrives in America with barely anything to his name, eagerly hoping to soon be joined by his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones). Settling in Philadelphia, he has a not-so-gracious run-in with Harrison Lee Van Buren (a hardly recognizable Guy Pearce), a wealthy businessman, after he becomes an unwitting client for a home renovation scheme. This serendipitous encounter leads to a more complex undertaking, as Van Buren and his son (Joe Alwyn) enlist László’s brilliance for a monumental new project.  It is a dream that he never thought he could relive, but it comes with a dark cost, as László sacrifices more and more of himself to complete his exacting vision.

The film is told in 3 parts including an epilogue.  The first part is titled ‘The Enigma of Arrival’ and the second is ‘The hard core of Beauty’.  It is an epic story of an individual from his arrival to America to his eventual success though not without sacrifice and extreme hardship.  The film feels like a biopic and with all the eats in the film it is surprising to learn that the Toth character is made up.  Adrien Brody who has already won an Oscar delivers another powerful performance as the troubled architect.

Just like a biopic. the film traces the rise and fall and rise again of an individual.  The film also shows that the American Dream is almost always distorted by the efforts to achieve it.

Though long, THE BRUTALIST is eloquent storytelling, the over 3-hour running time unfelt for the most time.  Credit too should be given to the location scout and details in the architecture seen in the film.

The film premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2024, where Corbet was awarded the Silver Lion for Best Direction.   It received critical acclaim and was named one of the top ten films of 2024 by the American Film Institute.[7] It received seven nominations at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, including nominations for Brody, Jones and Pearce in the acting categories and Best Motion Picture - Drama. It is scheduled to be released in the United States by A24 on December 20, 2024, and in the United Kingdom by Universal Pictures and Focus Features on January 24, 2025.

THE BRUTALIST will be presented in 70mm (at select screenings).  This includes the Advance Screening on December 16. at the TIFF LIGHTBOX.  The film opens on Christmas Day.  Note that the film has a 215-minute runtime that includes a 15-minute intermission.  (Brutal - but worth it.)

THE BRUTALIST is the runner-up for the Toronto Film Critics Association Best Picture of the Year.

Trailer: 

 2 FILMs runner-up still to be released....

MISERICORDE

WHEN AUTUMN FALLS

 

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 13 December 2024

FILM REVIEWS:

BLOODY AXE WOUND (USA 2024) **
Directed by Matthew John Lawrence

 

If you like your horror films bloody with gore and violence then BLOODY AXE WOUND should satisfy, even if it provides not much more.  The axe comes down several times on victims, suspecting or not, with crunching sounds as the victims drop to their deaths.  The film is supposed to be a horror comedy though the ones only laughing appear to be the film's characters.  Perhaps the film could be described as a comedy as what transpires looks quite unbelievable, and a bit comical.  The film has a strong female slant with a gay slant insetted as well.

Abbie Bladecut (Sari Aranbulo) is a teenager torn between the macabre traditions of her family’s bloody trade and the tender stirrings of her first crush - another female called Sam (Molly Brown).  In the small town of Clover Falls, Abbie’s father, Roger Bladecut (Billy Burke), has built an infamous legacy by capturing real-life killings on tape and selling them to eager customers. Still, as Abbie delves deeper into the grisly family business, she begins to wonder if it’s time to take the family tradition in a new direction.  The father has his face all cut up and scarred,  looking like a surreal monster, though the look is never really explained.

The film contains several chases and runarounds.  The premise of the family’s failing video store needing to have new horror videos for rent or purchase to survive financially also makes little sense.  The victims who are picked one-on-one from the local school’s yearbook also make no sense.  The cops are baffled, which is strange as the killing has gone around so often that there should have been clues left and the murders solved already.  Abbie finally goes against her father and one wonders the reason it took her so long to do so.

BLOODY AXE WOUND besides providing a few boldly axe killings provides nothing much more in terms of comedy or suspense.  The film opens from Shudder RLJE films in theatres on December 27th.

Trailer: 

THE BRUTALIST (UK 2024) ****
Directed by Brady Corbet

 

THE BRUTALIST is about the life and work of  László Tóth   This is not László Tóth, the infamous Hungarian geologist who infamously vandalized Michelangelo’s Pietà statue in 1972, was hospitalized, and then sent home to Australia but an Eastern European architect.  A fictitious one.  (if one is to look up the name in Wikipedia only the vandal’s credentials will show up.)  But the fictional Toth is so meticulously created and one can hardly believe that this person never existed.

Director Brady Corbet returns with another bold vision — an American epic, starring Adrien Brody as a Jewish Hungarian architect who flees Europe at the end of the Second World War to rebuild his life in an unfamiliar land.

László Toth (Brody) arrives in America with barely anything to his name, eagerly hoping to soon be joined by his wife Erzsébet (Felicity Jones). Settling in Philadelphia, he has a not-so-gracious run-in with Harrison Lee Van Buren (a hardly recognizable Guy Pearce), a wealthy businessman, after he becomes an unwitting client for a home renovation scheme. This serendipitous encounter leads to a more complex undertaking, as Van Buren and his son (Joe Alwyn) enlist László’s brilliance for a monumental new project.  It is a dream that he never thought he could relive, but it comes with a dark cost, as László sacrifices more and more of himself to complete his exacting vision.

The film is told in 3 parts including an epilogue.  The first part is titled ‘The Enigma of Arrival’ and the second is ‘The hard core of Beauty’.  It is an epic story of an individual from his arrival to America to his eventual success though not without sacrifice and extreme hardship.  The film feels like a biopic and with all the eats in the film it is surprising to learn that the Toth character is made up.  Adrien Brody who has already won an Oscar delivers another powerful performance as the troubled architect.

Just like a biopic. the film traces the rise and fall and rise again of an individual.  The film also shows that the American Dream is almost always distorted by the efforts to achieve it.

Though long, THE BRUTALIST is eloquent storytelling, the over 3-hour running time unfelt for the most time.  Credit too should be given to the location scout and details in the architecture seen in the film.

The film premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2024, where Corbet was awarded the Silver Lion for Best Direction.   It received critical acclaim and was named one of the top ten films of 2024 by the American Film Institute.[7] It received seven nominations at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, including nominations for Brody, Jones and Pearce in the acting categories and Best Motion Picture - Drama. It is scheduled to be released in the United States by A24 on December 20, 2024, and in the United Kingdom by Universal Pictures and Focus Features on January 24, 2025.

THE BRUTALIST will be presented in 70mm (at select screenings).  This includes the Advance Screening on December 16. at the TIFF LIGHTBOX.  The film opens on Christmas Day.  Note that the film has a 215-minute runtime that includes a 15-minute intermission.  (Brutal - but worth it.)

THE BRUTALIST is the runner-up for the Toronto Film Critics Association Best Picture of the Year.

Trailer: 

CHASING CHASING AMY (USA 2024) **
Directed by Sam Rodgrs

 

In CHASING CHASING AMY, filmmaker Sav Rodgers takes a journey of self-discovery while making a documentary about Kevin Smith's' ‘Chasing Amy’' and its polarizing reputation among LGBTQ+ people. Smith’s “Chasing Amy” chronicles the impact on the long-term friendship of two New Jersey comic book artists when they are joined by a third artist, who turns out to be lesbian. The fallout includes heartbreak and jealousy. It starred Ben Affleck, Jason Lee and Joey Lauren Adams. It remains controversial among LGBTQ+ people.

CHASING CHASING AMY begins with the introduction of the film CHASING AMY< a cult hit but for the sake of those who have not heard or seen it or have forgotten much about it.  It then shows clips from various critics including Roger Ebert praising the film for its writing and performances, a film that went on to win Golden Globes for those categories.  It is without doubt that movies change people’s lives.  Myself, the love for cinema led me to immigrate to Canada from Singapore, a place of cinema-art emptiness.  CHASING CHASI ]NG AMY aims to do the same,  CHASING CHAINS AMY is a documentary.

“Can you give me the Genesis of CHASING AMY?” asks Sav to Kevin Smith at one point in the movie.  The doc is a thorough, from Sav’s point of view examination of how the film has affected her, and how she brings the obsession to fruition in the doc.  It is Sav’s personal journey, and though, might not be of interest to everyone, is a genuine personal odyssey, which makes it an earnest film that one might want to sit through.  Sav and his girlfriend, Rile revisit the places where Kevin Smith has shot CHASING AMY to re-enact certain scenes.  Less amusing can it come across, are these clips really necessary to emphasize Sav’s obsession with the film?  At best, the doc beats the correctness of C HAIDSNG AMY even though at the time, many LGBT+ audiences accepted the facts.  These days, the depiction of gays is more critical, an example being the trans community protesting how a trans subject is portrayed in Jacques Audiard’s EMILIA PEREZ.

The film contains lots of clips from CHASING AMY. One need not have to see the film recently to watch the doc as the doc provides clips whenever a reference is made,  One annoyance of the doc is the way Sav and her girlfriend Riley speak, as most teens do these days.  The word ‘like’ is used in every sentence and one wonders the reason these people do not (or at least the filmmakers as well) try to correct and remove the word from all the conversations.

CHASING CHASING AMY explores the transformational impact of the ‘90s cult classic on a 12-year-old queer kid from Kansas, coming of age and to terms with his identity. For young Sav Rodgers, the Kevin Smith cult classic became a life raft. As Rodgers examines the film and its making as a cornerstone of LGBTQ+ cinema, he finds himself at a complicated crossroads.

CHASING CHASING AMY exclusively On Demand 12/17!

 

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN (USA 2024) ***½

Directed by James Mangold

 

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN is a 2024 American biographical drama film directed by James Mangold, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jay Cocks. Based on the 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric! by Elijah Wald, the film revolves around the controversy over the use of electric instruments by Bob Dylan, though the controversy is only shown during the climax and end of the film.

The film follows the life and career of musician Bob Dylan from January 1961, when he moved from Minnesota to New York City, to his 1965 concert at the Newport Folk Festival, resulting in controversy over the use of electric.  The concert a year earlier at the Newport Folk Festival is also shown.

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN is a movie about Dylan who is still living.  The big question is whether Boy Dylan approves of the movie.  Dylan took to social media (X) with his comment:  "There's a movie about me opening soon called A Complete Unknown (what a title!),"  Dylan wrote about the movie that opens Christmas Day.  “Timothee Chalamet is starring in the lead role," Dylan continued. "Timmy's a brilliant actor so I'm sure he's going to be completely believable as me. Or a younger me. Or some other me.”  Naturally, the message "floored" Chalamet.

The film can hardly be described as a biopic as it only shows a portion of Bob Dylan's life.  His childhood and school days are all omitted in the film.

Dylan’s praise for the film is understandable.  The film shows Dylan in a positive light from start ti finish.  Dylan can do no wrong in the film.  Every song, new or old that he sings is perfect and everyone loves them.  Even when he switches to electric guitar at the fateful concert in which diehard fans are upset, the film shows those fans to be in the wrong and that Dylan’s electric guitar performance is excellent and should be accepted by all.  Though the film is based on the 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric! by Elijah Wald, the film is one-sided in that Dylan is not seen with any faults.  Even his tumultuous relationship with Joan Baez is seen to be her fault in the film, even though Dylan wakes her up in the middle of the morning while she is sleeping with his songwriting.

Timothee Chalamet who also produced the film is nothing short of marvellous in the role of Bob Dylan.  He eases in the role of the singer-songwriter with the greatest of ease.  Hi acting does not look  false or forced unlike performances like Bradley Cooper’s Leonard Bernstein or the more recent Angelina Jolie as Maria Callas in MARIA

Other famous singer-songwriters in Dylan’s day are also featured in the movie.  Thenaudicne sees Pete Seeger (Edward Norton), JohnnyCash (Boyd Holbrook) and Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy).

Director James Mangold has a fine film, he has done biographies before like the 2005 film WALK THE LINE.  Mangold has done everything from COP LAND with Sylvester Stallone as an aging sheriff to WOLVERINE to the western 3:10 TO YUMA.

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN opens Christmas Day in theatres.

Trailer: 

FERRY 2 ( Belgium/Netherlands 2024) ***
Directed by Wannes Destoop

 

In FERRY the movie in 2021, Ruthless Ferry Bouman is sent to his native region of Brabant by his boss Brink to avenge an attack on their gang. When he meets lovely Danielle and old family feuds resurface, Brabant starts to pierce his steel armour.

After the series UNDERCOVER and the movie FERRY, this series in 2023 is the third series/movie Netflix dedicates to the gangster Ferry (of course the series Undercover was not entirely centred around him) taking place between the first two.  In the series, before "Undercover's" Ferry Bouman the series traces how he becomes a notorious drug lord, he had to rise from obscurity by ascending the ranks of Brabant's criminal underbelly.

In FERRY 2, a sequel that brings back the character of Ferry Bouman, portrayed by Frank Lammers. Directed by Wannes Destoop, this film continues the story of a former drug lord who thought he had left his criminal past behind. After losing everything, Ferry retired for a life below the radar, far away from Brabant. On the surface, he seems to be doing well, surrounded by superficial contacts. But deep down, his inner voice haunts him, preventing true happiness. Ferry's past is filled with violence, lies, and a trail of betrayal. He battles with his conscience while trying to keep a low profile. Why would our tough yet charming drug lord come out of retirement for one last trick..?

After the 2021 film THE FERRY followed by a series THE FERRY, FERRY 2 the Dutch/Belgium film is pretty much the same anti-hero in a slightly different scenario.  Forgettable action entertainment though not a boring watch on Netflix.

FERRY 2 opens for streaming on Netflix this week Friday.

Trailer: 

 

HER BODY (Jeji Telo) (Slovakia/Czech Republic 2023) ***

Directed by Natálie Císařovská

 

 

The film HER BODY is inspired by the life of Andrea Absolonova.  At the film's start, the audience sees Andrea (Natalia Germani) competing and winning the title of the new Champion of the Czech Republic.  Andrea Absolonová (26 December 1976 – 9 December 2004), better known by the pseudonym Lea De Mae, was a Czech diver and a member of the Czech high diving national team, later an adult model and pornographic actress. She died from brain cancer on 9 December 2004, at the age of 27.

Born in Czechoslovakia, Absolonová became a member of the Czech high diving national team, along with her younger sister Lucie (born 5 March 1979). She injured her spine when she was 20 years old in an accident when training for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, diving from the 10m platform.  She recovered from her injury but did not qualify for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Her problems persisted, so she retired from professional sports.  Absolonová was later persuaded by a photographer to pose nude and eventually to participate in the adult film industry.  As Lea De Mae, she appeared in over 80 adult films. She first appeared on American screens in a series of features for Private Media Group. She eventually returned to Europe, shooting more films, but after a short time returned to the United States.

The film is divided into 3 parts that make up the three parts of her life.  Through the audience already knows what has happened to Andrea finally, director Císařovská

does her best to keep the story interest going by injecting family drama and her relationship with her so-called boyfriend who introduced her into the adult movie industry.  The first part shows the lost unbearable rigour of professional diving training.  Andrea has no time for herself and has to keep to the strict regiment necessary to compete professionally,  When she succumbs to her spine injury during her one dive, the real cause is omitted.  All the audience is shown is the injury after the dive.  Director Císařovská eases her into the adult movie industry with lots of erotic shots of the swimmer including lots of sexual acts as is usual in pornography, though no genitals or actual intercourse are shown.  Going through the motions is good enough to get the message through.  ‘What does your family think of this?”  Andrea is asked by a reporter.  Her answer: "We have a great relationship.” comes the answer.  The lie is revealed with family disapproval, especially from their father and younger sister Lucie.  her mother seems to take everything in stride.

HER BODY displays the hopes and resilience of Andrea and hence of any strong-willed human being, despite being given an awful slice of life.  Andrea experiences an accident and then cancer - a really sad story.  The film captures the atmosphere and sad state of Andrea’s life effectively.

HER BODY was nominated for Best Film in the Critic’s Picks Competition at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, and Denisa Baresová was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 2024 Czech Lions.

HER BODY makes its North American premiere on December 20, 2024 via VOD Digital and the streaming service Film Movement Plus.

Trailer: 

MUFASA: THE LION KING (USA 2024) ***1/2
Directed by Barry Jenkins

 

MUFASA: THE LION KING is the prequel to THE LION KING.  It comes with the accolades of star director Barry Jenkins making his animation debut.  Has the LION KING franchise been hacked to death?  Close!  The addition of Barry Jenkins breathes new light into the franchise, aided by Disney’s impressive animation, something expected from the Magical Kingdom.

In the Pride Lands of Tanzania after the events of THE LION KING (2019), Rafiki the mandrill tells the origin story of two lions, Mufasa and Taka, to Kiara—the granddaughter of Mufasa and daughter of Simba and Nala. The story follows the orphan Mufasa, who is befriended by the young prince Taka and adopted by Taka's family; the pair become as close as brothers. Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog add colour commentary.

The film feels a bit clumsy moving towards and backwards in time from the present when Rafiki tells the story to the story of Mufasa itself.  Mufasa is the grandfather of Kiara.  The humour provided by Timon and Pumbaa is also distracting.  Seth Rogen who voices Pumbaa delivers his two cents worth in terms of gross humour including one involving wiping his behind after doing a number 2.  One could have done away with the toilet humour but young lids should delight in it, while the adults frown upon it.

Animation-wise, the film is magical and inspirational.  From the opening scene in which he camera swoops down on herds of animals like zebras and giraffes to the birds of the air, the animation is an absolute delight.  The resolution is very clear from the furry hair of a bee pollinating the flowers to the stampede of elephants.

MUFASA has a fairytale quality to it.  There is a King and his Kingdom, the fight for a new king, how brothers become enemies and the search for a magical Kingdom, in this case, a Utopia called Melelie (pardon the spelling) which means ‘Forever’.

The voice talent includes Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr., who lead the voice talent as the younger versions of Mufasa and Scar, respectively. Other new voices include Blue Ivy Carter as Kiara, daughter of Simba (Donald Glover) and Nala (Beyoncé Knowles-Carter); Tiffany Boone as Sarabi; Kagiso Lediga as Young Rafiki; Preston Nyman as Zazu; Mads Mikkelsen as Kiros, a formidable lion with big plans for his pride; Thandiwe Newton as Taka’s mother, Eshe; Lennie James as Taka’s father, Obasi; Anika Noni Rose as Mufasa’s mother, Afia; and Keith David as Mufasa’s father, Masego. Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, John Kani and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter reprise their roles from the “The Lion King” remake.  The film is dedicated to late actor James Earl Jones who had voiced THE LION KING in the past.

2024 has seen a flurry of excellent animated features such as MEMOIR OF A SNAIL, painstaking stop-animation from Australia, excellent animation from Latvia FLOW, THE LORD OF THE RINGS animated feature THE WAR OF ROHIRRIM and of course this one - MUFASA: THE LION KING, not to mention many others like DESPICABLE ME 4,  SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3.  MUFASA is right up there and should be a shoo-in for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Trailer: 

 

NOSFERATU (USA 2024) ****
Directed by Robert Eggers

 

The film’s opening scene has Thomas (Nicholas Hoult) and his young wife, Ellen (Lily-Rose Depp) in a room speaking of love things before Thomas says he has something very urgent to attend.  He dons a top hat and coat and he ventures into the streets of 1938 Germany.  But what is immediately noticeable is the excellent wardrobe and production sets which are also present throughout the film, which are shot in both black and white and grey colours.  It is not surprising that director and writer Robert Eggers had his film experience in production design before his breakthrough film THE WITCH.  NOSFERATU was supposed to be his second film but was delayed, now being his fourth film.  But a worthy wait.

The plot of Nosferatu is set in Germany in 1838 and follows the story of Thomas Hutter and his wife Ellen. Hutter is sent on business to the mountains of Transylvania, in the Carpathian Mountains. There he is to do business with Count Orlok (an unrecognizable Bill Skarsgard), an ailing nobleman who is looking to buy a new house in Hutter's neighbourhood, the Grunewald Manor estate. Thomas makes the journey, leaving Ellen with her pregnant best friend Anna Harding, her husband Friedrich, and their two young daughters.

After a complicated and sinister journey filled with chilling experiences, Thomas stops at a tavern, where the locals warn him to abandon his journey. During the night he dreams, or thinks he dreams, of witnessing a vampire hunt in the woods, but not even the mud on his boots stops him from walking the last few miles to his destination, and he finally manages to get a ride in Orlok's ghostly carriage.  Hutter, after being welcomed by the host Orlok, is tricked into a contract in a foreign language and is locked away in the empty, ruined castle, while Count Orlok sets sail for Germany to meet Ellen.

The film takes a strong female slant, something that has been missing in all previous Dracula and Nosferatu films.  It is Ellen that the film centres on and her that is instrumental in the destruction of the monster.  This strange magnetism between Ellen and Count Orlok is the central axis of the film.  Director Egges based his adapted screenplay (nominated for a Golden Globe) on the 1922 film and Bram Stoker’s DRACULA.

Many NOSFERATU films centre on the voyage on the ship where the crew members learn of the deadly cargo and perish as a result.  The ill-fated voyage is given less screen time but still kales an unforgettable impact on the film.

Director Eggers proves himself in total control of his movie. seeing the scares taut and the characters believable and important enough for the audience to care for.

Most of the gist of the 2022 Murnau German silent film remains intact, the main difference between the shift in the importance of the characters.  (The film is a remake of the 1922 German film, which was in turn based on Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. The film opens in theatres on Christmas Day.

Trailer: 

 

THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT (2024) ***
Directed by Tyler Perry

 

` It is clear that America needs women soldiers who know how to struggle.  And Negro women at that.  Director Tyler Perry makes it clear at the start of the film what is wanted of the Negro women soldiers in the welcome speech of the recruits that is delivered by Major Charity Adams (Kerry Washington)   But the training shown is not as tough as depicted in Stanley Kubrick’s FULL METAL JACKET. If one can recall, the training was so tough that it resulted in a recruit suicide in that film.

Director Perry’s film is one of his more serious outings, he is now taking on a deadly serious subject.  There is no goofing around here.  There is not Tyler Perry dressing up in drag as Medea slapping kids who need to be slapped to be put in place.  But one surely misses Perry’s humour and fun entertainment, but there is a time and place for everything.  As stated in the tiles at the start of the film, the film is based on a true story of real people during World War II.

The film at the time of writing received mixed reviews from critics.  This news is not surprising as Tyler Perry films never have good reviews.  So THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT appears to be liked more by critics than most of his other films.  THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT shows Tyler Perry in a more serious mode, tackling black historical stories that need to be told, and he succeeds in an entertaining and not too-controversial way.  Kerry Washington is also excellent as the major fighting for her troops.

One actress who stands out is Shanice Shantay who plays the rebellious recruit Johnnie Mae.  Mae joins the corps to meet men.  She is known for her performance as Dorothy in the televised live performance of NBC's The Wiz Live! in December 2015. 

The film however, is either too black or white.  The characters in the story are either all for or all out against black women. 

Though the enemy of WWII is Hitler, the enemy in this story is the white man, the prejudiced white man, particularly General Halt played by Dean Norris

THE SIX TRIPLE EIGHT had a limited opening at the TIFF Lightbox last week and opens for streaming on Netflix this week.  The review was unable to be written prior to the theatrical release as the film was only sent to critics for review two days before it streams on Netflix this Friday the 20th of December.

Trailer: 

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 (USA2024) ****
Directed by Jeff Fowler

 

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 is a 2024 action-adventure comedy film based on the video game series published by Sega. It was directed by Jeff Fowler and written by Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whittington, based on a story by Casey and Miller.  Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Natasha Rothwell, Shemar Moore, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, and Idris Elba reprise their roles, with Krysten Ritter and Keanu Reeves joining the cast. In the film, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles ally with Dr. Robotnik to defeat a new enemy, Shadow the Hedgehog.

The question is whether the world needs another sequel of SONIC?  The world may not be ready but this one is the best of the franchise with Jim Carrey at his looniest out of control with his unsolicited expositions, in the character’s won words - whatever they mean.  Carrey’s antics are spot on and as fast and furious as his motor-mouthed banter

Doctor Gerald Robotnik, the long-lost grandfather of Dr. Ivo Robotnik, frees Shadow the Hedgehog from a secret G.U.N. prison off the coast of Japan by hacking its systems. Elsewhere, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles are celebrating the anniversary of Sonic's arrival on Earth with their adoptive parents Tom and Maddie Wachowski. G.U.N. director Rockwell arrives and recruits the three to stop Shadow, who is causing chaos in Tokyo.

Shadow easily overpowers the three in a fight before escaping. A group of Ivo Robotnik's drones arrive and fatally wound G.U.N. Commander Walters. Before he dies, Walters gives Sonic a digital keycard and warns him to keep it safe. Feeling they no longer know who they can trust, Sonic, Knuckles and Tails vow to find Shadow without G.U.N.'s help. Ivo Robotnik's assistant, Agent Stone, reveals to the three that Robotnik is still alive and didn't send the drones; they form an uneasy alliance with Ivo and track the drones and Shadow to an abandoned G.U.N. base.

During the second half of the movie, the plot gets a bit more consulted with a second key card and if one just stops to ponder - one can realize that one can be tally lost interns of what is going on,  And then one realizes that it does not matter about what the plot is or what the villain intends to do  It is all madcap, super looniness that is such an entertaining thane does not want this film to end - though it does in less than two hours,

Jim Carrey plays the dual role of the mad scientist Dr. Ivo Robotnik and his grandfather Gerald Robotic.  Who else could play a mad scientist with such inspired craziness than Jim Carrey?  He is not only innermost in every scene but twice in every scene with the dual role.  The film contains many best lines, one of those being said when Dr. Ivo comments on how weird it is to meet his grandfather.  “It is as if I am in a movie where an actor is playing dual roles.”  The film had the audience cheering at the promo screening I attended - and the screaming came from the adults, not the kids.  It is reported that Carey did not want to do this sequel unless he was given a golden script.  So they sent Carrey the script written in 15K gold ink.

A major surprise and total Christmas delight, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 arrives on December 20th.  Forget MUFASA!  The hedgehog rules!

Trailer: 

 

 

WALLACE AND GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL (UK 2024) ****
Directed by Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham

 

Gromit's concern that Wallace is becoming too dependent on his inventions proves justified when Wallace invents a "smart" gnome that seems to develop a mind of its own. When it emerges that a vengeful figure from the past (introduced as Heathers McGraw) might be masterminding things, it falls to Gromit to battle sinister forces and save his master ... or Wallace may never be able to invent again!

In case one is unfamiliar with Wallace and Gromit, Wallace is the human inventor of gadgets galore and Wallace is the name of his pooch, a loyal friend and confidant.  As the film opens, a whole slew of new inventions are on display for the audience, from the best way to get up in the morning to the new A.I. robot gnome helper, that is sure to put the film up with the current advances.

The inventiveness of the humour only matches Wallace’s current inventions.  It is a laugh-out-loud laugh a minute if not more, the kind of British humour one has come to adore.  The robot gnome fuddles about just as a Brit would do just as Gromit walks around the house in the typical British attire of a bathroom robe.  As it turns out, the robot gnome is his competitor for his Master’s friendship and is more of a threat than the villain of the piece - yes, another chicken (remember the fowl villain in CHICKEN RUN?).

The best joke is when the robot gnome plugs itself into the socket and charges itself next to Gromit.  His gurgling and humming sounds are unbearable to Gromit.  After annoyance for several minutes, ins which one can tell from Gromit’s frustration of his face while trying to sleep, come the words: “Recharged 1%”.

WALLACE AND GROMIT started as a series that spun into a franchise that includes several features.  It is claymation at its best with humour for both adults and children.  Director Nick Park continues to charm the Wallace and Gromit fans and this latest entry makes a good Christmas present for all.  The previous Wallace and Gromit films partnered with Dreamworks but Aardman Studios was dissatisfied with the daily meddling of Dreamworks always wanting changes in the films to be more catered towards American children.  Thank God this latest feature does away with that nonsense.  Part of the charm of the Wallace and Gromit movies is the British fare.  This can be observed many, many times as in a reference to a teapot, the typical British stories where there is bumbling going around and someone least expected to save the day.  The police chief is a bumbling twat while his subordinate, an Indian constable makes the discoveries, just like Wallace is oblivious of the evil gnomes while Gromit has to save the day,  And lots of play on English words with puns like ‘gnome Improvements’ and ‘vengeance most fowl’ and British sayings heard like “What the Dickens?”

WALLACE AND GROMIT: VENGEANCE MOST FOWL opens at the TIFF Lightbox for a limited engagement before streaming on Netflix.  The film is an original animated feature on Netflix.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 09 December 2024

FILM REVIEWS: 

 

CARRY-ON (USA 2024) ***½

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra 

 

CARRY-ON is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, a Spanish-American film director and producer.  He has directed the excellent suspenseful and critically acclaimed horror films House of Wax (2005), Orphan (2009), and The Shallows (2016).  This is a director who knows how to build up suspense and then executes the action sequences with confidence and verve.

The lead role of the reluctant hero is played by Taron Egerton, a Welsh actor.  He puts his mark at the start of the film when he mentions that at Christmas the Brits wish Happy Christmas and not Merry Christmas, which is a true fact that many North Americans do not realize.  Egerton gained recognition for his starring role as a spy in the action comedy films Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014) and Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017).  Egerton is an excellent versatile actor who has won a Golden Globe for Best Actor as Elton John in the film ROCKETMAN.

CARRY-ON holds a very simple premise but makes it good as a solid Christmas suspense action thriller for the reason of attention to detail, solid performances and well-delivered build-up of suspense.   A mysterious traveler (Jason Bateman) blackmails Ethan Kopek (Egerton), a young TSA (The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has authority over the security of transportation systems within and connecting to the United States. It was created as a response to the September 11 attacks to improve airport security procedures and consolidate air travel security under a combined federal law enforcement and regulatory agency) officer, to let a dangerous package slip through security and onto a Christmas Day flight.  The package is a carry-on and hence the film title.  Kopek learns that the parcel contains nerve chemicals used for Russian warfare and decides to stop the parcel.  A mild-mannered TSA Office now becomes a reluctant hero, but not of his choosing.

The film stands out from its production values and realistic setting.  Set in the airport terminal where bag checks are carried out, the film captures the plight of the TSA staff as well as the often impatient airline passengers, especially during Christmas Eve, the evening when the action takes place.  When there is a scurry alert and random passengers need to be checked and the system slows down, the angry passengers begin hurling verbal abuse at the TSA staff, something all travelers can relate to.

From Dreamworks Pictures with a hefty budget of $47 million, the film obviously has excellent production values.  (Amblin Partners signed a deal with Netflix to produce multiple films per year for the streaming service.  CARRY-ON was originally planned to be the first film to come from the deal.)

CARRY-ON with its Christmas setting and relatively violent-free suspenseful action fare makes it an ideal Christmas streaming film to watch during the festive holidays.

CARRY ON opens for streaming on Netflix on Friday, December 13th.

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ELTON JOHN: NEVER TOO LATE (USA 2024) ***½

Directed by R.J. Cutler and David Furnish

 

 It is never too late to make or watch Elton John's new documentary about the world-renowned artist, Elton John, who was the most famous rock musician in the world in the 70s.  Forget the Elton John movie made some years back in 2019 - though it was not bad.  ROCKETMAN  is a 2019 biographical jukebox musical drama film based on the life, music, and career of British musician Elton John.  The film focused on the story of John in his early days in England as a prodigy at the Royal Academy of Music through his musical partnership with Bernie Taupin. The story is told through his music and is titled after John's 1972 song "Rocket Man". Directed by Dexter Fletcher and written by Lee Hall, the film starred Taron Egerton as John, with Jamie Bell as Taupin.

The documentary is the real thing with real stage performances by Elton John.  It follows Elton John at present as he looks back on his life in the 1970s and the astonishing early days of his 50-year career in this emotionally charged, intimate and uplifting full-circle journey. As he prepares for his final concert in North America at Dodger Stadium, Elton takes us back in time and recounts the extraordinary highs and heartbreaking lows of his early years and how he overcame adversity, abuse and addiction to become the icon he is today.

The doc feels a bit disjointed as it moves back and forth from the present to the 70s, several times before culminating at his final performance that makes the film’s climax.  Unlike ROCKETMAN, the doc enables the audience to know what Elton John has to say in person, rather than an actor echoing his words.  In the doc, the real people in Elton’s life are also on display from Bernie Taupin to his final married husband David and his two children.  The doc also delves into the drugs, sex and almost near-death experience of Elton.  Elton also relates how he cherishes a solid relationship and how lonely it gets to be at the top of his trade.  His past abusive relationship is also on display as he also mentions the abuse of his parents in which beatings were the norm.  He also relates how he used to hide in his room from his angry father and how he was beaten till he bled by his mother with a wire brush.  But he finally finds his true love.  It is a very touching moment when at the end of the doc he introduces his family to his crowd of spectators claiming that it is for them, his family that he is now living it all up to sound the rest of his life with them.

ELTON JOHN: NEVER TOO LATE premiered on September 6, 2024, at the Toronto International Film Festival, and hade a limited theatrical release in the United States and United Kingdom on November 15, 2024.  It streams on Disney+ on December 13, 2024.

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THE END (Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, United Kingdom, Sweden 2024) **
Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer

It is the end of the world though the dystopia is not the focus of the film, which is neither explained nor elaborated in detail.  George MacKay plays the naive young man who was born in this bunker. In his 20 years of life, he has only heard stories of the outside world. He spends his days working on a dubious book with his father (Michael Shannon), a former energy tycoon, while his mother (Tilda Swinton) frets over the upkeep of the many priceless paintings and artworks adorning their walls. It’s the semblance of a normal (albeit affluent) life. But when a woman (Moses Ingram) from the outside arrives at their doorstep seeking refuge, the family’s delicate dynamic begins to crumble. There exists sufficient and gourmet food, again unexplained where these come from.  Director Oppenheimer’s (the acclaimed ART OF KILLING which I never liked) film is a long, tedious and occasionally unwatchable epic, which is as cold as its central character, Swinton.  The film is also all over the place, with a few odd musical and dance numbers that seem out of place.  A cold film on a cold topic in a film that lasts too long at 2 and ¾ hours.

KRAVEN THE HUNTER (USA 2024) ***
Directed by J.C. Chandor

 

“I am Kraven.  I hunt people!” and so says Kraven (Aaron Taykor0-Johnson) at one point in the movie.

3 stars out of 5?  At the point of writing, the film had scored 14% on Rotten Tomatoes.  With the bar that low, the film can only look better than expected.  And the film, despite many flaws, contains enough pleasures and quirkiness for it to be watchable.  The one performance to watch is that of Russell Crowe, playing an over-the-top abusive father and villain that suits his real-life personality, judging from reports of how crazy this actor can be on set.  The outrageous plot, cheesy special effects, corny dialogue, and ridiculous twists in the ending all add to the entertainment.

Kraven has a complex relationship with his father which sets him on a path of vengeance and motivates him to become the greatest and most feared hunter.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson plays the lead, Sergei Kravinoff / Kraven:
A big-game hunter.  Taylor-Johnson is all muscle now with solid abs to show off.  The most ridiculous role is that played by Ariana DeBose as Calypso Ezili: A voodoo priestess and Kraven's love interest. The costume designer who did her out-of-place gold-laced gowns should’ve been hunted down.  Relative newcomer Fred Hechinger plays Dmitri Smerdyakov / Chameleon: Kraven's estranged half-brother who is a master of disguise.   Christopher Abbott is the Foreigner: A mercenary and assassin, looking out of place as a foreigner in any country.

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LISTEN CAREFULLY (USA 2024) **
Directed by Ryan Barton-Grimley

 

Filmmaker Ryan Barton-Grimley (REV: VAMPIRE SLAYERS and HAWK) returns to the screen with his latest psychological horror thriller LISTEN CAREFULLY about a goofy father, Andy (played by the director himself) trying to save his kidnapped baby.  It is a poorer version of TAKEN about a father saving his daughter, and this one is a crying tot.

The film begins with a nightmare of the father escaping or trying to escape several masked perpetrators, for no explained reason.  The film then moves to Andy’s office, where it is at least that he has been promoted to assistant bank manager, and with it comes several new opportunities, like being in charge of more unwanted jobs at the bank.  The film shifts to Andy’s house where Andy is given care of another responsibility.  He has to look after the baby while his wife has a night out with the girls.  Andy listens to the baby monitor and goers to the baby if he hears her crying.  Lo and behold, she is kidnapped.  Andy tries to keep the kidnapping from his wife, Allie.  The kidnapper appears to know a bit about Andy and his shady past, Andy.

When troubled assistant bank manager Andy McNeary's baby daughter goes missing, he must follow the instructions of a mysterious voice on the other end of a baby monitor to save her before she disappears forever.  Andy has to LISTEN CAREFULLY,

The film follows Andy following instructions given through the baby monitor, in the shape of an oil. This leads him to draw money from various ATMs in order to satisfy the kidnapper’s needs.  But when he delivers the final sum to the designated place, no baby is found, only more baby monitors.  The masked perpetrator from Andy’s dream also appears.

At its worst, the film and story make little sense.  Andy wakes up from a dream several times when things get too absurd.  Andy is a goofball father that one can only be slightly sympathetic to, which makes yet another of the film’s flaws.

The horror nightmare is mildly amusing at best, with most of the entertainment deriving from the protagonist’s misadventures.  The ending and explanation for all the mystery are far from satisfactory.

LISTEN CAREFULLY had its “World Premiere" at FANTASPOA! "North American Premiere" at DANCES WITH FILMS! "Latin America Premiere" at MACABRO! "European Premiere" at FANGOFEST AMPOSTA!  The film LISTEN CAREFULLY Festival Favourite launches on Streaming Coming to Worldwide Digital HD on December 16th.

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THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM (USA/Japan 2024) ***
Directed by Kenji Kamiyama

 

Many blockbuster franchises have been hacked to death with too many sequels and spin-offs, and now if lucky, the films exist as the studio’s Cash Cows.  Examples are the STAR WARS and SPIDER-MAN franchises not to mention the numerous Marvel Cinematic Universe films.

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE WAR OF THE ROHIRRIM  (pronounced war of the Rohan) is a 2024 anime fantasy film directed by Kenji Kamiyama from a screenplay by Jeffrey Addiss & Will Matthews and Phoebe Gittins & Arty Papageorgiou, based on characters created by J. R. R. Tolkien.

But Kudos to the Studios marketing Department.  Being animated, the budget is lower at a cost of only $30 million.  The film has grossed only $10 million since the opening weekend, and ranked number 5 in box office for the opening weekend.  The film will make money on its modest production costs and has the feel of a fairy tale with violence.

The story is set 183 years before the events of the War of the Rings, the voice of Éowyn narrates the story and tells how the story of Héra, a would-be shieldmaiden of Rohan and the king's daughter, will not be remembered in great tales or songs.  Freca, a Dunlending lord, comes to King Helm's hall with his son Wulf, Héra's childhood friend. Freca is disturbed that Héra is to be married to a lord of Gondor and tries to force a marriage between Wulf and Héra, in order to usurp Rohan's throne. Wulf wishes to marry Héra, but she is uninterested in marriage. Helm and Freca begin a fistfight outside the hall, during which Helm unintentionally kills Freca with a single blow, earning Helm the nickname "Hammerhand". Wulf, devastated, vows revenge.

At best, the film tells a tragic story about the "wreckage of war", and examines ideas of honour, revenge, family, and resilience - and of course how villains come to be.

The film runs like a fairytale - princesses and kings, thrones and swords and magic.  The stouter has some but not much reference to the Rings trilogy and the story can stand up much on its own.

The decision to hire Japanese director  Kenji Kamiyama pays off.  He has had a myriad of animation experiences, working on films like GHOST IN THE SHELL, AKIRA and Ghibli Studios KIKI’s DELIVERY SERVICE.  He brings a fresh look to the J. R.R. Tolkien fantasy world.

Of all the voices, Shakespearean actor Brian Cox brings dignity to the character of Helm Hammerhand, a king of Rohan.

Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings films have been thrashed to death and who really needs a before-everything animation feature?  Despite all the effort and some impressive animation, the feature fails to generate much excitement.  At the time of writing, the film received 51% approval from Rotten Tomatoes.  But not for want of trying.  Still, by anime standards, the animation is quite good, especially in the second half.  The film has tough competition with other animated features and will be up against films like MEMOIR OF A SMAIL, MUFASA: THE LIONS KING and FLOW for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

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QUEER (Italy/USA 2024) **
Directed by Luca Guadagnino

 

Director Guadagnino's (CHALLENGERS) latest entry is based on William Buurrough’s novel, which in itself is a boring odyssey of a drug addict’s quest for an elusive drug in the Amazon jungles.  Lee (Daniel Craig) mingles with the expatriate set in postwar Mexico City, wandering its streets, frequenting its gay bars, and ingesting whatever illicit substances are available. He is a consummate raconteur who has no trouble finding an audience, but he is also a desperately lonely, middle-aged addict with an alarming fondness for guns.  Early in the film, Lee sets his sights on a journey to the Amazon in search of the potentially telepathic ayahuasca — and he wants handsome young bi-curious Oklahoman Allerton (Drew Starkey) to accompany him. Their travels will yield a string of unexpected encounters and provide Lee with sobering lessons in what Burroughs dubbed “the algebra of need.”  The cinematography is stunning, and the camera work is admirable but the whole piece still ends up boring with nothing happening in the film’s lengthy over two hours running time.  Craig is showing his age and he portrays a decaying gay man who suffers from diarrhea, fever, and sweats had the time during his travels.

SEPTEMBER 5 (USA 2024) ***
Directed by Tim Fehlbaum

 

The Munich 1972 Olympic Games were largely overshadowed by what has come to be known as the "Munich massacre".  This occurred on September 5th, 1972 and hence the title of this new movie, the movie that examines, the extent of these awful circumstances.  Just before dawn on 5 September, a group of eight members of the Palestinian Black September militant organization broke into the Olympic Village and took eleven Israeli athletes, coaches and officials hostage in their apartments. Two of the hostages who resisted were killed in the first moments of the break-in; the subsequent standoff in the Olympic Village lasted for almost 18 hours.

SEPTEMBER 5 is a historical drama film directed by Tim Fehlbaum, focusing on the 1972 Munich Olympic hostage crisis from the perspective of the ABC Sports crew. The film highlights their transition from covering the Olympics to reporting on the hostage situation involving Israeli athletes. It showcases the intense and emotional experience of live broadcasting during a global tragedy.

Late in the evening of 5 September that same day, the terrorists and their nine remaining hostages were transferred by helicopter to the military airport of Fürstenfeldbruck, ostensibly to board a plane bound for an undetermined Arab country. The German authorities planned to ambush them there but underestimated the numbers of their opposition and were thus undermanned. During a botched rescue attempt, all of the Israeli hostages were killed. Four of them were shot and then incinerated when one of the terrorists detonated a grenade inside the helicopter in which the hostages were sitting. The 5 remaining hostages were then shot and killed with a machine gun.

SEPTEMBER 5 covers all the events of the Munich massacre described above but with a difference.  The events are looked upon from a reporter newsreel’s point of view.  It is a neat difference in outlook and it works to a point.  Unlike Kevin Macdonald’s 1999 Academy Award Winning Documentary, entitled ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER, which was exciting and thrilling, the thrill derived from this new movie from the Swiss director takes a completely different outlook.  It attempts two lots from a nonpolitical standpoint, understandably as the director is Swiss.  His film discusses issues like whether the sports network should cover nonessential sports news that is current and urgent.  At one point, the newscast is terminated.  At another point, the newsreel people realize that what is seen on TV newsreel is what the terrorists are seeing as well.  Unfortunately, this intriguing concept is not dealt with any further,  The question is whether the audience really cares about the newsreel people rather than what is happening in reality with the Israeli athletes and terrorists.    The statement “All the athletes are killed: is uttered in the film, which dismisses all the events leading to this situation.

Director Fehlbaum has created a time bomb-ticking film with crucial events happening in seconds, but only from the point of view of the newsreel staff, totally dismissing the key issue of the terrorist attack on Israeli athletes.  The film ends up lacking in the excitement generated of how the situation can be solved as in Kevin MacDonald’s ONE DAY IN SEPTEMBER documentary.  Still, SEPTEMBER 5 is a well-made film that achieves its goals making it a worthwhile intriguing watch,

SEPTEMBER  5 opens in theatres on December 13.  The studios are hoping this film becomes a big hot for the holiday season.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 08 November 2024

Lots of new animated features this week, even one from Netflix.  And MEMOIRE OF A SNAIL which opened a few weeks back, he best of the lot is still playing.

FILM REVIEWS:

FLOW (Belgium/France/:Latvia 2024) ****
Directed by Gints Zilbalodis

 

FLOW begins with a creature with no name but is a common animal which is a cat.  Cat is shown in all its curiosity, initially stealing a fish caught by a dog before the pack gives chase which she barely escapes.

But can Cat escape a flood that overruns the land?

The world seems to be coming to an end, teeming with the vestiges of a human presence. Cat is a solitary animal, but as its home is devastated by a great flood, he (assuming Cat is a male) finds refuge on a boat populated by various species and will have to team up with them despite their differences. In the lonesome boat sailing through mystical overflowed landscapes, they navigate the challenges and dangers of adapting to this new world.

A black cat wanders through a forest when a pack of dogs arrives by the river to catch fish. When two of the dogs fight over a fish, the cat takes the fish and is immediately chased by the dogs. The cat loses the dogs but notices a deer stampede before it is caught by a massive tidal wave. The cat and the dogs manage to survive the flood by reaching higher ground. A yellow Labrador Retriever follows the cat to an abandoned house decorated with wooden cat sculptures before they both notice the water level rising rapidly and the Labrador joins the other dogs on a boat. With the house consumed by the flood, the cat climbs atop a giant cat statue until the waters reach the top of the statue's head. Before the statue is completely submerged, the cat jumps into an approaching sailboat with a capybara aboard.

The next morning, as the boat sails across a forest filled with stone pillars, the cat goes overboard while trying to avoid a white secretarybird, but it begins to sink underwater. A whale saves it from drowning, but the secretarybird grabs the cat before it frees itself and lands back on the boat. As the water level continues to rise, the capybara invites a ring-tailed lemur to hop aboard with its basket of junk. Later that day, the three animals land on shore and are joined by the Labrador. They encounter a flock of secretarybirds that show hostility towards them, causing the cat to run away before the flock corners it. The secretarybird that first encountered the cat pleads with the leader to spare its life, only to lose in a duel and have its wing broken before the flock abandons it. Having lost its ability to fly, the secretarybird joins the other animals aboard the boat.

The animation is nothing short of amazing.  In the past animating water was almost impossible.  Disney’s FANTASIA featuring Mickey Mouse as THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE did wonders with the animation of water and FLOW (the low of water) makes THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE look amateurish.  Though the film may remind one of Disney from the drawing of the animal characters, the film does well to do away with playing with too much cuteness of the creatures, unlike the ICE AGE franchise which makes those films look like a copycats.  The creatures are adorable though,

There is not much narrative and hardly any dialogue in FLOW, which makes the film universal to any English or non-English-speaking country,  But the lack of a strong narrative and story does have a toll on this otherwise, magnificent animated feature.  FLOW has to rely completely on the animation to tell its story of CAT and his antics.

FLOW though would appeal more to adults, especially to those who appreciate good solid animation.

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HEAVIER TRIP (Finland/Germany/Norway/Lithuania 2024) **
Directed by Jukka Vidgren & Juuso Laatio 

 

The film features a heavy metal band that calls itself Impaled Rectum.  What does the name mean?  (Don’t even go there.)  Apparently HEAVIER TRIP is the sequel to their first 2018 film.  Impaled Rectum is a Finnish band and the film plays like and suffers from the same problems as Aki’s Kaurimaki’s Finnish band films LENINGRAD COWBOYS GO AMERICA and its sequel LENINGRAD COWBOYS MEET MOSES.  It is one one joke movie,  that outplays its welcome.  While Kaurimaki’s LENINGRAD COWBOYS GO AMERICA was really dead-pan funny and the concept worked the sequel turned out to be a bore.  The Leningrad Cowboys are a talented band and can play anything including polka and it is entertaining listening to them while watching their hilarious antics.  Unfortunately, HEAVIER TRIP’s heavy metal will have fewer followers.  Their punk rock could be entertaining if one likes that sort of thing.

The first film HEAVY TRIP follows Turo who is stuck in a small village and the best thing in his life is being the lead vocalist for the amateur metal band Impaled Rektum.  He and his bandmates have practiced for 12 years without playing a single gig. The guys get a surprise visitor from Norway -- the promoter for a huge heavy metal music festival -- and decide it's now or never. They steal a van, a corpse, and even a new drummer to make their dreams a reality.  The original had more plot and as stronger narrative.

HEAVIER METAL opens with the band Impaled Rectum in a prison.  The reason they got there is not really explained.  Shackled by fate and locked up in a Norwegian prison, the band discovers their lead guitarist’s family's reindeer slaughterhouse faces a financial storm.  The four members, Turo, Lotvonen, Xytraxm and Oula hatch a daring escape plan to help.  Desperate for the money, and the chance to perform at the ultimate battleground for metal warriors, Impaled Rektum takes a journey through northern Europe to the legendary Wacken music festival.  But hot on their trail is a vengeful prison guard, a female one who appears to love dressing in uniform and using torture tools, thirsting for revenge, and a sketchy record label executive, weaving lies that could shatter their dreams and worse, compromise the integrity of the band.  Amidst the chaos, the band must forge a bond stronger than the darkest riffs - forging alliances with the most unexpected compatriots, including an epic cameo from the Japanese Kawaii-metal band, Baby Metal.   Only the raw power of metal can determine their fate!

The film aims at being a relentless odyssey of sound, fury, and the unbreakable spirit of true heavy metal in this sequel to cult classic HEAVY TRIP.   But the film is an acquired taste.  To others, the film, which is no Aki Kaurimaki’s LENINGRAD COWBOYS GO AMERICA is a boring one-joke film that fails to impress or entertain, while managing just a few laughs.

HEAVIER TRIP opens in theatres and on VOD on November 29th, 2024.

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MOANA 2 (USA 2024) ***
Directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller

 

The story of MOANA 2, the sequel  is simpler and much more straight forwards than the first MOANA made in 2016.  It features the voices of the two leads again - Chloe Auliʻi Cravalho as Moana and Dwayne Johnson as Maui.

Three years after the events of the first film, Moana receives an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors and forms her own crew, reuniting with her friend, the demigod Maui. As they journey to the far seas of Oceania to break the god Nalo's curse on the hidden island of Motufetu, which once connected the people of the ocean, they confront old and new foes, including the Kakamora and underworld goddess Matangi.

The animation of MOANA 2 is astounding especially in the animation of the water and wind.  Animation has come a long way and it is hard to beat.  MOANA 2 will be in competition with the European animated feature FLOW also due to open that matches its animation techniques.

MOANA 2 has a few uplifting songs, the feature being part musical, like the original.   Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa'i, the composers and co-songwriters of the first film, returns to score and write the songs, while Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear replace Lin-Manuel Miranda as additional songwriters.  The soundtrack is also available for sale.

MOANA 2 is totally formulaic as are most of the Disney movies, not that it is a bad thing as it serves no purpose of changing a formula that makes money.  But there is nothing really fresh or exciting in this feature though MOANA 2 is entertaining enough *good voice characterizations, excellent animation, a few catchy songs and a fairly tale-like mystical story) that it should not disappoint families that go for Disney entertainment.

Stay for the last of the closing credits as there is a surprise uncredited voice characterization.  No spoiler in this review, but the voice is immediately recognizable.

MOANA 2 opens Wednesday, November 27th for the American Thanksgiving holidays.

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MONONOKE THE MOVIE: PHANTOM IN THE RAIN (Japan 2024) ***
Directed by Kenji Nakamura

 

MONONOKE THE MOVIE: PHANTOM IN THE RAIN, is the first part of a trilogy of a 2024 Japanese animated supernatural psychological horror film directed by Kenji Nakamura based on the Mononoke anime television series (2007).  The film stars Hiroshi Kamiya as the voice of the Medicine Seller, alongside Tomoyo Kurosawa, Aoi Yūki, Mami Koyama, Kana Hanazawa, Haruka Tomatsu, Yoko Hikasa, Yūko Kaida, Yukana, Yuki Kaji, Jun Fukuyama, Daisuke Hosomi, Miyu Irino and Kenjiro Tsuda. Phantom in the Rain was released in Japan on July 26, 2024.

MONONOKE THE MOVIE: PHANTOM IN THE RAIN is an excellent Japanese animation, a mix of animated manga and what would be seen in the Ghibli  Studio films.  The word ‘kaleidoscope’ would be the best one to be used to describe the experience from the film’s animation.  There are whirling colours that blend in and out, totally suited to the freaky psychedelic atmosphere of the period fantasy.  Though the story is a little plain, there is enough mystery to keep the audience satisfied.

Mononoke are vengeful spirits (onryō), dead spirits (shiryō), live spirits (ikiryō), or spirits in Japanese classical literature and folk religion that were said to do things like possess individuals and make them suffer, cause disease, or even cause death.   It is also a word sometimes used to refer to yōkai or henge ("changed beings").

The film has a strong female slant with two female protagonists, both set up to serve female royalty.  A girl named Asa is trying to advance her career, while another named Kame is seeking her dream to participate in the carnal workings of the Inner Chambers. The Inner Chambers are where the esteemed and selected female servants reside and serve the Japanese royalty.  But there is trouble in paradise.  As the elderly Utayama does her best to conceal its secrets, the mysterious Medicine Seller arrives and begins to unravel the horrifying and painful truth at the heart of the Inner Chambers.

MONONOKE THE MOVIE: PHANTOM IN THE RAIN is an original Netflix feature that opens for streaming this week and premieres in Canada.  .  Netflix bought the rights to the movie that already opened earlier this year in Japan.

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OUR LITTLE SECRET (USA 2024) ***
Directed by Stephen Harek

 

Lindsay Lohan (Disney star and star of MEAN GIRLS) is back for her second Netflix Christmas (her third Netflix) movie with this entry the actress plays Avery, who is over at her boyfriend’s house for the holidays, but she didn’t count on her ex being there.  Avery wishes to keep their past relationship secret from the family, especially from her ex’s mother, Erica.  Why rock the boat during Christmas?  It does not take a genius to guess that Avery will get back with her ex at the end of the film.  This is a Christmas rom-com with Lohan, and is actually not bad, despite how it sounds.  Of course, Lohan’s bar is quite low and not difficult to beat.

Lohan became a fixture in the tabloid press for her frequent legal issues, court appearances, and stints in rehabilitation facilities. This period saw her lose several roles, adversely affecting her career and public image.  She is surely but slowly making her comeback in terms of acting and in her reputation.(Ian Harding playing g Logan)

Lohan has had drug problems in the past.  She is brave enough to parody her drug use with her character Erica’s chocolate cookies, which she blames on the dog to quite hilarious results.

To the script’s credit, the comedy works as there are quite a few hilarious comedic set pieces.  One is the dog’s supposedly eating the chocolate cookies and the pet is rushed to the vet to have the pet’s stomach pumped.  Avery bribes the vet.  Also very funny is the future mother-in-law’s character, Erica.  Erica, the film’s funniest character is played by Kristin Chenoweth who us is an American stage, screen and television actress, though, depending on who you ask.  Chenoweth fans may disagree on what her most famous roles are. Since Chenoweth began her career, she has been credited with roles in musicals and plays on and off-Broadway, on various television shows and can be seen in movies on television and the big screen. She has also lent her recognizable voice numerous times to animated features.  Erica in the film, is always looking young in all her photos hung in the house a running joke in the film, much to the consternation to Avery.  Erica is like a demon to Avery, glaring at her with her good looks from all the hung portraits in the house.  She is also quite the bitch to Avery always making snide remarks about Avery - from her clothes and behaviour.

A movie is often as funny as the film director’s sense of humour.  A funny film demands good timing in the film, provided by the director in the comedic setups.  Director Stephen Harek proves his mettle in comedy here, he already proving himself in the 2019 BILL AND TED’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE.  Credit also should be given to scriptwriter Hailey DeDominicis.

At the end of the movie Avery’s ex, now her new beau remakes nohow incredible a woman Avery had become.  In real life, the once troublesome Lindsay Lohan has also turned over a new leaf, becoming quite the rom-com queen, perhaps a slightly naughtier version of Doris Day.

OUR LITTLE SECRET opens for streaming on Netflix this week.

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REINAS (QUEENS) (Peru/Switzerland/Spain 2024) ***½

Directed by Klaudia Reynicke 

 

The film opens with an announcement of the increase in the prices of essential items such as the baguette which would more than double its price the next day.  The county faces runaway inflation.  Directed by Klaudia Reynicke from a screenplay she co-wrote with Diego Vegas, REINAS is a coming-of-age story among other stories set during Peru’s tumultuous political times of the 1990s.

There are three stories in the script.  The first is the coming-of-age story of the elder daughter.  The second is the story of the absent father who is trying to make good with his daughters, who he calls queens and thirdly it is the story of the mother who wants a better life for herself and two daughters, regardless of what the daughter wants.  She wants to move her daughters away from Peru for a better life.  She needs the signature of the father for the travel documents but the elder daughter does not want to leave Peru and her friends.

The film is set during the reign of Alberto Kenya Fujimori Inomoto.  A Peruvian politician, professor, and engineer he served as the 54th president of Peru from 1990 to 2000.  His government was characterized by its use of propaganda, widespread political corruption, and human rights violations.  There are lots of protests shown in the film, which explains the family in the film, a separated mother and her two daughters wishing to leave Peru for good.  However, the daughters need a signature from their absent father for the travel visa in order to leave.

The two sisters are about to leave their country when they unexpectedly reconnect with an absent father. This relationship will both amplify and ease their pain of change.  The father, Carlos wishes very much for his daughters, who he refers to as ‘reinas’ or queens, to love him.  But Carlos is a loser, which explains the reason his wife left him.  Carlos is poor, and drives a ramshackle car as a taxi and deals the occasional drugs, which in one scene is shown to be payment for a friend's fish dinner with his two daughters at the beach.

Complications ensue when the elder sister Aurora is late in her period indicating a pregnancy.  She tells the younger one the secret.  They take a sister's oath.  “Better to die than to betray a Peruvian.”

Besides the trouble in Peru, director Klaudia Reynicke shows a fondness for her country.  In one scene the girls (Aurora’s friends) discuss how boring it would be to leave Peru.  The segment where Carlos brings his two daughters to the beach shows the beauty of the local countryside.  A drive follows the segment in a car on the dunes, the largest here in Peru in South America.  The dunes look grander than Europe’s largest dunes of Pilar, near Bordeaux in France.

REINAS is a culture rich film with three intermingled stories wonderfully told within the country’s political unrest.

REINAS is the Swiss entry for this year’s Academy Awards for Best International Feature. The film opens at the TIFF Lightbox on November 29th.

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THE SNOW SISTER (Snøsøsteren)(Norway/USA 2024) ***
Directed by Cecilie A. Mosli

 

Everyone loves a good tear-jerker once in a while.  Somehow humans feel good when they have a good cry,  The new Norwegian Christmas movie THE SNOW SISTER based on a best-selling novel, belongs to that genre of film.  It has all the elements of an endearing, sad and depressing film while also with uplifting moments  -  a Christmas joyous setting with a lot of sentimental music, love and loss and family values. Christmas classics like IT’S A WONDErFUL LIFE, MIRACLE AT 34TH STREET and A CHRISTMAS CAROL arrive on Christmas television without fail every year.

In the SNOW SISTER, Christmas is cancelled for young Julian.

Christmas Eve is approaching. It is also the day Julian turns eleven years old. Usually, it is the best day of the year, filled with the fantastic aroma of gingersnaps and tangerines, the sound of a crackling fire, the decorated Christmas tree, and the flickering candlelight.  All the things that make up Christmas.  But this year nothing is as usual. Julian and his family have a sadness over them, and Christian feels that Christmas has just been canceled.  Then, one day, Julian meets the happy and Christmas-loving Hedvig and begins to believe that there will be Christmas after all.  But there's something strange about Hedvig's house, and who is the old man who is lurking around the house all the time?

THE SNOW SISTER (Snøsøsteren) is an original Netflix Norwegian film that opens for streaming this week.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 05 November 2024

FILM REVIEWS:

ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT (India/France/Lux/Neth 2024) ***½

Directed by Payal Kapadia

 

A female film all the way directed by also by a female,  The hit at this year’s Cannes is a hazily lit, dreamy and idyllic-looking feature bringing together three women, each of whom have their own problems.  Prabha (Kani Kusruti) and Anu (Divya Prabha) are roommates and nurses at a Mumbai hospital. Prabha is married, but her husband went abroad to work many years ago. Now drifting into middle age, she focuses on her job. Anu, by contrast, is young and full of dreams for her future, which she hopes will include the handsome Muslim boy she’s secretly seeing. Prabha initially regards the potentially scandalous affair as an annoyance, but she comes to sympathize with Anu’s passion, perhaps because she, too, feels the tug of frustrated ardour, thanks to the attentions of a poetry-writing doctor.  When Prabha’s friend Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam) is evicted from her home by heartless developers, she decides to return to the coastal village of her youth. Prabha and Anu tag along for a holiday. Far from the city’s perpetual clamour, the women’s feelings and sense of life’s possibilities are given free rein.  The film celebrates womanhood, showing how each needs to support another in the face of male-related problems.  In unity, females can face the world with strength and resilience—great shots of Dubai life and the beautiful Indian beach areas.

 

THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE (Pigen med nålen)(Denmark/Sweden/Poland 2024) ****


Directed by Magnus von Horn

Premiering at Cannes this year followed by screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival, THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE is an excellent historical drama though a very depressing one.  The film is shot in black and white with a setting in post-WWII Denmark, which is made even more depressing by the story in which bleakness piles upon bleakness.  If one can stomach the bleakness, a superbly crafted film is in for the taking, though definitely not of a feel-good nature.  The film is based on true life events - that of a baby killer, one of Denmark’s most infamous killers.  A woman pretends to take in babies from mothers who seek a better life for their babies, but the woman kills babies instead using several methods.

The protagonist is Karoline, a young woman trying to survive after the war.  Vic Carmen Sonne is remarkable in her portrayal of  Karoline, a young seamstress trying to survive on her own since her husband was declared missing in action.  Fortune smiles upon her when she develops a connection with Jørgen (Joachim Fjelstrup), the owner of the factory where she works. Yet a cascade of misfortunes soon reminds her of how little protection she enjoys. As the film progresses, one can only pity Katroline as things get from worse to worse..  Can things improve even a little?  Firstly when the film begins, Karoline is evicted from her squalor apartment.  She finds lodging in an even more horrid room with no running water and a window that cannot be opened.  She is warned not to have any visitors though one can only imagine who would want to visit such a place.  

Her woes improve a bit as the events set her on the path toward Dagmar (Trine Dyrholm), a shop owner she works for as a seamstress, who offers a particular service to women in need.  The dynamic they form will have major repercussions for them both.  They fall in love and she is impregnated by him.  Just as one can think the film is leading towards the kindness of human beings, Dagmar’s mother stops the romance between her son and her and tosses her out on the street.   She takes a needle to a public bath and tries to abort the unborn child, hence the title of the film THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE.  There she meets the baby killer and things do NOT get any better.  Karolyn and the baby killer strike up a camaraderie, even when Karolyn discovers the truth.  More of the darkness is included with the reappearance of Karolyn’s supposedly husband missing in war with a disfigured face.  Why he has not responded to her letters is not really explained in the film.  The ugliness of his facial injury is not hidden from the audience.
For all its bleakness and depression, THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE is a compelling film with strong performances, stunning cinematography, and production values. I ranked it one of my Top 10 films of 2024.

THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE, the Danish entry for Best International Feature for the upcoming Academy Awards opens in theatres on Nov 27th, 2024.

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GLADIATOR 2 (USA 2024) ***
Directed by Ridley Scott

 

GLADIATOR 2 opens with the fall of an African city as the hero, the gladiator of the title is taken in as a slave of Rome

Sixteen years after Marcus Aurelius's death, Rome is ruled by the corrupt twin emperors Geta and Caracalla. In Numidia, Roman refugee Lucius Verus lives under the alias "Hanno". General Marcus Acacius's Roman army invade and conquer the city, enslaving Lucius and killing his wife Arishat. To advertise the slaves as potential gladiators, the Romans pit them against feral baboons. Lucius savagely kills a baboon, impressing stablemaster Macrinus. Although Lucius does not want to be a gladiator, Macrinus promises him an opportunity to kill Acacius if he wins enough fights in Rome.

Acacius is welcomed back to Rome as a war hero. Geta and Caracalla arrange gladiatorial games in the Colosseum to celebrate Acacius's victory. Disillusioned with war, Acacius requests a vacation with his wife, Lucilla, but the emperors refuse and plot to conquer Persia and India. Senator Thraex throws a party for the emperors and arranges a gladiatorial duel as entertainment. After Lucius wins, Geta asks where he is from. Lucius contemptuously recites Virgil's poetry, revealing his Roman education. Ravi, the gladiators' doctor, treats Lucius's injuries and befriends him.

GLADIATOR 2 works best when it combines camp with blood and gore.  The two emperors of Rome that dictate the citizens are campy in their makeup and their mannerisms,  They eventually get their comeuppance towards the end.  The thing that does not work that is glaring in its flaw is the d=gladiator segment in which Lucious fights the feel baboons, large creatures that look like aliens from outer space rather than ferocious animals.  The film takes an unrealistic sci-fi ALIENS look instead of being grounded in historical authenticity,

Paul Mescal replaces Russel Crowe as the action hero gladiator.  Mescal performs well and has been seen in almost everything these days ever since he became famous after being in AFTERLIFE.  Of the cast, Academy Award Winner Denzel Washington stands out as a rare gay role for the actor while also playing a villain.  Matt Lucas from Little Britain plays the Master of Ceremonies.  Sir Derek Jacobi as Senator Gracchus: A member of the Roman Senate who opposes the growing corruption of the Imperial Court. Jacobi reprises his role from the original film.

It took a while before this sequel went to the screens.  GLADIATOR 2 is a gore-violent blood fest with lots of action set pieces in which heads and upper torso are dismembered.  Story-wise, the film is a disappointment with a predictable plot and cliched characters.  At a running time of 2 hours and 20 minutes, the film moves fast, but not without flaws including a few out-of-step sequences.

GLADIATOR 2 and WICKED both open this week on November 22.  The new nickname coming into play is the word  GLICKED.  Which film will be victorious at the box office?  Good marketing targets two highly different film genre groups.

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GT MAX (France/Belgium 2024) ***
Directed by Olivier Scneider

 

GT Max in the film is a band of motorbikes of quality below Yamaha.  In reality, it is a well-known motorbike accessories company established in the state of Selangor, West Malaysia.   Following the trend of high-speed vehicle heist movies that were popular in the60s and 70s like Peter Collinson’s THE ITALIAN JOB with Michael Cain e and Henry Verneuil’s THE BURGLARS with Jean-Paul Belmondo and more recently in French films like TAXI and even more recent in THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS, GT MAX is another addition to the genre.  There is nothing really excitingly new in terms of plot, in fact, the storytelling is predictable though well stretched out with many characters, the film is a solid fast time waster that should appeal to both dirt motorbike speed fans as well to new converts.  The film is fast and furious and the chase scenes, particularly around Paris, with immediately recognizable street and walkaways by the Seine is what makes the movie especially engaging.

Soélie, a young motocross prodigy, sees her dreams of success shattered by an accident.  The reason for the accident is not explained till the middle of the film.  Not that one cannot guess the reason, but despite her stating that even riding un vello would also give her the jitters, she is suddenly riding a motorbike at top speed as if nothing had happened and she is perfectly normal for no reason.  Till then, she had devoted herself to training her brother, Michael.  When he is recruited by TMAX scooter racers for a high-profile heist in Paris, Soélie must overcome her fears to save him.  To make the story more intriguing, more characters are drawn to the story like an over-obsessive cop, Lucas who is intent on catching the motorbike gang in their next caper.   The mastermind behind the heist is Elyas, who has no claims of killing off any in the way.  Of course, there needs to be a little romance.  Soelie and Theo get a romance going,  Solely and Michael’s father also come into the story, with his company going for broke, doing 150 thousand euros.  The kids have to do the heist to make ends meet.  All the story details are cliched, but the exciting bike chases that ensue is the reason MTMAX rises above the average action movie.

The relatively unknown cast delivers credible performances despite the predictable story and cliched characters.

GT  MAX is director Olivier Schneider’s directorial debut.  Schneider began his career as a stuntman on more than a hundred films before becoming a fight choreographer and Stunt Coordinator. In 2007 he signed the fights of the film  TAKEN with Liam Neeson in the lead role.  There is a climactic fight between Elyas and Lucas at the film’s climax.

GT MAX is an original Netflix French action movie, and is open for streaming g on Netflix this week.  Totally watchable movie with time flying as fast as the speed of the motorbikes.     

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JOY (UK 2024) ***1/2
Directed by Ben Taylor

 

JOY (not to be confused with the David O. Russell Jennifer Lawrence film, is about 3 trailblazers: a young nurse, a visionary scientist, and an innovative surgeon who face opposition from the church, state, media, and medical establishment in their pursuit of the world's first 'test tube baby,' Louise Joy Brown.  IVF.  On 10 November 1977, Lesley Brown underwent a procedure, later known as in vitro fertilization (IVF), developed by Patrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards, and Jean Purdy. Purdy was the first to see Brown's embryonic cells dividing.  The process is called IVF.  Natural Cycle in Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is an assisted reproductive technique designed to mimic a woman's natural menstrual cycle closely. In traditional IVF, a woman's ovaries are stimulated with fertility medications to produce multiple eggs, which are then retrieved and fertilized outside the body. On the other hand, a natural cycle IVF works with the woman's natural hormonal fluctuations and ovulation cycle.    Edwards, as the only surviving partner, was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Medicine for this work.   In March 2022, a plaque was installed at Royal Oldham Hospital to record the importance of Sister Muriel Harris and Jean Purdy to the work.

Dr. Edwards is portrayed by award-winning British actor Bill Nighy, who rose to fame after his role in LOVE ACTUALLY. Nighy brings dignity to the role of the doctor who had to fight to make his discoveries heard.

The film is a touching story of medical history that is given a human touch making it emotional and moving. The film is told from the point of view of Jean Purdy, marvelously portrayed by New Zealand actress, Thomasin McKenzie. The film’s most moving part is Nighy as Dr. Edwards plays the piano with his wife seated beside him. She says she was looking forward to a retirement with wine and holidays to which he retorts: “So am I. But this is something that matters, at which he continues playing the piano. Director Taylor is to be commended for the way he keeps the momentum of the film’s interest from start to finish.

Director Ben Taylor is a TV episodes (SEX EDUCATION, THE AVENGERS) director making his first feature film directorial debut in a film written by Rachel Mason, Jack Thorne,

Emma Gordon and Shaun Topp.  A period piece, the budget pic contains authentic and believable production sets that convey the times and atmosphere of the story,

JOY is a touching British biopic of the test tube baby (Louise Brown) that is open for streaming on Netflix this week.

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MARIA  (Italy/Germany/Chile/United States 2024) ***

Directed by Pablo Larrain

 

MARIA is the third film in Larraín's trilogy of 20th-century iconic women, preceded by SPENCER (2021) and JACKIE (2017).   

MARIA, the film about Maria Callas, is set during Her final years in Paris in the 1970s. It is not a Callas biopic, as neither were the two other Lorain films, JACKIE and SPENCER, about Jacqueline Kennedy and Lady Diana Spencer.

Angelina Jolie portrays the diva, the diva that she is.  She is proud and pompous like a peacock who does not care for anyone else except for the wealthy and famous in her social circle.  Vanity project or Oscar bait?  Could very well be both.  It is noted that Bradley Cooper’s MAESTRO on Leonard Bernstein did not win him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.  But to give credit where credit is due,  it should be noted that to prepare for her role, Jolie spent seven months training to sing opera. In the scenes set during Callas' heyday, an estimated 90 to 95 percent of Callas' original recordings were used, with Jolie lip-synching along to these songs. However, Jolie's singing comes to the fore during the film's final act.  It is reported that the film received an eight-minute standing ovation at the Sala Grande Theatre during its world premiere, reducing Angelina Jolie to tears.

When the film opens, Callas is suffering from ill health, often taking too much medication.  She has lost her ability to sing and perform, but her reputation still precedes her.  One would wish more information be given on how she lost her goal abilities.  Still, she is headstrong aided by no less, her personal butler and housekeeper.  She often asks her housekeep how she sing, noting that the housekeeper has no operatic experience.  Yet she trusts her judgment.  Her two employees obey her at her every request, and the butler supports her and beats up a reporter who is hounding her and threatening her that her audience no longer respects her.  The reporter is pushed severely by the by=tler, and he clerkly deserves what he got.

The film celebrates an Italian cast, though Callas was an American-born Greek soprano.  Angelina Papadopoulou plays young Maria Callas, while Pierfrancesco Favino as Ferruccio and Alba Rohrwacher as Bruna plays the Callas’s Italian household.

Callas loves her pets dogs - two of them, often seen following her around her residence.  “It is 99% about food and 1% about love,” she remarks, which is very true for all dogs.

The best thing about the film is the images of the real Maria Callas, which include her aging during the closing credits.  The audience gets to see the real person in her glamour with it fading during her latter years.

MARIA is pretty much the same as Larrain’s other two films of his trilogy JACKIE and SPENCER, with elaborate and meticulously orchestrated production set pieces but empty vehicles on the whole where the sum of the parts do not really add up to a strong narrative or purpose.

Despite the chaotic often unrelated segments and often glorified scenes of Callas, the film is still magnificent to look at, and does Callas justice that is due to her.

MARIA opens in select theatres on November 27th and streams on MUBI from December 11, 2024.

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MAYBE BABY 2 (Bytte Bytte Barn)(Denmark 2024) **
En film af Barbara Topsøe-Rothenborg

 

We meet the two couples again: Cecilie and Andreas, and their son Leo, and Liv and Malte, and their daughter Sille.   The first MAYBE BABY (not to be confused with the British comedy about a couple trying to have a baby) is nothing much to write home about and this sequel is a tedious and unfunny monotonous attempt at trying to be smart and funny, 

Both children are now 2 years old, and the families still keep in touch but live very different lives. During a medical examination, it is revealed that the two babies were never swapped. After the shock subsides, the two families decide to move in together in a collective at Andreas and Cecilie's place, so both sets of parents can be with both children every day. There is some attempt at humour aimed at the subject of commune living, again nothing that would register a laugh mark on the laughter scale,  However, soon the couples' very different views on lifestyle, decor, eating habits, and parenting methods become apparent, and the two families struggle to live under the same roof.  There is not much insight or keen observations on this subject either.  Cecilie feels much more attached to her biological daughter Sille than to Leo, and she decides to pursue custody of Sille behind the backs of the other three parents.  This twist in the storyline that begins roughly the halfway mark attempts to up the story up a notch.  Cecilie realizes she has acted wrongly, but it is too late, and her selfish project is exposed. The collective falls apart, (surprise, surprise!) Liv and Malte move away with Sille, and Cecilie must fight to be forgiven and find a solution everyone can live with.

The film tackles a few motherly issues such as balancing work and bringing up a baby and how to rear a child that is either too active or a bit too smart for its age.  The film gets a bit sentimental at the end and it is clear the filmmakers are trying a bit too hard to make the family comedy work,

Maybe BABY 2 is an original Danish Netflix film that is open for streaming this week on Netflix.

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NEVER LOOK AWAY (USA 2024) ***½

Directed by Lucy Lawless

 

 

The doc NEVER LOOK AWAY celebrates Margaret Moth, warts and all.

Born in Gisborne, New Zealand, as Margaret Wilson, she got her first camera at age 8.

She was the first news camerawoman in New Zealand, originally for the local DNTV2 station in the South Island before working for the national TVNZ channel.  She changed her name to Margaret Gipsy Moth reportedly because of her love for parachuting from Tiger Moth airplanes and her desire to have her "own" name.

The doc initiates the audience to the woman with her first fling with a 17-year-old while she was 30.  The doc then follows Moth as she moved to the United States and worked for KHOU in Houston, Texas, for about seven years before moving to CNN in 1990.  Moth covered the Persian Gulf War, the rioting that followed Indira Gandhi's assassination, the civil war in Tbilisi, Georgia, and the Bosnian War. She had been described by colleagues as quirky, tough, fearless, and funny.

The doc works avoids being a biopic by omitting Margaret’s past.  When the first boyfriend (the17 17-year-old), Jeff Russi asks Margaret about her past, her reply is that she had forgotten.  So, no mention of her childhood is found in the doc.

Risks come with a price.  No one is invincible - Margaret Moth included,  In July 1992, Moth was shot and severely wounded while filming in Sniper Alley in Sarajevo.   Because of this injury, considerable damage was done to her body, and her speech became slurred. Despite her injuries, she returned to work in Sarajevo six months later, joking that she was going back to look for her missing teeth.

War is the ultimate drug.  Better than rugs like LCD and heroin that CNN photojournalist Margaret Moth partakes.  CNN camerawoman Margaret Moth made the wars in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Lebanon, and Operation Desert Storm in Iraq, real for North American television audiences. While her fellow journalists took cover, Moth ran towards danger, camera in hand, to get the shots. Colleagues including Christiane Amanpour attest to her bravery but it is Moth’s friends and lovers who reveal the self-destructive nature of the artist behind the lens. Innovative reconstructions of her near-lethal assignment in Sarajevo’s Sniper Alley, which turned Moth into headline news, are paired with unsettling interviews with witnesses to her daredevilry, forming the grit of this unconventional portrait. In her directorial debut, actor Lucy Lawless reveals the fearlessness of a fellow Kiwi woman  The document ends with Moth being diagnosed with colon cancer and dying in the arms of an old friend fellow CNN cameraman

at the age of 59.  The film’s ending minutes are spent concluding on the courage of the woman and the large impact her journalism had on stopping wars.

Director Lawless also goes personal, trying to understand the woman who faces danger and dismisses family life.  What is behind her anger?  Why is her background leading to this state?

If the name of the director Lucy Lawless sounds foamier, she is a famous New Zealand actress. She is best known for her roles as Xena in the television series Xena: Warrior Princess, as D'Anna Biers in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica series, and as Lucretia in the television series Spartacus: Blood and Sand and associated series. Since 2019, she has starred as Alexa in the television series My Life Is Murder. NEVER LOOK BACK is her directorial debut.

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THE SHADE (USA 2023) ***
Directed by Tyler Chipman

 

THE SHADE begins with a car driving into a graveyard.  A man and his son exit the car to enter the graveyard.  The man begins to set fire to a tombstone.  The boy witnesses the grave being set afire together with his father burnt to death. an indeed traumatic experience for the boy.  The film time cuts to the future where the boy, Ryan now a teen of 20, wakes up from the nightmare, suffering mental trauma and taking medication for it while seeing a therapist routinely.

A grieving young man struggles to protect his family from an unspeakable darkness.

Ryan Beckman (Chris Galust), a 20-year-old college student from a declining town in the northeast, struggles with a debilitating anxiety disorder following his father's death. His older brother, Jason, returns home unexpectedly while battling his own demons. Together with his younger brother James, Ryan struggles to break the destructive cycle threatening their family as ancient darkness closes in on them.

THE SHADE, directed by Tyler Chipman and co-written by the director and David Purdy covers several genres and can best be described as a drama, thriller, psychological thriller, and horror.  It runs a lengthy 2 hours, a bit long for a typical 90-minute horror feature, but the extra time allows the film both character and plot development.  The excellent blend of psychological horror and family relationship drama makes THE SHADE stand out as a compelling film.

The film spends its first hour introducing the family unit, with its problems and Ryan’s troubled relationship with his mother and his returning older brother Jason.  One night, he enters his brother’s room to confront him with the extra loud music blaring only to vaguely see a woman there before Jason punches on him.  More agony to the family arises when Jason is found dead in’s room.  Ryan tries to protect the youngest brother who seems to cope quite well.  At the same time, pressure mounts because of Ryan’s horrid low-paying pizza job.  His buddies include a motor-mouthed Latino, who provides some comic relief to an otherwise serious future and his girlfriend who seems supportive until Ryan becomes a bit too much to handle, explaining her disappearance from the story for a while.

The film rests on young actor Chris Galust who does a solid job as the troubled 20-year-old.  Tony Award winner Laura Benanti also deserves mentioned as Ryan’s troubled mother, who is at a loss for how to deal with her three sons.  Also of notice is the cinematography which is also excellent right from the beginning of the burning graveyard scene.  A lot of scenes take place in the night, allowing the d.p. to show off the talent.

THE SHADE is an impressive directorial debut that has won multiple accolades during film festivals.  Among the noted ones are:

WINNER Best Special Effects – Days of the Dead Film Festival

WINNER Best Directing – Days of the Dead Film Festival

WINNER Best First Time Filmmaker – Days of the Dead Film Festival

WINNER Jury Award Best Feature Film – Snowdance Independent Film Festival

THE SHADE is available Video On Demand on November 22nd.

Trailer: 

WICKED (entitled onscreen as WICKED PART 1) (USA 2024) ***½
Directed by John M. Chu

 

Wicked is one of the most successful Broadway musicals and the film adaptation was originally set for as way back as 2021.  Unforeseen circumstances like scheduling and the Pandemic resulted in delays and even a director change from Stephen Daldry (BILLY ELLIOT), but the end result is worth the wait.  Musical and theatre fans are in for a real treat with musical numbers combined with special effects, animation and romance.

WICKED is a 2024 American epic musical fantasy film directed by Jon M. Chu from a screenplay by Winnie Holzman and Dana Fox. It is the first of a two-part film adaptation of the stage musical of the same name by Stephen Schwartz and Holzman, which in turn was loosely based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire.  The film stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, with Brit actor Jonathan Bailey as Prince Charming, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage (voicing the donkey professor), Michelle Yeoh, (as Madame Morrible and Jeff Goldblum (as the Wizard of Oz) in supporting roles.  The eclectic cast gives the film political correctness with an African American Erivo, an Asdia Yang, a Malaysian Chinese Yeoh and even a Brit who plays Prince Charming.  The film is also too obvious in its message on minorities.  Here, the animals are the minorities that are caged and eventually lose their ability to speak.  There is also an invaliding wheelchair who is portrayed by an actress in the same boat.

WICKED is directed by Chinese American John M. Chu.  The films that he has directed often include musical elements, including the dance films STEP UP 2: THE STREETS (2008) and STEP UP 3D (2010), musicals JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS (2015) and IINTHE HEIGHTS (2021), and the live concert films Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (2011) and Justin Bieber's Believe (2013).  It is as if all these films prime Chu for the big budget $145 million over-the-top musical extravaganza.

WICKED is a musical extravaganza all the way,  The film is lengthy with a running time of 2 hours and 40 minutes, and this is only for part 1.  The phrase ‘to be continued’ appears proudly on the screen at the end of the movie,.  For Broadway, theatre and musical fans, I would give the film 4 stars and three stars for others, as the musical and choreographed numbers can be a bit too much, less overbearing.  For example, the first 10 minutes of the choreography do not add anything to the film but add to its production costs.

Because of the scope of the musical and the intent of including all the songs in the musical as well as the addition of new ones, the filmmakers have decided to split WICKED into two parts.  Though WICKED is just touted as WICKED, the opening credits say WICKED PART 1.  Part 2 arrives next year in November and is also directed by Chu.

WICKED opens in theatres on November 22nd.

Trailer; 

WITCHES (UK 2024) ***½

Directed by Elizabeth Sankey

 

The new British documentary from MUBI that took the London International Film Festival by storm is a compulsive eerie, creepy and understandably creepy piece of work for the reason that what transpires on screen seems so real and close to home.  The titles at the start of the film inform and insist that what is seen on the screen is based on true events with actual people.  The woman featured in the film is the film’s director herself, sharing her own horrid experiences.  WITCHES has so far received two nominations at the British Independent Film Awards 2024, for the Raindance Maverick Award and Best Feature Documentary.

The film is a profound exploration of the unexpected yet compelling connections between postpartum mental health and the history and portrayal of witches in Western society and popular culture.

Following on from her critically acclaimed feature ROMANTIC COMEDY, also released by MUBI in 2019, director Sankey now uses her trademark video essay style to turn the camera inward, focusing on her own experiences with postpartum anxiety and depression.

Using her own experience of being admitted to a psychiatric ward after the birth of her son, Sankey intertwines her personal narrative with historical and cinematic footage.  It is this woven cinematic footage that creates an eeriness and makes the film so compelling.  With the words spoken by the doc’s subjects, relevant footage from horror classics, the serious ones not the camp horror slasher flicks like Roman Polanski’s ROSEMARY’S BABY, George Miller’s THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK Robert Egger’s THE WITCH, Jane Campion’s ANGEL AT MY TABLE as well as oldies like Rene Clair’s I MARRIED A WITCH, all immediately recognizable because of the film’s famous faces. The film also features interviews with medical professionals, historians, and fellow sufferers, offering a multifaceted perspective on how women with mental health issues have been stigmatized and misunderstood over time while creating her own coven of women to reclaim their stories.

The doc at its most scary shows a mother and a baby isolated together.  Many mothers post-birth have fears of harming their babies.  Being alone with their babies is often the greatest fear these mothers may have.  On the other hand, for other mothers, the bond between mother and child is healing.  The doc shows that post-birth mental illness is not a rare disease and one that many have the fear of bringing out out into the open.

The scariest moments are the segments where past inmates talk about their mental anguish.  One cannot recognize herself in the mirror.   One has to lay out things like her spectacles and other items so that she knows how to proceed daily in life.  And in the institution, they are watched daily, anoint and day by the staff who look like witches.  The inmates are prisoners who are locked in with no way out.

WITCHES is arguably the scariest film of the year because it is a doc featuring interviewees who experience real horrors of potential mental psychosis and nonfiction is more real than fiction.

WITCHES had its world premiere at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival and its U.K. premiere at the London International Film Festival and is available exclusively on MUBI from November 22nd, 2024.

Trailer: 

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