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Written by: Gilbert Seah

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Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 27 December 2023

FILM REVIEWS:

ALL TO PLAY FOR (Rien A Pedre) (Nothing to Lose) (France/Belgium 2023) **

Directed by Delphine Deloge

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 For the complete review, please click on the link below to our sister French website.

https://toronto-franco.com/article/21-cinema-movies/396-film-review-rien-a-perdre-all-to-play-for

THE BEEKEEPER (USA 2023) ****

Directed by David Ayer

 

THE BEEKEEKER arrives at the beginning of the New Year making it the first action film of the year and likely one of the best of the year.  Credit goes to the superior performances from not only Jason Statham in the lead but from the supporting cast not including the likes of Jeremy Irons who steals the show as the part villain, who is nothing more than a big coward hiding behind status and great wardrobe.   Ultimately the success of the film is due to its director David Ayer, one of the best cop film directors in Hollywood.

David Ayer is an American filmmaker known for making crime films that are set in Los Angeles and deal with gangs and police corruption.  His screenplays include the monumental TRAINING DAY  (2001) and THAE FAST AND THE FURIOUS among others.  Ayer's screenplay of U-571 was based on his experiences as a submariner in the US Navy.  Ayer admitted that U-571 had distorted history, and said that he would not do it again.  This is a director with a conscience that many should respect and his new film THE BEEKEEPE\R and action film with more plot than usual (the script is written by Kurt Wimmer who wrote for films like TOTAL RECALL, POINT BREAK, and THE EXPEND4BLES among other hirs)shows it.

Mr. Adam Clay (Jason Statham) is a former operative of a clandestine organization called "Beekeepers".  After his friend and neighbour (Phylicia Rahad) dies by suicide after falling for a phishing scam, Mr. Clay sets out to exact revenge against the company responsible.  The neighbour’s daughter (Emmy Raver-Lampman) follows into, undecided whether Mr. Clay is on her side or the other side of the law.  

Wimmer’s script keeps the dialogue, especially regarding bees and the beekeeper smart and funny.  There are classic lines like: You mess with the beekeeper, you die” as well as metaphors of the hive system and the security of the United States.  Adma Clay is a beekeeper.  The beekeeper looks after the hive  The beekeeper does not stand down.  He does not fail until he dies.  In the case of bees as well as in this story if the Queen bee produces a bad offspring, the bad offspring might replace the Queen Bee.

The film contains lots of characters with conscience thus making Ayer, the scriptwriter for U-571 with a conscience the ideal director.  Adam Clay comes out of retirement hiding to take down the large phishing company targeted at the elderly to rob them of their savings.  Madame President of the United States (an excellent Jemma Redgrave) who got her presidency from these illegal funds decided to come clean for it is the right thing to do.  Clay offers the phishing company employees a chance to get out of the building before he blows it up.  The film questions the difference between law and justice.

The action sequences are immaculately staged with effective edits creating exciting fight sequences.  These coupled with an intelligent layered script and above-average performances make THE BEEKEEPER a pumped-up action feature that will keep audiences glued to their seats from start to finish.

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THE BOOK OF CLARENCE (USA/Italy 2023) ***

Directed by Jeymes Samuel

 

The new Sony Pictures THE BOOK OF CLARENCE is a milder less blasphemous form of MONTY PYTHON AND THE LIFE OF BRIAN, as it pays respect to the Christian faith, while not being too blasphemous as the Monty Python gang did in certain segments.  LIFE OF BRIAN is way much funnier and a classic in its own terms, while THE BOOK OF CLARENCE still manages to hold its own.

The film begins with a chariot-type race in which Clarence (LaKeith Stanfield) loses to Mary Magdalene.  As a result, he owes Jedidiah a whole lot of money.  That as well as struggling to find a better life, Clarence is captivated by the power of the rising Messiah, (a black Jesus played by Nicholas Pinnock) and soon risks everything to carve a path to a divine existence.

THE BOOK OF CLARENCE is split into three parts or books, BOOK 1,  2 and 3 under titles such as ‘The 13th Disciple” which is who Clarence will become, ’The New Messiah’ and ‘ The Crucifixion’.  The film works best in the first two, parts but the final and third part is marred by its intention to include a satisfying conclusion that includes the crucifixion of Christ.  That is the reason LIFE OF BRIAN is to be praised for an absolutely awesome ending of the crucifixion that included the classic song ‘Look at the Bright Side of Life’. 

The BOOK OF CLARENCE is a good concept that plays generally well.  The story contains lots of opportunities for comedy and plot twists.  Clarence comes up with a good saying involving the difference between knowledge and belief.  Clarence teaches: If there are two fighters, one of which says I believe I will win and the other who says that he knows he will win, who would be the winner?  It is the one who says he knows he will win as he possesses the knowledge.  However, in order to fulfill the need for the film to remain truthful to Christianity, the film fails in the last act (Book 3: The Crucifixion) when it tries to blend Christ’s Resurrection into the story.

The film will be appreciated more by Christians familiar with the Bible.  Those who are not familiar with the biblical miracles like Jesus walking on water and his Resurrection or the characters like John the Baptist and Pontius Pilate will miss out on most of the jokes.  Indeed, the segment of John the Baptist baptizing Clarence in the river is one of the film’s funniest moments.  The same can be said of MONTY PYHTON’S LIFE OF BRIAN.   Those who do not know the Beatitudes that Jesus preached on the Sermon on the Mount (i.e. Blessed are the peacemakers etc.) missed out on the funniest jokes.  The casting is impressive with many stars appearing in cameos.  James McAvoy plays Pontius Plate, David Owelowo plays John the Baptist, Alfre Woodard plays Mother Mary Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays  Clarence’s mother and Benedict Cumberbatch plays Benjamin.

THE BOOK OF CLARENCE ultimately surprises for the reason of marvelous casting, performances and the concept of modernizing a well-worn Biblical tale.

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DESTROY ALL NEIGHBOURS (USA 2023) ***

Directed by Josh Forbes

 

William Brown (Jonah Ray), a neurotic, self-absorbed and geeky musician determined to finish his prog-rock magnum opus, faces a creative roadblock in the form of a noisy and grotesque neighbour named Vlad (Alex Winter).  Regarding the opus, William says: - not everyone will get it, but the important ones will.”  Finally working up the nerve to demand that Vlad keep it down, William inadvertently decapitates him.  But, while attempting to cover up one murder, William's accidental reign of terror causes victims to pile up and become undead corpses (hence the film title DESTROY ALL NEIGHBOURS) who torment and create more bloody detours on his road to prog-rock Valhalla.

The film contains amusing neighbours like the elderly Eleanor who is always in need of something to fix.  During one visit to her place in which Will is ‘borrowed’, “Can I borrow you for a second?” Eleanor asks him.  Then 5 things later, Will has to try his best to leave Eleanor’s apartment.

The film contains a few comedian heavyweights.  Besides Alex Winter who starred with Keanu Reeves in BILL AND TED EXCELLENT ADVENTURE films, there is Thomas Lennon.  Thomas Patrick Lennon is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, director, and novelist. He plays Lieutenant Jim Dangle on the series Reno 911! Lennon is an accomplished screenwriter of several major studio comedies with writing partner Robert Ben Garant.  But it is Alex Winter who appears to be having the most fun in the film playing William’s psychotic new neighbour, Vlad.  Vlad is simply bonkers, he ends up dead by accident after instigating a fight with William in one of the funniest yet goriest scenes in the movie.  Winter sports a  mixed Scots and East European accent for the character of Vlad, not that authenticity is a major part of the story.  Actor Jonah Ray plays the typical straight man for Alex Winter’s crazy Vlad character.

All the characters in the film are either geeky like the main protagonist or annoying and loud like Eleanor, the homeless man, Auggie who keeps bugging William Brown for croissants and of course, his new neighbour played by Alex Winter.

In the story, William spends his entire life trying to write the perfect song (much to the consternation of his girl), something that has been described that not everyone will get, but only the right ones will.  The same can be said and applied to this odd film, which as odd as it gets, might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the right ones might get what the film is getting at.

DESTROY ALL NEIGHBOURS is described as a comedy horror, though it is more zany comedy than anything else.  The whole story makes little sense so best the throw both caution and logic to the wind.  The largely forgettable film is definitely good for a few laughs, with thankfully, many laugh-out-loud ones, though.

DESTROY ALL NEIGHBOURS is a Shudder original film and opens for streaming on the horror streaming service in January.

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FIREWORKS (Italy 2023) ***½

Directed by Giuseppe Fiorello

 

A sunbaked Sicilian town in the summer of 1982 provides the vivid backdrop to this tender romantic drama about two teenagers who fall in love, but much to the disapproval of those around them.

Gianni is a handsome but shy teen who works as a car mechanic at his stepfather’s garage but is mercilessly taunted by the macho townsmen for being a homosexual.  With his family life no better, Gianni withdraws into himself until one day he meets Nino, a curly-haired boy with an infectious smile.  As the two become close and fall in love, the moral rumblings from their families and neighbours begin to erupt.  With all against them, the boys decide to make a stand.

FIREWORKS   displays a certain charm from the way director Giuseppe Fiorello pays attention to details.  One example is Nino and his little brother Toto, who are always slapped around because he is the youngest around under the table.  “Let’s form a partnership. “ says Ninoto the bright-eyed Tito who agrees and asks after: “What is that?”   The small-town atmosphere of the Sicilian town is wonderfully captured in many scenes as in the hunting of hares in the countryside around the village and the little cafes in the village.

Director Fiorello appears to love the use of mirrors.  From the driver’s exterior mirror, as the driver drives off, one can see the reflection of the wife going into the house and coming to the door, in a meticulously shot scene.  Another has the face of Gianni seen in Nino’s moped mirror as he delivers to the bus to take a ride on the moped with Nino.

Every scene is meticulously calculated as can be seen in the way a character might light up a cigarette or the comments made by the characters.  Humour is dominant throughout and quite funny as well.  “You know what I said to the prettiest girl around?” Asks Nino’s brother.  “Which of your eyes is prettiest?” to which Nino asks what she says right when the father walks by with the remarking Italian “Fuck you!”

The sight of two young males finding love for the first time is so innocent and pure.  As they swim in the cold water of the river, underwater photography captures the slimness of the semi-nude bodies swimming.  Their first kiss occurs when Nino is giving Gianni mouth-to-mouth resuscitation after their mopeds clash.  The second kiss occurs when Italy scores a goal at the World Cup as seen on TV.  This one is so pure, so innocent, so beautiful and so forbidden,

There are many other charming scenes and simplicity that would arguably make FIREWORKS one of the most charming and delightful films of the year.  One is Gianni dancing with his mother to old Italian tunes while the village outside watches them through the window.

Cinephobia Releasing is releasing the Italian LGBTQ festival darling FIREWORKS from writer-director Giuseppe Fiorello.  Based on a real-life incident that jump-started the Italian Gay Rights movement in 1981, the emotional and beautifully realized FIREWORKS arrives on January 18, 2024 on DVD and VOD, digital platforms, including AppleTV, Amazon Prime, Google Play, VUDU, and others.

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FREUD’S LAST SESSION (UK 2023) ***

Directed by Matthew Brown

 

There are two good reasons to see the film.   Firstly, the film’s two main characters are played by two British heavyweights.  Double Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins (THE FATHER, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS) plays the ill-health morphine taking Freud while Emmy nominee Matthew Goode (THE CROWN) plays the celebrated Christian poet and author C.S. Lewis.  The other is their debate on the existence of God.  Both have valid reasons with arguments (such as how can one believe that there is a God when one sees the atrocities of the Nazis) that can hardly be faulted.  But who is right?  Or rather does God exist?  It is interesting to note that Lewis was an atheist turned Christian.

Among the topics of discussion, one of the more interesting ones is their debate on the book Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan.  Those with a British type education might have studied the text in school, and knowledge of the book makes the debate even more interesting.  The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come is a 1678 Christian allegory written by John Bunyan.  It is regarded as one of the most significant works of theological fiction in English literature and a progenitor of the narrative aspect of  Christian media.

The film’s setting, beautifully captured in the film is the September 3rd of 1939, the day England declared war against Germany.  Freud, his wife and his daughter Anna (Liv Lisa Fries) recently fled from Vienna and Hitler’s invading forces.  Now 83, Freud is suffering from jaw
cancer, lacing his whisky with morphine and eyeing the pill that he will soon take to end his life. 

The film contains a few subplots to fill the film’s running time.  One is Freud’s complex relationship with his daughter, Anna (Liv Lisa Fries), whose fixation on her father has been called an “attachment disorder” by her supervisor at work, and Lewis’s romantic involvement with the mother (Orla Brady) of his friend who died in WWI.  Another subplot that also ties into the question of homosexuality, which was forbidden during the times, is the lesbian relationship between Anna and her longtime lesbian partner Dorothy Burlingham.  The Lord of the Rings author J.J.R. Tolkien (Stephen Campbell Moore), an Oxford colleague who influenced Lewis’s conversion also appears in the story.

It is pointed out in the closing credits that the last session, or last meeting between Freud and Lewis could or could not have occurred,  Freud did have a visitor from Oxford who came by train just as Lewis did in the film, but it was not ascertained who that visitor from Oxford was.  And if it is Lewis, then did they debate on the existence of God or on some other subject?  But if they did, and the film’s fictitious concoction is true, it must have been one hell of an interesting debate.  The debate, though wordy and quite stage bound is the film’s best part and the film falters when the subplots are brought in, as well as the quite clumsy flashbacks of Freud in Austria before his move to Britain.

The film is directed by Matthew Brown (THE MAN WHO KNEW INFINITY).  The script is by Mark St. Germain and Brown, adapted from Germain’s acclaimed stage play, and suggested by “The Question of God” seminar that Dr. Armond M. Nicholi, Jr. gave at Harvard.

FREUD’S LAST SESSION opens on January 12 in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal!  The film opens on January 19 in Ottawa and throughout the winter in other cities.

Trailer: 

LIFT (USA 2023) ***

Directed by F. Gary Gray

 

The film begins in a posh auction in Venice e where master criminal, CYRUS (Kevin Hart) is about to steal an expensive art item at an auction.  He will not be able to LIFT this one, says a detective watching the auction proceedings recorded live on camera.  There is nothing to lift, as it is all digital.”  Predictably the piece designed by an artist who has never shown his face N8 (Jacob Batalon) is stolen.

The story follows a master thief, his ex and his expert crew who all team up to steal $100 million in gold bullion being transported on a 777 passenger flight.

One difference in this heist film is that the audience is torn between taking either the side of the cops or the criminals.  Director Gary and the script by Daniel Kinka spend equal emphasis on Cyrus, the heist leader and the cop chasing him, called Abby aka Agent Gladwell (played by British black actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw) who provides some finesse in the film by speaking fluent Italian.  It is also good to easy Kevin Hart playing more sophisticated than dumb ass comedy,

F. Gary Gray, the black American director of previous hosts like THE FAST AND FURIOUS 8, MEN IN BLACK: INTERNATIONAL, THE ITALIAN JOB and the drama STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON returns with again a stylish production - this time a heist movie with comedian Kevin Hart.  Set in posh and wealthy cities like London and Venice, Gray gives his film a polished and international look, appropriate for Netflix, which financed this Netlfilx origin al; movie opening this weekend on the world’s most popular and successful streaming service.

LIFT has the feel of THE ITALIAN JOB (not the Michael Caine) one, not only because it is partly shot in Italy but both films are directed by Gary and are heist films.  Fun, entertaining to watch but essentially forgetful fare, LIFT succeeds as an undemanding and guilty thriller.

Trailer: 

MEAN GIRLS (USA 2024) ****

Directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr.

 

Pink is the word.

MEAN GIRLS is a 2024 American musical teen comedy film directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. in their feature film directorial debut, from a screenplay by Tina Fey. It is based on the Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was based on Mark Waters's 2004  cult successful comedy film, both written by Tina Fey and based on Rosalind Wiseman's 2002 book Queen Bees and Wannabes.  It features an ensemble cast that includes Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Auliʻi Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, Avantika, Bebe Wood, Christopher Briney, Jenna Fischer and Busy Philipps, while Fey and Tim Meadows reprise their roles from the original film.  The film also contains welcome and entertaining cameos from (which got cheers from the preview screening I attended) Lindsay Lohan who had played Lady in the original film, Tina Fey and Jon Hamm,

The 2024 MEAN GIRLS makes significant changes to both the original 2004 version as well as the musical version and for the better.  To make the story's musical form translate to the screen, changes were made to shorten the runtime compared to the stage show's two-and-a-half-hour length and to improve on certain plot elements, such as shortening the length of some of the musical numbers. Like the stage show, this film takes place during the social media age, with the incorporation of social media and mobile technology into the plot, compared to the 2000s setting of the 2004 film   The incorporation of multiple split screens showing multiple reactions for example to Regina’s social media is extremely well put together while also getting the message across.  This is the stuff done right, and with effectiveness.

MEAN GIRLS 2024 still maintains itself as a musical with some catchy tunes.  Fourteen songs were cut for the film, including "Where Do You Belong?", "Fearless", "Stop", "Whose House Is This?", "More Is Better", and "Do This Thing", along with the reprise of "What's Wrong With Me?". A new song, "What Ifs", was written to replace "It Roars", the introductory song for Cady in the stage version

While the first MEAN GITRLS was largely shot in Toronto the latest version was shot in New Jersey.

MEAN GIRLS was made on a modest budget of $38 million with minimal special effects but with excellent choreographed musical numbers.

By inevitable comparison with BARBIE, MEAN GIRLS 2024 is what BARBIE should have been - a teenage or pre-teen movie starring a younger cast and written by those who now comfy like an SNL cast and not by drama heavyweights like Greta Gerwig and her husband Noah Bambaugh who are better known for their relationship dramas.  Box-office success aside, BARBIE is a complete dud, boring after the first 15 minutes trying too hard to make a message while MEAN GIRLS is totally fun entertainment, hilarious, and edgy with performances that suit the story.

MEAN GIELS premiered in New York City on January 8, 2024.  It is set to be released by Paramount Pictures in theatres on January 12, 2024.

Trailer: 

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 25 December 2023

TOP 10 Films 2023

 

1. THE ANATOMY OF A FALL (France 2023) Directed by Justin Triet

Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, this courtroom drama is more about taking control of one’s life than anything else.  Engrossing from start to finish, writer/director Triet has created a commercially watchable masterpiece 

2. THE ZONE OF INTEREST  (UK/USA/Poland 2023)  Directed by Jonathan Glazer

The top film on many critics’ list is an art film on the banality of evil.  A Nazi Officer and his wife, live in a luxurious residence, filled with servants with a fully stocked garden and pool to boot, just next door walled away from a concentration camp.  So mesmerizing and shocking is this groundbreaking film that it will blow one’s mind away.

 

3. THE KILLERS OF A FLOWER MOON (USA 2023) Directed by Martin Scorsese

Scorsese in top form with his regulars De Niro and DiCaprio playing heavily stealing land from the indigenous Osage tribe.  Epic and elaborate in scope and ambition,

 

4. ALL OF US STRANGERS (UK 2023) Directed by Andrew Haigh

Romantic fantasy about coming out, finding oneself and coming to terms with reality in this erotic tale that is wonderfully performed by a top-notch cast,

 

5. The Promised Land

The film is an excellent period epic full of spectacle, especially of the barren and almost impossible-to-be-tilled heath of Jutland.  Actor Mikkelsen is nothing short of superb in this role, carrying the film steadily with his serious-looking face, unable to give up his ambition.

6. The Beasts

 

THE BEASTS is a grueling edge-of-the-seat thriller with things escalating from bad to worse to unbearable for the poor French couple trying to settle in a foreign land.  Director Sorogoyen stages intense confrontation set pieces with rising tensions and danger.  The situation's intensity is meticulously built up to a climax that will knock the audience off their seats.

7. OPPENHEIMER (USA 2023) Directed by Christopher Nolan

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unforgettable horror movie that will leave one silent and gasping in horror at the devastation of humans by the atomic bomb.  Director Nolan in top form making a historical epic for a change and succeeding immensely.

8. BLACKBERRY (Canada 2023) Directed by Matt Johnson

Canada makes it to the top 10 with director Johnson’s immensely entertaining tale of the rise and fall of the blackberry company,

 

9. THE QUIET GIRL (Ireland 2022)   Directed by Colm Bairéad

THE QUIET GIRL is a quiet, simple story that drives the fact that the simplest tale can create the greatest emotional impact.  The film is both a coming-of-age story of a 9-year old girl, who while still wetting herself occasionally in bed, discovers love and kindness in a temporary family for the first time.  And the effects are incredibly moving.  THE QUIET GIRLwas filmed mostly in Gallic, with subtitles

 

10. Nimona

 

NIMONA is an animated epic tale about finding friendship in the most surprising situations and accepting yourself and others for who they are.  

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 07 December 2023

FILM REVIEWS:

CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET (UK 2023) ****

Directed by Sam Fell

 

At the start of the new CHICKEN RUN film from the British Aardman Animation, the father rooster tells the unborn chick i.e. the egg the history of the chicken farm he and his missus, Ginger lived in.  It was back when in the countryside of Yorkshire, a flock of chickens lived on an egg farm structured like a prisoner-of-war camp.  The farm is run by the cruel Mrs. Tweedy and her submissive husband, Mr Tweedy, who would kill and eat any chicken that is no longer able to lay eggs.  Led by the rebellious Ginger, the chickens constantly devise new ways to try to escape but are always caught. Mr Tweedy suspects the chickens are organized and plotting resistance, but his wife dismisses his theories while being frustrated with making minuscule profits.  But the chickens finally escape while the newspapers scream: Fowl Play.  If the story sounds familiar, it is the story of the first CHICKEN RUN film, a box-office success made back in 2000.  Now 23 years later, the long-awaited sequel has finally hatched.  And it gets quite a many clucks!

After successfully escaping from Tweedys' farm in a daring and risky manner, Ginger has discovered her ideal place – an idyllic island bird sanctuary where the entire flock can live in harmony, without any risks from humans. With the arrival of her(Thandiwe Newton) and Rocky's (Zachary Levi), new daughter, Molly (Bella Ramsey), it appears that Ginger's fairytale ending has finally come true. However, the entire chicken population is now confronted with a menacing new danger on the mainland led by a familiar foe. Determined to safeguard their freedom, even if it means endangering it, Ginger and her team are determined to break in the new building.

The story involves inquisitive Molly who wants to leave paradise and see the world.  She escapes in the dark of night and follows a chicken farm truck to the factory where they slaughter chickens to make chicken nuggets and other chicken products.  Of course, hot on the heels are Ginger and Rocky,

You don’t say you are chicken for nothing.  A funny scene has a group of chickens in a delicate situation.  “Don’t panic!” cries one of them.  “Whatever you do, don’t panic!”  I don’t feel like panicking,” says one. There are also plenty of puns like ‘fowl play” and ‘loose shell” when a runaway egg is on the loose.

Where are the humans in all this?  They are a stupid lot, says one chicken.  They clean and tidy out cages every day - a complete waste of time.  And the humans are easily fooled when the chickens break into the chicken farm to rescue Molly,

The chickens and humans are voiced by a well-known and talented British cast, including Miranda Richardson as Mrs. Tweedy, Imelda Staunton as Bunty, and other heavyweights like Daniel Mays, Jane Horrocks, Thandiwe Newton and Zachary Levi.

CHICKEN RUN: DAWN OF THE NUGGET is the perfect Christmas film - silly, smart, very British and mostly free (if one has Netflix, of course) as it is streaming on Netflix beginning December 15th.

 

 Trailer:

JACOB THE BAKER (USA 2023) **

Directed by Rev Miron

 

To the reporter (Darra Emery) featured int he film, her journalism job/interview is not only a career but a calling.  She pleads to her boss to give her an assignment that matters.  Maybe in this movie, she gets one.  As expected her new assignment would be one that would open her eyes to something she saw would never expect.  This is the movie of JACOB THE BAKER.

Based on the international bestselling book series, Jacob the Baker follows this young reporter assigned to interview a world-renowned poet, philosopher, author, and theologian, Noah benShea (he plays himself). The reporter soon discovers how Noah and his fictional character Jacob provide help and hope to countless people around the world. As the interview unfolds, an intimate revelation occurs, exposing the reporter's own hidden struggles.

What could not better than watching a film with the theme of an uplifting spirit during the festive season where goodwill and hope are the human traits are touted?

Why would anyone seek help from a fictional character?  Intercut during the interview, is a tapestry of interconnected human experiences, witnessing characters from all walks of life - the people that were written to Noah via his play character Jason the Baker: a single mother in Milan, a struggling addict in Israel, a woman losing faith in Denmark, a turmoiled marriage in Korea, all seeking wisdom and guidance from Jacob.  These sequences are filmed in different languages from Norwegian to Korean.  The director aims to take the audience through an emotional and introspective journey, where the power of hope and resilience is portrayed through the lens of diverse characters. The aim is the navigation through the realms of spirituality, self-discovery, and interconnectedness, offering an inspirational cinematic experience that resonates long after the credits roll.

However, the film is too condescending throughout.  Take the segment about the two-watch metaphor. When one runs down, the other watch is issued to reset the first.  And again when one watch stops.  For human beings, the audience is told as Noah preaches on stage, they would need to reset the person net to you. As he preaches, the film cuts to two men, one blind aiding another as somber and uplifting music plays on the soundtrack,  One knows it is getting too much when the setting is the sunset when the sun is coming down.

Despite the filmmaker's good intentions, the film tries too hard and has little confidence in the power of its content.  The audience is often played down, preached to, and treated as needy

Noah has a lot of ideas while preaching what heckles his religion which is non-denominational but what he calls the religion of kindness.   He also talks about vulnerability as not being a human weakness.  It is the shared brotherhood and sisterhood.  One problem is that his character during the interview comes across as pompous, opinionated, proud, and over-confident - hardly the traits of a kind preacher.

The film is available on VOD and Digital on December 15th, 2023.

Trailer: 

POOR THINGS (Ireland/UK/USA 2023) ****

Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos

 

The film POOR THINGS is based on Poor Things: Episodes from the Early Life of Archibald McCandless M.D., Scottish Public Health Officer, a novel by Scottish writer Alasdair Gray, published in 1992.  It won the Whitbread Award and the Guardian Fiction Prize the same year.   The main body of the work centres on Bella Baxter (Emma Stone, working with director Lanthimos again after their successful THE FAVOURITE), a woman whose early life and identity are the subject of some ambiguity.  That ambiguity is complicated by her husband Archibald McCandless's autobiography, "Episodes from the Early Life of a Scottish Public Health Officer," which distorts the truth about his life with Bella. He claims that she was a corpse, resurrected by McCandless's colleague, the scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (a tattered-faced Willem Defoe), who had her brain swapped with that of her unborn fetus, resulting in her having an infant's mind. While designed to be Baxter's companion, her sexual appetite causes her to pursue other men, including McCandless and a foppish lawyer named Duncan Wedderburn (Mark Ruffalo), with whom she elopes and embarks on a hedonistic odyssey around Europe, Northern Africa, and Central Asia.  The film with an adapted script by Tom McNamara benefits from a simplified story from the novel.  The husband Archibald is done away with and the travels are confined to Europe.

The simplified synopsis: The young woman, Bella, is brought back to life by her guardian, the scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter.  Initially naïve (which Layhimos makes look mentally challenged), Bella is eager to learn about the world around her, albeit under Baxter's protection.  Wanting to see more, she runs off with Duncan Wedderburn, a slick and debauched lawyer, and travels across continents.  Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella demands equality and liberation  Emma encounters many other men of different shapes, sizes and ages. driving Duncan crazy ninth process.

Though set in the Victorian period, the film the gorgeous sets create a fantasy-looking atmosphere similar to the classic film BRAZIL (based on George Orwell’s futuristic novel).

POOR THINGS is Lanthimos at his most extreme, he is given more freedom to make the films he wants owing to his string of box-office artistic hits.  The result is as odd and weird a film can be - and that comes across as a good thing since Lanthimos has continually fascinated audiences with films like THE LOBSTER and my personal favourite THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER.  There are bits from his other films that make their mark in POOR THINGS.  His creativity using animals is also present.  One can observe animal freaks such as a chicken head on a rabbit’s body or a goose-like dog, among other concoctions.  The story also follows Bellas as she comes of age from a woman with a child’s brain to a sex-starved mature woman.  The sexual scenes, disturbing as they are, involving quite a many older and uglier males, come across as more intriguing than disgusting.  Lanthimos's humour is also present throughout, the kind similar to THE FAVOURITE,

POOR THNINS can be considered almost the perfect vehicle for Lanthimos, the director also meeting the author of the book who’s just seen his first film DOGTOOTH. The author has recently passed and the film.  POOR THINGS opens in theatres on December 15th.

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WONKA (USA 2023) ****

Directed by Paul King

 

For Christmas arrives the best Christmas movie for the season - one catering for both children and adults - WONKA.  WONKA is a 2023 musical fantasy film directed by Paul King, who co-wrote the screenplay with Simon Farnaby, based on a story by King.  It tells the origin story of Willy Wonka, a character in the 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl, which was also made into the 1971 classic film, featuring his early days as an eccentric chocolatier

WONKA will inevitably be compared to the original Roald Dahl written by Gene Winder starring and Mel Stray directed 1971 classic WILLY WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY.  Though WONKA is not half bad, the former has elements that cannot be compared to the former - thanks to the wild inventive imagination of Dahl and the big blue eyes of actor Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka.  The awful kids from the spoilt English girl to the greedy German boy to the gleaming eyes of Wonka as he announces surprise after every corner in the factory, the former is pure delight.  The best moments in the original are the Oompa Loompas, the chocolate factory’s workforce of little men.  This is not to mention the catchy songs by Anthony Newley, one of which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.  A few of these delights are found in WONKA.  There are also catchy songs sung by Timothée Chalamet

The film is not a remake unlike the Johnny Depp version but thankfully and successfully serves as an origin story for Wonka.  Chalamet plays Wonka perfectly with tails and top hat with an impressive supporting cast that includes Olivia Colman, Jim Carter, Sally Hawkins, Rowan Atkinson and Hugh Grant.

WONKA also contains a few catchy songs.  Most musicals these days do not have any, think MARY POPPINS RETURNS, THE COLOUR PURPLE, RENT, HAMILTON, just to name a few.  What’s wrong with these songwriters?  It seems impossible to write a catchy song anymore.  The original songs for WONKA were contributed by Neil Hannon, while its original score was provided by Joby Talbot, with the most catchy one sung by Chalamet, “Come with Me” (actually from the original film sung by Wilder) at the end.

As for the cast, Hugh Grant steals the show playing the dwarf Oompa-Loompa.  Grant is extremely funny with his little moments which are hysterical as well.  There in only one Oompa-Loompa in the film but at least Grant nails it.  Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins adds sentiment as Wonka’s late mother, giving her son a bar of chocolate with a secret.

The film never reveals the setting of the story.  But filming took place in historic Lyme Regis and Bath and at Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden in Watford.  Filming also occurred at the Rivoli Ballroom in Brockley, London.   At the start of the film, Wonka is seen aboard a ship sailing for a port, and he has 11 sovereigns, which was the currency of London at the time.

WONKA succeeds in keeping the delightful spirit of the original WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY alive with colourful characters, and catchy songs in a humorous fairy tale adventure setting.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 04 December 2023

Aitamaako’tamisskapi Natosi: Before The Sun (Canada 2023) ***

Directed by Banchi Hanuse

 

Aitamaako’tamisskapi Natosi: Before The Sun is an intimate and thrilling portrait of a young Siksika woman, named Logan and the deep bonds between her father and her family, as she prepares for one of the most dangerous horse races in the world, the Indian Relay.  The documentary follows Logan Red Crow on the golden plains of Blackfoot Territory, as she trains for a relay race that will propel the determined and skilled young woman into the male-dominated Indian Relay Racing world, where riders vault bareback from horse to horse. As she pushes towards her goal, the connections between animal and human, family and community, ancestral tradition and contemporary life are profound and lasting.

Director Hans reveals the stunning landscape of Blackfoot Territory, the open lands and the rivers, many from aerial shots.  One can understand the father’s love for the land and his ambition to, as he says in the film, be his own boss and rear horses and cattle.  Everyone had horses in the day, he tells the audience in the film.  Logan, his daughter is the most hardworking of all his workers.

The film covers several key issues including the daughter and father relationship, horse racing, coming-of-age, sickness as in dementia, indigenous education and land and horse, horses and horses.

Aitamaako’tamisskapi Natosi: Before The Sun is an earnest no-nonsense decent Canadian documentary premiering on Paramount+ on December 22nd.  It is a Telus original documentary.

The film, which had its world premiere at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival and won the prestigious Big Sky Award has been on a successful film festival run at some of the top film festivals in the world including Hot Docs. Aitamaako’tamisskapi Natosi: Before the Sun was shot on location in beautiful Siksika Nation, Tsuut’ina, Îyâxe Nakoda, Blackfoot Territory, Enoch Cree Nation ᒪᐢᑫᑯᓯᐦᐠ Maskêkosihk, Casper, Wyoming.

The multi-award-winning film will be available to audiences across Canada on December 22nd on Paramount+ and available free on demand on TELUS Optik TV (channel 8). Produced by BC-based Taxam Films, this compelling documentary has earned numerous accolades globally and had sold-out premieres at Hot Docs and the Vancouver International Film Festival. It also won the Audience Choice Award at the 2023 Calgary International Film Festival.

An easy watch at only 90 minutes, this indigenous Canadian documentary is also informative on the history of our land.

ANSELM (Germany 2023) ***½

Directed by Wim Wenders

 

ANSELM is shot in 3D as in Wim Wenders’ other documentary PINA.  German director tackles the works of German artist/sculptor Anselm Keifer with little compromise making the doc a likely difficult watch for those uninterested in art or the artist.  On the other hand, Wender’s film is meticulous and mesmerizing work and a pleasure for those in the field.  Dialogue and voiceover are used at a minimum.

Spanning 50 years, the film features Wenders’ young great-nephew Anton Wenders and Kiefer’s adult son Daniel Kiefer playing the artist in his earlier days, with the now 78-year-old Kiefer as himself.  

 The audience is at first introduced to the enormity of Anselm’s works.  The film opens as the camera glides around Kiefer’s plaster wedding dresses with “heads” of twigs, bricks, steel, and lead – various materials he is famous for using.  Wenders also reveals the innovative methods he employs to create paintings, whether he’s applying thick paint, torching straw to create ashes, or pouring molten lead onto his canvases.  Many paintings are enormous, requiring hydraulic-powered elevating platforms so he can work on them.   Anselm uses a bicycle to move around his works as they are stored in a high building.  The comparison of his person and his works shows the huge size of his works.

This is not 3D as in commercial films where objects are flung off the screen at the audience but a more subtle and effective 3D where the audiences can observe the depth and texture of the artist’s work.  The doc, obviously looks stunning, even more so because 3D has been absent in use in films recently.

Anselm Kiefer is a German painter and sculptor.  He studied with two other well-known German artists, Peter Dreher and Horst Antes at the end of the 1960s.  His works incorporate materials such as straw, ash, clay, lead, and shellac, and his works-in-progress are shown by director Wenders on the screen.  This is arguably the film’s most fascinating segment.  The poems of Paul Celan have played a role in developing Kiefer's themes of German history and the horrors of the Holocaust, as have the spiritual concepts of Kabbalah.  Kiefer reached international fame in the 1980s via his retrospectives held in Chicago and New York, with critics proclaiming “America has a new superstar.” 

It should be noted that this is a film on ANSELM’s work and not a biography, though this is some mention of his influence and past.  Anselm is also one of the wealthiest artists of his time, a fact that is not mentioned in the documentary.

According to the press notes, ANSELM  took a good two years to shoot.  Among the locations is Barjac, a 200-acre site in the south of France that, without the help of architects or engineers, Kiefer turned into one the world’s most jaw-dropping works of art, with underground tunnels and crypts that connect to numerous installations.

The documentary debuted in Special Screenings at Cannes 2023 and opens in theatres on December 22nd.

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ANYONE BUT YOU (USA 2023) ***

Directed by Will Gluck

 

ANYONE BUT YOU is the new American romantic comedy film starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell.  It is directed by Will Gluck, from a screenplay he co-wrote with Ilana Wolpert, based loosely on Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare.  There are many references to William Shakespeare in the movie from signboards and other headings.

Two people who despise one another cannot seem to get away from the other while they vacation in Sydney for a wedding.

The film starts pretty badly with the meeting of Ben and Bea at a coffee shop following a bed romp the same night of the meeting.  A misunderstanding causes them to hate each other, but both are coincidentally invited to an Australian wedding in Sydney.  Bee has a sister to the bride while Ben’s best friend’s sister is the other bride.  In Sydney, the wedding couple believes that Ben and Bea would spoil the wedding for them.  The story requires Ben and Bea to pretend to be the perfect couple for the duration of the wedding - and they rekindle the fireworks of the first night of their meeting.  Of course, like Harlequin novels, there is a terrible misunderstanding and a cliched rush to the airport to make up and thus prevent the other from leaving the city.  Audiences have seen this kind of story time and again, but the film contains enough distractions and a certain charm that lets the movie get away with murder.

The film’s supporting cast is nothing short of excellent.  Being filmed in Sydney, it is no surprise to see Aussie heavyweight Bryan Brown, who champions Australian film playing the father of one of the brides.  Brown seldom plays comedy but succeeds well here.  Dermot Mulroney, also seen in the rom-com MY BEST FRIEND’S WEDDING plays the other bride’s father.   But the prize and most hilarious performance deserving of a prize belongs to Joe Davidson who plays the goofy Australian surfer, dumb boyfriend, Beau, aka Crocodile Beau.  He brings out a laugh-out moment (from me) of everything he shows up in a scene.  This guy, who so far has appeared mainly in TV series should be given bigger roles.

At its best, ANYONE BUT YOU reminds one of the romantic comedies made with Doris Day and Rock Hudson, a sort of almost perfect pairing of actors that play characters that both despise each other before falling in love.  This silly premise would work anytime given a few different scenarios and different characters.  ANYONE BUT YOU succeeds in this respect.

Don’t expect anything too much in terms of message or insight,  As a silly romantic comedy, ANYONE BUT YOU provides sufficient entertainment while updating the Shakespearean play to the modern world, complete with a fully accepted gay lesbian wedding that would make the Bard turn in his grave.  Bud judging from the 97% Rotten Tomatoes rating at the time of writing this review, ANYONE BUT YOU looks like a hit. 

ANYONE BUT YOU is the only rom-com Christmas movie and opens December 22nd.

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AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM (USA 2023) *

Directed by James Wan

 

AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM is the sequel to the equally awful AQUAMAN that takes place several years after Aquaman (Jason Samoa, looking equally untidy and unkempt with his uncut hair) becomes the King of Atlantis.  Arthur Curry has married Mera (Amber Heard aka Johnny Depp’s ex-wife) and has a son, Arthur Jr., while splitting his life between land and sea.  Meanwhile, David Kane (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) continues to seek revenge against Arthur for his father's death, working with marine biologist Stephen Shin (Randall Park) to find Atlantean artifacts. He finds a black trident that possesses him, its creator promising to give him the power to destroy Arthur.  David Kane aka Black Manta is a ruthless pirate and high-seas mercenary who uses an Atlantean armoured suit and wields the powerful Black Trident, seeking to kill Arthur and his family as revenge for the death of his father

Five months later, David attacks Atlantis and breaks into its orichalcum reserves to power Shin's Atlantean machines. Arthur learns that this usage of orichalcum, which emits high quantities of greenhouse gases (the film’s attempt to put some climate change message into the story), has not only raised planetary temperatures and caused extreme weather and ocean acidification but nearly caused a planetary extinction when used by an ancient Atlantean kingdom. To learn where David is hiding, Arthur breaks his half-brother Orm (Patrick Wilson) out of prison. The two meet with the crime lord Kingfish, who provides information leading to a volcanic island in the South Pacific.

There is nothing innovative or new in this movie.  Sadly, the highlight of the film is Patrick Wilson as Orm eating a live cockroach not once but twice in the film, the second during the closing credits.  But wait, Dustin Hoffman had already seen eating a live cockroach in the prison movie in Franklin J. Schaffner’s 1973 PAPILLION.

It is time to put AQUAMAN to rest.  Jason Mamoa was reported in the local press saying that the Studio heads are not hoping to make another sequel after this one, but Momoa hopes the audience for the film will prove otherwise.  Judging from the film and the audience’s reactions so far, it looks like Aquaman will be as lost as the city of Atlantis.

Director James Wan disappoints with lazy direction and an equally lazy script that somehow manages to touch all the cliches found in an action film.  Despite the 3D and special underwater effects - It is a complete bore!  I have to confess that as much as I tried to stay awake during the film, I dozed off several times.  I thought being a critic and not part of the general public, I was the only one, but I overheard the guy sitting next to me saying to his friend on the other seat:” I saw you fell asleep behind the 3D glasses and I did not want to wake you.”

AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM opens in theatres on December 22nd.

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THE BOYS IN THE BOAT (USA 2023) ***

Directed by George Clooney

 

THE BOYS IN THE BOAT is a 2023 American biographical period sports drama film co-produced and directed by George Clooney from a screenplay by Mark L. Smith, based on the 2013 book of the same name by Daniel James Brown.

THE BOYS IN THE BOAT is about the University of Washington eight-oared rowing crew that represented the United States in rowing at the 1936 Summer Olympics – Men's Eight in Berlin and narrowly beat out Italy and Germany to win the gold medal.  The main character is Joe Rantz (Callum Turner). Rantz had a tough time growing up and was abandoned by his family for several years to fend for himself.  The film also opens a fair amount of emphasis on the coach (Joey Edgerton), the man who fought to get the team to win and to participate in the Berlin Olympics despite all odds and prejudices against the underprivileged, 

All nine members of the Washington team came from lower-middle-class families and had to struggle to earn their way through school during the depths of the Depression.   Joe is shown living much like a hobo with holes in the soles of his shoes.  Along with the chronicle of their victories and defeats in domestic competition, the audience learns the importance of the synchronization of the eight rowers as they respond to the commands of the coxswain and his communications with the stroke, consistent pacing, and sprint to the finish.  Joe is thrown out of the team at one point humility taught him a lesson that allowed him back into the team.

In the book, there is the second backstory of Hitler decreeing construction of the spectacular German venues at which the Games would take place.  Along the way, the book also describes how the Nazis successfully covered up the evidence of their harsh and inhumane treatment of the Jews and other minorities to win worldwide applause for the Games, during the United States Olympic Committee, among others.   This backstory is largely pitted in the film.  For one, the inclusion of this story would distract and undermine the feel-good spirit of the film.  Perhaps there could be another film dealing with this story.  In THE BOYS IN THE BOAT, director Clooney includes brief glimpses of Hitler, mainly comical, attending the regatta, one that includes him exiting in disgust after the Americans won the race.

The cast is made up of a combination British and American actors, Joe Dantz, the American played by a Brit.  To give him credit, Callum Turner is quite good as is Edgerton as the coach, highly serious most of the time.

The regatta races are executed with sufficient excitement with the usual expert edits that should have the audience cheering in the aisles.

THE BOYS IN THE BOAT succeeds at being a feel-good sports drama, hitting all the right buttons, though many of these buttons have been hit before.  The filmmakers have taken many of what they now call ‘artistic liberties’ with the story to dramatize the story. 

THE BOYS IN THE BOAT had its world premiere in Los Angeles on December 11, 2023, and is scheduled to be released by Amazon MGM Studios in the United States on December 25, 2023. The film opens on Christmas Day in theatres across North America.

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THE COLOR PURPLE (USA 2023) ***

Directed by Blitz Bazawule 

 

THE COLOR PURPLE - the film's musical version based on the Alice Walker Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and the 1985 Steven Spielberg film is hardly a Christmas film for the reason of its dark themes of rape and racism, though the wickedness of man, not only the white but the black man is somewhat softened by the music numbers.

The 2023 American musical coming-of-age period drama film directed by Blitz Bazawule from a screenplay by Marcus Gardley, is based on the stage musical of the same name, which in turn is based on the 1982 novel of the same name by Alice Walker.  It is the second film adaptation of the novel, following the 1985 film directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Spielberg and Quincy Jones. Spielberg and Jones return as producers for the 2023 film along with the stage musical's producers Scott Sanders and Oprah Winfrey, the latter of whom also starred in the 1985 film

Celie (Fantasia Barrino as the adult Celie Harris-Johnson and Phylicia Pearl Mpasi as young Celie), a poor African-American girl, lives in rural Georgia in the early 1900s. She writes letters to God because her father Alphonso beats and rapes her. Due to the rape, she has two children, Olivia and Adam, whom Alphonso takes away. A farmer identified as "Mister" )Colman Domingo) asks to marry her younger sister Nettie, but Alphonso offers him Celie instead. Mister abuses Celie physically, sexually, and verbally, and his prior children mistreat her as well. Nettie (Halle Bailey)runs away and stays with Celie, but Mister eventually makes her leave. Nettie promises to write but never does, and Celie concludes that she is dead.  The story goes on to include the reunion between Nettie and Cleo (the reunion scene being a bit overdone).  As the story progresses, so does Celie’s character as she learns to survive and not succumb to life’s bad dishes at her.

The film contains excellent performances from the three female leads, Fantasia Barrino as Celie (the part originally played by Whoopi Goldberg); Taraji P Henson as the singing star Shug Avery (Margaret Avery in 1985) and Danielle Brooks in the role of Sofia (in which Oprah Winfrey once made her film debut).  The question is how far these three will go after the film’s debut.

The question is whether one needs a musical version of the book - be it on Broadway or in another film.  Though not perfect and with rough edges, Spielberg’s one still makes an impression after more than 25 years.  Who can forget the scene in which Whoopi Goldberg (in her most dramatic role?)  She was placing a saving blade beneath the head and on the neck of the man she so despises.  This new version also incorporated this unforgettable scene that sends shivers down one’s spine.   Goldberg has a welcome cameo as a black midwife delivering a baby.

The power of Alice Walker’s novel cannot be denied and this musical version still reveals the story of Walker’s book.  The cruelty by the Blacks is revealed to be just as bad as the white racism present throughout the story.  This is what makes this 2023 version still entertaining, though less from its musical numbers, though executed with sufficient aplomb.

THE COLOR PURPLE opens Christmas day in theatres.

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FERRARI (USA 2023) ****

Directed by Michael Mann

 

Many names in the film’s credits should attract audiences to watch this sports drama this Christmas.  One is the strength of the star Adam Driver and yet another is Spanish actress Penelope Cruz.  Another is the director Michael Mann who has made some really good classics in the past.  The name Michael Man should attract cineasts worldwide.  Watch the racing car accident scene near the film’s end and one can see the reason.  But foremost is the name of Ferrari, both the name of the Italian car brand and the sports car racer, Enzo Ferrari played by Adam Driver.

It should be noted that this is not a film on the biography of Ferrari, though there is mention of his background. It is based on the 1991 biography Enzo Ferrari: The Man, the Cars, the Races, the Machine by motorsport journalist Brock Yates.  The film follows the personal and professional struggles of Enzo Ferrari, the Italian founder of the car manufacturer Ferrari S.p.A., during the summer of 1957.

In the summer of 1957, Enzo Ferrari, reeling from the death of his son Dino, the deteriorating marriage with his wife Laura, and his company's impending bankruptcy, enters his racing team to the 1957 Mille Miglia.  He supposed that winning is what makes his company tick and winning will improve car sales while he steers the company towards increasing production.

The setting is the summer of 1957. Enzio’s marriage is falling apart, he sleeps with other women countless times.  But he still lives with his business partner and very angry wife, Laura (Penelope Cruz) who does not care if her husband sleeps around and with many women, as long as he returns to the home before the maid arrives in the morning.  Like Driver, Cruz plays the role of a very angry person, and there is hardly a scene in which she is seen smiling.  The confrontational scene w between Laura and Enzio is one of the film’s highlights.

Adan Driver portrays Enzio Ferrari with all the ferocity and aplomb of the car manufacturer and racer.  He is dead serious in the role and his face shows it.  There are no smiles at all during his portrayal.  The reason is obvious as it is the most crucial time in his life when everything is falling apart.  Yet, he is seeking an heir to the Ferrari throne.

The film’s best scene must surely be mentioned in this review.  This is, however a spoiler alert, so what follows in italics, is a spoiler that should be skipped if one wishes to do so.  The best-filmed segment has the car hit an object on the road, sending it flying up into the air and diverted after hitting a huge pole and then crashing into a line of spectators.  The spectators do not have time to run, and the destruction is devastating to the eyes.  There is decapitation of bodies with arms and ages everywhere, Though gruesome the scene is, it is the best in the film, and well worth the price of the admission ticket.  Director Michael Mason captures the spirit of racing and the environment of the racing business.

The trouble with films like NAPOPEON and FERRARI are the American actors playing European subjects.  Phoenix speaks English with a French accent while Driver does Ferrari with an Italian accent - which seems acceptable to Hollywood audiences as most would not go see a subtitled film.

 

FERRARI opens on Christmas Day.

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THE IRON CLAW (USA 2023) ***

Directed by Sean Durkin

 

Written and directed by Sean Durkin, the film attempts to tell the true story of the inseparable Von Erich brothers, who made history in the intensely competitive world of professional wrestling in the early 1980s.  Through tragedy and triumph, under the shadow of their domineering father and coach, the brothers seek larger-than-life immortality on the biggest stage in sports.  THE IRON CLAW is the wrestling hold made famous by the Von Erich father.

The Von Enrich name is quite famous in the history books of wrestling.   Originally from Texas, their actual surname is Adkisson, but every member who has been in the wrestling business has used the ring name "Von Erich," after the family patriarch, Fritz Von Erich (Jack Adkisson). Jack took on the name as part of his wrestling gimmick (i.e. in-ring persona) as he originally portrayed a Nazi heel, hence his use of a German name.

There are too many deaths in the family, as the film goes to show that the family has the Von Enrich Curse.  When Fritz died of cancer in his Denton County home in 1997 at the age of 68, five of his six sons had predeceased him. His firstborn, Jack Jr., was accidentally shocked and drowned in a puddle at the age of 6 in 1959, outside his Niagara Falls home. In 1984, David Von Erich died in a Tokyo hotel from enteritis at the age of 25. Mike, Chris, and Kerry all died by suicide; Mike took an overdose of Placidyl near Lewisville Lake in 1987 at the age of 23, Chris shot himself in the head with a 9mm handgun in 1991 at the age of 21, and Kerry shot himself in the chest in the family yard in 1993 at the age of 33. Kevin Von Erich (portrayed by Zac Ephron) is the last surviving son.

Ephron has gained major muscle for the role while sporting a most horrid haircut.  Ephron used to be so cute but is now likely considered too big for his own good.  He performs well in the role of Kevin, the main protagonist of the movie. 

Director Durkin omits certain important parts of the family history in lieu of the other parts that involve Kevin, primarily for the obvious reason that Ephron is the star of the movie.

 The wrestling match in which Kerry won the championship title bringing the championship belt to the family for the very first time is clearly omitted in the movie.  The major wrestling matches shown in the movie all involve Kevin.

Director Durkin captures the most important points in the cautionary tale.  The dangers of the sport of wrestling are shown from the injuries suffered by the wrestlers to pushing their bodies past their limits to the psychological effects of losing and trying too hard.  The sibling rivalry and the detrimental effects of the father’s demands are also well documented.  One could fault the father and mother for doing too much without much thinking.

For a Christmas movie, THE IRON CLAW is a most depressing one- as good as the drama it is.  The warning is given to the audience at the very start of the film in voiceover that the family is cursed from the very beginning with one mishap after another.  It is as if God had forsaken the family even though the mother is a devout God-fearing person.  So if depressing films at Christmas are not your forte stay away from this one.

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MIGRATION (USA 2023) ***

Directed by Benjamin Renner

 

From the ILLUMINATION company, the one responsible for those too-cute minions arrives MIGRATION, with a few nods to the minis.  The feature MIGRATION is preceded by an ILLUMINATION -Mionin short, which is of course, cute and entertaining.

MIGRATIPN is a film about a duck family with an overall message for kids and the family.  The loveable family of odd ducks is ruled by the father (Kumail Nanjiani) with a strong hand or wing, that could be easily persuaded otherwise.  The family comprises the mother and 2 ducklings (voiced by Elizabeth Banks, Tresi Gazal, and Caspar Jennings) who mostly try to convince their overprotective father to go on the vacation of a lifetime by following a flock of birds on migration.  The father is initially intent on staying put in their comfortable and well-stocked pond while the ducklings want to wander outside their comfort zone of the pond.  Curiosity gets the better of the family. 

The danger facing the family occurs with that dreaded species called humans.  When the family descends upon a metropolitan city for the first time, there is danger involved,

Heavyweight actors Danny DeVito, Awkwafina, Carol Kane and Keegan-Michael Key round out the voice cast with the latter earning the most laughs with his Jamaican-accented humour.

The animation is fancy and inventive enough but one wishes there was more innovation in the overall storytelling than the Christmas message of being one as a family.

MIGRATION opens on December 22nd, 2023.

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SOCIETY OF THE SUN (La Sociedad de la Niece) (Spain 2023) ***½

Directed by J. A. Bayona

 

Hardship, disaster and the triumph of the human spirit.  These are the three themes of the December 22nd Christmas movie from Spain entitled SOCIETY IF THE SNOW, largely shot in Spanish, Spain’s entry for the Academy Awards category for Best International Feature.  It is an account of the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crash and the crashes survivors, an adaptation of Pablo Vierci's book of the same name, which documents accounts of all 16 survivors of the crash, many of whom Vierci knew from childhood.  The cast is composed of Uruguayan and Argentine actors, most of whom are newcomers.

  This chartered flight of a Fairchild FH-227D from Montevideo, Uruguay, to Santiago, Chile, crashed in the Andes mountains on October 13, 1972. The accident and subsequent survival became known as the Andes flight disaster.

The film running more than 2 hours tells the story leaving no stone unturned.  The filmmakers interviewed the survivors as well as the families of the non-survivors.  The flight was carrying 45 passengers and crew, including 19 members of the Old Christians Club rugby union team, along with their families, supporters and friends.  This fact is shown at the beginning of the film as well as in flashbacks.  Three crew members and nine passengers died immediately; several more died soon afterward due to the frigid temperatures and the severity of their injuries. The wreck was located at an elevation of 3,570 metres (11,710 ft), in the remote Andes of far western Argentina, just east of the border with Chile.  Authorities flew over the crash site several times during the following days, searching for the aircraft, but could not see the white fuselage against the snow. Search efforts were canceled after eight days.  The film shows the survivors getting discouraged after hearing this news on a radio they managed to hook up.

The audience is not spared any grueling details of the following 72 days,\ when the survivors suffered extreme hardships, including exposure, starvation and an avalanche, which led to the deaths of 13 more passengers.  The remaining passengers resorted to cannibalism. The film dives a bit into the act, whether it is a crime.  But many permit their bodies to be eaten when they perish.  The act of eating human flesh and the cutting up of the bodies are examined in the film.  As the weather improved with the arrival of late spring, two survivors, Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa, climbed a 4,650-metre (15,260 ft) mountain peak without gear and hiked for 10 days into Chile to seek help, traveling 61 km (38 miles). On 23 December 1972, two months after the crash, the last of the 16 survivors were rescued. The news of their miraculous survival drew worldwide headlines that grew into a media circus.

Meticulously executed a riveting account of surviving an air crash in the Andes that looks almost too incredible but is true, SOCIETY OF THE SBOW, a Netflix original film,  opens at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on December 22nd before going on to streaming on Netflix.

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THE ZONE OF INTEREST (Poland/UK/USA 2023) ***** Top 10

Directed by Jonathan Glazer

 

Winner of the Grand Prix at this year’s Cannes (2nd Best Film), Jonathan Glazer’s (UNDER THE SKIN) THE ZONE OF INTEREST is a horror film about the Holocaust without a single scene of concentration camps.  It depicts the banality of evil so well put forward that the audience is left just as silent as in the recent Christopher Nolan nuclear war vehicle, OPPENHEIMER.  

Auschwitz commander is the main subject - Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel), who is always dressed in white as if to symbolize purity with his wife Hedwig (Sandra Huller), live so close to Auschwitz camp that one can hear the horrors from the nearby camp (as in a prisoner drowned by the guards for fighting for an apple).  They live in a beautiful home, with food, vegetables, fruit and herbs cultivated next to a swimming pool and river flowing with clear water close by.  They argue about household problems and are oblivious to the horrors of the war that are going on.  The thousands gassed are discussed as a matter of efficiency of transportation in a meeting among Nazi officials.  

The most catastrophic scene in the film of Hedwig’s life is when she freaks out at her black dog vomiting in the corridor - never mind the gassing of thousands of Jews in the concentration camp next door.  Hedwig is so obsessed with her residence that she insists that her husband write to Hitler to allow her to stay at the residence when news of her husband’s transfer gets to her.

The film is an art film as observed in the first 5 minutes of the film’s opening.  The title of the film, THE ZONE OF INTEREST is seen in white on a black background while disturbing sounds/music can be heard on the soundtrack.  The scene stays for a whole minute before the whole disappears and a total black screen is observed for the rest of the 5 minutes.  This is a visual metaphor of the beautiful and immaculate residence of the Höss’s, and when the black appears, it represents the horrors of the Nazi concentration camp that is the main subject of concern.

The residence is a stunningly beautiful one with a beautiful garden that grows all the fresh vegetables and fruits, all organic.  The Höss’s are self-sufficient and also have servants to tend to their needs.  The husband and wife are seen sleeping on separate beds.  It appears too, that their marriage is a matter of convenience and show. They throw lavish parties and are also dressed immaculately,  Another chilling scene is the Nazi board meeting where the Nazi Officers praise themselves and talk about the efficiency of transporting the Jews by train to the concentration camp, calculating the number by train and how many can be transported by day.

The most chilling film of the year that many critics claim should have won the Palme d’Or Prize for its groundbreaking filmmaking.  THE ZONE OF INTEREST is currently standing on most of the film critics’ Top 10 Best Films of 2023.  The Toronto Film Critics Association has selected THE ZONE OF INTEREST as the best film of the year.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 04 December 2023

FILM REVIEWS:

 

LES TROIS MOUSQUETAIRES: D’ARTAGNAN (The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan)

(France/Germany/Spain/Belgium 2023) ***½

Directed by Martin Bourboulon

Click link for review: 

https://toronto-franco.com/article/21-cinema-movies/395-film-review-les-trois-mousquetaires-d-artagnan-the-three-musketeers-d-artagnan

 

BLOOD VESSEL (Nigeria 2023) ***1/2

Directed by Charles Okpaleke

 

BLOOD VESSEL should not be confused with the 2019 German film about a vampire ship that shares the same title.  That was a camp horror comedy while this one, from Nigeria’s Play Network Studios (Nollywood) tackles more serious issues - both personal and political.  This is Nigeria’s highly anticipated film that debuts on Netflix on Friday, December 8th.

The film opens with an aerial shot, of the beautiful landscape of Africa, which one assumes is part of Nigeria.  The audience sees a butterfly followed by greenery.  The voiceover praises the beauty of the earth, that is until oil destroys it.  Oil pollution results in contamination.  Water that brings life, the voiceover claims now brings death as one scene shows a mother carrying a dead child.

The setting is the seldom or hardly-seen Niger Delta region.  The story revolves around six individuals brought together by chance.  Escaping a town devastated by oil pollution, they inadvertently become stowaways on a mysterious ship, unaware of the dangers that await. The hope for a better life does not come easy, as the film instructs but comes with trials and tribulations.  On the road to paradise comes a fight for survival - testing the key human elements of among others, friendship, betrayal, romance, desperation  and dignity.

Director Okpaleke creates a delicate and successful balance between the personal and political issues in a drama-packed thriller with an authentic unfamiliar but exciting setting.

The film is shot in the original language including some English and a of other languages  The film, is now available on Netflix and is worth a look.

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CHRISTMAS AS USUAL (Så Var Det Jul Igjen)(Norway 2023) **

Directed by Peter Holmsen

 

This Christmas holiday romantic comedy of cultural differences aims at being a GUESS WHO’S COMING HOME FOR CHRISTMAS.  A few updates in that the person bringing home the surprise guest is a strong-willed female, Thea (Ida Ursin-Holm) who is Norwegian and the guest is Indian (or rather Hindu).  Thea and Jason (Kanan Gill) are also engaged which the family is yet to find out.  Also father is left out of the picture, recently passed but fondly remembered and the mother is also strong-willed and tradition-bound.  The family Jashan meets includes Thea’s mother, her brother and sister-in-law (the funniest of the lot) and her niece.

The family wants CHRISTMAS AS USUAL with all the Norwegian traditions but Jashan's visit brings trouble to paradise,

All this sounds like a good opportunity for comedy but unfortunately falls flat because of unfunny humour and a really bad blending of drama and comedy.  It does not help that the Indian character is just awful in his personal manners, despite the script trying to make him sympathetic and right.  The best example is him sneezing at a key moment while attending church while a solo is sung.  He sneezes loudly not once but many times during the solo performance  Any decent-mannered person would have sniffled the sound of a sneeze with a tissue or if without one with his closed hand.  It is also a known fact when one is invited to a home to meet the family, one does not try to cook a meal as Jahan does.  One quietly and politely takes in the festivities.

The only winning thing about this film is the audience’s discovery of what Norwegians do during Christmas - that is assuming that what is seen on screen is typical Norwegian Christmas practice.  This includes eating crispy fat with fat sauce (this actually sounds unhealthy but delicious) and jumping in outdoor ice-cold water for a polar dip.  Jada, however, cannot take in the Christmas food and ends up becoming a loud and obnoxious drunk after downing several potato-liquor shots.

The film is hardly funny though there are a few admirable comedic set-ups like the fight between Jashan dressed in Indian garb on Christmas Eve and Thea’s ex who is dressed as Santa Claus.  But many other scenes could have been funnier but there are lots of missed opportunities for laughter.  With all the drama, the audience tends to take the Norwegian side instead of the Indian side which a story like this should lead.

This, however, being a Christmas romantic comedy falls into the trap of harlequin-type Hollywood romances.  This calls for the couple to quarrel and make up with a happy ending.  This one calls for the hurried drive in the ice and snow to the Oslo airport to prevent Jada from flying off.

CHRISTMAS AS USUAL is a Norwegian Netflix original film that opens for streaming on Netflix Friday December 8th.

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CONCRETE UTOPIA (South Kore 2023) ***

Directed by Um Tae-hwa

 

In the opening moments of Um Tae-hwa’s riveting new disaster epic, an earthquake renders much of Seoul a smoldering ruin. But as survivors begin efforts to restore order, it seems the real calamity has only just begun.  Apartments are the convenience of housing  One apartment building and the residues miraculously survive the earthquake while all other structures are demolished.  The special effects show the one apartment building standing alone amidst the rubble.  The tune of “There’s No Place Like Home” is heard on the soundtrack.

An earthquake renders much of Seoul a smoldering ruin in the opening minutes of this riveting post-apocalyptic epic from director Um Tae-hwa (Vanishing Time: A Boy Who Returned). But as survivors begin efforts to restore order, it seems the real calamity has only just begun.  Human beings show off their worst when it comes to survival.

From their balcony at the Hwang Gung apartment complex, Min-seong (Parasite’s Park Seo-jun) and Myeong-hwa (Park Bo-young) look out on nothing but corpses and rubble.    A stranger and her small child soon arrive at Min-seong and Myeong-hwa’s door (not from the building) begging to be let in, followed by dozens of others from the surrounding area desperately seeking food and shelter.  As days pass and no rescue teams turn up, the tenants assemble, survey their limited resources, and vote to evict the “outsiders.” When Yeong-tak (I Saw the Devil’s Lee Byung-hun), the tenants’ elected leader, announces that the outsiders must leave Hwang Gung, all hell breaks loose. From this point on, tenants must be prepared to protect their property by any means necessary.  It is a matter of survival of the fittest.  The delegate and the head of committees form rules on rations, security from outsiders, repair and humorously, waste management.  They shit into a plastic outline in a toilet bowl and dispose of the waste without the use of precious water.

Based on the second part of Kim Sung-nyung’s Cheerful Outcast webtoon, Concrete Utopia is a sobering parable, following its characters’ gradual descent into ruthless tribalism in a way that eerily mirrors so many contemporary global events.  When all hope is lost do human beings glimpse the possibility of generosity and some much-needed self-determination?

CONCRETE UTOPIA suffers from many unanswered questions, or rather it omits many obvious issues.   First of all how devastating is this supposed earthquake?  Surely, rescuers would have reached Seoul quite soon.  Is Seoul the only place suffering from the earthquake?  What about the rest of Korea and the rest of the world?  Where did all the canned food come from and it seems that there is an unlimited supply of canned food.

The story of the survivors and the hierarchy of order is quite minimal.  There is only one person in charge, nicknamed Mr. Delegate.  The leadership should have been more detailed.  The entire ruling process is quite pitiful, like a pauper version of George Orwell’s ANIMAL FARM.

CONCRETE UPTOPIA is the Official Selection of the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and also South Korea’s entry for the Best International Feature Academy Award.

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EILEEN (USA/UK 2022) ***½

Directed by William Oldroyd

 

Set in a small town in 1960s Massachusetts, the film centers on Eileen Dunlop( New Zealand actress Thomasin McKenzie), a young woman working in a corrections facility for teenage boys. At work, she is shunned by her colleagues and fantasizes about one of the guards, while at home she lives with her widowed and alcoholic father, Jim (Shea Wigham), a former chief of police who suffers from paranoia and is emotionally abusive towards her. Eileen daydreams frequently about killing herself and her father.

There are many threads in the story.  One is the coming-out of Eileen who discovers love (the old Doris Day song SECRET LOVE playing on the soundtrack) with another woman.  Secondly, it is a father-daughter redemption story, with Eileen and her father having trouble getting along.  Thirdly, the film played like a psychological thriller - and a clever one at that, balancing dead-pan humour, dark themes  and a forbidden romance.

The script is always steps ahead of the audience.  Not one really knows the character of the protagonist Eileen - whether the lady is good or evil, though she shows both sides,  This makes the film more intriguing as no now can figure her out even past the halfway mark of the movie.

The film contains a few dreams or rather nightmare imaginations, that do not achieve much but reveal what Eileen is thinking.

The disturbing incident of a son, Lee Polk killing his father, a cop,  while the father was asleep in his bed beside his mother is milked for full effect.  The boy has not spoken a word since and is housed in Eileen's correctional facility.  A guard tells Eileen not to be sympathetic towards him as he killed a cop, to which she replies:  “This is not true, he killed a father.”  Eileen’s own father tells her that she has no guts to kill him as she is a girl

The film is a female-strength film with strong female characters, a female director and a female-to-female romance.  There was one time when feminists complained of insufficient female material in films.  It appears the opposite is true these days -  a triumph for the females.  “People are so afraid of their desires.  Especially the men, “ says Rebecca, the new prison psychiatrist (Anne Hathaway) at one point in the film.  Why did Lee Polk kill his father?  What did his father ever do to him to make him stab his father multiple times?  That is the question no one bothered to ask Lee, which Rebecca the prison psychiatrist did and found the disturbing answer - not mentioned but with the audience's assumed tone able to guess the answer. Mrs.Polk leaves in disgust when confronted with the truth and chooses to disbelieve it, though she is responsible for letting it all happen.  She spits in Rebecca’s face, a scene not shown in the film.

The story takes a twist in the last third when the Polk murder blends in Eileen and Rebecca’s relationship.

EILEEN has nothing much that is festive or joyous for the festive season, yet it is a solid psychological thriller, made with care and brilliance blending a disturbing theme with humour and suspense.  The film opens at the TIFF Bell Lightbox and is worth a look, for sure.

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FAST CHARLIE (USA 2023) ***

Directed by Phillip Noyce.

 

This film follows the very often used tactic that begins with a scene from nowhere, often a crucial one, and then flashes back to the incidents that have led to this state of affairs.  In FAST CHARLIE, the film opens with Charlie held at apparent gunshot range by an unseen assailant, and forced to take off his shirt and trousers.  How did Charlie get to this point when he was about to be shot by some unseen assailant?  He says he would not normally care if this incident occurs.  This scene is revisited 15 minutes before the film ends.  It is then that he decides otherwise, that he would use some magic trick to get out of the predicament.  This forms the film’s climax.

The film is called FAST CHARLIE for the reason that Charlie is quite fast at what he does.  And his last name is Swift.

For twenty years, Charlie Swift (Pearce Brosnan) has been a fixer and hitman for a mob boss named Stan (James Caan). After a rival boss puts a hit on Stan and his crew, Charlie is the sole survivor. Charlie decides to avenge his friend and teams up with Marcie (Morena Baccarin), the ex-wife of a mobster he killed.

The film is about old people.  The director Noyce is in his senior years and the main actor Pearce Brosnan, ex-James Bond is also in his later years.  He portrays a hitman and fixer, also I’m his later years who should plan a good retirement.

The story is also about achieving a person’s dreams.  When life moves along, Charlie, a brilliant Italian cook wishes to live the rest of his years in Italy.   Marcie, a taxidermist, wishes to have teaching tenure at a university to pursue her career.  And Stan retires in a big and lush facility.  The film also stresses loyalty and hard work.

There are two reasons to watch FAST CHARLIE.  Firstly, it is the final film of the late actor James Caan, his best role being that of the violent son Sonny of Don Corleone in Francis Ford Coppola’s THE GODFATHER.  In FAST CHARLIE, Cain plays Stan Mullen, the protagonist’s most respected aging boss.   Secondly, the film is directed by Australian Phillip Joyce, who has several memorable credits in his portfolio.  His film NEWSFRONT, is my personal favourite Australian film of all time.  He is also remembered for Hollywood films like RABBIT PROOF FENCE.  His films are always interesting to watch, though FAST CHARLIE is not one of his best.

Despite the film title FAST CHARLIE, FAST CHARLIE is a lazy and slow action thriller with more shootouts than unarmed combat scenes showing the later years of both the film’s director Phillip Noyce and main actor, Pearce Brosnan.

FAST CHARLIE premiered at the 2023 Mill Valley Film Festival on October 7, 2023. The film is scheduled to be released in select theatres and video on demand on December 8, 2023

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NAGA (Saudi Arabia 2023) **

Directed by Meshal Aljaser

 

NAGA follows a young woman stranded in the Arabian desert who races to be home before curfew under the threat of extreme punishment from her scary and strict father.  When it comes to disobedience in Saudi Arabia, a country where everything is much stricter than the norm, the repercussions can be extreme.  And the young woman knows it.  And so when Sarah (Adwa Bader), a young Saudi woman, is given a strict curfew by her conservative father for an approved shopping trip, she knows that she must meet his expectations by any means necessary. Especially since Sarah’s shopping plans are actually subterfuge for a secret date with Saad, a young suitor who just sent her an invitation to an underground party in the desert.  The best-laid deception goes quickly awry, and Sarah, now high out of her guard, gets stranded miles away from home.  Dodging a parade of arrogant and creepy men, not to mention a bloodthirsty, rabid camel, Sarah sets out on a wild adventure through distinct spheres of contemporary Saudi society in a desperate race against a ticking clock.

The synopsis above all sounds prime for a pretty good madcap adventure from Saudi Arabia of all places, but director Aljaser’s film misfires from the very first scene.

The first scene is a hospital where a masked man with a machine gun runs through the back staircase before opening fire on the staff in a hospital room with a patient.   The scene is filmed with a rotating camera that goes for an upside shot.  The reason for this is obviously to show how crazy the situation is, though the tactic is totally unnecessary, least to say redundant.

Other odd scenes follow, like Sarah screaming in the desert, a very annoying and loud scene, the apparent taking of drugs by Sarah and so on.  Whether the film aims at social satire to to make a solid statement about the ruling patriarchy of families, one can never be sure, and whatever goals the director might have are totally lost in his untamed stylish mayhem of filming.

At the end of the exercise, one would wonder what everything is really all about or what the purpose of the film is.  The film has been described by TIFF as similar to Martin Scorsese’s AFTER HOURS, a film that is also one that is too madcap, and one that I never liked either, (though many critics did).

. Though many individual segments of the film are well shot, they do not come together as a cohesive whole nor does director Aljaser make any attempt to do so.  Stylish thoughts aim might be, but style without direction here results in a total miss.

NAGA had its premiere in the Midnight Madness Section of the Toronto International Film Festival where odd and crazy films like this one have a chance to debut.  But this one, unfortunately, does not make the cut.  NAGA opens for streaming on Netflix this week.

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THE SACRIFICE GAME (USA 2023) ***

Directed by Jenn Wexler

 

It is bad enough that boarding school students Samantha and Clara can't go home for the holidays, but things take a deadly turn when a murderous gang ( gang of four) arrives on their doorstep - just in time for Christmas.

THE SACRIFICE GAME, the film opens in the setting of December 22nd, 1977, 3 days before Christmas.  Why 1977 and not the present?  The obvious absence of cell phones is the answer.  There are sounds of carol singing and just as the Christmas jolly singing stops, the music changes when a group of 4 rings the doorbell of a house.  “Merry Christmas,” the greeting comes from the man who opens the door, only to be greeted with a stab in the throat.  As the group - of 3 men and one woman attack the lady by stabbing her while she lies on the kitchen table, a scene that will definitely make the audience winch, the scene ceases and a new segment begins with a new character, Samantha attending boarding school.   So far so good, this BLACK CHRISTMAS-like horror flick holds one's interest so far.  The killers are dubbed ‘the Christmas Killers’.  This film is shot in Montreal, Canada though the country of origin is the United States.

The school stands where a fire wiped out the entire town and then a new town was built.  This is what Samantha is taught in her class, in the school that now stands on the burnt remains.

The film also plays like the recent Alexander Payne film THE HOLDOVERS in which a few students are held over and stay on the college grounds under a reluctant teacher.  The same goes for THE SACRIFICE GAME.  Samantha and Carol have no option but to stay over at the college for Christmas under supervision by a reluctant teacher, Rose who wants to get a posting to a public school away from the ‘boonies’.    As it turns out, it is now 2 days before Christmas and the Christmas Killer now strikes a church.  According to the news, the Christmas Killers hit different towns.  Rose has a boyfriend who also reaches the school later when the gang has entered the premises.

The story ties everything together with a third of the film.  The Christmas Killers appear at the door of the boarding school.  Rose, who looks after ‘the holdovers’ is freed to let them in.  The Killers quickly subdue the three including Rose’s boyfriend, terrorizing them at the same time.  The script creates some audience sympathy for Samantha and Carol.  Samantha’s mother died recently from a car accident and her step-dad wants nothing to do with her, the reason she is bit returning home for Christmas.  Carol has attempted suicide.

The story takes a turn to reveal the reason the film is called THE SACRIFICE GAME.  No one is as innocent as he or she seems as the story contains a few twists, though not all satisfactory,

Director and co-writer Jenn Wexler does a relatively good job at this Christmas horror, which is quite violent at times, which opens for streaming on Shudder the horror streaming network just in time for Christmas.  The film garnered the audience award for Best Film at the Fantasia Horror Film Festival in Montreal this year.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 20 November 2023

FILM REVIEWS;

 

AMERICAN SYMPHONY (USA 2023) ***

Directed by Matthew Heineman

 

This is the story and biography up to this stage, the artist Jon Batiste is still alive at the age of 37.  The film is so-called AMERICAN SYMPHONY as the artist has been chosen to compose and conduct a symphony at Carnegie Hall.  The doc mostly records the process of Batiste composing his first symphony.  The doc takes place during one year in the life of Batiste.

Jonathan Michael Batiste is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, bandleader, composer, and television personality.   He has recorded and performed with artists including Stevie Wonder, Prince, Willie Nelson, Lenny Kravitz, Ed Sheeran, Lana Del Rey, Roy Hargrove, Juvenile, and Mavis Staples. Batiste, with his band Stay Human, appeared nightly as bandleader and musical director on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert from 2015 to 2022. His interview with Colbert forms one of the lighter moments in the doc.

Batiste also serves as the music director of The Atlantic and the Creative Director of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem. In 2020, he co-composed the score for the Pixar animated film Soul, for which he received an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award and a BAFTA Film Award (all shared with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross).  Batiste has garnered 5 Grammy Awards from 14 nominations, including an Album of the Year win for his album We Are (2021)..

The doc also shows, from archive footage his father and mother’s influence on his music.  His mother insisted that he learn classical piano as the basics.  Batiste was also selected to the famed Juilliard School in NYC.   This is where he formed his band ‘Stay Human’.

The doc documents Batiste’s courage, talent and humanity as his wife, Suleika Jaouad faces leukemia.

This is no Hollywood bullshit like Bradley Cooper helming Leonard Bernseain’s biography in MAESTRO which is more or less Oscar bait.  AMERICAN SYMPHONY is the real thing - a real-life American composer and conductor, Jon Batiste, whose life and aspirations are shown in this little but earnest and honest documentary.  This is a Netflix original doc just like MAESRO, which is the reason Netflix probably coincided with the two films’ opening dates.  The film had its world premiere at the 50th Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2023.

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CANDY CANE LANE (USA 2023) ***

Directed by Reginald Rudlin

 

A man is determined to win the neighbourhood's annual Christmas decorating contest. He makes a pact with an elf called Pepper (Jillian Bell) to help him win - and the elf casts a spell that brings the 12 days of Christmas to life, which brings unexpected chaos to town.

Review Embargo lifted 9 am Nov 30th Thursday ET

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FIRELINE (USA 2023) ***½

Directed by Tylor Norwood

 

The word FIRELINE is the title of a new documentary that examines the work of Californian firefighters.  The word Fireline in British  English means the strip of open land in a forest or prairie, that arrests the advance of a fire (another name for firebreak).   Though the title Wireline is used, the usage of this tactic is not specifically shown in the film.

The doc begins with the scene of a fire in Northern California at 3 am.  The Dixie Firenin Lasengeer County has already burnt 500,000 acres of land. 6,000 men are already on the job.

Enter the spectacle and drama of a megafire, alongside a firefighting team struggling to save anything they can while protecting each other. FIRELINE takes audiences into the firescape, to feel for the first time what those fighting these blazes face, especially as climate change makes megafires larger and more frequent. It's an intimate portrait of a system stretched to its breaking point, revealing the friendship, heartbreak, and exhilaration experienced by those who go to war against this elemental force.

FIRELINE focuses on three firefighters from the Cal Fire Lassen-Modoc Unit, and their harrowing experience fighting a megafire for 36 emotional hours. The filmmakers also worked with The California Fire Foundation, which provides emotional support to families of fallen firefighters, firefighters and the communities they protect.  “If are not nervous, then there is something wrong with you.”  The fire can change direction and course without a moment’s notice.

The importance of the planning of the tactical maneuvers in firefighting is shown and likened to the importance of the military tactics used in battles by General MacArthur.   

A fair portion of the doc focuses on the firefighters.  It is stated that these firefighters spend more time with their colleagues than with their friends and family, so the firefighters form a close-knit family on their own.  They work together.  However, there is little conflict or problems shown in the doc of the firefighters.

The doc focuses mainly on the Californian firefighters and the fires that have raged out of control in California.  There is little mention of fires or the firefighting that goes on in the other countries of the world - elect for a token nod with brief images of fire in Brazil, Europe and Australia.  International cooperation is mentioned but largely omitted.

What is immediately noticeable and not addressed in the film is the largely white men who form the firefighting team.  There are hardly any women, black or Latino that are seen.

Justin, Tyler and Riley, 3 firefighters featured in the doc had to do a 60-hour no-sleep duty before being able to sleep in their beds.  The doc says that other firefighters go through the same gruesome routine to perform their largely thankless task.

FIRELINE covers not only the firefighting performed by the firefighters but also the human aspects of the arduous tasks giving the audience insight into what it means to be firefighters on the job, while also showing the trauma of the victims of the fires who have lost their homes and basically everything of their livelihood.  An informative eye-opening documentary that needs to be seen.

The doc will be released on digital platforms on December 5, 2023

 

MAESTRO (USA 2023) **

Direct by Bradley Cooper

 

The MAESTRO (Italian word for Master or Teacher) in the film is famous American composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein.  This is the long-awaited vehicle starring and directed by Academy Award nominee Bradley Cooper, telling of Bernstein’s life and achievements.  However, as almost perfect as the film is, in most departments particularly in the acting and makeup ones, the film definitely has the feel of ‘Oscar bait’ as Cooper aims to win one for Best Actor if not get a nod for Best Direction.

Leonard Bernstein who passed in 1990 at a relatively early age of only 72, is considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time.  He was the first American conductor to receive international acclaim. Bernstein was "one of the most prodigiously talented and successful musicians in American history" according to music critic Donal Henahan.  He has numerous honours and accolades including seven Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and 16 Grammy Awards (including the Lifetime Achievement Award as well as an Academy Award nomination. He received the Kennedy Center Honour in 1981.

As for the film, he composed the original score for the Elia Kazan drama film On the Waterfront (1954), and theatre works including On the Town (1944), Wonderful Town (1953), Candide (1956), and his Mass (1971).  One would have expected more mention of his theatre and film works since this is a filmed biography that Cooper noticeably leaves out.  There is only a brief mention of Bernstein’s most popular musical WEST SIDE STORY.

The most obvious and arguably most embarrassing moment in the film is the segment in which Cooper directs the orchestra (Mahler) and in another when he shows a novice what to do,  If this is not Oscar bait, then no one knows what is.  

Cooper’s direction is also odd at times. In one confrontational scene between Bernstein and his wife (Carey Mulligan), he films the fight at a distance as if in a stage play.  There are no close-ups or edits as the two argue their points of view.  Perhaps Cooper does not want the audiences to be influenced by taking sides but one will never know the reason for this off-filming tactic.

From the photos of the real Leonard Berstein, Cooper looks almost exactly like the man in various states of his life.  Credit to the great work from the team of the makeup and prosthetics (Vivian Baker) and hair stylist departments.

The part of Bernstein’s lifelong humanitarian, efforts working in support of civil rights, protesting against the Vietnam War, advocating nuclear disarmament, raising money for HIV/AIDS research and awareness, and engaging in multiple international initiatives for human rights and world peace are all omitted in the film.

As a biography of Leonard Bernstein, the film’s a failure with only his philosophies in life are mentioned as Cooper recites a few monologues as if being interviewed and lots of scenes of him conducting orchestras and arguing with his wife, with only a small of the life included and with his childhood and early background totally ignored.

MAESTRO opens in theatres on November 1st, 2023.

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MONSTER (Japan 2023) ***½

Directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda 

Quiet and reserved Minato (Sōya Kurokawa) — no longer a kid, but not yet an adolescent — lost his father when he was a young child and lives with his mother (Sakura Andō). When he starts behaving strangely, obsessed with the idea his brain has been switched with a pig’s, the mother suspects his teacher Hori (Eita Nagayama) and calls a meeting with the school principal (Tanaka Yūko) only to face a wall of silence and stiff apologies. Someone must have put that idea in Minato’s head, but something doesn’t add up. Is Minato telling the truth, or is his professor innocent?  Looking at the story from various points of view, and told non-chronically and with crisscrossing of events, nothing is what it seems and things can be interpreted differently with dire consequences.  Kore-eda’s film is a bit confusing in the beginning till one realizes what he is trying to do.  The film also covers current issues of single parenting, school bullying, first romance and coming-of-age.  Also, the great soundtrack from legendary musician Ryuichi Sakamoto, who died last March, Monster being his last soundtrack.

Trailer: 

 

 

 

MY ANIMAL (Canada 2023) **

Directed by Jacqueline Castel

 

The film MY ANIMAL has a mudded beginning that sets the tone for the rest of the film.  A young girl, Heather is watching a horror film on TV when she suddenly experiences weird body changes with blood dripping from her orifices.  Her mother calls out to Heather as Heather disappears from the room.

Heather, an outcast teenage goalie, longs to play on the hockey team of her small northern town in Ontario, Canada.  She meets and falls in love with newcomer Jonny, an alluring but tormented figure skater. The girls’ relationship blossoms despite Heather’s struggles with her alcoholic mother, her hidden sexual orientation, and a familial curse that transforms her into a feral wolf under the full moon. Heather and Jonny’s secret tryst soon clashes against the conformity of their small community, exposing dangerous truths and igniting a passionate, violent night of personal transformation. 

As much as director Castel tries to create winning personalities for her two female characters, one cannot help but still feel disconnected with them.  After one awful night for each of them, Jonny has it out with her coach, as seen by Heath as she begins an awful hockey session as a goalie.  It does not help that the two girls decide to go out after their individual troubles and enjoy themselves by doing huge ‘wheelies’ on the ice with their car and then making hot lesbian love shots with red lighting.  Heather’s telling of a scary story to Jonny is also as irritating as it is unoriginal, as everyone has heard this similar scare story tactic before,

The film aims to be a coming-of-age story - one with a difference, in which Heather tackles several problems including turning into a wolf.  The film’s different narratives does not blend well together and it definitely is a case of taking up too much on one’s plate (lesbian love story; coming-of-age; alcoholic mother/daughter relationship; females in the male sports world; horror werewolf story).

The best thing about the film is its authentic Northern Ontario setting, shot in the dismal and cold winter where the sun is rarely shown shining.  The whole atmosphere is depressing, which unfortunately adds a damper feeling for the film.

There is no explanation given to the wold or werewolf background, just the fact that it has run in the family and Heather is going up and the wolf instincts are beginning to manifest itself.  The mother’s alcoholism adds to Heather’s distress and seems unnecessary in the story to put additional trauma on the teenager.

The film contains some neat and exciting editing work, especially during the filming of the hockey games.

Good intentions and hard work do not always translate to a good film, the fresh new take on teen lesbian love, a werewolf metaphorical story set in a small town hockey setting turns out a disappointment.

MY ANIMAL has opened at several festivals around the world including:

Sundance Film Festival 2023 - World Premiere

Outfest Los Angeles 2023 - Centerpiece film

Fantasia Film Festival 2023 - Canadian Premiere

and opens in theatres on December the 1st, 2023.

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A REVOLUTION IN CANVAS (USA 2023) ***

Directed by Sara Nodjoumi and Till Schauder

 

Nikzad Nodjoumi, more commonly known as Nicky Nodjoumi (born 1942) is an Iranian-born American fine art painter. He currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. His paintings address Iranian politics, history, power and corruption.  For this reason, he has been banned from Iran and his paintings taken away from the Art Museum in Tehran.  Were the paintings destroyed?  Were the paintings stolen?  Were the paintings re-located?  No one knows.  The artist claims that a part of his life had been lost with the lost paintings.  The doc tells the story of the missing painting.  The doc is directed by the artist Nicky’s daughter and her husband.

In their hybrid political thriller and verité portrait documentary A REVOLUTION ON CANVAS, Sara Nodjoumi makes her directorial debut alongside her husband and co-director Till Schauder, with this personal film diving into the mystery surrounding the disappearance of more than 100 "treasonous" paintings by her father, the seminal Iranian modern artist Nickzad “Nicky” Nodjoumi - one of Iran’s most revolutionary artists.

The doc also shows Nicky at work during a painting, using time-lapse photography.  Nicky speaks to the camera ever so often, informing the audience that his canvas shows the story of the revolution - hence the title of the doc, A REVOLUTION ON CANVAS.  He also says that the paintings have to be recovered, not because they are his best work, but because they tell an important story.

He is concerned about issues like contracted borders (who gets to live where), the environment, war and revolution being a few of them.  So what makes Nicky different from other artists?  The doc makes it clear that he is one who cannot help himself but express current troubled news as art.  Whenever a troubling issue appears in the news, Nicky creates art from it.  The director, his daughter when interviewing him, has declared himself to be a revolutionary.  He looks like one from the archive footage, with his beard.  There is a bit of his romance with his wife in the story, the girl who loved him and ignored her family’s objections.  His daughter can be considered to be following in his footsteps by making this documentary on him and telling his story.

A REVOLUTION IN CANVAS is the daughter’s director’s extensive home movie on her father.   The film has interesting material though the material might be considered too personal and too Iranian or too narrow in its appeal.  All this considered, the doc overs a good tale of the artist, his life, his beliefs, his fame and his works.

A REVOLUTION ON CANVAS will have a limited theatrical release in U.S. movie theatres starting Friday, December 1st in New York at Cinema Village. A week later, on Friday, December 8th, it will open in Los Angeles at Laemmle Royal and in San Francisco at The Roxie. The film will have its Toronto theatrical premiere on Sunday, December 3 at Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema. The film’s directors will participate in Q&A’s at Toronto’s premiere.

Trailer: 

SILENT NIGHT (USA 2023) **

Directed by John Woo

 

The new John Wood action film is entitled SILENT NIGHT for two reasons.  The setting is Christmas eve and the protagonist has lost his speaking ability after recovering from a shot in the throat jugular rendering him unable to speak.

The film begins with a two-car chase with shots firing between the two cars as the cars react around a neighbourhood.  Caught in the crossfire is the young boy who is ultimately killed by a stray bullet.  The father (Joel Kinnaman from TARZAN) pursues the chase on foot - kind of unbelievable - and ends up cornering one of the cars but unfortunately, gets a shot in his throat an brought to the hospital in an ambulance.  After a super gross-out scene in which he is operated on and the bullet removed (yes, there is the clinking sound of the retrieved bullet lancing in the metal bowl), he returns home unable to walk or speak.  Angrily he hunts down the gang members responsible for the son’s death.

The film boasts a no-dialogue script.  Even the confrontation between husband and wife is wordless.   Unfortunately, the pro of a complete no-dialogue film does not work.  the novelty wears thin after a while.  Apparently, the filmmakers have forgotten to tell a story, forgetting that a plot is necessary and one with emotions and credibility.  The audience is led to believe that the father Brian Goodrich is available to hunt down the suspects with the aid of getting photographs from a detective in charge of gang warfare (Scott Mescudi) while learning how to fight and use weapons better than any gag member after the accident.

The film does not require much from actor Kinnaman, who is normally a good and buffed actor, but here looks grim and angry.  The wife has to be played, by a Latino, not by an African American actor.  The detective is played by an African American for political correctness.

A film with minimal plot and action sequences packed one after another was first explored by the successful JOHN WICK 4 film, followed by Simon Wincer’s THE KILLER.  SILENT NIGHT attempts more of the same with one violent action sequence after another but ends up the worst of the films.  There is one extended hand-to-hand combat scene that shows how difficult it is to kill a man but does too over-the-top.  Master of Suspense shows how difficult it is to kill a man with Paul Newman and a woman trying to kill a spy in TORN CURTAIN, the segment is done slow and credible, unlike in SILENT NIGHT.

The editing and fight segments are well executed, but there is much more required to make a good action movie than just action alone, as his film proves.

SILENT NIGHT is the ‘perfect’ anti-Christmas movie in which unforgiveness rules.  After a 2 decade hiatus, Hong Kong director  returns with this awful violent movie, the poorest version of a JOHN WICK 4 and THE KILLER  action movie that has the audience ask the question: “Am I supposed to be entertained by all this?”

SILENT NIGHT opens in theatres on November 1st.

Trailer: 

WOMEN ON THE EDGE (NO ME ROMPAN) (Argentina 2023) ***

Directed by Azul Lombardía

 

A comedy that relates the tale of two ladies who, despite coming from different worlds, are subject to many of the same demands, obligations, and mandates.

WOMEN ON THE EDGE sounds like a shorter title of the 1988 Pedro Almodovar romp WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A MENTAL BREAKDOWN.  There are several similarities between the two films.  Firstly, both films are shot in Spanish, though WOMEN ON THE EGE is Argentinian Spiniest and the other one is Spanish Spanish.  Both films deal with the empowerment of women and both have a strong female cast.  Both are also colourful comedies the colourful to be taken literally as both films contain lots of colour.  Bot films are also about wronged women,  The Almodovr file deals with a woman going on a journey to find out why her lover left her and WOMEN ON THE EDGE has the man leaving one of the women in the two-women story,

WOMEN ON THE EDGE begins bright and colourful.  The camera spans a wide array of beauty products like grape collagen to other outrageous products as the second woman in the story has an organic cosmetics line, though it is revealed that she does not test her products,

WOMEN ON THE EDGE is a female movie all the way.  The film has two female protagonists, wronged by the male.  The alee is the main female public enemy number one.  And the ladies are about to exact a revenge that is not to be forgotten.

WOMEN ON THE EDEG might not win any film awards, but it is good old-fashioned female fun. like the sexy but harmless comedies that turned out in the 60s.

WOMEN ON THE EDGE is open for streaming on Netflix, a Netflix original film this week.

Trailer: 

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 06 November 2023

FILM REVIEWS:

HISTROIA DE UN CRIMEN: MAURICIO LEAL

(Crime Diaries: The Celebrity Stylist)

(Colombia 2023) ***

Directed by Jacques Toulemonde Vidal

 

When the celebrity stylist Mauricio Leal is found stabbed to death next to his mother, a young female detective is given 20 days to solve the case.  The film is inspired by true events.

Written and directed by Jacques Toulemonde Vidal, the film states very early at the beginning that it is based on a true story but the film is a work of fiction.  In other words, the whole film is a reenactment, but with liberties taken with the story.  This was a high profile case in Colombia and also stated so in the film, many Colombians would be familiar with the case and with the whodunit.  For others, the film plays not like a documentary but as a crime suspense thriller.  The thriller is simply made and short at only 90 minutes and director Jacques Toulemonde Vidal cheats a bit in the telling of the story.  For example, he moves his film from the present towers or days before the present where the characters ninth story interact with each other, and with nothing to do with the detective.  The ploy is a bit confusing as the film shifts many times between the present and the past.  When it switches to the present no notice is given to the audience, only when it shifts to the past.

The director devotes some time in the film to establishing the young detective’s character and her daily routine at home.  Of course, this has little to do with the case, and one wonders if all this is made up by the director to enhance the interest of the storytelling.  The detective is shown to be smart and always too busy, with little time spent at home for her daughter.  Her daughter is asking for purple tights for her talent show but she is told that she has enough tights.  The father screams at the top of his lungs at her, showing an abusive relationship somewhat, in which the husband does not support his wife in her career.

Director Vidal tries a few tricks with the camerawork as well.  He slants his camera into the bedroom scene with the detective and her daughter but the ploy appears too obvious.

The film is clear to list the usual suspects.  Though a note is left by Leal at his death, foul play is suspected.  The immediate suspects are those who’ve found the body, Leal’s jealous brother and the driver.  The driver thinks it is the brother who murdered him.  This part feels similar to Justine Triet’s ANATOMY OF A FALL, my 2023 best film of the year and the Cannes Winner of the Palm d’Or for Best Picture.  The detective figures out that the note was written to cover up a murder.  The date stamps on the notes confirm this.  It appears quite obvious that brother Yhonier did it, but could this be a deliberate misleading ploy?  Before the closing credits, the film reveals to the audience what really happened in the real-life case.  Not the best whodunit but executed well enough with fair emphasis given to the story’s characters and the plot itself.

The film is a Netflix original and opens for streaming this week on Netflix.

 Trailer: 

DREAM SCENARIO (USA 2023) ***

Directed by Kristoffer Borgli

 

Yet another Nicolas Cage vehicle, the actor who loves playing seemingly madcap roles, DREAM SCENARIO sees Cage serving as a producer alongside horror meister Ari Asher (BEAU is  AFRAID, MIDSOMMAR and HEREDITARY) while starring as an inconspicuous academic who is thrust into the limelight after he starts inexplicably appearing in people’s dreams.  Here, Cage’s character Paul Matthews, an ordinary man at first, grows crazier as fate turns against him in ways he cannot control nor understand,

Paul Matthews is a listless family man and tenured professor with an affinity for evolutionary biology and anxiety regarding his own anonymity.  One day, he discovers he has begun to appear in other people’s dreams at an exponential rate. As in life, his presence in these dreams is banal and non-intrusive — he’s simply there, staring indifferently at the fantasies and nightmares of strangers. Nonetheless, he becomes an overnight celebrity and is soon showered with the attention he has long been denied.  But when Paul encounters a dreamer whose visions of him differ substantially from the norm, he finds himself grappling with the Faustian bargain of fame as his dreams start inexplicably becoming violent within their respective unconsciousness.

          Dream Scenario proceeds as a kind of comedic reversal of A Nightmare on Elm Street, with Paul in the proverbial striped sweater terrorizing the populous, but, here, facing real-life consequences for actions he does not control. Cage is brilliant as the pitiable Matthews, and outright terrifying as some of his manifestations, which feature an iconic intensity not seen in a Cage part since Mandy (incidentally shot by this film’s cinematographer Ben Loeb). Buoyed by a terrific cast that features Julianne Nicholson and Michael Cera, this dryly hilarious satire-cum–social horror affirms writer-director Kristoffer Borgli as an astute critic of influencer culture and societal groupthink and a gifted purveyor of the absurd.

The film bears similarity and demands comparison with producer Ari Aster’s recent horror drama BEAU IS AFRAID.  In both films, far takes a nasty turn against the protagonist and forces him to take control of his life, in any way he can, whether successful or not.  In DREAM SCENARIO, Paul keeps telling everyone that what has happened is beyond his control.  He cannot help entering people’s dreams, less control what he does to them.

Initially, Paul is just an innocent bystander in the dreams while accidents happen.  A car accident just happened in someone’s dream and Paul just happens to stroll by.  Or a person is a levitation and Paul happens to be the gardener who approaches.  All this is ok and gives Paul, a shy and quiet zoologist who teaches at a university some fame.  But when the dreams start changing. meters take a turn or the worst.  Paul is no longer the innocent bystander in people’s dreams.  He now strangles, kills and apes his people.  All of what happens is shown tongue0-in-cheel and Paul feels as if all this is not happening.  He tries to analyze or make sense and talks aloud to himself and his wife.  At several posts, the film feels like a Wood Allen movie, where Paul, like Cody Allen in the title role, becomes a victim of some universal plant (SLEEPER, LOVE AND DEATH, BANANAS) that he cannot control.

Intriguing and compelling that the film is, writer/director Borgli’s film takes an unexpected and odd turn at the end with an ending that introduces a dream travelling invention.  All the entrances Paul makes into people’s dreams suddenly disappear.  Though difficult to imagine a more satisfying or subtle ending, the climax is the best that it could be.

DREAM SCENARIO premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and opens on November the 24th.

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FALLEN LEAVES (Finland/Germany 2023) ****
Directed by Aki Kaurismaki

 

A love story of sorts between two lonely working-class people in Finland showing that love can still be found, no matter what age or no matter the dire circumstances.  This theme is what makes Kauriosmaki’s latest film such the delight of the critics at Cannes this year and at the Toronto International Film Festival.  Ansa (Alma Pöysti) and Holappa (Jussi Vatanen), spend their waking hours in drab workplaces, bars full of stone-faced patrons, and sparsely decorated homes in which a radio is the height of modern technology.  

FALLEN LEAVES is simply wonderful because of all the little details and observations Kaurismaki inserts in his film.  His distaste for the Russian invasion of Ukraine is made loud and clear as a message from the radio broadcasts heard throughout the film.  The film pays tribute to lots of oldies, particularly David Lean’s BRIEF ENCOUNTER, the Finnish poster seen in the background, both films share similar stories of lost love opportunities.  Even the dog in the movie is called Chaplin, another tribute to another Master of film.

FALLEN LEAVES though a delight, is not the Master’s best, the category reserved for his earlier films DRIFTING CLOUDS and A NEW HOPE.

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FRYBREAD FACE AND ME (USA 2023) ***

Directed by Billy Luther

 

FRYBREAD FACE AND ME is a Navajo Indigenous entertaining coming-of-age story of a pre-teem named Benny who is sent to the reservation to spend the summer with his grandmother.  A city boy with long hair so that he looks like a girl, he loves Fleetwood Mac.  A lifelong city kid, Benny is a fish out of water in the rural northern Arizona community. Grappling with feelings of abandonment, his initial isolation is enhanced by not being able to communicate with his loving, Navajo-speaking grandma (who has refused to ever learn English). Making matters worse is his bullying uncle Marvin, who sees Benny’s sensitivity as a weakness.  But Benny’s summer takes a new twist when Dawn (a.k.a. Frybread Face), his bold and brashly confident cousin, is also unexpectedly dropped off at Granny’s.   A refreshing look at a coming-of-age story in a different Navajo setting as Benny learns about rodeo, driving and sheep herding.  Director Luther goes for more humour than drama though Benny does lose it a few times.  The film opens in select theaters and exclusively on Netflix November 24 | Native American Heritage Day.

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LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND (USA 2023) ****

Directed by Sam Esmail

 

A family vacation on Long Island by a white family, a husband and wife and two kids is interrupted by two (black) strangers bearing news of a mysterious blackout.  As the threat grows more imminent, both families must decide how best to survive the potential crisis, all while grappling with their own place in this collapsing world.

In the Bible, Jesus made the statement that a child will lead them.  The littlest of the family, the young daughter is the most perceptive of the four, first shown when she notices what looks like a ship on the horizon.  “It seems to be coming towards us,” she says.  As the minutes tick away, the ship turns out to be a runaway tanker heading straight towards the shore and then running aground scattering all the beachcombers running for their lives.  The daughter also says “No one ever listens to me.” and ends up disappearing near the end of the film with the family desperately searching for her.   She ends up delivering the climax of the film.

What is marvellous are the visual special effects of the film, many done with the aid of CGI.  CGI works best when it is best unnoticed and the CGI is done to complete many of the ordinary scenes like the one where the four of them are in the car.  The car had to be taken apart for the continuity shot, as explained by the film’s visual effects supervisor in the preview screening that this reviewer attended.  Other notable effects include insuring the forests and greenery in many scenes that were actually shot in late fall and winter when no greenery was present.  And there are the animal segments like the deer and flamingoes in the pool that are done magnificently using CGI.

The film plays like a Hitchcockian suspense thriller where the audience is never sure what is happening.  The effect is echoed many times in Julia Robert’s words when she demands to know what is happening.  The strange events occur a bit at a time - from the grounded tanker to the disturbing and loud sounds to the tornado of leaflets to the appearance of hundreds of deer to the explosions seen from the distance.  The explanation is finally given, whether satisfactory is up to the individual audience to decide but what explanation occurred could be very well true.  References are made to past world hacking events like the Filipino teenagers responsible for the “Love you” email hacking.

Racial issues are thankfully not omitted.  The intruders who are black feel it unfair that they have to sleep in the basement while the white folk in the main house,

Performances are top notch and the characters’ personalities are complex.  Robert’s character is the caring bitch, the advertising executive who she confesses hats people.  She is forced to trust strangers as a result of the dire consequences that occur.  In contrast, Ethan Hawk’s character is more trusting.  The strangers are initially painted vague so no one can guess their true colours.  All these different personalities add to the story’s suspense.  The fear of the unknown is the true fear experienced by the characters which are effectively portrayed in the film.

The film will be released in limited theatres on November 22, and by Netflix on December 8, 2023.

 

LEO (USA 2023) ***1/2

Directed by Robert Marianetti, Robert Smigel and David Wachtenheim

 

LEO (voiced by Adam Sandler) is one of two classroom pets in a Grade 5 classroom.

Leo (Adam Sandler) is a jaded and desperate lizard who is looking for something different after a visitor to their class suggests he is old.  So when the opportunity to explore the world presents itself as a take-home assignment for students, Leo jumps at it. However, his plan to go home with a student is disrupted when the student discovers Leo can actually talk.  It also helps the story to be more easily told to an audience.  Pretty soon, Leo learns that while the world has something to offer him, he has things to offer his elementary class, as each student who takes him home, he finds a new way to help them cope with the pains of growing up

The film takes a while to get its footing,  Humour and interest pick up when the Grade 5 regular teacher Mr. Salinas (cannot have white teachers here, even female ones; must be a minority or trans female - the trend now in films) has to take a leave of absence when she is about to have a baby.  Enter older Mrs. Malkin who believes in teaching and discipline, the old way, which means not only trouble for the kids but for the classroom pets.  The first shock comes during the weekend when a kid is forced to take the pets home for the weekend and return them in good health and condition.  “We don’t do that anymore,” is the remark that of course, goes ignored.  LEO is taken home for the weekend and attempts an escape.  Leo is 74, according to his arithmetic and thinks he can only live to 75.  So, he wants to live it up, and not be in a tank in a classroom any longer.

The humour is very slight during the first third of the film.  The one-liners, about various subjects ranging from classroom issues to pet animal issues, are just fairly amusing at best.  Until Mrs. Malkin (voiced by Cecily Strong from Saturday Night Live) appears, forming the catalyst for laughter.  Fortunately, the film really picks up during the last third, super-surprisingly with many laugh-out moments during various segments like the runaway school bus driven by a kid, a chase involving a gym hunk teacher and Mrs. Malkin and Leo frozen out of fear in the Everglades.

The film contains a few songs, though it can hardly be termed a musical.  The songs are fairly amusing though one of them is quite catchy and memorable.  The film's score was composed by Geoff Zanelli.

LEO is the typical Adam Sandler vehicle not groundbreaking animation or film, but it is solid entertainment, Sandler style.  Even the fart and poo jokes (yes, they are there, are minimal, and actually in not-so-bad taste - like the one Leo cracks that his food is dumped on the tortoise’s poo, not his.)

Bill Burr last seen in the rather awful Bill Burr Netflix comedy OLD DADS, does the voice of Squirtle, Leo’s pet buddy.  Through named Squirtle, the animal is not really a turtle as there is no water for it to swim.  The pet is more a tortoise than a turtle.  Perhaps the kids in the audience can make the note to the adults.  Burr is a comedian with humour quite similar to Sandler’s.

LEO is the second animated feature from Sandler's production company Happy Madison Productions.  Can Adam Sandler's animated LEO compete with Disney's WISH this week of opening?  LEO certainly is funnier, less assuming and more fun.  LEO is open for streaming on Netflix this week, Tuesday.  Solid Thanksgiving fare!

Trailer: 

NAPOLEON (UK/USA 2023) ***½

Directed by Ridley Scott

 

NAPOLEON is the long-planned project for Ridley Scott (BLADE RUNNER, THE DUELLISTS), an epic that details the checkered rise and fall of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (Joaquin Phoenix) and his relentless journey to power through the prism of his addictive, volatile relationship with his wife, Josephine (Vanessa Kirby).

The most entertaining part of NAPOLEON and the most spectacular and entertaining are the battle scenes, especially the beginning battle at Toulon and the climactic battle of Waterloo at the end.  In the former, the storming of the fort in the darkness of night while the British are still clamouring in their night clothes.  The battle scene reminds one of the old blockbusters like  SPARTACUS and BENHUR that were done, without the aid of CGI.  Cinematographer Dariusz Wolski will be hard to beat at the next Academy Awards.

The film also details the coup in France where Napoleon and his troops take over the government.  It is established right at the beginning of the film the problems facing the French Republic.  Most of the citizens were plagued by poverty, hunger and rising costs.  France was on the verge of a revolution.

One basic problem of this epic film on French history is language.  It would be best if all the French including Napoleon speak French, but that would be a problem with American audiences.  As such, all the French, Napoleon included speak with an American accent while the enemy, the British speak with a British accent.  The only trouble is British actress Vanessa Kirby playing Josephine.  Her British accent comes through in her role, causing some confusion regarding the consistency of the accents.

Joaquin Phoenix makes a marvellous Napoleon Buonaparte, all brooding and pensive, always thinking out military tactics while serving France the best way he can.  He meets his match in Josephine, who he calls a slut when she betrays him and sleeps with other men.  Phoenix has the look of pride and power while also satirical when making remarks after losing the Battle of Waterloo to the Duke of Wellington (Rupert Everett).

The film is mostly serious in nature.  The sight of hundreds of men battling out in war is not a pleasant sight.  The humour in the film is mostly black or satiric.  Humour is displayed in the warring couple of Napoleon and Josephine.  The inability of Josephine to provide Napoleon with a son - the heir to the throne is played to the hilt.  The British breakfast given by the Duke of Wellington to Napoleon in Plymouth after his final defeat is complemented as one reason for their success in battles.  In the end, his exile at St Helena seems to be a blessing for Napoleon to retire in peace.

NAPOLEON premiered at Salle Pleyel in Paris on November 14, 2023, and and will be released in the United States and the United Kingdom on November 22, 2023 Wednesday, by Columbia Pictures and Apple Original Films, through Sony Pictures Releasing and Apple TV+ respectively, before streaming on Apple TV+ at a later date.   Best to watch NAPOLEON in iMAX.

Trailer:

SALTBURN (UK/USA 2023) ***½

Directed by Emerald Fennell

 

SALTBURN, the following feature to her promising Academy Award Winning PROMISING YOUNG WOMEN arrives with as much fanfare as its outrageous depiction of love and relationships.  The film opens this year’s BFI London Film Festival.  Fennell, who won both the Best Original Screenplay Oscar and BAFTA for PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, and also currently be seen starring alongside Robbie in Barbie, has remarked that her films caput excess and indeed it is, a fact that will offend some and dismiss the excess might just be a [loy for attention-grabbing.

“I love him.  But I am not in love with him,”  says Arthur Quick (Barry Keoghan, Academy Award Nominee) at the beginning of the film of Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi).  The same sentences are repeated at the end of the film, and what has transpired during the film between the beginning and end gives a different meaning.  If that is the aim of the film, then SALTBURN succeeds admirably.

Struggling to find his place at Oxford University, Oliver Quick finds himself drawn into the world of the charming and aristocratic Felix Catton, who invites him to Saltburn, his eccentric family's sprawling estate, for a summer never to be forgotten.   Oliver is the outsider that the family finds amusing but eventually is affected by the boy.  The film has been compare to THE TALENTED MR. RIPLEY but it actually bears more similarities to SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE, a little-seen film darted by Harold Prince in which a dashing and young Michael York enters the household of German aristocracy held together by Angela Lansbury and toilet destroys the family.  Where SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE is sinister, wicked, camp and sexy, SALTBURN bears a very much more serious note.  The destruction of the family comes about in a very different way.

Director Fennell tells a tale of British access.  The Catton family pokes fun at Oliver, a man too ashamed of his drug-affected family so much so that he lies about them.  Felix forces a visit to their home and learns the truth, which is the catalyst of the things that are to happen.

But it is the relationship between Oliver and Felix that is the main focus.  The obsession and infatuation of Oliver over Fleix is clear from the very beginning.  Oliver is about to drop everything and anything to gain favour with Felix.  This is demonstrated by his loaning his bicycle to Felix when he had a flat, even offering to fix his tire and bring it back for him.  He even abandons his only other friend, Michale he has at the college.

Director Fennell pushes her characters to the limits, with Oliver in one scene desecrating Felix’s grave by masturbating on it and in another where he prances naked around the house.  Keoghan is an actor, used to weird roles, as in THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN and THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER pulls this role off with equal oddness and flair.

SALTBURN might be to everyone’s taste and could be argued too that it might have tried too much in excesses with the result in a  muddled narrative.  But credit to director Fennell who is brave enough to experiment and deliver a film that is at least exciting and different.

Trailer: 

WISH (USA 2023) ***½ 

Directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn

 

At a cost of $200 million, this big-budget musical fantasy WISH hopes and wishes to be the FROZEN of 2023. 

It boasts a story right from the Bible in which King Herod destroys all the bases for fear of the threat of his throne being taken away, just as King Magnifico (Chris Pine) in the story seeks to destroy ‘the star’ that believes is his own threat. 

Many years ago, the Kingdom of Rosas was founded by King Magnifico and his wife Queen Amaya on an island in the Mediterranean Sea. Having studied magic and sorcery, Magnifico gained the ability to grant the wishes of his subjects. When each resident turns 18, a ceremony is held where they give up their wish to Magnifico, who keeps them sealed in his observatory. Once a month, Magnifico selects one of the residents' wishes to be granted before the city.

In the present day, 17-year-old Asha prepares to interview for the role of Magnifico's apprentice along with her pet goat Valentino. It is her grandfather Sabino's 100th birthday and Asha hopes Magnifico will grant his wish in commemoration. Her best friend Dahlia, who runs the castle bakery alongside their six friends Simon, Gabo, Bazeema, Safi, Dario, and Hal, advises Asha to be honest about her weaknesses. The interview initially goes well with Magnifico and Asha expressing a shared desire to protect the wishes of Rosas. However, when Asha requests for Sabino's wish to be granted, Magnifico refuses. A heated argument ensues. It is revealed that Magnifico erases the memories of the citizens' wishes when they are made and never returns the ungranted wishes to their owners. In doing so, the populace is rendered docile and free of aspirations, and thus dependent on Magnifico.

At the wish-granting ceremony that evening, Magnifico makes a point of not granting Sabino's wish and dismisses Asha as his apprentice. Asha tries to tell her family the truth about Magnifico, but they do not believe her. Frustrated and out of options, Asha wishes to the heavens and a ball of light drops from the sky, which is revealed to be a physical manifestation of the star she wished for. 

The film bears a nod to Disney’s classics like THE MAGICIAN’S APPRENTICE with Asha interviewing for the position of the apprenticeship of the King who is also a sorcerer.  The classic song “Wish Upon a Star” can be heard in the background soundtrack.  Disney plays safe and does what they do best in their new animation feature, no groundbreaking filmmaking here nor does it tackle controversial issues, but re-hashes a formula in which dreams and wishes come through in a magical Kingdom, in this case, the kingdom of Rosas.  The songs and animation are magnificent and should be given the $200 million budget.  As the Disney saying goes: There is nothing more powerful in the Universe than a child’s wish, this is a film about wishes coming through, with a twist.  The script actually contains a fresh and imaginative story with a cutesy original ‘star’ character (voiceless).

WISH has a Thanksgiving opening on Wednesday, November the 22nd.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 06 November 2023

The biggest film surprise opening this week is Eli Roth's inspiring horror comedy THANKSGIVING.   Total fun showing that ghastly horror can be entertaining when it is delivered smartly and funny.    Big ones like NAPOLEON and THE HUNGER GAMES prequel make their debut.  The best feel-good film NEXT GOAL WINS deserves a mention and a look.

 

FILM REVIEWS:

BELIEVER 2 (SOUTH KOREA 2023) ***

Directed by Baek Jong-yul 

 

`Netflix’s latest South Korean original film is BELIEVER 2 a sequel to the 2018 crime action film BELIEVER. BELIEVER is a remake of the Jonny To Hong Kong action film DRUG WAR.  The film is directed by Baek Jong-yul and the cast includes the return of lead actors and actresses.

The sequel follows Won-ho's (Cho Jin-woong reprising his role) investigation of looking for "Rak," who disappeared after Brian's (Cha Seung-won) incarceration while getting to the core of the elusive drug cartel.   It is Lee that Won-ho is after, that he believes he can capture.  At the start of the film, his supervisor takes him off the case saying that he does not know who Lee is or where he is, or even his gender.

This is the rare South Korean film that is shot in Norway.  Being filmed in Norway, one can expect some stunning landscapes on display.  The introduction of the two twin mute cooks adds a fresh element to an otherwise well-worn drug cartel detective and mouse chase movie genre.  The film runs almost two hours, could be edited shorter but nevertheless moves at an acceptable pace.  Director Baek ups the angst in the violence department with a new killer, a female who cannot hold her head up straight, from China, Baek ups the angst in violence department with Big Knife, an emotionless, chain-smog executioner who sports bad skin and rotten teeth, thick glasses and a penchant for decapitations.  He concluded.  The film suffers otherwise from the lack of both a strong narrative and a more solid plot that even new nuanced characters introduced into the film cannot make up for.   The original BELIEVER in this respect is the better film.

BELIEVER 2, a Netflix original premiered at 28th Busan International Film Festival in the 'Korean Cinema Today - Special Premiere' section on October 5, 2023.  It is available for streaming on Netflix this week from November 17, 2023.

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BLOW UP YOUR LIFE (USA 2022) ***

Directed by Abby Horton & Ryan Dickie

 

The film begins with Jason  Trumbo making a recording that introduces the film’s subject.  Jason Trumbo is clearly distraught.  The recording goes as such:  My name is Jason Trumbo.  I am a man on the run.  I came across some files I was not supposed to.  To keep them secret these people want me dead.  This is my life  This is my story.  This is my life.  This is my story!   As expected, the film flashes back to tell Jason’s story from the very beginning.

The film is described as a comedy thriller and it plays as one.  But a whistle-blower story and one from a large pharmaceutical company is quite serious and no joke.  The fact that the film is played partly as a comedy unfortunately undermines the seriousness of the matter.

Jason (Jason Selvig), a disillusioned pharmaceutical employee, is fired after a drug-fueled social media post goes viral, but when he accidentally discovers a deadly opioid conspiracy hidden by his former boss (Davram Stiefler) he sets out to redeem himself.  In this noir comedy-thriller set in the age of tech, Jason goes on the run as a reluctant whistleblower trying to expose the crime with the help of his computer-wiz cousin Charlie (Kara Young) and his journalist ex-girlfriend Priya (Reema Sampat), but the CEO (Ben Horner) at the heart of the scandal has other plans.

The dialogue could be funnier and comes across often as quite lame. “Shit.  Shit.  She. What am I to do?” Complains Jason to Charlie at one point.

The overall flaw of the film is that the whistleblower story lacks clout.  It does not help that the film, as said,  is constantly played lightly for laughs.

Jason Selvage barely passes as the lead.  The actor has a good physique at least, as observable in the scene where he crouches down in the shower stall.  Despite hard attempts, Selvage is unable to display distress or desperation, relying of the dialogue instead, the dialogue itself not being too good either.

BLOW UP YOUR LIFE has nothing that one has not seen or heard in real life with whistleblowers of big companies especially large pharmaceuticals.  Snowden’s whistleblowing film is a case in point.

It does not help the film that the audience does not root for the main characters.  In the film, Jason comes across as a glorified loser.  He is fired from his job for going to social media with his “lah -di fucking dah” attitude after much partying.  When he comes across the whistleblowing files, which he stole while repairing a friend’s computer, a friend who is working for the company, Jason is half-decided as to what to do and consults his friends.  It would help if his character is strong, and Jason would blow the whistle for it is the right thing to do.

The film’s exciting parts include a fight in the car park and a car chase that place at night - all executed without too much aplomb or excitement, appearing to be inserted here for a filler and a little excitement.

BLOW UP YOUR LIFE is available VOD and opens on Prime Video Apple TV on Nov. 21

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BOLIVAR (USA 2021) ***

Directed by Nell Teare

 

James Walsh and Nell Teare make a good-looking filmmaking team, Teare directing and co-writing with Walsh while both starring in the film as well.  Teare plays the protagonist role of Maggie while Walsh plays Maggie’s handsome but troubled brother.

  It has been three months since her mother’s death, and Maggie is struggling to keep her head above water; daydreams of childhood haunt her waking moments as she navigates a failing marriage, a neglected career and a father (Robert Pine) who will not engage with his own grief. On one particular morning, she is awakened by a pounding on her door. Her younger brother, Sonny (James Walsh) whom she has not seen since before her mother passed, shows up on her doorstep, unaware of their mother's death. Over the next week, Maggie walks a fine line between acceptance and becoming a tragedy herself, but Sonny’s return forces her to make sense of a reality that may not be what it seems.

“Why are you so cold?” asks Maggie’s ex at one point in the film.  ‘I don’t know how else to feel,” comes her reply.  The same question can be asked in the film why does it feel so cold, especially during the first half hour.  “You need to be loved.” comes the reaction. In the next scene, Maggie meets someone who could be the person to love her.

There is nothing really wrong with the film as it plays safe.  The only risk the director and scriptwriter take is the extensive use of flashbacks.  What the audience learns about Maggie’s past, her emotions and her trauma are all told via flashbacks.  there are too many of these resulting in the film feeling too disjointed.  Also, when effort has been put into a single scan to have the mood built up, the work is destroyed by the sudden insertion of a flashback.  In real life, everyone has problems.  Everyone has to deal with the passing of a loved one.  Everyone has a back sheep in the family.  And almost everyone has a kid  The problem Maggie faces looks like a common one, and one that is too common to create much excitement, and one that lacks a certain freshness.  The film at least can claim to be one that is based on a credible premise.  The most interesting parts of the film occur whenever Maggie’s crazy brother shows up, who often blames Maggie (this is quite funny - his way of reasoning) for all his troubles.  Even their father says to him: “What is wrong with you?  Your mother is sick and you are behaving like a fucking child.”

The film is called Bolivar because Port Bolivar is where Maggies’s family spent time there when her family dynamics got together.   Port Bolivar is an unincorporated community located on the northern shore of the western tip of the Bolivar Peninsula, separated from Galveston Island by the entrance to Galveston Bay. The Bolivar Peninsula itself is a census-designated place, in Galveston County, Texas, and part of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area

BOLIVAR is available On Demand, Digital and DVD this week from November 14, available to rent and purchase on all major platforms, including AT&T U-Verse // DirecTV // Dish Network // Sling TV // Prime Video // AppleTV // Vudu // Xbox // Google Play and  YouTube Movies.  Not a bad film that took its time to be released on various platforms, The film has won awards at the Gulf Coast Film and Video Film Festival.

Trailer: 

THE HUNGER GAMES: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (USA 2023) ***

Directed By Francis Lawrence

 

Hooray for THE HUNGER GAMES.  It brought (together with the TWILIGHT and DIVERGENT franchises) its distributor, film company Lions Gate to heights never achieved when its stock price was more than $30 a share.  At the time of writing this review, the stock price has plummeted to below $10.  Lions Gate has had minor successes with JOHN WICK and THE ILLUSIONIST films, and the only hope for the stock price to rise is for the company to be acquired.  Lions Gate owns Starz, a minor streaming service.

THE HUNGER GAMES film series is composed of science fiction dystopian adventure films, based on The Hunger Games trilogy of novels by American author Suzanne Collins. The films are distributed by Lions Gate.   The series has made box-office stars of many of its actors including Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth.  

The new film, a prequel, has a modest budget for a dystopian sci-fi blockbuster of $100 million.  Compare this to Disney’s THE MARVELS with a very risky budget of $250 million. Given the past history of Lions Gate, it is not surprising that they are playing it safe with the company in desperate need of another hit.  Playing safe, the modest budget can be seen with a smaller number of stars not including Peter Linkage and Viola Davis.  The main actor is a relative unknown Tom Blyth, a handsome and body-chiseled English actor, last seen in Terence Davies’ excellent BENEDICTION in 2021.  Director Francis Lawrence returns as director.  The result is a safe HUNGER GAMES film with the same look, atmosphere and feel as the franchise.  Why change something that works?  Why rock the boat?  HUNGER GAMES fans should not be disappointed.

Years, before he would become the tyrannical President of Panem, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow (Blyth), is the last hope for his fading lineage, a once-proud family that has fallen from grace in a post-war Capitol. With the 10th annual Hunger Games fast approaching, the young Snow is alarmed when he is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Ziegler), the female tribute from impoverished District 12. But, after Lucy Gray commands all of Panem’s attention by defiantly singing during the reaping ceremony, Snow thinks he might be able to turn the odds in their favour. Uniting their instincts for showmanship and newfound political savvy, Snow and Lucy Gray’s race against time to survive will ultimately reveal who is a songbird, and who is a snake.”

The film is a bit puzzling to follow as director Lawrence does not spend time to let the audience digest all the facts of the story  But one can put the story together, nevertheless unless one wishes to read the novel or the synopsis before seeing the film.  A certain amount of credibility is required though, as the heroes Coriolanus and Lucy Gray survive the greatest odds.  The film also goes into the need to have civilized HUNGER GAMES, though the argument is not thoroughly convincing.  The production is modest and effective with a good futuristic look, like London (as seen in the roundabout)  in the future.

THE HUNGER GAMES: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes opens the weekend of November 17th and hopes to gross $50 million in the opening weekend.

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THE JOB OF SONGS (USA 2021) ***

Directed by Lila Schmitz

 

In Doolin, an isolated village teetering on the western edge of Ireland, a community of musicians seek joy and connection through music as they face a modernizing world.

The beauty of Count Clare is the film’s beautiful and astounding setting.  The audience is told that it is a little island right out in the Atlantic and the film’s next shot shows the cliffs - with a warning sign - Dangerous cliff ahead.   

The next scene takes the audience to the village of Doolin,  in Clare County.

Tourists flock to the west coast of Ireland to take in the breathtaking Cliffs of Moher, but the real treasure lies in the soulful, acoustic sounds wafting out of pubs and living rooms of Doolin, County Clare. Nobody knows the effect of music on people but without music, we have nothing, says a character at the start of the film,  The denizens of this unspoiled coastal village of tight-knit neighbours and unlocked doors revel in the passion and history of their traditional folk songs, using music as a thread through generations to create community, connection, and joy.

THE JOB OF SONGS was made by a crew of three women, who are first-time feature filmmakers: LILA SCHMITZ (director, producer, editor), ANIKA KAN GREVSTAD (director of photography, producer), and FENGYI XU (producer). The film was made with the support of acclaimed documentarians double Oscar-winning writer-producer-director Bill Guttentag and Emmy and Grammy Award-winning documentarian Doug Pray.  The film has screened at numerous prestigious International Film Festivals including DOC NYC, Galway Film Fleadh, Newport Beach Film Festival, Rocky Mountain Women’s Film Festival, Milwaukee Film Festival, and many others. It won Best International Documentary at the Galway Film Fleadh. 

The documentary works for its simple charm which celebrates the simple beauty of life, just like taking the time to observe a bird.  The tradition of songs brought down from one generation cogeneration is clearly displayed in all its glory and importance.  The people, of Doolinare older, though a few younger folk can seen in the background.  People need to find a voice.  When conversations get hot and heavy, these people say they should take up the song,  One of the most beautiful songs heard in the film is called “Reel Me” about refugees.

The gloomy skies of the area contribute to depression.  It is at this point of the film that the film undertakes a more somber tone.  Since the cliffs have opened, there have been many suicides due to depression.  An interviewer also talks about a song dedicated to his brother who died in a car accident just short of the age of 24.  The case of a bit too much drinking is also addressed.  The topic of grieving is also examined alongside the music,yet the music is beautiful with the pipes and lyrics of the songs.  Charm and melancholy blend well together near the film's end, bringing the film to a memorable end.

THE JOB OF SONGS, running a mere 74 minutes, opens on digital platforms on November 21, 2023. The film has a running time of 74 minutes and will not be rated by the MPAA.

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IN LOVE AND DEEP WATER (Japan 2023) **

Directed by Yûsuke Taki

 

 

The plot of this new original Netflix mystery comedy thriller is set on a massive luxury cruise ship. While at sea, the loyal butler Suguru, nicknamed ‘lightning rod’ and a mysterious woman named Chizuru cross paths as they try to uncover a murder mystery that occurs on the ship.

The premise sounds like the film that could be taken from an Agatha Christie murder mystery shot in an exotic setting where anyone (passenger or staff of the luxury cruise ship) could be the killer.

Unfortunately, everything goes wrong in this otherwise very silly and badly executed mystery whodunit.  For one it is no longer a whodunit when the killer is revealed right during the first quarter of the film.  The two main characters are supposed to form the love story but their meeting (their two partners have started cheating with each other) is too silly to make any sense.  The protagonist is described as one with no pride.  As the ship’s main butler, he apologizes for every single complaint and makes himself subject to ridicule and shame.  The girl appears out of nowhere with evidence of her partner's cheating.  How did she find him and get aboard the cruise ship?  The two exhibit totally annoying behaviour.

Watching  IN LOVE AND DEEP WATER is like taking a cruise ship vacation and being stuck with unpleasant fellow passengers who cannot be ridden.   Worst still, the film runs over two hours, which is far too long for a mystery thriller comedy, least of all a terrible one.

IN LOVE AND DEEP WATER is opus on Netflix for streaming this week.

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MAY DECEMBER (USA 2023) ***

Directed by Todd Haynes

 

Todd Haynes, the veteran director of more than a dozen critical hits from his best gay period coming-out drama FAR FROM HEAVEN (Haynes was nominated for Best Original Screenplay that he wrote) to his lesbian love story CAROL, practically a gay copy of David Lean’s masterpiece BRIEF ENCOUNTER, MAY DECEMBER is arguably director Hayne’s most controversial subject. However, pedophilia takes second place to another hidden agenda, one that is not really made crystal clear in the film, but one that audiences need to discover.

MAY DECEMBER is a black comedy-drama film directed by Todd Haynes from a screenplay by Samy Burch, based on a story by Burch and Alex Mechanik.  It follows an actress. Elizabeth Berry  (Natalie Portman) who travels to Georgia to meet and study the life of the controversial woman, Gracie (Julianne Moore) she is set to play in a film. It is loosely inspired by the story of Mary Kay Letourneau. 

The premise of the film is set twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple with a large age gap buckles under the pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a film about their past.  The woman Gracie has had sex with her Grade 7 student and while in prison, gave birth to twins.  The twins are now grown up and it is the time for their graduation.  The film is a slow burn which is puzzling as to what the film’s main aim is.  It seems to question the awkwardness of people, and how they handle this peculiarity of nature. The question is who is the trusted one and who is the one that is stable.  Gracie has been criticized as a mental mess for what she has done, but she apparently has all he life well organized together.  or so it seems.  The film examines her life in parallel to what is happening to her as her life is revealed in a film in which the actress will portray her.

The script takes a huge detour with the real story of Mary Kay Letourneau.  She was imprisoned for underage sex and had her sentencing reduced on the condition that she did not see the boy again.  But she did and was imprisoned with the original term while giving birth to the second daughter in prison.  Though loose based on Lettourneau’s tabloid news, her story could have been totally dismissed from the credits, as too much liberty had been taken.

Credit should be given to Haynes for indulging in such a difficult topic, with a story examining the complexities of guilt, acceptance, awkwardness and true love.  It is dangerous that the film does not condemn the fact that this is a case of underaged sex, and Gracie is truly guilty and that adolescents should be protected,

MAY DECEMBER, a Netflix original film, premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2023. It is scheduled to be released in select theaters in the United States on November 17, 2023, before streaming on Netflix on December 1, 2023.

Trailer: 

 

NEXT GOAL WINS (USA 2023) ****

Directed by Taika Waititi

 

The underdog sports team gets a new coach who needs to redeem himself.  This is not a new theme but one that has been used time and again in a sports feel-good film, the most recent being CHAMPIONS in which a former minor-league basketball coach played by Woody Harrelson is ordered by the court to manage a team of players with intellectual disabilities.  So there was much trepidation when I read the theme of the new Taika Waititi film about a disgraced Dutch American soccer manager Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) leading a losing soccer team to victory.  But this feel-good film by Waititi who shows ingenuity and brilliance works wonders.  Waititi is a New Zealand director who became famous with little films like BOY, WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, JOJO RABBIT, and blockbusters like THOR: RAGNAROK.

The film’s setting is American Samoa, which is an island out in the Pacific.  The nation of American Samoa (population 45,000) was never going to be an international football powerhouse, but a 31-0 loss to Australia put them in the record books in the worst possible way. Dutch-American manager Thomas Rongen (Michael Fassbender) lands in the slow-paced island community determined to inject footballing discipline into the team as they make a qualifying run for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.  The owner of the club has made the bet that his team would win just one goal.  Hence the film title.

Michael Fassbender is a terrific actor and he shows his talent for comedy in this outing in which he comes across as not too bad.  But the winning performances come from the Samoan actors playing the footballers.  Though Fassbender is good, the discovery is Kaimana, who plays real-life team member Jaiyah.  Like Jaiyah, Kaimana is a member of American Samoa's fa’afafine community and delivers a warm, deep, and commanding performance in every scene.  Kaimana is a real revelation, able to make the audience cry and laugh simultaneously.  The performance with Jaiyah, flicking her hair in the midst of an important match is plain hilarious.  It is hard to believe that the film is based on true events and true characters like Jaiyah and Rongen, the actual characters shown at the end of the film during the closing credits.

Whether this is true or not, Rongen wears the T-shirt with the words Miyagi during the soccer qualifier.  (Miyagi is the Japanese trainer in THE KARATE KID).  There is a wax-on. wax-ff scene in the film too.

The film is based on the documentary by Mike Brett and Steve Jamison — where the pleasure comes from watching the characters on the pitch, Indigenous Samoan players who mostly sucked, mostly knew it, and still played their hearts out.  But director Waititi also adds his magic touch.  Instead of letting the second half of the climatic match play out the normal way, he infuses the flashback with a voiceover approach.  The team manager has a hearty attack, actually a heat stroke, and faints during the second half of the match.  When he gains consciousness, his son, also a player recounts the second half of the match giving his interpretation.  Waititi’s film is also very, very funny.

NEXT GOAL WINS opens November 17th.

Trailer: 

THE STONES AND BRIAN JONES (UK 2023) ***½

Directed by Nick Broomfield

 

From director Nick Broomfield comes BRIAN JONES AND THE STONES, a time-capsule documentary that explores the creative musical genius of Brian Jones, founder of the Rolling Stones.  The director Nick Broomfield had met Brian Jones on a train when he was 14.  Broomfield described Jones as a friendly guy who said that he was a trainspotter.  Who was to know, Broomfield said, that Brian Jones would be dead 6 years later.  Brian Jones was the founder of the Rolling Stones, and at the time was more popular than the titular Mick Jagger.  Jones gets most of the fan mail, more than Mick Jagger.  Jones got around 60% while Jagger around 20% of the mail.  Yet many to no one has heard of Brian Jones.

The doc BRIAN JONES AND THE STONES aims to change all that.  The film, largely shot in black and white, at its best transports the audience back in time to the 60s and 70s at the height of the fame of the Stones.

Broomfield personalizes Jones with information about him and his parents.  Parents want to see themselves in their children till they grow up enough to become individual personalities of their own, as mentioned early in the doc.  His father was not happy with the son being in the band, especially not with long hair, and wanted him to have a proper job like himself.  Jones was seen to be a joker but could get a bit aggressive if he did not get his way.  Yet, he was always forgiven as he was such a nice guy. 

In 1962, looking for members to form a blues band, Brian Jones posted a want ad, which led him to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.  Inspired by the title of a Muddy Waters’ song, Jones came up with the name “RollingStones.”  Although he was the original fan favourite, Jones soon found himself overshadowed by Jagger and Richards who wrote their own songs, trading off Jones’ beloved blues for a more rock ‘n’ roll sound.

  It was the Swinging Sixties – and Jones was living a life of sex, drugs and (reluctantly) rock ‘n’ roll.  The film covers many areas – his strict parents, his serial girlfriends, his tumultuous days with “It Girl” Anita Pallenberg, his firing from the band, and his death less than a month later at age 27.

The film also mixes unseen archival footage with interviews.  Bill Wyman appears on camera, pointing out how Jones’ skill as an instrumentalist gave songs like “Ruby Tuesday” and “Paint It, Black” their distinctive sound.  Others offering thoughts off camera are Jagger, Richards, Charlie Watts, former girlfriends, schoolmates, friends, et al.  On a sad note,

40 years after Jones died, a repentant letter from his father was discovered.

There are some marvellous performances captured in archive footage like the rendering of  “Come On” by the Stones, their first hit.

THE STONES AND BRIAN JONES opens November 17 in Toronto (Hot Docs Cinema), Vancouver (Vancity), London and Waterloo!

Trailer: 

THANKSGIVING (USA 2023) ****

Directed by Eli Roth

 

In interviews, Thanksgiving director Eli Roth promised his new film be an incredibly gory and satisfying R-rated slasher experience with creative and bloody kills.  The film originates from the fake trailer from the film GRINDHOUSE.

The film begins appropriately with the film taking place in Plymouth, Massachusetts on Black Friday and the American Thanksgiving.  As with many Black Friday specials, Right Mart, the big departmental store has got bargains galore, most notably the waffle toaster that everyone is clamouring about.  It is 10 minutes before the store opens and there are hundreds of customers behind barricades, making the store opening the scene of a possible riot.  Things are pushed to the limit when a couple of teens (VIPs) are allowed to enter early, as they’re related or close friends to the Right Mart’s owner.  Through the glass, the teens tease those outside waiting resulting in the barricades broken down and the crows breaking into the store like a stampede out of control.  Director Roth directs this scene with great skill and aplomb showing his prowess at editing, dialogue and sound.  The sequence is also terribly hilarious and also serves as a satire for Black Friday America.  Absolutely brilliant!  The chaos also resulted in horror as many customers ended up killed not including a footballer who has his hand crushed in the stampede and a security guard’s head smashed face down into the broken glass of the store window.

This Black Friday incident, adds to the killer's motive for the Thanksgiving-themed murders.  The film plays like a whodunit with the identity of the killer (very hard to guess) revealed at the very end. 

  Roth has proved his talent with gory films like the HOSTEL films and THE GREEN INFERNO.   The first killing gives a new meaning to the phrase 50% off.  The recent torture horror film SAW X did a good box-office number recently and this one should do well.

Co-written by Roth and Jeff Rendell, the film is well constructed with a slasher killing and a climax that takes place during the town’s Thanksgiving parade.  As in the SAW films, the film has new and ingenuous scares that are both scary and fun enough to have the audience shriek and laugh at the same time.  One gory scene involves the killer piercing the victim's ears with corncob skewers.  If that is not sufficient to push the film towards the R-rated limit the trampoline scene in which a victim falls and bounces off the trampoline that has spikes shoved through it will surely do the job.  While SAW X is deadly serious,  THANKSGIVING is serious fun.

The young cast as well as veterans like Patrick Dempsey and Gina Gerson are all nothing short of fantastic having fun in their roles as well.

Horror films have taken over Christmas (BlACK CHRISTMAS) and Thanksgiving t(his film).  Easter would be the obvious next target.  THANKSGIVING has likely the best advertising caption on its poster - There will; be no seconds.   What will come next for Easter?  KILLER BUNNIES?  ‘There are only going to be bad eggs this Easter’ could be the caption.

Trailer:  

TROLLS BAND TOGETHER (USA 2023) **

Directed by Walt Dohrn

 

The 2D animated CGI combination feature TROLLS BAND TOGETHER is the third of the TROLLS franchise and basically Justin Timberlake’s baby, spearheading the project. involving himself in the music and starring (his voice) in it.  It is aimed mainly at smaller kids, who from the film’s preview screening, allowed family, the children were simply delighted with the product, even though there is a lack of imagination in the story or dialogue with most of the latter depending on silly one-liners and punch lines.  The review could do the same with a line like the film going in one direction, unfortunately, the wrong one.

The film begins with a generally uninspired and unfunny first performance of the BroZone, a boy troll band delivering a failed unison performance that led to the band’s breaking up.

After two films of true friendship and relentless flirting, (if one can remember) Poppy (Anna Kendrick) and Branch (Justin Timberlake voting in a griller high-pitched voice) are now officially, finally, a couple!  As they grow closer, Poppy discovers that Branch has a secret past. He was once part of her favourite boyband phenomenon, BroZone, with his four brothers:  Floyd (Golden Globe-nominated electropop sensation Troye Sivan), John Dory (Eric André; Sing 2), Spruce (Grammy winner Daveed Diggs; Hamilton) and Clay (Grammy winner Kid Cudi; Don't Look Up). BroZone disbanded when Branch was still a baby, as did the family, and Branch hadn't seen his brothers since.  But when Branch's bro Floyd is kidnapped for his musical talents by a pair of nefarious pop-star villains--Velvet (Emmy winner Amy Schumer; Trainwreck) and Veneer (Grammy winner and Tony nominee Andrew Rannells; The Book of Mormon)--Branch and Poppy embark on a harrowing and emotional journey to reunite the other brothers and rescue Floyd from a fate even worse than pop-culture obscurity.

The film lacks the existence of an evil or at least a terribly funny villain.  The success of the film appears to depend on the cuteness of the trolls, just like Universal’s Illuminata films depend on the cuteness of their Minions in the DESPICABLE ME franchise  The trolls thus appear in an assortment of colours including different hair colours and styles, the hair at least allowing the audience to distinguish one troll from the other.  The BroZone brothers sport different accents, as they are played by white and coloured actors, which might confuse the littler audience.  The film is colourful enough with a myriad of colours, especially in troll city and other settings of the story.  When the BroZone performs as in the other choreographed sequences, the animated choreography is cute and synched enough to delight the audience, both kids and adults alike.  The animation is said to be inspired by the animated classics of  The Beatles’ THE YELLOW SUBMARINE (1968) and Walt Disney’s FANTASIA.

TROLLS BAND TOGETHER has already been released in international markets, starting with Denmark on October 12, 2023, and is scheduled to be released in the United States and locally in Canada and Toronto on November 17.

Trailer: 

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 04 November 2023

FILM REVIEW: 

 

BIRTH/REBIRTH (USA 2022) ***
Directed by Laura Moss

 

BIRTH/REBIRTH tells the birth or rebirth of a dead daughter.  The birth/rebirth is the result of an experiment a pathologist conducts to her success.  It is a re-telling of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein classic with a few notable differences.

Firstly it is a female re-telling.  All the characters are now female.  The doctor is still a doctor but a pathologist.  A new character, a mother is involved and the monster is also a female.  Secondly, there is more humanizing in the story.  All the characters are displayed as human beings with real emotions that matter.  Thirdly, the story takes a different direction after the ‘monster’ is created.  The monster is also not a monster but a ‘previous human being’.

Rose (Marin Ireland) is a pathologist who prefers working with corpses over social interaction. She also has an obsession — the reanimation of the dead. Celie (Judy Reyes) is a maternity nurse who has built her life around her bouncy, chatterbox six-year-old daughter, Lila (A.J. Lister). When one tragic night, Lila suddenly falls ill and dies, the two women's worlds crash into each other. They embark on a dark path of no return where they will be forced to confront how far they are willing to go to protect what they hold most dear.

Director Moss does her utmost best to make her Frankenstein tale as credible as possible. She invests the first third of the film into examining the 2 characters of her story.  She shows a diligent rather worried human being, Rose, just not a crazed experimenter.  When the two initially meet, Rose has her nose hit by the door and the following scenes show her with a bleeding nose, which causes the audience to have some sympathy for her.  Celie the mother is shown to be a caring yet desperate mother who would do anything to bring her dead daughter to life, regardless.  Her desperation to search for her missing daughter initially also takes some screen time.  Director Moss clearly established the raison d’être of both women to continue the Frankenstein experiment much further.

BIRTH/REBIRTH is largely a female picture.  The two protagonists are female, the experiment is the daughter and the director of the film is also female.  Director Moss keeps the female issues at hand, not letting them cloud the main story.  Both actresses Ireland and Reyes are totally convincing in their roles.  The interaction of the two characters, initially strangers then forced to bond together make a large part of the storyline,

BIRTH/REBIRTH is an impressive directorial debut from Laura Moss (a filmmaker from NYC whose work has screened at Tribeca, Rotterdam, and SXSW+ who has reimagined Mary Shelley’s classic horror myth Frankenstein into credible modern setting with real people with real issues.  As believable as it is, the film is more mysterious than scary with the story leading into a different ending that would also only lead to disaster.

BIRTH/REBIRTH opens Exclusively On Shudder Nov 10th, 2023.

Trailer: 

CYBERBUNKER: THE CRIMINAL UNDERWORLD (Germany 2023) ****

Written and directed by Max Rainer, and Kilian Lieb

 

This documentary reveals how a group of hackers powered the darkest corners of the internet from a Cold War-era bunker in a quiet German tourist town. The word underworld has a double meaning - as in crime and also underneath ground level.

CyberBunker was an Internet service provider located in the Netherlands and Germany that, according to its website, "hosted services to any website except child pornography and anything related to terrorism".  The company first operated in a former NATO bunker in Zeeland, and later in another former NATO bunker in Traben-Trarbach, Germany.  In 2013 the company purchased its second bunker, in Traben-Trarbach, Germany.  The film has aerial footage that shows the bunker and its idyllic surroundings.  But one has to go below the surface to find out what is really going on. 

The film is a well-documented account that is arranged to pique one’s interest from the film’s very beginning  The film opens with the introduction of the founder, known as Xennt, the mastermind, being interviewed supposedly from prison.  The doc also claims that lal video surveillance seen in the film are re-enactments.. Xenntclaims that the site will host everything except child porn and terrorism.  But his high ideals eventually led to criminal activity.  The film examines all the 5 levels of the bunker and what each level hosted.  The employees also called teams, have breakfast and dinner together and may live there while often frequently visiting the German town close by.  But the company sees money and financing.  The doc reveals that the money comes from hosting pornography.  They were hosting porn sites as a cash cow, generating traffic, and getting money in whatever way they can.  When the major of Traben-Trarbacj had complaints about criminal activity, Xennt invited the mayor to come to take a look and insisted that there was nothing to hide and that all doors were always open for inspection.

There are quite a few interviews that enhance the film’s credibility as well as provide intrigue, including from the FBI and the director for the Wall Street Market.  The interviewees are one of the intriguing points that make this doc tick.  Xennt is also interviewed showing that he had the charisma to attract all the people to work under him

The doc should be seen with a recent doc called BILLION DOLLAR HESIT, also about web hackers.  Global, dynamic, and eye-opening, BILLION DOLLAR HEIST tells the story of the most daring cyber heist of all time, the Bangladeshi Central Bank theft - a good companion piece with CYBERBUNKER.

At its best, the doc plays like a suspense thriller.  An undercover investigator posed as a volunteer and entered the facility to gather information.  The founder, Xenon himself welcomes the investigator posed as a gardener who planted spruces and stayed without getting any pay for his job.  The investigator also brought in another investigator, posed as a cleaning lady who had access to all the rooms in the bunker

All good things or rather in this case, all bad things eventually come to an end.  CYBERBUNKER: THE CRIMINAL UNDERWORLD, a Netflix original (mainly in German), one of the best doc of the year, is informative, scary, and thankfully highly watchable for its easygoing treatment of the material.  It opens for streaming this week on Netflix.

Trailer: 

 

THE MARVELS (USA 2023) **

Directed by Nią Dacosta

 

Disney has and is still going all out on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).  The latest offering is a lesser-known Marvel action superhero called Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) who has had her own movie called CAPTAIN MARVEL and now returns with the latest film, THE MARVELS with two sidekicks or teammates.  The production cost is a hefty $250 million.  THE HUMGER GAMES prequel which opens next week, cost a modest $100 million in comparison.  It is like make it or break it.  And the film is a terrible mess of story and narrative in too expensive a film.

The film features the characters Carol Danvers / Captain Marvel, Monica Rambeau, and Kamala Khan / Ms. Marvel.  Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the sequel to the film Captain Marvel (2019), a continuation of the television miniseries Ms. Marvel (2022), and the 33rd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).  It stars Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, Teyonah Parris as Monica Rambeau, and Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan, as the 3 main heroes.

Following the events of Captain Marvel, Carol Danvers destroys the Supreme Intelligence, which subsequently leads to a civil war among the Kree. Hala becomes barren as it loses its air and water, with its sun dying as well.  In the present day, Dar-Benn, the new leader of the Kree, succeeds in finding one-half of the Quantum Bands, of which Kamala Khan has the other half. Dar-Benn harnesses the power of the Band to tear apart a jump point in a space, which would later be discovered by S.W.O.R.D.  Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson in the rare role where he does not use the ‘mf’ word), now on S.A.B.E.R., hosts the Kree-Skrull Peace Talks and calls in Carol and Monica Rambeau to investigate a jump point anomaly near S.A.B.E.R. When Monica touches the jump point, she, Carol, and Kamala switch powers. The switching causes the three to fight each others' Kree enemies, leaving the Khans' house destroyed in their wake. As the three women return to their original places, Fury and Rambeau visit Kamala on Earth.

A bit of humour is provided by the Khan family as Kamala struggles with her superpowers.  But the humour is very slight in this supposedly lighter-hearted Marvel action superhero movie.  The villain is also less evil than usual and actor Jackson delivers one of the mildest roles in his career.  Even the formidable Jackson was unable to provide any laughs.

As the uninteresting film jumps all over the place, just as the action heroes jump all over the universe, the effect eventually gets quite numbing.

This clearly is an action hero movie with a female slant, with the villain and the female teammates action heroes. 

True to form as in all Marvel films, one has to stay till the end of the end credits for a surprise. 

THE MARVELS have received mixed reviews by many critics, and good reviews by some more sympathetic reviewers.  THE MARVELS opens November the 10th in theatres.

Trailer: 

STAMPED FROM THE BEGINNING (USA 2023) *

Directed by Roger Ross Williams

 

The film in a phrase to paraphrase the content covers ‘the history of racism’.

Contrary to popular conceptions, the film reveals, though the point is not explicitly stated, that racist ideas did not arise from ignorance or hatred. Instead, they were devised and honed by some of the most brilliant minds of each era. These intellectuals used their brilliance to justify and rationalize deeply entrenched discriminatory policies and the nation's racial disparities in everything from wealth to health. And while racist ideas are easily produced and easily consumed, they can also be discredited. In shedding much-needed light on the murky history of racist ideas, Stamped from the Beginning offers us the tools we need to expose them--and in the process, gives us reason to hope.

The film’s source material is the excellent National Book Award Winner of 2016 by Ibram X. Kendi entitled -  Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas.  Kendi is also featured in the film speaking on racism,

Award-winning historian Ibram X. Kendi argues in Stamped from the Beginning, that if we have any hope of grappling with this stark reality, we need to, and the film strives to aid the audience in understanding how racist ideas were developed, disseminated, and enshrined in American society.

The film dotes on a few examples to stress the case against racism.  When the first black woman published a poetry book, it shocked the white people’s world so much that they believed that such art could not originate from a black person.  Phillis Wheatley is this woman who produced art.  She was interrogated to determine if she wrote the poems.  What gives white people this right to question the black woman?  That is the question posed and a very relevant one.  Another case examined is the legitimacy of the President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson.   Since the 1790s, he was rumored to have had children by his slave Sally Hemings. According to scholarly consensus, Jefferson probably fathered at least six children with Hemings, including four that survived to adulthood.

The film works like a history lesson and the illustrations shown on the screen remind one immediately of identical illustrations (there are a few animated sequences though where the illustrations move to life) seen in history textbooks.  True to form, the film starts with the origin of the word slave.  The word originates from the word slav and the first slaves that worked were Eastern European Slavics before African slaves were used.  The reason black slaves were more popular is that they could not blend in with the white population if they escaped compared to the while Slav counterparts.

The film cites Bacon’s Rebellion as the rebellion against the privileged white landowners by both the white and black slaves arguing it was a spark in the start of whiteness and black segregation.  But it does not state the real purpose of this rebellion, thus distorting the facts to suit the film’s purpose.  Bacon’s Rebellion was an armed rebellion held by Virginia settlers that took place from 1676 to 1677.  Nathaniel Bacon led it against Colonial Governor William Berkeley after Berkeley refused Bacon's request to drive Native American Indians out of Virginia.  Thousands of Virginians from all classes (including those in indentured servitude) and races rose up in arms against Berkeley, chasing him from Jamestown and ultimately torching the settlement. 

STAMPED FROM THE BEGINNING though biased against all white folk in general (hardly anything good to say about white folk), does shed excellent light on the origin of racism.  The film opens on Netflix for streaming on November 10th.

Trailer: 

THE STONES AND BRIAN JONES (UK 2023)

Direct by Nick Broomfield

 

(Review to be posted Friday evening)

Trailer: 

TESTAMENT (Canada 2023) ***

Directed by Denys Arcand

 

Click on the link for review:

https://toronto-franco.com/article/21-cinema-movies/394-film-review-testament

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