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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 21 June 2023

ELDORADO: EVERYTHING THE NAZIS HATE (Germany 2023)***1/2

Directed by Benjamin Cantu and Matt Lambert

In Berlin of the late Golden Twenties, the Eldorado is legendary a decadent and hedonistic nightclub in which gays, lesbians and trans people dance cheek to cheek with the rich and powerful. They let loose to the electrifying music of the Weintraub Syncopators, intoxicated by the smells of perfume, rouge and manly sweat. But the Eldorado is also a space of contradictions, in which some openly gay visitors come dressed in Nazi uniforms.

It is inevitable that a documentary be made about the infamous German nightclub/cabaret of paradise known as the Eldorado.  The Eldorado was the name of multiple nightclubs and performance venues in Berlin before the Nazi Era and World War II.   The name of the cabaret Eldorado has become an integral part of the popular iconography of what has come to be seen as the culture of the period in German history often referred to as the "Weimar Republic”.

`The doc is made up of both archive footage and re-enactments.  It is a very erotic doc as everything on screen looks so sexy, hot and forbidden.

Though the locales offer ostensibly queer entertainment of some kind for the pleasure (the decadence; the drag shows; the off the wall patrons; the gaiety; the fabulousness) of heterosexual, the doc however, concentrates on the LGBT+ patrons.  The doc, essentially a history lesson, and a  very colourful and gay one at that, paints not only an account of the old now defunct club but also a few of the characters that frequent the club.  It is a good mix of subjects that keep the doc intriguing, especially making it more personal with these personal stories, though the doc appears to be taking on too many subjects without any clear direction.  Even so, it is an entertaining trip into the past, into nostalgia and into the time when all these tongs were forbidden.  One also gets to appreciate the freedom one has today.

Germany’s law off Paragraph 175, which was also the subject of another documentary and title of that film, is also examined in the doc as it plays relevance to the era. Before 1933, homosexual acts were illegal in Germany under Paragraph 175 of the German Criminal Code. The law was not consistently enforced, however, nd a thriving gay culture existed in major German cities. After the Nazi takeover in 1933, the first homosexual movement's infrastructure of clubs, organizations, and publications was shut down. After the Röhm purge in 1934, persecuting homosexuals became a priority of the Nazi police state. A 1935 revision of Paragraph 175 made it easier to bring criminal charges for homosexual acts, leading to a large increase in arrests and convictions.

Ernst Röhm is one of the more interesting subjects in the doc.  Röhmwas the leader of the SA, a paraarmy that did the dirty work like violence and cleaning up behind the Nazis.  Röhm was outwardly gay and because of his allegiance to the Nazis and his power and his persona; friendship with Adolf Hitler allowed to practice his lifestyle.  He was one of the frequent patrons of the eldorado.  Other subjects examined are three trans patrons and a couple Gottfried and Lisa who carried out a different lifestyle with a third person.

ELDORADO is currently streaming on Netflix.

Trailer: 

Every Body (USA 2023) ****
Directed by Julie Cohen

This doc on intersex gendered people is an extremely educational, informative and emotional experience.  This doc gets my vote for Best Documentary for this reason.

The film begins with couples celebrating their soon to arrive babies.  Balloons bursting of blue or pink hues h=erald the arrival of a male or female child.  But the doc questions what if the baby is born neither male or female.  It is not always black and white.  0.07% of babies are born intersex - that is with both male or female genitals.  

EVERY BODY is a revelatory investigation of the lives of intersex people. The film tells the stories of three individuals who have moved from childhoods marked by shame, secrecy, and non-consensual surgeries to thriving adulthoods after each decided to set aside medical advice to keep their bodies a secret and instead came out as their authentic selves. Actor and screenwriter River Gallo (they/them), political consultant Alicia Roth Weigel (she/they), and Ph.D. student Sean Saifa Wall (he/him) are now leaders in a fast-growing global movement advocating for greater understanding of the intersex community and an end to unnecessary surgeries. “We are not going to be quiet!” the claim!  Woven into the story is a stranger-than-fiction case of medical abuse, featuring exclusive footage from the NBC News archives, which helps explain the modern-day treatment of intersex people.  

The doc eventually gets to its main business at hand i.e to deliver the message of ‘no more intersex surgery’.  This is what all the intersex people are trying to bring across.  Many are forced to undergo surgical operations initiated by theirs-rents son that they can fit into a male or female category, without their consent, being too young to decide at the time.  The parents mean well, but the children suffer.  It is clearly a human rights issue.  The best thing of course is to ban intersex surgery.  The #NoIntersexSurgery Movement is currently one that is taking the work by storm as an event in footage of demonstrations around the world including Dublin, Nigeria and Amsterdam.  The song ‘Stand by Me’ serves like an anthem to the movement.  It is encouraging to see that there seems to be positivity for the intersex people, unanimously,

          The best portion of the doc is the closing credits.  As all the credits appear on the screen, so do the intersex cast and crew from the subjects interviewed to the producer, director, casting director, director of photography and others.  It is so emotionally rewarding to see these people, yes 0.07% of the American population manage to find themselves and make a statement.  These intersex people prove that there is no black or white in terms of male or female, and that they are indeed beautiful people and very attractive at that, all being in their younger days.  Running at an hour and a half, this doc comes with my highest recommendations!

Focus Features and Universal Pictures Canada will release EVERY BODY in-theatres on Friday, June 30th coinciding with Toronto’s PRIDE celebrations.

Trailer: 

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY (USA 2023) *** ½

Direct by James Mangold

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY premiered at Cannes to generally mixed reviews, many implying that the franchise has been used to death.  The lead Harrison Ford playing the titular hero, Indiana Jones is already past 80 and the age shows.  Indiana Jones/Ford does not hide his age as the script contains a few jokes about Indiana’s age.  The tents needed to be perfumed by Ford is needless to say, more difficult to be done.

THE DIAL OF DESTINY in the film’s title refers to the time dial invention of Greek mathematician/scientist Archimedes.  In grade school, students were taught in Physics, Archimedes Principle That states:  The apparent loss in weight a body has simmered in a liquid is equal to the weight of the liquid displaced by it.  The script has some reference to  liquid displacement in the film but it is more about time travel and the name Archimedes just used  his part living in Greece during the attack of the Romans, whether or not this is accurate.  Oh, how fond it is of Hollywood to make up and change history.

This 5th and supposedly final instalment of the Indiana Jone franchise has the similar plot of archaeologist Jones hunting down an ancient relic that holds mysterious powers.  If the relic falls into the wrong hands that will be the end of the world or maybe even the universe.  The relic in this case is Archimedes’ Dial of Destiny.

In 1944, during World War II, American archaeologist Indiana Jones and his colleague Basil Shaw (Toby Jones) are in Europe to recover artifacts stolen by the Nazis. They prevent Jürgen Voller (Mads Mikkelsen) , a Nazi scientist, from obtaining the Archimedes Dial, a device capable of time travel.  Twenty-five years later, Jones is uneasy over the fact that the U.S. government has recruited former Nazis to help beat the Soviet Union in the Space Race.  He is about to be forced into retirement from his teaching position because of his opposition to the practice. Voller, now a NASA member and ex-Nazi involved with the Apollo Moon-landing program, wishes to make the world into a better place as he sees fit by obtaining the dial, pitting him up against Jones once again.  Basil's daughter and Jones's goddaughter, Helena Shaw (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) accompanies Jones on his journey for the dial.

Ford is once again the gallant hero.  Though older, Indiana Jones gets to do all the great stunts which includes one scene of Indiana riding a horse through a busy parade and down the subway system.  Not so glorious is his and Helena’s scuttering through an under-sea cave, full of centipedes, bugs and other crawling insects.  The film can roughly be described as a series of action set-pieces, a few meticulously crafted strung together by the typical action narrative.  After a while, especially during its over 2 hour running time, these action sequences that include some typical ones like a motorbike chase and running atop a running train are a challenge to keep fresh and exciting.

INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY opens in theatres June the 30th.

Trailer: 

JOY RIDE (USA 2023) ***½

Direct by Adele Lim

Childhood best friends Audrey (Ashley Park) and Lolo Sherry Cola), accompanied by Audrey's former roommate Kat (Stephanie’s) and Lolo's cousin Deadeye Sabrina Wu), set out on a journey across China to find Audrey's birth mother.

With names like Evan Goldberg and Set  Rogen on the producer’s list, one can expect a lewd and rude comedy in JOY RIDE, the new Asian comedy that is co-written by Lim and  Cherry Chevapravatdumron and Teresa Hsiao.  Lim co-wrote the hot Singapore based Asian comedy CRAZY RICH ASIANS. 

This time the story shifts to both mainland China, showing off some stunning natural beauty as well as to Seoul in South Korea.  There is lots of clever writing that is based on Asian culture as well as some rude jokes in the countries’ native languages.  In fact the film’s funniest laugh-out loud joke occurs in one unexpected scene, in which this reviewer, who understands this bad word was the only one to laugh out loud, as the word is unknown to non-Hokkien speaking audiences.  (The word is pronounced ‘chee-bai’ which means ‘cunt’ that is shouted back by an admirer of the star Kat when she is told to f*** off.)

The lewd jokes come fast and funny, sometimes too fast for one to catch them all.  But if a joke or two is missed, there are plenty more to come around every corner.  A few are misses, but a lot are hits as well. 

Though JOY RIDE is by no means flawless, one must give credit to its director Adele Lim for an excellent effort.  She co-wrote CRAZY RICH ASIANS in 2018 and left writing on the sequel, following reports that she was offered significantly less pay byWarner Bros. than her white, male co-writer Peter Chiarelli.  Way to go, girl!  The Malaysian-born director shows great promise in her writing, providing the main storyline for JOY RIDE.

Though the story of four friends discovering themselves in a foreign country on a road trip is not really uncharted territory, there are a few unexpected surprises in the story.  Audrey has a big fight with her best childhood friend Lolo and says some very nasty words that are hard to take back.  It does not take a genius to guess thatchy will  make up, and they do it in a restaurant (cliched territory here) complete with applause from the customers.  The revelation of Audrey's birth mother and where it takes Audrey is a solid twist in the story.

The script also has some inventive humour like the thousand year shots, made of Chinese century eggs in a shot glass.  Being an ex-Singaporean growing up eating century eggs (an acquired taste), I could down many such shots, but for those who have never eaten a century egg, the thought of it is really disgusting especially when taking in the ammonia smell and its rubbery texture.  The bar scene is a hoot.  The reference to the K-pop Korean stars is also worthy of mention in the very inventive and funny k-pop musical number segment.

Though JOY RIDE runs on a familiar plot of girls on a trip like a road trip, there are sufficient inventive Asian and rude jokes to entertain and cause a laugh riot.

Trailer: 

LOVE GETS A ROOM (UK/Spain 2019) **
Directed by Rodrigo Cortés

The beginning credits emphasize the fact that what follows is a true story or at least based on true events.  The titles indicate the setting as the January of 1942 in Warsaw, Poland.  The audience is told that in a narrow ghetto 40,0000 Jews are confined by the Nazis in the middle of the city.  No one can leave or enter the perimeter, which are guarded by German troops.  Outside, the audience is informed, life goes on but inside, people die of illness, hunger and the cold.  But amidst all this, the audience is to believe that art goes on.  Inside, and cut off from the outside world by a towering wall, LOVE GETS A ROOM follows Stefcia and her fellow Jewish theatre actors as they fight to keep their passion for performing alive. 

As life in the Nazi-occupied ghetto becomes a fierce fight against cold, hunger, and epidemics, the actors, against all odds, embark on a daring mission to stage Jerzy Jurandot's play, risking their lives to create something beautiful in a world of chaos and destruction.

Written and directed by visionary filmmaker Rodrigo Cortés, the film takes the audience on an emotional journey back to the tumultuous time of World War II.  With what the press notes describe as masterful direction and outstanding performances, LOVE GETS A ROOM attempts to provide a poignant exploration of the power of love, hope, and sacrifice in the face of unimaginable adversity.

LOVE GETS A ROOM is a prime example of a film that tries too hard and relies on past films on theatre to make important points - a fact that fails as audiences are often familiar with war time theatre films, such as the famous Francois Truffaut’s 1980 masterpiece LE DERNIER METRO (THE LAST metro) being the best of the lot.  Director Cortés uses the all too often used tactic of the play mirroring the true events the actors are facing.  In the play, the main lead is torn between two overs, just as in the main story, Stefcia is torn between two lovers. She has to decide who to go with - to escape with the one who loves her who she does not love anymore, or stay with the one she loves.  And she has a little daughter to compact matters,  The worst of the film’s flaws is the use of cheap theatrics to make a point.  In the film, the flaw occurs with a German entering the theatre amidst a performance firing a rifle many times and making lots of noise and drama to make a silly point.  The German wishes to dispose of a resistance fighter that has nothing to do with the characters of the story.

LOVE GETS A ROOM is based on true events during Nazi occupied Poland and Is rich with period atmosphere.  But this well-intentioned retelling of Jewish history is marred by cheap theatrics, sappiness and cliche-ridden tricks of at theatre within a theatre setting.

LOVE GETS A ROOM  finally gets a release, finally gets a VOD release on Friday, June 30, 2023.

MATTER OUT OF PLACE (Austria 2022) ***½

Directed by Nikolaus Geyrhalter

MATTER OUT OF PLACE is a film about waste in remote areas and about people who are trying to clean up the mess.  The film captures the dispersion of garbage and is observing the endless and unending work of garbage collectors and waste managers around the world.

MATTER OUT OF PLACE, as the audience is told at the beginning of the film is any object or impact that is nonnative to its native environment.  What follows are two stunning images - one of the fjords in all its beauty and the other, a much closer look at the water all covered by junk like plastic bottles and other disgusting waste. 

Waste on the shores, waste on the mountains, waste everywhere, waste on ocean floors and deep down in the earth.  In his unique imagery consisting of minutely composed pictures, director Nikolaus Geyrhalter traces immense amounts of waste across our planet.  On his journey, director Geyrhalter illustrates the sheer endless struggle of people to gain control over the vast amounts of waste that we produce every single day.  Collecting, shredding, burning, burying – a Sisyphean task, which ostensibly solves the global problem of rubbish that is stealthily growing.

The collection can be seen in one extended segment in which a rubbish man on a three-wheeled truck collects individual rubbish bags from local neighbourhoods.  It is not long before his little truck is full of bags, some rubbish spilling onto the truck and road as they are not all properly bagged and secured.  These bags are then loaded onto a bigger lorry and these lorries queue up one by one by a huge landfill to dump out their loads.  Amidst all the goings-on, it can be observed that there are poorer people at the landfill scrummaging through the waste to see if there is anything valuable that can be exchanged for money.  One can just imagine the stench of the landfill.  (Myself, I had been to one and I could not stand the really strong God-awful smell.)

As to correcting the situation of dumped garbage, volunteers are shown bagging a beach of all the plastics and other waste, to be carried away in full trucks.  The cleaned beach after the cleanup looks much, much better.

Similar to Canadian documentary filmmaker Jennifer Baichwal of MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES and INTO THE WEEDS, director Nikolaus Geyrhalter blends stunning visual compositions of their frames in wide angled shots in a mostly calm setting.  The camera is often steady and the audience sees from a distance what is going on and for some time.  Both directors are concerned and are environmental activists through their documentaries that make a difference.

The film’s country of origin is Austria but many languages are spoken in the film including German, English, Albanian, Nepali, Swiss and German.

MATTER OUT OF PLACE opens on DVD and Digital on June the 27th.  It will also debut soon on iTunes, Vimeo-On-Demand and Amazon .Prime.     

MASCARADE (MASQUERADE) France 2021) **

Directed by Nicolas Bedos

Click on link below for review:

https://toronto-franco.com/article/21-cinema-movies/381-film-review-mascarade-masquerade

NIMONA (USA 2023) ****

Directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane

From Netflix, arrives a new animated feature entitled NIMONA.  NIMONA is an epic tale about finding friendship in the most surprising situations and accepting yourself and others for who they are.  According to Head of Animation Ted Ty the film took 8 years in the making.  The film is based on the National Book Award-nominated, New York Times best-selling graphic novel by ND Stevenson.

When Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed), a knight in a futuristic medieval world, is framed for a crime he didn't commit, the only one who can help him prove his innocence is Nimona (Chloë Grace Moretz), a mischievous teen with a taste for mayhem — who also happens to be a shapeshifting creature Ballister had been trained to destroy.   But with the entire kingdom out to get him, Nimona is the best (or technically the only) sidekick Ballister can hope for. And as the lines between heroes, villains, and monsters start to blur, the two of them set out to wreak serious havoc — for Ballister to clear his name once and for all, and for Nimona to…just wreak serious havoc.

The knight Barrister and his white beau are reminiscent of the gay couple in Stephen Frears’ groundbreaking 1985 film MY BEAUTIFUL LAUNDRETTE.  Hanif Kureishi (East Indian) and Daniel Day Lewis with his blonde hair colouring in that film is reproduced in NIMONA as Ballister’s boyfriend knight, Ambrosius (Edward Lee Yang)  also has coloured blond hair.

It is very encouraging to see how films have progressed in terms of tolerance to minorities.  In NIMONA, the key protagonist knight Ballister is gay.  The homosexuality is never questioned but taken as a given which means that being gay is accepted - no questions asked,  NIMONA is herself gay with her kinship to the female director of the Knighthood.  Ballister is also not of royalty but of the common man, the commoner never ever reaching the heights of knighthood.  Him being knighted also means himself being accepted as a hero and a protector of his Kingdom.  The film also portrays the love between knights Ballister and Ambrosius as something very precious and wonderful, enhancing a different aspect of a love story.  NIMONA, its script, story and direction are all to be complimented for being so progressive in the world’s acceptance for one another.  NIMONA has already achieved a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and the film is a strong bet to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature next year.

The animation of the shapeshifter proved more challenging especially during the rigging process of animation, when the animators need to transform the creature whether enlarging or reducing its size.  Netflix hosted a special screening of NIMONA in Toronto at the TIFF Bell Lightbox that I attended.  The event included a Q&A with Canadian Ted Ty, Animation Director on NIMONA. Ted is Global Head of Character Animation for DNEG Animation, based at their Montréal studio. and he explained the painstaking process of animation in this respect.  The animation is also amazing as the animation of Ballister’s face looks so much like actor Liz Ahmed’s in real life.   It is the eyes that do the trick.

 Trailer: 

PRISONER’S DAUGHTER (USA 2022) **
Directed by Catherine Hardwicke

I was first amazed by actor Brian Cox way back when in 1991, the Scots Shakespearean actor played a repressed gay father in Nigel Finch’s THE LOST LANGUAGE OF CRANES.  Cox’s performances have continued to astound and he has played anything from Churchill to roles in super action hero films like X-MEN.  Cox is once again in top form in a film that unfortunately does not give the actor the chance to show his potential.  Cox still makes the movie and is the one reason to see it.

Cox comes up against Kate Benkinsale who plays his daughter in the film.    Beckinsale has a whole lot of movies in her resume including the UNDERWORLD films and art films like THE LAST DAY OF DISCO. Beckinsale hold her own when appearing with Cox, showing off her true talent in acting.

Powerhouse director Catherine Hardwicke (best known for being the director of TWILIGHT) gets to bring Cox and Beckinsale together in the indie film PRISONER’S DAUGHTER.  She devotes equal time to each character.  The story is as basic as the title implies - it is about the PRISONER’S DAUGHTER.  The father, Max has been in prison and unable to look after her daughter Maxine who is now a single mother after a bad marriage with a son, Ezra (Christopher Convery) who suffers from epileptic fits.  As the film opens. Maxine has just lost her waitressing job after her ex (Tyson Ritter) shows up at her work and punches Maxine’s supervisor.

A father fights for the love of his daughter and grandson, after serving twelve years in prison.

The main problem of PRISONER’S DAUGHTER is the cliched and predictable story with all the expected subplots that will lead, obviously, to the father’s redemption.  A lot of dialogue steers the plot points to the final redemption, that would provide the necessary ‘happy’ ending to the story.  This is not until the son, Ezra gets kidnapped by Maxine’s ex and other diversions.

Here comes the cliched plot points.  Father Max is diagnosed with terminal cancer.  He is allowed free time iut of prison before his death 5 months or so if his daughter will take him in with him at her place qhile he is under house arrest.  Max and his daughter do not get along, after he had deserted her, in the past, being too busy at his ‘questionable’ work and then in prison.  But when she needs money for her son’s seizure meds, she has no option but to take him in.  The usual stuff she imposes includes him not revealing that he is his grandad.  And to add to the melodrama, the boy is  bullied in school.  Grandad who used to be a professional boxer now teaches him the ropes.  And so on, and so on with no surprises in the story.  As expected, there will be moments when the heartstrings are tugged, and quite emotionally.

The film does contain a few charming segments like the pep talk Max gives to his grandson following which he says: “Now go apologize to your mother.”

PRISONER’S DAUGHTER opens in theatres June the 30th.

Trailer:

RUN RABBIT RUN (Australia 2023) **
Directed by Daina Reid

RUN RABBIT RUN is an Aussie psychological horror thriller that is made by the director of a few of THE HANDMAID’S TALE episodes.  The HANDMAID'S TALE's Elizabeth Moss was supposed to thus play the title role but the role went instead to Australian actress Sarah Cook.  Sarah Cook isn’t half bad as Sarah the fertility doctor and she bears the same similar befuddled unsettled pretty but could be scary look as does Moss.

RUN RABBIT RUN works as a scary suspense thriller as the story is always one step ahead of its audience.  The audience is near sure of exactly what is going on.  There are no deliberate confusing parts about who is a good thing.  The audience anticipation factor is high too and that is a good sign.  When this factor is high so are expectations.  In this respect the film fails to deliver its shocks and ends in what comes through as a rather expected and tepid climax.

Why the film is called RUN RABBIT RUN remains one of the film’s mysteries.  There is always a rabbit running around in the film.  Mia loves rabbits and she is shown carrying and hugging one at a few points in the film.  Her mother’s Sarah is not so lucky to get bitten by one.  Perhaps she deserves it and she is mean to that rabbit, asking it, in one of the film’s few humorous scenes to fuck off.

As in many horror films set in the woods or in the country, RUN RABBIT RUN has overhead shots, in fact quite a few of the cars driving along a long winding road with lots of vegetation,  The cinematography is actually quite stunning, courtesy of d.p. Bonne Elliot showcasing the beauty of the landscape of the state of Southern Australia.

The main positive point of the film is the lead Sarah Snook’s performance as the unsettled mother.  Clearly she shows her distress on screen, not knowing what to do and not knowing what is going on.  Is her daughter being possessed by the spirit of her dad sister or is her daughter going mad?  Or maybe she is going half bonkers as well.   The only other well-known actor in the film is Greta Scacchi who plans Joan, her mother in the nursing home suffering from Dementia, though she is Alice, Sarah’s missing sister.  She thinks Alice is still alive.  When Sarah and her daughter, Mia visit, Mia thinks she is Alice and all hell breaks loose.

The film suffered from a really thin plot and it shows.  Director Reid’s film is thus a slow burn and one can see her trying to fill up the film’s running time of an hour and a half.

The film also tackles the issues of single parenthood.  Sarah has to look after Mia alone.  Though her husband and his new wife want to help, Sarah keeps her trouble to herself, which is expected.

 The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on 19 January 2023 and will be  released on Netflix on 28 June 2023.

 Trailer: 

SO MUCH TENDERNESS (Canada 2022) **
Directed by Lina Rodriguez

It is 7 and a half minutes into the film before the first line of dialogue “Does the smoke bother you?” is heard on the soundtrack as a female speaks to another seated on the passenger side of the car.   The question is asked as she waves the cigarette smoke away with her hand.  The answer would hardly matter.  There are long shots of the back of a neck and of blank faces.  Having fled Colombia after her husband was murdered, an environmental lawyer rebuilds her life in Toronto with her tempestuous daughter, only to risk losing everything when her traumatic past re-surfaces. 

All of Rodriguez’s films including SO MUCH TENDERNESS are slow burns and much patience is required to sit through any of her movies.  It is apparent that she is a perfectionist in the creation of every vignette in the film.  Rodriguez has made her style imprint in her filmmaking and it does not involve compelling viewing.  SO MUCH TENDERNESS gets really frustrating as it seems to be going and it is difficult to fathom what is the goal of Rodriguez’s film.  Rodriguez attempts to inject a bit of suspense in this story as in the segment where the mother faint recognizes a stranger and follows him for a while and into a subway station. 

Despite director Rodriguez ’s (who serves also as writer and producer) well intentions and diligence in depicting the immigration process and unease at settling in another country, SO MUCH TENDERNESS ends up quite a bore.

Trailer: 

Details

Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 19 June 2023

BIOSPHERE (USA 2022) **
Directed by Mel Eslyn

BIOSPHERE is the type of low budget smart-ass drama comedy typical the Duplass Brothers.   Their films include their debut feature THE PUFFY CHAIR followed by BAGHEAD and others.   Their films are an acquired taste as can be seen in BIOSPHERE’s first segment.  BIOSPHERE is directed by Mel Eslyn and stars Mark Duplass, one of the brothers.  Other brother Jay serves as executive producer.

The film opens in the not-too-distant future.   Billy (Mark Duplass) and Ray (Sterling K. Brown), lifelong best friends, brothers from another mother are seen jogging and making small talk and arguing while jogging in an enclosure, the BIOSPHERE.   They discuss, yes, of all things “The Mario Brothers”.  One has to be deemed the hero, Mario and the other the sidekick or brains or stable man behind the scenes. Luigi.  They make lively discussions if you consider these little small talk amusing.  If you think the small talk is a waste of time, and that you can do better with your time, best forget this movie, as what follows, segment after segment will likely annoy the hell out of you.  On the other hand, if you are in this kind of humour, you might be in for a treat.

It is soon revealed that Billy and Ray happen to be the last two men on earth.  Their 

survival is largely due to Ray, a brilliant scientist who designed the custom biosphere they call home, outfitting it with both creature comforts and the necessities to sustain life on a doomed planet. When the population of their fishpond—which supplies essential protein—begins waning, the men find themselves facing an ominous future. 

So the question is what is this film supposed to be?  It is a bromance or sci-fi survival parody?  Or perhaps a coming-of-age passage for two overgrown men child?  Or perhaps there is some hidden lesson amidst all that transpires.  Or maybe it all really does not matter,

Unless one is a Duplass fan, BIOSPHERE feels like a talkie in which nothing really concrete is being said.  The dialogue is not as smart as the writers Duplass and Brown think they are.  Neither is it that humorous but just as annoying as listening to two strangers arguing about nothing,  the two being stuck in a biosphere and having to survive one another makes everything the more torturous.  When one of their fish (the female) dies and there is no more mating and hence no more protein to be had (they probably should have grown soya beans and made tofu) their existence is at stake.   There is one intriguing fact about the fish changing sex to survive like the clownfish, which the film references. Clownfish carry both female and male reproductive organs. In the female-dominated clownfish community, the female is the largest fish. She mates only with the breeding male, usually the second-largest and most aggressive male in the community. The rest of the community are made up of sexually immature males. When the female dies, the breeding male will get first choice of food and begin to gain weight, eventually becoming female.

The apparent message in the whole exercise is whether man has the capacity to change under extenuating circumstances.  Maybe if one is forced to sit through these 90 minutes of male brother bonding rubbish, one might, though not really likely.  BIOSPHERE is recommended for Duplass fans.

But the film gets a below pass rating for the one reason is that it is extremely intersex racist.  Billy goes through a whole segment speaking at how embarrassed he is or unable to cope with his testicles disappearing.  The filmmakers should be sensitive towards the intersex community, and in this respect, this film is extremely racist and unforgivable.

BIOSPHERE premiered in Toronto at the Toronto International Film Festival last yer and opens in theatres and on VOD July the 7th.

TRAILER:

THE CRUSADES (USA 2023) **
Directed by Leo Milano

For many, high school is supposed to be defined by wild parties, backseat hook-ups and a devil-may-care attitude.  But, when three friends at Our Lady of the Crusades, an all-boys high school, receive earth-shattering news about an upcoming merger with their rivals, they make a pact to have one last, epic weekend before their lives turn upside down.   Along the way, however, they unknowingly make a dangerous enemy, "The Wrecking Crew", hell-bent on settling their vendetta at all costs.  While dodging the authorities, love affairs and their sadistic archrivals, the choices they make over the weekend might end up changing their lives more than they ever could have imagined.

The raucous comedy is directed by Leo Milano and co-written with the other writers, based on his own high school days.  The good looking Rudy Pankow playing Leo Grecco is assumed to be Milano’s alter-ego in the film.  Pankow is well-built, handsome and able to do silly but cool antics with his hands, something he gets to do repeatedly in the film.  Other than that, he is shown to be a smart-ass trying to hit on a  teacher and getting too smart for his own good.  Sometimes  he tries too hard to be cool as in the scene when he is biting on a toothpick during a party as if that is the coolest  thing on the planet.  It is not and quite a disgusting habit.  In the end,  Leo turns out more of an annoying egoistic personality than the self-doubting hero that would have been more appropriate in the story.  The other secondary character that appears a lot is another goof-ball played by Ryan Ashton as Jack, who almost gets beaten up in a rival fight but saved by arriving cops.

There is little to no background on each of the high school kids, which thus portray them as forgettable and cardboard personalities.  Only one scene references Pankow’s  parents but no parent is ever on show.  There is as a result, no grounding narrative with the film moving along from comedic set piece to set piece.  The actors playing the high school kids like older than high school students, looking at best like college students.  The actors playing the teachers are funnier than the students, especially the gym/weight-lifting coach Krieger (Nicholas Turturro) who has a mouth larger than muscles.  The film’s funniest scene is the one when the latter gives his ‘must-bulk-up-sissies’ speech to his gym class belittling every single one in the process.

` The film moves into serious mode during the last third.  The transition from comedy to drama is uneven and ends up quite contrived, despite director’s Milano’s good intentions for storytelling his own personal experiences.  The romantic fling between Leo and love interest does not generate much interest either..

Though the comedic set-pieces are funny enough, a few times even eliciting loud laughs, THE CRUSADES fails to ground itself as a memorable drama, which is what it intended to be.

THE CRUSADES premieres theatrically and day-and-date on VOD on July the 7th, 2023.

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THE OUT-LAWS (USA 2023) ***
Directed by Tyson Spindel

Owen Browning (Adam Devine) is a straight-laced bank manager about to marry the love of his life, Parker (Nina Dobrev). When his bank is held up by the infamous Ghost Bandits during his wedding week, he believes his future in-laws (Pierce Brosnan, Ellen Barkin) who just arrived in town, are the infamous Out-Laws.

As a comedy, not so much as an action comedy though the film by necessity contains some shoot-out scenes including a bank heist, the film is a hit and miss.  Watching it as a Netflix original comedy, there is less at stake and audiences will be more forgivable at the OUT-LAWS not being as funny as it should be.  THE OUT-LAWS is not as funny as Adam Sandler (Sandler is co-producer) as his MURDER MYSTERY comedies.

There are a few inspired segments like the one in which Owen dresses up in a Shrek costume while robbing a bank.  Own is silly as he is and wearing a Shrek mask i quite hilarious,

THE OUT-LAWS benefits from an apt comedic cast who manages to provide laugh-out loud humour despite many missis amidst the many hit-and- miss jokes.  The film takes a while to land on its feet and the humour in the first third just staggers along

A lot of weight of the film’s co edit success lies in the hands of Pierce Brosnan, ex-James Bond (he has starred in no fewer than 4 Bond films) and also delved into Hedy (MRS. DOUBTFIRE and this one), also demonstrating his ability to sing MAMMA MIA! HERE WE GO AGAIN, which won him some notoriety, whether good or bad.  InTHE OUT-LAWS he gets to show some dancing moves in the wedding segment at the end of the film.  Borsnan, being Irish, gets to do an Irish accent.  Ellen Barkin plays Brosnann’s wife in the OUT-LAWS, she is also Irish and has made her name in films like DINER and THE BIG EASY.  They make good comedic couple as well as one you wish you would not have to deal with.

Of the other in-laws, Richard Kidd has always proven himself apt in comedy being in the Chipmunk films and other comedies.  Kind plays illy at his best.  Julie Haggerty from AIRPLANE! is also funny at heart.

The lead character falls into the hands of comedian singer Adam Devine who is best known for his PITCH PERfECT roles and the voice in the BATMAN LEGO movie.  Divine co-produced this comedy with Adam Sandler under the Happy Madison Films banner and Devine is quite funny in his man-child role, the kind of role made famous by Sandler who has not gone into some serious roles and more serious outings.

Not as funny are Poorna Janannathan (Tunisian actress) as the chief villain, Michael Rooker as Agent Oldman or Dobrev as Owen’s fiancé.

Do not go out of the way to watch this forgettable comedy about weddings and in-laws.  Sporadically funny at parts, but a bit too much swearing and violence for the family, it still makes warm and funny entertainment in the living room, the kind Netflix infamous for putting out.  THE OUT-LAWS gets a bare pass.

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THE LESSON (UK/Germany 2022) ***
Directed by Alice Troughton

The film opens with a celebrated author being interviewed on stage.  “What exactly is it that drew you to tell this story?”  asks the interviewer.  What happens on screen for the next hour and 45 minutes or so answers the question.

Liam (Daryl McCormack), an aspiring and ambitious young writer, eagerly accepts a tutoring position at the family estate of his idol, renowned author J.M. Sinclair (Academy Award nominee Richard E. Grant). But soon, Liam realizes that he is ensnared in a web of family secrets, resentment, and retribution.  Sinclair, his wife Hélène (Academy Award nominee Julie Delpy), and their son Bertie (Stephen McMillan) all guard a dark past, one that threatens Liam’s future as well as their own.  As the lines between master and protégé blur, class, ambition, and betrayal become a dangerous combination in this taut noir thriller.

The synopsis above indicates that there is more than Liam’s success that forms the plot of this literary mystery heightened melodrama.  It is a melodrama hidden in the guise of a grand literary work.  There are the skeletons in the closet of the Sinclair family and the coming-of-age of not only the son Bertie but of the budding author, who at the time of hiring of the tutor is a nobody.

From the film’s title implies that there is only one lesson to be learnt or taught, Liam delivers many lessons to Bertie, each one to be approved by the mother.  The purpose of Liam’s hiring is to ensure the son , Bertie gets into Oxford by passing the so-called difficult entrance exams, which Liam is supposed to know all the insides out.  The film unravels like a play with the words, prologue followed by the different acts that are plastered on the screen.  What this one lesson is is up to the audience to figure out.

The film features rising star Daryl McCormack in the leading role of the tutor.  For those unfamiliar, this Irish born actor has already made his name in the U.K. after winning the BFTA award as Best Actor opposite Emma Thompson in the film GOOD LUCK TO YOU, RICO GRANDE.  He is unafraid to show off his good looks and shows some skin in THE LESSON when he undresses to jump in the water for a swim.  Richard E. Grant also fares well as the stiff upper lipped Sinclair..

Despite a few cliched moments in the plot points, THE LESSON moves on at a sustained and intriguing pace, making it good sort of flaky literary entertaining fare.  As they say, don’t expect too much and one should not get disappointed.

But the film arrives with high expectations.  The Lesson recently premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival where Alexandra Heller-Nicholas from AWFJ (Alliance Of Women Film Journalists) said that it was “one of the most fun and fascinating movies of the year thus far.”  The film opens in Canadian (and U.S.) theatres on July the 7th at the TIFF Bell Lightbox and other Cineplex locations.

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TIGER WITHIN (PLAN A) (Israel/Germany 2022) ***

Directed by Doron Paz and Yoav Paz

“Just because the war is over, it does not mean we can’t kill Jews anymore.” says a German man who, the audience assumes, has taken over the house of a returning Jew, after the German has struck the Jew’s head with the butt of his rifle.  The German’s wife and son look on.  This is the beginning scene of PLAN A.  It is clear that the earth of the audience is sought, at the injustice done on the Jews.  The voiceover can also be heard: “What if your entire family has been killed…. you parents and children.  All killed for no reason.  What would you do?”  The film obviously asks the same question to the audience of this controversial film.  This opening segment is the most effective one in the film, a scene that is revisited once more later on in the film.

PLAN A is based on a true story - the audience is informed.  PLAN A is based on the incredible true story of the “Avengers,” a group of Jewish vigilantes, men and woman, who after surviving the holocaust are vowing to avenge the death of their people by poisoning the water supplies in German cities and to kill six million Germans, one for every Jew slaughtered by the Nazis – “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”  In reality, there exists a Plan B and Plan C.

The trouble with the plan is the fallout from the poisoning.  There will be innocent people who will be poisoned and die and children. The Jews would therefore be just as guilty and not much better than the Nazis.  The plans also come into other problems, like securing the tasteless, colourless and odourless, thus undetectable poison for the water.

The film spends a lot of time on the individual characters of the story, which is not as interesting and dwarfs the main matter at hand.  One is already sympathetic to the plight of the Jews but the film keeps hammering the point, with a lot of the film’s dialogue reminding the audience of the concentration camps.  There is one good point brought out by a character in the film:  “There are so many of you prisoners in the camps, in the long lines that outnumber the Germans.  How come you Jews never go to do anything but just follow the lines to the gas chamber.”  

The film is in English and a German/Israel co-production though the film’s dialogue is often muffled.  The atmosphere and dim mood of the period piece look convincing enough.

If after viewing the film, one wishes more information on the subject after whetting the appetite, here is where it can be sought, check out:  'An eye for an eye': The Jews who sought to poison six million Germans to avenge the Holocaust - Israel News - haaretz.com.

PLAN A achieves its purpose of reminding the world of the horror of the killing of innocent Jews in the concentration camps and that the only true revenge is to show the enemy that an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth is not the way to go.

The film is available on numerous VOD platforms such as Apple TV, Prime Video (to buy/rent), GooglePlay, Vudu, Comcast, Spectrum, Cox, Verizon, DIRECTV,  Frontier, and Dish from July the 7th.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 18 June 2023

ASTEROID CITY (USA 2023) ****
Directed by Wes Anderson

American writer and director filmmaker Wes Anderson has got his loyal fans.  His films are known especially for their eccentricity, unique visuals with great attention to detail and narrative styles.  Watching just a few frames would allow fans to identify the frames belonging to an Anderson film.   With his frequent use of ensemble casts, stars appear to clamour to be in his movies.   His latest film, ASTEROID CITY once again contains themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families.

In 1955, students and parents from across the country gather for scholarly competition, rest, recreation, comedy, drama, and romance at a Junior Stargazer convention held in a fictional American desert town.   The American fictitious town replaces the fictitious French town in =THEB FRENCH DISPATCH, Anderson’s previous movie.  But no one is allowed to enter or leave the city by the government due to an asteroid that hit the ground in the city.  Strange events begin to unfold.  All the action takes place with a play which is narrated by its author Conrad Earp (Edward Norton) as Anderson’s camera pans sideways as in all his films but in this one across the stage revealing different acts instead.

A few of his familiar stars that normally form his ensemble of actors are noticeably missing - Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson and Bill Murray.  It would be a good guessing game to see which parts in ASTEROID CITY they would fill if they were present.

Anderson’s film is occasionally all over the place.  But this is ok as it just picks on the audience’s curiosity as to what he would try next.  He teases the audience with aliens, the universe and the meaning of life.  Is there a meaning in life?  He questions at one point in the movie before replying that maybe there isn’t one.   Just as no reason is given for the alien that looks very much like E.T. (perhaps a nod to the Spielberg classic) that arrives on Earth to steal the asteroid.  Anderson also tackles world issues like peace in the world.  Instead of fighting and being aggressive towards the alien, he says through the film’s characters that perhaps they are just curious creatures and lily harmless.  His film also floats like a colourful dream.  His actors are all decked in pastiche light water colours like light green blue and pink, looking like characters right out of an old series in 60’s television.  And you cannot wake up from a dream if you don’t fall asleep.  This line is related a couple of times in a song near the end of the movie.  For those who love Anderson, there are again lots of little eccentricities and details in the craft observable in every scene.  In this respect ASTEROID CITY is most similar to his most complex and layered last film THE FRENCH DISPATCH.  In that film, Anderson created an entire fictitious city in France similar to Paris including its entire metro system. For example, the ending credits also arrive with a little mechanical bird moving in  clockwork movements at the edge of the screen illustrating the meticulous detail Anderson puts in his films.

ASTEROID CITY is definitely Anderson at his best with his eccentric and meticulously crafted comedy that both teases and entertains with surprises around every corner.  A total delight!

ASTEROID CITY premiered at this year’s CANNES and opens in theatres this Friday June the 16th.  The film while offering pleasure to his die hard fans should also get Wenderson new converts.

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BLUE JEAN (UK 2022) ****
Directed by Georgia Oakley

There is an early scene at the beginning of Director Oakley's film where the protagonist, Jean, addresses her class during one of her gym classes (known as P.E. in the U.K.). She talks about the principles of fight or flight, explaining that it is a human instinct to either confront or flee from danger. Little does Jean know that she will soon face dangers herself and have to apply the same principles she taught in class - whether to fight against the system or escape from it. These dangers are both uncontrollable, as the Thatcher Government restricts the movements of the gay lifestyle (Thatcher's Conservative government is about to pass a law stigmatizing gays and lesbians, as heard on Margaret's radio), exposing her to the risk of losing her job, and controllable if she chooses to live a closeted lifestyle.

The protest was against Section 28, the Conservative government's attempt to prohibit the "promotion" of homosexuality as a "pretended family relationship." "What does this actually mean?" laughs Jean's partner, Viv at one point in the film. So what if you were a devoted teacher, like Jean, and also happened to be gay? "BLUE JEAN" is the story of Jean.

Jean (Rosy McEwen) has worked hard to compartmentalize her life, keeping her girlfriend Viv (Kerrie Hayes) separate from her family and work. Jean is a gym teacher who coaches the girls' netball team, which is a cauldron of teenage emotion and conflict.  As news   stories emerge about the impact of Section 28 - Tory ministers pontificating on moral decay, activists storming the House of Lords - Jean becomes hyper-aware of every glance directed at her.  Viv is an out and proud lesbian with assertive friends.  Pressure mounts when the arrival of a new student (Lucy Halliday) catalyzes a crisis that challenges Jean's idyllic lifestyle.

Director Oakley takes her time to tell Margaret's story, meticulously crafting the storytelling. The audience sees Margaret in close-up, colouring her hair and putting on blue jeans, as well as her interactions with family and her lover, who is her complete opposite and lives a completely open lifestyle.

Although the issues of equal rights for the gay and lesbian community might seem dated, the words of protest against the bill forbidding the promotion of homosexuality still hold relevance and serve as a reminder of the importance of equality for everyone.  The words spoken by protestors in one of the film's key scenes, as heard on TV, are powerful: "We deserve the same rights, no more, no less than any other English citizen." Another impactful segment is the confrontation outside a pub between Viv and Jean, where Viv admonishes Jean for not taking a stand.   The film is made even more powerful by strong performances, a dynamic script, and powerhouse direction.

"BLUE JEAN" premiered at Venice 2022, where it won the Giornate degli Autori People's Choice Award. It went on to receive awards at festivals such as Thessaloniki, Seville, and Belfast. The film earned 13 nominations at the British Independent Film Awards, winning four, including best debut screenwriter. "BLUE JEAN" opens on June 23 in Toronto (Bell Lightbox), perfectly timed to celebrate Toronto's Pride, and will also be shown in Vancouver and Montreal.

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KING OF CLONES (UK 2023) ***

Directed by Aditya Thayl

From human cloning research to a scandalous downfall, KING OF CLONES follows the life and work of Korea's most notorious scientist, Hwang Woo-suk.

Cloning is described in ‘wikipedia’ as the artificial cloning of organisms, sometimes known as reproductive cloning, is often accomplished via somatic-cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), a cloning method in which a viable embryo is created from a somatic cell and an egg cell.   But in the doc, cloning is actually explained in simpler terms.  But the doc, a Netflix documentary, is not so much interested in the science of cloning, but rather one of the biggest clone scientists in the world, Dr. Hwang, nicknamed KING OF CLONES in this intriguing and fascinating documentary.  Imagine someone paralyzed being able to walk again or a deceased man cured from his illness.  Hwang has an interesting story to tell in itself, he appears too, on the cover of TIME, one issue with the heading “Fallen Idol”, the magazine running story of how cloning specialist became a scientific outcast.  Good intentions are no excuse for bad behaviour - the doc teaches while being humorous at the same time.  The doc begins with Dr. Hwang entring a Research facility in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Singapore filmmaker Aditya Thayl examines the ground-breaking research in stem cells of veterinarian Hwang Woo-suk and his rise to astronomical fame for his two published research articles where he claimed that he created human embryonic stem cells by cloning.  However, as quickly as he received fame, he was equally quickly called out for his sketchy methods of research, and his research was eventually proven to be fraudulent, with myriad ethical violations to boot.

Other subjects in the film include a Brit Dr. Allen Tinson, ex worker from a Safari Tourist Place now living in the UAE as a camel specialist.  He shares his thoughts on cloning as Dr. Hwandg was supposedly cloning racing and show camels for the wealthy Arabs.  And the wealthy Hungarian who wanted a clone for his dead French Bulldog.

The doc does not shy away from the cloning controversy.  When the famous sheep, Dolly was cloned there followed massive protests but these eventually died down until the subject of primate or human cloning came up.

KING OF CLONES, as it is more a doc on Dr. Hwang, does not answer every question on the subject but still provides interesting subject matter on one of the most controversial scientific researches of all time.

HERE. IS. BETTER (USA 2023) ***
Directed by Jack Youngelson

The new documentary HERE. IS. BETTER. shedding light on PTSD - what it is, the sufferers, the treatment and its impact on the United States, is an award-winning  documentary film with unprecedented access inside therapy sessions of men and women Veterans battling post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The film interweaves these inspiring stories of men and women Veterans overcoming the debilitating effects of PTSD with treatments that can work, bringing hope to millions.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is defined as a mental and behavioural disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats on a person's life.  Symptoms may include disturbing thoughts, feelings, or dreams related to the events, mental or physical distress to trauma-related cues, attempts to avoid trauma-related cues, alterations in the way a person thinks and feels, and an increase in the fight-or-flight response.

As the doc informs at the start some 30 millions Americans suffer from  PTSD.  Most of the subjects examined and interviewed are sufferers resulting from military duty - most of them from as little as a single tour of duty.  

The first two subjects, identified in the film only by their first names are Jason and Teresa.  The former is a military officer and the second an operations officer, both contacting PTSD after just one line of duty in Afghanistan.  Teresa was in denial and her behaviour so awful.  She was screaming at her children, never offering positive support for them and even not allowing them to play.  Her husband gives her an ultimatum to undergo treatment or he would leave her to take the children with him.  Two others, John and Tabatha are also examined to offer a more general look at the disease in order to come to some common ground.

The doc explains avenues of treatment.  Prevention may be possible when counselling is targeted at those with early symptoms but is not effective when provided to all trauma-exposed individuals whether or not symptoms are present. The main treatments for people with PTSD are counselling (psychotherapy) and medication.  Antidepressants of the SSRI or SNRI type are the first-line medications used for PTSD and are moderately beneficial for about half of people.  Benefits from medication are less than those seen with counselling.  It is not known whether using medications and counselling together has greater benefit than either method separately.  Medications, other than some SSRIs or SNRIs, do not have enough evidence to support their use and, in the case of benzodiazepines, may worsen outcomes.

The most interesting of the subjects is Jason, who actually ran for the U.S. Senate, even running at one time for the President of the United States, under the Democrats, covering his PTSD with work, work and work.  After realizing and being diagnosed, he stepped down from politics in order to help others.  Jason is a diligent, intelligent, and very handsome man supported by his wife.  It is also admirable that many subjects are so willing to go through their personal trauma on camera.  

The doc ends on a positive note on therapies like CPT, PE and EMDR being the most effective in their treatment of PTSD.  The doc shows a few treatments in session.  Though largely informative, director Youngelson gets often too preachy with his good intentions with his doc gearing too predictably to a ‘happy ending’.

HERE. IS. BETTER. will be released with a VOD release on all major platforms in the US and Canada to follow on June 27,  timed to National PTSD Awareness Day.

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NO HARD FEELINGS (USA 2023) ***
Direct by Gene Stupnitsky

Director Gene Stupnitsky is best remembered from his last hit, the 2019 coming-of-age boys comedy GOOD BOYS, a $20 million production that grossed $111 million and earned Stupnotsky a  more ambitious project, graduating from coming-of-age to sex comedy NO HARD FEELINGS.  NO HARD FEELINGS is basically a Jennifer Lawrence (Oscar Winner for SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK; THE HUNGER GAMES) project where she gets to play comedy, and play it successfully.

The film's plot came from a real Craigslist ad sent to Stupnitsky by producers Provissiero and Odenkirk, with the former telling Lawrence about the story over dinner with her in mind for the role.

Maddie (Jennifer Lawrence), a young woman working as an Uber drive in Montauk, New York, is facing bankruptcy after her car is repossessed.  She accepts an unusual Craigslist posting in which her new employers are parents (Matthew Bodderick and Maura Benanti) who have noticed that their introverted 19-year-old son Percy (Andrew Barth Feldman) is showing no interest in dating or having sex.  In exchange for a Buick Regal, Maddie agrees to become their son's "girlfriend," "date his brains out," and help him to join adult life before going off to college.

NO HARD FEELINGS takes a while to land on its footing.  For the first third or so, the comedy looks desperate, clinging at every bit of possibility for laughs, which unfortunately falls flat ever so often.  The meeting of Maddie of her employers, she getting there awkwardly in roller blades is hardly funny.  The banter between Maddie and her friends are amusing at most.  It is when the film gets a bit serious that it starts working its charm - partly because the audience might not have believed it possible.  The story and comedy after the first third actually works quite well.  One need not have to believe that a pre-university college freshman (Princeton in this case) can fall in love with a down-to-earth 30-year old older woman.  But these are two underdogs, out of luck and desperate to get their lives together.  So, when they do get together, one cannot help but root for these two.  The romance works more like a solid friendship, maybe with a happy ending afterwards, though the story never pushes it.  They try once or twice without success, not for want of trying. but whether they consummate their love is never the issue.  One wants the two to be together, even as friends and even with sex.

The film has a few really charming moments that will win one’s heart.  One is the scene in the restaurant where Percy plays the piano and sings “Maneater”.  It is a song sung by the actor himself, that wins not only the heart of Maddie but of the audience as well.

In the summer of super action hero blockbusters many costing over $200 million introduction, this modest though little expensive $45 million comes as a nice surprise and without any CGI effects and explosions.  Don’t expect much and one will not get disappointed.  This is forgettable fluff with a few messages about life tossed in here and there, without being too preachy or superficial. NO HARD FEELINGS opens in theatres June the 23rd.

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SUBTRACTION (Iran/France 2022) ***½

Directed by Mani Haghighi

SUBTRACTION is a neat little Hitchcockian-type suspense thriller from Iran and France by Canadian/Iranian film director Manu Hagihi.  The film is shot in Farsi.

When Farzaneh (Taraneh Alidoosti) spots a man on a city bus (in Teheran) who looks an awful lot like her husband, Jalal (Navid Mohammadzadeh), she follows him to an unfamiliar building.  There, she sees the residents greet him as if they know him and watches from the street as he enters an apartment to meet with another woman.  This is a story on doppelgangers (doubles).  Three months pregnant and barely present in her job as a driving instructor, Farzaneh is convinced she’s caught Jalal in an affair. When they discuss it, he is adamant about his alibi, reminding her that he was miles away at the time. Farzaneh begins to fall apart, but she swears she saw him, and, unable to let go, she continues to pull on the thread before making an unsettling discovery about the man on the bus.  The tailing of her husband feels very much like James Stewart following Kim Novak at length in Alfred Hitchcock’s masterpiece VERTIGO.  There is also a spiral staircase shot similar to the one at the end of VERTIGO.

The film is called SUBTRACTION because of some logical reasoning of the Universe, doppelgangers cannot exist as if, if they do, they would create controversy similar to ‘the butterfly effect’.  This requires one of the doubles to be eliminated or subtracted. Nothing else will be mentioned about the plot in this review to prevent the enjoyment of this mystery thriller.

Director Haghighi organizes the film into three parts  The first and perhaps most intriguing is the trailing and discovery of the doppelgängers.  This takes about a third of the movie.  The second is the revelation in which all the doubles meet,  Farzaneh meets her double and Jamal meets his.  The third is what happens after the meeting.

The film is a bit confusing at first as the audience needs to remember who is who and not get confused one from another.  The makeups and personalities of each character the wife and husband are made to be distinctly different - Jalil not as suave as his double but of a better temperament.  The same can be said of the wives.  Their hairstyles are different.  Once the audience is able to distinguish one from the other -yes, it takes a while and a bit of effort - the film runs smoothly.

To suit the atmosphere of a psychological thriller about characters who are confronted by their more cruel, alternative selves,  many scenes are battered by rain as if the water can wash away one’s sins.  The film is  accompanied by a tense score and good use of cinematography (by Morteza Najafi) often in the darkness of night.

SUBTRACTION is an original and fascinating film in which one must believe the existence of doppelgängers as a given.  Not questioning this logic, everything else is credible with the result of an intense suspenseful and emotional story.  The culture of Iran is also on full display, especially on the country’s acceptance of retribution and forgiveness.

SUBTRACTION, the new Iranian thriller by Canadian-Iranian director Mani Haghighi, which comes to TIFF Bell Lightbox, Vancity and select Canadian theatres on June 23.

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UNWELCOME (Ireland 2021) ***½
Directed by Jon Wright

A modern horror creature feature, UNWELCOME shows us just how far anyone will go to protect those we love.  Londoners Maya and Jamie are looking for a way out of their urban nightmare ( a home invasion) to raise their new unborn child.  When they inherit a house in rural Ireland, they jump at the chance to flee from the dangers of city living.   Little do they know is that there are also dangers in the rural areas of Ireland.  Yet, this new home holds primeval secrets -- at the bottom of their garden is an ancient gnarled wood, where a supernatural presence lurks.  Founded in ancient Celtic folklore the woods hide the malevolent, murderous goblins, known as 'Redcaps' named so for soaking their caps in the blood of their victims.  Engaging a local family company to do some building repairs, the young couple quickly realize they got more than they bargained for with 'Daddy' and his adult children who are little more than low-level criminals.  Recognizing their newfound safety is under threat, Maya finds herself turning to the woods -- and the bloodthirsty creatures within it -- to ensure the safety of her unborn child.

UNWELCOME is a cross between Sam Peckinpah’s classic THE STRAW DOGS and Joe Dante’s GREMLINS.  As in THE STRAW DOGS,  the new visitors to the village are UNWELCOME.  They face intimidation and then death.  In UNWELCOME, the lead villain who insists on being called “Daddy” is played by Irish actor Colm Meaney who is as mean as they come.   Best known for the role of the patriarch in Stephen Frears’ classic film THE SNAPPER shown on TV in the U.K. and theatrically outside, Meany plays a different kind of father, one that would not be afraid of kicking the life out of bis backward son yet take out anyone else who would harm his family.

Way back when Joe Dante had not made his name in Hollywood and Steven Spielberg gave him a chance at his directing of GREMLINS, Dante was told to tone down the horror film a notch so that GREMLINS was suitable as family fare.  UNWELCOME  is the GREMLINS Dante would have made without the Spielberg restrictions.  UNWELCOME is violent, gritty and definitely not for the family, but it is deliciously wicked entertainment, actually more fun than horror, where violence and gore are dished out with unrestrained relish.  These ‘gremlins’, the Redcaps little people in Ireland are not the nice leprechauns that would lead human beings to the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow  These little devils are able to break into a house and with little knives dispense with their victims.  But the little people, as they are called in the film, are the good guys.  Having been fed by the protagonists, they protect them from the villainous intruders.

The film is shot in beautiful Ireland and there are panoramic shots of the fields in this stunning country at the film’s start before the horror begins.  Lots of Irish stuff referenced too like the leprechauns and drinking, in the film.

UNWELCOME is available for streaming on the horror  network Shudder on the 23rd of June.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 04 June 2023

THE BLACKENING (USA 2022) ***
Directed by Tim Story

In the typical slasher horror flick, the token minority member like the single black in an almost all white group is the first one to be killed off.  This premise cannot happen in the horror flick THE BLACKENING because the entire group that is invited to the cabin in the woods is all black.  Who is the first one to go then?  As the poster says: “We all can’t die first!”  

The only black guest with the white father?  

The BLACKENING centres around a group of Black friends who reunite for a Juneteenth weekend getaway only to find themselves trapped in a remote cabin with a twisted killer. Forced to play by his rules, the friends soon realize this ain’t no motherf****** game.

THE BLACKENING refers to the board game (quite racist being complete with the head of “Sambo” with the big black lips) in the cabin’s game room that forces the guests to play a deadly game of  'answer the question correctly' or die.  This horror comedy knows all the horror cliches and parodies them hilariously and to great effect.  Running just around 90 minutes before it runs out of steam, THE BLACKENING is more fun than horror though a few of the guests do get brutally done in.

THE BLACKENING, which premiered in the Midnight Madness Section at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival opens in theatres across Canada on June the 16th, 2023.

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 ELELMENTAL (USA 2023) *

Directed by Peter Sohn

ELEMENTAL (USA 2023) ***1/2
Directed by Peter Sohn

ELEMENTAL the film is so titled because the film deals with the elements of fire and water being two different beings.  The female is fire and the male water.  It is a love story where two totally different elements defy all logic and odds to find love with each other,=.

The animation is of course amazing.  It was once considered impossible to animate water as it is so fluid, especially with stop animation and the same also goes for fire.  But in this age of computer simulation and the advent of Pixar, anything is possible.  ELEMENTAL is helmed by first time director, Disney brought up animation prodigy Peter Sohn who has made this project his love child and it shows.

Director Peter Sohn was personally here in Toronto promoting his film a few months back before his film was completed speaking about his film and the difficult work and meticulous care taken by his crew involved in the process of animating this film.  To better appreciate the film, a bit of Sohn’s background should be stated, as he explained during his talk promoting the film.

Peter Sohn, who previously directed the feature film THE GOOD DINOSAUR (2015) and the short film PARTLY CLOUDY (2009), pitched the concept to Pixar to develop Elemental based on the idea of whether fire and water could ever connect or not.  Sohn also says the idea for the film was inspired by his experiences as the son of immigrants in New York City in the 1970s.  He stated: "My parents emigrated from Korea in the early 1970s and built a bustling grocery store in the Bronx." He also stated:  "We were among many families who ventured to a new land with hopes and dreams — all of us mixing into one big salad bowl of cultures, languages, and beautiful little neighbourhoods.  That's what led me to ELEMENTAL.

In the film, it is also revealed that Ember was born in Elemental City, but grew up in a fire town, since the neighbourhoods are sort of split up in different ways.  Sohn stated: "I am quite emotional about getting the characters and the story out for sure." He also stated: "This movie is about thanking your parents and understanding their sacrifices. My parents both passed away during the making of this thing. And so, it is hugely emotional, and I'm still processing a lot of it.  The emotional tread in ELEMENTAL is quite powerful.  In the promo screening I attended, the audience cheered when Ember and Wade kissed for the very first time.

Kudos to Pixar and Disney for investing an ethnic romantic story about teenagers in ELEMENTAL instead of some super action hero movie like the awful SPIDER-VERSE.   It is included in the story saving mankind, in this case from folding due to the damage of a dam.  The only fault of the film is the predictable storyline that is a trap all romantic films can never seem to escape.

ELEMENTAL opens in theatres June the 16th.  The wonderful animation should be seen in theatres on the big screen.

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THE FLASH (USA 2023) ****
Directed by Andy Muschietti

Barry Allen / The Flash (Ezra Miller) travels back in time to prevent his mother's death, which traps him in an alternate reality without metahumans. Barry enlists the help of his younger self, an older Batman (Michael Keaton) and the Kryptonian castaway Supergirl (Sasha Calle) in order to save this world from the restored General Zod (Michael Shannon) and return to his universe.

THE FLASH is a film that contains many other d.c. characters like Batman, General Zod, Supergirl as well as Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot).  They arrive at different parts of the story as welcome surprises.

One plus of the film is that the script written by Christina Hudson explains every incident that occurs in the story.  The going through the walls into the building by the Flash is explained by the vibrating molecules.   The term ‘the butterfly effect’, part of chaos theory, which states that there are limitations to predictions even in small discrete systems is used in the story.  Small differences in starting conditions can, over time, make a big difference in the way that a complex system of interrelated phenomena evolves. In the story, Barry’s mother sent the father to the supermarket to get a can of tomatoes she had forgotten.  The Flash goes back in time to put a can of tomatoes in her mother’s cart when she was shopping, this not forgetting the can and not sending father to get tomatoes and be at home thus thwarting her death in the home invasion.  But not all went as planned.

Unlike the terrible SPIDER-VERSE with the reason for the multiverse never fully explained in the film’s weak narrative, the presence of alternative universes in THE FLASH makes more sense in its time travel narrative.  Travelling through time but to the wrong time, Barry enters a universe in which two Barrys exist.  The two Barrys are played by the same actor Ezra Miller sporting different haircuts, Miller delivering a knockout performance.

There is major talent involved in the making of this $200 million dollar production.  First and foremost is the film’s director, Argentinian Andy Muschietti, this his fourth film after his successful MAMA and his Hollywood hits IT and IT CHAPTER 2.  The other is the film’s star Ezra Miller who made it big with his masterpiece performance as at the teen son shooter in Lynne Ramsey’s WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN.  Miller is a major force to be reckoned with, who can also be seen currently playing the young Salvador Dali in DALILAND.  Special mention should also be given to actress Maribel Verdú who plays Barry’s mother.  She is able to deliver a heartwarming performance of a caring human being.

THE FLASH is one of the most exciting super action hero movies recently.  Warner Bros. has finally got it right after their disastrous BATMAN V. SUPERMAN, THE BATMAN and other duds.  If there is an Academy Award for Best SuperHero Action Film of the year (there might very well add one owing to the currently large number of this genre films opening every year), THE FLASH would be the clear winner.

THE FLASH has had a very troubled production for a number of reasons including the changing of different directors and the Pandemic.  The $200-$220 million production finally opens widely in theatres on June the 9th and is well worth the wait.

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PERSIAN LESSONS (Russia/Germany/Belarus 2020) ***½

Directed by Vadim Perelman

Directed by Vadim Perelman, PERSIAN LESSONS is a captivating Holocaust drama set in occupied France in 1942. The film tells the story of Gilles (Nahuel Pérez Biscayart), the son of a rabbi from Antwerp, who is captured by SS soldiers and sent to a German transit camp along with other Jews.  In order to escape sudden execution, Gilles pretends to be Persian, inventing a fake "Farsi" language. However, his survival hinges on a life-or-death mission: teaching Farsi to Nazi camp leader Koch (Lars Eidinger), who dreams of opening a restaurant in Iran after the war.

  As with any Holocaust film, the horrors of war are not left out or compromised in the film.. PERSIAN LESSONS showcases chilling moments, such as an angry German soldier punishing a Jewish kitchen worker by burning her hands on a hot stove due to her dirty hands, or the harrowing sight of Jewish prisoners rushing to stand in line, only to be shot dead after the formation of the line. These depictions, presented matter-of-factly, enhance the film's impact. However, the director's focus goes beyond the atrocities of war, emphasizing the eccentricities that arise from the protagonist's fictional story, which draws inspiration from true events based on Wolfgang Kohlhaase's "Erfindung einer Sprache."

The film explores the power of the mind to recall and memorize names, exemplified by Gilles' invention of the "Parsi" language using the names of fellow prisoners. 

To enhance the film's entertainment value, Perelman injects humour into the narrative, primarily through the character of a pompous Nazi officer, Koch who refuses to be corrected or wronged.  His relentless pursuit of his desires leads to hilariously ironic situations, finally culminating in his downfall.  More important is the fact that the humour never trivializes the horrors of the Holocaust and the thousands who have lost their lives in the concentration camps, unlike the Italian comedy "Life is Beautiful" (1997), which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.  There is also a lot of humour in the dialogue, occasionally quite brilliantly written.  Example:

Klaus Koch: As long as you work for me nothing will happen to you. I bet 20 cans of meat that nothing will happen to you.

Gilles: Too bad I won't be able to eat them since I'll be dead.

PERSIAN LESSONS boasts stunning cinematography that vividly captures the WWII era, with scenes of trucks transporting prisoners at night and chilling lineups of Jews awaiting execution. The film's production values are exceptional, contributing to an immersive atmosphere enhancing credibility and adding depth to the story.

Overall, PERSIAN LESSONS is an intriguing Holocaust movie that explores the horrors of war while injecting a fresh perspective into a well-worn genre. Directed by Ukraine-born Canadian filmmaker Vadim Perelman, known for his triple Oscar-nominated debut feature "House of Sand and Fog," the film promises a thought-provoking and impactful cinematic experience.

PERSIAN LESSONS was Belarus' official submission for the 'Best International Feature Film' category of the 93rd Academy Awards in 2021, but was disqualified by the Academy because the majority of individuals involved in making the film were not from Belarus.

PERSIAN LESSONS premiered on June 16 in Toronto (Varsity and Empress Walk) and Vancouver (Fifth Avenue). It will be released on June 23 in Ottawa and Edmonton, with subsequent screenings in other cities throughout the summer.

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SEIRE (South Korea 2021) ***
Directed by Park Kong

Every race has its folk traditions and superstitions.  South Korea is no exception.  Stories borne of these beliefs often make good horror fodder.  In Korean, the word samchil-il also known as SEIRE, the title of this new Korean horror flick that refers to the 21 days after a child’s birth.  The house is then often guarded by protective rope ensuring the infant’s safe passage into the world and no taboo should be broken.  The baby is believed to be especially vulnerable to bad luck, curses and evil spirits.  The film centres on one couple’s first child.  The father is generally a non-believer and the mother is a ‘better play safe than sorry’ follower.  So she and as well as forcing her husband - protect the baby.  The couple is also neighbours with the wife’s sister who is expecting a baby.

Though North America is familiar with Japanese horror films, many of which have spanned Hollywood remakes (best example: THE RING) but Korean horror films are still a rarity.  Many would be unaware of the practice of SEIRE.  SEIRE comes as a welcome surprise and it is a solid horror chiller with some dark humour added for good measure.

New mother Hae-mi carefully follows every one of the SEIRE practices. Father Woo-jin is reluctantly willing to play along, but when he attends an ex-girlfriend's (from college as he says) funeral, he unwittingly opens the door to dark supernatural dangers. Plagued by terrible nightmares, the skeptical Woo-jin gradually begins to understand the siere custom, as he is forced to unravel the mystery of what is haunting him and his family.

Park loves to blur the lines of reality and imagination.  Because of fear, Woo-jin sees rotting apples, whenever he cuts one open to eat or for his wife, the shape of the cut apple resembles a womb where a fetus gestates.  His wife tells him: “ I am craving apples”, which forces him to leave the house in the middle of the night to get her apples.  When she returns, she denies the fact and asks where he had been.  Then she relents and says that she is just messing with him.  So what is true and what is imagined is never clear in the film.  All the confusion adds to the confusion of the couple.  Park’s film moves at a slow pace, but he keeps counting the tension.  Boredom is never the issue.

As would be expected in horror films, SEIRE contains a few gory and graphic scenes -the most disgusting as well as most effective, being a fetus dropping from Woo-jin’s vagina after her water is broken.

Park, a new voice in the Korean horror genre is best known for his "chilling indie horror debut” (SCREEN ANARCHY), an Official Selection in the Fantasia New Flesh Competition, was nominated for Best Film and captured the New Currents FIPRESCI Prize at the Busan International Film Festival, and also received a nomination for a Golden Eye Best International Feature at the 2022 Zurich Film Festival.

SEIRE premieres on VOD and Digital on June 16th, 2023.

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STAN LEE (USA 2023) ***½

Directed by John Gelp

The doc on Marvel cartoonist Stan Lee has the simple title of Stan Lee for the very reason that his name by itself would attract countless comic book fans and Action Hero movie fans to see the movie.  Stan Lee is a legend in our own times.

 The doc follows Stan’s journey to become one of the most influential people in the world of comic books and pop culture. Tracing his life from his challenging upbringing (from a child to teen to adult) as Stanley Lieber to the meteoric rise of Marvel Comics.

In order to tell the story of Stan Lee, the doc uses a combination of archive footage and animation while always using Stan’s voice as voiceover and narrator.

One of the film’s more intimate moments tells of Stan’s creation of one of the world’s most beloved Spider-Man.  First of all, he made Spider-Man a teenager - and one with problems.  He questioned the reason for being a superhero and often did not want to be one.  He would not be allowed to go out and fight crooks because his Aunt May would not let him go out because it was raining.  Stan made the action hero more down to earth and human with problems and that was what, according to him, made those comics sell.  The doc also included a part on how Stan fooled his boss to publish the first of the series that broke record numbers.  In short, Stan became a superhero on his own terms.  On being questioned what made a superhero popular, Stan said that readers must relate to the characters.  Spider-Man had empathy, the word Stan used many times to describe Spider-Man and the other heroes.

Also insightful is Stan’s description off the importance of the graphic artists.  He preferred Steve to Jack as Jack would draw the highlights of the action while Steve concentrated more on the story and human aspects of the series.

The doc also goes on to describe other heroes like Captain America and The Mighty Thor with the hammer.  It is interesting to note that The comics on The Might Thor was banned in Singapore, where this reviewer grew up, a country that is famous for censorship.  Thor was considered too violent and hence Thor was banned.  As a kid, my classmates would have someone go over to neighbouring Malaysia to buy the Their comic books.  So, Singapore kids did get to read those comics anyway.  Also good to note is that Marvel superheroes are all from Earth while those of the D.C. comics hailed from other planets or other worlds.

Stan Lee is also famous for appearing in a cameo in all the Marvel super hero action movies.  These are of course, too many to mention.  The doc is insightful and informative showing only the positive of Stan's life.  But the doc omits the more troubled life of Stan in his older age, of how he was abused as an elderly and how his business manager had physically and mentally abused him in his old age.

STAN LEE is available for streaming on Disney+ from June 156th, 2023.

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VILLAGE (Japan 2023) ***
Directed by Michihito Fuji

Life is but a dream.  So goes the rhyme: Row, row, row your boat! Gently down the stream….Life is but a dream,”   This new Japanese horror film begins with the words: Dreams are fleeting.  Besides knowing this, humans still dream.  Waking up after 50 glorious years, it was all merely a dream…  so goes Kantun, a Japanese Not Play.  Dream stuff is also quoted in Shaekespeare’s THE TEMPEST.  "We are such stuff as dreams are made on; and our little life is rounded with a sleep." - William Shakespeare. From Act IV of The Tempest, this line is spoken by Prospero, as he compares his magical illusions "melted into air, into thin air," to the transient nature of our lives. 

In VILLAGE the dreams are more like nightmares as can be witnessed in the beginning disturbing sequence which intercuts a play with several images: a  hole in the ground surrounded by rubbish; a boy witnessing a fire; a man with a sweaty face.

Yu Katayama is a young man who lives in the remote, but beautiful village Kamonmura. He has lived there since he was a child and is unable to leave due to an incident in his past. To pay off his mother's debt, Yu works in a garbage disposal facility nearby. He lives without a dream or hope in his life. One day, Misaki Nakai returns to Kamonmura from Tokyo. Yu and Misaki were childhood friends. Her return changes Yu.  As they say, there is more than meets the eye.

VILLAGE runs for a full 2 hours.  Though it takes its time to tell its story (effectively mounting the suspense), the images are haunting, the storytelling convincing and the horror often felt.  The Japanese atmosphere also aids in the film’s intrigue.  Worth the watch on Netflix which begins streaming the film June the 16th.

Trailer: 

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 02 June 2023

ALONERS (South Korea 2021) ***
Directed by Hong Sung-eun

ALONERS is a South Korean film that has played in international film festivals that finally gets a release in North America.  It is a contemplative film about an alone (one figures an alone is a person whom prefers and goes about doing one's duties without the company of others).  The subject and protagonist of the film is an alone called Tina.  She does not even have a pet to keep her company.  She is satisfied with her ‘alone’ life but has the occasional phone call with her father.

Jina (Gong Seung-yeon) is the top employee at an unarmed call center, but despite talking to customers all day, she has shut out the world beyond her headset; she lives alone, eats alone, sleeps alone, and her cell phone is her constant companion.  When one day she's tasked with training a friendly and naive new hire (Jung Da-eun), her icy armour is threatened.   She is forced to work with someone else.  She is reluctant at training the new hire and lets her supervisor know the fact.  But Tina has no option or choice but to train her.  At the same time, she must navigate an incessantly ingratiating new neighbour, and increasingly urgent phone calls from her father, leaving Jina teetering on the edge of an existential crisis, forcing her to confront why she has isolated herself all these years.  

Riffing on the Korean ‘honjok’ – a phenomenon of young people who live alone and skirt social interaction – to examine the personal traumas of loss and alienation, this subtly poetic directorial debut is a "stirring portrait of the cages we build for ourselves and questions how and when we may want to be free of them," 

Director Hong’s film follows Tina at work, at home and everywhere else.  Through the routines, the audience learns about what Nina does, of her personality, aspirations and frustrations.  As expected, a film about a lonely person is a slow burn, and one needs to be patient while watching the story unfold.  There is little humour or enlightened drama.  The drama in Tina’s life is mostly self brought on and one needs to see the reason for her  anger and dissatisfaction.  Often, it is her territory of comfort that is threatened.  her comfort zone had already been disrupted with her inheritance.  Tina was supposed to have the inheritance from her deceased mother but now things have changed.

On a different level, it is also neat to see houma call centre operates.  The workers are all organized into cubicles and treated less as human beings but as tools of the company to generate profits.  They are constantly reminded that the number of calls each makes has to be increased.  Everything is about profit.

Director Hong’s film does not contain any happy ending or any major revelation.  The pleasure of her film comes from observation - observation of human behaviour.  Often, human behaviour can be more than intriguing, and director Hogan has fashioned an intriguing film while at it.

ALONERS premiers in North America via VOD and digital on June the 9th, 2023.

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AMERICONNED (USA 2023) ***
Directed by Sean Claffey

In the United States, there has been an upward redistribution of over $50 trillion from the bottom 90% to the top 1% over the last 40 years.  Politicians on both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Republicans have created a protection racket for the rich, and corporations are deliberately crushing unions.

The doc opens with a candid look at democracy.  The beginning titles on the screen state that the big divide of the rich and the poor of a country and democracy can never exist in harmony.  The camera moves to the high skyscrapers owned by the rich and then contrasted to the homeless on the streets.  And there is a scene of the storming on Capitol Hill.  It is an angry and effective beginning of a doc with a current and problematic issue in the United States.  And how America has been Americonned.

In this David vs. Goliath story, Chris Smalls and Derrick Palmer lead a movement to unionize Amazon workers for the first time, after the corporation fired Smalls for speaking up for workers’ rights. They are inspiring legions of workers across America to, as the late, great Congressman John Lewis said, get into “good trouble.”

After an angry introduction to linear lower income groups. The audience is introduced to assistant supervisor of Amazon, Chris Small.  Small was fired from his job for speaking out - two hours after organizing the workers at Amazon,  Small spiked out at the company’s silence of infected Covid-19 workers and is classed as a union agitator.  There is a shot of Amazon owner Jeff Bezos’ 80 million penthouse apartment in New York City.

Every narrative fiction has a villain - the more evil the villain is, the better the story.  This doc and subject has its share of villains as the doc shows in clips of Elon Musk, Mark Zukerberg among others.  The most evil villain singled out by the doc is Amazon boss Jeff Bezos.  Amazon is the big target for this doc and with reason.  Bezos’s Amazon only never paid any taxes, but received millions in Government subsidies.  Yet, the company still exploited their workers while lying to the public of its intentions.  All the company wants to do is to drive price down at the expense of the workers.  An interviewee says that they are not only not treated as human beings nor robots but treated as human data.  Bezos, of course, denies all this, saying that the workers have good working conditions and are paid well.  If this is true, why then is he afraid of his workers being unionized?  The doc occasionally shifts to other issues like a truck driver single mother caring for her kids, and a family with a laid off Oracle father and an art teacher wife who cannot make ends meet.  But the doc always returns to Amazon, and with reason as this is the most interested of all the subjects and also an easy target because it is the most blatantly obvious target.

The doc finally takes things further with the footage of the recent attack on Capitol Hill, citing the inequality between the wealthy and the needy as the underlying problem.

It is easy to complain and list problem after problem of American society.  Director Claffey ends his doc on a high note with an interview with the Boston mayor who offers opportunity to his people saying that they have to accept the society to succeed, hopefully to bring down the disparity between ethnic income groups.  And the result the Staten Island Amazon Union vote.

One might not agree with all the arguments made in AMERICONNED, but director Claffey has undoubtedly given his audience a lot of food for thought.  The doc has a Canadian VOD release on June the 13th.

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BEYOND PAPER (Canada 2022) ***
Directed by Oana Suteu Khintirian

Running a lengthy 2 hour and 10minutes, BEYOND PAPER is an intellectual contemplation of human progress and loss in words as related to one’s origins and heritage.

Every film begins with a first image.  The image first seen in director Khintirian’s documentary is that a word press, just as every story begins with a first word.  Words are shown printed on paper as by an old printing press, something that is going obsolete as the world becomes paperless,  Bill Gates predicted a paperless world in 1995 and this predication is almost true.

1995 is the same year, the audience learns that the director left her homeland in Romania to move to Canada through Montreal.  She brought a box of letters that contained her family’s entire life, though the box could not fit the size of a person.

This is the critical moment in the history of the written word, as humanity’s archives migrate to the cloud, one filmmaker goes on a journey around the globe to better understand how she can preserve her own Romanian and Armenian heritage, as well as human being’s collective memory.  Blending the intellectual with the poetic, director Khintirian embarks on a personal quest with universal resonance, navigating the continuum between paper and digital—and reminding us that human knowledge is above all an affair of the soul and the spirit.  Personal because she draws the experiences of her family into the picture, with her young son making several posts in the film.

From the fragile grain of centuries-old manuscripts to blinking servers in digital libraries, the film takes us around the world and introduces us to “guides” such as Maria Sebregondi, president of the Moleskine Foundation, who speculates on the possibilities of “augmented paper;” Brewster Kahle, founder of the Internet Archive, who describes the massive web library as “fabulous and terrible;” Maria Kodama, widow of Jorge Luis Borges and president of the Borges Foundation, who brings to life the words of the Argentinian writer, breathing contemporary meaning into them.  Borge predicted the internet world in his time.

Filmed in locations including a “city of libraries” in the midst of the Mauritanian desert and El Ateneo Grand Splendid in Buenos Aires (one of the most beautiful bookshops in the world), as well as in Bucharest, Montreal, San Francisco, Milan and Copenhagen, Beyond Paper blends reflection and emotion, reminding us that human knowledge is above all an affair of the soul and the spirit.

Food for thought that often boggles the mind, BEYOND PAPER is as fascinating as it is informative, poetic as it is current and a doc that is both personal and inspirational and cinematic.

The director will be present for a Q&A on June the 13th.  The film had its world premiere on March 15 at the International Festival of Films on Art in Montreal and recently received the Cercle d’or Award for Best Documentary at the Festival cinéma du monde de Sherbrooke.

Screening schedule at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema

June 9 | 4:30 p.m.

June 12 | 4:00 p.m.

June 13 | 6:30 p.m. (Q&A with filmmaker)

June 17 | 4:30 p.m.

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DALILAND (USA/UK/France 2022) **
Directed by Mary Harron

Canadian director Mary Harron takes on her most ambitious project to date, exploring the life of one of the most controversial artists of all time, Salvador Dali. Harron gained recognition with her previous films, I SHOT ANDY WARHOL and AMERICAN PSYCHO.  The latter, starring Christian Bale as a charismatic and sinister protagonist, demonstrated Harron's ability to delve into decadence and the dark side of humanity.  This theme resonates in DALILAND, which focuses on the notorious and renowned artist Salvador Dali, best known to audiences as the director of the collaborative short film  UN CHIEN ANDALOU with Luis Bunuel. The film features a striking opening scene depicting a human eyeball being slashed with a razor, accompanied by surreal imagery and disjointed timelines that create a dreamlike atmosphere.

DALILAND opens with Dali participating in an episode of the popular TV show "What's My Line?"  Blindfolded panelists ask him if he is an artist, performer, entertainer, cartoonist, or actor, to which he humorously responds "yes" to each question, eliciting laughter from the audience.  Eventually, one panelist correctly guesses that the mystery guest is Dali based on his answer about his famous moustache. Academy Award winner Sir Ben Kingsley portrays Dali and bears a striking resemblance to the artist in Mary Harron's DALILAND.  Dali was one of the most renowned artists of the 20th century, celebrated not only for his surrealist art but also for his iconic curled moustache.

The film primarily unfolds through the eyes of James (Christopher Briney), a young gallery assistant, and focuses on the later years of Dali's unconventional marriage to Gala (Barbara Sukowa), as their seemingly unbreakable bond begins to fracture.

The main story is set in 1974, with Dali and Gala spending their winter at the St. Regis hotel in New York.  James is entrusted with the task of ensuring Dali produces enough artwork for a major gallery show scheduled to open in three weeks.  Immersed in Dali's demimonde, a world of lavish parties and constant revelry, James soon realizes that only Gala has the power to motivate Dali. However, Gala becomes distracted by her latest romantic interest, a young man named Zachary Nachbar-Seckel.  As time ticks away for Dali's exhibition, the story transitions to his native Spain, where James uncovers some dubious activities.

"What is it like working for Dali?" James is asked at a pivotal point in the film. He describes the experience as being on another planet. Indeed, DALILAND often feels like an alien world, as the film disorients the audience.  Despite the film’s excellent production values, including well staged lavish parties with intricate costumes, DALILAND fails to inspire.  Dali's artwork is notably absent, and the origin of his genius remains unexplored.  The audience is merely offered a hint that his genius stems from the anger he and Gala share.  The film portrays Dali in all his ugliness and indulgence, such as conducting the wind atop a mountain, without delving into any of his redeeming human qualities.  With its focus on sycophancy and conflicts, particularly between Dali and Gala, the film proves to be a rather unpleasant and  hollow viewing experience.  The character of James, meant to provide an unbiased perspective for the audience, falls short due in part to a weak performance by Christopher Briney, who often appears more confused than anything else.

DALILAND opens June 9 in Toronto (Carlton) and Vancouver (Vancity)!  The film is also available June 9 to rent or buy on the Apple TV app and other VOD platforms.

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TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS (USA 2023) ***

Directed by Steve Caple Jr.

There is something that cannot really be explained on the fascination human beings have (especially males) of a human being being transformed part by part into a machine or top vehicle.  During one of the promo screenings, a kid wore one costume in which she could turn into a yellow Volkswagen.  As a result TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS has succeeded in becoming the 7th instalment of the transformers film franchise - itself being a sequel to the last and highly box-office success of BUMBLE BEE and which  also could stand as a standalone movie.

What makes TRANSFORMERS stand out among other super action hero movies such  the emotionless SPIDERVERSE is its super-hero story that is connected a human story that audincences can relate to.  The fight for the universe and the saving to the universe that includes the planet Earth is brought down to family level.  The story revolves around family-man Noah Diaz (Anthony Ramoz, best known as the original cast of the musical HAMILTON), an ex-military electronics expert who lives with his family in Brooklyn, trying to support them.  Trying to get a job runs through the story at the beginning and end of the film.

The actual story of the film take places outside the realm of Earth.  It begins on a distant planet that has vegetation looking a bit like Earth’s.  The homeworld of the Maximals, an advanced race of beast-robots that have evolved on a jungle planet colonized by Transformers long ago, comes under attack from the planet-eating dark god Unicron - the tough villain of the piece,  His heralds, the Terrorcons, led by Scourge, seek to obtain for their master the Maximals' greatest piece of technology, the Transwarp Key, which can open portals through space and time. Maximal leader Apelinq sacrifices himself to allow the other Maximals to escape the planet before Unicron devours it. Now under the command of Optimus Primal, the Maximals use the key to flee to Earth, where most of the action takes place as they say in a more down-to-eartyh story.

Moving to 1994 Brooklyn, ex-military electronics expert Noah Diaz struggles to find a job to support his family, he is convinced by his friend Reek to steal a Porsche to sell, only to discover that the car is the Autobot Mirage in disguise.  Concurrently, museum intern Elena Wallace studies an ancient statue of a falcon bearing the Maximal symbol and winds up breaking it open to reveal half of the Transwarp Key hidden inside. The key releases an energy pulse that is detected by Optimus Prime, who summons the other Autobots; Mirage is contacted in the middle of Noah's attempted theft, and Noah winds up being roped into the robots' mission to recover the key so they can use it to return to their homeworld, Cybertron.  Drawn by the key's signature, the Terrorcons arrive on Earth, and Elena is caught up in the conflict when the villains attack the Autobots outside the museum.   This is where the story starts to come together and the two protagonists, Elena and Noah meet.  

The film is also shot in beautiful and stunning Peru including the famous Machu Piccchu.  The film contains a well mixed blend of natural country mixed with CGI animated backgrounds.

TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS had its premiere at the futuristic and stunning Marina Bay Sands in Singapore (the birthplace of this film critic) on May 27, 2023, and is scheduled in the North America on June 9, 2023,

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THE WRATH OF BECKY (USA 2023) ****

Directed by Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote

THE WRATH OF BECKY is the sequel, an action thriller with a little bit of horror to the little seen BECKY with the returning cast of Lulu Wilson in the title role and Seann William Scott (GOOD, DUDE WHERE’S MY CAR, AMERICAN PIE 1 and 2).  Directed by Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote, Angel wrote the screenplay based on a story by himself and Coote.

There is something the matter with Becky.  The audience is informed of the fact right at the start of the film so that there is a lot of audience anticipation - the factor that dramatically affects the interest of the audience on a film, a technique often used by the Master of Suspense, Hitchcock himself.  Becky’s parents were killed by a group of Neo-Nazis who hid a key beneath the family’s house.  Becky has got her revenge by slaughtering them.  Becky, the audience is told, has escaped from 3 foster homes.  At the film’s start she is welcomed into a new foster home.  ‘Should we say grace first before the meal?” She says to the foster parents, Alice (Alison Commit) and Ted (Derek Gaines), her foster mother delighted at her request.  One can tell something awful or unexpected is going to happen in the new foster family,

Three years after escaping a violent attack on her family by four Neo-Nazis, Becky, now 16, and her dog Diego live with a kind elderly woman named Elena Connor to rebuild their lives. But when a fascist organization known as the "Noble Men" break into their home, attack both Becky and Elena and kidnap Diego, Becky must take on the Noble Men by returning to her old ways to protect herself and her loved ones, rescue Diego and uncover the Noble Men's political attack plans before it's too late.

What makes THE WRATH OF BECKY wickedly entertaining and satisfying are the little parts that might have little to do with the plot but do demonstrate the wrath of Becky.  One is the diner where she works, the scene where she pushed a cup of hot coffee onto the lap of a  very abusive customer.  Another is her fantasizing a customer’s throat cut by her after he insists that she butters his toast so that the butter is melted on it.  It also helps that the film does not skimp the violence and horror when necessary, especially when needed to make a point.

Scott who normally plays comedy and occasionally psychotic comedy as in AMERICAN PIE 2 where his character gets to take a shit in a cooler, gets to play an insurrection psycho in this movie, one who can use his hadn’t to tear a face off, and with gleaming pleasure.

THE WRATH OF BECKY opened in US theatres on May 26th, however it has shifted to June 9th in Canada. The film is a short and effective 83 minutes that fly past for the reason that is so delightfully wicked. More fun than SPIDERVERSE, TRANSFORMERS and FAST X put together,

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YOU DO YOU (Turkey 2023) **

Directed by Cemal Alpan

Unfamiliar is usually good and a surprise.  The new Netflix original comedy from Turkey YOU DO YOU is an example.  Not many have ever seen a modern Turkish comedy and YOU DO YOU which ones on Netflix on the 9th of June is one.

The film opens with a woman sneaking around her own apartment she shares with her mother.  The reason she is stealing around like a burglar is that she is picking up mother’s snazzy clothes for a job interview.  YOU DO YOU begins with this scene accompanies my music with corny lyrics like “chicky. chicky boom- d-ay”.  The Turkish film looks like a colourful Spanish comedy but unfortunately this wannabe Spanish-styled comedy fails.

One main reason is  the character’s personality.  She is too headstrong - displaying too many obvious annoying new-age beliefs not to mention that she is rude and too independent, saying at all times what she thinks.  The latter can be observed during an unfunny job interview set-up when she gets kicked out of the interview room faster that she can get a rejection answer.  She does not want money, she wants o fashion design, she says and is clear throughout the film,

The film then turns into a romantic comedy.  There is a shot of her new beau at the start of the film as the handsome man is seen eyeing her apartment while in his car.  Merue Kult (Ahsen Eroglu), the protagonist, gets evicted from her apartment because her father is bankrupt.

YOU DO YOU then turns into predictable rom com fare, with few laughs with the annoying, unlikeable protagonist not helping either.  If one is interested in a female centred comedy, the other one from the Netherlands, THE WONDER WEEKS about a mother’s club is much funnier.    

This colourful Spanish styled Turkish comedy unfortunately fails miserably.

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Details

Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 29 May 2023

FILM REVIEWS:

ALL MAN: THE INTERNATIONAL MALE STORY (USA 2022) *

Directed by Bryan Darling and Jesse Finley Reed

This eye-popping doc follows the catalog of the brand International Male.   International Mal was a mail-order clothing brand and, at one point in the brand's history, carried brick-and-mortar stores of the same name. The company that created and owns the brand, originally Brawn of California, started in 1974–1975, has since been sold in its entirety in 1987 to Hanover Direct, based in New Jersey.

Directed by Bryan Darling and Jesse Finley Reed, the doc delivers a dynamic, sexy, behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the iconic International Male catalog, which changed the way men looked at themselves.

The catalog once spun off into a separate catalog, Undergear, which focused exclusively on men's underwear, swimwear, and some casual wear. The last mailed catalog of International Male was published in 2007. The brands are both available via their own websites, but the International Male site is now defunct and redirects to the Undergear site.

As of 2009, Hanover Direct consolidated these two product platforms under the Undergear label. Undergear is now the sole catalog and web site and incorporates the non-underwear items that would earlier have been in the International Male catalog-website. The selection of non-underwear clothing is quite limited in comparison to the former years (when International Male was its own separate catalog and website containing many items of clothing besides underwear and swimwear).  Over the years, many famous models and actors have posed for the catalog, such as Shemar Moore, Cameron Mathison, Charles Dera, Christian Boeving, David Chokachi, Gregg Avedon, Reichen Lehmkuhl, Rusty Joiner, Brandon Marcel and Scott King.  It took more than a decade and a half for this doc to be made.  Not that it has run into problems for being made, not that the doc is the doc of all docs or even an excellent one but it is a passable one, the delay should have been mentioned itself in this documentary.

The company was founded by Gene Burkard, a once-closeted Midwesterner and GI, found freedom in San Diego, where he transformed men’s fashion into something cosmopolitan, carefree, and trend-setting. International Male reached gay and straight customers alike as it redefined images of masculinity in American culture, generating revenue and circulation in the millions.  Burkard, who participated in the documentary, died in 2020 during post-production. 

ALL MAN is mostly man candy and an absolute delight for the gay male.  The doc does not break new barriers but provides some invaluable insight but it is extremely fun to watch and go goo-goo eyes at all the handsome models on display.

But there is always a little downside to every success story.  For International Male, a big challenge arose during the AIDs epidemic, where gay people were dropping like flies.  The magazine lost a lot of talent and family.  Another downwards trend was the magazine being sold to a bigger catalog company.  The last mailed catalog of International Male was published in 2007. The brands are both available via their own websites, but the International Male site is now defunct and redirects to the Underwear site.

ALL MAN: THE INTERNATIONAL MALE STORY premiered at the Tribeca Festival and Outfest Official Selection and arrives on digital platforms June 6.

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A BEAUTIFUL LIFE (Denmark 2023) ***
Directed by Mehdi Avaz

A BEAUTIFUL LIFE begins with a man, Elliot (Christopher) getting up shirtless ninth morning from his boat, which is taken to be his living quarters.  The film follows him to work where he crushes ice for the fish and earns a decent wage for what looks like hard work  Elliot is shown to be a decent chap.  In short, he is a drunk fisherman but he can sing and write songs.  He says away from gambling away his wages and meets a friend at a bar where they are supposed to perform,

Elliott, a young fisherman with an extraordinary voice, gets the chance of a lifetime when he is discovered by the successful high-profile music manager, Suzanne. Suzanne soon pairs Elliott with her estranged daughter and music producer, Lily. On his way to becoming a star, struggles from the past threaten not only his big breakthrough, but also the budding love with Lily.

A BEAUTIFUL LIFE is described as a romantic comedy.  Rom coms are a dime a dozen these days, churned out with ho end in sight from not only Hollywood but from other countries as well.  They usually are cliche-ridden following the formula of the harlequin books with the couple coming together at the end after some silly obstacle they’d to overcome on the way.  A beautiful LIFE is a rom com that stands out by being different from the crowd.  Director Stefan Jaworski’s script spends a fair amount of time on the story’s characters so that the audience can associate and sympathize with the protagonist.  The actors playing the leads deliver solid credible performances that create real drama thus intensifying the story.  This is instead of providing silly comedic set pieces which are nothing more than a bore half the time.

The film's best moment is when Elliot opens his mouth to sing for the first time on stage.  Not only are the patrons at the bar mesmerized but so is the audience of the film.  Elliot’s voice and song isa show-stopper in the very sense of the word.

A BEAUTIFUL LIFE, shot in Danish and filmed in Copenhagen is available Netflix June the 1st, 2023.
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THE BOOGIEMAN (USA 2023) **
Directed by Rob Savage

After a troubled production that involved cancellation in production due to Disney takeover of Fox and of course the pandemic, British director Rob Savage eventually takes over the director reigns in what is a muddled and generally boring piece of Stephen King horror (based on his short story) that fails to identify the origin, nature, looks and weaknesses of this monster called THE BOOGIEMAN.  Somehow, the victims discover that the monster is afraid of the dark, but not really as the film shows that it is more scared of fire. Which animal isn’t?

` THE BOOGIEMAN is an upcoming American supernatural horror film directed by Rob Savage from a screenplay by Scott Beck, Bryan Woods and Mark Heyman and a screen story by Beck and Woods, based on the 1973 short story of the same name by Stephen King. The film stars Sophie Thatcher, Chris Messina, Vivien Lyra Blair and David Dastmalchian.

THE BOOGIEMAN begins with a disturbed Lester Billings (David Dastmalchian) forcefully letting himself into therapist Will Harper’s (Chris Messina) house for treatment,  It is revealed that he is the prime suspect for the death of his children.  The session ends with Billings hanging himself in Will’s home.  Will himself has two children, high school student Sadie Harper (Sophie Thatcher) and her little sister Sawyer (Vivien Lyra Blair) who are still reeling from the recent death of their mother. Devastated by his own pain, their father Will, gives them neither the support nor the affection that they try to claim from him.  Billings brings in a terrifying entity, THE BOOGIEMAN that preys on the family and feeds on their greatest suffering.

In Stephen King’s 1973 short story THE BOOGIEMAN, the story follows Lester Billings and the death of his children.The film changes the story totally, with THE BOOGIEMAN after Will’s family.  The original story is much scarier and the modified story in the film is senseless and there is no reason for THE BOOGIEMAN which follows families in distress to follow Will’s and not another distressed family.  Sadie’s conquest over the monster is also utterly silly.

The film is filled with the usual jump in the dark horror scares that are are annoying than scary.  The film ends up a rehash of the familiar dime a dozen horror slasher/monster movies.

Chis Messina is the most well known of the cast. Messina has proved his acting chops as the suave and all dressed lawyer in I CARE A LOT.  He plays the father in this film, dishevelled  and seemingly unable to look f after his two daughters.

THE BOOGEYMAN is 89 minutes of a slow burn which leads eventually to the destruction of the monster by the protagonist heroine , who in this case is a young preteen student.  There are so many loose ends that it appears that the filmmakers and even King seem to be making it up mat the story goes on,  The film opens May the 26th and it’s best to avoid this one , together with the big box-force duds like FAST X and THE LITTLE MERMAID.

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THE FIRST STEP (USA 2021) ***1/2

Directed by Brandon Kramer

THE FIRST STEP is an angry but important documentary that needs to be made and seen.  THE FIRST STEP is a doc on prison reform with the title referring to the importance of the first step that needs to be taken.  Prison reform is so important for a variety of reasons.  One is that it is a human rights issue.  People serving time are also human beings.  Secondly, prison reform affects everyone as almost everyone would have a relative or know a friend or acquaintance that has served time in jail.

In a divided America, Van Jones controversially works across party lines on landmark criminal justice reform and a more humane response to America's addiction crisis. Attempting to be a bridge builder in a time of extreme polarization takes him deep into the inner workings of a divisive administration, internal debates within both parties, and the lives of frontline activists fighting for their communities.  The doc opens in 2016 when Trump has just been elected President.

Facing fierce opposition from both political parties in a climate where bipartisanship has become a dirty word, Jones and his team enlist the support of justice-impacted individuals, faith leaders, grassroots activists and cultural figures — including Kim Kardashian — to pass legislation that would fix some broken aspects of the justice system and bring thousands of incarcerated people home early. The bill’s champions immediately find themselves navigating a high-stakes game of political chess in Washington, D.C. Their quest brings them face-to-face with progressive champions like Congressman Hakeem Jeffries,  U.S. Senators Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders, as well as conservative figures like U.S. Senator Rand Paul, Kellyanne Conway, Jared Kushner — and ultimately, Donald Trump himself.

While trying to pass a bipartisan bill through a deeply polarized Congress, Jones is condemned by the right for his progressive beliefs — and by the left for working with conservatives.   This is a losing battle if ever there was one. No side can ever be satisfied.  And no side appears willing to compromise.  The film reveals an intimate portrait of an activist’s isolation and internal struggles, what it takes to make change in a divided nation, and everyday people in both political parties drawn into a historic fight for freedom and justice.

Bringing the topic of prison reform to home in Toronto, Toronto boasts a new $594 million superjail opened in 2015 that contains a fresh air room and flat screen TVs.  But if one speaks to an inmate in the new facility, he makes the valid complaint that there is nowhere inside that one gets to see the sun or the open sky.  Inmates have the most valid says.  In THE FIRST STEP, Van Jones spends time talking to inmates to hear their points of view.

It is also intriguing to learn that Van Jones as a child lisps and could not speak properly.  But he is taught that if one puts one’s entire life into something, that one will succeed.  The film also takes pains to emphasize the frustrations than Jones undergoes in his thankless task of prison reform - which is indeed inspiring.

THE FIRST STEP, a doc on prison reform and the fight for prison reform that is as informative as it is urgent is one that should be seen.  Canada VOD Release is on June 6

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LOVE GETS A ROOM (UK/Spain 2019) **
Directed by Rodrigo Cortés

The beginning credits emphasize the fact that what follows is a true story or at least based on true events.  The titles indicate the setting as the January of 1942 in Warsaw, Poland.  The audience is told that in a narrow ghetto 40,0000 Jews are confined by the Nazis in the middle of the city.  No one can leave or enter the perimeter, which are guarded by German troops.  Outside, the audience is informed, life goes on but inside, people die of illness, hunger and the cold.  But amidst all this, the audience is to believe that art goes on.  Inside, and cut off from the outside world by a towering wall, LOVE GETS A ROOM follows Stefcia and her fellow Jewish theatre actors as they fight to keep their passion for performing alive. 

As life in the Nazi-occupied ghetto becomes a fierce fight against cold, hunger, and epidemics, the actors, against all odds, embark on a daring mission to stage Jerzy Jurandot's play, risking their lives to create something beautiful in a world of chaos and destruction.

Written and directed by visionary filmmaker Rodrigo Cortés, the film takes the audience on an emotional journey back to the tumultuous time of World War II.  With what the press notes describe as masterful direction and outstanding performances, LOVE GETS A ROOM attempts to provide a poignant exploration of the power of love, hope, and sacrifice in the face of unimaginable adversity.

LOVE GETS A ROOM is a prime example of a film that tries too hard and relies on past films on theatre to make important points - a fact that fails as audiences are often familiar with war time theatre films, such as the famous Francois Truffaut’s 1980 masterpiece LE DERNIER METRO (THE LAST metro) being the best of the lot.  Director Cortés uses the all too often used tactic of the play mirroring the true events the actors are facing.  In the play, the main lead is torn between two overs, just as in the main story, Stefcia is torn between two lovers. She has to decide who to go with - to escape with the one who loves her who she does not love anymore, or stay with the one she loves.  And she has a little daughter to compact matters,  The worst of the film’s flaws is the use of cheap theatrics to make a point.  In the film, the flaw occurs with a German entering the theatre amidst a performance firing a rifle many times and making lots of noise and drama to make a silly point.  The German wishes to dispose of a resistance fighter that has nothing to do with the characters of the story.

LOVE GETS A ROOM is based on true events during Nazi occupied Poland and Is rich with period atmosphere.  But this well-intentioned retelling of Jewish history is marred by cheap theatrics, sappiness and cliche-ridden tricks of at theatre within a theatre setting.

LOVE GETS A ROOM  finally gets a release, finally gets a VOD release on Friday, June 30, 2023.

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MIXED BY ERRY (Italy 2023) ****
Directed by Sydney Sibilia 

MIXED BY ERRY (Erry is short for Enrico)  tells the story of Enrico Frattasio, known as Enrico or DJ Erry, who in the 1980s created a business, and an empire, thanks to the counterfeit cassettes sold throughout Italy and subsequently also internationally.

The brand was called ‘mixed by Erry.  The [irating business got so popular that even this brand was pirated.  How is that for a compliment for the Frattasio Brothers?   Thanks to Netflix for bringing this Italian film to North American audiences, the film premiering this week June the 2nd on Netflix.  Without Netflix, this gem of a film would have never been seen.  MIXED BY ERRY is a charming true story of the Fratasio Brothers, humorously told and surprisingly accurate and entertaining due to the songs on display complete with mafia intrigue and some romance told Italian style.

The film begins with the arrest of Enrico Frattasio in Italy in 1991.  The beginning credits in bold letters, ensure that the audience realizes that the film is based on a true story.  As Enrico is shown the squalid jail quarters, he is told that he is rich, as the money he makes is stored under concrete for 10 years.  The film then goes back several times to the years 1976, 1985 and then the 90’s to reveal the story of Enrico and his mixtape empire.

Enrico, Peppe and Angelo Frattasio are three brothers from Forcella , a district of Naples , who live in very modest conditions in 1976: their father Pasquale smuggles tea for a living, passing it off as whisky, put in Jack Daniel bottles.  Enrico has a passion for the world of music and would like to be a DJ, but his lack of good looks and shy nature prevent him from even trying; the boy consoles himself by mixing compilations for friends and clients, using the recorders of the appliance store where he works.

Thanks to the connections of Angelo, who ended up in prison for a fight, the two brothers decide to extend the turnover: at first they have to contend with criminals from outside the EU who would like to prevent their activity, but soon, also thanks to the acquaintances of Angelo in the criminal undergrowth, they will have the upper hand.  In a short time, the Frattasios set up numerous laboratories in which they will mix thousands of audio cassettes, which they will then sell throughout Italy by exploiting the black market.

There is much more in the story but it leads up to Mixed By Erry becoming the first record label in Italy for revenues.

The songs used in the film at various periods are accurate enough.  For music enthusiasts, there is such nostalgia that comes off screen from the mixing and opting machines together with the wonderful songs of the times.  At times, the film feels like the old Italian comedies of the 70’s.

The film also proves the saying that if there is a will there's a way.  The Frattasion Brothers succeed after overcoming one obstacle after another.  Ironically, the last one is the currency changing to the Euro when their money stored becomes worthless.

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SAM NOW (USA 2022) ***
Directed by Reed Harkness

Filmed over 25 years, the film follows filmmaker Reed Harkness and his brother Sam as they embark on a 2,000-mile road trip in search of Sam's missing mother.  Because of his mother’s absence, the film witnesses the effects of Sam’s trauma in his interpersonal relationships, both in adolescence and adulthood.  The film also explores themes of intergenerational trauma, mental health, and coming of age through a unique hybrid narrative approach.

The documentary traces Sam’s life from the age of 10 to 31.  Sam and Reid come from the same father and different mothers, Sam from the father’s second wife.  Since the age of 11, Reed at age 16 then, has been filming his brother in a series of home movies.   The home movies are shown in black and white, mostly filmed for fun, as most home movies are.  Sam is shown to be an energetic kid, loving to pretend to fall down and often wears a super action hero suit to become the Purple Panther.  

One day in 2000, Sam’s mother, Jois disappears, leaving Seattle without a note or explanation.   Reed convinces Sam and they decide to make a movie on finding Jos.  Tracking cryptic clues of her whereabouts years later, Sam and his half brother head out on a West Coast road trip to try and find her.  But solving the mystery of her disappearance is only the beginning of their story.  

SAM NOW is simply a delightful and playful documentary made up of home made movies but turning really into a mystery dealing with coming-of-age issues as well as discovering one’s identity.  Totally entertaining and a celebration of what life has to offer.  SAM NOW premiered at last year’s HOT DOCS 2022 and launches video on demand June the 6th on various platforms including iTunes and Amazon.

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SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (USA 2023) ***
Directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers and Justin K. Thompson

The new Sony animated super action-hero Spider-Man movie SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE is a 2023 American computer-animated superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Miles Morales / Spider-Man. It is the sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) and is set in a shared multiverse of alternate universes called the "Spider-Verse". v The film is directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson (in their feature directorial debuts) from a screenplay written by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and David Callaham. Shameik.  The new Spider-Man meets a new team of Spider-People, known as the Spider-Society, led by Miguel O' Hara / Spider-Man 2099, but comes into conflict with them over handling a new threat.

The sequel to SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE (which won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2018) requires a bit of recall of the first film.  In the first film, Spider-Man is killed with a new one taken on by a black kid, Miles Morales (Shameik Moore).  To re-cap. New York City teenager Miles Morales struggles to live up to the expectations of his father, police officer Jefferson Davis (Bryan Tyree Henry), who sees Spider-Man as a menace. Miles adjusts to prep school, and visits his uncle Aaron Davis, who takes him to an abandoned subway station to paint graffiti.  Miles is bitten by a radioactive spider and gains spider-like abilities similar to Spider-Man.  Returning to the station, Miles discovers a collider built by Wilson Fisk, who hopes to access parallel universes to bring back his late wife and son, whose deaths he blames on Spider-Man. Miles watches as Spider-Man attempts to disable the collider while fighting Wilson's henchmen, Green Goblin and the Prowler.  Spider-Man saves Miles, but Green Goblin shoves Spider-Man into the collider, causing an explosion that kills Goblin and wounds Spider-Man.  Spider-Man gives Miles a USB flash drive designed to disable the collider, warning that the machine could destroy the city if reactivated.   After watching in horror as Wilson kills Spider-Man, Miles flees with Prowler in pursuit, eventually getting away from him. As the city mourns Spider-Man's death, Miles tries to honour his legacy and become the new Spider-Man.  This is where ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE, the sequel begins.  The film ends with  “ ….to be  continued” and the sequel to be released in 2024 “BEYOND THE SPIDER-VERSE”.

Over a year after the events of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), Miles Morales is unexpectedly approached by his love interest Gwen Stacy (Hailee Steinfeld) to complete a mission to save every universe of Spider-People from the Spot (Jason Schwartzman), who could cause a catastrophic disaster. Miles is up for the challenge, where he and Gwen journey through the Multiverse together and meet its protectors, a group of Spider-People known as the Spider-Society, led by Miguel O’Hara (Oscar Isaac). However, Miles finds himself at odds with Miguel and the Spider-Society on how to handle the threat and must redefine what it means to be a hero so that he can save the people he loves.

Too many Spider-Men that includes an Indian one.

The animation is nothing short of stunning with a different animated look designed for each alternate Spider-Verse.  There is a lot that is happening on screen, often too much for any one to absorb, propping one to perhaps view the film repeatedly.  Sacrificed however, is the story, though present, takes second importance to the animation.  The film feels like FAST X and JOHN WICK CHAPTER 4 where the story is sacrificed for expensive special effects and in the case of this film, more experimental animation.  It would not be surprising that many an audience would have no clue as to what is going on.  But see it for the animation!

SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on June 2, 2023, in premium large formats and IMAX.[42] Internationally, it is being released on dates ranging from May 31, 2023 to June 22, 2023. 

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 18 May 2023

YOU HURT MY FEELINGS (USA 2023) ***½

Directed by Nicole Holofcener

If the latest American comedy, YOU HURT MY FEELINGS, directed by Nicole Holofcener (known for WALKING AND TALKING), bears similarities to the comedic styles of Woody Allen and Neil Simon, it's no coincidence. Holofcener comes from a Jewish family and has a personal connection to Allen, as her stepfather produced some of his films. In fact, she even had the opportunity to be an extra in TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN and SLEEPER. Her first real job in the industry was as a production assistant on Woody Allen's A MIDSUMMER’S NIGHT SEX COMEDY in 1982. With YOU HURT MY FEELINGS, Holofcener once again demonstrates her talent and delivers an entertaining and accomplished work.

The film revolves around Beth (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), a novelist who also teaches writing classes, and her husband, Don (Tobias Menzie), a therapist who charges too much. When Beth accidentally overhears Don expressing his dislike for her writing to her brother-in-law, Mark (Arian Moayed), it not only hurts her feelings but also shatters the trust she had in him. Don argues that his love for her is more important than his opinion of her book. This misunderstanding creates a significant rift in their relationship.

Director Holofcener skillfully balances humorous and dramatic moments throughout the film. Some of the funniest scenes take place in Don's office, where he deals with a couple, Jonathan (David Cross) and Carolyn (Amber Tamblyn), who constantly bicker and can't seem to agree on anything except their desire for a refund. Both Beth and Don present compelling arguments about support and honesty, effectively conveying their perspectives.

One of the film's highlights is the presence of veteran actress Jeannie Berlin, an Oscar nominee for Best Supporting Actress for her role in THE HEARTBREAK KID, directed by her mother, Elaine May, based on a Neil Simon play. Berlin portrays Georgia, Beth and Sasha's mother in the film. In one scene, when Beth tells the doctor, "Her leg hurts," Georgia quickly retorts, "I can speak for myself." It's refreshing to see Holofcener resist the temptation to deliver the expected line, typical of a Neil Simon play, and instead adds a subtle twist.

The only drawback is the rather predictable happy ending. The script introduces significant problems faced by the characters, including the trust between Beth and Don, Beth's strained relationship with her son Elliot (who blames her for his own writing troubles), and Mark's career struggles. Unfortunately, the film opts for convenient and unrealistic solutions to these problems, as it assumes audiences prefer happy endings. Nevertheless, YOU HURT MY FEELINGS succeeds as a sweet and enjoyable comedy about relationships, surpassing the attempts made by Woody Allen in this genre. Holofcener masterfully blends humour and pathos in a concise 83-minute film, providing light entertainment without the shallow nature of recent disappointments like FAST X AND THE LITTLE MERMAID.

YOU HURT MY FEELINGS opens in theatres May 26th, 2023.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 27 April 2023

FILM REVIEWS:

CARMEN (Australia/France 2022) **

Directed by Benjamin Millepied

Benjamin Millepied, former principal dancer of the New York City Ballet and choreographer of the film BLACK SWAN makes his directorial debut in CARMEN, a modern-day interpretation of Bizet's classic opera. The film opens with a breathtaking dance performance in the Mexican desert, where the mother of the protagonist is tragically shot by a gunman. The surreal and impressive scene sets the tone for the rest of the film, which features dream-like dance sequences and a majestic score by three-time Oscar nominee Nicholas Britell.

CARMEN, the film tells the story of Carmen, a fiercely independent young woman who flees to the US after her mother's murder. Along the way, she meets Aidan, a border guard and Marine suffering from PTSD. Their journey together leads to a budding romance, but it is a poor imitation of the love story in the original opera.  Solid performances are delivered by both Melissa Barrera and rising star Paul Mescal, looking really buffed as a marine should, compared to his physique in his last film AFTERSUN.

One of the film's strengths is the presence of Rossy de Palma, a regular actress in Pedro Almodovar's films, who plays the mercurial owner of La Sombra nightclub, a sanctuary of music and dance where Carmen and Aidan find solace and their unwavering love for each other. However, the film's attempt to blend reality with dance and music is uneven, and the dance and music sequences often feel disconnected from the rest of the story. The climactic dance scene between Carmen and Aidan is impressive, but it feels out of place in the film.

Despite its flaws, "CARMEN" is an ambitious film that showcases Millepied's talent as a director and choreographer. The impressive dance and music sequences, as well as the strong performances by the cast, make it worth watching. In particular, Paul Mescal's (AFTERSUN) performance demands mention and shows that he is a talent to watch in the future. "CARMEN" opens in Toronto and Vancouver on May 5th, and in Montreal on May 12th, with more cities to follow throughout the spring and summer.

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 THE FORGER (Der Passfalscher) (Germany 2022) ***1/2

Directed by Maggie Peren

THE FORGER, the new German WWII suspense drama recounts the true-life story of the spirited Cioma Schönhaus, who created documents that saved hundreds of lives of Jews in Nazi Germany.  Cioma is at the age of 21 in the film ’s setting.  Cioma has barely come of age and goes through romance, survival and life’s dangerous lessons.  The real Cioma died at the age of 93 in 2015 during the 4th draft of the script.  The real forger, Cioma was interviewed four times for the film and what is witnessed on the screen is a remarkable and winning account of a young man trapped in dangerous times.

Berlin, 1942. Cioma Schönhaus (Louis Hofmann) is a young Jewish man who won't let anyone take away his zest for life, especially not the Nazis.  Cioma audaciously adopts the identity of a marine officer to escape being deported like his family before him.  Drawing on his art school background, he joins a network of underground rescuers and becomes infamous for his masterfully forged IDs – created with just a brush, some ink, and a steady hand – that save the lives of hundreds of Jews by allowing them to escape the country. Meanwhile, he throws himself into the city's nightlife and even finds a fragile hope for love during the darkest moments of the war.

Ironically, Cioma Schönhaus survived the Holocaust by hiding in plain sight in Berlin.  He even says  in the film that he does not attempt to hide his true identity.  Sadly, he is alone with no family, which makes him more daring.  The young Jewish man’s parents and grandmother were deported to death camps in the East, but he stayed behind thanks to an exemption allowing him to work in an armaments factory.  When his job ended, he remained in the city illegally, took off his yellow star, assumed the more Germanic name Peter Schönhausen, and blended in.

Director paren’s film moves at a moderate pace and she pays great attention to detail.  She shows Comas at work, the arduous painstaking and meticulous difficult task of the forging process - the process that needs to be seen for the film to be credible.  Berlin is shown without the usual fanfare Nazi flags or large number of troops, which is necessary because Cioma was largely in hiding during most of the story.   The film also shows that everyone is farid and suffers during the Nazi times - even the Germans were afraid.  Everyone has to survive on rationing coupons and black marketing was pronounced.  All the activities add to the authenticity and credibility of the period and atmosphere of the film.  Director Peren does not resolve to cheap theatrics to make a point.

25-year old blond German rising star Louis Hofmann plays the forger with solid effect.  The real Cioma shown in part images has black hair.   Hofmann would have done better with dyed black hair to look more jewish and his bond hair makes him look like a real Nazi German.

At the end, when the Gestapo closed in on Schönhaus and all those close to him or who have worked with him were getting caught, he forged a German Wehrmacht soldier’s identity card and holiday pass for himself and fled on a bicycle to Switzerland, where he lived for the rest of his life.  The bicycle part is not shown on the screen bu th escape to Switzerland was mentioned in the closing credits.

THE FORGER will be available for purchase and rental on all major digital platforms, including Apple TV, Amazon, Vudu, Google Play, and Kino Now, on May 2.

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GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL 3 (USA 2023) ***

Written and Directed by James Gunn

After the sequel to GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY with GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 made $870 million out of a $200 million production, it is inevitable that Vol.3 be made.  It will be of no surprise that this one will also be a big box-office hit.  So as expected, louder and more of the same is the motto, so Guardians of the Galaxy fans should be thrilled with this second sequel.

Marvel Cinematic Universe and action hero movies always share the common tread of a nasty villain and a story involving saving oneself, one’s family, the world or universe.  In the case of this film, it is saving the universe.  On a minor note, the story also involves saving the life of one Guardian member, Rocket (Bradley Cooper) injured in a fight.  In the case of the apparent destruction of the universe, the villain says, I am not destroying the universe but perfecting it.  Then he humorously corrected, You are not perfecting it.  You are not accepting the universe the way it is,.”  As for villainy, the film contains a really good villain in the form of  Chukwudi Iwuji playing the High Evolutionary, giving the term narcissism a new meaning.  Will Poulter, the British newcomer to the franchise, steals the show from his first appearance coming in like a rocket destroyer. The other memorable performance belongs to Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer, the supposedly stupid member but the one with a good heart and of course also the one with some cool dance moves.  He has a way with the story’s lost children.

The film has a varied and very pleasant soundtrack that was not limited to 1970s pop songs compared to the first two films, instead spanning multiple decades.  Songs include those from artists like Bruce Springsteen (“Badlands”), Earth Wind and Fire (“Reasons”) and even the Beastie Boys (“No Sleep till Brooklyn”).  The film opens with an acoustic version of "Creep" by Radiohead, which noticeably provided "a much different tone from the beginning than the other two films”.

As in the other two Guardian films, the film contains an even balance of action and humour without resorting to excessive gore, blood of violence, making the film suitable for family fare.  Beware of a few lewd though harmless jokes.  The actors appear to be having loads of fun, as seen by the many choreographed dance sequences and the spirit rubs off on the audiences.  Though this is not the sort of film that will enthral critics, the film is enjoyable enough without too many lagging moments.

The film runs the longest of the three, with a running time of 150 minutes i.e. 2 and a half hours.  It is expected that the film contains a few dull parts, but to director Gunn’s credit, there are a few major surprises as well.  The special effects are especially stunning.

The film contains some nice surprises with the appearances of Howard the Duck voiced by Seth Meyers and James Gunn, the film’s writer/director playing Lamb-Shank.

The money making machine opens May the 5th.

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TRIALS TO TRIUMPH (USA 2022) ***
Directed by Dan Ratner, Greg Romano, and Misa Garcia

Primarily, TRIALS TO TRIUMPH is the story of Freddie Stevenson’s meteoric football career, the crash that followed, and his reinvention.   But the doc also digresses other mini-accounts of other football celebrities and their trials.  There is not one but three directors.  The doc understandably feel unfocused as it without notice, jumps from one to another athlete’s story  But the audience gets to witness primarily stories of struggle & redemption from Freddie Stebvenson as well as minor stories of Maurice Benard, Delvin Breaux, Tony Gaskins, and more and see them overcome the odds in these powerful, real conversations.

  TRIALS TO TRIUMPH was directed by Dan Ratner, Greg Romano, and Misa Garcia. This inspirational documentary based on Stevenson’s Best-Selling memoir features interviews with Freddie Stevenson, Maurice Benard, Dasia Torres, Neno Torres, Tyrell Lyons, Tony Gaskins, Dr. Dan Ratner, Delvin Breaux, Terris Stevenson, Sylvia Stevenson, and Ryan Green. It was produced by Dan Ratner, Greg Romano, and Freddie Stevenson.

Life is resilience, says his coach.  And Freddie’s life shows it.  The major part of the doc has Freddie talk to the camera as well as those close to him, relatives like his father and mother and also his then girlfriend.m His girlfriend says: “ He would go to the gym and give 110%.  His father and mother were always there to support him and offer the pain and struggles their son had to go through.  It is inspirational not to hear the words from Freddie himself but of the words of those close to him as observations also tell the whole story.

There is an extended talk by Freddie’s father at the beginning of the film explaining how much hardship with limited opportunities available for coloured folk.  He confesses to drug dealing, hiding the fact from his son, Freddie and how he was sentenced to prison.  His incarceration followed by him becoming a born againChristian.  The film almost gets preachy about Christianity but gaudy stayed away from the issue.  Though this testimony has nothing to tell with TRIALS TO TRIUMPH, the segment is actually the film’s most interesting part as it deals with real life problems of the coloured folk.

One of the key issues omitted in the doc, the larger problem that is responsible not only for Freddie’s football injury but for the injuries of all footballers is the fact that football is a dangerous sport with already documentation of a very high percentage of permanent injuries arising from professional football players, particularly in the injury of head concussion, which fortunately Freddie does not suffer from.  It is hinted that Freddie after recovering from an injury and offered a job back into football realizes the fact, and hesitates before accepting the position in the NFL.  But the problem is systematic and more serious.  North America is the only country in the world that champions this sport.  The closest Europe has is rugby and Australia has, isastraluaq rules football.

Gravitas Ventures will release TRIALS TO TRIUMPH on digital platforms on May 2, 2023. The film has a running time of 1 hour 35 minutes and will not be rated by the MPAA.

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Written by: Gilbert Seah

Parent Category: Articles

Category: Movie Reviews

Published: 20 April 2023

ALEX BORSTEIN: CORSETS & CLOWN SUITS (USA 2023) ***

Directed by Scott Ellis

ALEX BORSTEIN: CORSETS & CLOWN SUITS is a deeply personal and wildly fictitious account of one woman’s attempt to f*** with perception. A night of comedy, music, and waxing rhapsodic.    The title is so-called because the standup comedienne performs her act wearing a modified clown suit and a corset.

Alex Borstein is a three-time Emmy winner and one of the stars of the hit series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.  The film is set to release this first Amazon Original comedy special.  She comes with a string of accomplishments.  Borstein is a multi-hyphenate talent who acts, produces, voices the character Lois Griffin on FOX’s Family Guy, and wrote for Showtime’s long-running series Shameless. She also starred alongside Laurie Metcalf and Niecy Nash in HBO’s Getting On, where she brought the vulnerable character of Dawn Forchette to life. Getting On rose to critical acclaim during its three seasons, as it followed the daily lives of nurses and doctors struggling with the dark comedic realities of caring for the elderly in an overwhelmed health care system.  Borstein has won two Primetime Emmys, two SAG Awards, and two Critics Choice Awards for her turn as Susie Myerson on Prime Video’s award-winning series, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. She also took an Emmy home for her voice-over work as Lois Griffin on FOX’s long-running mega-hit, Family Guy.

This is an hour and 30 minute unique comedic special that will lead audiences into Alex Borstein’s mind through a marriage of humour and music.  Corsets & Clown Suits is equal parts provocative and whimsical.   Borstein’s self-penned performance showcases her captivating form of storytelling with the help of her muse and maestro, Barcelona-native musicians, Eric Mills and Salva Rey.

In 1997, Borstein grew in fame once she became a cast member on the third season of the sketch comedy show MADtv. She originally joined the cast as a featured player, but was upgraded to the repertory mid-season. Borstein was best known on MADtv for her character Ms. Swan (owner of the Gorgeous Pretty Beauty Nail Salon)

So the magic question is whether Alex, short for Alexandrea, is funny enough to entertain for an hour and a half?  The answer is yes, though the laughs begin to lag in the middle and the singing parts, though quite melodic, are not as hilarious as they are supposed to be.

It is the perfect evening to enjoy standup comedy at home without the inconvenience of dressing up and going to the theatre.  And without being singled out and insulted by the standup comic, which happens quite often in comic performances.  Alex insults a number of married couples in the audience in her fiancé route.  No one is immune to her verbal attacks, including her own mother and father, present in the audience.

Linda shows her talent in other forms besides delivering verbal jokes.  At one point, she croons “Hamilton’ - the musical and in another, argues her funniest moment on the stage, does a baby llama impression after the baby llama has squeezed itself put of mama llama’s ass.  The funniest moments are the ones most audiences  can identify with, as in the routine on McDonald’s.

Linda is foul-mouthed and funny but not overtly so.  She speaks nasty only when there is a good nasty joke coming on and not otherwise.  Still children should stay away, even though Linda first appears onstage in a clown suit.

Besides the special being mainly Alex’s standup routine, the special is bookended with skits of what happened before her act and what happened after.  The first is amusing with a striptease act done 60’s night club style and the second staged at a restaurant with jokes taken out of her routine.

The special opens on Prime Video April the 18th.

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