September 27, 2024

Welcome to TFCA Friday, a weekly round-up of film reviews and articles by TFCA members.

In Release this Week

Another Happy Day (dir. Nora Fiffer; Oct. 1)

“Another Happy Day is just another indie movie, credit going for it being an indie low-budget product but not particularly memorable in any respect, but maybe for Joanna’s annoying neurosis,” writes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto.

The Becomers (dir. Zach Clark)

“The Becomers is entertaining enough as a deliberately cheesy, sci-fi body snatching if one does not have too high expectations,” adds Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “This is no big bulge in Ridley Scott’s Alien.”

Die Alone (dir. Lowell Dean)

“Die Alone is masterfully constructed—a meditation on humanity, even as that very humanity is eroded by desperation, greed, and survival instinct,” says Thom Ernst at Original Cin. “Lowell Dean, with a stellar cast including Douglas Smith, Carrie-Anne Moss, Kimberly-Sue Murray, and Frank Grillo, has created a film that transcends genre expectations. This isn’t just a zombie film; it’s a haunting exploration of love, loss, and what it means to hold on when everything else falls apart.”

A Different Man (dir. Adam Schimberg)

“Pearson, Reinsve and particularly Stan go all out here – he makes his perfect features look bland and blank, and proves that short-sleeved plaid shirts tucked into chinos will deglamourize even a superhero,” writes Johanna Schneller at The Globe and Mail. “And there is no corner of uncomfortableness that writer/director Aaron Schimberg won’t poke into.”

“Charismatic, talented, and genuinely unaffected by societal perceptions, Oswald becomes the frontrunner for the role Edward so desperately covets. Things seem to come easy to Oswald despite the extreme physical disadvantages plaguing him,” notes Thom Ernst at Original Cin. “Pearson is the real deal. Off-screen, he navigates the world with neurofibromatosis, yet on-screen, his performance transcends his condition. He isn’t just playing a man with neurofibromatosis; he’s playing a man defined by his talent and presence, not his appearance.”

“A Different Man is a well-made drama that covers the prejudice behind good looks and how looks can deceive people,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “But it can hardly be described as pleasant entertainment with scenes of vomiting and peeling off of loose bloodied skin of a face, not to mention the frequent outburst of anger of the main character.”

“Stan and Pearson have electric chemistry like duelling compounds. One’s energy feeds the other with Oswald seemingly sucking the life from Edward whenever they share the frame. The space they claim speaks volumes,” writes Pat Mullen at That Shelf. “The way Stan deflates his character, creating a different man without physically wrinkling his veneer, is a feat of juggling interiority and exteriority. This is one movie that really knows how to get under a viewer’s skin.”

Divorce (dir. Michael Chacinski)

“The best thing about Divorce is the humour that is derived from everyday circumstances,” observes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “It is clear the director has a keen sense of humour as it is the timing and staging of all the humour that is as important as the ‘funniness’ of the jokes.  Jacek is pro-church wanting to have a church annulled marriage whereas Malgosia is more upset that the procedure would upset her current situation.”

Fly (dir. Shaul Schwarz and Christina Clusiau)

“Schwarz and fellow director Christina Clusiau ensure that Fly offers truly awesome big screen viewing. However, they treat the sport with a curious eye to understand what drives people over the edge,” writes Pat Mullen at POV Magazine. “Fly might inspire some viewers to take up the sport, but audiences who haven’t yet taken a gander at BASE jumping seem unlikely to take the plunge after a screening. The even-handedness, and awesome spectacle of the sport, admittedly means that the story takes a while to find its footing. However, it’s a balanced approach that dramatically captures the extremity of extreme sports.”

Jailbreak: Love on the Run (dir. Uncredited)

“The doc plays like an entertaining intriguing thriller, the best of what true crime documentaries have to offer.  Whether the audience root for the two is left to the individual.  The story is told mainly from interviews with Vicky’s fellow prison staff put chronologically together fueled with archive footage.  Quite a feat!” exclaims Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto.

Lee (dir. Ellen Kuras)

“Kate Winslet’s powerful screen presence finds the right vehicle in Lee, the directorial feature from award-winning cinematographer Ellen Kuras,” notes Anne Brodie at What She Said. “The film is her conversation with a reporter (Anthony Penrose) with whom she has a surprising connection…Winslet looks like Miller, gaining weight and eschewing grooming!  A standard biopic raised by Winslet’s extraordinary onscreen power.”

“Winslet’s performance — and individual vignettes — have a powerful resonance. But the script by Liz Hannah, John Collee, and Marion Hume feels unresolved, as if the writers couldn’t agree what was most essential to bring forward about this vibrant, contradictory character,” says Liam Lacey at Original Cin. “The film employs a framing device whereby a tweedy young Englishman (Josh O’Connor) interviews a credibly aged Lee in 1977 as she speaks in a raspy American accent. Her begrudging answers, which she offers while chain-smoking and sipping gin, carry us into her story and into the last years of the Second World War.”

“If there are problems with the film—and there are—it’s not with the most important elements. The direction and acting is committed and there’s no doubt that Miller’s story deserves to be told,” adds Marc Glassman at Classical FM. “The weakness comes from a desire to soft-pedal her life and to wrap her astonishing story around her son’s quest to understand his mother. Admittedly, the film wouldn’t have been made, and Miller’s life would still be unexplored if not for Antony Penrose, her son, who has spent decades reviving her name and photographic career. But the decision to structure the film around a conversation between mother and son about her life was a poor one; it robbed the story of a propulsive narrative.”

“But this film Lee stands out from the really stunning cinematography and atmosphere of the period of Occupied France in WWII,” writes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto.

“As played by Kate Winslet, Miller is a fiercely independent rogue, not willing to let anyone – neither editor nor lover – tell her where to go or what to do. But Kuras’s film, especially the paint-by-numbers script credited to a trio of writers, seems to oddly object to such a strong spirit, boxing the character into the most formulaic of narratives,” notes Barry Hertz at The Globe and Mail. “Winslet, who has been the driving force behind the production for years, shepherding the film through various iterations and cast members, deserves credit for finally getting Miller’s story out into the wider world. But Lee is more of a film that is good for you, rather than a good film in and of itself.”

Megalopolis (dir. Francis Ford Coppola)

“The disparate group of performers mix together uneasily, though it is clear that Coppola delights in choreographing the friction between the old and the new, the idolized and the problematic. He knows, like everyone else in the industry and audience, that he will never get another chance to command such an army of talent,” observes Barry Hertz at The Globe and Mail. “Which makes the whole endeavour feel like that much more of a missed opportunity. Coppola allows his self-funded sense of autonomy to override any directorial discipline, letting the actors indulge their very worst instincts. Almost everyone here plays to the rafters with unrestrained goofiness.” Hertz also speaks to the Godfather himself and learns about his impact n generations of filmmakers: “I made a film once that was a big failure, Rumble Fish, which was an art film for kids. It was a big flop, and I was always depressed about it,” Coppola tells Hertz. “I met director Edward Berger here the other day, he made All Quiet on the Western Front, and he told me what made him want to be a filmmaker was that he saw Apocalypse Now as a kid. That’s the most precious reward.”

“See it. Yes, it’s shambolic, technically uneven (some of the computer-generated sets look like they’re from the last millennium), with odd philosophical and plot digressions and no clear tone. But it’s a beautiful mess, a successful failure, a vox paradox,” advises Chris Knight at Original Cin. “And I’m not suggesting it’s hate-watch material. (That would be Little Italy.) Rather, it’s the best stew Coppola could make out of a pantry’s worth of ingredients, many of them past their best-before dates.”

“Was it worth it?” asks Marc Glassman at Classical FM. “Only Coppola can say for sure. The film, for all of its flaws, is the one he wanted to make, so kudos to him. But for the rest of us, Megalopolis will look like a wasted opportunity. The story is supposedly based on Catilinarian conspiracy of 63 BC, when Catiline, denied election as the head of the Roman consul, attempted to overthrow the government of Marcus Tullius Cicero and Gaius Antonius Hybrida—only to lose and die. How this relates to the plot of Megalopolis is anyone’s guess.”

Night of the Harvest (dir. Christopher M. Carter and Jessica Morgan)

“Night of the Harvest plays well as forgettable Halloween entertainment with a heavy dose of violence,” admits Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto.

Sleep (dir. Jason Yu)

There are lots of scare anticipation in the film – a good sign, though the climax does not really match the build-up,” notes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “Many of the audience would expect more blood, gore and violence in their horror fare, and though there is some, the film plays more on mystery and anticipation.”

The Wild Robot (dir. Chris Sanders)

“Although Roz is more doodle than fully realized digital being, Nyong’o’s warm voice gives her all the life she needs — and also the spirit to fight, when the company that created her comes looking for its hardware,” writes Peter Howell at the Toronto Star. “This is the best animated film I’ve seen all year. Along with the great story and visuals, it’s also the best sounding; composer Kris Bowers’ emotional score will pluck heartstrings, real or mechanical.”

“The world of The Wild Robot is lush, immersive and engaging – as impressive as the eye-popping work in, say, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, but gentle enough to not rearrange the brains of its target audience,” says Barry Hertz at The Globe and Mail. “And once the narrative does move along, including the introduction of a sinister robotics company that makes the Alien franchise’s Weyland-Yutani corporation look downright cuddly, the whole package comes together with a distinctly human-touch kind of precision.”

“The Wild Robot finds a moving odyssey in Roz’s awakening. Writer/director Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon, Lilo & Stitch) finds a wonderful parable for the age of artificial intelligence. Roz can only do so much with her preassigned mind. Her journey requires her to defy the algorithm and think for herself,” writes Pat Mullen at That Shelf. “The Wild Robot offers a cheeky spin on the trope of autonomous robots. As Roz becomes self-aware, she’s no HAL 9000. Quite the opposite. She learns kindness, compassion, and empathy—traits that exceed binary code.”

File Under Miscellaneous

At The Globe and Mail, Barry Hertz reports that Netflix is withdrawing its support for film programs in Canada in response to payments mandated by Heritage Canada: “In an unsigned statement regarding the pause in program funding, representatives for Netflix Canada said that ‘despite our long-standing commitment, the government has chosen not to acknowledge our substantial support for the Canadian film and TV sector. Consequently, we will be unable to continue funding many of the programs that have come to rely on our backing, as we are now required to allocate resources to meet the CRTC’s new investment mandate,’” writes Hertz.

TV Talk/Series Stuff

At What She Said, Anne Brodie investigates the return of Matlock with Kathy Bates: “The show’s balance of realism and TV values doesn’t interfere with the series’ comfort viewing potential – and Bates (Misery aside),” notes Brodie. “She brings unusual complexity, humour and that winning persona to the series along with her “other life”. Good solid fun that honours older women, the hapless victims of addiction and the idea that life is good. Griffith’s legal series is in excellent hands.”

At Exclaim!, Rachel Ho shares why you should want to binge Nobody Wants This: “Because we’re given approximately 300 minutes of story time, Joanne and Noah’s relationship can grow at an even keel, and Bell and Brody have time to develop their on-screen chemistry, of which they have in spades. Over the years, both actors have developed trademark schticks without becoming caricatures of their brand; not an easy feat, but one they seemingly carry effortlessly into each of their projects. The crux of Nobody Wants This is finding love as fully formed adults, and, in a similar way, we witness two established actors find their way around familiar comedic beats and storylines while keeping it fresh and engaging.”