Atonement

I watched it at the Mayfair Theatre with a sparse crowd. At the end of the movie, nobody moved. We all sat in a state of collective grief, or maybe it was trauma, or a mix of both. I don't recall a similar sensation like it since I watched Schindler's List in the theatre. Do we need another film on the devastating consequences of war? Yes, until we stop having wars. Atonement is based on true events - the names of the people involved have been fictionalized. The story takes place in 2003 in Baghdad, Iraq, where a U.S. military group of marines who were there as part of an U.S. Marine unit, part of the American invasion, finds itself under attack. They petition themselves on a rooftop and returned fire. They were firing on anything coming their way. What comes their way is a family just trying to get home, away from the gunfire. In this story, a young soldier, Lou (Boyd Holbrook) opens fire on the family car thinking its occupants are hostile. He, and some of his counterparts, end up killing three members of the family. A horrible accident. Kenneth Branagh plays Michael Reid, a U.S. journalist who writes a story about it. Fast-forward ten years. Lou is not doing well. He's not sleeping, he's having violent outbursts, and panic attacks - looks like PTSD. He is a mess. The wife and mother of the murdered victims, Mariam (Hiam Abbass) is now living in the US. Lou reaches out to Michael to see if he can arrange a meeting with Mariam to apologize for what he has done. You might want to criticize this whole story and say something like, "Poor white boy shot someone and we should feel sorry for him?" This is the whole point of the film. The film is about guilt, forgiveness, and loss. There is so much sadness here, so much pain. And all of it is heartbreaking. The performances by Boyd Holbrook and Hiam Abbass were astounding - they felt as real and as raw as possible. I hope they are not forgotten during award season. Even Kenneth Branagh should get a nomination for Best Supporting Actor. This is director Reed Van Dyk first feature-length film and it's a masterpiece. One of the best films of the year. Catch it in theatres now or rent it when available from Movies 'N Stuff. 

You Can See Everything

A participant in Nathan Fielder and Lance Oppenheim's documentary, You Can See Everything says at the end of the film, "It's very complicated." This is the perfect summation. When I saw the trailer for the film a few months back, I knew nothing about Elizabeth Holmes, the self-made billionaire who lost everything and was sentenced to eleven years in prison for defrauding investors. Holmes wanted to create a machine that could analyse a single drop of blood and tell you everything about your condition - sounds like something out of Star Trek. Turns out, it is. It may be decades yet before something like this could exist. Holmes promised it and didn't deliver. The Dropout is an eight-part Hulu miniseries about Holmes and the rise and fall of her business, with Amanda Seyfried playing Holmes. Seyfried won a Critics Choice Award, an Emmy, and a Golden Globe Award for her performance (along with a few others). I watched this miniseries and the HBO documentary, The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley. It was pretty clear to me that Holmes was guilty and should definitely be going to prison.

We start You Can See Everything with Nathan Fielder interviewing and eventually moving in with Holmes, her partner, and their two young kids just over a month before Holmes was to begin her prison term.  Fielder and Oppenheim like to keep the camera close - I haven't seen so many close-ups since Sergio Leone. There is an intimacy created with the subjects because of it. Fielder holds his gaze after he asks a question like he is trying to figure out a puzzle. There is something performative in his lines of questioning. The whole thing feels like performance art. Very small spoiler here: Fielder asks Holmes to watch The Dropout with him. She had never watched it before. That alone is something which is rather meta - us watching Holmes watch Seyfried play a version of her and Holmes reacting to it. It's worth to note that Holmes maintains her innocence, that she never lied about her blood machine. Then the film takes a turn that I will not spoil. It's both transgressive and humorous. You have to see it to believe it. It has stuck with me since I watched it. It's three hours long but it felt like two. I sure it will be nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture and it will no doubt win for Best Documentary Feature. It may even win both. One of my favourite films of the year. Catch this in theatres now. Rent it from Movies 'N Stuff when available.    

The Social Reckoning

Writer and director Aaron Sorkin has written and directed a sequel to the 2010 film, The Social Network - Sorkin wrote it, David Fincher directed the first one. The story of The Social Network was about the creation of Facebook. The Social Reckoning (directed this time by Sorkin) is about what evil Mark Zuckerberg has been up to since then and the reporter, Jeff Horwitz (Jeremy Allen White) who outed him in the Wall Street Journal with the help of an inside source, Frances (Mikey Madison). Sorkin, or the film, implies that Facebook was radicalizing people, perhaps unintentionally, but not caring, for Meta's goal (Facebook changed it's name to Meta) was to get people to stay on their feed for as long as possible - one user logged more than 9 hours straight - Yippie for Yuckerberg. The simple psychology: feed people stuff that triggers them, gets them mad. They will click and follow. The film suggests that Facebook led them to the pages of right-wing extremist groups and the film also tacitly implies that Meta was indirectly responsible for the attack on the US Capitol when Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden. Sorkin is a gifted, smart writer. He is as good a writer as Fincher is a director. I don't think Sorkin is as good as a director as he is a writer. As a political thriller, The Social Reckoning is almost as good as they come. I think the film could have had a bit more gravitas with Fincher behind the camera. But don't let that stop you from catching one of this year's best political thrillers. Catch it in theatres now or rent it from Movies 'N Stuff when available.  

It Feeds

This Canadian dropped last year and it's a banger of a horror movie - a cross between Smile and Stranger Things. Ashley Greene plays Cynthia, a woman who runs a psychiatry practice out of her home and when traditional methods don't work, Cynthia has a gift, the ability to go into her patients' minds. Her daughter Jordan (Ellie O'Brien) has this power too, as did her late husband. One day a young girl, Riley (Shayelin Martin - from Wild Goat Surf), bursts into Cynthia's home begging for help. She sees a creature, and it's feeding off of her. The creature is terrifying - similar to a blackened version of Smile's entity. The visuals in this movie are great. The set pieces are top notch. Horror fans should love this. Cynthia is reluctant to help as it did her husband in for doing something similar - there is a Conjuring feel to this also. Cynthia's ability to enter the mind leads to an Inception dream-within-the-dream scenario. So when I say the visuals are great, we get all this crazy Nightmare on Elm Street/Dream Demon imagery too. Cynthia also has a friend, Agatha (Juno Rinaldi) who is there for comic relief. Rinaldi's performance is great and gives off a goofy Scooby-Doo Daphne vibe; I loved her. If you are hungry for horror, It Feeds will fill you up. Catch it streaming on CRAVE or rent it from Movies 'N Stuff. 

Beware Boiúna

Giant creature-features have been entertaining us since King Kong in 1933. There seemed to be an explosion of giant bugs and monster movies, post WWII, in the nuclear era - Godzilla, Them!, The Blob, etc. 1975 gave us Jaws - a bazillion shark movies have since followed. 1993 gave us Jurassic Park. 1997 gave us Anaconda, which spawned many sequels and the tepidly humorous reboot with the same title last year. 1999 gave us Lake Placid - giant croc. This year we have Hungry - a killer hippopotamus movie, and Beware Boiúna, a giant killer snake movie. Hungry is okay, but Beware Boiúna is fantastic, if you enjoy these kinds of films. I am always up for a giant killer snake movie. Most of these films have a tongue-in-cheek cheekiness to them, an almost winking at the camera that this is completely ridiculous. Beware Boiúna doesn't wink, it doesn't even blink - its eyes are wide open with terror! What's it all about? A group of doctors are on a humanitarian mission to check out small villages along the Amazon River, do health checks on the locals, provide medicine, vaccines, treatments, and advice. They run into the bad guys, who are out surveying the land and you know it's for no good. They have a run in with each other and then they have a run-in with the big-ass snake. It's a bit shaky-camera at times but that's okay. I won't spoil any of it, but this one strikes quickly and swallows you whole. Indiana Jones would hate it; you will love it. Get bit by this one in theatres now or rent it when available from Movies 'N Stuff. 

I Came By

A guy breaks into a house and discovers something dubious is going on. I feel like I have seen this premise many times before, which is why I didn't bother watching it when it came out. Yes, that's the basic plot of I Came By. Toby (George MacKay) and his best mate (it's a British movie), Jay (Percelle Ascott) are B&E graffiti artists who don't rob anyone, they are just making a political statement. They break into the homes of the super wealthy and tag a large wall with "I came by" in stylish graffiti cursive. They seem to take pride in beating home security systems. Suddenly Jay announces he is out of any further social disruptions, he has a child on the way and can't risk going to jail. Toby is on his own. And he has his sights set on a judge, Hector Blake (Hugh Bonneville). And that's all I'm telling you. Giddy up. This one went to places I didn't expect at all. In fact, it took me by surprise a few times. It kind of gutted me and left me thinking about the film for long after. And the interactions between Toby and his mother, Jay and his girlfriend felt really well drawn out. These people felt real and the story packed a lot in within a short timeframe. I was really impressed. Director and co-writer, Babak Anvari is someone I need to pay attention to. And Hugh Bonneville as the villain was fantastic. I hated him - perfect. This film was a complete surprise. Break into this house, now streaming on Netflix. 

Riders of Justice

2020 was a strange year for the world, and somehow I missed this film. Riders of Justice stars Mads Mikkelsen as Markus, a highly skilled military veteran who has some deep-seated anger issues. He has a poor relationship with his daughter Mathilde (Andrea Heick Gadeberg), which he is trying to correct. He finds himself pulled back home to investigate a crime along with three nerds, who give off an X-Files Lone Gunmen/Big Bang Theory vibe. They are hilarious. One of them, Otto (Nikolaj Lie Kaas), believes that an accident was no accident, but the police won't believe him. He enlists the help of two of his nerd friends and Markus to help take down a motorcycle gang, the Riders of Justice, who he believes are behind the crime - the killing of an informant a week before the case is to go to trial. I have tried to convey the plot without actually telling you anything because I would like you to go in blind, without knowing anything. I simply had a ball with this movie. I love Mads Mikkelsen, and this is one of his best and funniest things he has done because he plays the role straight. The three other gentlemen get into silly arguments over nerd stuff, and it's fantastic. I howled with laughter. Everyone in this movie has trauma, or some form of mental baggage/illness. In fact, the three nerds pretend to be therapists working with Markus on his anger issues so his daughter Mathilde doesn't know what they are really up to - killing motorcycle gang members. It's violent and thrilling and funny as hell. This is the therapy you need. I simply loved Riders of Justice. Catch it streaming or go rent it from Movies 'N Stuff. 

The History of Concrete

John Wilson. A generic enough sounding name. I had never heard of him or his HBO series How to with John Wilson. He must have some sort of cult following because I saw his documentary The History of Concrete on a Sunday night at the Mayfair Theatre and it was full of people; the most I had seen in a very long time. I went because I had seen the trailer and it looked amusing. It's not, it's hilarious. I haven't laughed as much since Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie. It's not really the history of concrete. I mean, technically, yes, sort of. But really, it's a portrait of America in the same way Borat is a portrait of America. Although there are no fictional characters. This is John Wilson interacting with all the strange and silly that America has to offer. The film starts with him attending a Hallmark movie seminar about how to make a Hallmark movie. Bizarre, funny, and somewhat sad. This pretty much describes all the different segments which make up The History of Concrete. To name just a few, he covers the Sri Chinmoy Self-Transcendence 3100 Mile Race; an annual race in Queens, New York, consisting of 5,649 laps around a single city block over two months. This is run on concrete. He goes to a concrete convention where there are brick-wall-making competitions (like a firefighter thing). Wilson, to acquire more funding for his documentary, is required to make his film a music biography, so he finds Jack Macco, a rock musician who has a cover band and sells liquor as his day job. Bizarre, funny, and somewhat sad. Wilson's narrations that join all his segments are paired with quick visual gags that come as fast and as corny as Airplane! jokes. He is clever and very funny. The film also serves as a warning about the crumbling infrastructure of America and the environmental disaster of the world's coastlines caused by the consumption of sand for China's rapid concrete growth. Some heavy facts here. Bizarre, funny, and somewhat sad. It will hit you like a ton of cartoon bricks. Catch it in theatres now or rent it from Movies 'N Stuff when available. 

Resident Evil

My second favourite film of last year was Weapons, written and directed by Zach Cregger. He has followed that film with this, a remake and a reimagining of Resident Evil - the long-running franchise that was written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and starred the pouty Milla Jovovich. I have a soft spot for these films, although I can say, I don't believe I saw more than the first three. Anyway, I was happy to see a fresh take from someone like Cregger. What he has given us is something like Martin Scorsese's After Hours crossed with Carolie Fargeat's The Substance. After Hours was a story of an average Joe just trying to get home. Resident Evil is a story about an average Joe, in this case, Bryan (Austin Abrams - who played the junkie in Weapons), trying to deliver a package. Scorsese and Cregger both place their protagonists in absurd situations, and this is what provides the comedy, how they react to the crazy situations they find themselves in. Yes, Resident Evil is a horror film, and it is scary at times, but it's also hilarious. I had a ball watching Austin Abrams who can play a goofus like nobody else. He brings a naive buffoonery to his character and I love watching him. I think he is a brilliant actor. So there is that, but then there are the monsters and the blood. John Carpenter's The Thing has a famous scene of a man's head detaching and turning into a bug/spider. In Resident Evil they reattach and form a tornado ball of Cirque du Soleil spinning limbs. Then there is The Substance level of blood and gore. It's pretty wild. The nursery scene is something else; code red. Resident Evil is no Weapons but it's still a bloody good time. Catch it in theatres now or rent from Movies 'N Stuff when available.  

The Weight

Ethan Hawke is one of those actors I will follow wherever he chooses to go. Those destinations have landed me at The Purge, Born to Be Blue, Maudie, First Reformed, The Black Phone, Leave the World Behind, and Blue Moon, just to name a few great ones of the last thirteen years of Hawke's career. There have been a few flat tires and dead ends along the way, but Hawke is someone who consistently picks interesting material to star in. And now we have The Weight. Life changing? No. Highly entertaining? Yes. Hawke plays Samuel Murphy, a single dad who is down on his luck during the Great Depression in 1933. Kicked out of their apartment, Samuel and his young daughter find themselves looking for a home. Samuel gets thrown into the slammer for assaulting a cop and his daughter is thrown into foster care. Samuel is sentenced to hard labour, building a road, breaking rocks with a sledgehammer. The big bad boss man of this prison outfit is J.J. Clancy (Russell Crowe). J.J. finds out quickly that Samuel is one smart cookie - he can fix all aspects of a car and can move a massive stone using his noggin. J.J. offers Samuel early release so he can get his daughter back if he illegally moves (steals) some gold from point A to point B. Samuel agrees and picks a crew to help him, all with the promise of early parole. Thus the adventure ensues. It's kind of like Cool Hand Luke meets Sorcerer, with maybe a little Deliverance and Sometimes a Great Notion thrown in. Violent and bloody at times, I found myself squirming as Samuel tries to remove the wedding ring from his swollen hand. It's a prison-heist-thriller and it's worth its weight in gold (see what I did there?). Catch it in theatres now or rent it from Movies 'N Stuff when available.  

The 47

Having watched movies now for over fifty years, I have learned a few things, mostly about myself. Maybe. I enjoy underdog stories and stories of people fighting against repression, tyranny, and authority. Maybe it stems from Star Wars, rebels fighting against the Empire or Indiana Jones punching Nazis in the face. Whatever the case, adult me seems to gravitate towards similar, but less cartoonish, versions of this type of story; films like I, Daniel Blake, Milk, or Philadelphia. The 47 gives us the true story of Manolo Vital (Eduard Fernández) who plays a bus driver from the mountainous Barcelona suburb of Torre Baró. It was built by hand in the 1950s and '60s by migrants. By the mid-'70s, the well-established area still had poor electricity and a dismal water supply. There was no bus service. Manolo and his daughter, and the rest of the Torre Baró inhabitants had to traverse the mountainside up and down to go to blue-collar jobs or school. Manolo and his friend would travel into town and paint slogans on the wall of city hall, slogans about justice for Torre Baró (the rebel in me cheers!). Manolo's daughter is ashamed of where she lives. When a firetruck can't climb the hill to a burning building, it becomes the tipping point for Manolo to take action. He becomes determined to get bus service for his people. The film is about social justice, but it's layered. His daughter Joana (Zoe Bonafonte) is in the school choir, and she is subjected to almost Whiplash levels of cruelty. Her performance is a standout. The 47 is a bus ride you want to catch. Watch it at a repertory theatre if possible or rent it from Movies 'N Stuff when available.  

Boorman and the Devil

This is a documentary about the making of Exorcist II: The Heretic, a film directed by John Boorman. It's also a film retrospective of Boorman's work. If you are a film nerd, you will love it. But even if you're not, or maybe you just haven't seen any of his work yet, the film serves as commentary on why we make art in the first place. What are we doing as artists? What does success look like, and in this case, what is a failure? Exorcist II: The Heretic was one of the biggest film flops that Hollywood has ever seen. A disaster. The Mayfair was showing it on alternate nights with the Boorman documentary. (I went and saw it. Not entirely disastrous. I actually enjoyed a good portion of the film.) Before The Heretic, Boorman had made Deliverance, and it was nominated for Best Picture of 1973. After that, he was Hollywood A-list material. If anyone could make a sequel to the ginormous smash hit that was The Exorcist, it was Boorman. However, he didn't want to make a traditional sequel; he wanted to go in an all new direction. Something completely different. And he did. Audiences hated it. The production of the film was shut down for over five weeks because Boorman fell ill due to inhaling some bacteria found in dirt. It was brought in for swirling wind scenes set in Africa. Boorman could have died. The film was running out of time and the ending was rewritten. Multiple times. More disasters. A mess. Then it opened and critics and audiences hated it. Boorman almost quit making movies. Thankfully he didn't. As a writer and artist myself, I appreciate those who are willing to take risks and give us something new, something we have never seen before. It takes guts. Boorman is such an artist. This portrait of failure is a success. Catch it in a theatre if you can or rent it from Movies 'N Stuff here in Ottawa.  

Insidious: Out of the Further

If you are claustrophobic or don't like going to the dentist, well this is the horror film for you! This one is going to put you into the tight cavity of a rotten tooth with an exposed nerve. This is the sixth installment of the Insidious franchise and you would think it would be out of gas. The tank is full! Full of monsters, that is. What's it all about? Well, first off, you don't have to know anything about the previous films to understand this one. It follows the story of Gemma Hall (Charli Penton) who has The Sixth Sense ability to see dead people, just like the character Haley Joel Osment played. When Gemma grows up (Amelia Eve) she has become a dental hygienist, has a kid of her own, and still sees dead people. And these dead people, they want to come back from their Insidious purgatory world of the Further. They have a leader who looks like a cross between Emperor Palpatine and a just-before-death Ozzy Osbourne - he often wears a blindfold for extra creepiness, or maybe he plans to dress up as Justice for Halloween. Whichever. He would like to bring his army of the undead to, and I paraphrase, "Rip apart our world." Not so nice of him. The demons look like something out of a Clive Barker film. And there are three old folks who look like they borrowed red getups from Jordan Peele's Us - they are fantastically scary. Gemma, with the help of a tattoo artist and an old lady, must stop them. Insidious: Out of the Further has some fantastic and fresh ideas and images. Gemma exploring a couch fort is Backrooms fun. And the dental office sequence will have you brushing extra hard before bed. This ranks up there with one of the best horror features of 2026. So go get yourself a dental checkup at the cinema, or rent it from Movies 'N Stuff when available and watch it peeking out from your couch fort.    

Tony

It's kind of like a superhero origin story for Anthony Bourdain, starring that kid from The Holdovers, Dominic Sessa. The opening is a quote from Bourdain himself, and I'm paraphrasing, something like, "When I was young, I was a cocky, pretentious little shit who needed an ass-kicking." It kind of sums up the plot of the film. Bourdain, as the film portrays him, comes from a middle-class American family and is going to college, where he's in the running for a writing scholarship. The Bourdain we see is that cocky kid who believes he is going to be a writer and the world is his oyster - he quickly finds out it's not and those suckers are really hard to open. He chases after a girl (Emilia Jones) to Providence on the East Coast, where he finds himself broke and hungover, taken in by the League of Shadows . . . sorry, that's Batman. . . taken in by the chef (Antonio Banderas) of a local seafood restaurant out of pity. Here Bourdain gets some tough life lessons; this is where he matures. As a teenager, I worked in kitchens, also transitioning from dishwasher to prep cook to line cook before leaving it all behind. I did think about going into the culinary arts. What I know about Tony is that it rings true. Drinking, drugs, and alcohol all seem to play a large part of that world, and everyone smokes (or they used to). All of this, all the characters you find in kitchens are put here on the screen and it's authentic. This is Canadian writer/director Matt Johnson's second feature to come out this year (the first being Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie). What a great year Matt is having! So go make a reservation at your local theatre - playing at The Mayfair and The ByTowne here in Ottawa or rent it when it's available from Movies 'N Stuff.

The Rivals of Amziah King

There is warmth here from the very first frames. This is southern hospitality, where you are given a warm embrace and shown a seat. Sit yourself right on down and make yourself at home. This here, it's a potluck. On the menu, the main bubbling dish is a modern-day Western, a tale of revenge. But there is plenty more: live music jams, comedy, action, suspense, and plenty more. This is the story of Amziah King (Matthew McConaughey) who is a honey bee farmer. Kateri (Angelina LookingGlass), one of Amziah's foster kids, walks back into his life many years later, all grown up. She joins Amziah and his ragtag group of musical misfits. But something is afoot. There is some bad apple out there stealing honey and before you know it, the bad apple has stolen Amziah's hives. Kateri is the avenging angel. She is determined to get everything back. Kurt Russell plays the villain. The cast of supporting characters is colourful, delightful, and charming. There are a lot of funny moments, a particular one being Amziah and his crew removing a bee colony from the walls of an elementary school. Later, there is a whole section which reminded me of William Friedkin's Sorcerer. Amazing. This is one of my favourite films of the year and I hope it gets the buzz it deserves (see what I did there). This is writer-director Andrew Patterson's second feature. His first was The Vast of Night, which was a sci-fi film that showed his potential for greatness. He has delivered a swarm. Grab your epi-pen and run to the theatre to watch this great film. It will sting you in the heart. Rent it from Movies 'N Stuff when available.  

Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World

The opening shot is of Stephen Colbert trying to read The Summer Day by Mary Oliver. He seems verklempt, almost unable to read it, his emotions so strong, like the words were made from thumbtacks of love and beauty, to speak them is to have an emotional experience unlike anything else. I was sold from the opening shot. So, I know a lot of Canadian poets, personally. I also have read lots of our famous ones and not so famous ones. I confess, I have not read the works of Mary Oliver. I will rectify this in time. Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World is a documentary about the life and times of, you guessed it, Mary Oliver. She was an American poet who was gay and spent most of her life living with her photographer wife, Molly Cook in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Filmmaker John Waters, with his signature pencil-thin moustache, was their friend and neighbour and has some extremely amusing commentary on Mary and Molly. Mary won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1984 for her fourth poetry collection, American Primitive. She won the National Book Award in 1992 for her ninth collection. These awards shot her to superstar status, but Mary really didn't want any of it. She was an introvert and loved spending time outdoors and wrote about it. Nature was her candy. It's simply a lovely documentary, and what makes it special is listening to famous and non-famous alike read Oliver's words and describe how much her work has meant to them, and in some cases, changed, or even saved their lives.  "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" - Mary Oliver. The answer: Go to the movies, of course! Catch this screening now at the Mayfair or rent it when available from Movies 'N Stuff. 

The End of Oak Street

Stranger Things has given the 1980s a whole new life. As a Gen-Xer, it feels a little bit like time travel. My Gen-Z kids also seem to enjoy this time period. Like I said, Stranger Things has played an enormous role in that. 1982 was a particularly outstanding year for film: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Tootsie, Gandhi, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Das Boot, Diner, Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Poltergeist, Blade Runner, Fitzcarraldo, Conan the Barbarian, and John Carpenter's The Thing all came out in 1982! Just think about that. Amazing. The End of Oak Street is writer-director David Robert Mitchell's third film. I loved his first two, It Follows (a teen horror film which I think is rather brilliant) and Under the Silver Lake (a drama/comedy and an ode to Film Noir and Hitchcock - I adore this movie). If his first film was an ode to Wes Craven/John Carpenter, and his second was an ode to Hitchcock, then this third film is an ode to Spielberg. The End of Oak Street was like if Spielberg were brought back in time to 1982 and he made Jurassic Park instead of E.T. (and brought the special effects back with him too). What's it all about? Anne Hathaway (who seems to be in every big movie this year) plays Denise, who is in a marriage going through a rough patch. Her husband, Greg (Ewan McGregor), who is trying to make ends meet by delivering pizzas on the side, might have a mild drinking problem, but is doing his best to keep it all together for his family. They have two kids and a dog, and they all live in a suburban cul-de-sac which ends up time-travelling (the whole neighbourhood) millions of years into dino land where they try not to get eaten while trying to figure out what's going on. It's good marriage therapy, '80s style. I had a ton of fun with this. The best Jurassic Park movie since Jurassic Park. Head to the theatre now to time travel back to 1982, or wait and rent it from the video store at Movies 'N Stuff. 

The Odyssey

Christopher Nolan has yet to make a horrible film. Tenet might be the closest thing, followed by the bookending Batman films (the first and the third). His track record is, for the most part, glorious and Hollywood has him and Greta Gerwig to thank for bringing people back to movie theatres post-pandemic - "Barbenheimer." So, has Nolan finally flown too close to the sun and had his wings melted off? Hell no. The King has returned; rejoice! The Odyssey is a spectacle, a kind of Peter Jackson The Lord of the Rings spectacle. With a runtime of close to three hours (hobbits and cyclopes always add at least 45 minutes), time flew by. As I said, it's a spectacle, and Nolan filmed everything in IMAX, not just selected battle scenes, I mean everything. I couldn't care less. I didn't see it in IMAX (I don't believe we have a true IMAX screening room in Ottawa - something close is the Scotiabank, but it's not a true IMAX screen). Whatever. Audiophiles who are super into their stereo systems end up listening to the equipment rather than the music. That's how I feel about IMAX. It has nothing to do with why I go to the movies. I'm there for an emotional experience, not a carnival ride. You don't need to see it in IMAX to enjoy it. So, what's it all about? Matt Damon plays Odysseus. After kicking ass at Troy, he just wants to go home. It takes him a good long time to get there. It's a road movie. Tom Holland plays Telemachus, Odysseus' son, who at one point goes looking for the old man. Anne Hathaway is Penelope, the wife and mother who is waiting patiently while suitors vulture about, waiting to take her hand in marriage, assuming Odysseus has kicked the bucket. Hats off to John Leguizamo as Eumaeus, the old blind and loyal servant - I loved him in this. So put your oars into the water and paddle over to your local theatre and have yourself a great old adventure. Rent it from Movies 'N Stuff when it becomes available. 

The Invite

It could be a play. It wouldn't surprise me if it was done as a play. Also, I didn't know when I watched it that it's actually a remake of the 2020 Spanish film The People Upstairs by Cesc Gay, who adapted it from his own stage play. So it was a play! And the thing about plays is that they usually have great dialogue. And they often take place in small settings. In this case, a San Francisco apartment. Joe (Seth Rogen) and Angela (Olivia Wilde) have been married a good long while, have a teenage daughter, and have been kept awake by the wild escapades of the neighbours above. Angela invites Piña (Penélope Cruz) and Hawk (Edward Norton) over one night for drinks and some food. Joe wants to have it out with them for making all the sex racket upstairs. Turns out Hawk and Piña have their own agenda too. If you told me that Woody Allen had made it, I would believe you. It's foremost a comedy, but there is something deeper here. At times, poignant. It touches on the desires of couples who have been together for a long time and know each other, know each other's weaknesses and shortcomings. At times there is brutal honesty. There are lots of truths you may relate to, especially if you have been in a long-term relationship. Pain, resentment, fears, guilt, and facing one's own failures get paraded about in Angela's warmly decorated apartment. It reminded me of His Three Daughters (a great film from 2024) but with different themes; that was about siblings and their relationship with their father. The Invite is about relationships between long-term couples, but the candour and humour of the former film feel similar, and it is also set in an apartment. Both have great dialogue. Make sure to accept your invitation to the party and catch it in theatres now at the ByTowne and The Mayfair, or rent it from Movies 'N Stuff when it becomes available. 

The Twister: Caught in the Storm

I'm always down to watch a disaster movie. A lot of them are pure fiction with some small foothold rooted in science: Twister, Twisters, and San Andreas. Some are based on true events: The Impossible, The Lost Bus, and The Perfect Storm. All of these dramas or docudramas have actors emoting, writers bringing these characters to life, and they have the tinsel glitter of Hollywood. Not that it makes them bad, but it keeps us just slightly removed. I have only been in three major weather events, two ice storms and the May 2022 Ottawa derecho. The derecho left me without power for two weeks and caused major destruction across Canada's capital. I was inside a Canadian Tire when it rolled through - I came out and the sky was black, tinted with green swirling masses that looked like fish tank algae rolling through the clouds. When I watched this documentary, I could only imagine what I saw and experienced was a small fraction compared to what the people of Joplin, Missouri endured in the summer of 2011. This film focuses on about eight different individuals who were there when this massive tornado hit their town. On the day it hit, it was the Joplin High School graduation for approximately 450 students. Most of those featured were teenagers at the time. A group of three amateur storm chasers. A frozen yogurt employee, Cecil,  who was Christian, gay and still in the closet. He thought the Rapture was coming when the storm hit. This film is raw and riveting. The people interviewed are candid - feels like they are opening a wound when they tell their stories. Makes it very personal. It's as thrilling as any fictional drama or docudrama. In fact, it's better. And scary as hell. Plus it's highly emotional. You will be hard-pressed to find someone with dry eyes at the end of this one. This one blew me away (pun intended). Catch it streaming down on Netflix. 

Mr Inbetween

Scott Ryan is a unicorn. A rare magical creature, singular and dazzling. What a beast he is. Scott Ryan is the creator, writer, and star of the Australian show, Mr Inbetween. The show ran for three seasons from 2018 to 2021. Ryan plays Ray Shoesmith, a bouncer at a strip club, The Playhouse. He is also an independent contract killer. He is divorced and has a daughter, Britt, with whom he shares custody. Ray has a brother, Bruce, who has some sort of undisclosed illness, ALS or something similar. Bruce is played by Nicholas Cassim. I actually looked up to see if Cassim has some sort of disability or disease. He does not. That's how good he is in his role. Ray's sidekick is Gary (Justin Rosniak) who is constantly asking for Ray's help or coming up with silly ways to make money. Gary is comic relief with his golden shower DVDs and his foot fetish sex toys. There is no theme song for the show. It feels stripped down to the barest of bones. At first I thought it was cheap and low budget but I think it's more of a stylist choice. There is a simplicity to the show, all the fluff is stripped away and raw honesty is what is left. The dialogue between Ray and Gary feels like something Tarantino would write, but even more earnest. It feels like a conversation you might actually have with your friend. But let me remind you, this is a show, where the lead is a killer for money. Ray doesn't seem to have any problem inflicting violence on anyone if the price is right. Ray is loyal to a few friends and his family and that's it. The show goes in directions I didn't expect. Sometimes you can see the violence coming, and sometimes you can't. Breaking Bad remains one of my favourite TV crime dramas of all time. Coming in a very close second is, Mr Inbetween. Catch it streaming on Disney+ (of all places) or rent it from Movies 'N Stuff. 

Slow West

So at the end of last year I reviewed a film called Tornado. If you haven't seen it yet, giddy up. I said I would go back and check out director John Maclean's first film, Slow West. I finally got around to doing it and it's also fantastic. Maclean has only made these two feature films and IMDb tells me they didn't make a whole lot of money. Which is a shame. I feel like there is some sort of injustice, much like the Wild West Maclean likes to write about. Both of Maclean's films have this quiet savagery to them, a kind of Darwinesque, eat-or-be-eaten quality. But as I said, it's quiet, subtle. It takes a long time to build up to the violence, then it's fast. The threat of it always seems to hang there, like a gun just laying on a counter. What's it all about? A young, very naive Irish man, Jay Cavendish (Kodi Smit-McPhee), is heading West across America in search of the love of his life, Rose (Caren Pistorius). Turns out that Rose is also a wanted fugitive. Tracking Rose is bounty hunter Silas (Michael Fassbender) who has had a falling out with a group of fellow trackers led by Payne (Ben Mendelsohn) who fashions a coat that looks like something Johnny Depp wore in Dead Man. They are all heading for destination Rose. Quentin Tarantino had already made seven films (ten if you include Four Rooms, True Romance, and Natural Born Killers; maybe eleven if you add Sin City) before he made Django Unchained and then The Hateful Eight. I would say Maclean's first two films are better Westerns. Saddle up and get yourself to your local video store, that would be Movies 'N Stuff here in Ottawa, and rent Slow West today. 

Satan's Slaves and Satan's Slaves 2: Communion

If you are a fan of The Conjuring, then buckle up and keep reading. If not, stop right here and move on to another review. If you are still with me, then let me tell you about these two Indonesian horror films which are just as good as any of The Conjuring films. Satan's Slaves and its even better sequel follow the story of a family which starts off living in small house in the rural countryside. There is a dying grandmother, a sick mother, and a father who leaves for a good chunk of the film, leaving in charge Rini (Tara Basro), who is in her early twenties, to take care of her three brothers, ages sixteen, ten, and six. The six-year-old doesn't speak. The mother has a mysterious illness and the grandmother lies in bed looking as pale as a geisha, and when she opens her eyes, they open frighteningly wide. Just her appearance alone will scare you. I don't want to bog you down in plot details, but trust me, this one will possess your attention. And the sequel is even better.

The family ends up moving to an apartment building. Satan's Slaves 2: Communion is kind of like The Raid meets Poltergeist. The family finds themselves trapped in the building by a massive storm and inside with them is a big elevator ride of supernatural horror. You will want to stop at every floor! Both are terrifyingly fun. Director Joko Anwar has made two masterful horror films and third in this series is due out in 2027 - I am Scooby Doo excited. Catch these films streaming on Shudder or go rent them from Movies 'N Stuff here in Ottawa. 

The Exorcist III: Legion

How is it that I've been walking around the Earth without anyone telling me about this film? How is it that nobody told me that The Exorcist III is one of greatest sequels and one of the greatest horror films of all time? Maybe because nobody I know has watched it. Well I'm here to remedy this situation. Or at least do my part to alert you, dear reader, and bring this important horror film to your attention. It stars the late, great, George C. Scott as a police detective who is investigating a murder. The film was written and directed by William Peter Blatty. Blatty's career was spent mainly as a writer. He wrote the screenplay for the first Exorcist film. He only directed two movies, this being his second and last. It's a holy moly show. There is a hallway scene,  a mise-en-scène shot, where the camera sits at the end of the hall and we are waiting, possibly for something bad to happen. In fact, we are sure of it and this just amplifies the tension as it goes on. Hitchcock, De Palma, or Dario Argento would be proud of this shot. It's magnificent. There is a dream sequence which lasts only a few minutes, but it feels like it had the budget and scale of Caligula - impressive. But the best part of the film is the dialogue. As I mentioned before, Blatty was mainly a writer. The script swells with earnest writing. The back and forth between Scott and Ed Flanders (who plays Father Dyer) in a gritty diner is wonderful - a man of faith vs. the grizzled cop who has seen too much violence and asks, "How could your God do such a thing?" These two characters are the best of friends, which makes it more interesting. The killings in this movie are gruesome and unnerving, although there is little actual gore - mostly discussed (and maybe what is left to your imagination is worse). George C. Scott screaming out "I believe in slime!" is one of the great moments in horror cinema. Loved it. The Exorcist III: Legion is the director's cut of the same film. Have faith in this one and catch it on Prime or rent it from Movies 'N Stuff. 

Backrooms

So I haven't watched any of director Kane Parsons' YouTube videos which, as I have read, led to the making of this film, his first feature-length movie. I went in cold except for the trailer. I recommend doing the same if possible. What's it all about? It follows Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor), the owner and operator of a discount furniture store in a warehouse area, circa 1990 - Cap'n Clark's Ottoman Empire. Clark performs cheesy TV commercials dressed as a pirate with a wooden leg. Clark is in therapy after the demise of his last relationship. His store is sad with ugly and outdated pieces that scream grandpa's couch. And no customers. The store also seems to have some serious electrical issues. Clark discovers a secret passage to another part of his store that looks like '70s or '80s office space. It's like Clark entered The Twilight Zone if it were a Guggenheim Museum art installation. Clark's therapist Mary (Renate Reinsve) also has her own messed-up childhood backstory, which plays a role when she enters the backrooms in search of the missing Clark. Backrooms is like if you took Matthew Barney's Cremaster 3 and gave it characters and a plot. Or if you took Synecdoche New York and turned it into The Maze Runner. It's kind of like the 1997 Canadian film, Cube if the world was turned to a yellow-beige and you added bad furniture. If all of these film references are too obscure, no worries, you can still go get happily lost in Backrooms. It's strange, like doing mushrooms in your friend's basement that hasn't been updated since the early '90s - you may have a bit of a panic attack trying to find your way out. Catch this conundrum in a dark theatre room or rent it from Movies 'N Stuff when it becomes available.  

I Love Boosters

This is Boots Riley's second directorial feature. His first was Sorry to Bother You which made my top 22 films of 2018 on my very first blog entry here on the Marquee. Had I started doing this earlier, I would have written a full entry about it. That film is about a black man working in a call center. It was bold, colourful, satirical, irreverent, pissed-off, arty, original, intelligent, and entertaining. Riley went on to make a TV series, I'm a Virgo, which I have not seen (but now I intend to). I Love Boosters is a bananas ride and all the adjectives I gave to his first film apply to his second. I loved it and thought it was a mess at the same time - like some of the ludicrous fashion designs that are the subject of this film. What's it all about? A gang of women are stealing and reselling high-end clothes from Metro Designers, a fashion empire run by Christie Smith (Demi Moore). Each store has its own primary colour - all the clothes in one location are yellow, for example. It's a gag and it's a hoot. Although it is a mockery of the fashion world, the designs remain outrageous and fun - The Hunger Games of primary colours. Then the film goes into the realm of science fiction with a teleportation device - a Chinese worker has teleported from China, where all the clothes are made. Her plan is to steal the clothes back as ransom to get workers some rights. She teams up with the boosters and all hell breaks loose. It becomes unhinged. A slapstick, Three Stooges, car-chase, roller-coaster of action. It's kind of like Everything Everywhere All at Once but add in a demon (LaKeith Stanfield - who is also the lead in Sorry to Bother You) who sucks women's souls out of their bodies through their coochies. Yeah, it's pretty wild and it's not for everyone. That said, it has to be one of the most interesting films of 2026 and I feel like I need to watch it again. Anxiety in this film is literally depicted as a giant ball of ATMs, computers, advertising, bills, phones, clothes, food, etc. rolling and roaming the streets of the city like an Indiana Jones boulder. It's brilliant. Go find something to wear and head to the cinema to catch this original film (not a cheap knock-off). Or rent it from Movies 'N Stuff when available.  

Silent Friend

If Sound of Falling was your cup of tea, then I have another one for you. If you don't know what I'm speaking about, not to worry, I'll explain. What we have here is another long (2.5 hours), beautiful, German art film which is slow and spans three different time periods, with three different stories all revolving around scientists and their relationships to plants. I know, it might sound boring as all hell, but trust me, it's great. Hungarian filmmaker, Ildikó Enyedi, has made a complex and gorgeous film. If you are willing to give some time and patience to this film, like watering and taking care of a plant, you will be rewarded with a bouquet of emotions. The first story, if we take them chronologically, takes place in 1908 with Grete (Luna Wedler) who is studying botany. This part of the film is shot in black and white. Breaking into a scientific men's world in 1908 is as unpleasant as poison ivy (if we continue with the plant metaphors). Grete takes up the new art of photography as a way to make ends meet - her pictures are stunning. The second story take place in 1972 and it looks like Enyedi did her best to make it look as though the film stock was from this time period. If you cried when Tom Hanks lost Wilson, his volleyball in Cast Away, well this film will give you anxiety over a geranium. Someone could argue that there is too much anthropomorphizing going on here - I don't care, I loved it anyway. The last story takes place in 2020 at the start of the pandemic. Brain scientist Tony (Tony Leung Chiu-wai) is stuck by himself on a large university campus when he turns his research towards a tree and discovers an unlikely friendship as a result. The film explores our relationship with plants but also the relationships we have with each other, and how we treat one another. There is a meditative quality to the film, spiritual pantheism, an interconnectivity of all living things. You will come out feeling like you just walked through a lovely afternoon at the botanical gardens. So go grab your watering can, block out the sunshine, and go plant yourself in the dark theatre of the Mayfair, or the Bytowne, or go rent it from Movies 'N Stuff when it becomes available. 

Widow's Bay

I don't recall writing about a series before having finished it. Well, there is a first for everything. Widow's Bay is now streaming on Apple+. A horror-comedy is how I would classify it. Normally, this isn't the sort of thing I would enjoy. Often it doesn't work. For reasons I'm not altogether sure of, this works great. Perhaps because all the gags are played straight, deadpan. Dead is right. What's it all about? Matthew Rhys (The Beast in Me, The Americans) plays Tom Loftis, Widow's Bay's town mayor. Widow's Bay is a small, one-sheriff, island town. Oh, and the island, it's cursed. However, Tom wants it to be the next Martha's Vineyard. He is hoping that a positive article written by a New York Times reporter will help turn the island's reputation around and start bringing in boatloads of tourists. The show has a kind of parallel to Jaws, if it was told from the perspective of the mayor. Instead of a shark, it's a curse. And the curse is deliberately vague, so we can have multiple different horror tropes, and each one gives us a fresh episode - a Gilligan's Island of horror stories: Haunted fog, evil sea sirens, books of witchcraft, etc. Like Chief Brody in Jaws, the Mayor has a quirky old secretary, who has vision problems and a propensity to leave her job early every day. Everyone seems to be working against poor Mayor Loftis. It's a hoot. The tone is something similar to Steve Miner's 1985 film, House. It has an almost nostalgic feel to the show, with elements of John Carpenter's The Fog and Prince of Darkness. Grab your lifejacket and sail your boat immediately to Widow's Bay. Streaming on Apple or grab it from Movies 'N Stuff when available. 

The Plague

Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams) - I have said it before but in case you weren't following along, I will say it again: I will follow Mr. Edgerton wherever he goes. He continues to pick material which is always smart and engaging. He only has a supporting role here in The Plague as the coach of a young boys' water polo camp. Our main protagonist is Ben (Everett Blunck), a geeky kid from out of town who is just trying to fit in with the well-established pack of boys led by Jake (Kayo Martin). "Jake" - a name reserved for the cool kid and I can hear  Anthony Michael Hall saying it in Sixteen Candles. Pardon me, I digressed. Also in the water polo camp is Eli (Kenny Rasmussen), who all the kids say has the plague because he has a bad skin rash, which I believe is eczema or psoriasis. They run away from Eli and if anyone comes into contact with him, they run to the tap to wash off "the plague." Kids can be downright cruel. Mean rotten little bastards, which is the whole subject here. When Ben tries to form a friendship with Eli, suddenly he finds himself on the outside of the clique. . .  and wait, what is that red bump forming on his skin? It's well-worn territory, The Lord of the Flies being the major pig head on the pole. Why should you watch this one then? It's gorgeous - the underwater shots are particularly hypnotic, upside down, you will be spun around like poor Ben. It also verges on body horror (which may or may not be your thing). The main reason to watch is the performances of these young men. Kenny Rasmussen as Eli is a standout - his dance scene in the rain is wow. These young actors are going to go places. Catch this in a rep theatre if possible, streaming, or rent it from Movies 'N Stuff. 

Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other

This is simply a beautiful film. It's a documentary about famed American photographer, Joel Meyerowitz and his unfamous wife, Maggie Barrett (although, after this, I suspect that might change). Joel was born in 1938 and is now 88 years old. He married Maggie (his second marriage) in 2001. This is Maggie's fifth marriage. Maggie's own life journey is something of a rollercoaster, having spent time in a mental hospital, struggling with drug addiction, finding recovery, and ultimately becoming a therapist herself. Maggie is also a writer. While she never landed a traditional publishing deal, she has written at least four novels, a collection of stories, and a play in which she starred. Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other is a portrait of navigating aging, fame, relationships, and love. It is very personal, and both Joel and Maggie go all in here, in what I might call a kind of performance art of the personal. They are each on full display, holding nothing back. There is a scene when they return to their New York apartment after living in Tuscany for many years, and Maggie has a completely unhinged breakdown while Joel hangs on for dear life - remaining calm. Given her history, one could write her off as unstable, but that feels too simplistic. I think we have all been there - a displacement of aggression, grieving the loss of their Italian home - we hurt the ones we love most because they can usually take it. This was not edited out. There is a lot of raw material here. It's also one of the most aesthetically pleasing films I've seen in a very long time. Each shot is a photograph, which feels fitting for Meyerowitz. It's like looking through a gorgeous coffee table book. You will want to spend time with Maggie and Joel. Catch it in the theatre if possible, or rent it at Movies 'N Stuff.  

Lee Cronin's the Mummy

Lee Cronin, who's that? That was my first question. I'm not great with names, especially as I get older. Google/IMDB tells me he's the director of Evil Dead Rise. I loved that movie! I suppose name recognition is important and I suppose it helps distinguish this film from The Mummy franchise starring Brendan Fraser or the recent The Mummy outing with Tom Cruise. This film has nothing to do with those - and honestly, it could be called, Evil Dead Egypt. Before I get into it, if you aren't a fan of The Conjuring or The Exorcist, you might as well stop reading, because this film is not for you. If you are, then you are one of my people. What's it all about? Charlie Cannon (Jack Reynor) is working as a journalist in Egypt with his wife Larissa (Laia Costa) and their two kids when their youngest, Katie, goes missing. This alone is horrific. It gets much worse. Egyptian authorities find her eight years later - in a coffin that looks like it was designed by David Cronenberg. Yeah! Not so fast! Katie seems to have something physically wrong with her, and her mental state is full-on sarcophagus cuckoo. Katie's mom is convinced that all Katie needs is a good supportive, loving home and things will go back to normal. Charlie is not convinced. I think the audience is on Charlie's side. This is a mix of body horror, supernatural possession, and one of the worst hangnails you have ever seen. You may need therapy and a pedicure after watching this one - it doesn’t just get under your skin, it gets under your nails. Catch this one in the dark crypt of a movie theatre, or go rent it from Movies 'N Stuff when available. 

DTF St. Louis

If you like your Desperate Househusbands of suburbia spicy, then this limited series on HBO Max is fantastic, albeit melancholic; maybe even downright sad. Starring Jason Bateman (Ozark) as Clark Forrest, the local TV weatherman who is having a midlife crisis and ends up having an extramarital affair with Carol (Linda Cardellini). She is married to Floyd Smernitch (David Harbour) who does interpretive signing (for the hearing impaired) for Clark's weather reporting. You may know David Harbour as the gruff and lovable cop from Stranger Things. He gives a performance that Daniel Day-Lewis would be proud of - from hip-hop dancing, to trying to give his troubled stepson life lessons, to allowing a gay man to kiss him for not wanting to hurt his feelings - Harbour should be nominated for all the TV awards. The show is also a murder mystery and the two detectives who work the case, played by Richard Jenkins and Joy Sunday, are an oddly delightful pair. If David Harbour is nominated for his lead role, then Best Supporting should go to Peter Sarsgaard (in eyeliner) as the roller-skating man who wants nothing more at times than to hold hands - fabulous. Writer and creator, Steve Conrad has made a very unique show about troubled and sad people. It has qualities of Ang Lee's The Ice Storm or Curtis Hanson's Wonder Boys. It's dark and at times, extremely funny, and really weird. To borrow and paraphrase one of the show's catchphrases, "Nobody is normal; it just looks that way from across the street." The show is sad, like a used and discarded dirty magazine found in the change room of a community swimming pool that's closed for the season. Have yourself a wild affair with this show. Catch it streaming on HBO/Crave or rent it from Movies 'N Stuff when available.      

Prime Minster

Women in politics have it rough. The world is getting better but let's face it, much of it ass-backwards and women are treated as second-class citizens in a good chunk of it, especially in politics. This documentary is about the five-year term served by Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand's Prime Minister. New Zealand and the world were lucky to have her. She got into politics to essentially make the world a better place. When she took over the Labour Party back in 2017, her party was way down in the polls. She turned it around. She became New Zealand's 40th Prime Minister. Not only did she find herself leading her country, she also discovered she was pregnant. She gave birth to her daughter, Neve, on June 21, 2018. Ardern is the second woman ever to do so (Benazir Bhutto, Prime Minister of Pakistan (1990), was the first). The film follows Ardern through three major crises, the two biggest being the Christchurch mosque shootings and the Covid-19 pandemic. Her response to the shootings was one of empathy and compassion for the Muslim community and she was lauded for it. But it wasn't just thoughts and prayers, she took action.  The Arms (Prohibited Firearms, Magazines, and Parts) Amendment Act 2019 of New Zealand came into law and the result was that over 19,000 firearms and 70,000 gun accessories were surrendered by mid-September 2019. Amazing. I see this documentary as inspirational to all women who want to venture into politics. And sadly as a warning too. Ardern looks like she aged more than the five years she was leading. Running a country, guiding it through an uncharted global crisis while being a first-time mother - Ardern was a force but that takes a lot out of anyone. It should be noted that she has an amazing and supportive husband, Clarke Gayford who is also featured in the film. Catch this remarkable film about a remarkable woman, streaming on CBC Gem or rent it from Movies 'N Stuff.  

The Drama

When Hollywood pigeonholed actor Matthew McConaughey into playing romantic lead roles in often goofy rom-coms, he stepped back and waited 18 months before scripts started coming in for things like Mud, Dallas Buyers Club, and True Detective. A risky but smart call. There is nothing wrong with rom-coms, but McConaughey didn't want to make them and I don't want to watch them. Which brings me to Robert Pattinson, best known for his teen Twilight saga vampire role of Edward Cullen. Like McConaughey, Pattinson has been making smart film choices post pale neck-sucker phase (as has Kristen Stewart), such as Goodtime, The Lighthouse, The King, The Batman, Die, My Love, and now, The Drama. The Drama might be considered a rom-com, albeit a completely twisted and messed up one. And I loved it. I was trepidatious going in, like Indy in The Last Crusade when he takes a leap of faith, Pattinson caught me off guard - maybe even off-guard twice. What's it all about? Emma (Zendaya) and Charlie (Robert Pattinson) are about to get married when at wedding menu tasting, the activity becomes: "confess the worst thing you've ever done." Emma is the last to disclose. She drops a bomb and the real drama begins. Without giving away anything, the confession leads to some serious marital jitters. The Drama goes places I didn't expect and it's darkly funny at times. You will want to get hitched to this one - catch it like a bouquet of razor wire in theatres now or rent it from Movies 'N Stuff.  

Alpha

What's up with the water in France? Two of the most exciting and interesting female directors working today are Julia Ducournau (Titane, Raw) and Coralie Fargeat (The Substance, Revenge). Both hail from France, both working in the tradition of Cronenberg-ian body horror. Ducournau has a new film, Alpha. It has a much more linear storyline than her last outing, Titane (about a woman who is impregnated by a car). Alpha focuses on a thirteen-year-old girl, Alpha (Mélissa Boros) who received a homemade tattoo at a party during a near-future time when a blood-transmissible illness is becoming a global crisis. This illness slowly turns people into marble (like the stone). Yes I know it sounds bizarre, and it is. Alpha lives with her single mother (Golshifteh Farahani) who is a doctor and has great concerns about her daughter's possible infection. Along comes Alpha's uncle Amin (Tahar Rahim) who is sporting a junkie habit and Alpha likes to turn her uncle's hole ridden arm into a connect-the-dots puzzle. The disease seems like an obvious metaphor for the AIDS crisis. The film looks at the alienating behaviors, how we treat the sick, the addicted. It will make you uncomfortable at times - think Kids, Requiem for Dream. For something which seems to be slow-paced, it moves along at a riveting clip - I was never bored. The marble transformation of victims is a unique visual from an equally unique and gifted filmmaker. Grab a bottle of Evian at the theatre or go rent this one from Movies 'N Stuff when available. 

Dust Bunny

As a Gen-Xer, growing up in the world of '70s and '80s films was not so sanitized as it is now. Raiders of the Lost Ark gave my childhood melting faces, impaled skeletal corpses, and a room full of snakes. Is it a kid movie though? I would argue it is, as is Star Wars. I think a lot of great kids' movies have elements of darkness and fear -  Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, The Goonies, Coraline, heck, even The Sound of Music is about escaping the Nazis. So if you missed Dust Bunny from last year, as I did, it's time to catch what might become a new kids' classic, albeit a dark one. What's it all about? Sophie Sloan plays Aurora, a young girl who believes that there is a dust bunny under her bed that is eating people. In fact, she won't walk on the floor. She traverses her apartment on a metal hippopotamus on wheels like she's navigating a swamp in a flat-bottomed boat. She discovers secrets about the man (played by Mads Mikkelsen - the other Hannibal Lecter from TV)  living down the hall of her apartment building; namely that he is a hit man. Aurora hires him to kill the monster, money she acquires in a dubious way, one that made me laugh out loud. Writer and director Bryan Fuller marks this as his first feature film coming out of a TV career (he made Hannibal the TV series). He comes out with monster, literally. This film is simply gorgeous. Aurora and her hit man live in a New York Art Nouveau building and the colours of it are bright - Mads wears something of a track suit that looks like he borrowed from The Royal Tenenbaums. In fact, the whole film has a Wes Anderson look to it. A kind of cartoonish Amelie sensibility. With small roles by Sigourney Weaver and David Dastmalchian (Late Night with the Devil), this movie is a delight. It's got teeth. Jaws of the parquet tile floor. Is it for kids? Well if you think Ghostbusters is a good kids' movie, then so is this! You will want to sweep this up on streaming when it's available or rent it from Movies 'N Stuff.  

Resurrection

David Lynch often spoke about films as dreams. Resurrection is all about dreams. The main character is, the Dreamer, who time travels through different periods of what could be described as film history. The opening, set in the silent film era, (think Guy Madden) quickly morphs into a Frankenstein-meets-The Wizard of Oz poppy dreamscape. There are five such episodes, each which their own story and artistic sensibility. Monsters and midgets bring us to the magical, where a bloody tooth in a snowball can turn into an imp. Terry Gilliam would be delighted, I'm sure. There is a section which feels akin to Peter Bogdanovich's Paper Moon, where we have a card hustler perpetrating scams with a young boy. And there is a one-shot (think  Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman) Romeo + Juliet (Baz Luhrmann-style) love story. The visuals in the film are simply fascinating and fantastic. This is a visual buffet of all things celluloid. Director Bi Gan has made an extraordinary work. If there is a criticism, it's that these pieces are supposed to link together, but they don't - but they do in dream logic. Dream logic goes from one thing to a completely different thing, and in that magical world, it's perfectly sensible. This only appeared for a single screening at the Mayfair last year. Hopefully in will come back to theatres. One of the most interesting art films of last year. You can find it now streaming on the Criterion channel and you can rent it from Movies 'N Stuff.