Mad God

I must confess, I had no idea who Phil Tippett was until the power of Google and Wikipedia told me- he (and some other folks) are the people who gave us those  AT-AT Imperial Walkers in "Return of the Jedi." Tippett has been nominated five times for an Academy Award for his special effects work and has won twice. Tippett is a stop motion master and "Mad God" is his thirty year side project, which according to my internet findings, resulted in Tippett being checked into a mental health facility. Well let me tell you, "Mad God" is one of the most craziest things I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot. What's it all about? This is my best shot: it's about a little chap, dressed like a World War One miner (metal helmet, gas mask, bulky grey hazmat like apparel) who descends in a sarcophagus like container/elevator, through a multilevel science fiction hell. He has a map and a quest to blowup this nether world. He is captured, and his guts are surgically removed in a "let's dig a hole in the sand" method - it's pretty gross. Inside our little gas-miner friend is a squealing baby insect like thing which is then brought to a kind of high priest like figure - something out of Alejandro Jodorowsky's "The Holy Mountain." The baby bug is squished and the result is the ending of "2001: A Space Odyssey." Well not quite, but close enough. It's kind of like a stop motion version of "The Cremaster Cycle" crossed with the sensibilities of Heavy Metal magazine. There is no dialogue. It's bonkers. Catch one of the most visually interesting things in your local rep cinema or on streaming services.

Crimes of the Future

I have been a David Cronenberg fan for close to 40 years. "Dead Ringers" was the film though that really turned me into a "Rabid" fan. Themes of mutation and transformation run deep throughout Cronenberg's filmography; think of "Dead Ringers," "The Fly," and "M. Butterfly," as examples. The body as identity - for Cronenberg, it's not 'we live in our bodies' but rather 'our bodies live in us.' Or more explicitly, we are organic machines and we can get tune-ups, upgrades; our individual identities coming from, to a large extent, our bodies ("Crash," "eXistenZ") - there is no separation, you are your flesh; and for Cronenberg the flesh is often both deeply sexual and grotesque. Cronenberg has been talking about beauty contests for internal organs since "Dead Ringers." Which is a nice segue to talk about his latest masterpiece, "Crimes of the Future." To me, this movie felt like an accumulation of a body of work, all of Cronenberg's themes and ideas about the body, sexuality, and criminality; and I mean this in the best possible way. What's it all about? Viggo Mortensen (this is his fourth movie with Cronenberg) stars as Saul Tenser, a man who grows internal organs of unknown purpose in his abdomen in a giant walnut like bed/pod. When it's time to have the organ harvested, his partner, Caprice (Léa Seydoux) performs public surgery (while people gawk with martinis and cigarettes) as a piece of performance art - yes it's completely bananas. I found it to be grotesque, perplexing, and wildly entertaining. I don't profess to understand it but was certainly challenged by it. Time flew by. It's must viewing for Cronenberg fans. If you enjoyed "Titane" from my last year's recommended list, then this is your next foray into weird. The future in now. Catch it in cinemas if you can or on streaming services. 

The Righteous

 

Hallelujah! It's been a while since I've watched a blog worthy film. This Canadian suspenseful drama/horror, is a meditation on good and evil, redemption, grief, and sin. It is remarkable debut. It's written, directed, and stars, Mark O'Brien. Shot in black and white, it felt like a Hitchcockian play. With nods to "The Exorcist," and a few other films, O'Brien has crafted a nifty piece of arthouse cinema. What's it all about? A couple has just lost their adopted daughter. The father, Fredric (played by Henry Czerny) was a priest until he met Mimi (Ethel Mason), his now wife. They live together in the countryside in a modest old house. They are grieving their daughter when a stranger, lost in the woods, shows up asking for help. The stranger is Aaron (Mark O'Brien). He is odd, young, and his manner is somewhat intimidating, yet charming; he's a mystery. Mimi falls in motherly love with him. Aaron's motives are unclear and so the tension in the little house begins to rise. Mark O'Brien's performance is extraordinary and played against Henry Czerny's, the pair reminded me of James Dean and Raymond Massey in "East of Eden." - well done gentlemen. Mark O'Brien, this is a name to watch for. Catch "The Righteous" at your local rep cinema.   

Shining Girls

Welcome to the best thing since "The Outsider." Elisabeth Moss plays Kirby, a woman who is the sole survivor of a serial killer on the loose. The killer, played with very effective creepiness by Jamie Bell, is lurking, stalking, and we get to see him move through time from victim to victim. Kirby, since she was attacked, has memory problems; things change on her, so she scribbles in a notebook to keep it all straight - where she lives; the objects on her desk, etc. She works at a newspaper as a researcher, digging up information for all the journalists. She becomes friends with Dan (Wagner Moura) who works the crime beat and is investigating the homicide of the killer's latest victim.  Dan is a drunk and is looking for redemption in this investigative story. The show has overtones of "Dark City," "Memento," and last year's "Last Night in Soho." This eerie thriller is compelling viewing and it has a dirty-fingernail, dirty-ashtray, straight-whiskey, black-coffee texture that will keep you glued to your set. Catch this headscratcher streaming on Apple +.  

Outer Range

 Oh boy, giddy up! This is one of best things to come along since "Channel Zero" packed it in; and I LOVED "Channel Zero." I loved this too. "Outer Range" - if it sounds like "The Outer Limits" goes to farm; well you wouldn't be wrong. Yes, this is a sci-fi Western (not normally something I would be drawn to). I tuned in because I'm a big fan of Josh Brolin. I didn't realize Lili Taylor was in it - love her too. The cast is really suburb - Will Patton as Wayne Tillerson was a standout for me. What's it all about? I don't want to give too much away; we have a long standing feud between neighbors, the Abbotts and the Tillersons and now Wayne Tillerson wants a piece of the Abbott's land, the West pasture. On this piece of land, there is a giant hole with a kind of floating fog in it - very mysterious. There is also a homicide and a detective (Tamara Podemski as Deputy Sheriff Joy - she is great!) trying to solve the case. Also there is a mysterious backpacker (Imogen Poots as Autumn) whose motives are unclear. That's all I'm going to tell you. Go watch it! It's so well made and it becomes so strange it feels like David Lynch is pulling the strings - there is some twisted singing! Go saddle up with this show on Amazon Prime.  

Scarborough

 "Scarborough" won the 2021 Canadian Screen Award for Best Picture; deservedly so. What's is all about? It revolves around the children of three families who attend a drop-in reading centre in, you guessed it, in Scarborough. This is Canada's version of "The Florida Project" - if you are unfamiliar with that movie, then let me describe it this way: It's a gritty realistic portrait about families living in poverty, specifically kids. In the hood of Scarborough, the film gives us snap-shots of drug addition, mental illness, racial biases, white privilege, and some undiagnosed autism. It also addresses the broken system of social services for those who have no power, money, or privilege. It's grim, and yet despite some horribly tragic events which take place, there is a kindness to the film, and dare I say, maybe even a little hope. The child actors are phenomenal - Anna Claire Beitel as Laura (the daughter of a meth-head mom and an impoverished neo-Nazi dad) was a standout for me. If you are looking for great Canadian cinema, the take a trip to "Scarborough." Catch it a your local rep cinema or on DVD or Streaming services. 

The Sadness & Virus-32

I don't normally combine reviews, however these felt so closely linked that I thought it just makes sense. 

If you are into Zombie movies, please continue. If not, you can skip this. So, let's talk zombies. I'm going to quote myself from my review of "The Dead Don't Die."- "Since George A. Romero's 'The Night of the Living Dead,' zombie has equaled social commentary about society's pressing issues - whether it be race relations in 'The Night of the Living Dead' or consumerism in 'Dawn of the Dead' - the zombie motif is usually a fun way to talk about all different aspects of humanity's cruelty and ignorance which we inflict upon one other and the Earth. Jim Jarmusch isn't traditional and we could certainly use a conversation about climate change. " I wrote that in 2019. It's now 2022. The world endured four years of Trump, two years of a pandemic, the environmental crisis is worse than ever, and inflation is at the highest point it's been in decades. Plus the Russian invasion of Ukraine. People, I think it's fair to say, are mad, like really really mad. What does that give us in terms of zombie films - it gives us fast and pissed offed zombies, and in the case of "The Sadness" violence and blood like I've never seen before. This Taiwanese film is actually written and directed by a Canadian,  Rob Jabbaz. McPherson's Movie Marquee is still hoping to hear back from Rob about his movie. Anyway, in "The Sadness" the virus which infects people, it doesn't just turn them into your standard zombie, no, this turns them into homicidal axe wielding maniacs (with a slight zombie head tilt). If you are into zombie films, blood and guts B-horror movies, then "The Sadness" is blood-curdling screaming for you. 

Then there is "Virus-32," a zombie film out of Argentina and Uruguay! This one isn't nearly as violent but it does have the same manic energy to it and the zombies are also running full tilt. There is the same sense of chaos, a society gone mad - a sign of the times I think. What's this one about? A woman and her daughter find themselves under undead siege in a sports complex. As far as B-zombie films go, this one has tasty brains.

If you are in Ottawa, catch "The Sadness" at the Mayfair Theatre this week and then soon on streaming and blu-ray. Catch "Virus-#2" streaming on Shudder.