I Like Movies

There have been quite a few movies recently about movies, or people's love of movies. Last year gave us Spielberg's self indulgent "The Fabelmans;" "5-25-77;" was  Patrick Read Johnson's film obsessed story; the grotesque mess of "Babylon;" and "Empire of Light." It's never enough to stand around screaming "I Like Movies;" you need to care about the characters who are doing the screaming. Which brings me to Chandler Levack's wonderful film, "I Like Movies." Set in the early part of the 2000s, its central character is Lawrence (played by Isaiah Lehtinen). Lawrence LOVES movies and wants to go to NYU for film studies but has no money. So he gets a job at his local Blockbuster-style video store where he can wax poetically about Todd Solondz's "Happiness" or Paul Thomas Anderson's "Punch Drunk Love." We care about Lawrence but at times we might not even like him very much - he is down right mean to his best friend Matt. However, Lawrence leans heavily into the spectrum.- his socialize awareness is horribly lacking, plus he comes with lots of heavy baggage and a slightly overprotective mother. As a result, we sympathize with him - Lawrence feels real, fully 3D and it speaks to the quality of Chandler Levack's writing. Lawrence's boss at the video store, Alana (Romina D'Ugo) is also damaged goods and Romina D'Ugo gives us a great performance. I really liked this Canadian film - it makes fun of Canadian film! If you like movies, then please go check out "I Like Movies" in a Canadian theatre near you.

All Quiet on the Western Front

So this was the last Oscar nominated film I had to watch in the Best Picture category. I saved it to the end because I was dreading to watch it. I didn't like "1917" and I didn't care for "Dunkirk." That and I had seen the original film and read the novel in high school. I was convinced it would be a waste of my time and it would bore me for the almost two an half hour runtime. I was so wrong. If I had seen it last year, it would have been on my top ten list of best films of 2022. Have you looked at the paintings of Rembrandt? Edward Berger, the film's director has delivered a visual masterpiece - each shot is a work of art, its own Rembrandt if you will. It's a stunning film. With the pointless invasion of Ukraine happening right now, this feels every so relevant. 17 million people died in World War I - for what? The absurdities, the unfounded patriotism built on propaganda and lies, and the brutality of war are all on full display here as we follow Paul (Felix Kammerer) through battle after brutal battle. The film is grizzly and gorgeous. I was captivated for its entirety. Easily one of the best films of 2022. Catch this film now streaming on Netflix. 

Infinity Pool

While you could argue "Infinity Pool" has flaws, it has stuck with me. It's directed by Brandon Cronenberg, son of David Cronenberg. He seems to be carrying on his father's legacy of the strange and grotesque but also the continued investigation of the body as it relates to identity and transformation (think of David's works like "Dead Ringers," "The Fly," Rabid," and "M. Butterfly") . So what is Brandon's film all about? A couple, James (Alexander Skarsgård) and Em (Cleopatra Coleman) go on holiday to an unnamed foreign country. There they meet a flirtatious Gabi (Mia Goth) and Alban (Jalil Lespert). After a friendship has loosely formed, Gabi and Alban convince James and Em to leave the heavily guarded compound of the resort for a picnic by the ocean. Lots of wine is consumed and on the way back, in the dark, James runs over and kills a local farmer - they flee without calling the police. The next day James is arrested - his punishment, death, at the hands of the farmer's son. However the police give James an option: for a good sum of money, the police will clone James and let his new doppelganger take the fall for him. Then things get really strange. It's like "Fantasy Island" crossed with "The White Lotus." Once again, Mia Goth ("X" and "Pearl") gives a standout performance. Catch this tropical therapy session from hell in rep theatres or on streaming services.  

Knock at the Cabin

Knock, knock. Who's there? M. Night Shyamalan. I look forward to each and every time one of his films comes knocking on my door. Like any artist, not every film can be brilliant. But there is always something special about each of his films, something interesting. "Knock at the Cabin" is one of his brilliant films. What's it all about? A same sex couple, Eric and Andrew along with their adopted daughter Wen, have rented a cabin in the woods. Along come four strangers, led by Leonard (Dave Bautista) who knock on their cabin's door. Once they have made their way forcibly inside, they make an announcement: Eric, Andrew and Wen must pick someone in their family to die and then kill that person themselves otherwise the world will end. Does that sound bananas? It does! And it sounds bananas to Eric, Andrew and Wen too. Let this intense, fun, thrill-ride begin! Dave Bautista, that hulking mass of an actor, is phenomenal. I hope he receives a nomination for this role because he deserves it. In fact the entire cast is amazing. Kristen Cui, who plays Wen is a stand out by a child actor. This gripping emotional thriller is something you should check out in the theatre if you can, or catch it now on streaming services. It's a knock out.   

To Leslie

Redemption. Hard to come by, especially if you don't deserve it. And the question is asked, does Leslie deserve it? Andrea Riseborough has been nominated for an Oscar for her performance as Leslie, in "To Leslie." Andrea certainly does deserve it. She's great, unlike the character she portrays. Leslie is an alcoholic and she had the great misfortune of winning $190,000 in the lottery when her only son was just 13. Fast forward six years and Leslie has blown through all the money. She is kicked to the curb from the seedy motel where she had been living. Dirty, skinny, damaged. Leslie is like a filthy rat and nobody wants her, including her own son, who she might have done horrible damage to. Nobody, that is, until  Sweeney (Marc Maron) takes her in at the motel where he works. It's a long climb back up from the gutter but it's a climb I found myself riveted by. Catch this Oscar worthy performance at your local rep Cinema or on streaming services. 

Enter the Drag Dragon

"Enter the Drag Dragon" is a low budget, zombie, mummy, action-adventure, drag-queen comedy, and it's a love letter to Ottawa and the Mayfair Theatre. Yes, it's ridiculous, and yes, it does look cheaply made, but that's the fun of it. Lee Gordon Demarbre, the film's director, went to high school in Ottawa, graduated from Carleton in film studies and currently does the programming at the Mayfair Theatre. I love the Mayfair. My father worked there when he was in high school. I used to live just on the other side of the Bank Street bridge and I've been going regularly since grade 6  So what is "Enter the Drag Dragon" all about? It's about a drag queen detective named Crunch who finds a treasure map to a cave where a mummy lives, which is guarded by zombies but the Aztec Mummy's spirit lives in the Mayfair where Crunch also lives along with Jaws and Fast Buck. It doesn't make a lot of sense but who cares?! It's fun. There are drag queens with cock-cucks  (think nunchucks, but with rubber cocks for the handles) who battle breeders. Crunch announces what these cock-cucks stand for like Nic Cage announces what his snakeskin jacket represents in "Wild at Heart." There is sky diving, laser rings, cyborgs, exploding outhouses, and boobies! It's bananas, but in such a fun way. A lot of the cast work at Ottawa's other great theatre, The Bytowne. I smiled from beginning to end. Oh, and I have a one second cameo at the end of the film - me, sitting in the Mayfair Theatre; nothing could be better than that. Catch the greatest low budget drag-queen action-adventure movie every made - at the Mayfair hopefully.  Maybe at the Bytowne. 

Turn Every Page - The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb

I loved this documentary. Maybe because it's about writing. Roberto Caro is a non fiction writer. He has written "The Power Broker" and four thick volumes of the life and times of American president, Lyndon Johnson. I confess, I haven't read any of them but after watching this documentary, maybe one day. Robert Gottlieb has been his life long editor. Gottlieb's daughter made this documentary over a five year period. Each of Roberto Caro books took about seven years to write. The documentary goes into the careers of both men. Gottlieb has been editor at Simon & Schuster, Knopf, and The New Yorker. He edited "Catch-22" and was even responsible for the title. Caro, his research is beyond in-depth; he managed to get Lyndon Johnson's brother to sit at their childhood dinner table at the same time of day they would be eating so the light in the room would be the same and then got him to describe their father. It's also about Caro's and Gottlieb's working relationship; there are fights over semicolons, of course. I loved all of it. Caro (87) is working on a fifth volume of Lyndon Johnson and Gottlieb (91) is eagerly waiting to edit it. Catch this wonderful documentary at your local rep theatre or on a streaming service soon.