Steve Stebbing

Breaking down all things pop culture

What The Hell Should I Watch? – Jan 26

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January 26, 2023

New Releases:

Infinity Pool – With the moves that Brandon Cronenberg has been making in film, it is only a matter of time before he is regarded on his own rather than being referred to as David Cronenberg’s son. He has made disturbing content in the form of the almost satirical Antiviral and the violent sci-fi mind warp Possessor and I think with this third feature he may hit the big time as he has a red hot cast with The Northman’s Alexander Skarsgard and X and Pearl’s Mia Goth. This film has Skarsgard as one half of a vacationing couple named James and Em Foster who are enjoying an all-inclusive beach resort on the fictional island of La Tolqa when a fatal accident exposes the resort’s perverse subculture of hedonistic tourism, reckless violence and surreal horrors. Yes, this is going to be another descent into the violently depraved as only the offspring of the man I believe created the term in our genre lexicon, body horror. I’m also really excited to see another gonzo performance from Goth who has to be on a fast track to huge acclaim at this point.

You People – I’m not going to lie, I was really excited when I saw that Eddie Murphy was starring in a new comedy on Netflix and his co-star was Jonah Hill, an actor I absolutely adore. The film is written and directed by television mogul Kenya Barris who has massive hits on his resume so teaming him up with a superstar like Eddie seemed like a no-brainer. The film follows Jonah’s character Ezra, a finance worker with a dream for podcasting, who falls for Amira after an Uber mixup. Six months later, it’s getting serious and it’s time to bring the families together with Ezra’s Jewish Mom, Dad and sister and Amira’s black Muslim one, and the tensions flare but, you know, comedically. Or so it is supposed to be. Boasting a great surrounding cast including Julia Louis Dreyfuss, David Duchovny, and Nia Long, this movie feels completely ungrounded in any sense of reality with cliches, poorly written characters and even a sort of slapstick humour scene that feels completely misplaced. With a story that could have said something original or even poignant, it manages to say absolutely nothing ad give you some serious muscle workout with the sheer amount of cringe humour.

Shotgun Wedding – I can’t really say that I’ve ever actively looked forward to any Jennifer Lopez movie. Not to throw any sort of shade at her but my favourites of her films were all discoveries after the fact, like the Elmore Leonard adaptation Out Of Sight or Tarsem’s mind-bending serial killer thriller The Cell. It’s just not my thing but seeing the first trailer for this action comedy and getting a glimpse of some solid chemistry with lead actor Josh Duhamel, well, I was sold but not “oh my god, it’s must see!” The film has Jenny From The Block and Josh as Darcy and Tom, a couple just about to hit the stage in a destination wedding with all of their family in attendance. Of course, it’s the perfect time for pirates to take over and hold everyone, hostage, while the now bickering couple tries to get it together and pull off the action hero thing. To my increased surprise, I actually had a lot of fun with this movie and had some great laughs, mostly due to every line the Golden Globe-winning actress Jennifer Coolidge said in her role as Tom’s mom and, at the end of the day, isn’t that what it’s all about? To be entertained? Now, I will never go out of my way to say “hey, watch this JLo movie.” but, honestly, it really isn’t a waste of your weekend.

Loudmouth – My favourite saying from the legendary John Lewis was to make “good trouble” and I think Reverend Al Sharpton is a man that follows that philosophy to its depth, a man that has fought and continues to fight for black rights for decades, an unforgettable and powerful speaker. Not knowing a massive amount of information about the man himself, I found this documentary fascinating, especially with the Black Lives Matter movement reaching a huge level in the summer of 2020 with the George Floyd murder at the hands of Minneapolis police.  The film tells the story of Sharpton, painting an intimate portrait of a tireless warrior who has never ducked a fight in his mission to transform the status quo, all while having an impeccable style and the most memorable hair in politics. This film is informative but also hits incredibly emotional moments when you see how intimately Sharpton treats everyone in the families of those he fights for and it gave me a way better understanding of a man I just generally saw as a talking head on NBC, CNN and the like. As far as documentary biopics go, this one was pretty solid.

Blu-Ray:

TÁR – Let’s be honest about this right off the bat, this is your Academy Award winner for Best Actress withing moments of the film the viewer will want to hand the award to Cate Blanchett themselves. This isn’t to say that Blanchett plays a likeable character in composer Lydia Tár but she does it with such incredible conviction that it puts her in that incredible character actor category as Daniel Day-Lewis. Set in the international world of Western classical music, the film centers on Lydia Tár, widely considered one of the greatest living composer-conductors and the very first female director of a major German orchestra as he is entering the rehearsal period for one of her crowning moments on stage. We get an early portrait of someone at the top of their game but as the film progresses, through the practices and her teachings at Julliard, we see a woman drove by the strive to be the best but a woman that uses her ego and stature to destroy others. Yes, this is a movie very much about the rise and fall of an egomaniac and the fall becomes really satisfying to watch. I will say that the film is a bit long, clocking at just over two and a half hours, but I was totally engrossed in every moment of it.

Taurus – If you pay attention to any sort of music or entertainment news you will most likely have heard the name of rapper turned alt-rocker MachineGun Kelly, maybe not through his music but possibly through his high-profile relationship with Megan Fox and their gratuitous sessions of public displays of affection. Kelly has been pursuing acting in the last few years, notably playing Tommy Lee in Netflix’s The Dirt, and is playing a little flipped reality in this new drama under his real name, Closon Baker. Very much modelled on himself, he plays a rising but troubled musician who searches for the inspiration to record his next song, pushing himself deep into the void. A work of fiction that explores fame, addiction, the artistic process, and the music industry, this serves as another cautionary tale of superstar excess and the descent into abuse. I was really surprised with the acting depth that Baker exhibits in the film, a sure sign that he is on a good path in a new industry but at the end of the film it felt a bit predictable and even pointless at the heart of its’ story. I didn’t feel like Taurus had anything new to say, especially when we have real stories of real artists going down the same lifeline, beat for beat. I will say that I really like his track Papercut which ends the film.

Steve’s DVD, Blu-Ray and 4K Geekouts:

The Staircase – If your series is led by Colin Firth and one of the greatest actresses to grace the screen, Toni Collette, well you’ve got yourself a hit with this guy immediately. Not only that but it is also a mystery that is the adaptation of a famous suburban murder that Nancy Grace obsessed over for years which is kind of cool but may turn others off due to the oversaturation of the story. This is once again the telling of the story of Michael Peterson, but this time by HBO and not Lifetime, a crime novelist accused of killing his wife Kathleen after she is found dead at the bottom of a staircase in their home. Beyond that, which is told in flashbacks, this follows the sixteen-year judicial battle that followed and features a great cast around Firth and Collette with Game Of Thrones’ Sophie Turner, Boardwalk Empire’s Michael Stuhlbarg, Dane Dehaan, Juliette Binoche and Parker Posey. I love these mystery melodramas that HBO puts out like The Undoing so I’m looking forward to this one.

Ip Man Trilogy 4K – Well Go USA gave audiences the gift of Master Ip in 4K late last year and now that I’ve got them in my possession, I can gush about how great they are. I know that Donnie Yen has done many great films over his legendary career but these have to be my favourites. For those who haven’t heard of them, these are based on the true story of Grandmaster Yip, the legendary martial arts master who was responsible for teaching Bruce Lee his ways which were subsequently brought to America as his star pupil would teach others. The first film in this series is definitely the best and it coasts a bit downhill until he’s fighting Mike Tyson in the third movie but, that said, all of the fight scenes in the films are flawless and so entertaining to watch again ad again. Also, with the new 4K transfer, the hits are harder and the bones crunch louder, perfect for any martial arts film fan.

Call Jane – A timely and relevant story about abortion, this is the type of filmmaking we need in the world right now without question. The benefit, to be completely honest, is that this isn’t an independent film as well and features known Hollywood stars in Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver and Kate Mara which gets it in more theatres and more commercials on television. The film follows Banks as a married woman with an unwanted pregnancy who lives in a time in America when she can’t get a legal abortion and works with a group of suburban women to find help. This leads to her joining the growing movement in the hope to empower the women around them and take the fight to the powers that be but under the contact eye and thumb of those who hold their choices, including her own husband. This movie just played at the Vancouver International Film Festival, so it is very fresh in my mind heading into its home release. I really dug the film, fully focused on its message as it should be but it definitely lacks in enriching the characters who are supposed to be based on real people. When it comes to telling that story it feels a little contrived and familiar in most parts. I still can’t stress enough how important it all is though.

Television:

Shrinking (AppleTV+) –  Bill Lawrence is a creator ad producer who I have enjoyed for decades now, starting with his Michael J. Fox series Spin City in the nineties, moving into Scrubs then Cougar Town in the 2000s and, of course, AppleTV+’s runaway hit Ted Lasso. He has a penchant for finding great and funny stories and, alongside Roy Kent actor Brett Goldstein, he has found his next hit I believe and it stars a favourite of mine, Jason Segal. The show has a definitely different tone to Ted Lasso, following Segal as a grieving therapist who starts to tell his clients exactly what he thinks, ignoring his training and ethics, and he finds himself making huge changes to people’s lives, a tactic that may spread to his own. The highlight of this show has to be Segal’s stoner boss, played by Harrison Ford who seems to be getting comfortable doing television which is great for lifelong fans of his like myself but, beyond that, I’m really happy to see Jason Segal get a great role like this, a very deserving actor for years. Perhaps this one becomes a monster hit for AppleTV+ as well?

Wolf Pack (Paramount+) – As a fan of the Buffy The Vampire Slayer television series, and a big one at that, I’ve been looking forward to this new show as it is the return of Sarah Michelle Gellar to the series format and it has to be something cool to get her interest. Yes, a s an “original scoobies” fanboy, I’m predestined to like this show no matter what but it is created by Jeff Davis who found success with his other series Teen Wolf so I have faith in this show at least being fun. Definitely a teen show that may have fit in on The CW, it follows two teenagers who are witnesses to a supernatural creature that is unleashed during a California wildfire. With the rising of each moon, more and more teens in town start feeling connected in an eerily similar way but what does it all mean? The intrigue has certainly got me and hopefully, it is enough to become a hit for Paramount+ who are surely looking for one beyond all of their Taylor Sheridan-created stuff.

How I Met Your Father: Season 2 (Disney+) – When it was first announced that they were actually going ahead with this sort of spin-off series to the extremely popular CBS sitcom with a disastrous end, I was honestly too jaded from the finale of How I Met Your Mother to give it a fair look. Starring Hilary Duff in the main role, it seemed like a fleeting cash grab that was mostly hoping to capitalize on the name it came from but I was wrong in the end. The series follows Duff as Sophie, a single New Yorker while, along with her close-knit group of friends, are in the midst of figuring out who they are, what they want out of life, and how to fall in love in the age of dating apps and limitless options. My biggest worry heading into the show was that it would do all it could to piggyback on what was already successful but this wasn’t the cast. There are no similar archetypes to Ted, Marshall, Lily, Robin and Barney Stinson as “Father” makes its own characters and has a cast with enough charisma to embody them. I really enjoyed the first season of the show, laughed a lot and hope it has a future beyond this second season too. This might be one of the better shows that you aren’t watching.

Lockwood & Co. (Netflix) – When I was first exposed to the works of Edgar Wright, I became ravenous about taking in every single piece of media he took part in, leading me to writer, producer and director Joe Cornish, all starting with Wright’s Hot Fuzz. Since then, he made his debut film, the incredible sci-fi action Attack The Block as well as the King Arthur modern adventure The Kid Who Would Be King, release a few years ago but I had no idea he was going to do a story in the long form of episodic television and I didn’t know it was based on a popular book series in the United Kingdom. The series is so fun in its nature, following a tiny startup detective agency run by two teenage boys and a newly arrived, supremely psychically gifted girl who are destined to unravel a mystery that will change the course of history. I love the atmosphere of the episodes and the gothic nature of the ghosts that this trio has to navigate. It also has that bold and biting style that you would come to expect from British teens who are smarter than your average adult, marginalized by the system, at least in Ruby Stokes’ character’s experience and may be too clever and ambitious to stay alive. I’m loving what I’ve seen so far as I binge through it this week and really hope we get more.

What The Hell Should I Watch? – Jan 19

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January 19, 2023

New Releases:

The Son – When Florian Zeller made his dementia-fueled drama The Father with Anthony Hopkins, I was quickly given the knowledge that this was a filmmaker who had a definite grip on how these sad situations played out but to do it from the point of view of the man suffering from it was absolutely devastating. Well, Zeller is back again to shatter your emotions and give you reasons to cry in the fetal position and it is through the conduit of Hugh Jackman this time. The film centers on Peter, whose hectic life with his infant and new partner Beth is upended when his ex-wife Kate appears at his door to discuss their son Nicholas, who is now a teenager. The young man has been missing school for months and is deeply troubled and Peter strives to take care of Nicholas as he would have wanted his own father to have taken care of him while juggling his and Beth’s new son, as well as at work with an offer of a dream position in Washington. However, by reaching for the past to correct its mistakes, he loses sight of how to hold onto Nicholas in the present. Although I enjoyed The Father more as a well-rounded film, Jackman’s performance drives a hard-hitting drama that is unpredictable in where it’s going and its emotional manipulation is so well embedded that you find your eyes leaking almost out of nowhere. It won’t get the attention that his first film did but Zeller has to be regarded as some sort of emotional terrorist at this point.

Missing – The John Cho-led thriller Searching introduced a new kind of thriller to movie audiences and that is the storytelling through a computer interface and I have to say it was pretty effective. Presented through Facetime videos, Skype or Zoom calls and internet searches, it was pretty effective in ramping up the intensity and now writers and directors Nicholas D. Johnson and Will Merrick, who were editors on that film, make their feature film debuts by going back to that well. The film follows June, played by A Wrinkle In Time’s Storm Reid, who has free reign of her house when her mom goes on vacation overseas with her new boyfriend. The terror sets in when June’s mom doesn’t return and she is sent on a tech-driven search, fearing the worst with all signs pointing towards the new man in her life. The unpredictability of the story method makes me really excited for this one as, admittedly, I was lukewarm heading into Searching and ended up loving it. The advance word is really good on this film so it may be another unexpected January gem to join M3GAN this year.

Living – Bill Nighy is an incredible actor with a plethora of fantastic performances on his resume but he may have just put a new and bright gem in the crown of his career with this new drama and it also happens to be inspired by one of the greatest creative minds in cinema history. This new character-driven film driven by Nighy’s stellar outing is based on Ikiru, a drama written and directed by the legendary Akira Kurosawa in 1952, a film he considered his greatest work. The story follows Nighy as a humourless civil servant who decides to take time off work to experience life after receiving a terminal diagnosis from his doctor. Realizing that he has no legacy, he strives to make his life mean something for the community he’s served all of his life. I cannot stress enough how beautiful Nighy’s portrayal is in this film and the direction from Moffie director Oliver Hermanus is on a whole new level with intimate and gorgeous cinematography from Jamie Ramsey who also shot the unfortunate fanfare silent See How They Run. Presented in a fascinating 4:3 screen ratio, it added so much to the experience.

There’s Something Wrong With The Children – I’ve been a fan of horror thriller filmmaker Roxanne Benjamin since her segment of the dusty anthology film Southbound in 2015 which led to a great short piece in XX before her debut feature, Body At Brighton Rock, a fantastic outing for her. Now, she is back with a creepy little vacation thriller involving some creepy kids and it even had the master of horror Stephen King so chilled to the bone that he even tweeted out his approval. The story follows a couple named Ben and Margaret that takes a weekend trip with longtime friends and their two young children to a remote cabin. Ben starts to suspect something supernatural is going on when the kids behave strangely after disappearing into the woods overnight. The film reminds me of an eighties or nineties chiller, like an episode of Tales From The Crypt, and has an awesomely atmospheric soundtrack to match the film’s intensity, even if it creates a couple of red herrings along the way. I love that Lower Mainland actress Amanda Crew has a supporting role in this ut he film’s heft, besides the two kids, belongs to Midnight Mass actor Zach Gilford who does such a great job as the audience conduit. This coupled with the alluring cinematography from Yaron Levy, who also has the new horror flick Sick, hammers it all home for me. I have to say that Blumhouse is just killing it right now.

The Devil’s Offering – A late arrival this week from VVS Films, this movie almost didn’t get the coverage which is almost a tragedy as it will be a word-of-mouth film for horror fans to check out. Known as simply The Offering overseas, this British genre film makes its way across the pond in a limited release and features It’s All Gone Pete Tong star Paul Kaye and the vision of a new voice in horror with director Oliver Park which is always exciting for a fan like me. The story is a very contained one about a family struggling with loss who finds themselves at the mercy of an ancient demon trying to destroy them from the inside. This is a well-crafted thriller that is very reminiscent of the ghostly horror films that punctuated the 2000s and early 2010s like Insidious and the like but with its own subtle twists. I would also say that as an establishing piece for Park, it set’s him up for a bright future and maybe even a studio film for a company like Blumhouse, which is my hope.

Turn Every Page: The Adventures Of Robert Caro And Robert Gottlieb – Documentaries about writers walk a little bit of a fine line between interesting and dull and it all depends on your level of knowledge about the subject heading into the film. That said, I knew next to nothing heading into my screening of this new film and didn’t know the reverence that the literary world had for writer Robert Caro and editor Robert Gottlieb. The film follows the iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning author and his editor, considered a literary giant, in this chronicle of a unique 50-year professional relationship that was volatile in getting the work done but something that captured the minds of many different walks of life. Early on in the film, it is shown that Caro’s book The Power Broker is on the shelf of many on-air pundits and experts, something that seems to connect the political and business world but the major works from the two Roberts are much more presidential. Grown from a fixation on the man who would succeed John F. Kennedy, Caro made most of his life’s work on the story of the life of Lyndon Johnson and one that is still being worked on til this day, with both me now in their nineties. This film is definitely a bit dry and not appealing to everyone but I found my interest points in it here and there.

Blu-Ray:

Ticket To Paradise – Without knowing anything about it, on paper, the casting of George Clooney and Julia Roberts in a comedy would probably lead to a hit given that they have great chemistry in the Ocean movies and audiences love a reunion. Then the trailer rolled around and it felt like we’d seen every funny part and plot twist contained in a two-and-a-half-minute mash but the name of the game is casual optimism. The film follows the two bankable stars as a divorced couple who team up and travel to Bali to stop their daughter from making the same mistake they think they made twenty-five years ago, marrying the supposed love of her life. To be honest, there is so much predictability in the story that the film does have to rely on the charisma and charm of these two A-listers but they do manage to play to their strengths and with some good laughs contained within, I thought it worked out to be an enjoyable film. It comes from writer and director Ol Parker who is mostly known for the sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again so it is definitely playing to a certain kind of audience but the name of the game is “crowd pleaser” and it does just that with some help from the great Kaitlyn Dever as their daughter and a very game and fun Billie Lourd as the trainwreck bestie.

The Menu – The trailers for this were very mysterious and secretive but after the premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, many made the mash-up of genre connection between Saw and Succession which is kind of true at its baseline. Interestingly enough, it was directed by Mark Mylod, who has directed a handful of the Succession episodes so the comparison is almost on the nose. The story follows a young couple who travels to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu for a group of elite guests but it might come at a deadly price as the patrons seem to see their deepest and darkest secrets exposed as each course is delivered to the table. Led by the enigmatic chef Slowik, his grand master plan has a little wrench thrown in it with the inclusion of Anya Taylor Joy’s character Margot as she was not on the guest list. The casting in the film is impeccable with Joy and Ralph Fiennes as the chef in question giving incredible and award-worthy performances as well as Nicholas Hoult, John Leguizamo and the incomparable Hong Chau adding to the devious fun with equally fascinating portrayals. This film was an easy pick for one of my favourite films of 2022, something that had me on the edge of my seat in theatres and now everyone can revel in the awesome end game of this 1% skewering thriller.

Till – I’ve known the brutal story of Emmett Till’s lynching in 1950s America for a long time and have even seen a couple of documentaries about it but this has to be the first time it’s been done in a narrative film. The supporting players are known, with Whoopi Goldberg, Sean Patrick Thomas, Franki Faison and Haley Bennett but the heavy lifting goes to lead actress Danielle Deadwyler who I know from the killer Netflix western The Harder They Fall. Deadwyler plays Emmett’s mother Mamie Till-Mobley who, after her son’s brutal murder, vows to expose the racism behind the attack while working to have those involved brought to justice. Lots of love for this movie appeared online when the film was released in theatres but as far as the awards talk for it, all has been silent, which is a shame because Deadwyler is electric from the first scene and it just gets better and better. Some of the biopic tropes and glossiness of the story rub me the wrong way in this but the heart of the truth is where it excels. Filmmaker Chinonye Chukwu made a hell of a first major studio film with the Alfre Woodard-led Clemency and it’s good to see the quality didn’t shift for her follow-up. She has so much promise in the future.

Spin Me Round – Writer and director Jeff Baena, the husband of the great Aubrey Plaza, has really carved out a niche for himself with these oddball comedies that I think no big studio would take chance on in a wide release. He has made films about zombie love, grieving with friends, horny nuns and socially isolated mental breaks and now he’s going for a lampooning of the sweeping romance with some of his usual suspects joining the fun like Alison Brie who co-wrote it, Molly Shannon and, of course, Ms. Plaza. Brie plays a woman who wins an all-expenses-paid trip to a company’s gorgeous “institute” outside of Florence, and also the chance to meet the restaurant chain’s wealthy and charismatic owner. In the process, she finds a different adventure than the one she imagined and an avenue to switch gears out of the mundanity that her life has become. I will say that this might be among Baena’s lesser works but that doesn’t mean it’s bad by any degree. I have always enjoyed Brie as a comedic actress, back in the Community days, but her dramatic work is fantastic and with a little comedy edge she always excels. The highlight of the film is definitely Alessandro Nivola as the romantic lead, an excellent character actor in everything he does.

Speak No Evil – I feel very late to the game on this Shudder original as the reviews that I have seen on Letterboxd and Twitter have all praised it and called it a must-see and completely unpredictable thriller and now that I’ve finally got my eyes on it, I feel part of that collective. It also happens to be a Danish-made film, a part of cinema I have a real soft spot for too. The story follows a Danish couple vacationing in Italy who befriends a couple and their son from the Netherlands that invites them to stay with them at their remote home in Holland. Slowly, the visit becomes marred by moments of awkwardness, questionable motivations and violent outbursts from their hosts to their young son which all careen towards a third act that is disturbingly jaw-dropping and totally unshakable. As the credits rolled, I sat in stunned silence at what I saw. I love Scandanavian films as they have zero constraints in messing with the taboos of what North American films will do and this is a great example of it. The less known about this film is better as the impending dread washes over you in a whole different way. I highly recommend this film to everyone who loves a good devious thriller.

Death Knot – When Well Go USA does genre films, they are usually something to take note of as the distribution company takes productions from all over the world and gives them a bright spotlight. This film comes from Indonesia, a country whose cinema has gifted us with phenomenal action epics like both the Raid movies and The Night Comes For Us as well as the new Netflix original, The Big 4, so a horror flick with that energy has all sorts of promise. The story follows a woman named Hari and her sister who return to the village where they were born after the death of their mother, a practitioner of black magic. This seems to be the catalyst for a rash of inexplicable suicides of several villagers which causes the hostility of the other citizens towards the two to explode and their safety hangs in a precarious balance. The film has a great atmosphere to it and a veteran quality to the chills it gives off which is impressive as it is the writing and directing debut of Cornelio Sunny, really just known as an actor before this. There’s something utterly fascinating about horror stories told in an environment that is unfamiliar to those abroad and I think this film takes full advantage of that. 

Cloverfield 4K – I have to say that one of the coolest theatrical experiences of the last twenty years has to include this handheld shot thriller that had a trigger warning of motion sickness plastered all over the theatre at the time. It all stemmed from a mysterious teaser that showed before the first Transformers live-action film and the intrigue of what the hell we just saw sent us to the internet for a fantastically crafted viral ad campaign leading up to its release. Now fifteen years old with this brand new steelbook edition, the spoilers are flying and I can say for those who haven’t seen it that it follows a group of friends attending a party in New York City when a massive monster attacks the city, sending them scrambling for their lives. All documented by their friend Hudson, nicknamed Hud in a funny reference to “Heads Up Display”, the experience of this film is unlike any other and had me enamoured with the ingenuity of it all. This is a sci-fi monster classic and should be respected as one of the best in my opinion.

Steve’s Criterion & Blu-Ray Geekouts:

Fast Times At Ridgemont High – Written by Cameron Crowe in his first film and directed by the teen voice conduit that always delivers, Amy Heckerling, I still think it’s a pretty easy call to say that this is one of the greatest high school films ever made. I think we all probably know this film deeply and intimately from Sean Penn’s stoner character Jeff Spicoli to Brad masturbating in the bathroom to a daydream of Phoebe Cates in the pool, we all know it. For those who don’t, the film is a reality-infused look at the lives and loves of a group of high school students. It’s the final year of high school for Brad Hamilton who decides he should break up with his longtime girlfriend to play the field and gets completely floored when she breaks up with him first. Spicoli continues to take delight in getting under the skin of his teacher, Mr. Hand in one of the best onscreen rivalries in history and others are looking for love, sex and just plain having a good time which, for the most part, they all seem to find though sometimes in unexpected places. This movie had laughs, tackled issues, got into the inner workings of high school cliques and had such an honest heart to it which I believe will always keep it relevant. This is a must-see forever and the fact that Criterion put this into the collection is a clear indication of that.

Attack Of The 50ft Woman – Digging into some new Warner Archive this week in the Geekouts, I get to play in some genre stuff which happens every now and then but this is a cult classic for sure. Playing in the silly realm of science fiction, the poster for this movie still ranks in the top ones ever as compiled by Premiere magazine but has anybody really seen it these days? The storyline is pretty simple, following an abused socialite who grows to a giant size because of an alien encounter and an aborted murder attempt and decides to use her new giant stature to go after her cheating husband and grind him into the dust. The signs of the times are so fascinating with this film, released in 1958, as it was budgeted to be made for $100,000 and ended up coming under that by $10,000 which is kind of unheard of in the current climate of sci-fi productions. Either way, this is a pretty fun romp of a revenge film wrapped up in something pretty ridiculous and something that really couldn’t be remade in a straightforward way like this.

The Night Of The Iguana – Bringing out the big guns for the last Warner Archive release this week as this drama is directed by the legendary John Huston, written by the incomparable Tennessee Williams and starring the big screen power of Richard Burton, Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr. The film would go on to be nominated for four Academy Awards and would win one for Best Costuming but that really isn’t the point as real cinephiles know the reach of this fantastic story. The plot follows an ostracized Episcopal clergyman who leads a bus-load of middle-aged Baptist women on a tour of the Mexican coast and comes to terms with the failure haunting his life. Speaking of budgeting with the last film on this list, this movie dedicated half of its budget alone to the on-screen talent with Burton earning $750,000, Gardner getting $400,000 and Kerr pulling $250,000, which is such a stark contrast to the 50ft Woman. This is an actor’s film for sure and I really think it reflects that.

Television:

Mayor Of Kingstown: Season 2 (Paramount+) – The reach of Taylor Sheridan’s genius extends beyond his creation of Yellowstone and its spin-off shows 1883 and 1923 because he has reteamed with Wind River star Jeremy Renner for this series on Paramount+ which now enters its sophomore year. The show also features veteran actress Dianne Wiest, Game Of Thrones, The Wire alum Aidan Gillen and Headstones frontman Hugh Dillon, a former Yellowstone cast member who also is the co-creator of this. The series follows the McLusky family who are power brokers tackling themes of systemic racism, corruption and inequality in Kingstown, Michigan, where the business of incarceration is the only thriving industry. I really love how gritty Sheridan’s writing is and it doesn’t relax one bit in this show at all, just puts it into a whole new avenue, away from the farm life. I’d say that maybe it would be good to stretch this one out viewing-wise as Renner just had a horrible medical emergency that will probably keep him out of action for a good long while.

Godfather Of Harlem: Season 3 (Disney+) – I really loved the Ridley Scott based on a true story crime epic American Gangster and own it on DVD in the most special of editions so I felt it was a betrayal to myself when I found out that not only is there a prequel series but as of this week there is three seasons of it. Granted, this isn’t a show that features either Denzel Washington or Russell Crowe, obviously, but it does feature a character that is so important to their characters or Frank Lucas and Richie Roberts. Set during the 1960s in the neighbourhood that Lucas would one day run, this series follows the life of crime boss Bumpy Johnson, played by Forest Whitaker again in a role I loved him in. It picked up with him just released after a ten-year prison sentence to find the streets he once ruled in shambles with the streets controlled by the Italian mob and Bumpy must take on the Genovese crime family to regain control. The show doesn’t seem to have a huge amount of clout behind it, being an EPIX series, which is kind of a bummer but with the Canadian platform being Disney+ I think it does have a chance of being a sleeper binge for those who love a good crime series.

That ’90 Show (Netflix) – For me, this is a highly anticipated series reboot to kick off 2023 and it feels like the return of friends to see Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith reprising their roles as Kitty and Red Forman, the patriarch and matriarch that guided us through the seventies in the nineties. It is filled with cameos from all of your favourites from the original cast, aside from Danny Masterson for obvious reasons, but I won’t spoil exactly how they show up to give you some mystery. This series is set in 1995 and follows Donna and Eric’s daughter Leia Forman who is visiting her grandparents for the summer where she bonds with a new generation of Point Place, WI, kids under the watchful eye of Kitty and the stern glare of Red. I think the biggest deterrent for viewers will be that this is more about a new generation of kids with the older cast serving as more background characters, aside from Red and Kitty, but I really felt like it worked. Callie Haverda does a great job as the anchor for a new group of friends and there are some really sweet moments that kept me totally engaged. I hope that viewers enjoyed it as much as I did and we could get a second season.

The Last Of Us (Crave) – One of the most gripping video games of all time gets its live-action adaptation in the best possible form, in a series produced by HBO. In just one episode so far, I will say that it has broken the usual video game to screen curse and I have to credit the creator, Chernobyl’s Craig Mazin, and fantastic casting with The Mandolorian’s Pedro Pascal, Fringe’s Anna Torv and Game Of Throne’s Bella Ramsey as your three-piece lead tandem. The story follows the main characters, Joel and Ellie, a pair connected through the harshness of the world they live in, one that has been plunged into the darkness of a worldwide pandemic that has infected the majority of the human race with a mind-altering fungus. Forced to endure brutal circumstances and ruthless killers on a trek across post-pandemic America, Ellie has a secret that could change the world as they know it and Joel must do her best to protect her and that knowledge as they make their way to some sort of salvation. This show gripped me from the opening and totally chilling talk show segment that opens it and I will note that I never played the video game so I don’t have that context. It may look like the next Walking Dead but I think the show is more grounded in character development and story than horror so if that is the mindset you are coming into it with, you may be slightly disappointed. That said, I can’t wait for what’s next.

What The Hell Should I Watch? – Jan 12

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January 12, 2023

New Releases:

Plane – It looks like Gerard Butler’s action movies are getting lazier in being named because this has to be the most ridiculously bland titling I have seen, so much so that the need to see it is as low as it could possibly be. The good news is the film is helmed by French director Jean-François Richet whose main mark on North American cinema was remaking the John Carpenter classic Assault On Precinct 13 which he did a decent job of. The plot has Butler as the pilot of a commercial airline with one passenger being a convicted felon being transported to a new prison. Lightening strikes the craft, forcing a risky landing on land occupied by a dangerous rebel force that takes the entire flight hostage leaving Butler and the prisoner to team up and dispatch all of the bad guys in a violent fashion. This film looks to be completely formulaic and a perfect fit for anyone that has loved all of the “Has Fallen” movies that Butler churns out. Is there substance beyond that? Richet has made some great French crime biopics with the Mesrine films starring Vincent Cassel and cinematographer Brendan Galvin has shot some eye-popping action with directors like Tarsem on Immortals and Self/Less as well as four episodes of Westworld so there is some potential here. I feel like the tropes we know of Gerard’s action flicks are holding it back.

Women Talking – Sarah Polley is a Canadian treasure that we’ve loved for decades since her debut as Anne Of Green Gables on Road To Avonlea and, for me, her main role in Terry Gilliam’s The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen. In my adult years, she also devastated me as an actress in the drama My Life Without Me and as a filmmaker in the drama Away From Her and now she is back in the director’s seat to deliver a film that looks massively impressive and wholly important to the current gender conversation. Featuring a stacked cast with Frances McDormand, Claire Foy, Rooney Mara, Jessie Buckley and more, the film is set in 2010 at an isolated religious commune and follows the lives of a group of women trying to reconcile their brutal reality with their faith and self-worth. With the cast this film has in place, it is certainly a powerhouse, the reviews of it have been glowing, earning its spot on the Certified Fresh with Rotten Tomatoes. I’m excited to see the return of a filmmaker who grew up under the lens of great Canadians like Atom Egoyan and I hope to see more from her sooner as this was her first in a decade since Stories We Tell.

Blu-Ray:

Black Adam – The anticipation on this movie was high and not because the track record for DC Comics live-action adaptations has been so dependable, because they haven’t been apart from a few standouts, but because The Rock has been campaigning and championing this film and character for close to fifteen years. Knowing what I know about the character, The Rock as Black Adam is such a no-brainer and a role that seems tailor-made for the megastar so I want it to be a successful venture as well because the dude is so damn likeable. The story follows Black Adam, recently released from captivity nearly 5,000 years after he was bestowed with the almighty powers of the Egyptian gods and ready to unleash his rage and vengeance on the world where he was held captive, Earth. It’s up to Doctor Fate and his assembled crew of Hawkman, Cyclone and The Atom to either bring Black Adam into the fold or prevent him from destroying the planet. The film comes from director Jaume Collet Serra who just did The Rock’s Disney film Jungle Cruise prior to this, but the comparisons kind of stop there because their previous effort rose a little more above the norm. This isn’t to say that Black Adam is bad, because it isn’t, but it doesn’t set itself apart from the other superhero films as well and will be lost in the shuffle within a couple of years. It will sadly only be remembered as a big lead-up to a fizzle and the end of the involvement of the former People’s Champ in the DC Comics cinematic universe. I’m also sad that it brought Henry Cavill’s Superman back for absolutely nothing.

Halloween Ends – I know the title says ENDS but is this really the end? I doubt it, especially when you have the producer of Malek Akkad and box office success in these new sequels but I can say that it is the last ride for lead star Jamie Lee Curtis and her portrait of perpetual final girl Laurie Strode. This film picks up four years after the events of Halloween Kills and the shocking murder of Laurie’s daughter Karen in the final moments at the hands of her uber nemesis, Michael Myers. After this long time away, Michael returns to put Laurie six feet under but she is prepared for the battle and willing to destroy herself in the process in this final battle. I know many had sizeable issues with the middle piece in this legacy trilogy but I personally really liked a lot of what they did and was so curious to see how director David Gordon Green closed it out but my disappointment set in fast. Trying to keep “spoiler free” but I will say that I didn’t think the film was scary in any way and totally shifts away tonally from what I believed the setup to be. This isn’t the long-form battle between a good Laurie Strode and an evil Michael Myers but is instead about the residual effect of mass murder on a small middle-American community which is an interesting story to tell but it really doesn’t seem to fit here. I feel that Green and the writing team sort of lost sight of what they wanted to say when they started this journey in 2018 and the result is such a low hum fizzle.

She Said – The heart of the Me Too movement gets a big Hollywood boost this week on blu-ray and it also stars the great Carey Mulligan who starred in the phenomenal Promising Young Woman, one of my favourite films last year. A film we should have known was coming, the story comes at an important time of whistleblowing and is the big Hollywood debut of filmmaker Maria Schrader whose last film I’m Your Man is a sleeper international drama that impressed me greatly. The story follows Mulligan and The Big Sick actress Zoe Kazan as New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor who break one of the most important stories in a generation, the story that helped launch the #MeToo movement and shattered decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood. A hell of a cast has been assembled around Mulligan and Kazan, including the legendary Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher and Jennifer Ehle and screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz has given us great female-led stories in the last few years with Colette and Disobedience but if you’re expecting an explosive journalist movie like Spotlight, this one isn’t it. The pacing feels a bit off and the execution is far less polished than the importance of the story would give weight to. I liked it but I feel like it wasn’t everything it could be.

Vesper – Post-apocalyptic survival dramas are very much a niche that I stop and take notice of in genre filmmaking and there was something so striking about the poster for this new independent and ambitious sci-fi that hooked me without seeing a trailer. The film came from international filmmaking duo Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper whose work I was unfamiliar with aside from their segment of the anthology horror film ABC’s Of Death 2 but I was getting Alex Garland’s Annihilation vibes immediately and I liked that. The film follows fourteen-year-old Vesper, a girl struggling to survive with her bedridden and paralyzed father after the collapse of Earth’s ecosystem. On one of her daily searches of the outside world with a robot containing her father’s consciousness to accompany her, she meets a woman with a secret who will force her to use her wits, strengths and bio-hacking abilities to fight for the possibility of having a future and to expose the truth of the world around her for the first time. The film is driven by a great performance from young actress Raffiella Chapman and the visuals are absolutely stunning throughout and a seamless blend with all of the live-action elements which make up for any of the storytelling dry patches that exist. This is definitely a bold debut into the North American market and it also marks another great performance from supporting actor and quasi-villain of the film, Eddie Marsan.

Piggy – Bullying goes to incredible heights in this new Spanish thriller which I feel is being mislabeled everywhere as horror. Yes, I’m coming in hot with this one as it is a film I saw a slow boil of love from on Twitter and I really had no idea what I was getting into with this well-acted and brilliantly shot international film. The story follows Sara, an overweight teen who is bullied relentlessly by a clique of cool girls poolside while holidaying in her village as well as the other men in the area. When the girls are abducted, Sara is the only one with knowledge of their whereabouts and seems to have gotten off easily as the culprit seems to have an odd fascination with her. Does Sara reciprocate these feelings or is she looking to save the ones who torment her? The film goes through moral quandaries in an interesting way, all playing out with a brutal third act that keeps you on the edge of your seat. I really had a great time with this one.

Steve’s Criterion Collection Geekouts:

Fish Tank – Andrea Arnold is a writer and director I have been touting for years since I saw this little British indie drama, a phenomenal coming-of-age film in from a filmmaking market that I always adore. Admittedly, the only actor I knew in the film heading in was Michael Fassbender but lead actress Katie Jarvis made a hell of an impression on me and I was delighted when it got recognized by Criterion for this edition. The story follows Mia, an aggressive fifteen-year-old girl, who lives on an Essex estate with her tarty mother, Joanne, and precocious little sister Tyler. She has been thrown out of school and is awaiting admission to a referrals unit, spending her days aimlessly but beginning an uneasy friendship with Joanne’s slick boyfriend, Connor proves fruitful in a life direction as he encourages her one interest, dancing. Arnold’s career sort of sputtered a bit with the release of her sort of bloated story of disenfranchised youth, American Honey and her documentary for 2002, Cow, is so vastly underrated, so I would say this is still the high point of her filmmaking and it is very cool to see it recognized. On a personal note, I have had this on my list to own for a long time, one of my favourite movies of 2009.

The Breakfast Club – Easily one of my favourite movies ever made, I’m so grateful that the collective decision-making minds at Criterion came together and thought the same thing because now we have the best possible edition of this John Hughes masterpiece that we can. This movie inspired people to act, direct, write and live their own truth no matter what industry or walk of life and I will always love it for its unique voice. For those who have never been educated on this seminal classic, it follows five high school students meeting in Saturday detention and discovering how they have a lot more in common than they thought. The nerd, the jock, the popular girl, the goth and the outcast, are all perfectly cast with unforgettable chemistry, I know this film backwards and forwards, owned it on multiple platforms and now I feel like the quest has ended for the holy grail version of a movie that means so much to me.

Parasite – I know I’ve talked about this so many times since my coverage of the Vancouver International Film Festival it debuted at but it is an undeniable masterpiece of Korean cinema from one of the masters, Bong Joon-Ho and if you really haven’t gotten around to it yet, well, I really don’t know what to tell you. In his return to all Korean film, something that became a multiple Academy Award winner, he tells the story of a family of con artists who grift their way into a rich family’s lives as a chauffeur, housekeeper, tutor and personal assistant respectively. They think they’ve hit the big time until the former housekeeper shows them a deep secret that she’s been hiding in their employer’s house that blows everyone’s situation up. Joon-Ho crafts another incredible totem in cinema history, a movie that’s filled with twists, incredible cinematography and the amazing ability to tell stories within a story. He never relents in showing that he is not only one of the greatest Korean storytellers today but one of the best in cinema today. This is an incredibly deserving entry into the Criterion collection, one of three over the last couple of years alone, and my face lit up when I got it for Christmas. It was pure perfection and it doesn’t dull with each viewing.

Television:

Vikings Valhalla: Season 2 (Netflix) – It was quite the get for Netflix when they acquired the streaming rights for the History Channel’s first scripted series which became a go-to for Sons Of Anarchy fans once that series had run its course. Now that the show has ended and all the seasons have been available, Netflix has this new self-produced spinoff that made it through a solid first season and now returns to shed way more blood and carve history out of stone. Set one hundred years after the original series, this story focuses on the adventures of Leif Erikson, Freydis, Harald Hardrada and the Norman King William the Conqueror who blaze a path as they fight for survival in the ever-changing and evolving world. Created by legendary screenwriter Jeb Stuart, the man behind Die Hard and the movie version of The Fugitive, this series has an interesting cast to it as well, on the heels of great leads like Travis Fimmel and Alexander Ludwig, with The Walking Dead’s Pollyanna McIntosh and Game Of Thrones alumnus Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson and really is just as brutal as it’s predecessor but with a little less of the cable constraints. I think that it isn’t outlandish to say that maybe we’ll get six seasons out of this show as well.

Velma (Crave) – As a kid who grew up on Scooby Doo episodes and loved the live-action versions as well, I think it’s a great opportunity to make a little more adult version of the Mystery Machine inhabitants and to base it around the rains of the operation, Velma, is kind of a great move. It was all spearheaded by actress, writer and creator Mindy Kaling as well, a veteran that debuted on The Office, had a successful sitcom with The Mindy Project and made one of my favourite Netflix originals, Never Have I Ever, so I feel like it is all in good hands. The series is headed by Velma, voiced by Mindy Kaling, but all of the gang is present too with Constance Wu voicing Daphne, Sam Richardson as Shaggy and Glenn Howerton as Fred but it is clear that we are heading into real murder sleuthing with this series and I’m really hoping we get a show that is on par with the animated Harley Quinn series. Yes, I have high hopes for this show.

Your Honor: Season 2 (Crave) – When Bryan Cranston does a new series, you take notice, but when he does a new show for Showtime? Get every Breaking Bad fan you know on board because this might be the new binge. Entering its sophomore season, a brainchild from The Night Of creator Peter Moffat, the story has Cranston starring as a judge confronting his convictions when his son is involved in a hit and run that embroils an organized crime family. Facing impossible choices, he quickly discovers how far a father will go to save his son’s life and the boundaries he’ll not only cross but sprint through. Kind of Walter White sounding, right? Well it’s a bit different once you get into it but the intensity is turned to an eleven throughout and the connecting line is that Cranston is still phenomenal, as to be expected, but the underlying thread of a father going to the nth degree to save his family is a long threaded trope for him, is it not? I think you’ll enjoy it if you can get past this and I guarantee that Michael Stuhlbarg as the heavy in this will shake you to your core.

Koala Man (Disney+) – Justin Roiland is the animated genius whisperer it seems as he has a monolith of a hit with Dan Harmon in the form of the long-running Adult Swim series Rick & Morty then headed over to Hulu to co-created the alien madness that is Solar Opposites, co-created by Mike McMahan. Now he is an executive producer and supporting voice of this new show, a product of the Down Under from a very funny creator named Michael Cusack. The plot follows a family father who lives a not-so-secret identity as the Koala Man, a guy definitely going through a midlife crisis who possesses a burning passion to snuff out petty crime. With his doting wife Vicky doing her best to keep his ground, his two kids who care more about their own adolescent issues than their dad’s battle against crime and a town filled with tweakers, idiots and a local celebrity named Big Greg, this show easily wormed it’s way into my animated heart and became must watch. Heck, as soon as I saw that Hugh Jackman played the voice of Greg in this I was too curious not to watch it. This one doesn’t have a huge push behind it but like Solar Opposites I think it will pick up viewers through word of mouth.

What The Hell Should I Watch? – Jan 5

stevestebbing

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January 5, 2023

New Releases:

A Man Called Otto – 2023 kicks off with a trope that American filmmakers love to do, remake a fantastic foreign film that probably didn’t need to be done. This new film is a remake of a 2015 Swedish film, A Man Called Ove, but it has the added bonus of starring Tom Hanks which is at most times a win. The film has Hanks playing against type as Otto, a grump who’s given up on life following the loss of his wife and wants to end it all. When a young family moves in nearby, he meets his match in quick-witted Marisol, leading to a friendship that will turn his world around and renew his joy in life. The film was adapted by Monster’s Ball and Kite Runner filmmaker Marc Forster, so it does have some potential, but it is imperative that the original film by Hannes Holm gets some love as well because it was one of my favourite dramas of 2015 and didn’t really get the love it deserves.

M3GAN – Cult horror may be off to a jump start this year as the first release weekend has this new sci-fi horror from Blumhouse landing in theatres and the trailer looks kind of insane. Much like Barbarian took hold of moviegoers in September, this new film has all of the makings of earning that soft spot in genre fans’ hearts and if it has a dance scene, which this clearly does, I think the odds move more in that film’s favour. The film follows a robotics engineer who builds a life-like android doll and decides to activate it to be a companion for her niece that has recently lost both of her parents. The friendship between the two is fast and the attachment between the two grows until our titular robotic doll starts to take it too far and begins to off anyone she deems a threat to her new friend. Based on a story by one of the greatest minds in modern horror, James Wan, the man behind Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring and Malignant, this has all the markings of a chiller that wants to colour outside of the box. Wan leaves the directing duties to Gerard Johnstone, a creator who astounded with his movie Housebound in 2014 and with this being his big North American break I’m excited for what’s to come with this thriller.

The Pale Blue Eye – Christian Bale and Scott Cooper have had a pretty solid partnership over three films now with the tense drama Out Of The Furnace, the western thriller Hostiles and now this new Netflix shepherded mystery thriller. As much as enjoyed all of Cooper’s work with Bale, some of his other endeavours, like the Whitey Bulger biopic Black Mass didn’t spark the joy I wanted it to. This film had potential in the story, following Bale as a world-weary detective who is hired to investigate the murder of a West Point cadet, a tough task with the cadets’ strict code of silence. Needing some sort of foothold into the surroundings of the murder, he enlists one of their own to help unravel the case, a young man the world would come to know as Edgar Allan Poe. Yes, it goes to the original goth himself who is played rather well by Harry Melling, an actor mainly known for playing Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter movies. For the dull patches this film has, Bale is able to keep the train on the rails but I wish it played its horror stylings up a bit more. I also felt a little bit cold on the ending which felt very much less than the sum of its parts.

If These Walls Could Sing – Just over a year after getting the incredible spectacle that was The Beatles: Get Back, Disney+ has gifted us with another visit back to the Abbey Road studios but this time to celebrate the actual building itself from the foundation upwards. Being a huge Beatles fan, my knowledge of the place is mostly rooted in all of the incredible albums they recorded there but much like Dave Grohl’s Sound City documentary, this film opened up Abbey Road’s whole catalogue to me. The film goes through the orchestral beginnings of the studio, into Brian Epstein introducing George Martin to the Fab Four to create magic, to the recordings of Pink Floyd’s greatest and most iconic music, the sound of more modern British rock with Oasis and even John Williams coming in to score the Star Wars prequels with George Lucas. There really is something for everyone in this film and it hits in the great way that a music documentary should and leaves you with an urge to listen to all the fantastic music recorded in the revered building in a whole new light. This movie is yet another gem in the juggernaut of a Disney+ lineup.

Blu-Ray:

Prey For The Devil – Daniel Stamm is a horror storyteller that emerged with a hell of a debut in the sort of found footage possession horror The Last Exorcism, a film that made me say “how the hell did they do that?” more than once. Since then, he has failed to garner the same excitement out of his features, including the sequel to his first film, but it looks like he’s going back to that demon-soaked well for this new outing. The story follows Sister Ann, a nun who believes she is answering the call of a higher being to join the faith but is it from God or something else that has been tied to her and her mother since childhood? In response to a global rise in demonic possessions, Ann seeks out a place at an exorcism school reopened by the Catholic Church. Until now these schools have only trained priests in the Rite of Exorcism but a professor recognizes Sister Ann’s gifts and agrees to train her and things quickly spiral into the personal connection she doesn’t want to believe is true. The trailer is full of exorcism-driven chills and thrills and the hope is that we aren’t given everything in the three-minute ad, leaving a bare bone and unscary foray into exposition but I’d like to think that Stamm has some devious twists along the ride. I had some optimism about this film but the reviews of it make me go “yikes” and not in a good way.

Star Trek Prodigy: Season 1 – The collective zeitgeist is probably looking at CBS All Access and thinking they’re milking the Gene Roddenberry-created universe of smart science fiction for all it can get and, yes, that’s almost exactly what producers are thinking but it is paying off. They have a straightforward series with Discovery, a call-back show with Picard, a comedy series with Lower Decks and now this in-betweener. The series is a teenager-aimed animated story that follows a group of teenagers who steal a derelict Starfleet vessel and use it to explore the galaxy. The show signals the return of Kate Mulgrew’s Captain Janeway and Robert Beltran’s Captain Chakotay from Voyager, which makes me far too happy for a guy who isn’t a Trekkie.

Steve’s Criterion Collection Geek-Outs:

Seven Samurai – This Christmas came a big moment for me as my wife picked out some great Criterion Collection films which I will start sharing here over the next couple of weeks and it starts with this film, the second in the collection and my first Akira Kurosawa movie in my collection. For those who don’t know who he is, Kurosawa is possibly the most influential director ever as his ideas sparked George Lucas to make Star Wars among many more and this film, in particular, has been borrowed from so many times. Starring the legendary Toshirô Mifune, a frequent collaborator, the story follows farmers in a small village who hire a group of seven warriors to protect them from bandits who are exploiting and stealing from them. The film was remade in America to be the western classic The Magnificent Seven and even Pixar had an animated kick at it with their early feature, A Bug’s Life so the effect it has had on the industry is very evident. As a film fan or someone who wants to get educated in cinema, this is a great launching point right here.

Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas – Continuing through the greatest Criterion hits, this film is pure perfection to its core, a seemingly impossible adaptation of the wild times of one Hunter S. Thompson. Everything came together to make this masterpiece with Johnny Depp playing a stellar Raoul Duke and Benicio del Toro as his insane Samoan lawyer all spearheaded by the idiosyncratic imagination of director Terry Gilliam. For those uninitiated into this drug-fueled Sin City trip, the story follows Duke as he is sent to cover a motorcycle race as an article for his magazine, but then the situation escalates into him and his psychotic attorney searching for the American dream, aided by almost every drug known to man in the boot of his red convertible. This is an all-time favourite movie of mine and this edition is beautiful and filled with illustrations by Thompson’s long-time friend and collaborator Ralph Steadman in a collectable book that outlines the journey from book to the page to screen, a perfect piece for any film lover.

Dazed And Confused – Richard Linklater is a Criterion giant so for this to be my first of his films to own in the format is pretty poetic because it was the first one of his films I had ever seen and it is an all-time favourite and one that hits the same every time I watch it. The film is also the launching point for a huge cast including Matthew McCougnehey, Rory Cochrane, Adam Goldberg, Milla Jovovich, Parker Posey and so many more. The film is a seminal last day of high school classic set at the end of the 1976 school year in a Texan small town. The upperclassmen are hazing the incoming freshmen, and everyone is trying to get stoned, drunk, or laid, even the football players that signed a pledge not to, an act of rebellion from our quasi-lead Pink, played by Jason London. This is one of those tent pole movies in the mid-nineties that still finds itself being discovered by generation after generation because that is how good and relatable it is. There is a damn good reason why it is a part of this prestigious collection.

Television:

The Rig (Prime Video) – More supernatural series at sea for people that enjoyed the AMC series The Terror for both seasons but this one looks to be more of a modern tale. I’ve really dug all of the Prime Video thrillers like Outer Range and this one has the added bonus of co-starring Canadian actress Emily Hampshire, a supporting star of the mega-hit Schitt’s Creek which I just finished over the holidays. The drama is set on the Kinloch Bravo oil rig, stationed off the Scottish coast in the dangerous waters of the North Sea and follows the crew who is due to return to the mainland when a mysterious and all-enveloping fog rolls through and cuts them off from all communication with the shore and the outside world. As the rig is hit by massive tremors, the crew endeavours to discover what’s driving the unknown force but a major accident forces them to ask questions about who they can really trust. The show comes from. first-time showrunner and writer who could bring fresh new ideas or beginner’s gaffs but everything I’m seeing from it looks utterly fascinating.

Ginny & Georgia: Season 2 (Netflix) – I thought this show was going to be so terrible just based on the trailer and you can witness yourself below this blurb but by the end of the first season, this voice in my head spoke up and said” are you looking forward to season two?” and, you know what? I really was. The show follows angsty and awkward fifteen-year-old Ginny Miller who often feels more mature than her thirty-year-old mother, the irresistible and dynamic Georgia Miller. After years on the run, Georgia desperately wants to put down roots in picturesque New England and give her family something they’ve never had, which is a normal and relatable life but it’s not all suburban dreams and high school crushes as Georgia’s past threatens her and her family’s new way of life and Georgia will do anything to protect her family which becomes very evident in the final twist of episode one. The show comes under inexperienced showrunner Sarah Lampert and operates like a sort of ungrounded Gilmore Girls which is actually a real joke from the series. As I said, I was surprised by this one and you might be too.

Stargirl: Season 3 (Prime Video) – After the rollout of the first two seasons of this bit of a left-field character for the average comic fan, I found myself really satisfied with the outcome of the build of a Justice Society Of America storyline and have been really looking forward to this follow-up. The show is about a teenage girl named Courtney Whitmore who discovers the cosmic staff and becomes the inspiration for a new generation of superheroes who eventually become the Justice Society Of America and the potential for this series expansion is so big just knowing that Arrowverse creator Greg Berlanti and comic legend Geoff Johns are the showrunners for this. With the DC Universe really needing something to keep it afloat, their television department could really do some cool things for them in the way that they can finally obtain that Marvel Studios-like prestige they’ve been wanting for so long. I also really like that there is a bit of a horror theme that runs through the last season and I’m really curious as to how they are going to make it fresh for this latest season and how they will keep it off of the chopping block of cancellation because it really is a lot of fun.

Copenhagen Cowboy (Netflix) – Nicolas Winding Refn is easily one of my favourite filmmakers with tentpoles in cinema for me like Bronson, Valhalla Rising, Drive and Neon Demon and to see his style dragged into episodic television is a real thrill for me. He isn’t new to the format by any means, most recently collaborating with comic writer Ed Brubaker for the Miles Teller-led Too Old To Die Young but now he’s taking it home to Denmark. The series follows an enigmatic young heroine named who traverses the ominous landscape of Copenhagen’s criminal netherworld after a lifetime of servitude within it. Searching for justice and enacting vengeance, she encounters her nemesis, Rakel, as they embark on an odyssey through the natural and the supernatural in only the hyper-violent and moodily neon way that Refn can. Seriously, the less known about this show the better and, to be honest, I’m completely biased to love it but it won’t be a real mainstream hit I think. NO known stars, an odd storyline and some definite synth beat driving the soundtrack, this is what you’re in store for.

Star Wars – The Bad Batch: Season 2 (Disney+) – I have been so excited and tingling with anticipation for this new season in the continuing series from mastermind Dave Filoni, the guy who also helped Jon Favreau with The Mandolorian as well as shepherding the Clone Wars and Rebels animated shows, and it’s here now and everyone should be happy because it is gloriously awesome once again and I have already watched through most of it. The series follows the elite and experimental clones of the Bad Batch, who were first introduced in The Clone Wars, as they find their way into a rapidly changing galaxy in the immediate aftermath of the war. Members of Bad Batch, a unique squad of clones who vary genetically from their brothers in the Clone Army, each possess a singular exceptional skill that makes them extraordinarily effective soldiers and a formidable crew that must forge their path alone as the Empire rises and the Republic is forced underground, forming the new Rebel Alliance. This show pulls deep into the geekiness of Star Wars in all the best ways and will immediately become my anticipated show of the week with the void as I wait for that one last episode of Willow to hit Disney+. Lucasfilm has really got a hold on me already in 2023.

What The Hell Should I Watch? – Dec 15

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December 15, 2022

New Releases:

Avatar: The Way Of Water – This is it, we are heading into the last huge movie week of 2022 with arguably the biggest movie of the year and, as a film fan if you aren’t curious about James Cameron’s return to Pandora then you need to check your pulse. The jury is out on whether this sequel can retake the mantle of the highest-grossing film of all time, but the reviews are stellar and I’m excited about it. The story picks up with our main character, Jake Sully, who lives with his newfound family formed on the planet of Pandora. Once a familiar threat in the military that he once served returns to finish what was previously started, Jake must work with Neytiri and the army of the Na’vi race to protect their planet. The first film was the greatest and most immersive 3D experience I had ever seen and I expect pretty much the same as Cameron has a deep love for this technology and when it comes to his films, the guy has never missed in making entertaining and, above all, totally iconic movies. This is going to be another mind-blowing experience I think and it clocks in at over three hours which is so crazy to me.

Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths – Let’s put it in perspective for a fan of Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu because it has been seven years since his last film, the epic and brutal western thriller The Revenant that won Leo DiCaprio his long-awaited first Academy Award. Now he returns with something very personal which I find pretty reminiscent of Alfonso Cuaron’s film Roma from a couple of years ago. The story follows an acclaimed journalist-turned-documentarian who goes on an oneiric introspective journey to his native country of Mexico to face his identity, familial relationships, and the folly of his memories and the past and the new reality of his country. The film is, at this point, suffering from middling reviews which is kind of the first time for this acclaimed and multiple Oscar-winning filmmakers as it is regarded as a beautiful and personal story shot by esteemed cinematographer Darius Khondji but is also said to cross the self-indulgent line of being a vanity project. My argument is, after all the great films this master has given us, doesn’t he get one for himself?

The Apology – With the sad news coming last week with the layoffs at AMC it looks like a major part of the horror-centric streaming service of Shudder has been cut and laid off so I wonder how much longer we will get Shudder original films like this one debuting on the wonderful and must-see app. Featuring Breaking Bad’s Anna Gunn, Mandy villain Linus Roache and comedian Janeane Garofalo, if this is the end of the line for Shudder, it feels like a pretty solid film to consider the last. The story follows a recovering alcoholic who is preparing to host her family’s Christmas celebration while still dealing with the trauma of the disappearance of her daughter twenty years earlier, when her estranged ex-brother-in-law arrives unannounced, bearing nostalgic gifts and a heavy secret. The film is the feature debut of a new voice in horror with writer and director Alison Locke and it looks like a successful endeavour as the story looks unsettling and unpredictable with a cutting edge that could lead to a shocking ending. I also appreciate that it is a Christmas-set thriller to join the side nice of holiday horror. It’s something, as a genre fan, that gives me pleasure, especially with my horror podcast Tremble, rate and subscribe!

Drinkwater – This is kind of a cool one to cover for me as it is a Canadian film that features an internationally famous and locally born star in Will & Grace’s Eric McCormack plus it was filmed right here in my backyard of the Okanagan and, more to the point, my current town of Penticton. The movie is also a deep character story and that is always something that will rope me in. The film is a coming-of-age story in the John Hughes tradition and follows a lost young man named Mike Drinkwater. His father, Hank, is hardly the role model Mike deserves which keeps him floundering in his own identity until a young woman moves to town and their friendship gives them the courage to overcome their collective challenges. The film really belongs to Daniel Doheny who does the heavy lifting as Mike, an actor who gets better ad better with each role, the Netflix series Brand New Cherry Flavor being another great indicator of his talent. It’s also really cool to see your small town represented in a motion picture and I really hope to see more productions here.

Blu-Ray:

Smile – Seeing the trailer over and over again before all of the spooky films I have gone to over the last three months, I have to say that they really didn’t do anything for me. Sure, there is a lot of creep factor to it with the unsettling smiles that the victims or infected people exhibit are effective but it all sort of came off to me as a J-horror-style thriller like The Ring or The Grudge. The film stars Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgewick’s daughter Sosie Bacon as psychiatrist Dr. Rose Cotter who starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can’t explain after witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient. Rose must confront her troubling past in order to survive and escape becoming the latest victim in a terrifying phenomenon. As the film got closer to release, praise started to be heaped on the film by horror critics everywhere, stating the writer and director Parker Finn’s debut film is original, deeply disturbing and will leave a mark on you for days after. Now, having seen the film, I can attest to its brilliant use of style and unpredictability that feels fresh in every moment, filled with jump scares that don’t come off as cheap and gimmicky. Finn has a huge future after this big studio picture and I can’t wait to see what he does with it.

Ticket To Paradise – Without knowing anything about it, on paper, the casting of George Clooney and Julia Roberts in a comedy would probably lead to a hit given that they have great chemistry in the Ocean’s movies and audiences love a reunion. Then the trailer rolled around and it felt like we’d seen every funny part and plot twist contained in a two-and-a-half-minute mash up but the name of the game is casual optimism. The film follows the two bankable stars as a divorced couple who team up and travel to Bali to stop their daughter from making the same mistake they think they made twenty-five years ago, marrying the supposed love of her life. To be honest, there is so much predictability in the story that the film does have to rely on the charisma and charm of these two A-listers but they do manage to play to their strengths and with some good laughs contained within, I thought it worked out to be an enjoyable film. It comes from writer and director Ol Parker who is mostly known for the sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again so it is definitely playing to a certain kind of audience but the name of the game is “crowd pleaser” and it does just that with some help from the great Kaitlyn Dever as their daughter and a very game and fun Billie Lourd as the trainwreck bestie.

The Woman King – Viola Davis is not staying in the office this time for an action feast as she did as Amanda Waller in the Suicide Squad movies. This time she is in the battle, alongside a hell of a cast with No Time To Die’s Lashana Lynch and Star Wars star John Boyega so she is in very good company for this based on a true story epic from Love And Basketball filmmaker Gina Prince-Bythewood. The film is the story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness, unlike anything the world has ever seen. Davis plays General Nanisca as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life. This movie is awesome from top to bottom, beautifully shot and featuring a script totally deserving of the toughest performance from Viola who has had some very challenging roles in her past. The action scenes feel visceral and biting, an interesting feat as it is just above a PG-13 rating but the character development is where it excels, with fantastic performances from Lashawna Lynch, Thuso Mbedo and Sheila Atim.

Lyle, Lyle Crocodile – Shawn Mendes is one of the hottest acts on the planet as far as pop stars go so why not make the leap to the big screen and play a giant singing crocodile while he’s at it? This movie looks like it was made for the families who dug the big-screen version of Clifford The Big Red Dog which honestly did okay at the box office for being a quasi-post-pandemic family release. Starring Constance Wu, Scoot McNairy, Winslow Fegley and an odd-looking Javier Bardem, the film follows the title reptile who lives in a house on East 88th Street in New York City. Lyle enjoys helping the Primm family with everyday chores and playing with the neighbourhood kids but one neighbour insists that Lyle belongs in a zoo. Mr. Grumps and his cat, Loretta, do not like crocodiles, and Lyle tries to prove that he is not as bad as others might first think. The trailer gives you the entire tone of the film and it looks like more of an avenue for Mendes to release more original music as I think he is also a producer on the movie. I feel like it will definitely hit its demographic.

Resurrection – This new horror drama got a soft release in mid-summer which flew outside of my radar for some reason but now I get to bring it this week as it lands on blu-ray and that satiates my fear of missing out big time. The film features lead performances from Rebecca Hall, who starred in a favourite of mine last year, The Night House, and Tim Roth, who featured in a film I loved this year, Sundown, so we’re already on a good track. Hall plays Margaret, a capable, disciplined, and successful woman whose life is in impeccable order. This is all thrown into disarray with the arrival of Roth’s character David, a man returning to Margaret’s life with all of the horrors of her path. The film is sitting at a Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes right now, with big praise for Hall’s leading performance that captivates and makes up for any unevenness that shows up in the story and script. I’m excited for a voice like writer and director Andrew Semans who only has two features to his credit including this one to get a sense of renewal in the genre with his last film being released ten years before. For the record, that one, Nancy, Please, got stellar reviews as well and it seems that pairing him with a strong lead, like Hall in this film, just spins gold on your screen.

Reacher: Season 1 – Tom Crusie was way too short to play Jack Reacher. We knew this but we accepted it because, let’s face it, the first movie really rocks. The second film, on the other hand, was a formulaic bore-fest that was predictable and wasted the star’s talent but it paved the way for this Lee Child adaptation to get a new life as an Amazon series. Former Ninja Turtle Alan Ritchson gets a crack at the character, a dude very formidable in stature, following the character as he battles for his life to remain outside of a military prison after being accused of murder. The show was made by some new show writers and execs but it looks to have some promise to it and at least will have all the bone-crunching action sequences that Christopher McQuarrie and Cruise champion through both of their big-screen versions. I didn’t realize how popular this book series was until all the attention this show got online. I know my father-in-law loves the books.

Steve’s Geekouts In 4K:

Westworld: Season 4 4K – It’s been over two years since we’ve seen anything from this incredible mysterious show that emanated from a 70s Michael Crichton movie and now it is back with an almost unexpected new offering and to be honest, if I had known it was coming I would have had it on my list for the most anticipated releases of the year. The favourites are all back including Evan Rachel Wood’s Dolores, Jeffrey Wright’s Bernard and Thandie Newton’s Maeve and takes place seven years after the outside-the-park world of season 3’s events but what is this season about? Well, showrunners Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan are keeping everything secretive but what we do know is that the story will head back to the park and that just adds to the intrigue for me. Getting this from Warner Bros. in 4K is such a treat for me as I’m definitely behind and only just finished the third season. I feel grateful to have it so easy to pick up again.

The Green Knight 4K – This was easily one of my most anticipated films of 2021 and holy hell did it ever deliver, unbeknownst to me, it was a Christmas movie which the trailers do not let you know. Happy to have a new one to occupy the shelf with Die Hard and Violent Night being added this year, I also have an angel of a best friend who got me the A24 4K collector’s edition which is a gorgeous piece of a cinephile’s dream that really needs to be seen to be appreciated. The film is a mesmerizing-looking blood and sword epic art film from Ain’t Them Bodies Saints and A Ghost Story director David Lowery and the almost literally left my jaw on the floor at my local theatre after the credits and end credit stinger finish. Yes, it has one of those. Starring Academy Award nominee Dev Patel, Oscar winner Alicia Vikander and Joel Edgerton, the film is an epic fantasy adventure based on the timeless Arthurian legend that tells the story of Sir Gawain, King Arthur’s reckless and headstrong nephew, who embarks on a daring quest to confront the eponymous Green Knight, a gigantic emerald-skinned stranger and tester of men. Gawain contends with ghosts, giants, thieves, and schemers in what becomes a deeper journey to define his character and prove his worth in the eyes of his family and kingdom by facing the ultimate challenger. This movie is easily my favourite movie of the year although I feel like it isn’t accessible to a mainstream audience. To be real on that, most of my favourites aren’t anyways.

Television:

Who Killed Santa? A Murderville Murder Mystery (Netflix) – Murderville was a little half-hour mostly improvised little gem that came and went on Netflix earlier this year but those who loved it told their friends and the word of mouth grew into getting us this little Christmas special packed with more off the cuff hilarity. Featuring Will Arnett as the main dude to his guests, the bouncing board of comedy ideas couldn’t be better as I was hooked on this show very quickly and each guest is hysterical. The setups are generally simple and this one is no different, paring Arnett with his former Arrested Development co-star Jason Bateman and the great Maya Rudolph as Senior Detective Terry Seattle is back and on the case of who killed jolly old Saint Nick himself. I adore that Arnett is working off of a script that both of his guests aren’t privy to seeing at all and it brings an inane freshness to the story and how it rolls out. Seriously, a great holiday binge would be both the first season of six episodes and then this special. It will split some sides, guaranteed.

 National Treasure: Edge of History (Disney+) – Being a huge Nicolas Cage fan, I will say that, even though it had some great Indiana Jones-like moments, the National Treasure movies can’t be considered close to being one of my favourites and Cage was the only thing keeping me in that game. Well, Disney+ has decided to make a series spin-off of the two movies and has cast a new female lead in newcomer Lisette Olivera and a new baddie in the form of Catherine Zeta-Jones who is enjoying a little resurgence with this and Netflix’s Wednesday. This new story follows Oliviera as Jess Valenzuela, a twenty-year-old dreamer who sets off on an exploration to discover the mystery of her family history, and, with the help of her friends and the guidance of Harvey Keitel’s recurring character of former FBI agent Peter Sadusky, seeks to recover historical lost treasure. I hope this picks up an audience of people who like CW, USA or TNT network-type shows because it really did nothing for me and missing the star power of Nicolas Cage it just sort of seems to flounder with none of the story being that gripping. I don’t feel anything for these characters so all of the stakes seem to fall flat for me. I feel like this is the first Disney+ show that I have started that has done zero for me interest-wise.

What The Hell Should I Watch? – Dec 8

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December 8, 2022

New Releases:

Empire Of Light – Having just seen just one trailer for this, it feels like the perfect pairing to put acclaimed filmmaker Sam Mendes and Academy Award-winning actress Olivia Colman together so I am immediately excited for this one. Add to that the film nerd panache of the legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins shooting it and you have all the makings of a Steve-certified favourite. The story is set in a small English coastal town in the early 1980s and follows a cinema manager struggling with her mental health and her new employee who longs to escape the provincial town where he faces daily adversity as a black man in England. Together they find a sense of belonging and experience the healing power of music, cinema, and community in a film that feels like a deep love letter to those who are driven emotionally by these works of art. I expect this to be a tour de force of acting from Colman, as usual, but know that it will have some of that low-hanging Oscar bait fruit in it. That aside, this is one of those types of films near the end of the year that I adore.

Spoiler Alert – I have to admit, I saw the trailer for this film before Bros and it really did absolutely nothing for me, felt pretty formulaic and bland. Now that I’ve read up on it, I see that it is based on a true story about television journalist Michael Ausiello, a man whose work I have read many times and my interest was piqued and I think maybe this film’s market sufferers from a bland trailer. The story follows the relationship of Ausiello and his husband Kit Cowan from its inception through to Kit’s diagnosis of terminal cancer. Jim Parsons plays Michael and maybe it’s the fact that I can’t shake the Sheldon Cooper of I’m entirely yet but it was directed by Michael Showalter who will always have a place in my heart with his partial biopic The Big Sick so I think this film is in the right hands. IT probably won’t be an award contended but it really looks Oscar-bait worthy and it’s great to see another big-budget gay romance in theatres in 2022.

Emancipation – It’s hard to believe that the infamous slap incident from Will Smith to Chris Rock was at this year’s Academy Awards but it was and within this same year the culprit is gunning for another win although I feel like he’s ineligible now. That aside, the film looks really interesting, emotional and, above all, totally Oscar bait worthy and from a director that made a film that got Denzel a statue, Antoine Fuqua. Smith plays Peter a runaway slave who forges through the swamps of Louisiana on a tortuous journey to escape plantation owners that nearly killed him. The film is inspired by the 1863 photos of “Whipped Peter,” taken during a Union Army medical examination, that first appeared in Harper’s Weekly with one image, known as “The Scourged Back,” showing Peter’s bare back mutilated by a whipping delivered by his enslavers, a revelation ultimately contributed to growing public opposition to slavery. The film is shot in a classic sepia grey and white that reflects that picture and Smith’s performance elevates that film past the sometimes mediocrity of the direction and script. Still, I don’t think it’s enough for us to forget the slap so quickly.

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – It was just Dinsey Day this year that we got Robert Zemeckis and Tom Hanks reuniting for their motion capture version of Pinocchio, the Disney-fied version of the story but now one of the masters of cinema has stepped into the chat with his own long developed, gestated and anticipated by his audience. knowing Del Toro’s work and the things that are close to his heart, it should be apparent that he is going to do a classic fairy tale like this in his own way and sort of make it his own. The film is set in Mussolini-ruled Italy and tells the classic tale of the wooden marionette who is magically brought to life in order to mend the heart of a grieving woodcarver named Geppetto. A beautifully animated stop-motion musical, it delves deeply into Geppetto’s trauma and standoffishness with his new creation but never shies away from the mischievous and disobedient adventures of Pinocchio as we know him and his pursuit of a place in the world. The film is cinema wrapped up in an animated playfulness but I think it is a hard one for the kids to watch as the heavier elements in the story, which have always been sort of implied, are leaned on in a more dramatic fashion in this interpretation. That said, I think it is easily the best animated film of the year.

Night At The Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again – I have been on board with most of the IP renewals that Disney+ has given us since the launch of the streaming service, especially now that it has been crossing into the Fox library and, while some have been way better than others, I was really looking forward to this new installment of the Night At The Museum saga. Yes, I enjoyed both of these Vancouver-shot Ben Stiller movies but still, I will heartily admit that I was a bit bummed it was in animated form and with a completely different cast to voice it with the obvious omission of Robin Williams for apparent reasons. The film continues the story with the search for a new night watchman to handle the responsibility of the magic of the Smithsonian when Larry Daley moves on to an international opportunity. The museum’s residents choose Larry’s son Nick at the exact time when Kahmunrah decides that it is a perfect moment to return and take over the world. The positivity I felt for this franchise sort of stalled with this movie as it felt unnecessary to pick up this story for something that felt so limp and tacked on. Zachery Levi is a halfway replacement for Stiller in his small role as Larry and I knew it was going to be jarring to hear Teddy Roosevelt without the voice of Robin, without question. I do love Thomas Lennon, a fantastic and funny actor, but the entire feel of the character is completely different and kind of came off as worse than I could have expected. They can’t all be gold but this one is regrettably less than bronze to me.

Blu-Ray & DVD:

Amsterdam – I am going to preface this little blurb here by saying that I don’t think writer and director David O. Russell is a good dude as there have been many documented incidents of bullying cast, crew and extras on his film by him. Still, I will say that he really does have a handful of great movies on his resume but he also has Joy and American Hustle on that same list, his last two efforts, and I downright detested the former of those two. This film has a killer cast, as he usually assembles, featuring Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington and so many more, which makes this all the more enticing. Set in the 1930s, the film follows three lifelong friends who witness a murder, are framed for it, and then uncover one of the most outrageous plots in American history attached to it. The trailer had me so pumped for it and maybe that is just the use of the Ten Years After song I’d Love To Change The World and snappy editing but the end result was the bluster of a fantastic cast with a messy script and plotting. So much of this film feels rushed in blocking, haphazard in its execution and so absolutely ugly to look at cinematography-wise. I feel like Silver Linings Playbook or The Fighter may have been the end of any good work from Russell and this movie feels so underlyingly mediocre that it will just fade into all of the lesser releases in 2022.

Clerks III – Being a long-time fan of the works of writer, director, editor, producer and star Kevin Smith, I have a reverence for anything Clerks and Jay and Silent Bob related so to say that the anticipation for this sequel, coming more than fifteen years after the second movie, was at an all-time high is even an underselling of my passion. Clerks was a piece in the mosaic of why I love movies and Smith is a big inspiration for me being on the radio now so this is like a cinematic golden gift for me and fans like me and no matter what we get, I’m predestined to love it. We go super meta with this installment as Randall suffers a heart attack and with his near-death experience, he makes it his mission to gather his friends Dante, Elias, and Jay and Silent Bob to make a movie about the Quick Stop as his lasting legacy on the planet. I love that Kevin incorporated his own journey into a film that gives the most heart, emotion and resonance of his entire career. I knew that, given how sentimental the man is towards the film that started it all for him, this film would shy away from the emotional core but I was still very unprepared for him to shatter me completely in many different scenes. He has effectively managed to close the book on characters that made him who he is and who we are as fans. I’m grateful for the journey.

Medieval – In keeping with my honest nature, I will begin here by saying that I had very low thoughts about this movie and definitely judged it by its low-level marketing and the fact that VVS Films is the distributor who has put me through many bad Liam Neeson movies in the last couple of years. What I should have read into was the fact that Ben Foster finally got the lead in a quasi-action flick and it was the stone and blood style of broadswords and shields that was at the forefront of it. The story is inspired by the true story of Jan Ika, one of greatest warriors in history and takes place during the Holy Roman Empire after the death of its reigning emperor which plummets it into chaos while feuding brothers King Wenceslas of Czech and King Sigismund of Hungary battle for control of the empty throne. Ika is hired by Lord Boresh to kidnap the powerful Lord Rosenberg’s fiancée, Lady Katherine, to prevent Rosenberg’s rise to power alongside the corrupt King Sigismund but that is really only the beginning of the inevitable fight for his life and that of the kingdom he serves, for better or worse. While the film does suffer from the trappings of a sad and morose lead character cliche more often than not, the action scenes and incredible cinematography keep you well-invested in the plot. I believe this to be the intent more than the historical story so, while it won’t be the full and bodied Braveheart that we want it to be, it is a means to an end for a visceral and brutal final act.

Mad God – This is something pretty fascinating here as it is a thirty-year journey of an incredible visual effects magician’s personal project that has found the perfect home on the streaming service Shudder. To say that something like this has never been seen before is a bit of an understatement because, while we have had many stop-motion animated films in that time period, none of them have been as visceral, ethereal and, at times, disturbing as this. Playing as sort of a fringe Ray Harryhausen film, the story follows an assassin who is sent on a mission of destruction by the “last man”, a human character played by cult filmmaker Alex Cox. His drive is to travel through a nightmare underworld of tortured souls, ruined cities and wretched monstrosities forged from the primordial horrors of the underworld and it really is not for the faint of heart in some sequences with so much blood, vomit and feces coursing through it. Probably doesn’t sound like the best selling point but holy hell was this experiment in film memorable.

Alienoid – I review South Korean films very often here, which is an ultimate pleasure, but one this that is certain is the abundance of genre films that the country puts out. With this film, I feel like they are dipping into that big blockbuster special effects-laden crown pleasers like Transformers or the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies and, in this case, it works for and against them to an equal degree. The film is a time-bending sci-fi action adventure with a heady backstory that follows an alien warrior named Guard who is tasked with staying on earth and capturing alien prisoners who are moving from body to body. Obviously, being a “rife with emotion” Korean flick, that is just skimming the surface of the plot which definitely has its convoluted threads that bring it down but the fast and fun pacing punctuated by awesome fight sequences and awesome city-destroying spectacles, it all ends up as pretty entertaining ride. No spoilers here, but be warned that the film has a cliffhanger ending to set up a sequel. You’ve been warned.

Creepshow: Season 3 – Another season of great anthology horror is here to get us through the holiday season, especially if you haven’t gotten a chance to stream it on Shudder yet. I love this series and the fact that one of the greatest minds in horror, Greg Nicotero, is the man who brought it back for us. Featuring another six fantastic and chilling stories, like one grief-filled one from Fear Of A Black Hat filmmaker Rusty Cundief featuring Ethan Embry, a cinephile-based noir story from Joe Lynch and even some animated horror to bring us full circle back to the comics this series is based on. These are such fun episodes and it feels like there are no signs of slowing down as we eagerly anticipate the fourth season, hopefully with more from Lynch who is the MVP of this enterprise in my opinion.

Star Trek Discovery: Season 4 – Look, I’m not fully caught up on everything in this series yet so for my research I just went spoiler-free and vague just so I wouldn’t spoil everything for myself but I will say that fans of Star Trek aren’t too happy with the series. I’m enjoying it so far as I’m not as invested in it as everyone else but I can get people’s issues with it. The show is set ten years before Kirk, Spock and the Enterprise, as the USS Discovery discovers new worlds and lifeforms with one main Starfleet officer learning to understand all things alien both about herself and those around her starting at the disadvantage of being an accused mutineer for her brash actions. Great casting, exciting adventures and inner politics and an infinite ceiling due to being on the CBS All Access streaming service, I like what they’re doing with this show and the possibilities are endless as to where they can go. To gauge where I’m at for those who care, I’m within the season in question, I just haven’t finished it yet.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Complete Series – As a guy who grew up on the original Kevin Eastman cartoon of the heroes in a half shell so because of this bond I have an infinite love for these characters and have a yearning for it to be done right. That said, I believe this is the closest to what I love about these characters and it also comes down to the voice acting, which this series did fantastically by putting Sean Astin, Seth Green, Josh Peck and Mae Whitman with veteran voice workers Rob Paulsen, Greg Cipes and Kevin Michael Richardson. The show was five seasons of everything you remember it to be, about four ninja turtles, mutated by a mysterious alien substance, who must rise up out of the sewers and defend New York City against evil forces from both the past and present. With one hundred and twenty-four episodes making up its entire run, there are so many great stories and many pulled right from the original show or even as far back as Eastman’s black and white comic that are so cool to rewatch or even discover for the first time. I’m a Turtles nerd but I can see people getting into it that just want to see something well-written.

South Park: Post Covid – South Park is a total anomaly of a show, a cartoon series that has been on the air for twenty-five years and still manages to be relevant, biting, original and, the biggest sticking point of all, hysterically funny. Now, with the shift to the Paramount+ streaming service, the release style has changed and Trey Parker, Matt Stone and their insane creation have gone beyond the season and episode-to-episode schedule and are now releasing mini-movies like this two-parter to continue the story arcs. Following their Quarantine and Vaccination specials, this picks up with the survivors of it all decades later. The kids are now full-grown adults for the first time and it is absolutely glorious. Is this the new norm for South Park, Colorado or can the gang reunite to change the outcome of the Post COVID world? Oh man, this series is so funny, one I quote pretty constantly to my wife, so I should duck out of this one before I leak some spoilers. Seriously, though, they are another season and two specials deep so catch up, eh?

Steve’s 4K & Blu-Ray Geekouts:

Elf 4K – One of the modern Christmas classics is now on a 4K edition which is great because there was only a DVD release up until this point but it was an Infinifilm release so it almost was blu-ray quality anyways. Ignoring that blu-ray geek diatribe just now, I feel we all have a spot in our hearts for this movie that can be argued as one of Will Ferrell’s greatest on-screen accomplishments and an infinitely quoted and recognized holiday tradition. I will refrain from going into a quote rattle off and instead remind you that the film has Ferrell as Buddy, a human raised as an elf in the North Pole who goes on a journey to New York City to meet his biological father, a miserly but successful children’s book publisher played brilliantly by the late James Caan. This movie is so much fun every time you watch it and the supporting cast featuring Zooey Deschanel, Mary Steenburgen, Andy Richter, Kyle Gass, Ed Asner, Bob Newheart, the list really does go on and on. I don’t really need to sell it to you, it’s Elf, but this 4K has a commentary from both Ferrell and director Jon Favreau on separate tracks which is pretty cool.

The Classic Christmas Specials Collection 4K – I won’t get too deep with this entry but I feel like it is a generational thing to be raised on the classic films that play every holiday season ad this box set, a lovely gift from Universal, is a celebration as well as a rejuvenation to those beloved short films. Now updated with the high definition of 4K you can be sure that the kids, grandkids, great grandkids and neighbourhood children will know of these characters whether they like them or not. Aside from The Grinch or Charlie Brown, these are three of the most known Christmas specials of all time, starting with Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, then Frosty The Snowman and finally Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town, all in their iconic stop-motion glory. These are either yearly staples at the holidays in your household or you really aren’t a Christmas person. I don’t make the rules, I just inform people of them.

A Discovery Of Witches: Complete Series – This is a mixed production between Amazon Prime and Shudder that piqued my interest with the involvement of Watchmen’s Matthew Goode and Australian actress Teresa Palmer but I had been slow going on my progress of working my way through it until this complete collection landed on my doorstep. The story follows Diana Bishop, a scholar and an unwilling witch who discovers a lost manuscript while studying at the Bodleian Library. The discovery invites chaos into Diana’s life as soon she is surrounded by daemons, vampires and other witches who are desperate to gain what she has found. Her only hope is Matthew Clairmont, a doctor, researcher and vampire who becomes a reluctant confidant in a dangerous new life. The set is gorgeous, meant to look like the leather-bound tome that kicks off the whole show and the fantastical nature of the series, paired with a reality that in ones kept in the dark to thematic live day to day, like you and me. I really enjoy Palmer as a lead actress but it is always Goode’s studious performances that will always bring me back to it. Keep in mind that I haven’t yet gotten to the endgame of the series but now, thanks to some amazing PR people, I can binge to my heart’s content on glorious blu-ray.

Television:

His Dark Materials: Season 3 (Crave) – I’m going to say something controversial here and reveal that I really like the Chris Weitz-made Golden Compass film that just turned fifteen as I am writing this, which was the first kick at the Phillip Pullman written series of books and I really wanted to see more as far as a franchise goes. It’s a damn great thing that HBO and BBC joined forces to do a faithful adaptation of these books and cast Dafne Keen, who astounded audiences alongside Hugh Jackman in Logan, as the lead character of Lyra. The potential of this series is unlimited and while being compared to Game Of Thrones is becoming a bit tiresome, the comparison feels a little more real with this one as the book series is popular and perfect for this style of adaptation. The first two seasons set such a great tone for it that separates it from the previous version, immersing it in a great world of realism that is dying to be explored in this new but hopefully not season. I am excited about it and it’s really cool to see where Lyra’s story goes as we are now far beyond where the Weitz film had initially left off.

Doom Patrol: Season 4 (Crave) – After a killer first season, a fantastic sophomore season and a wacked-out last season that kept the momentum going and added even more fun to the mix, I know people are chomping at the bit for this new season of a show that not only gives White Collar’s Matt Bomer a cool role but also gave some new life to 90s star Brendan Fraser who is continuing to get that redemption he deserves, especially at the end of this month with The Whale. For those who are uninitiated to this DC Comics world, it is a reimagining of one of DC’s most beloved groups of outcast superheroes: Robotman, Negative Man, Elasti-Girl and Crazy Jane, led by modern-day mad scientist Dr. Niles Caulder, also known as The Chief. The series is tied to the cinematic universe by the common character of Cyborg so it’s neat to see exactly where all these stories meet up but I really hope that this isn’t the last we see of these actors in these characters as there were so many cancellations recently and this, for now, was left off the chopping block. Hopefully, with James Gunn now in charge he will form a spell of protection around it.

George & Tammy (Crave) – Jessica Chastain seems to be forming a collection of real like Tammys because, after winning an Academy Award for playing Tammy Faye Bakker, she is now turning her sights on Tammy Wynette, this time in series form. She is in good company though again as Michael Shannon co-stars with her as one of the greatest country superstars of all time. The six-episode series chronicles the country music power couple, Tammy Wynette and George Jones, whose complicated relationship inspired some of the most iconic music of all time including the duets “We’re Gonna Hold On,” “Golden Ring” and “Near You”. Remembered as the “First Lady of Country Music,” Wynette’s most successful song “Stand by Your Man” remains one of the most iconic and best-selling country singles by a female artist and George Jones’ song “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” is still widely called the greatest country song of all time. With over 30 number-one country songs between them, I definitely can say that I’m not super familiar with them, not being a fan of the genre at all, but I recognize their mark on it and it will be interesting to see how it’s told and if they hold back on some of the vitriol in their disagreements, to put it mildly.

What The Hell Should I Watch? – Dec 1

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December 1, 2022

New Releases:

Violent Night – Just describing this film, you know exactly why one like this would be at the top of my list for the end of this year and, yes, David Harbour is a big reason for it. Not being a huge holiday movie guys except for the classics, something that I’ve got into in my Geekouts, it takes a hook to get me immersed in a new one and this one definitely has it. The story follows a team of elite mercenaries who breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve, taking everyone inside hostage to obtain the millions in an underground vault. The team isn’t remotely prepared for a surprise combatant in the form of Santa Claus who takes it upon himself to dispatch each one of these naughty listers in increasingly gruesome ways. Translation? My type of movie. The film comes from the producers of the Bob Odenkirk action flick Nobody and is directed by the madman Tommy Wirkola, responsible for the Nazi zombie comedy horror films Dead Snow and its sequel, a team that will create absolutely glorious insanity. For those who dislike my love of Die Hard as a Christmas movie, we might have a new heavyweight in town.

Sr. – There’s something really touching about seeing a son presenting something about his father, something that only the lucky ones get to do, so when I saw this on Netflix’s release schedule I was very interested. Being a huge fan of Robet Downey Jr., I really wanted to see something where he just got to be himself, not Tony stark or any of his movie characters and I think this is him at his raw self. The documentary follows a tender but appropriately irreverent account of the life and career of Robert Downey Sr., the fearless and visionary American director who set the standard for countercultural comedy in the 1960s and 1970s. I will admit that I really don’t know a lot about Downey Sr. or his influence on film so this exhibits the best thing a documentary can do, educate. Alongside son Robert, the film also features filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, Alan Arkin, Sean Hayes and the legendary Norman Lear but it was also directed by Chris Smith who, besides the viral sensation Tiger King, also directed Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond which is an incredible must-see film as well.

Troll – If Netflix releases a giant monster movie, you know it has my eyeballs on it immediately and if said movie happens to be directed by a Scandinavian filmmaker, well, then all bets are off. Well, the boxes on this film have been checked and the filmmaker happens to be the aptly named Roar Uthaug who has done a disaster film with The Wave and made a big-budget Hollywood adaptation with Tomb Raider and now is reaching for the sky, literally. Set in Dovre, Norway, the film follows the nearby villagers as something gigantic deep inside the mountain awakens after being trapped for a thousand years. Destroying everything in its path, the creature is fast approaching the capital of Norway, with city-dweller struggling to stop something they thought existed only in Norwegian folklore. The trailer for this is just awesome and showcases Uthaug’s great knack of approaching big special effects with a method that gives it resonance along with the spectacle. He fantastically nails every soulful and emotional beat in The Wave and I really hope he can do the same with this, especially not being under the thumb of a major studio, like he was with Warner Bros for his Lara Croft movie. This could have a hell of a lot of potential.

The Inspection – It’s a telling sign that I got a tingle up my spine when I saw the a24 logo because, as usual, I knew I’d be seeing something special, either incredibly personal, definitely resonant and something that no other huge studio would take a chance on. That said, so much of this film was unknown to me. I didn’t know who Jeremy Pope is as I don’t watch Pose (yet), I was unfamiliar with writer and director Elegance Bratton and I didn’t know anything about the plot itself other than being a military story. A semi-autobiographical story from Bratton, the film follows a young, gay Black man who has been rejected by his mother and, with few options for his future, decides to join the Marines, doing whatever it takes to succeed in a system that would cast him aside. The character building of this film is so fantastic and this isn’t just focused on our main lead as the squad around him seems to grow and develop alongside him. The command Bratton observes in just his first feature is that of a creator who has been running this film in his mind for a long time. I also have to acknowledge how incredible Gabrielle Union is in this as the main’s homophobic mother.

Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Roderick Rules – The animated rebirth that Disney+ has given to this beloved book series by Dave Kinney is truly awesome and this is coming from a guy who really liked the live-action movies a lot and watched them in theatres with my oldest daughter. Well, the younger kid is now into them so we redo the story again but this time in the same authentic versions that appear in the book’s art. Now on to the second story, our hero Greg is in warfare with his older brother Roderick at the beginning of a new school year, a complicated relationship for sure. A spiky-haired teen that fronts the band “Loded Diper” and is a lazy slob at best the other times, Greg’s sole mission is to win over his brother taking whatever lengths he has to. These movies are so much fun and the great writing of the books translates to screen in what I think is the best way to present it. The animation is so fleshed out in Kinney’s unique and sort of crude style and I will liken it to the level of the Captain Underpants adaption, which is great by the way. Yeah, I said it.

A Wounded Fawn – With the shift from online sketch comedy on the College Humor Youtube channel to now absolutely killing it in the horror genre, Josh Ruben is one of my current favourite writer and directors. That said, he is still a fantastic actor and comes with his second role on Shudder in two weeks, following Noah Segn’s Blood Relatives last week. The film comes from writer and director Travis Stevens, in his follow-up to the fantastically fun Jakob’s Wife, and follows Ruben as a serial killer who brings an unsuspecting new victim on a weekend getaway to add another body to his ever-growing count. She seems to be buying into his faux charms as his lust for blood and viscera grows and grows but is he really the cat in this game or is it all leading to a deadly misstep? With each film, Steves is growing as a filmmaker and it’s crazy to see that at the center of this movie is a thread of Greek mythology and surrealist art, a depth that just expands the genre even more. There are so many elements at play in this film and the method in which they are delivered is truly diabolical.

Hunt – I have to preface this by saying that I’m not at all caught up with Squid Game, more to the point, I haven’t even started yet which is a major mark against a South Korean film fan such as myself. Regardless, I still know who the lead actor Lee Jung-jae is and this is sure to pull in the viewers, as is the inclusion of a of co-star from the massive Netflix hit, Heo Sung-tae, but it is an even bigger deal because it is the directorial debut of Jung-jae. The film is set in Korea in the 1980s and follows KCIA Foreign Unit chief Park Pyong-ho and Domestic Unit chief Kim Jung-do who are tasked with uncovering a North Korean spy, known as Donglim, who is deeply embedded within their agency when a high-ranking North Korean official requests asylum to give information in return. Double crosses and violent takeovers puntuate a story filled with brutal action sequences that become the highlight of the experience. The subterfuge in the film seems to be lesser than the sum of it’s parts as I feel the main threads get so convoluted that it starts to become dull and may take a casual viewer out altogether. Even so, that third act is crazy and the scale of it’s endgame is explosive, pun probably intended.

Blu-Ray:

Don’t Worry Darling – A big Warner Bros. release that was dogged by rumours of a toxic behind the scenes that put the star of the film, Florence Pugh, at odds with the director and co-star, Olivia Wilde, has involved the at one point star of the film Shia LeBeouf and the unfortunate subpar performance of Harry Styles, all of it can now be yours after a fizzling at the box office. As a fan of Pugh’s work and Wilde’s previous movie Booksmart, I wanted to believe that this could be good as the trailer was solid but, alas, the end result is a bit messy. The story has Ms. Flo as a 1950s housewife living with her husband in a utopian experimental community who begins to worry that his glamorous company could be hiding disturbing secrets. It’s sad that something as publicized as on-set drama could immediately tank a film’s expectations so much but when the final product ends up so middling with so many questions unanswered, it all feels frustrating. There are many themes and plots in the film that get thrown away or forgotten, character performances obviously left on the cutting room floor and an ending that feels unsatisfying in its ambiguity. All that said, Pugh does an incredible job in basically carrying the entire film aside from some great moments from a smiling and villainous Chris Pine.

Honk For Jesus. Save Your Soul. -If anything needs to be lampooned today, aside from the MAGA Gollums and evil Republicans, it is definitely evangelicals and the ridiculous lifestyles of Mega Church-owning pastors. Danny McBride has done it with his HBO series The Righteous Gemstones and now debuting writer and director Adamma Ebo is taking a crack at it. Starring Sterling K. Brown and Regina Hall, the story follows pastor Lee-Curtis Childs and his first lady Trinitie Childs as they attempt to rebuild the congregation of their Southern Baptist Mega Church in the aftermath of a huge scandal. Hiring a documentary crew to follow their story of redemption shows the still problematic qualities of their personality and marriage in a comedy that comes off with the realism and cringe that you would find in an episode of The Office. This film comes off as hilariously satirical but still believable because it is a blind fever that runs through America like a lifeline. Will audiences buy into the message that this film shares as we see the Childs flaunt their riches that were given to the church as an offering to God? Probably not but I enjoyed the journey myself.

Bodies Bodies Bodies – Slasher horror comedies are very much my jam so I had been waiting for this new A24-produced film to get some sort of a release for months after hearing stellar reviews of it at film festivals across America. The film is the sophomore release from director Halina Reijn whose last film, Instinct, while well received, never made it to any sort of wide release and is still impossible to track down. I’d say, with a film that set the internet ablaze with its original and unpredictable nature, ensured that she would be highly sought after following it. The movie follows a group of rich twenty-somethings who plan a hurricane party at a remote family mansion. Things get way out of control when a party game turns deadly in this fresh and funny look at backstabbing, fake friends, and one party went very, very wrong. The cast is young, fresh and possibly the future of the industry as it features Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Pete Davidson and the proven star strength of Lee Pace, as a horror fan, it was on my list of anticipated genre films and it really didn’t disappoint. Bodies is a film that really has no template to it and the focus is really just the vapid and fleeting nature of social stature, buzz words and lucrative friendships and it all plays out with a dark humour that holds it all together like glue. This is one of 2022’s most original films, for sure.

Emily The Criminal – For many, when they see Aubrey Plaza they may think of the deadpan and straight-up mean secretary April Ludgate from the series Parks And Recreation and not for any real dramatic roles but I think that anyone that gets their eyes on this new thriller will be taken for a wild ride. Co-starring Sons Of Anarchy’s Theo Rossi and written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker John Patton Ford, this may be the most low-key best movie of the year with the most dramatic shift from a comedy actress than I have seen in years. The film follows her as Emily, a down-on-her-luck transplant to Los Angeles saddled with insurmountable student debt who gets involved in a credit card scam that pulls her into the criminal underworld of the City Of Angels, ultimately leading to deadly consequences. The intensity of this film is brimming to overflow from the first scene of this film as it has Emily in a disastrous job interview, digging up her past felonies, and it never lessens its grip on the viewer. By the time the credits hit, I knew it was one of the best of 2022 but also that there wouldn’t be a huge push on its advertisement, so this is my due diligence in saying to you, my reader, see this movie!

Emergency Declaration – Ever since Parasite won the Best Picture award at the Academy Awards, Bong Joon Ho has been the big star to come out of that but I think that leading star Song Kang-Ho should get some of that love too. I feel like he definitely will get some flowers when Hirokazu Koreeda’s Broker hits theatres just before the new year but he has this airborne thriller as well and it really is nothing to sneeze at. The story centers around any traveller’s nightmare, a terrorist takeover on an international flight. The issue is, while it’s known that assailants are on the flight, it is not immediately known who it is and what their intentions are. What is evident is people are dropping like flies and the paranoia is ramping up to a fever pitch. This movie is really well constructed, filled with intensity and great acting infused with that deep emotion that South Korean films seem to bathe in. It may be a hard sell to any frequent flyer but those who love South Korean cinema like me or who want a great thriller will be very satisfied by the outcome.

The Offer – This is a troubled television production about a source matter I was really intrigued and I’m so happy it’s here and even more elated that it is good. Sadly, it will all get overshadowed by the fact that Armie Hammer was replaced on it due to allegations that he is a cannibal and he was shuffled out for Miles Teller who is problematic in his own way but let’s not let that bog down the classic Hollywood story they are telling here. The series follows the experience of tech salesman turned Hollywood producer Albert Ruddy’s experience in getting the Mario Puzo novel The Godfather from the written page to the big screen. Great casting, fun writing and a known Hollywood as its backdrop kept me ravenously taking in each episode until I was all spent on the seventies era. As a cinema fan, this one is almost made exclusively for people of a like mind but I think it could have legs for other viewers as well. The saddest part of it all is that I’m done now and this is a one-season thing.

Steve’s Geek-Outs In 4K:

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation 4K– “Shitters full!” Of course, I’m going to start off by mentioning this yuletide classic with an iconic line from Cousin Eddie, possibly one of the greatest roles in the history of the troubled idiot that is Randy Quaid. The Griswold’s celebrating Christmas may be one of the most memorable of the Christmas movies and it is with great reason. For those who have never seen it and need the enlightenment of a great Christmas classic in their lives, it follows the Griswolds preparing for a family seasonal celebration, but things never run smoothly for Clark, his wife Ellen and their two kids as Clark’s continual bad luck is worsened by his obnoxious family guests. He manages to keep going and pushing forward through every terrible moment knowing that his Christmas bonus is due soon ad that the new year light is on the horizon. This film is special with its family heart and the comedy is timeless and that has to be due to a fantastic script from one of the best, John Hughes. It’s rewatching films like this that make me miss the quality of his films so much and to own it now on 4K is amazing.

A Christmas Story 4K – With the sequel now streaming on Crave from their HBO Max side, it feels like this Christmas classic from the legendary Bob Clark has a new lease on life, as does original star and now producer Peter Billingsley who has mostly been doing work for Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn behind the scenes of their productions. This film is iconic in every day and features multiple scenes that make a call back to every yuletide season, especially the linguire-clad leg lamp which is an item you can actually buy now. For those buried under Santa’s sled for decades, the story follows a young boy named Ralphie Parker in the 1940s who attempts to convince his parents, teacher, and Santa Claus that a Red Ryder Range 200 Shot BB gun really is the perfect Christmas gift. The friction and resistance that comes back are always the same, “You’ll shoot your eye out” and between that, his overbearing mother with her makeshift snowsuit for him and the endless taunting and bullying at school, Ralphie’s Christmas looks like a bust. I remember watching this movie in elementary school before the holiday break and it will always have a place in my heart because of it. The Canadian roots of it are also an element of endearment for me as well.

The Polar Express 4K – With legendary director and creator Robert Zemeckis and his animation company ImageMovers, there were so many cool things that came out of that motion capture studio but this has to be the pinnacle as. itis re-celebrated every year and even got an IMAX re-release a few years back. It also marks the re-teaming of Zemeckis and one of his most popular stars, Tom Hanks, a union that reunited this year for Pinocchio on Disney+. This film is based on the very popular kid’s Christmas story and follows a young boy who embarks on a magical adventure to the North Pole on the Polar Express on Christmas Eve, learning about friendship, bravery, and the spirit of Christmas on the way. The animation is impeccable, even eighteen years after it’s initial release, and getting it in this higher definition just ensures that it will last in your collection longer for when you need to bust it out on a cold Christmas Eve to renew the magic with the family. It may be just a magic journey with, really, no stakes, but it is still a great experience.

Television:

Willow (Disney+) – It has been a long time since the Ron Howard-directed fantasy film Willow had its time to shine in a regular spotlight and I have almost completely forgotten that it was a Lucasfilm production, which works out well for us fans as we now get a legacy series to latch onto and hopefully it will be more than just one limited run. To me, it’s so great to see lead star Warick Davis return to a role where he doesn’t have to don a mask or have to act under makeup and instead return to playing Willow, the powerful mage that saved the world all those years ago. Now, the long-dormant evil that was thought to be ended with the demise of Queen Bavmorda has risen to take hold again and now the child of Sorsha, played by Joanne Whalley, a childhood crush of mine must find Willow to do what he does best. Having seen the first seven episodes already, I can say that it recaptures the feeling of the movie and is a loving sequel to it all, even if it’s missing the great Mad Martigan, played by Val Kilmer. I love the fantasy of this world and the effects and sets are impeccable. This is a great series to slide into the void that Andor left in its season finale.

Slow Horses: Season 2 (AppleTV+) – It is probably best for any Gary Oldman fan to get into this AppleTV+ series because the Academy Awar winning actor has declared that once the show has made its run, he will most likely retire from acting. Yes, I’m panicking too but the great news is this show is really solid and definitely worth going out on his shield. The story is set at Slough House, a dumping ground for members of the intelligence service who’ve screwed up, whether it be leaving a service file on a train, blowing surveillance or becoming drunkenly unreliable. The “slow horses” and most bitter among them is River Cartwright, played by Jack Lowden, whose days are spent transcribing mobile-phone conversations but he has an opportunity to get back in the game when a young man is abducted and his kidnappers threaten to behead him live on the Internet. This is one of those sleeper hit shows and one of the better releases from AppleTV+ but unfortunately gets dwarfed by shows like See or Ted Lasso. For those people who have the streaming service and have gotten through the more notable shows, this one should be next on your list.

Firefly Lane: Season 2 (Netflix) – For many television viewers, this one is a double-edged sword as it features the incredibly likeable and Canadian former Scrubs star Sarah Chalke but also has former Grey’s Anatomy pariah and generally one-note actress Katherine Heigl in the opposite role. The great news is Heigl plays against type in this very friendship-centric new series and the two also share some great chemistry. The series is the story of Tully and Kate, two unlikely friends from their meeting as tweens in 1974 to the present. Kate, the introvert, and Tully, the coolest girl in school, form a bond that weathers every milestone in their lives, leading up to a tragedy in the present and when we start out with the characters Kate is going through a separation leading to a divorce and Tully is an Oprah like figure with a show rapidly descending into cheesy nothingness. The show is really intriguing once you get past the first episode of season one which feels like it’s completely uneventful until the last scene but the trial that is started and the cliffhanger that ended it made it one of the most anticipated of the last quarter of the year, at least for my wife. I also need to finish this by saying this is the first half of a two-part season so there is more to come after you binge all of this.

What The Hell Should I Watch? – Nov 24

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November 24, 2022

New Releases:

Strange World – It’s crazy how developed Disney’s own in-house computer animated division has gotten as it is now easily on par with all of the Pixar releases, something that used to far exceed it. With recent releases in memory like Raya And The Last Dragon and Encanto, it fueled the excitement big time for this sci-fi foray for the gifted studio. The film follows a legendary family of explorers, the Clades, as they attempt to navigate an uncharted, treacherous land alongside a motley crew that includes a mischievous blob, a three-legged dog and a slew of ravenous creatures. Featuring the voices of Jake Gyllenhaal, Gabrielle Union, Lucy Liu, Dennis Quaid and stalwart Disney voice-over master Alan Tudyk and looks like an immense amount of colourful fun. At the top of it, it is also world exploration sci-fi and that has me the most excited plus it comes from the filmmaking team that brought us Raya as well as Moana, Big Hero 6 and Meet The Robinsons. The potential here is huge.

The Fabelmans – Being a lifelong Steven Spielberg fan, clearly the number one filmmaker in the world now for decades, he has tackled so many different stories and genres over his life and career but I think this one is the most personal he has ever done. It is a film that definitely speaks to his fans but to the filmmakers and creators that he has inspired as well as the heart of this story is about imagination and the creation of cinema from a young age. The story follows young Sammy Fabelman growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, aspiring to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence. Armed with a camera, Sammy makes his own films at home, much to the delight of his supportive mother, played by the phenomenal Michelle Williams. With an incredible cast and the powerhouse and comfortable team of Spielberg and longtime cinematographer Janusz Kaminski, this film has the potential to close out 2022 as one of the best. I can’t even say that is hyperbole because it is the master of modern cinema, Steven Spielberg.

Devotion – It’s really interesting that we get this true story fighter pilot film coming out at the end of 2022 as it is the same year that Top Gun Maverick was released and, not only that, it also shares a leading star with Glen Powell who played Hangman in that long-anticipated sequel. Now it goes to a Korean War story featuring the great Jonathan Majors, a few months before he hits the big time with both Creed III and Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantamaina releasing early 2023. The film tells the story of the friendship between two of the elite pilots in the American air force who are sent on the most dangerous of missions due to their precision strikes. The issue of racism in the leadership is another element of the film obviously with Majors being black and the action looks pretty rip-roaring in ti but it will have to do a lot to best Top Gun. The pandemic really messed this release up as it should have come out two years after the biggest film now of 2022 but here we are.

Bones And All – Is it weird that Luca Guadagnino is making a film about cannibals just a few years after his award lauded drama Call Me By Your Name which starred now-outed weirdo Armie Hammer? I’m not the first to bring that connection up but even so, I’ve been really excited to get my eyes on this new collaboration between the Italian director and his star, Timothee Chalamet. The film is the story of first love between Maren, a young woman learning how to survive on the margins of society, and Lee, an intense and disenfranchised drifter, as they meet and join together for a thousand-mile odyssey which takes them through the back roads, hidden passages and other trappings of a Ronald Reagan era America. Oh, I also have to mention that they both have an incredible and undeniable urge to eat human flesh, another element that bonds them but inadvertently puts them on the path of like-minded but dangerous individuals. The trailer for this movie is engrossing and Luca has a great penchant for making deeply compelling characters so I’m saying that this might be the number one on my list this week. Sorry, Spielberg.

The Swimmers – Because of some of the more Holywood side of the Netflix releases, a lot of the internationally made releases produced through the streaming service get maligned and ignored constantly. Without a lot of ads or fanfare behind it, I really hope this movie doesn’t get lost in that same shuffle because I think it is important and, above all, a beautiful story of human resilience.  The film tells the story of the miraculous journey made by swimming sisters Yusra and Sarah Mardini who fled as refugees from war-torn Syria all the way to the 2016 Rio Olympics. The detail shown in the two sisters’ escape from Syria with all of the other refugees feels intense with the real knowledge of the situation we know holding a huge weight in our minds. None of this would be as interesting in movie form if we didn’t have a connection and care for the characters and acclaimed writer and director Sally El Hosaini pulls it off masterfully with compelling and deep character development. I was enthralled with this film and found myself on the edge of my seat a few times in it. Please don’t let it get lost in the Netflix algorithm and check it out as soon as possible.

Blood Relatives – For a lot of moviegoers, they know Noah Segan’s face, made memorable by his law enforcement turn in Rian Johnson’s mystery Knives Out but in my case I’ve been a fan of the guy since Johnson’s beginning in cinema with his teen noir detective story Brick. Now Segan has taken the teachings of his friend and crafted his first feature-length film in the form of this new horror comedy hybrid which he wrote and directed. Taking the lead role as well, he stars as a vampire living a solitary life whose existence is thrown into disarray when a teenager shows up claiming to be his daughter and has the fangs to prove it. On a road trip across America’s blacktops, they decide how to process their newfound family life and definitely kill a lot of people along the way. Little festival hits like this getting exposure on Shudder is why it is one of my favourite streaming services, even if it needs to punch up the interface a little bit. There is so much room for more independent fare to find the word of mouth it deserves and this one should be at the top of your list. Fresh, funny and languishing in its dark side, I adored every minute.

Blu-Ray:

The Good House – The name of the game with this new comedy-drama is definitely likable because how can you not be intrigued by a film that has Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver leading it? Beyond that, it also has the husband and wife team of Maya Forbes and Wallace Wolodarsky writing and directing it, the same people who did the loveable Infinitely Polar Bear. The film follows Weaver as New England realtor Hildy Good whose life begins to unravel when she hooks up with an old flame of hers from New York. Becoming dangerously entwined in his reckless behaviour and igniting long-buried emotions and family secrets, including being a descendant of the Salem witches, Hildy is propelled toward a reckoning with the one person she’s been avoiding for decades, herself. From the initial reviews I’m finding, the standout here is Sigourney who brings that charm and gravitas that has made her a star for decades now and I definitely will always have a spot in my heart for her, an original crush since I first saw Ghostbusters and was deepened when I finally got to see Alien and Aliens. This is definitely a character movie at its core and who better to do it than her and the great Kevin Kline?

Hatching – As much as I love Scandanavian films, I never hear much out of Finland, except for exceptional heavy metal, so I was surprised when I saw a new horror film on the release schedule and it had a lot of great reviews. I will say the beginning is bumpy and felt like a sort of bad Hallmark movie but if you have the patience, it will eventually make your sin crawl in a good way. The story follows a young gymnast who tries desperately to please her demanding influencer mother in order to spend more time with her. Out in her backyard, she discovers a strange egg birthed from a half-dead crow and decides to hide it and keeps it warm. What hatches out of it is a creature that the design of it I was absolutely enthralled with. A meeting of CG and some practical effects, creature features are generally not done like this anymore and it is so refreshing to see this film rest almost solely on this. Usually, in lower-budget stuff, they shy away from fully showing the monsters but this film has so many great looks at the hatched monster and it really makes it memorable.

Malcolm X – This one is really cool to me as it is my first Spike Lee Criterion film and, really, what a film to get that part of my collection started with. It is a pivotal Denzel Washington role for sure but one I definitely didn’t appreciate as much when I saw it at a younger age in the nineties. Stating the obvious here but the film is a biographical epic of the controversial and influential Black Nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam. Co-starring the great Angela Bassett and even Lee himself, the film would be nominated for two Academy Awards, one of them being for Denzel’s riveting performance. The film hits very differently in the years after the emboldening of white supremacy and the forefront of the Black Lives Matter movement but it also makes it more and more important as the years go by. This film shows how doomed we are to repeat past mistakes and that the fight for equality and equity and against hatred will sadly always be paramount.

The Great: Season 2 – Elle Fanning, Nicholas Hoult and The Favourite writer Tony McNamara are back for the follow-up season of this great series that is filled from top to bottom with fantastic character work, beautiful set pieces and brilliantly dark humour that will tickle you if you liked McNamara’s Yorgos Lanthimos film as much as I did. The show follows a royal woman living in rural Russia during the 18th century who is forced to choose between her happiness and the future of Russia when she marries an Emperor. I love that this series takes the stuffiness out of the usual period piece and allows each character to breathe with dialogue that feels quick and sardonic. I’m really happy to say that, although he don’t have the timeline of when it will be released, we do know that the show was renewed by Hulu for a third season. It feels like a no-brainer as the first season was to create word of mouth and the second season was to hook more viewers. I can wait to see what will come from another round with these characters.

Steve’s Blu-Ray Geek-Outs:

Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde – Some more Warner Archive-released horror landed in my mailbox this week and it’s always something fun to bring to this section as films from the 1930s, in this example, don’t usually get any sort of mainstream exposure. These are the films that influence generations upon generations and are the catalyst for the thrillers we get today. That said, the Jekyll and Hyde story is one that is an icon in thriller storytelling and this was a special one as it features one of the biggest stars of the time, Frederic March, playing Dr. Jekyll as he faces horrible consequences when he lets his dark side run wild with a potion that transforms him into the animalistic Mr. Hyde. As far as a genre film goes, this is a pivotal one as it is the first horror film to earn an Academy Award, something that feels like a pipedream in the modern cinema age. Maybe it was just to sidle up to the sought-after star as March was the one to walk away with the Oscar but a win for horror is a win for horror, am I right?

Preman: Silent Fury – After the amazing and explosive two-piece that was Gareth Evans’ Raid film, anytime I see the words “Indonesian action film” I know that I want to get my eyeballs on it because there is a high possibility of new international martial arts spectacle. I also have a great track record with good Well Go USA-distributed films so my trust in them is at an all-time high. Originally released last year as a television movie, the story follows a deaf Indonesian gangster who is thrust into the fight of his life after his son witnesses a brutal murder by a notorious crime boss. He is subsequently forced into taking on his dangerous former allies, including a sociopath assassin, in order to protect his child. The film is bloody and violent with some incredible fight scenes but what I felt was pretty unexpected was the thread of dark humour that writer and director Randolph Zaini infuses into it. Zaini was born in Indonesia but was raised on American films in the United States so it has an interesting blend of the two filmmaking sensibilities.

Casablanca 4K – One of the most celebrated films in cinema history gets the sweet upgrade of getting a 4K release so of course, I’m going to bring it here. A film that is the template for so many films to come afterwards and the inspiration for so many, both in front of the camera and behind the scenes, I will say its shadow is totally unshakable. The story is iconic and a cinematic World War II set staple following a cynical expatriate American cafe owner who struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco. Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid and Claude Rains are forever frozen in time with the collision of a great story and great characters in a final product that will never tarnish upon rewatch. And now with it being on 4K, it just gets more preserved so it’s a real in for film fans.

Television:

Wednesday (Netflix) – Tim Burton doing television? Yes, after his long and storied film career, the legendarily creepy filmmaker is coming to Netflix for a limited series but with this streaming giant, it never really is just television, right? I mean, David Fincher has don’t multiple shows here. Well, this has the base of an iconic legend beyond Burton himself as he gets to take a crack at the Addams Family with a story centred around Wednesday going to a creepy new boarding school. The benefit off the bat is that our title character is being played by Jenny Ortega who’s had a hell of a horror year already with Scream and X but the money is with Morticia and Gomez who are perfectly cast with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Luis Guzman. Seriously, it’s worth the watch for just them alone. Beyond that, and if you loved the original films, you will be delighted to see that Christina Ricci, the former Wednesday Addams, is in the supporting cast in a pivotal role.

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special (Disney+) – It’s weird to think that one of my most anticipated things to close out 2022 is a Christmas special but I can not deny how much I love the characters of Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy nor can I downplay my adoration for the works of James Gunn. Not travelling down the path of the regrettable Star Wars Holiday Special from my childhood, this brings the whole team back but, of course, minus Gamora for obvious reasons. The story picks up with a Guardians group with a leader grieving the loss of a loved one during the holiday season. Uninitiated into the Earth’s custom fully but ambitious, Mantis and Drex take it upon themselves to get Starlord a gift from his home planet in the form of one of his favourite actors, Kevin Bacon. Yes, things are going to get meta in this little feature and I honestly can’t wait because I’ve cherished every moment we’ve gotten so far. With Volume three on the horizon, this is the beginning of the end so we better savour it now.

Welcome To Chippendales (Disney+) – I love a good true story limited series full of scandal, especially if it is set in the glitz and glam of the seventies and this is exactly where this new Hulu series resides. Starring Kumail Nanjiani and produced by him and his wife Emily Gordon, the series is also about a bigger-than-life dude from India with big ideas, some of them not so legal. Kumail starts as Somen “Steve” Banerjee, an Indian American entrepreneur who started the stripper troupe, Chippendales, a male revue that became a cultural phenomenon that still resonates today. Where would bachelorette parties be without them? Kumail is really great and the first episode kicks off brilliant;y with excess, ambition and a chameleon-like performance from character actor Dan Stevens. I had to look it up to make sure it was him, it was that unrecognizable. Don’t expect any extra seasons to this as it has a finite end but it is a fantastic rise and fall and it may get some awards recognition.

What The Hell Should I Watch? – Nov 17

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November 17, 2022

New Releases: 

The Menu – The trailers for this have been very mysterious and secretive but after the premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival many have been saying that it is Saw meets Succession which is way too intriguing to not get excited about. Interestingly enough, it was directed by Mark Mylod, who has directed a handful of the Succession episodes so the comparison is almost on the nose. The story follows a young couple who travels to a remote island to eat at an exclusive restaurant where the chef has prepared a lavish menu but it might come at a deadly price as the patrons seem to be dispatched one by one as the course mounts up. The cast in the film looks great with Anya Taylor Joy and Nicholas Hoult playing the leading couple and Ralph Fiennes as the head chef of the night. From what I’ve read, a really dark comedy is the drive of this film and I have to say that the ad campaign for it keeps my interest in it as it gives almost nothing away. This could be a late 2022 favourite.

Spirited – For me, not being the biggest holiday movie fan, it takes some coaxing to get me into a film that is not already an established classic or a yearly yuletide rewatch. The easiest way possible to dig through that frosty attitude is to put two funny dudes together to guide me past the jingle bells to the enjoyment and Ryan Reynolds and Will Ferrell seem like the perfect pairing to do that. Be warned, this is a classic story that you’ve seen so many times before but with a modern twist and music at the forefront as, yes, this is an adaptation of Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. Kitsilano’s treasure plays Cliff, a miserly man who treats everyone around him with terrible selfishness and finds himself on a fantastical adventure into the three phases of time, the past, present, and future, in order to discover how he ended up so miserable and alone. This movie feels a bit bloated with spectacle and music, something that can usually sour me, but it really works for the most part and at the end of it all, it is a fun ride and Ryan can really do no wrong. At least he has done little wrong in my opinion if that was too big of a statement.

The Wonder – After the debacle that was Don’t Worry Darling to end our summer of movies, it is sadly on Florence Pugh for a bit of cinema redemption, an unfair notion as she was the one that balanced everything good about that film on her shoulders, but the movie-going public can be mean. Good thing she has director Sebastian Lelio to guide her on this journey, the man behind masterpieces like A Fantastic Woman and Disobedience. She plays an English nurse sent to the Irish midlands in 1862 to watch over a young girl who hasn’t eaten a single piece of food in four months. Believed by the town elders to be an act of god, she is set to use her medical science to save the girl’s life but it may just open her to a faith that was ripped from her life by tragedy. The best way to go into this film is blind to the story as the beautiful cinematography and Pugh’s incredible character work drives it to be one of the most compelling stories I have seen this year. It also happens to be written by Emma Donoghue who also wrote the Oscar-winning drama Room, a film that still haunts me emotionally.

Slumberland – Jason Momoa has been in the news more recently, talking about possible opportunities of playing Lobo in the DC Comics universe where he is already positioned as Aquaman and baring his ass on late-night talk shows so it’s the perfect time to roll out another of his Netflix original films. This one plays a bit on the fantasy side and he is paired with a director who has some experience in that type of filmmaking as Francis Lawrence, the guy behind I Am Legend, the majority of the Hunger Games franchise and Constantine helmed this one. The story follows a young girl who discovers a secret map to the dreamworld of Slumberland, and with the help of an eccentric outlaw, she traverses dreams and flees nightmares, with the hope that she will be able to see her late father again. The movie is based on old novels by author Winsor McCay which were already adapted in animated form in the late eighties as the Little Nemo films so I’m a little surprised that it took so long to see them in live-action form but it definitely builds a world within it. I’m sure, with the star power and filmmaking team behind it, that Netflix would love a franchise to be birthed with this film so we’ll see how it pans out. 

She Said – The heart of the Me Too movement gets a big Hollywood boost this week and it also stars the great Carey Mulligan who starred in the phenomenal Promising Young Woman, one of my favourite films that year. A film we should have known was coming, the story comes at an important time of whistleblowing and is the big Hollywood debut of filmmaker Maria Schrader whose last film I’m Your Man is a sleeper international drama that impressed me greatly. The story follows Mulligan and The Big Sick actress Zoe Kazan as New York Times reporters Megan Twohey and Jodi Kantor who break one of the most important stories in a generation, the story that helped launch the #MeToo movement and shattered decades of silence around the subject of sexual assault in Hollywood. A hell of a cast has been assembled around Mulligan and Kazan, including the legendary Patricia Clarkson, Andre Braugher and Jennifer Ehle and screenwriter Rebecca Lenkiewicz has given us great female-led stories in the last few years with Colette and Disobedience so I’m really looking forward to this one, even if it comes off as a bit of Oscar bait.

Salvatore: Shoemaker Of Dreams – I’ve been waiting for a new Luca Guadagnino movie for a while since his 2018 re-imagining of Dario Argento’s Suspiria, which became one of my favourite films of the last twenty years. Albeit, the thing I was looking forward to was his thriller Bones And All with Timothee Chalamet which debuts later this month but this documentary tides me over, one that was actually completed in 2020. The film tells the life of Italian shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo, who created shoes for Hollywood stars during the silent film era and for iconic films of the period, including legends like Sophia Loren, Joan Crawford and Audrey Hepburn as well as visionaries like Rudolph Valentino and Charlie Chaplin. The film is exquisitely put together by a knowledgeable filmmaker but I found my interest waning here and there when it gets headier about the craft of the shoe. The cinema-related things are fascinating, especially when one of the greatest filmmakers to ever grace the earth, Martin Scorcese drops in as an interview subject. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea but I can appreciate the appeal.

Blu-Ray:

Pearl – After seeing the seventies-style brilliance that was the horror film X from Ti West, there was a rumour I read online that there was a second film, a prequel to that story that was written and filmed by West and lead actress Mia Goth during the COVID quarantine in New Zealand which doubled for a hot and dusty Texas. Having loved everything I saw in X I was so curious to see even a trailer for Pearl which was apparently only shown in American cinemas, screwing us Canadians. You’ve had a few months to watch X on blu-ray now so I will play with a few spoilers here but the story of this film follows the story of Pearl, the old lady who murdered all of the main characters in X, in her back story of how she got there. Goth proved herself to be a bonafide leading star in X and I can not wait to see her stretch her legs again in an even darker role as I suspect she did the dual role of the predecessor as Pearl under heavy aging makeup. Mia Goth deserves an Oscar for her sweetly unhinged performance in this film, coming off like a twisted Judy Garland and I really hope that her name will still be bandied about during awards season. I know she won’t get even the sniff of a nomination but she deserves the conversation.

Three Thousand Years Of Longing – Mad Max: Fury Road is a hell of a move to follow up and the good news is that director and creator George Miller just wrapped production on the prequel to that movie. Still, before that hits the finish mark, he has this new film with an adult twist on an old fable and he’s paired with two of the best actors in modern cinema, Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba. The story follows Swinton as a lonely scholar who happens to encounter a Djinn, played by Elba, while in Istanbul attending a conference which offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom. This presents two problems, the first being that she doubts that he is real and the second because she is a scholar of story and mythology, she knows all the cautionary tales of wishes gone wrong. The Djinn pleads his case by telling her fantastical stories of his past and eventually she is beguiled and makes a wish that surprises them both. Miller is a king at making visually stunning tales and this is really no different as it explores the djinn’s past in a colourful fashion, one that Miller coaxed legendary cinematographer John Seale out of retirement again to capture. It’s ambitious, heady and thoughtful but definitely not something that any Mad Max fan was expecting out of the legendary filmmaker. I really liked it a lot but I can see people not being into it..

Moonage Daydream – With the ill-advised biopic Stardust in our rearview, a film unapproved by the estate of David Bowie and dreadfully scripted and put together, it is a breath of fresh air to get this documentary on one of the greatest rock stars of all time, a man whose death left me in tears for weeks. Even better, the film is written and directed by Brett Morgen who is no stranger to music-driven films of this ilk as he is the guy who put together the Kurt Cobain film Montage Of Heck among other projects. Fresh off of its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival, the documentary promises to be a cinematic odyssey exploring David Bowie’s creative and musical journey in ways that have never been done before. The acclaim is already pouring in for it and if you’re a Bowie fan then this movie was made directly for you, an intimate portrait of a man that was bigger than life, bigger than this planet and maybe universe spanning in his artistic scope. His life and music had a profound effect on me and it’s great that the estate opened up to give us something like this because we know now a biopic will probably never happen with a full blessing.

Hansan: Rising Dragon – I love a good historical war story and there’s something about Korean cinema that, obviously if you’re a regular reader of this, also draws me in as well and this new feature film has all of that going on, plus it is pretty well reviewed at this point too. I wish I had gotten on board with this movie earlier too as it is a follow-up to a film from 2014, The Admiral: Roaring Currents. The film is set in 1592 and follows Admiral Yi Sun-sin and his fleet as they face off against the might of the invading Japanese navy and its formidable warships. As the Korean forces fall into crisis, the admiral resorts to using his secret weapon, the turtle ship, in order to change the tide of this epic battle at sea. The action is exciting and well pieced out, as Korean films usually do, and the strategy of war is laid out pretty well for the viewer to take in. For a regular viewer, I will say that there are some dry patches in between the action that may take people out from time to time but the payoff is really great.

Beast – Really, all you need to do to sell this movie is to describe it as Idris Elba protecting his family against lions or at least one badass lion in particular. Easy, print money. The fact that it also has South African actor Sharlto Copley in a supporting role gets me excited more about it but that’s because I adore the man and interviewed him once years ago for the actioner rollercoaster Hardcore Henry. Anyways, this film has Elba as a father who, with his two teenage daughters, finds themselves hunted by a massive rogue lion on a warpath of revenge through the Savanna after poachers killed his mate. The effects on the lion and the action and suspense sequences are handled masterfully by filmmaker Baltasar Kormákur who is no stranger to survival thrillers with spectacle, coming off the true story Jon Krakauer adaptation, Everest. Breezy and without a huge amount of deep substance, Beast is an edge-of-your-seat man versus nature-thriller that Idris pulls off nicely.

Jerry & Marge Go Large – Just looking at the poster, with lead actors Bryan Cranston and Annette Bening sitting on the back of a pickup truck, I knew I was going to be into this movie no matter what it turned out to be because I love both of these stars. Upon a deeper dig, I found this was a comedy that happens to be based on a true story and I was even more elated because both of these great talents work so well in comedic settings. The film is the real story of retiree Jerry Selbee, who discovers a mathematical loophole in the Massachusetts lottery and, with the help of his wife, Marge, wins millions and uses the money to revive their small Michigan town. Very inspirational and totally sweet-hearted at its core, it has the added charm of being directed by David Frankel who has given some solid offerings like The Devil Wears Prada and Marley And Me. On the other hand, this is his follow-up to Collateral Beauty which had an amazing cast but the worst follow-through of a good concept I have seen in a while. I’m trying not to let that hang over this one though.

Halo: Season 1 – It’s been a long and rocky road for the video game adaptation to find any sort of footing in Hollywood. At first, it was going to be executive produced by Peter Jackson, the mind behind everything J.R.R. Tolkien on the big screen, written by Alex Garland, the filmmaker behind Ex Machina, Annihilation and Dredd albeit afterwards and director Neill Blomkamp, the eyes behind District 9 and Elysium. At one point even the great Guillermo Del Toro was attached but the point is that many were gunning for this to happen. Well, Showtime actually went ahead and made the series but got cold feet and Steven Spielberg and Amblin Entertainment took over and here it is, living big on Paramount+. The series really has all you want from it if you are a Halo fan. Master Chief is there, the Covenant are launching their universal attack, Cortana is referenced, all of that good stuff. Now is where we see if that goodness is sustainable and I will say that some of the CGI with the Spartans is a bit dodgy but I had fun with the kick-off to this series and am really looking forward to the follow-up season which is filming currently.

Steve’s Blu-Ray Geekouts:

The White Ribbon – A staple for any good international film collection is to have a Micahel Haneke film included, whether it’s his Hitchcockian thriller Cache or either version of his grotesque and chilling Funny Games. Long on my list of films to pick up, this Oscar-nominated Palme D’Or winner plays in a sandbox of historical reality and that same thrilling drive we’ve come to expect from this legendary filmmaker. The film is set in Germany during the years before World War I as strange things start to transpire, pointing to a sort of ritual punishment for all in the village. A horse trips on a wire and throws the rider, a woman falls to her death through rotted planks, the local baron’s son is hung upside down in a mill, the locals start to lose their grips and commit very public indecencies and then start to outright disappear. What is this all crescendoing to? Haneke keeps you on the edge of your seat as the intensity boils out of control in a film that deserves a Criterion Collection edition as soon as possible. In the meantime, I’m excited to just have it on Blu-ray.

Mark Of The Vampire – I feel like it has been a while since I’ve gotten to talk about a Warner Archive classic release and, sadly, I wish this was given to me in October because it would have been a fun thing to bring. Coming out of the original golden age of Hollywood, it was a horror story headlined by one of the biggest names in town, Lionel Barrymore, as well as co-starring a genre heavyweight in Bela Legosi and under the eye of one of the most fascinating creators of the time, Tod Browning. The story follows the daughter of a slain nobleman who becomes the target of her father’s murderer, a vampire known as Count Mora. Enter Professor Zelen, an expert on vampires who are sent in to prevent her death just as more secrets are revealed surrounding the circumstances of Sir Karell’s death and the small village they reside in is put under more evil intent. Upon release, the film was banned in Poland and Sweden, and censors in Hungary excised the screams, shots of bats and other gruesome scenes, which are very pedestrian by today’s horror standards. Even so, the film was a moderate success for MGM at the time and raised the profile of all involved.

Television:

Yellowstone: Season 5 (Paramount+) – Kevin Costner takes the lead in this series that has taken audiences across North America in a big bad way and it’s because it is a damn good series both in writing from Hell Or High Water and Sicario’s Taylor Sheridan and a well-rounded cast around Costner including Kelly Reilly, Cole Hauser and Wes Bentley to get things started.. The show follows the Dutton family, led by John Dutton played by Costner, who controls the largest contiguous ranch in the United States, under constant attack by those it borders, such as land developers, a nearby Indian reservation and the keepers of America’s first National Park. It is an intense study of a violent world far from media scrutiny, where land grabs make developers billions, politicians are bought and sold by the world’s largest oil and lumber corporations, where drinking water is poisoned by fracking wells and unsolved murders are not news. I was severely late to the game and am currently immersed near the end of the third season and am really enjoying it, a good series for those who like crime series like Sons Of Anarchy or The Sopranos.

Tulsa King (Paramount+) – The Taylor Sheridan freight train is in full effect this week, first with the debut of the fifth season of Paramount+’s juggernaut that I just talked about but Sylvester Stallone is now joining in the fun. To be clear, this is his own series, unconnected to the story of the Duttons and their predecessor but for those who have dug into the Jeremy Renner series Mayor Of Kingstown, he has more than enough talent to go around. The story follows Sly as mafia capo and ex-con Dwight “The General” Manfredi, recently released from prison and exiled to Tulsa, Oklahoma to keep on the straight and narrow. Obviously, he doesn’t and proceeds to build a new empire with the people he pulls in locally. Sheridan just knows how to write compelling television so I fully expect this show to be an immediate success and the subscriber numbers to jump up more on Paramount’s fast-rising streaming service. Personally, I’ve been waiting for something good for Stallone and this is the best possible outcome.

Dead To Me: Season 3 (Netflix) – Two of my favourite actresses lead this dark comedy to the finale as one of my childhood crushes, Christina Applegate, plays a recently widowed woman who meets a new friend, played by Linda Cardellini, at the grief support group, not knowing that she is the one responsible for her husband’s death. The casting is so impeccable in this show and the writing is so snappy that if this is really Applegate’s swan song, now battling MS after her two bouts of breast cancer, then it is a really great one to go out on. I also love that one of my favourite character actor Garret Dillahunt, is a prominent piece of this final season, although he just signifies trouble for our two leads. This is one of those hit shows for Netflix and I’m happy to see it’s going out on its own terms. Also, fuck MS for taking Christina Applegate from our television and movie screens.

1899 (Netflix) – For those who have never had someone sprinkle this knowledge in their ear, let me be the first to tell you that the Danish series Dark on Netflix is the best show you’ve never heard of. It caught people’s imaginations with its abundance of twists, turns and weird moments and Netflix loved the streaming numbers so much that they gave them carte blanche to create something new and that something is this new series. Digging into some Danish history tinged with gothic horror, this series follows multinational immigrants travelling from London to New York at the cusp of the nineteenth century who encounter a nightmarish riddle aboard a second ship found adrift on the open sea. The best thing is to give just that short teaser and go in blind as the intrigue is in the reveals and creators Baran bo Odar and Jantje Friese are so gifted at that. The cast isn’t largely known to North American audiences but it does have actress Emily Beecham who astounded me in a Vancouver International Film Festival chiller called Little Joe a few years ago.

Fleishman Is In Trouble (Disney+) – I really love that a lot of independent filmmakers have taken short breaks from making big screen cinema to doing little limited series for streamers and American Splendor writing and directing duo Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini’s new series is a great example of that. Featuring the great talent of Jesse Eisenberg, Lizzy Caplan, Claire Danes and Adam Brody, there are so many elements of this show that get me excited to devour every episode and it is all before I even get to the plot. The show follows Jesse as Toby Fleishman, a man recently separated from his wife after a fifteen-year marriage and must now reacclimate and navigate weekends and every other holiday with the kids, some residual bitterness and the occasional moment of tension with his soon-to-be ex-wife in their co-parenting negotiations. This is exactly the sort of comedy-drama series I love and, for those who aren’t huge fans of Eisenberg’s traits as an actor, this is the type of story he excels in. Starting from The Squid And The Whale, it is exactly the same subgenre that made me a fan of his.

What The Hell Should I Watch? – Nov 10

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November 10, 2022

New Releases:

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – This week has us heading back into the Marvel Universe for what promises to be an emotional goodbye to Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa but the birth of a new hero to take the mantle, which looks like the sister, Shiri donning the suit. I have been thinking about the way that they were going to handle the death of a majorAvengers player but I have the utmost confidence in writer and director Ryan Coogler because he hasn’t made a bad film yet. From what I see, the story picks up with Queen Ramonda, Shuri, M’Baku, Okoye and the Dora Milaje fighting to protect the kingdom of Wakanda from intervening world powers in the wake of King T’Challa’s death. As the Wakandans strive to embrace their next chapter, the heroes must band together with the help of War Dog Nakia and Everett Ross to battle the emergence of a new enemy from the sea, in the form of a debuting Marvel heavyweight in King Namor the Sub Mariner and forge a new path for their nation. Namor is a key ingredient in why I’m so excited to see where this story is going to be as he is a big piece of us getting mutants in the MCU, something already hinted at in the recent Ms. Marvel series. I could geek out for hours about this but just know that the first Black Panther was pretty damn great so the bar to exceed that is a bit lofty.

Blu-Ray:

The Power Of The Dog – When acclaimed writer and director Jane Campion returns to film after an over ten-year hiatus, you stop and take notice as a film fan. Granted, she made the excellent murder mystery series Top Of The Lake with Elisabeth Moss for BBC but there is something special with the cinematic scope of this Academy Award-winning filmmaker. Her now Academy Award-winning film and newly minted Criterion Collection piece as of this week is a western drama that follows Benedict Cumberbatch as charismatic rancher Phil Burbank, a severe man who inspires fear and awe in those around him. He can castrate a bull calf with two swift slashes of his knife and swims naked in the river, smearing his body with mud off his own land, a cowboy as raw as the hides he produces because all of Phil’s romance, power and fragility is trapped in the past and the dirt he stands on. When his brother brings home a new wife and her son, Phil torments them incessantly until he finds himself exposed to the possibility that his heart may not be as dead and buried as he thought. The film co-stars Kirsten Dunst and Jesse Plemons and has a vibrant character feel driven home by some stellar direction from a true master. Many might not get on board with the slow burn this tale exhibits but the deep character work from these actors in, at least for Dunst and Cumberbatch, is at a career-best, it deserves all of the celebrations.

I Love My Dad – From Ratatouille to Big Fan, stand-up comedian Patton Oswalt has done a varied amount of work in film from animated classics to underrated character gems that need to be seen but with this film, the goal definitely felt like it was to make you uncomfortable. At the heart of the awkwardness and line-crossing is a father’s absolutely misplaced love and deep dejection but it doesn’t soften it at all. Written, directed and starring James Morosini as Oswalt’s son, Patton plays an estranged father who has been blocked online by a child sick of his lies, he decides to make up a profile of a young woman to befriend him and keep up with the goings on in his life. Things get entangled when his son falls in love with this made-up girl forcing him to get romantic online with his own offspring. Yeah, this one gets decidedly messed up but the heart and soul are all exhibited by a father that has felt the sorrow he has inflicted but spiralled out of control with a bad idea. Patton really excels in the character dramas, this one definitely having a bit of comedy to it.

She Will – This was a total surprise to see come up now as a Blu-ray release this week as a horror thriller with the great Malcolm McDowell is always something to stop and take note of, even in a small role, one of the greatest character actors of all time and a personal favourite ever since I saw the cinematic glory that is A Clockwork Orange. This also happens to be the debut of writer and director Charlotte Colbert and I’m always so excited to see a new female voice in the genre and she nails it with a hell of a first film. The film follows former Borg Queen Alice Krige as an aging film star who retreats to the Scottish countryside with her nurse to recover from surgery. While there, mysterious forces of revenge emerge from the land where witches were burned in a story that is reportedly far more bone-chilling than it is jump-scary. I love the atmosphere that is given in this film, impeccably shot in every moment and this addition to Shudder’s lineup just increases the must-have feeling that the streaming app has been gaining for years now. Genre fans are rapidly running out of excuses to not buy in in my opinion.

The Witch 2: The Other One – Bringing some international film from one of my favourite countries as this week I got to take in some good ol’ South Korean action and I got a double shot of it as well as I have to watch the first film to catch up with the story. The thing about South Korean films like this is they always exceed two hours so the layering of the story is intense but I’ll do my best to outline this film. The first film deals with the amnesia of a young girl who is actually an unstoppable killing machine created by a shadowy corporation. After dispatching her creators and burning their facility to the ground in the finale of the first movie, the girl wakes up in a secret laboratory and meets Kyung-hee, who is trying to protect her from a gang. When the gang finally finds the girl, they are overwhelmed by an unexpected power which is unleashed on them all over again. This is the second in a proposed trilogy and the action is awesome throughout, this film has a lot more of it. There is some stuff that feels a little repetitive, especially watching the films back to back, but I’m still very curious to see where it all goes.

Aqua Teen Forever: Plantasm – I’ll be brief about this one because it really is just for a nice audience but after getting the complete box set of Adult Swim’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force I have re-immersed myself in the madness and it brings me back to the early 2000s when it debuted. Sadly, we don’t have the Cartoon Network anymore but Warner Bros. has decided to continue giving us stories of Meatwad, Frylock, Master Shake, their angry New Jersey neighbour Carl and the rest of the wacky side characters and I’m glad. This film has our three, umm, heroes estranged from each other until a megalomaniac with a global domination kink decides to take over the world and, most notably, a dilapidated house in New Jersey. They don’t reform to combat the bad, just to argue some more and it is delightful for any fan of this long-running series that is actually one of the first comedy things that I connected with my wife on. Yes, this has a personal connection in this family.

Saturday Night Fever 4K – The iconic feel of this film can not be understated as it made John Travolta a bigger star than he ever was as a television star on Welcome Back, Kotter and just before he hit the mega big time with Grease. It was also a huge boost for filmmaker John Badham who made this film his debut feature film on the big screen which paved the way for him as a studio guy that would go on to make crowd-pleasers like WarGames and Short Circuit. Travolta plays Tony Manero, an uneducated, immature Brooklyn teenager whose weekly highlight is going to the local disco, where he is the king of the dance floor. At home, it is a different story as he lives with his abusive, overbearing parents, and works at a dead-end job at a small paint store. Soon Tony meets Stephanie Mangano at the disco and they agree to dance together in a competition. Stephanie resists Tony’s attempts to romance her, as she aspires to greater things; she is moving across the river to Manhattan. Gradually, Tony also becomes disillusioned with the life he is leading and he and Stephanie decide to help each other to start afresh. Usually just remembered for the dancing scene with Travolta doing those now stereotypical disco moves, the film is actually way better than I had recollected.

Steve’s Blu-Ray Geek-Outs:

The Flash: Season 8 – After a dicey few months of speculation, I feel like the continued DC properties in television and film are on a good path but it’s sad to see that some of the existing bright points didn’t see that renewal, including this series which comes to an end with the ninth season. This season gets to celebrate everything that came before it in tribute to the Arrowverse inclusive arc of Armageddon that stretches for the first five episodes. The show picks up after the previous storyline that had Barry time hopping to get help from his future children and I have a deep love for all the little nuances they pull out of the vast history that The Flash has in the long history of the character. As the show prepares to draw to a close, it is good to reflect on how good it has been consistently than to reflect on the void that it will leave in comic book television, which is pretty deep.

Television:

Down To Earth With Zac Efron: Season 2 (Netflix) – If you have a high profile as an actor and the resources and drive to make a mark with your platform then I applaud you in every way and it is for this reason that you really can’t hate on the work that Zac Efron is trying to do with his new series. Yes, it definitely comes off as super “bro” driven at times, especially in the narration with some jokes that give you some six-pack eye-rolling abs, but it is all for a good cause and, above all, awareness of the current earth crisis. Along with his friend Darin Olien, Zac travels worldwide in search of healthy, sustainable ways to live. The first season spanned the places of Iceland, France, Sardinia, Puerto Rico and more, this one is a focused look at Australia and the rest of the down under, largely regarded as the most dangerous place on the planet. Given Efron’s health scare a couple years back, this gives added weight to his new world idea series and its new episodes.

Mythic Quest: Season 3 (AppleTV+) – Any fans of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia out there are probably already wise to this new series that launched with the AppleTV+ service but I was definitely late to the game and after a full binge of both seasons I am here to tell you it is must-see stuff. Starring Rob McElhenney and created alongside Charlie Day and gifted writer Megan Ganz, the show follows a team of video game developers as they navigate the challenges of running a popular video game. This show is hysterically funny and devolves into a chaos of tech jargon, clashing egos, insane ideas and more with a great recurring cast including Community’s Danny Pudi and an Academy Award-winning heavyweight in F. Murray Abraham and also has guest stars like Jake Johnson, Palm Springs star Cristin Milioti and even recent Best Actor Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins. This is some can’t-miss comedy right here for everyone to jump into.

Zootopia+ (Disney+) – A surprise hit for a non-Pixar studio animated film from Disney, Zootopia was a great film filled with vibrant characters and a lush world and backdrop ready for new little stories and that is certainly what the geniuses at Disney+ picked up on. Much like they have done with the Big Hero 6 Baymax series, this is a collection of shorts based directly around the movie with moments popping directly into it. The story of what happened to Judy Hopps’ parents immediately after dropping her off at the train station is your kick-off point but we also get background stories with Clawhauser at the police station and his love for a Shakira-voiced Gazelle, a weasel looking for the big time of crime or redemption, the Real Rodents Of Rodenia and a few more give you almost an hour of fun little shorts to work through.

The English (Prime Video) – I know really almost nothing heading into this new series for Prime but I do know that it has Emily Blunt leading the way and, honestly, that is enough for me to devour every episode. The second thing that would sell me as a standalone feature is that it is a western story, something that we don’t get a lot of but when we do it becomes an obsession for me, like Deadwood or the recent Good Lord Bird. Set in the mythic mid-American landscape in the year 1890, the story follows Cornelia Locke, an Englishwoman who arrives in the new and wild landscape of the West to wreak revenge on the man she sees as responsible for the death of her son. Upon meeting Eli Whipp, an ex-cavalry scout and member of the Pawnee Nation by birth, they join together and discover a shared history which must be defeated at all costs, if either of them are to survive. The show is headed by writer and director Hugo Blick who has spent years as a stalwart creator of British television and is now bringing it to the international audience with a very sought-after female lead. I really hope this plays to the strengths of a solid western thriller like Meek’s Cutoff, which, if you haven’t seen it, is a masterpiece.

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