Mishmashed genres. Films reviewed: Sisu, Polite Society, Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
Spring Film Festival Season continues in Toronto, with Hot Docs on now — offering 200 great documentaries from around the world, with free daytime tickets for students and seniors! — and ReelAbilities Film Festival starts on May 11th, showing great films by, for and about the deaf and disability communities — and it’s fully accessible!
But this week I’m talking about three new movies — from Finland, the UK and the US — opening this weekend. There’s a WWII action-thriller that feels like a spaghetti western; an Indo-English action-comedy with a dash of Kung Fu, and a coming-of-age drama about puberty in the 1970s.
Sisu
Wri/Dir: Jalmari Helander
It’s 1944 in Lapland, Finland, and a grizzled old prospector (Jorma Tommila) is panning for gold. He knows there’s a war going on, but he just wants to be alone with his dog, his horse and his pickaxe. But then he hits a golden lode! Not just a few tiny nuggets, but huge glowing rocks. Now it’s time to pack up his bags and head off toward Helsinki to cash them in. What he doesn’t know, though, is that the Nazis are carrying out a scorched-earth policy, burning and killing everyone in Lapland. And a troop of SS soldiers, tanks and all, are heading his way. How can a feeble old prospector resist the Third Reich?
But this is no ordinary codger. When Finland was allied to the 
Nazis he singlehandedly fought hundreds of Soviet soldiers – his back is riddled with bullet holes and scars, but he is virtually indestructible. He is a living legend and the Russians know to steer clear of him. And now Finland has switched sides, from the Axis to the Allies. But the SS Obersturmführer (Norwegian actor Aksel Hennie: Max Manus) and his henchman Wolf (Jack Doolan) don’t have a clue who they’re dealing with. And when they spot his gold, they make it the mission of their squad to kill the old man and grab the booty. But which side will triumph in the end?
Sisu (the title is an untranslatable Finnish word that means something like a knuckle- breaking determination, and bravery, never to give in despite the odds) is an extremely violent action-thriller, told in a light, almost humorous way, about one man’s fight to the bitter end. It traces their battle on land, through minefields, underwater and high in the sky. The music and camerawork look like a 1960s spaghetti western, and the film has an almost cartoonish or fairytale feel. I’ve seen Tommila in a number of super-weird Finnish movies (Big Game, Rare Exports) directed by Helander, always about a not-so-nice hero in Lapland, with his actual son Onni Tommila always playing a role (this time he’s a German soldier). A unique genre, but one you should explore. If you’re into suspense and action with lots of violence, blood and gore, you’ll love Sisu.
Polite Society
Wri/Dir: Nida Manzoor
Ria and Lena are two sisters who live in London. When they’re not wrestling or trying to gouge each other’s eyes out, they are fantasizing about their future careers: Ria (Priya Kansara) as a stuntwoman, and Lena (Ritu Arya) as an artist. Ria relentlessly practices her killer kung-fu kick (to no avail) while Lena cultivates her brooding goth persona.
This doesn’t sit well with their Pakistani parents, who want their daughters to find respectable professions. That’s why they pay for Ria’s posh private school — so she’ll become a doctor.
But things turn bad when Lena drops out of art school and falls 
into a deep depression. Things get worse when she agrees to attend a party at a huge mansion, thrown by Salim (Akshay Khan) the most eligible bachelor in town, and the son of a millionairess (Nimra Bucha). But when he proposes to Ria, Lena knows something is not right. Why did this rich guy want to marry an art school drop out? What are his real motives? With the help of her best friends Clara and Alba she decides to delve into Salim’s past and expose his wrongdoings to stop the impending wedding. But is she barking up the wrong tree? And is it all just her childish imagination?
Polite Society is an English action-comedy, and though set within the South Asian community, aside from one song it’s a far cry from Bollywood. The humour is British and the fights are strictly Hong Kong. Throw in a bit of science fiction and some high school dynamics, and you’ll find an unexpectedly enjoyable mishmash of genres, in the style of Everything, Everwhere, All at Once… but entirely different. I liked this one a lot.
Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret
Wri/Dir: Kelly Fremon Craig (Based on the book by Judy Blume)
It’s the 1970s in Manhattan. Margaret Simon (Abby Ryder Fortson) is an 11-year-old girl who lives in an apartment with her parents. She loves school, her friends, her Grandma Sylvia (Kathy Bates) who lives nearby, and the city that’s all around her. So when her parents tell her they’re leaving The City and moving to suburban New Jersey, Margaret is devastated. And despite their assurances — it’s just across the river, Dad (Benny Safdie: Uncut Gems) got a promotion and Mom (Rachel McAdams: Morning Glory, A Most Wanted Man, Everything Will Be Fine, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) won’t have to work anymore — to Margaret it’s another universe. That’s why she starts talking directly to God, since she has no one else to tell her secrets to. She was brought up with no religion — her dad’s Jewish and her mom’s Christian — but she still needs the God thing.
She soon makes friends her age, when their neighbour marches through their front door. Nancy (Elle Graham) quickly informs her
she’s richer, prettier and more popular than Margaret but she can join her clique anyway as long as she follows the rules: They must wear a bra, tell the group when they have a period, and share the name of the boy they’re crushing on. Problem is Margaret has no breasts, no period and Moose, the guy she likes, isn’t the right one. With friends like these, who needs enemies?
Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret is a retelling of the classic, pre-teen novel, and it’s fantastic. It’s funny and realistic, dealing with the problems and insecurities girls had to deal with before the internet. (And none of these worries have gone away). It’s set in the 1970s, complete with the classrooms, clothes and music of the period, but also the attitudes and zeitgeist. It deals with everything from spin the bottle to bullying. And if you have a heart I’m sure you’ll shed a tear at least once. Generations grew up on Judy Blume’s books, and the movie is faithful to the original but totally accessible to kids today (and their parents.) This is a great girls’ movie about the perils of puberty.
Polite Society, Sisu and Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret all open across Canada this weekend; check your local listings.
This is Daniel Garber at the Movies, each Saturday morning, on CIUT 89.5 FM and on my website, culturalmining.com.
The best movie of the year? Films reviewed: Chevalier, Quasi, Beau is Afraid
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
Spring film festival season continues with Images, where indie film and experimental video meets avant-garde art and media culture. And Hot Docs Documentary Festival starts next week. But this week I’m talking about three new features — a comedy, a historical drama and a movie that defies categorization. There’s a hunchback whose name rings a bell, a musician whose work rivals Mozart’s, and a recluse who must confront what he fears most.
Chevalier
Wri/Dir: Stephen Williams
It’s the 1780s in Paris, and Joseph de Boulogne (Kelvin Harrison, Jr) is the talk of the town. He’s handsome, witty, educated and highly-skilled. He’s a champion fencer and a violin virtuoso. He can also compose a score for opera, ballet or orchestra. When Mozart comes to town, he jumps onto the stage and challenges him to a duel — using violins as their weapons. Men admire him, and women swoon. And the Queen of France, Marie Antoinette (Lucy Boynton) dubs him Chevalier de Saint-George, the highest title he can receive. Most unusual of all, Joseph de Bologne is Black. Born in the French Caribbean, his father is a wealthy colonist, and his mother a West-African-born slave.
He takes on as his lover the beautiful Marie Josephine (Samara Weaving); together they hope to 
launch his career in opera. But he faces opposition from people in high places. His lover is married to a powerful, but abusive man. The Chevalier earlier snubbed another patron La Guimard (Minnie Driver) who bears a grudge. Can a black man in 18th century France rise to the top of a rigid system? And what about the revolution?
Chevalier tells an interesting story about an almost-forgotten historical figure. It’s full of ornate wigs and costumes, dancing ensembles, and crowds on cobblestone streets shouting Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité! What it’s missing, though, is a soul. It’s hard to get past the big issues and petty intrigues to care deeply about the main characters. This film has great production values and acting. In fact Kelvin Harrison, Jr is one of the best young actors around, and I’ll see anything he’s in — he’s that good. Sadly, he’s better than the material he has to work with. Chevalier is good enough, but it never reaches the greatness I was hoping for.
Quasi
By Broken Lizard
It’s France in the 1400s, and Quasimodo, the legendary hunchback with a twisted face, works not as a bellringer in Notre Dame but as a royal torturer. He got the job because he invented the rack to straighten out the hump of fatty tissue on his back. Didn’t work, but turns out the rack is great for causing pain. And the new queen (Adrienne Palicki) has taken a shine to Quasi. She likes his outspoken nature, and the fact he listens to what she says, unlike the vain and egotistical King Guy. Things are looking up when Quasi wins the national lottery. But the grand prize — meeting with the King — ends up a fiasco. Far from being a fun filled smorgasbord, Quasi leaves the palace with orders to kill the Pope! If not, the King will kill him and all his friends instead. To add to his troubles, when he meets the Pope, Quasi is ordered to assassinate the King! He’s caught in the middle of a feud between two cruel and powerful leaders. How will he ever get out of this one?
Quasi is a sketch comedy parody that transplants The Hunchback of Notre Dame into a new 
setting. Unfortunately — aside from a bit of bawdy humour — most of the jokes never go beyond foul language, torture humour and opaque references to oysters. (Why oysters? Why indeed). Then there are scenes like one character having his testicles nailed to a wooden board. (Is this supposed to be funny? I don’t get it.) The film is the product of comedy troupe Broken Lizard whose five members — Jay Chandrasekhar, Paul Soter, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, and Eric Hanske — wrote, produced and starred in multiple roles, with Heffernan at the helm. Apparently, they’re quite well-known and popular and have made some other movies, including “Super Troopers 1 & 2”. Perhaps they’re an acquired taste (which I have yet to develop) and if I ever do, I’ll be sure to let you know. But in the meantime, I failed to find humour anywhere in this unfortunate exercise in juvenile excess.
I guess we could call this a quasi-comedy.
Beau is Afraid
Wri/Dir: Ari Aster
Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) is a meek, mild-mannered, middle-aged man who lives in an unnamed city. He’s the ultimate passive introvert, whose main goal is to avoid conflict. He has no job or friends and lives alone, but does see a therapist regularly. His main topic? His mom, Mona Wasserman (Patti Lupone) a very successful entrepreneur from a small town called Wasserton. His dad died before Beau was born, so Mona has always been the main influence in his life. Then there’s Elaine, the girl of his dreams, whose Polaroid photo he carries with him wherever he goes. Their time together as teenagers was brief but he will never forget her.
Now he’s supposed to fly to visit his mother, but Beau is afraid. And for good reason. He lives in a 
dystopian slum full of criminals, drug addicts and naked serial killers roaming the streets. He’s in danger the moment he steps out his door. And his apartment isn’t safe either — it’s infested with poisonous spiders, and bloodthirsty neighbours who slide threatening notes under his door. Nowhere is safe. Luckily his analyst prescribed him a new medication he’s sure will calm Beau down. But it comes with unexpected side effects.
When he misses his flight, he sets out on foot, beginning a picaresque journey full of strange, wonderful and sometimes hazardous people he encounters along the way. His face and body are battered and bruised, his survival due to sheer luck. But will he ever see his mother again?
Beau is Afraid is a hilarious, dreadful, shocking and amazing drama. It’s uncategorizable, one of those few movies that stand alone, like work by David Lynch, Gaspar Noe or Lars Von Trier. It’s three hours long, uncomfortable to watch, but clearly something special. It’s multiple-layers deep with more detail than you can absorb in a single viewing. I’m purposely not touching most of the characters and plot because one of the joys of watching this thing is the constant surprises.
The whole movie is intentionally ambiguous as to what is real, what is imagined, and whether you’re inside a dream or a drug-induced psychosis.
The acting is superb, from Joaquin Phoenix as the eternally abused milquetoast to Patty Lupone as his monstrous mother (possibly her best film performance, ever?), with unforgettable scenes by Parker Posey as an unexpected visitor, Kylie Rogers as a vindictive teen, and Amy Ryan as a Gold Star Mother. Beau is Afraid chews up and spits out everything, from the collapse of the American Dream, to psychoanalysis, hippy communes, police violence, poverty, Big Pharma, and rampant capitalism.
Some people will hate this movie, but I think it’s amazing; maybe the best film of the year.
Beau is Afraid and Chevalier both open across Canada this weekend; check your local listings. Quasi is now streaming across Canada on Disney+.
This is Daniel Garber at the Movies, each Saturday morning, on CIUT 89.5 FM and on my website, culturalmining.com.
Daniel Garber talks with Kelly Reichardt about Showing Up
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
It’s present-day Portland Oregon. Lizzie is an instructor at the College of Arts and Crafts and is preparing her upcoming solo show at a local gallery. She is creating a series of small, clay, glazed sculptures of women in motion. But she also has to deal with the vagaries of daily life: a dysfunctional family, a pigeon wounded by her aggressive cat, a broken water heater, and most of all Jo. Jo is her friend, neighbour, fellow-artist, and absentee landlady. Lizzie holds a long-standing grudge against Jo’s relative success and is carrying on a passive 
aggressive war against her frenemy. But time is running out. Will she finish her art in time, keep her family alive, and finally take a hot shower? And most important, is anyone showing up for her opening?
Showing Up is a new dramatic comedy that takes an inside look at Portland’s art scene. It’s a subtly satirical examination of real life. Showing Up is the latest work of filmmaker Kelly Reichardt, known for her rethinking of traditional genres, from westerns to thrillers to dramas, from Meeks Cutoff to Night Moves to Certain Women.
I spoke with Kelly Reichardt in person at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto, where Showing Up is now playing.
Fighting the big fight. Films reviewed: How to Blow up a Pipeline, Renfield PLUS #HotDocs30
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
This coming Wednesday is Canadian Film Day, where you can see great Canadian movies for free all across the country. And Hot Docs — is right around the corner offering documentaries from Canada and around the world. It’s their 30th anniversary, and once again daytime screenings are free for seniors and students, so don’t miss it.
This week, I’ll be talking about films to look out for at Hot Docs as well as two new features — a horror comedy and a suspense thriller. There are radical activists in Texas fighting Big Oil, and a servant in New Orleans fighting Big Vampire.
Films coming to Hot Docs
Photo by Angela Gzowski Photography
The festival opens with the first pan-polar indigenous documentary about the Inuit in Greenland and Nunavut. It’s called Twice Colonized.
In You Were My First Boyfriend the filmmaker looks back at her traumatic high school days.
Someone Lives Here is about the young guy in Toronto who built those tiny wooden houses, providing shelter for the homeless during the pandemic.
Praying for Armageddon is about the political power wielded by evangelical groups in the US.
Love to Love You, Donna Summer is a tribute to the queen of disco.
Lac Megantic is the first documentary on that railway disaster in Quebec.
And Satan Wants You retraces the satanic panic that sprung up in the US in the 1980s.
These are just a few of the many films coming to Hotdocs, that caught my eye.
How to blow up a Pipeline
Co-Wri/Dir: Daniel Goldhaber
If you heard that bombs exploding near Odessa are affecting world oil prices, you’d probably say Of course! There’s a war on in Ukraine. But what if the explosion is near Odessa, Texas? And the bombing is planned by young radical climate activists making a statement about Big Oil? This is a film about a group with loose ties across the country who get together in Texas to blow up an oil pipeline in two places, to make a big statement felt worldwide, because West Texas Crude determines the world’s price of oil
Who is this diverse group sharing a single goal?
Xochitl (Ariela Barer) and Theo (Sasha Lane) have been best friends since childhood. They grew up beside an oil refinery, and now Xochitl has terminal cancer, a type of leukemia specific to people who live near oil refineries. Xochitl’s lover, Alisha (Jayme Lawson) is also there. Michael (Forrest Goodluck) is from North Dakota where his indigenous community couldn’t prevent a pipeline from running through their town. Rowan and Logan (Kristine Froseth, 
Lukas Gage) are anti-fa-type activists who up to now have done low-key actions. And Dwayne (Jake Weary) is a Texan, married with a kid, whose ancestral homestead was demolished by another oil company using eminent domain. Shawn (Marcus Scribner) met Dwayne while working as the sound guy on a documentary.
How to Bomb a Pipeline is not a documentary, it’s a suspense /thriller about this diverse crew trying to build bombs and set them off without getting caught. They use public access information that’s online and work out careful plans… but things don’t go exactly how they plan it. And at least one member of the group is a rat, reporting progress to the police. I liked this movie; it was pretty good alternating between the group at work and flashbacks showing the backstories of each member. If you’re into watching (un-)civil disobedience by radical activists, told in a gripping style, you might like How to Bomb a Pipeline.
Renfield
Dir: Chris McKay
It’s present-day New Orleans. Renfield (Nicholas Hoult) is an Englishman, new to the city but with the same old job, one he really hates. So he joins a 12 step group for people in co-dependency relationships. But it will take more than 12 steps to get quit his job. You see he’s Dracula’s servant, the one who brings the vampire (Nicolas Cage) bodies to feast on. TO be a better person, he kills the rotten spouses or lovers spouses of other people in his group. But Dracula wants more: Bring me a busload of nuns, cheerleaders and innocent tourists! Dracula commands. But though he has ever disobeyed his master, he does have some superpowers: insects are to Renfield as spinach is to Popeye. Chew up a cricket and he can fight off an armed gang. And he does exactly that when heir to a criminal family, the notorious Lobos clan comes after him. Tedward Lobo (Ben Schwartz) wants to prove his skills to his mother the mob boss, but Renfield is a thorn in his side. The fight is witnessed by Officer Quincy (Awkwafina) a traffic officer 
who is the only cop in New Orleans not on the take. She tells the Renfield he’s a hero, something he’s never been called before. Together they vow to bring an end to crime. But what will Dracula do if he ever finds out?
Renfield is a very funny horror/action/comedy. I went this one expecting total crap, so I was pleasantly surprised at how good it is. Nicolas Cage is always hit and miss — he’s prone to hamming it up, and is in a lot of dreadful clunkers. But he’s terrific as Dracula, the perfect blend of disgusting, sleazy, scary and funny. He’s on a roll. And he never breaks character. Nicholas Hoult is just as good as a meek serial killer/hero, and Awkwafina serves as the perfect foil. In 
fact everyone plays their roles really well. If you can’t stand blood, stay away. This movie is Fangoria material. Lots of violence spilled guts and cut off limbs, in a semi-comical way. But if that’s no problem I think you’ll enjoy this one.
Hotdocs begins on April 27th. Renfield and How to Blow Up a Pipeline both open across Canada this weekend; check your local listings.
This is Daniel Garber at the Movies, each Saturday morning, on CIUT 89.5 FM and on my website, culturalmining.com.
Daniel Garber talks with Rama Rau and Laura Hokstad about Coven at #HotDocs23
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
Do witches have green skin, pointy hats and eat babies? Or were they outspoken innocent women burned at the stake for their beliefs? Do they only exist in fairy tales and history books? Well, according to a new film, witches are alive and well and living in Toronto.
Coven is a fascinating and eye-opening documentary that follows the everyday lives of three creative witches — a singer-songwriter, a multi-disciplinary artist, and an art director — both in Toronto and as they 
explore their spiritual roots in Scotland, Romania, the US and the Caribbean, both now and deep in history. It’s written and directed by the noted documentarian Rama Rau, famous for her work both on TV and on the big screen. I last spoke to her on this show in 2015 about The League of Exotique Dancers. Coven’s subjects include Laura Hokstad a queer, Toronto-based Art Director and Tarot Card Reader, who is also the host of the YouTube series on Rue Morgue TV called Terror Tarot.
I spoke with Rama Rau and Laura Hokstad in Toronto via Zoom.
Coven is having its world premiere at the Hot Docs 30th Anniversary Documentary Film Festival on Friday, April 28 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.
S Movies. Films reviewed: Soft, Simulant, The Super Mario Bros Movie
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
This week, I’m looking at three new movies: one realistic, one sci fi and one fantasy. We’ve got three kids exploring Toronto’s underworld; a futuristic world where androids compete with humans for dominance; and a cartoon universe where plumbers on mushrooms battle fire-breathing turtles.
Soft
Wri/Dir: Joseph Amenta
It’s summertime in Toronto and three kids are making the most of their time away from Junior High. Julian (Matteus Lunot) has pink hair and likes brightly coloured clothes. He lives with Dawn (Miyoko Anderson), a sex worker. She helps him dye his hair to match hers, and gives him clothing and makeup tips, acting as a surrogate mother ever since his mom kicked him out for being gay. Otis (Harlow Joy) has to sneak away to have fun — he plays it straight when he’s with his bible-thumping dad. Tony (Zion Matheson) has a loving mom who accepts the three kids’ shifting genders and sexualities. The three of them splash around public swimming pools and explore the Scarborough Bluffs.
Their big goal? To sneak into a gay dance club to listen to the music, explore the lights and shadows, and maybe make friends. Of the three, Julian is the most street-smart. Closed windows and high walls are no barrier to getting where he wants to go, and his nimble fingers help him “find” wallets and credit cards — his only source of income. But after a 
night on the town, they discover Dawn went out the night before and never came home. Is she in trouble? Or in danger? So they set out to find her or what happened to her. But as things get more serious, cracks start to appear in their friendship. What happened to Dawn? Where will Julian go without her? And can the three friends stay friends?
Soft is a free-form look at three kids feeling their way through a judgemental (and sometimes dangerous) city as they navigate their own identities, sexualities and genders. Soft is tender and exuberant. It shows a realistic Toronto — a mix of races, classes and languages — while exposing the soft underbelly of its counterculture. Though a coming-of-age story, it’s not about intimate sexual experiences, it’s about self identity and friendship.
Soft is both rough and sweet.
Simulant
Dir: April Mullen (Badsville)
It’s the near future in an industrialized city, and robots and androids are everywhere. A young couple, Evan (Robbie Amell: Resident Evil, Code 8) and Faye (Jordana Brewster: Random Acts of Violence) have slept in separate bedrooms since recovering from a terrible car accident. Evan often wakes up to nightmares about the crash, but his memories are still foggy. Faye is depressed and keeps him at arms distance. Luckily, they still have a plastic robot who cooks them perfect pancakes each morning. But Faye thinks there’s a problem with the android, so she calls an expert AI programmer named Casey (Simu Liu) for help. But there’s nothing wrong with their pancakes. It’s Evan 
with the problem: he’s actually a 7th generation humanoid, (known as a Simulant) who looks, talks and acts exactly like her husband who died in the car crash!
His brain contains all of his memories and thought patterns; more like a clone than a robot. And he had no idea till now that he’s not the real Evan. So Casey volunteers to take care of him at his apartment building, while Faye adjusts to the concept.
Evan is agreeable to the fact, as he wants to win back Faye’s affections. Even though he knows he’s an android now, he still feels like he’s the real thing — that he possesses Evan’s soul — and still loves Faye. Simulants have thoughts and feelings identical to humans, yet they are bought and sold like slaves, and their masters can shut them down whenever they please, just by saying “shut down”… is that fair? Casey thinks it’s not; it’s his goal to secretly reprogram people with seventh 
generation artificial intelligence to set them free. But Kessler (Sam Worthington: Kidnapping Mr Heineken, Clash of Titans) a Blade-Runner-like enforcement officer, is out there trying to stop any simulant gone rogue. Which side will win? And what will happen to Evan and Faye’s relationship if he gains free will?
Simulant is a Canadian science fiction movie that plays with an interesting topic, especially now, with AI at the front of everyone’s mind. It’s the latest in a slew of films about almost-human humanoids — I’m Your Man, After Yang, Ex Machina, to name just a few — and I gobble this stuff up. So I like the concept. The problem with Simulant is it feels disjointed, and, for a thriller, it tends to drag. The aerial drone shots of industrial Hamilton are cool, and I like the rich art direction, but as a whole it doesn’t quite work. Like many science fiction movies, it’s hard to connect with the characters; we can watch them but don’t feel a part of them. Simulant isn’t bad, but, aside from a couple of genuine surprises, it just didn’t grab me.
The Super Mario Bros Movie
Dir: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic
It’s 1985 in Brooklyn, New York.
Mario and Luigi are plumbers and business partners. They just opened their new company called Super Mario Bros, and they say they can fix any leaky pipe, anywhere. But business is bad. So to show their mettle they decide to tackle a huge explosion beneath the street that no one can fix. But deep in the sewer they both get sucked down a pipe, separated and ejected into two separate worlds. Luigi is locked up in a bird cage suspended over molten lava with only a nihilistic blue star to keep him company. They’re captive of cruel king Bowser, a giant, dragon-like monster in the land of turtles. Mario ends up in a much nice place filled with talking mushrooms. It’s ruled by Princess Peach, a human, just like Mario and 
Luigi. She decides to work with Mario and Donkey Kong (a gorilla in a nearby kingdom) to rescue Luigi and fight off Bowser’s invading army. But can anyone beat that scary turtle? And will Mario or Luigi ever make it back to Brooklyn?
Super Mario Bros: The Movie is exactly what the title promises: an animated reenactment of various classic Nintendo games, held together by a threadbare plot, wicked graphics and frequent jokes. I really love psychedelic images in this movie and its fidelity to the original games, both for its nostalgia value and its all-around coolness. I’m less crazy about the fact that much of the movie feels like a well-
produced infomercial, plugging an assortment of Nintendo products, from the original to Mario Kart. A significant portion of screen time is devoted to these characters actually playing their games! Is that why we go to movies now — to watch characters play video games? Don’t get me wrong, the images, music, sound effects and jokes were enough to keep me interested and happy; there’s just not much there, there.
Soft, Super Mario Bros, and Simulant all open this weekend in Toronto; check your local listings.
This is Daniel Garber at the Movies, each Saturday morning, on CIUT 89.5 FM and on my website, culturalmining.com.
Current cinema. Films reviewed: Babysitter, A Thousand and One, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
This week, I’m looking at three new movies, a drama, an adventure-comedy and a sex-comedy. There’s a gang of thieves in the Middle Ages, a middle-aged couple in Québec with a seductive nanny, and a mom in Harlem with an undocumented son.
Babysitter
Wri/Dir: Monia Chokri
Cédric (Patrick Hivon) is a middle-class guy in a Montreal suburb, with an obsession with women’s breasts. He’s happily married with a newborn daughter but his sex life has completely dried up. Maybe that’s why, in a drunken stupor at a UFC fight, he throws himself at a sportscaster on live TV and kisses her. His immortal words Je t’aime Chantal! went viral, and made Cédric famous, but not in a good way. Now he’s on extended leave as the company investigates his sexual harassment. But with a colicky baby, neither he nor his wife on maternity leave Nadine (Monia Chokri) are getting any sleep: the baby never stops crying. So they hire a nanny named Amy (Nadia Tereszkiewicz) to take over some of the pressures of parenthood. And she has a magic touch with the baby, calming her down in an instant.
Amy is 22 years old with beautiful blonde hair and scarlet lips. She is 
both innocent and seductive. And soon enough she has Nadine and Cédric under her thumb, with Jean-Michel, Cedric’s brother (Steve Laplante) close behind. But when she shows up the next day in a semi-pornographic “French maid” costume — compete with short skirt, white stockings and high heels — the three of them don’t whether to faint or explode. Will Amy save their marriage by releasing tension, or has she gone too far? Will Cédric ever learn from his misogynistic behaviour? Will Jean-Michel ever get a hold of himself? And why does Amy act like she does?
Babysitter is a funny and campy Québecois sex comedy. It’s done in the classic manner of French and Italian movies from the 60s where the arrival of an unexpected visitor disrupts a whole family, but updated for the “#MeToo” generation. It’s highly stylized done in a retro manner, 
with bright red colours popping up in every frame, from lipstick to poppies in the garden. And the main characters’ sexual fantasies are played out in soft focus in their heads, like David Hamilton’s softcore porn of the 1970s. There’s even a gratuitous scene with a group of teenaged girls in hot pants and roller skates gliding down a suburban street, a new generation thumbing its collective nose at uptight middle age. And while the movie seems to be shown through the male gaze, filmmaker Monia Chokri adds a satirical feminist subtext, keeping it entirely tongue in cheek.
A Thousand and One
Wri/Dir: A.V. Rockwell
It’s New York City in the early 1990s. Inez (Teyana Taylor) is a young hairdresser, just released from Riker’s. But when she goes back to her old neighbourhood, no one wants to talk to her and she can’t get her old job back. Worst of all, she is heartbroken to see her six-year-old son Terry maltreated by his foster parents. So one day she simply takes him away with her. And after a few weeks of couch surfing, they find a home in an old Harlem tenement, apartment number 1001. To keep them both safe from the law, she gets Terry a new social security number and a new name. He’s shy and rarely speaks but proves to be an excellent student, so much so his teacher helps him transfer to a highly competitive tech school for bright kids. Inez, meanwhile, gets back together with her boyfriend Lucky (William Catlett). Though he makes it clear he is not Terry’s father, eventually they marry and form a loving family. But life is not easy. They have to deal with an unscrupulous landlord, suspicious teachers and 
aggressive cops. And always hanging over their heads is the fact they’re living under fake names and could be caught at any minute.
A Thousand and One is a powerful, realistic and moving drama about the life of a family in Harlem in the 1990s and early 2000s. It’s both heartbreaking and inspiring. It traces their lives through changes of government, from Giuliani’s “Broken Windows” policy through Bloomberg’s “Stop and Frisk”, and how it affects Terry as a young Black man. It’s also a coming of age story, with three actors playing Terry at 6, 13 and 17 — Aaron Kingsley Adetola, Aven Courtney, and Josiah Cross — as he struggles through his best friend, his first crush, and his fractious relationship with his mother as they face the world. I love the period costumes, hair, locations and music. And Teyana Taylor is just amazing as Inez.
A Thousand and One is not a light movie, but it’s a good one.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
Co-Wri/Dir: John Francis Daley, Jonathan Goldstein
It’s sometime, somewhere far away in a mythical, mystical, medieval kingdom. Edgin and Holga (Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez) are former thieves locked up in a remote panopticon prison. They were caught trying to steal a magic totem but were double crossed by one of their gang. But they manage to escape. Now they want to form a new gang to pull off the ultimate heist: a charm that can bring Edgin’s wife back to life and restore his family including his daughter, Kira. Edgin is the brains, while Holga is the brawn, but they need more. They enlist Simon (Justice Smith) an insecure sorcerer with questionable powers (he earns his living picking pockets at a carnival side show.) Doric (Sophia Lilis) is a ginger-haired druid who can change, in a flash, into any animal she wants, from tiny worm to giant monster. And Xenk 
(played by Bridgerton heartthrob Regé-Jean Page) — an honest and noble member of an evil clan — agrees to join the heist but only if its for good reasons, not for profit.
But they must face their former ally Forge a con man (Hugh Grant). Up to now, he has taken care of Edgin’s little girl, but has since crowned himself King in alliance with a nefarious, all-powerful sorceress. To find his daughter, liberate the riches, and defeat the sorceress, the gang must first accomplish a series of nearly-impossible tasks, worthy of Theseus. Can this ragtag gang of miscreants pull it together? Or are they all headed back to prison?
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor among Thieves is a surprisingly entertaining adventure/comedy, based on the role-play board game of the same name. Players will delight in the more obscure references — from Gelatinous Cubes to Owlbears — but ordinary audiences can fully enjoy it without any background. It also incorporates the story-telling 
aspects of the game, giving the whole film a rich, mythical feel. I went into this movie expecting nothing — previous Dungeons & Dragons incarnations have been dreadful. I shouldn’t have worried about this nerd paradise, seeing its co-written and directed by none other than John Francis Daley, from the TV cult classic Freaks and Geeks (he was a geek, of course). If you like Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings, but with more laughs and less excessive gore and ponderous speeches, then you’ll love this one.
Dungeons & Dragons: Honour among Thieves and A Thousand and One both open this weekend; check your local listings. Babysitter is playing at the Canadian Film Fest, on now.
This is Daniel Garber at the Movies, each Saturday morning, on CIUT 89.5 FM and on my website, culturalmining.com.
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