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.