Kill, Pray, Dead? Films reviewed: All You Need is Kill, Dead Man’s Wire, The Testament of Ann Lee
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
This week, I’m looking at three great new movies with terrifying titles. There’s a religious leader giving her last will and testament, a hostage-taker with populist appeal, and a futuristic killer… who might save the planet.
All You Need is Kill
Co-Dir: Ken’ichirô Akimoto, Yukinori Nakamura
It’s the near future in a sparsely-populated, rural part of Japan. Rita (Ai Mikami) is a young woman waking up to another day. She has bright red hair in a pageboy haircut, with a jaded look on her face. She volunteers at a government project to care for the roots and branches of a giant plant. Exactly one year earlier, an enormous piece of vegetation — known as Darol — landed there from outer space and spread its tentacles for miles in all directions. The mother plant is a giant tower with colourful pointed leaves. It seems weird but harmless, and the volunteers, who wear helmeted space suits, scrub clean its enormous roots each day. Until today, when suddenly the plant spits out a small army of giant-legged flowers — like colourful daisies with hairy petals — resulting in mayhem,destruction and death. Only Rita fights back, killing one of the flowers before being overwhelmed by an intense wave of red light.
Next thing you know, she’s waking up in bed again as if nothing ever happened! Sure enough everyone else at work is alive and well, with no memories of the previous day. Was it just a dream? No, the daisy-monsters attack again, and 
everybody — including Rita — dies. This repeats over and over, like a never-ending groundhog day. She tries to escape, tp hide, she trains herself on new fighting techniques she even climbs into an enormous metal exoskeleton… but she always dies in the end.
Life and resistance seem futile, with the red tentacles poised to colonize the earth. Until one day she spots a guy standing alone, observing her with a tiny, flying drone. She is angry and upset… until he tells her, he’s just like her, remembering each day too. And Rita is his hero. Keiji (Natsuki Hanae) is a geek who likes playing computer games and gazing at the stars, keeping himself far removed from danger. But together… can they defeat these awful killer daisies, and save the earth?
All You Need is Kill is an animated, science fiction fantasy, with a bit of unexpected romance thrown in. Based on a Japanese novella by Hiroshi Sakurazaka, it’s already been made into a Hollywood sci-fi action movie, Edge of Tomorrow with Tom Cruise… This one has a very different feel and a female lead. I like the noir mood, set against endless highways and deserted gas stations (rather than quaint Japanese towns). And I love the Rita character as the unflappable, existential heroine, full of nihilistic tendencies. But most of all, I love the art and animation, the colour blast of psychedelic images and cool settings.
All you Need is Kill is satisfying sci-fi anime, without any cheap AI gimmicks.
Dead Man’s Wire
Dir: Gus Van Sant
It’s a cold winter day in Indianapolis in 1977. Tony Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgård: Nosferatu, The Crow, John Wick 4) is in a downtown high-rise. He has an appointment with the head of Meridian Mortgage, the bank he deals with. But M.L.
Hall (Al Pacino), the CEO, is not available: he’s in Florida, drinking cocktails and nibbling burritos. So the vice-president, ML’s son, Dick (Dacre Montgomery) says he’ll meet with him instead. But Tony has a bone to pick. A rather big one. He owned a plot of land he was going to turn into a shopping mall, until he was double-crossed by ML Hall, sabotaging his plans, ruining his life and swindling him out of his fortune. He wants revenge, restitution for the money he lost and a sincere apology. So he walks out of the building with a long gun wired to Dick Hall’s head (what’s known as a dead man’s wire). Any false move… kaboom!
But by this point, the cops have surrounded the building with snipers ready to kill. A cub reporter (Myha’la) who previously only did human interest stories, is there with her news van, scooping the story with eyewitness updates. And in the background is the smouldering Voice of Indianapolis (Coleman Domingo) on transistor and car radios everywhere. Tony manages to take Dick to his apartment, armed with 
explosives, and release his demands. But can a regular guy take on a City Hall, a powerful bank and the police force… and survive?
Dead Man’s Wire is a dramatization of a true event that gripped a city in the 1970s. There’s a definite Luigi Mangione feel to it, with a “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!” vibe, of an ordinary person taking on a corrupt system. The acting is excellent. Bill Skarsgård — with his nervous moustache — wavers between funny and intense, Dacre Montgomery (he played Billy Hargrove in Stranger Things) transforms from terrified Dad to resigned hostage, and Al Pacino manages to convey the repulsiveness of his character in just a few minutes of screen time.
Gus Van Sant is one of the best American directors, but he hasn’t been making many movies — this is his first one in eight years. And though this is a true crime thriller, he aims toward character study rather than cheap, excitement. It’s a period piece and he gets that 1970s midwest urban feel spot on, but also feels oddly appropriate for right now.
And despite the provocative title, Dead Man’s Wire is probably the most laid-back, True Crime thriller you’ll ever see.
The Testament of Ann Lee
Co-Wri/Dir: Mona Fastvold (The World to Come)
It’s Manchester, England in the mid-18th century. Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried: The Housemaid, Seven Veils, First Reformed, Gringo, Lovelace, Red Riding Hood) is a little girl living a miserable life. She sleeps in a room with a dozen others, including her parents having sex. Put to work in a factory at a very early age — there are no child labour laws — she receives virtually no schooling outside of religious lessons. But she goes out of her way to protect her even younger brother William (Lewis Pullman: The Stranger Prey at Night, The Starling Girl). She eventually marries, but despite repeated tries with her new husband Abraham (Christopher Abbott), all their children die as infants. She joins a new religion, starts preaching to a flock, and begins to gain followers. And though she is childless her devotees call her Mother Lee. After increasingly brutal persecution, she emigrates to the American colonies, alongside her brother and her flock (sponsored by a rich parishioner).
They are called the Shakers, for the ecstatic dancing that is 
central to their religion. They force all sins from their bodies by expelling puffs of air even as they dance and writhe in a sexual-seeming way. They sing songs of joy and gratitude, hold egalitarian meetings and are similar to the Quakers, with one crucial difference: No more sex of any kind. Devotees are not born as Shakers they join them in their own free will. As popularity grows, they form colonies all across New England. They become known for their skillful carpentry (furniture made without nails or glue) weaving, and simple, pure lifestyles. Men and women are treated equally, and believe the Messiah will return in female form. But other sects brand them as witches and heretics, and start to attack them and burn down their places of worship. What will happen to Ann Lee and her followers in the new world?
The Testament of Ann Lee is a sweeping, epic historical drama about the Shakers and their founder Ann Lee. It’s also musical, with characters breaking into religious songs and chants throughout the film. They dress in lovely white dresses, and dance in semi-orgasmic circles of ecstasy. The beauty of this story and richness of the characters is portrayed in visually, audibly and emotionally stunning ways. Even the fonts used in the credits are attractive. Which is not surprising, since Fastvold and her creative partner Brady Corbet brought us The Brutalist last year. One small quibble: Amanda Seyfried’s attempt at a Manchester accent. Which she more than made up for in her passionate — and enigmatic — portrayal of Ann Lee.
Highly informative and exquisitely crafted, The Testament of Ann Lee is definitely worth seeing.
The Testament of Ann Lee, Dead Man’s Wire and All You Need is Kill all open in Toronto 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.
Bums in seats. Films reviewed: The Housemaid, Avatar: Fire and Ash
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
It’s holiday time, so now’s when you watch the blockbusters and big studio releases. Don’t worry, I’ll be talking about lots more art house and indie movies in January, but for now here’s some more schlock to keep you in the theatres: “bums in seats”. This week I’m talking about two new movies: a new maid working in a mysterious mansion, and giant cat people fighting off humans on a distant planet.
The Housemaid
Dir: Paul Feig
Millie (Sydney Sweeney) is a young woman in her twenties looking for a job in Teaneck, New Jersey. Smart, pretty, and hard-working, she’s willing to do almost anything. So when she’s offered a vague position by the Winchesters, a very rich family, she jumps at the chance. She’s homeless and on parole, with five years left to her sentence (a fact she conveniently left out of her application.) What’s the job? Sort of a “Jane of all trades: cook, maid, janitor, personal assistant, and nanny for their daughter, a spoiled and bossy 8-year-old named Ceecee (Indiana Elle). She’s hired by the reserved but lovely Nina (Amanda Seyfried). Her husband Andrew Winchester (Brandon Sklenar) is a tech bro, and heir to a vast family fortune. Millie is given a private room at the top of a steep staircase, a garret with slanted walls and a small, barred window.
But after a few days, the drawbacks of this job begin to reveal themselves. Nina is given to increasingly violent outbursts, blaming all her problems on the newly hired Millie. And the handsome and buff Andrew seems to show up half dressed to flirt whenever Millie is alone, making Nina’s intense jealousy seem less irrational. She overhears the rich housewives of Teaneck who say Nina has lost her marbles.So Millie is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Nina keeps gaslighting her, setting her up for impossible situations. If she’s fired she’ll be sent back to jail. But she also secretly lusts for Andrew, if even for one night. Should she placate Nina, fend off 
Andrew’s advances, or throw caution to the wind? And what are the backstories these three people keep tucked away?
The Housemaid (based on the bestselling novel by Freida McFadden), is a suspense thriller with a psycho-sexual subplot. It has lots of sex, violence and intrigue, but told in a kitschy style, like a steamy late-night telenovela. While Seyfried is way over the top Sweeney seems more reserved, though there are eventual reasons for their weird behaviours (no spoilers.) But even the plot twists — and there are a lot of them — are laughable. And the side characters — like Enzo, the silently, lurking gardener — are there mainly for guffaws. Don’t look for any highbrow meaning here — it’s pure cheese — but The Housemaid is still craptastically watchable.
Avatar, Fire and Ash
Co-Wri/Dir: James Cameron
It’s the future on Pandora, a far-off planet populated by cat-like humanoids with blue or green skin and long tails. They have always lived in harmony with nature, until the arrival of the Sky People, aka earthlings. Having ruined the Earth, humans want to colonize Pandora for the lucrative whale trade. But in order to breathe there, humans — specifically the US Marine Corps — need a mask, making it difficult to take over the planet. So they use avatars, instead: human memories and identities transferred into the bodies of the Na’vi, as the locals are known. Now, years later, one avatar named Jake (Sam Worthington) has blended in with the locals, marrying and raising a family, while leaving his days as a Marine far behind. Until now. The sky people are back with a vengeance: they plan on killing all the whales — along with countless Na’vi casualties — and ruining yet another planet.
Fortunately, Jake and his family — his wife Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), Loak his son (Britain Dalton) Kiri his magical daughter (Sigourney Weaver) and a friend of theirs, Spider (Jack Champion) a blond American with dreadlocks, all agree that the Sky People must be stopped. Unfortunately, Col. Quaritch (Stephen Lang) another avatar soldier (and Jake’s former ranking officer) wants to stop the Na’vi at all costs. And when he teams up with a devil-worshipping cult, led by the scary Varang (Oona Chaplin), offering weapons in exchange for soldiers, it looks like the humans will triumph once again. Is there still a chance to save Pandora?
Avatar: Fire and Ash is the third (and last?) in a series of 3D animated movies, directed by James Cameron (2009, 2023). It’s a somewhat messy combination of science fiction, action, romance, and spirituality told from an ecological viewpoint. It’s extremely long (3 1/4 hours!) to cover dozens of sub plots and characters carrying over from the previous movies. I saw the other two but only vaguely remember the storylines. I have no deep devotion to the Avatar universe, any more than I do to Lord of the Rings, Star Wars or Marvel comics. I do like the style though and find the creatures cool: 15 feet tall with lithe blue tattooed bodies — the women have
macrame hemp bikini tops artfully draped over their torsos — and they fly around on tamed pterodactyls. What’s not to like? And there are parts that I found quite moving. That said it’s way, way, way, way, way too long. They could easily have covered everything in half the time. I guess no one told Cameron to cut stuff out. If you’re an Avatar devotee, I think you’ll like it. But if you’re an Avatar virgin, don’t start with this one — it’s just too much to take in.
The Housemaid and Avatar Fire and Ash are now playing 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.
Ambition. Films reviewed: The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, Song Sung Blue, Marty Supreme
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
Some people are driven, willing to risk life and limb to reach their final goals. So this week I’m looking at three new movies about ambitious people. There’s an athlete who wants to conquer the world using pingpong balls, a pair of tribute singer who finds love on the music circuit, and a porous sea creature who just wants to be a swashbuckler.
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants
Dir: Derek Drymon
SpongeBob SquarePants is a creature who lives under the sea in a town called Bikini Bottom. He has an adult job (he works as a fry cook) but acts more like a child. And like most kids, he wakes up one day to discover he’s grown taller, just tall enough to be allowed to ride the roller coaster at the local midway. He has always want to do it, so he sets off with his much taller best friend Patrick, a starfish, to fulfil his dream. But when he gets to the front of the line he is so overwhelmed by fear and anxiety, he turns around and runs away. He admits what happened to his boss, Mr Krebs, who tells him about his own experience facing fear head-on. You must overcome your fears by exhibiting bravery in the face of 
danger. Only then can you be considered a true swashbuckler.
Soon afterwards, SpongeBob and Patrick meet an evil pirate’s ghost known as the Flying Dutchman, who offers to guide SpongeBob through a series of tasks so he can get the coveted Swashbuckler’s certificate. Being young and naïve, he follow the ghost into the underworld. But the older and wiser Mr. Krebs realizes SpongeBob is in danger so he drives after them on his quest. Will SpongeBob become a Big Boy? Or will he always be a bubble-blowing baby? And when will he realize the Flying Dutchman is up to no good?
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants is the latest in a series of films, adapted from the wildly popular TV cartoon. It features the usual voices: Tom Kenny as SpongeBob, Bill Fagerbakke as Patrick Star, Clancy Brown as Mr Krabs and Rodger Bumpass as Squidward, and guest-starring Mark Hamill as the Flying Dutchman. The theme this time is everything pirate: a parrot, Davy Jones Locker, hornpipe, spyglass, three cornered hats… you get the picture. While you could call this a coming-of-age drama, that might be pushing it, because cartoon characters never really change or grow up.The look of this movie and its animation style is different from the largely two- dimensional TV show, more cinematic and less cartoony. (I prefer the flatter look to these 3D images.) But it’s nice to watch and quite funny in parts. Like 
when Patrick turns his pirate eyepatch into a g-string presumably to conceal his non-existent starfish private parts. Other jokes can only be appreciated by the 3-5- year-old set, like repeating the same words over and over and over and over again until it turns into something marginally salacious.
If you want to entertain your own Ritalin-fuelled psyche — or that of your kids — you’ll probably like this one.
Song Sung Blue
Co-Wri/Dir: Craig Brewer (reviews: Dolemite is My Name, Footloose)
It’s the 1990s in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Mike, aka Lightning (Hugh Jackman) is a professional musician who plays back-up for a Black R&B band. He once had his own group, but now he mainly earns a living doing tributes to washed out singers from decades past. But he is fired from the show when he refuses to dress up as Don Ho, when the usual singer doesn’t show up.
But something else happens that night: he meets Claire (Kate Hudson) who performs Patsy Cline songs. Sparks fly, and soon they’re a couple with a blended family; they both have kids from previous marriages. And they form an act, called Thunder and Lightning, where the two of them exclusively sing songs by Neil Diamond. They build up a fanbase and eventually are the opening act for Pearl Jam!
Looks like they finally made… until a series of unmitigated disasters threaten both of their lives. Can their love, family and music keep them together?
Song Sung Blue is a romantic biopic about a largely unknown
musical duo and their fascinating lives. It’s three main themes are love, family and nostalgia. The love is evident: the two leads have real chemistry. Kate Hudson does a very convincing Wisconsin accent, while Aussie Hugh Jackman sticks to a more of a generic American voice. Can they sing? Totally! They’re both good singers. The family parts are warm and convincing, as are the three kids. As for nostalgia, this is a case of people in 2025 longing for some good ol’ 1990’s nostalgia for the legendary 60s and 70s. So many layers, it’s like a nostalgic club sandwich. As for the tone, while this is not a Christian, faith-based movie, it has the same family-goodness-feel to it. Then there’s the music. Face it, Neil Diamond songs were never subversive or rock ’n’ roll; they’re about as mainstream as you can get… but with catchy tunes and memorable lyrics. People seem to love it.
Song Sung Blue is a cozy, cheesy movie with lots of tearjerking moments thrown in. I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite myself.
Marty Supreme
Co-Wri/Dir: Josh Safdie
It’s the early 1950s in postwar NY City. Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet) is an extremely ambitious man in his twenties, who wants to be rich and famous, but who still lives in a tenement with his mom (Fran Drescher) and works at his uncle’s shoe store. He’s simultaneously charming, brash and audacious. He’s also secretly schtupping Rachel, the married woman who lives downstairs (Odessa A’zion). So what’s his ticket to fame and fortune? Pingpong. He’s a top player who jumps and dives with his paddle like an athletic ballet dancer. Table tennis lacks mainstream acceptance as a serious sport but he plans to change all that. Step one: to secure a plane ticket to London to win the world championship. But that’s not all. He’s looking for a sponsor to invest in his Marty Supreme brand pingpong balls. He also tries to seduce a faded but glamorous Hollywood star (Gwyneth Paltrow) at least twice his age and married to a rich industrialist. And somehow he finds himself part of a scheme with his pal Wally (Tyler the Creator) to bilk rubes n New Jersey as a ping pong ringer. And a side hustle 
taking care of a vicious mobster (Abel Ferrara)’s shaggy dog. But the gangster’s pet is dognapped, Rachel reveals she’s pregnant and lots of people now want to see Marty dead. Can he escape all his troubles and follow his dream? Or is he destined to be a shoe salesman forever?
Marty Supreme is a stupefyingly good movie about a working class hero in mid-century America. It’s funny, constantly surprising and full of thrills, sex, and screwball-comedy violence. It’s frenetic and chaotic. Marty Mauser is a fictionalized version of Marty Reisman, a real athlete who chalked up pingpong tournament wins for half a century. Writer/director Josh Safdie is one of the Safdie brothers; they made Uncut Gems and Good Time together. This one is by far the best. It has a cast of thousands — Chalamet, A’Zion and 
Paltrow are all great, but so are the smaller roles, like Piko Iyer,
Emory Cohen, Géza Röhrig and Koto Kawaguchi, to name just a few. And it wasn’t till the credits rolled that I realized the villainous, Kevin O’Leary-type industrialist was actually played by O’Leary himself. There’s just so much going on — US occupied Japan, the Harlem Globetrotters — it never ceases to amaze. And putting an 80s pop soundtrack into a 1950s story is a stroke of genius.
Marty Supreme is one hell of a good movie.
Song Sung Blue, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, and Marty Supreme all open in Toronto on Christmas Eve; 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 Eric San (Kid Koala) about Space Cadet at ReelAsian
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
It’s the near future in a major North American city. Celeste is a graduate of the space academy, studying rockets since she was a little girl. Her mother was a famous astronaut who disappeared on a space mission. So she is raised by a robot, who serves as her best friend and her parental unit. Now it’s her turn: she’s heading out on a six month trip into the far reaches of the galaxy… and beyond. Can Celeste travel to new planets, collecting samples for 
scientific research and return safely to her home? And will her beloved robot still be waiting for this space cadet?
Space Cadet is a new animated film entirely without spoken dialogue. It’s a funny, poignant and bittersweet look at our futures. It’s the work of Montreal-based composer, musician, graphic novelist, scratch DJ, and director/producer Kid Koala, aka Eric San. His music has appeared on everything from NFB films to Sesame Street, movies like Scott Pilgrim and Baby Driver, and even Nintendo games. Space Cadet played at TIFF and Berlin to great acclaim.
I last spoke with Kid Koala on this show in 2014.
Hot and cool. Films reviewed: Ne Zha 2, Honey Don’t! PLUS Canadian films at #TIFF50
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
This week, I’m talking about two more hot summer movies, one from China and one from the US. There’s a red-hot demon who wants to live forever, and a cool, hard-boiled detective who faces death on a daily basis.
But first a look at Canadian movies premiering at TIFF’s 50th anniversary.
TIFF Canada
This year, TIFF has programmed dozens of Canadian movies — far two many to mention, but here’s a brief survey of some films worth notice.
First some documentaries:
In Modern Whore director Nicole Bazuin and subject Andrea Werhun (she was featured in Paying for It: Interview last year) challenge misconceptions about sex work and sex workers. Ni-naadamaadiz: Red Power Rising by Shane Belcourt (Red Rover: review) with Tanya Talaga is about an indigenous youth-led, 90 day armed occupation in Kenora, Ontario, back in 1974. And Min-Sook Lee’s (Migrant Dreams: interview) deeply personal film There Are No Words looks at her own mother’s suicide when she was still a child.
How about some dramas? First, two Canadian films set nowhere in particular:
There’s Honey Bunch, by Madeleine Sims-Fewer, Dusty Mancinelli, a psychological thriller about a couple in an isolated rehab centre; and Clement Virgo’s (Brother: Review; The Book of Negroes: Interview) Steal Away, the story of two princesses… of a sort.
From Atlantic Canada comes Sk+te’kmujue’katik (At the Place of Ghosts) Bretten Hannam’s (Wildwood: Interview) eerie thriller about two Mi’kmaw brothers confronting their past; And Andy Hines’ Little Lorraine, a crime thriller about drug-smugglers in a Cape Breton mining town.
Two Quebec movies look really promising. Philippe Felardeau’s (Monsieur Lazhar: Review) Lovely Day is a comedy drama about the events leading up to a wedding; and Mathieu Denis’ (Corbo: review) The Cost of Heaven, a shocking true-crime family drama that took actually place in Montreal in 2012.
I’m really looking forward to seeing what two young Toronto directors are up to next. Chandler Levack’s (I like Movies: Interview) Mile End Kicks is a romantic comedy about a music critic who moves to Montreal to get her life in order. While Matt Johnson’s (Blackberry: Review) Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is a comedy apparently about a failed cover band in Toronto want to play at the Rivoli.
Blood Lines is Gail Maurice’s (Rosie: Interview) singular, same-sex Metis love story from the Prairies. And Tasha Hubbard’s (Nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up: Interview) Meadowlarks is a real-life drama about four indigenous siblings separated by the Sixties Scoop getting back together again in Banff, Alberta for the first time in 50 years.
And, finally, from the North comes Oscar-winner Zacharias Kunuk’s (Maliglutit: review) The Wrong Husband, an Inuit historical drama / folktale set 4,000 year in the past.
That’s just a sample of some of the Canadian films premiering at TIFF.
Ne Zha 2
Wri/Dir: Jiaozi
It’s hundreds of years ago in China, when demons and gods still roam the earth. Two supernatural beings, the fiery and impetuous Ne Zha and the calm and focused Ao Bing, once rivals, now find themselves in the same situation.They are both bodyless, floating around like ghosts. If they don’t get their bodies back soon, they will cease to exist. Once they’re reborn, if they pass three tests, they can drink the potion of immortality. Fortunately, a magical cure involving a giant lotus blossom drenched with semen-like fluid, can bring them back to life. Unfortunately, it works for Ne Zha but not for Ao Bing. And Ne Zha needs Ao Bing’s steady hand to pass the trials. So they come to a compromise: Ao Bing’s spirit will share Ne Zha’s body and they’ll try to work together. But can they pass the tests, resist the four dragons, cooperate with the old man of the south in his floating jade castle, stay out of the cauldron of fire, and fight off the thousands of evil demons who may try to eat them?
Ne Zha 2 is an animated kids’ movie straight out of China, about a rambunctious little red devil with pointy teeth, a wide mouth and fierce eyes. It’s a sequel, and is immensely popular in East Asia, even more so than the original. Ne Zha 2 has only played in IMAX in China but has already cleared 2 billion 
dollars. There’s tons of Chinese cultural and folklore and historical stuff you probably won’t understand, but I think kids will get it. Lots of jokes little kids will laugh at, about farts, piss, and vomit. There are dozens of characters voiced in English by stars like Michelle Yeoh. The animation is usually great, but there are scenes where the background doesn’t match the characters, which is off-putting. And it’s 2 1/2 hours long, which is a big chunk of your time. So if you curious about what the most popular animated film ever looks like, now’s your chance.
Honey Don’t!
Dir: Ethan Coen
It’s a hot summer’s day in Bakersfield, California; so hot you could fry an egg on the trunk of a car. But you wouldn’t want to do it on this one: it’s upside down in the desert, the wheels still spinning, a woman dead inside. An accident? Or murder? Honey O’Donohue, PI (Margaret Qualley) is there to investigate. And so is a police detective named Marty (Charlie Day) who practically drools whenever Honey is around. To his eyes, she’s a tall glass of water — and he wants a sip! — but he’s barking up the wrong tree: Honey only sleeps with women… and usually one night stands. And she’s not just a pretty face, she’s sharp, with a dry wit, a hard drinker who can deck any gunman without breaking a nail. She’s at the crime scene because the dead woman is her client — she hired Honey because she felt she was in danger. Turns out she was right, and dead bodies are piling up for unknown reasons. And all roads lead to a deeply corrupt and lascivious preacher named Drew Devlin (Chris Evans) who clearly has the devil in him. He has wanton sex with parishioners and a 
side hustle selling drugs for the French Mob. So Honey enlists a rough-looking gumshoe named MG (Aubrey Plaza) to help her catch the bad guys, and find her missing niece. They end up in bed together, repeatedly. Is this love? Or just lust? And will Honey ever find out who’s behind the crime wave?
Honey Don’t! is a very light and fun detective story, loaded with sex and violence, that spoofs old fashioned film noir movies. It quotes generously from Russ Myers’ films like Faster Pussycat, Kill! Kill!, and other cult classics. It’s the work of Ethan Coen — one of the two Coen Brothers — and his partner Tricia Cooke. This is number two of a planned trilogy of Lesbian B-Movies (Cooke is bisexual). Admittedly, I walked out of this movie scratching my head — it’s highly entertaining, but very superficial and doesn’t neatly tie up all the loose ends. But you know what? After a day thinking about it, I kinda like the way it doesn’t completely finish… it feels like the pilot episode of a TV detective series. Margaret Qualley is terrific, and Aubrey Plaza looks and acts totally different from any of her recent roles. So if you’re yearning for 90 minutes of forgettable sex, violence and over-the-top characters, I think you’ll like Honey, Don’t.
I did.
Honey Don’t and Ne Zha 2 both 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.
Daniel Garber talks with Seth and Peter Scriver about Endless Cookie
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
Photos by Jeff Harris.
It’s the 2010s in the Shamatawa First Nation in an isolated part of Northern Manitoba. Seth, who comes from Toronto’s Kensington Market, is visiting his half-brother Peter, so they can make a documentary together. But he’s armed with a voice recorder not a camera. Peter is telling stories about their 
histories on the reserve and in the big city — the images of the people involved will be added later. But that still doesn’t explain why the people we’re watching look like tube socks, rubber bands or giant cookies?
Endless Cookie is a brightly-coloured animated documentary that uses wild and grotesque illustrations and verite recorded 
voices to present an oral history of two very different parts of Canada: Shamatawa and Toronto. It focuses on the lives, histories, and stories, of the filmmakers Seth and Peter Scriver, their friends and families. It’s hilarious, visceral and chaotic, and not like anything you’ve ever seen before. Seth is a Toronto-based writer, sculptor, carpenter, comic book artist and 
animator, whose first film Asphalt Watches won best Canadian first feature at TIFF in 2013. Peter is a storyteller, writer and woodcarver, who has served as Chief and Magistrate of 
the Shamattawa First Nation in Northern Manitoba. He lived in Toronto as a teen. A skilled hunter and trapper, he now works as a Canadian Ranger while he raises his nine amazing kids. Their film, Endless Cookie, was the opening night feature at ImagineNative and won the Hot Docs Rogers Audience award for Best Canadian Doc.
Endless Cookie is now playing at the TIFF Lightbox.
I spoke with Peter and Seth Scriver in-person at CIUT 89.5 FM.
All Canadian. Films reviewed: Seven Veils, Night of the Zoopocalypse, Shepherds
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
Most of the movies we see come out of Hollywood, but now that the US government has declared (economic) war, I figure why not look at more Canadian movies, instead.
So for this week, I’m talking about three new Canadian movies all opening this weekend. There’s a Montreal PR exec who wants to become a shepherd, a wolf in a theme park who doesn’t want to become a zombie, and an opera director in Toronto who says the show must go on.
Seven Veils
Wri/Dir: Atom Egoyan
It’s winter in Toronto. Jeanine (Amanda Seyfried) has flown in for a new project: she has been selected (by the late director) to remount his production of the opera Salome. She knows this version inside and out, as she was his assistant on it while still a student. But by taking on this role, she has opened a pandora’s box of hidden secrets: The male lead, Johann (Michael Kupfer-Radecky), is notorious for his roving hands. Ambur (Ambur Braid) sings the part of Salome but her past misgivings with Johann threaten to erupt. Then there are the understudies. Johann’s second knew Jeanine from their student days, and follows her with puppy dog eyes and long-held hurt. Rachel, Ambur’s understudy, is dating the same woman Ambur used to be with, before she was a superstar.
Jeanine is requested to add personal changes to the remount, but whenever she tries something outrageous, the management swoops in to stop her. And then there’s her home life: She left their young daughter with her husband, but her mother whispers her pretty and young caregiver is sleeping with Jeanine’s husband.All of these pressure-points seem ready to burst at any time. Can Jeanine survive this trouble-filled production? Or is it headed for disaster?
Seven Veils is a dramatic, behind-the scenes look of the remounting of an opera. It has some good acting and lovely cinematography, but it’s laden down by a messy, overly-complicated plot. It feels like a full season of a reality show condensed into 1 hour and 50 minutes. Atom Egoyan filmed this movie even as he was directing a live performance off the same opera with the same singers on the same set. Is this 
creative brilliance, or just double-dipping? Egoyan has long been known as a pioneer in incorporating video footage within his films and stage productions. But he went whole hog with this one, including more mixed media than you can shake a stick at: Zoom calls, a snarky podcast recording, a making-of doc filmed on the prop director’s cel phone, and even creepy childhood home videos by Jeanine’s dad. Some of these fall flat — Jeanine’s voiceover narration is embarrassingly clunky. Others examples are brilliant: like a giant projection of Johann’s mouth on a scrim on stage objecting haughtily with any directions Jeanine tries to give him. The film also covers myriad diverse topics, including intersectionality, sexual harassment, women fighting the patriarchy, a severed head, backstabbing, entrapment and revenge.
Way too much stuff to fit in one film, but with enough good parts to keep it going.
Night of the Zoopocalypse
Co-Dir: Ricardo Curtis, Rodrigo Perez-Castro
Gracie is a young wolf who likes hunting on his own. He ignores his Alpha grandma’s warnings to always stay with the pack. After all, what does it matter; they live in a theme park (the Colepepper Zoo) with no predators! But Gracie has spoken too soon. That night, a radioactive meteor crashes through the sky and lands smack-dab into their collective home. Anyone who touches the glowing rock is instantly transformed into a hideous version of their former self with glowing eyes and zombie-like behaviour. The infection spreads across the zoo, with ever more animals being zombified. Luckily Gracie finds safety in the zoo hospital, along with Ash the ostrich, Xavier the lemur, Felix, a self-centred proboscis monkey, Frida a capybara, and a dangerous-looking mountain lion called Dan. If they work together maybe they can fend off this otherworldly ailment; or they could split up and see who can make it out of the park. 
Can these creatures find a common aim? Or will they all be zombified before dawn? And what will happen to the outside world once the park’s gates reopen?
Night of the Zoopocalypse is a cute, animated kids movie about animals infected by an alien disease, featuring the voices of David Harbour, Scott Thompson, and Paul Sun-
Hyung Lee. The unoriginal dialogue seems aimed at very young children, not adults, but perhaps zombies are too scary for the youngest ones. But I do like a lot of things in Zoopocalypse, from the obnoxious theme songs, to the eerie Kenny Scharf-like cut-out designs of grotesquely smiling figures. And who couldn’t like Poot, the baby pygmy hippo! If your kids don’t scare easily, I think they’ll like Night of the Zoopocalypse.
Shepherds (Bergers)
Co-Wri/Dir: Sophie Deraspe (Interview: Antigone)
Mathyas (Félix-Antoine Duval) is a young man who works as a copywriter at a Montreal PR firm. He’s creative, sensitive and ambitious. So what is he doing sipping yellow Pastis in a small town cafe in Provence? To change his life from pointless and unfulfilling to a simpler one, entirely off the grid. He’s in Provence because he wants to become a shepherd. You heard me: someone who herds sheep. And he wants to write a book about his experiences afterwards. He has already bought a requisite black hat and leather satchel, and he’s been boning up on all the books on how to herd sheep. But he’s having trouble finding a sheep breeder willing to take him on. His try is a total wash-out: he’s never stood in a flock of sheep in his life.
So he pays a visit to the local government office, in hopes of getting a work visa. No such luck, but he does meet the cute bureaucrat behind the counter. Elise (Solène Rigot) is smart, pretty and bored with her job, too. She’s impressed by Mathyas’ convictions, but is sorry to tell him you can’t apply from within the country. But he keeps up his correspondence 
with her via handwritten snail mail, and her simple responses keep him sane.
He eventually finds under-the-counter work as an apprentice shepherd for a retired, childless couple looking for someone to take over. But he finds the environment hostile and violent, full of cruelty and insanity… nothing like what he was looking for. So when Elise shows up suddenly, he decides to quit. Surprisingly, the two of them are hired almost immediately as a team, to work through the summer tending sheep in a stone cottage way up in the Alps. Can two non-shepherds learn the lay of the land and how to take care of hundreds of pregnant sheep? And will their friendship develop into something more?
Shepherds is a wonderful movie about going back to the land. The story is based on the novel D’où viens tu, berger? by the real Mathyas Lefebure who actually did leave Quebec to seek his fortune as a shepherd in Provence. I’ve always liked Sophie Deraspe’s brilliant films. And while Shepherds is very different from her past work, it’s just as good. Félix-Antoine Duval is amazing as Mathyas with just the right blend of vulnerability and sincerity, like a gawky teenager trapped in an adult’s body. French actress Solène Rigot conveys such warmth she’s totally loveable.
Shepherds is a gorgeous movie with unforgettable images, like rivers of sheep pouring across a valley and through alpine city streets. Absolutely breathtaking. One warning: After watching Bergers, you might consider becoming a shepherd, too.
Night of the Zoopocalypse, Shepherds, and Seven Veils 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.
Tough Cookies. Films reviewed: Maria, Flow, The G
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
With a rapidly aging population, the traditional image of frightened, little-old cat ladies is gradually shifting to one of strength and cunning. Witness new TV shows like Matlock. So this week I’m looking at two new movies about tough older women and one about a cat. There’s an opera diva in Paris preparing her swan song; a rustbelt widow who wants to go out with a bang; and a cat on a sailboat in a world covered in water.
Maria
Dir: Pablo Larraín (Reviews: Spencer, The Club)
It’s 1977 in Paris, and Maria Callas (Angelina Jolie: Salt, The Tourist, Unbroken) — one of the greatest divas in opera history, is not doing well. She rarely eats, often never leaving the bedroom of her palatial apartments for days at a time. She rarely speaks with anyone anymore, aside from her servants. She runs her butler ragged (Pierfrancesco Favino: The Hummingbird, in a red monkey suit) and she relies on her cook (Alba Rohrwacher: Sworn Virgin, Hungry Hearts, The Ties/Lucci ) for judgement on the quality of her vocal chords.
But she’s not completely alone. She is seeing a pianist for his unvarnished opinion on whether her legendary “voice” has returned. And has agreed to an unheard-of interview with a young journalist named Mandrax (Kodi Smit-McPhee: The Road, The Congress, The Power of the Dog, Memoir of a Snail). But Maria faces a number of problems. She refuses to see a doctor, despite her rapidly declining health, and she won’t stop popping Quaaludes, leading to frequent 
hallucinations and delusions. Can her devoted servants save her life? Or is this the end?
Maria is a biopic about the death of a legendary Greek-American diva. The movie begins with her demise at age 53, then goes back in time to show what led up to it. This includes flashbacks to her chubby adolescence in German-occupied Athens in WWII, her failed marriage, and at the peak of career, including trysts with Aristotle Onassis and JFK.
But is this biopic any good? I have very mixed feelings about that. I love the beautifully shot interiors, the ostentatious costumes and the amazing arias provided by recordings of Callas herself. Italian actors Rohrwacher and Favino provide wonderfully painful performances. And, as the latest in a series of films about famous woman by Chilean director Pablo Larraín it has good pedigree, especially Spencer (with Kristen Stewart as Princess Diana). But this movie depends on Angeline Jolie, and she doesn’t carry it off. She always seems to be acting. I don’t see Maria Callas here, I see Jolie posing for the camera, with a haughty face here and a dramatic gestures there; so you rapidly lose sympathy with the main character. Perhaps Maria Callas really did act like that, even behind closed doors, but Jolie plays her somewhere between high camp and kitsch.
Maria is never boring… just a bit embarrassing.
Flow
Co-Wri/Dir: Gints Zilbalodis
It’s some time in the future, somewhere in the world. A small grey cat with golden eyes and pointy ears is enjoying a walk in the woods. The cat lives by an abandoned old house surrounded by enormous cat statues. The cat is very shy, and fears, most of all, a pack of feral dogs. Suddenly, there’s a stampede of animals running in one direction, full speed. They‘re trying to avoid a massive flood, sweeping away everything in its path. But cat and a friendly, white dog are among its victims. Survival instinct kicks in and eventually cat manages to climb on board a tattered sailboat. There Cat discovers a gentle, sloth-like capybara already on board. Other animals make their way onto the sailboat, including an ingenious lemur, that big, white dog and a majestic-looking phoenix. Together they form an uneasy friendship as they brave a dangerous water-covered world. But can they learn to get along? And is this world worth living in?
Flow is a brilliantly animated film about a picaresque journey by a mismatched troupe of animals. It’s tender, heart moving and lovely to watch. It’s all about friendship and cooperation learned by 
animals living in a gently hostile world. And though they behave a tiny bit like humans, there are no people in the story, and no dialogue either; just grunts meows and barks. Dogs still want to fetch. Cats want to catch fish.
And though it’s post-apocalyptic, there is nothing futuristic in this film; human technology is limited to abandoned ancient cities, glass bottles and sailboats; no cars or smartphones to be seen. The science fiction comes in with its universality, where animals from different continents, along with mythical beasts like sea monsters, can randomly encounter and learn from one another. I just watched Flow, and I already want to see it again.
Flow is Latvia’s Oscar submission for Best International Feature.
The G
Wri/Dir: Karl R. Hearne
It’s a rust-belt city somewhere in North America. Ann Hunter (Dale Dickey) is a tough cookie in her 70s, who is feeling depressed. You can see it in every wrinkle on her face. She lives with her ailing husband in their fully-owned condo. He was once a tough guy, but is rapidly sliding into immobility and dementia. She grudgingly takes care of him, and drowns her sorrows in rot-gut alcohol straight from the bottle. Aside from him, she only spends time with Emma, step-granddaughter (Romane Denis). Emma models her life on The G (as she calls her grandmother) someone who doesn’t take crap from anyone. The G also helps her out financially, and doles out hardboiled words of wisdom.
But everything changes when a man in a suit named Rivera (Bruce Ramsay), out of the blue, breaks down The G’s front door, accompanied by two toughs: Matt (Joey Scarpellino), a handsome but simple-minded gardener; and Ralph, a psychopath with bleach blond hair (Jonathan Koensgen). Together they violently shove Ann and her husband into a van, who wind up locked in a threadbare room without a phone, in a nursing home that feels more like a 
prison. This is your new home, Rivera says, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me. He’s now their legal guardian and has the documents to prove it; their doctor (a silent partner in the scam) has declared them both incompetent. No one’s allowed to go in or out for the first month. He roughs up her husband to try to find the proverbial pot of gold he thinks they’re hiding. But they underestimate the G, her stubbornness, and her shady connections back in Texas.
Meanwhile, Emma is shocked when she discovers her grandparents have suddenly disappeared, leaving behind just a torn-up home. She scours the city to find them, and makes friends with a caretaker who works at the home (who also happens to be Matt, the friendly thug). It’s too late to save her grandpa but she vows to get the G out of there. And even while Emma is trying to free her, the G has vowed vengeance on all her enemies — and she’s not messing around. Who can they trust? Can two women best a criminal organization? Or will they end up buried alive?
The G is a great revenge thriller about the very real phenomenon of organized criminals attacking and abusing the elderly. It’s dark and disturbing. Dale Dickey blows this movie out of the water, supported by a good Quebecois cast. (It’s shot in Montreal). If you’re looking for a gratifyingly violent revenge flic, this is the one to see.
Maria and Flow are now playing at the TIFF Lightbox, with Maria streaming on MUBI on December 11th; and The G is opening across Canada; 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.
Bullies and the bullied. Films reviewed: Memoir of a Snail, The Line
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
Fall Film Festival Season continues in Toronto with ReelAsian and BITS. ReelAsian, which is on right now, brings features docs and shorts from East and South Asia, and from the Diaspora in North America. Many of the films are premieres! BITS — Blood in the Snow — is an all-Canadian festival of horror, genre and underground films that shatter taboos and conventions — including the second season of David J Fernandes’ TV series Creepy Bits. The festival runs from November 18th-23rd.
But this week, I’m looking at two new indie movies, from Australia and the US. There’s a frat boy in Oklahoma caught between the horns of a dilemma; and a bullied girl in Canberra who wants to curl up in her shell.
Memoir of a Snail
Wri/Dir: Adam Elliot
Grace and Gilbert are twins who live with their dad in a high-rise tenement in a big Australian city. Their mom died in childbirth, so they’ve only ever known their father, a former Parisian street busker known for his pyrotechnics. Gilbert embraces his love of fire and gunpowder. Grace models herself after her mother, a specialist in snails; she always wears antennae over her knit cap, and thinks of herself as a mollusk. And since she still shows the scars of a cleft palette, she is constantly bullied at school and called rabbit face. Gilbert is always there to defend her, and the two are best friends. Until their father dies, leaving them both as orphans. The twins are separated and adopted on opposite ends of the country.
Grace ends up in the nation’s capital, Canberra. She’s adopted by a dull, beige couple with no kids. They also happen got be nudists and swingers. Grace’s only friend is an elderly woman named Pinky she meets at the library where Grace spends all her time. Pinky is both warm and eccentric and shares her lusty history with Grace who participates vicariously.
Gilbert finds himself on the other side of the continent in an isolated apple farm, outside Perth. He is put to work at a Dickensian conveyor belt controlled by his dictatorial, bible-thumper of a stepmother named Ruth, and her troglodyte sons. 
The two survive only by sending one another letters. Gilbert wants desperately to leave, while Grace becomes a recluse holed up in her home surrounded by the kitty snail-like objects she hoards. Can they survive in their dystopian prisons? And will they ever see one another again?
Memoir of a Snail is a dark animated comedy about coming of age of a shy and introverted young woman. It’s entirely made of stop- motion figures and locations. The stories take place within a wonderful, wabi-sabi world of the crumbling and dingy detritus that Grace compulsively collects. And you can’t call this a kids’ movie, as it deals with all sorts of squirmy adult concepts including bodies and sexuality. And it’s not disneyfied happy stuff either; it’s hilarious and quirky, Roald Dahl meets Tim Burton.The voices are provided by fave Aussie actors Sarah Snook and Kodi Smit-McPhee as the twins, Jacki Weaver as Pinky, with Eric Bana and Nick Cave in other roles.
Memoir of a Snail is a wonderfully depressing comedy with a satisfying end.
I like this one a lot.
The Line
Co-Wri/Dir: Ethan Berger
It’s 2014 at a university in the deep south. Tom (Alex Wolff) is a student there, paid for by his single mom’s savings (she’s a nurse). But his grade point average is low, and his interests are focused mainly on snorting coke and getting laid. He shares a room with his best friend Mitch (Bo Mitchell) who calls Tom “Sunshine”. He is constantly hugging and touching Tom. Mitch is rich, but he’s a total wreck —irresponsible, slovenly, self-pitying and undependable. They met the year before while being pledged at a powerful frat house and have had each others’ backs since then. He’s even met Mitch’s father (John Malkovich) who promises to set him up with a good job after graduation — one of the benefits of “Greek” life. They live inside the frathouse now.
As sophomores, they are full members of KNA, and Tom is being groomed as their next president. But things start to deteriorate as this years pledges start their initiation. The problem is Mitch has a hate on for a new pledge named Gettys O’Brien (Austin Abrams). O’Brien is totally chill and publicly mocks the ridiculous hierarchy, and homo-erotic rituals. He also disrespects Mitch’s insecurities about his own looks and body. So Mitch despises the popular freshman and goes out of his way to make his life miserable… but to no avail.
Tom, meanwhile, is ambitious. He wants to improve his grades and he’s crushing on a smart woman in his class. Annabelle (Halle Bailey) is extremely self-confident, hates frats, and dares to publicly denounces the university’s biases. But Tom persists, even while knowing his all-white ultraconservative frat will never accept him 
dating a black, feminist who doesn’t shave her armpits. And the university itself is coming down hard on the Greeks, following reports of dangerous practices going on there. They lay down the law: a total ban on hazing and off-campus retreats. Of course Mitch ignores all this and immediately plans the ultimate hazing retreat adventure, where he can get revenge on O’Brien. The frat’s president makes Tom goes to keep it all safe. This puts Tom between a rock and a hard place. Can he calm the waters? Or are they heading toward a genuine Hell Week?
The Line is a very dark and unsettling drama that gives an inside look at the secretive world of fraternities. It’s also about friendship and obligation, hierarchy and the chilling power of money over basic morality. The title refers to a hazing ritual where pledges are hooded and tied together in a dangerous setting. I saw this movie because Alex Wolff is in it, and he only seems to be in worthwhile movies. In an interesting performance, he puts on a deliberately-acquired, heavy southern drawl — interspersed with extended mumbling — a style of talking apparently de rigueur at frats. Bo Mitchell is also very good. The plot is told without easy solutions and obvious heroes and villains; it’s more subtle than that, but this is not a feel good movie. And while a good film, it’s quite disturbing with unexpected violence and is not for the faint of heart.
Memoirs of a Snail and The Line both 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.
Family-friendly pics at #TIFF24. Films reviewed: The Wild Robot, Sketch
Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.
There’s lots happening in Toronto this weekend. At the Toronto Palestine Film Festival you can watch films and docs, go to concerts, art exhibitions, a brunch, workshops and discussions all weekend long, both online and at the Lightbox. And the Toronto Garlic Festival is on this Sunday on Spadina Road, with food, drinks, a garlic market and culture, too… including me! I’ll be giving a talk on garlic and the movies at 12:00 noon, with free admission.
But today I’m talking about two new, family-friendly movies that were featured at TIFF this year. There are monster drawings that come to life, and a robot stranded on an island that can talk to the animals.
Wild Robot
Co-Wri/Dir: Chris Sanders (Review: How to Train your Dragon)
It’s a small island in North America, sometime in the future. ROZZUM unit 7134 (Lupita Nyong’o) is a robot. She was built for family consumers, the product of a multinational corporation. Powered by AI, she speaks and understands multiple languages and is made to serve. Somehow her box has washed ashore on this island, but the expected suburban home is nowhere to be found. This place is uninhabited… by humans that is, but it’s teeming with wildlife. Deer and moose, bears and foxes, raccoons, porcupines, skunks, beavers, possums and all types of birds, insects and aquatic life. She sees animals ruthlessly killing and eating each other as part of their daily lives. She gazes at them all in wonder, but they regard her cautiously. She has no smell, can’t be eaten, but isn’t a predator either — what good is she?
But for the robot, it’s imperative she complete her assignment, any assignment. So she studies all the animals and learns to speak their languages. And when she rescues a newly-hatched gosling (Kit Connor) from a sly fox (Pedro Pascal), she has finally found her purpose in life: to take care of this newborn bird. You can call me 
Roz, she says, but the bird — who bonds with her the second he opens his eyes — would rather call her Mama. So Roz, the little bird, and the somewhat untrustworthy fox form a makeshift family, teaching the bird the facts of life as he grows up. But can they teach him to swim and fly before the great migration south for the winter?
The Wild Robot is an amazingly-moving animated film about nature and technology forming deep bonds of their own with humans nowhere to be seen. But the villains are all man-made. This is a thoroughly well-put-together movie, from the quirky characters, to the funny surprises, to the heart-stopping scenes of suspense. It’s a genuine tear-jerker, but with characters that are just loveable enough to care for, without making you cringe. Roz is a white enamel ball whose accordion arms can spring out and come back, and whose head has neat slots for add-on devices. Her whole body glows in different colours along the seams. I love the art direction, down to the 1950s woodsy, summer- camp font they use for the title. Based on a novel of the same time, it also borrows from classic kids’ literature like the Ugly Duckling, the Jungle Book and Doctor Doolittle, but it still feels completely original. It also features additional voices of Ving Rhames, Mark Hamill, and Catherine O’Hara to name just a few.
I recommend this movie for people of all ages and most robots and animals, too.
Sketch
Wri/Dir: Seth Worley
It’s a small town somewhere in the US. Taylor Wyatt (Tony Hale) lives with his two pre-teen kids Amber (Bianca Belle) and Jack (Kue Lawrence) in a lovely home backing onto a small forest. They’ve all been down in the dumps since their mom died, so Taylor has gone out of his way to hide any pictures of her, to help the family get through this difficult period. And now he’s trying to sell the house — with the help of his sister Liz (D’Arcy Carden), a real estate agent. Maybe that will wipe the emotional slate clean. But it’s not working, as becomes clear when Taylor is called into the kids’ school to talk to the principal. Little Amber is accused of plotting to murder a classmate! And they have a drawing she made to prove it.
Luckily, the sensible guidance counsellor manages to defuse the situation right away. Amber is angry, right? So she gives her a sketch book where she can draw away all her frustrations, however she likes — the book is hers to keep and she doesn’t have to show it to anyone. Better to draw it than to do it, right?
Meanwhile, her brother Jack spends lots of time in the woods where he discovers a small pond that seems to have curative powers. It heals a cut on his hand, and fixes a family heirloom he broke. Maybe if he dumps a box of his mom’s ashes into the water, it will bring her back to life? But Amber finds out and this leads to a big fight, followed by Amber’s sketchbook falling into the pond. And that’s when all the scary monsters she drew with crayons and glitter, start coming to life.
Sketch is a delightful adventure about two kids trying to stop gigantic imaginary creatures — who have come to life — from destroying their town and killing all the people. It’s cute, it’s fun and it’s a bit scary. It’s also a touch psychological and moralistic but not enough to drag it down. Movies like this used to be fairly common, but nowadays it’s almost rare to find a movie that isn’t tied to a game, a toy, a Disney princess or a Marvel superhero. And the special-effect monsters are really cool. What other movie can you get a 30-foot- tall creature wreaking havoc in a cornfield that is clearly made of crayon scribbles? In his first feature, director Seth Worley has created a good, fun, stand-alone movie that kids will love, and parents can enjoy.
Sketch, and The Wild Robot both premiered at TIFF with Wild Robot opening 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.
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