Hi, this is Daniel Garber at the Movies for culturalmining.com and CIUT 89.5 FM.

There’s something new at Hot Docs Cinema that has nothing to do with documentaries. It’s called Pillow Fright!, which the programmers Emily Gagne and Danita Steinberg describe as “a sleepover-themed, creep-tastic series for fellow friendly freaks – the girls, gays, and theys who crave a good scare in a safe, inclusive space.” It starts next Friday with a screening of the original Final Destination. That’s Pillow Fright! at the Hot Docs Cinema.

So this week, I’m looking at two more summertime popcorn movies — one about a couple with a strange attraction, the other about a cop with a strange distraction — but first here’s a look at some of the movies coming to TIFF this Fall.

TIFF Movies

Tiff is more than a month away, but they’re already releasing many of the titles. Now, I haven’t seen any of them yet but here are some movies made by international directors whose past movies I really liked. (I’ll be looking at Canadian Directors soon).

Gus Van Sant — who made Good Will Hunting and Mala Noche — has a new film about a hostage taking called Dead Man’s Wire.

I loved Moroccan director Maryam Touzani’s Blue Caftan in 22. Calle Malaga is about an elderly Spanish woman in Tangiers. 

Agnieszka Holland  (In Darkness, The Burning Bush, Mr. Jones. Green Border)— the celebrated Polish director who studied film in Prague — has a biopic about Kafka titled Franz.

Jafar Panahi (No Bears) is that subtle and funny Iranian director whose film at TIFF will be It Was Just an Accident, about a small mishap that causes a chain reaction.

English director Ben Wheatley (A Field in England, In The Earth) makes weird and baffling movies, so, of course his movie at TIFF — called Normal — is sure to be anything but.

Mamoru Hosoda, whose Japanese anime (like Wolf Children and Mirai) are always fantastical and moving, is back with Scarlet about a princess who transcends time and space.

I’ve been watching director Joachim Trier’s (Oslo August 31st, Thelma, The Worst Person in The World) detailed, angsty Oslo dramas for a decade and half so I’m really looking forward to Sentimental Value, about family, memories, and the power of art.

Benny Safdie who, with his brother Josh, brought us outrageous films like Good Time and Uncut Gems, is going solo this round with The Smashing Machine, a biopic about a UFC fighter, played by The Rock.

Did you see The Brutalist last year? Co-writer Mona Fastvold’s newest pic is The Testament of Ann Lee, a historical drama about the Shaker movement.

Wake Up Dead Man is Rian Johnson’s latest Knives Out Mystery (Glass Onion, Knives Out), which is sure to be highly entertaining.

These are just some of the movies slated for TIFF this year.

Together

Wri/Dir: Michael Shanks

Tim and Millie (Dave Franco and Alison Brie) are a couple in New York City, about to make a big change in their lives. They’re moving out of their cramped apartment into a spacious house in a remote village. She’s a lot more into it than he is. Tim is a professional musician in a band about to go on tour again, and it’s hard to rehearse or perform when you’re out in the woods. Their house is old and creepy, and Tim is spooked by a rats’ nest he finds in a light fixture. Millie, on the other hand, has an actual job as schoolteacher. It advances her career, and she likes it here, despite the eccentric staff at the school, including Jamie (Damon Herriman) who lives down the road. 

One day, something unexpected happens. They’re going for a hike down a trail in the woods, and they fall into a pit, dug straight into the ground. No one comes to their rescue — they’ve heard about another young couple who disappeared — so they end up sleeping there overnight, drinking water from an underground source. And in the morning they’re both covered in some sticky fungus — they literally have to pull their legs apart from each other like ripping off a bandaid.

No biggie, right? But when Millie drives off to work, Tim gets tossed around inside his shower. Is this ghosts or spirits playing with them? When they ask for advice from Jamie He;’s says don’t worry it’s nothing. But as time passes, Tim finds it virtually impossible to stay away from Millie. As he gets more and more clingy, their boundaries are ever more challenged. Is he stalking her or going nuts? Or is something bigger calling the shots?

Together is a romantic, body-horror thriller about a couple’s relationship — both attraction and repulsion — whose boundaries are challenged after a walk in the woods. No spoilers here, but the story is highly original and probably like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Dave Franco and Alison Brie have noticeable chemistry with impeccable timing in their interactions. It wasn’t till after seeing the movie that I realized Franco and Brie are a married couple in real life. That explains it. But they’re really good at it, including simulated sex scenes in unexpected locales. There is sex, nudity, violence and truly grotesque special effects, so if you don’t like being shocked and titillated, stay away. 

Cause Together is probably the most exciting relationship movie you’re ever going to see.

The Naked Gun

Co-Wri/Dir: Akiva Schaffer

The LA Police Squad is a special unit formed to stop crime and catch criminals. Their most famous detective is Lt Frank Drebin Jr (Liam Neeson). Like his father before him, he’s known for his single-minded, relentless pursuits and gruff, hardboiled nature. He can thwart a bank robbery and take down a dozen thieves with his bare hands. Unfortunately, those robbers are complaining about Drebin’s brutality, so

the police chief (CCH Pounder) has re-assigned Frank to another case; an apparent suicide.  It’s open and shut until Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson) an elegant femme fatale, shows up at his office. It’s not suicide, she says… it’s murder. And the victim was my brother! That morning’s bank heist was masterminded by the evil industrialist Richard Cane (Danny Huston), who made his fortune selling self-driving, electric cars. He ordered the bank robbery to secure a device invented by the dead man. With it, Cane thinks he can wipe out the earths population and then rule the planet. It’s up to Drebin and Beth to solve the mystery and catch the criminals. But will it be too late?

The Naked Gun is a stupid-funny comedy, a reboot and update of the TV show and movie series from the 1980s and 90s. (With Liam Neeson taking over Leslie Nielsen’s role). The story is juvenile and simplistic, populated with exaggerated, comic-book caricatures. At the same time, it’s very funny. Most of the humour doesn’t come from witty dialogue, it’s mainly visual gags, with a new punchline appearing on the screen every three or four seconds. (The jokes continue non-stop, even during the closing credits: look for hidden puns among the names). The humour is bawdy and salacious, with more visual double entendres than you can shake a stick at. Pamela Anderson does a great film noir pastiche, even scat-singing at an LA nightclub. And Liam Neeson — after a career playing gruff action heroes fighting terrorists —  is finally allowed to parody himself. 

The movie is hilarious.

The Naked Gun and Together 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.