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

Yorgos Lanthimos, who brought us films like The Favourite and Poor Things, didn’t come from nowhere; he’s been directing weird, original movies for two decades. One of his first — and one of my first reviews on this show — is Dogtooth, which still holds a place in my heart. It’s being re-released on the big screen in July, so if you haven’t seen it, now’s your chance.

But this week, I’m looking at three new movies about people dealing with scary creatures. There are dinosaurs on the equator, cannibals on the prairies, and a monster in a New England college town.

Jurassic World: Rebirth

Dir: Gareth Edwards

It’s present-day New York City, where giant, benign  dinosaurs amble through city parks. Bennet (Scarlett Johansson) is a hard-boiled mercenary who dares to go where you’re not supposed to be to steal things you aren’t supposed have. Her latest client? A certain Mr Krebs (Rupert Friend), the sketchy rep of a Big Pharma multinational. And the job? To bring back blood samples from three of the biggest and most dangerous dinosaurs in the world: one from the sea, one from the sky, and one from the ground. The only place these creatures live is around the equator, in areas international law says we can’t go. But Bennet will, along with her longtime collaborator Kinkaid (Mahershala Ali) and their henchmen. Rounding out the pack is Dr Loomis (Jonathan Bailey) a palaeontologist whose dream has always been to see the dinosaurs (whose fossils he studies) alive and in the flesh.

Along the way they rescue a family whose plans — to sail across the Atlantic —  are capsized when their boat is attacked by a giant sea monster. They all end up on an island, full of hybrid dinosaurs created in labs a generation ago by genetic scientists who abandoned the project when it became too dangerous. But which of them will survive 24 hours among those killer beasts?

Jurassic World: Rebirth is an action adventure, the latest instalment in the ongoing franchise. It’s a cautionary tale of what happens when ambitious scientists bring dinosaurs back to life to build a profitable theme park. Ironically, while the theme parks are gone, the movie feels like a series of carnival rides. First you’re in a speedboat escaping something in the water, then you’re hanging from a cliff, avoiding killer Pterodactyls… Which makes it fun and entertaining, but in an entirely predictable way.

I loved the thrill of the raptors in the first Jurassic Park, but the weird and artificial dino-hybrids in this version look more sad or silly than scary. 

40 Acres

Co-Wri/Dir: R.T. Thorne 

It’s the near future in rural Canada after an apocalyptic pandemic has left the whole world in ruins, starving for food. Hailey Freeman (Danielle Deadwyler) lives on the same farm her African-American ancestors moved to after the US Civil War. She’s a hard-ass mom who rules her family like a sergeant (she spent time in the military). Her oldest son, Manny, (Kataem O’Connor) still responds to her questions with only a yes ma’am / no ma’am. Though they live a calm and peaceful life — trading goods with other farmers using shortwave radio and a shared depot —  just outside the gate marauders rove around, trying to break into farms and steal their coveted farmland. The Freemans are a blended family, Black and indigenous, with Galen as Dad (Michael Greyeyes) Hailey as Mom, the older kids from previous marriages, and the younger kids born here. They are trained not just how to plant and harvest, but also how to handle heavy artillery, hidden beneath their house. Hailey may operate in a constant state of paranoia, but there are reasons for her extreme caution. If the predators at the gate break through, they won’t just take the farm, they’ll eat the family. Yes, the outsiders are cannibals!

But Manny is growing up, and when he sees a beautiful young woman (Milcania Diaz-Rojas) swimming in a lake outside the farm, he is stricken with equal parts love and lust. And when she appears at the fence begging for help he sneaks her inside. Can she be trusted? Or is she a cannibal? And could this mean the end of the Freemans?

40 Acres is a post-apocalyptic, science fiction action thriller. It’s gripping, surprising and pretty scary. It presents an unusual point of view, combining an American individualistic, top-down, gun-friendly “get off of my lawn” attitude with a multicultural, work-together Canadian ethos. It’s also a zombie-pocalypse movie, but without the walking dead — it’s humans who do the killing and eating. And in between violent shootouts and fights, the lovely cinematography gives us lots of misty cornfields and lush forests on which to feast our eyes. But the biggest reason to see 40 Acres is Danielle Deadwyler, a dynamic powerhouse in her role as Hailey. 

All I can say is: Wow!

Sorry Baby

Wri/Dir Eva Victor

Agnes is an assistant prof in English Lit at a small liberal arts college in New England. She’s lonely, depressed and frightened living in a draughty home with just her cat to keep her company. Well, that and a neighbour who  occasionally drops to share her bed (Lucas Hedges). Thankfully, her best friend and former housemate Lydie (Naomi Ackie) is back for a much-needed visit. They lived together as grad students, but while Lydie found work — and a female lover — in New York City, Agnes is trapped in the same college,  with same home, same faculty, same courses… she even works out of the same office that used to belong to her thesis advisor. On the surface, she has achieved all the measures of academic success… so why is Agnes so miserable?

Flashback to a few years ago. Even as she is struggling to finish her grad thesis, something very bad happens to her: she is sexually assaulted on campus by someone she knows very well. Though Lydie is supportive, her doctor and the school administration are not. The bad thing is made worse by how messed up she gets afterwards. How can Agnes deal with, accept and overcome her past? 

Sorry Baby is a deeply personal coming-of-age story about one woman’s life in the academic world and the dark incident that colours it. Now, I bet you’re thinking: this is an important issue, but it sounds like a real drag so I don’t want to watch it. And listening to how I just described it, I understand why you’d think that. But you’d be totally wrong. This is a very funny, sardonic dark comedy, with quirky characters and realistic situations anyone can relate to; the sexual assault is never shown, only talked about. And the film is packed with brilliant scenes: Agnes talking with a snack bar owner, meeting Lydie’s unfriendly partner and their new baby, serving jury duty, her relationship with her sex buddy, and dealing with her fellow student and detestable rival Natasha (wonderfully played by Kelly McCormack). So I really liked watching this movie but was wondering who is this actress I’ve never seen before, sort of a new Aubrey Plaza?  But it wasn’t till the final credits rolled that I realized the writer/director is also the lead actress! Eva Victor plays a literary version of herself. 

Sorry, Baby is her first film and it’s pretty fantastic.

Jurassic World: Rebirth, 40 Acres and Sorry Baby 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.