Wendell & Wild (2022)

It's not often two of my favourite film makers team up and a film like Wendell & Wild doesn't come along very often either. So this has been a rather special treat to see director Selick craft another of his gorgeous and slightly disturbing stop motion epics with the work of comedy and horror master Peele thrown in for good measure. Together they make a pretty great film that I know I'm going to come back to each Halloween.

This tale of a girl suffering terrible loss and struggling to find her way through her pain and grief is insightful as well as being a damn entertaining story. Kat's journey to finding herself is a magical, spooky, and funny adventure into the subconscious and supernatural. Like Selick's previous film Coraline, this is appropriate for younger eyes but not too much younger as some of the themes get into some emotional places and some of the images are downright creepy. It is also the sort of film that will appeal to adults of all ages for its smart script, enjoyable story, and the way it touches on meaningful themes. It all comes together in an empowering story of survival and healing. 

And Selick brings his beautiful aesthetic to this work creating another film that is just so beautiful to watch. Stop motion is fairly niche (likely due to how labour intensive it is) and there are a few who truly excel at it. Selick shows us he remains the current master of the art form. 

Wendell & Wild is a delicious Halloween treat... but honestly it could be enjoyed anytime of year.  

Wendell & Wild

Starring: Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Lyris Ross, Angela Bassett, James Hong, Wing Rhames, Tantoo Cardinal

Director: Henry Selick

Writer: Jordan Peele, Henry Selick

All Quiet On The Western Front (2022)

The 1930 adaptation of the novel All Quiet on the Wester Front remains one of my favourite films of all time. It takes a very of-its-time and therefore upfront approach to highlighting the naiveté of young men wanting to go off to war, often employing the very earnest acting style of the time which can feel a bit campy in our eyes, yet remains a testament to the artistry of that silver-screen era. I argue the film remains as searingly powerful as it ever was and is a visually stunning film even by today's standards. 

But I am not one to feel a good movie can't be remade well reflecting perhaps different strengths and bringing new ideas to the material. For example I believe there hasn't been a bad film adaptation of Little Women, each offering an interesting take on the novel. It appears the novel Im Westen nichts Neues is also able to be adapted in numerous ways and each offering us something new. 

This German adaptation of the story is also a beautifully stunning film. It employs more subtly in its rendering of the tale of Paul, a young idealistic soldier who quickly finds himself in hell at the bidding of powerful men who aren't at risk during "The Great War". Yet despite this perhaps more realistic depictions, the horror of it all isn't muted. This All Quiet remains a terrifying portrait of violence in the name of politics, painted on the faces of those sacrificed. 

I've always felt one of the great strengths of this story is the way we as western audiences are made to identify with "the other side" by finding how the Germans, our enemies in that age, were just like us. Here, for the fist time I'm aware of, we are watching the film in German played by German actors and their humanity remains as essential to the story as it always has but perhaps even more. 

This film brings in background political negotiations adding another interesting element to the story which hasn't been there is versions I've seen. The most recognizable star of the film on this side of the Atlantic, Brühl, plays historical figure Matthias Erzberger who later in life was villainized and assassinated for his push for peace. It is especially poignant watching him struggle to negotiate within the German ranks and then with the French, to reach an armistice as the soldiers we are following continue to lose their lives in the battles. 

This adaptation hits many of the same story beats as the B&W film of the past and in each moment I found I was feeling something new, experiencing those incidents in a whole new light. Director Berger has crafted an exquisitely gorgeous film that never blinks in the face of true horrors, truly human horrors, the kinds of evil that we perpetrate on ourselves. He pays tribute to what was done before but brings us something incredibly new in each moment. 

Gorgeous and powerful with a strong cast and a haunting story, All Quiet On The Western Front is an enduring story told beautifully with a real passion for finding a better way. This new version lives up to the legacy of the story and breathes new life in to it and I hope its plea for peace will continue to resonate. 

All Quiet On The Western Front

Starring: Daniel Brühl, Albrecht Schuch, Felix Kammerer

Director: Edward Berger

Writers: Ian Stokell, Lesley Paterson, Edward Berger

Tár (2022)

Tár is a bit of a masterclass by an actor and a director. Blanchett proves once again she is one of the best of her profession by portraying a complex, difficult, and ambiguous character with an undeniable humanity. And Field tells a challenging narrative that refuses to be straight forward or simple to wrap one's feelings around  Tár is gripping and plodding, intricate and sparse, sympathetic and unlikeable. 

Field and Blanchett present their title character as brilliant and magnetic to start and slowly add elements of s subtle cruelty, often couched in an artistic talent that makes us want to forgive her. Early on she attacks a vulnerable student in a way that almost convinces us she is right. But as the film progresses we begin to see she is both hero and villain of her own story.

Tár smartly inverts the gender dynamics of the sort of powerful predator narrative this story is telling so that we as an audience can shed some of our assumptions about these sorts of stories and see it through a clearer lens unclouded by our cultural assumptions. Field refuses to ever hold our hands by telling us what's going on any any one specific moment or foreshadowing exactly how his moments are going to play off each other down the road. He approaches his story telling with a sit-back-and-take-it-in approach with subtle nods to artistry that keep Tár and its protagonist at arm's length. He doesn't tell us what to think about Lydia Tár and instead presents us with situations for our own contemplation. 

For me the ending sped up too joltingly from the careful pace of the rest of the film and then suddenly we were done. And how it ended jarred me a bit after the film taking such care to not centre judgements. The final act feels rushed and perhaps more simplistic. But that doesn't take away from the strength of a story that will give audiences much to think about and a central performance that is just so complexly satisfying. 

Tár

Starring: Cate Blenchett, Noémie Merlant, Nina Hoss, Mark Strong, Julian Glover

Writer/Director: Todd Field 

Barbarian (2022)

I didn't rush out to see Barbarian at first because the nature of the story was one I thought would push some of my buttons. But I kept hearing good things about it and 2022 has been an amazing year for horror films, this being highly recommended. Finally I decided I needed to see what all the fuss was about. 

The film turned out to be a lot different than I expected. It wasn't as disturbing as I had thought but it also wasn't narratively what I expected either. One of the film's strength is how its script continues to surprise you by not going where you think it's going to go. 

But Barbarian is not a perfect film either. Some of the script's weaknesses include not setting up well the motivations for why the characters do all they do. A film that requires characters to run toward danger instead of away from it need a really good excuse and Barbarian often falls down here. There are a number of times characters simply could have left and avoided the horrors.  Barbarian does try to establish that the police have abandoned this poor, and likely mostly non-white area of Detroit, but there are times when the characters could have simply left, and times when the police likely would have been motivated (by well, reasons) to so something. The film doesn't quite wrestle with this in a satisfactory way.

Also Barbarian falls into the horror-movie trap of having what should be normal human villains end up having almost supernatural ability to survive despite suffering what should be life threatening wounds. 

But the film does try to comment on the world. As I mentioned there is the commentary about policing in certain neighbourhoods, but also the film deconstructs the way men interact with women in heterosexual "conquests" which I think Barbarian actually has some interesting things to say about. However sometimes it feels like it is saying it all a little to directly to feel natural. 

As with any test of a good horror movie, is the film scary? Pretty much. Sometimes I think the catacombs under the small house where this film is centred are far too elaborate for reality (think Oscar's can) but they do create a terrifying world the film exploits effectively. Barbarian is both scary and interesting and while it might not have been as much of either as I had thought it still ended up being solid scary storytelling. 

Barbarian

Starring: Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long, Kate Bosworth, Richard Brake, James Butler, Matthew Patrick Davis

Writer/Director: Zach Cregger 

 

Ticket to Paradise (2022)

What's more disappointing, the surprising lack of chemistry between two actors who normally have a great amount of chemistry (Roberts and Clooney) or the surprising lack of humour from two actors who are usually hilarious on screen (Dever and Lourd)? Pretty much everything is disappointing about this Ticket to Paradise.  

The scripts is rarely funny (even with Dever and Lourd!?!?!) and often ridiculous (like when a group of privileged white Americans get stranded in the jungle and go hunt wild boars). The dialogue is downright mean-spirited and the "romance" between Clooney and Roberts is never once believable. Ticket to Paradise is a series of poorly executed cliches with a cast that deserves better. 

Having said that the film knows what its doing and never gets bogged down in developing anything serious so at least it never gets boring. Just moves from one trailer joke to the next trailer joke, keeping the pace moving to gives audiences what they want, Clooney and Roberts hamming it up together. We know exactly what is going to happen from the first scene, but not because it feels real or organic. These annoying caricatures are quite awful really and the only reason we can buy them falling in love at all is because they are Roberts and Clooney and that's how these movies play out. But honestly they are both talented actors and comedians and could have been so much better in something better. 

Ticket to Paradise

Staring: George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Kaitlyn Dever, Billie Lourd, Maxime Bouttier, Lucas Bravo

Director: Ol Parker

Writers: Daniel Pipski, Ol Parker

 

Black Adam (2022)

Black Adam features solid, concise story telling that doesn't veer off path, sticks to its strengths, and delivers a rock solid time at the movies. Despite what you've heard it's not dumb (although it makes a few wise cracks). In fact it wrestles with issues like western imperialism and the morality of so-called "superheroics", perhaps not that deeply, but it does take those things on. That coupled with loving comic book tributes and easter eggs, and the already famous final moments, Black Adam is a movie that made the audience that I saw it with cheer.

The comic book character of Black Adam began as a villain and evolved into an anti-hero and leading man on his own account. Johnson began his acting career in the role of a villain (The Scorpion King) who becomes his own hero and eventually Johnsoon became one of the biggest leading men of the silver scree so his casting as this character seems perfect. Black Adam the film knows what it is and sticks closely to its story of rage and redemption. It is oversimplifying things to say it deals with the question of whether super-heroes kill (although the film does joke about that long running point of debate) as it's more about how we choose to confront evil and resolve conflict. 

The role of the western based Justice Society coming into Khandaq (but never having come to help before there was a threat that could affect them) raises interesting colonialist questions. I'm not saying the film resolves these questions or even explores them that deeply. But it doesn't ignore them and it has something to say on it. 

But the strength of Black Adam, besides the charisma of its star, is how economically it tells its story. It doesn't have much padding or fluff moments, instead focusing very tightly on the story it wants to tell and the action that provides. Plus one gets the clear message that the makers of this film love the comics that inspired it, filling it with easter eggs that comic fans will recognize, as well as fans of the previous DCEU films as the cameos are a sweet treat for fans while feeling integral to the story and not just tacked on. As a life long fan of the character Dr. Fate, seeing this beautifully rendered big screen version of him was a highlight for me. And then there is that now infamous end moments which, as I said, elicited cheers from the crowd I saw it with. 

Black Adam is a fun movie that delivers on what it is doing and does so without talking down to its audience. 

Black Adam

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Aldis Hodge, Pierce Brosnan, Sarah Shahi, Bodhi Sabongui, Quintessa Swindell, Noah Centineo, Marwan Kenzari, Mohammed Amer, Jalon Christian, Djimon Hounsou, Viola Davis, Jennifer Holland, Henry Winkler, Henry Cavill

 

The School for Good and Evil (2022)

Everybody wants to be the next Harry Potter. Even the makers of Harry Potter want to find the next Harry Potter and can't seem to even with their Fantastic Beasts franchise. But some are more transparent than others, the most egregiously copy cat are the "fantastic school" stories like this or Percy Jackson or countless others where a rather normal, usually bullied kid gets whisked off to a school for some sort of fantastical study where they discover they are something special and become the hero they were born to be. It's all the same. Sure it's a fantasy many children have, therefore the appeal. But that doesn't stop it from being repetitive. 

Certainly some do it better than others. The film version of Good and Evil is not really one of those despite its star power. I can't comment on whether the source material is less a series of predictable cliches than the film but I can say the film telegraphs everything it is doing and feels like the sort of morality play that we've heard one thousand times before. What? The "good" girl gets sent to the school of Evil and the girl seen as "bad" gets sent to the school of Good because perhaps what society thinks of as good and evil are often nor grounded in true morality? Wow that's original and groundbreaking!! You mean they're going to suffer through supposed lessons on good and bad qualities only to find through experience what real goodness is?? I never would have guessed!

The film really does lean into the simplest and most cliched versions of what good and evil means. And yes we get the rather obvious point that good and evil are not simple, but even as we get to this revelation the the versions of good and evil we get remain over simplified and culturally reinforcing. There are no revelations of nuance and subtlety. Everything is as black and white as one would expect. 

And The School for Good and Evil film feels cheap. This isn't a film that signals it is something taking itself seriously enough for us to invest in it as an ongoing series with characters three dimensional enough for us to care about and get attached to. Instead it feels like a Disney Channel movie referring to movies far greater than itself. 

The School For Good and Evil

Starring: Sophia Wylie, Sophia Anne Caruso, Kerry Washington, Charlize Theron, Patti LuPone, Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Flatters, Kit Young, Peter Seafinowicz, Ally Cubb, Cate Blanchett  

Director: Paul Fieg

Writers: David Magee, Paul Figg

 

Rosaline (2022)

I enjoy the conceit of exploring the perspectives of minor characters from literature, whether its Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead or The Wide Sargasso Sea, these narratives from another point of view can be interesting explorations of stories in need of something new. Rosaline isn't really in that league but there is an interesting kernel in there that plays with many of the problems and questions raised by Shakespeare's most famous play. Rosaline takes the rom-com aesthetic to tell an irreverent, anachronistic riff on Romeo and Juliet. And it ends up being a lot. of fun. 

Much of this success lays on the shoulders of lead Dever who is incredibly funny and has great screen presence. The film leans into the silly, often appears rather self-aware, and plays out like a modern rom-com would. It bears little resemblance to a Shakespeare adaptation (except for the costumes and art direction) and much more like a teen romantic comedy, even down the gay best friend trope. And while it's cliched it's also really fun and funny. Which is what we would hope for in any rom-com. 

But I think I enjoyed it even more because of its connections to the tale of famous star-crossed lovers. Romeo and Juliet is many things but it is not a happy story. There is a lot of death and ruined lives that lay in the wake of teen love in this tale. Normally we think little of the (usually) unseen and only mentioned first love, but on reflection she dodges quite the bullet because of her loss of Romeo's fickle affection. She struggles with much of what Juliet does, from the lack of agency of women of her era to navigating the politics of the time. But she gets the happy ending Juliet wanted, and perhaps she does because of being on the sidelines. There is this interesting idea in there about how being on the margins provides opportunities that might not exist in the spotlight. 

Rosaline also gets some fun jabs in at its source material, touching, if admittedly lightly, on some of the problems arising in the play. And Rosaline gets a better deal out of it all. It is a cheeky film, even going so far as to "fix" the ending for our Romeo and his Juliet. So a little bit of smarts thrown in with a funny script and a fun performance by Dever makes Rosaline a tale of joy instead of woe. 

Rosaline

Starring: Kaitlyn Dever, Sean Teale, Kyle Allen, Isabela Merced, Bradley Witford, Minnie Driver, Christopher MacDonald

Director: Karen Maine
Writers: Scott Neustadter, Michael H Weber

 

Halloween Ends (2022)

I've been pretty vocal in my dislike of the Halloween franchise finding it falls more into the traps of the genre than leaning into its strengths. But I have a lot of respect for Jamie Lee Curtis and what she is doing with her character of Laurie Strode, and despite a lot of my misgivings the horribly named Halloween Ends might finally have won me over to this latest trilogy of Halloween films, not because the film doesn't have its flaws,  many similar to the previous films' flaws, but because it manages to tell a story that might just rise a bit above what the others have managed to tell. 

But I can't discuss what I liked (and disliked) about it without spoiling it so be warned. Spoilers ahead. 

While it has become a bit of a joke, it is these recent Halloween movies that have led the charge for horror films to be about trauma. I actually like this idea as I think that sort of reflection is what this genre can do well. Some of that has been rather heavy handed in Halloween (2018) and Halloween Kills, and it remains a bit heavy handed here. Characters tell you that's what it's about explicitly, yet the script deals with it more in the dialogue than in any subtext. 

Yet...

There is something about being willing to end the story (yes I know there will be another Halloween film and yes Michael Myers will be back - but it's an ending at least for now) that allows this film to stop dragging it out and actually let Laurie be the real "final girl." There is a moment near the end where the film makes you think she is going to commit suicide (without really earning it but that's another gripe I have) and I was ready to pack it in. But then it turns out that was a trap. "Do you really think I would kill myself?" she says to the killer as she shoots him instead of herself. And I became intrigued. 

Because while the films before were about trauma, Ends is about closure. Laurie gets to survive (I told you I was going to spoil it) and gets to finish Myers off for good. She also gets to stop the resurrection aspect of him, both as an unkillable ghoul but also as an inspiration. The film looks at how abusers can be made out of abused people. And there is something satisfying about the film letting us process all of that and let it truly end. 

Sure the film still have a lot of cliched slasher movie tropes. Only a few of the killings have any disturbing aspects to them with most feeling like we've seen them done before in every other slasher film. And yes the script is lean and as I suggested rarely earns the emotional beats it's going for. So it's still not the slasher masterpiece that one might hope for. In the hands of a more artistic director/screenwriter there could have been more interesting take on this story about a long standing killer inspiring a tortured soul and the women who never let their suffering lead them down the dark path. But that's not this film. 

But Curtis is very good when the film allows her to play a scene and when Laurie gets arc enough to build her character. And I found myself less frustrated with Ends than I did with the previous films in this trilogy, and finally a bit more satisfied with the ending. Perhaps this is where Halloween should end. But since we know they will make more, perhaps they could turn the franchise into an anthology, be done with telling stories about Myers simply slashing more victims with a chef's knife and give us something different, like in Halloween III.  

Halloween Ends

Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis, Rohan Campbell, Andi Matichak, Nick Castle, Will Patton, Kyle Richards

Director: David Gordon Green

Writers: Paul Brad Logan, Chris Bernier, Danny McBride, David Gordon Green

Mr. Harrigan's Phone (2022)

There is a compelling story in Steven King's novella of the same name but director Hancock has sapped most of that in this dull uninspired adaptation. He has lost most of the interesting commentary on social media for a more blunt approach and he has somehow made film that isn't scary in the slightest, or even creepy for that matter. The film feels like a missed opportunity to spin an interesting yarn. 

What does work is the lead performances of Jaeden Martell and Donald Southerland. Both are strong and their chemistry together is great. But even with this Hancock fumbles never quite earning the relationship that the story needs to really sell itself. 

So while Netflix has made some interesting King adaptations, this one isn't on the list. 

Mr. Harrigan's Phone

Starring: Jaeden Martell, Donald Southerland, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Joe Tipett, Cyrus Arnold
Writer/Director: John Lee Hancock

 

Amsterdam (2022)

Based on an actual plot to overthrow the American government in the pre-WWII era by powerful business men who wanted to install a fascist tyrant, Amsterdam mostly fictionalizes the events, centres a kooky trio of protagonists at its centre, and weaves a complicated yet not always compelling story around them and their actions to stop the plot. There is a lot going on here and most of it gets lost in a messy script that keeps changing focus and rarely delivers any payoff for the breadcrumbs it lays along the way. 

What I enjoyed the most about Amsterdam is (strongly implied but never delivered on) thruple at its centre; Bale, Washington, and Robbie who bond together in Amsterdam (hence the film's title) post-WWI. This segment is filmed in the way romantic movies film 2 people falling in love. But the film afterward goes to great lengths to ensure we aren't seeing a polyamorous grouping by inserting Saldaña's otherwise needless character and having Bale talk about his "wife" all the time despite the film making it clear he doesn't love her and she doesn't love him. I think if the film had used the three's love of each other as a bond (which it sort of does but always hedges into "friendship" which basically neuters the power of this family) Amsterdam overall could have bee stronger. 

 

Amsterdam runs from one coinkidink to another having multiple characters come in and out of the lives of this threesome (and even their coincidental meetings are often too much disbelief to suspend) until we really stop caring about who is who and why they are doing it. The film ends on this conspiracy crescendo which then drops most of what else we saw leading up to it. And the ending, with Bale sadly saying goodbye to his "friends" just feels like a weak response from a film no willing to commit to anything it's doing. 

It's long, and while there are delightful moments, Amsterdam doesn't hold on enough to make its runtime worth it. It mostly feels like a missed opportunity to do a number of the things it was trying but better. 

Amsterdam

Starring: Christian Bale, John David Washington, Margot Robbie, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy,  Zoe Saldaña, Mike Meyers, Michael Shannon, Rami Malick, Robert De Niro, Timothy Olyphant, Taylor Swift, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alessandro Nivolo, Andrea Riseborough, Colleen Camp, Leland Orser, Tom Irwin, Beth Grant, Ed Begley Jr.

Writer/Director: David O. Russell

Triangle of Sadness (2022)

Östlund's divisive yet Festival darling satire Triangle of Sadness is at once hilarious, confounding, inconsistent, and inspiring. He tells a story that is compelling but also goes off track quite a bit. He centres characters that are hard to care about but still hold our attention. It is like it both works and doesn't work at the same time. Regardless it certainly is an experience. 

Triangle of Sadness falls into three very distinguishable acts which rely on each other but don't connect well. The first follows a couple who are both stunningly gorgeous (they are models and influencers) and yet wholly average. We follow them as they discuss and debate the value of their relationship and how their connections to each other are woven. Then we go on a luxury cruise with them where they become secondary, or perhaps stand ins for us as we observe the obscenely rich and those serving them. Then there is a third act but I don't want to spoil it so I won't outline it. But only in the last few moments of the film does Östlund remember where he started and start to try to pull the strings of this thing all together in a nice little bow. 

In each act the film takes a sledge hammer to its point. We are bombarded with symbolism, the dialogue pretty much tells us exactly what we are to know, and it is all extremely over the top. But this is satire and it is damn funny. Triangle of Sadness often slides into Farrelly Brothers territory with its toilet humour. The film feels designed to make us uncomfortable, even from the first moments. And that's okay, that's a choice, but I would often get frustrated with the film's lack of subtly or obviousness but I did appreciate that it kept throwing curveballs at us which helped mitigate some of the predictability of the piece.   

Östlund kept making interesting points amongst his slapstick. His comments may not have been subtle but they were certainly fascinating. Yet I'm still struggling with his ambiguous ending. He chooses to cut to black before we know exactly how things will be resolved, leaving room for interpretation I guess. But that's not my problem with it. Normally I appreciate that. It is instead how he seems to redeem those who feel the least redeemable in the message of the movie while condemning those the move seems to uplift. So is his ending just entirely nihilist, a cynical joke that he can sit back and laugh at from his place of privilege? Or is he siding with those he's just chosen to ridicule like some sort of ultimate twist (which would be sort of gross TBH). Or is he trying to make a comment in some way on the seeing the humanity in all of us, even those corrupted. If it's the latter he doesn't really show us the receipts. 

His ending felt to me like he was trying to have his cake and eat it too, which felt a bit like cheating. But despite all of that the film, which is, as I said, quite funny, and whose plot, while meandering and disconnected, remained engaging throughout the rather long runtime, still fascinated me. The film was a lot of things to me and that was okay. 

Triangle of Sadness

Starring: Harris Dickinson, Charlbi Dean, Woody Harrelson, Dolly de Leon, Zlatko Burić 

Writer/Director: Ruben Östlund

 

Slash/Back (2022)

In the vein of The Thing, Slash/Back is a fun isolated monster movie that happens to also speak to issues facing northern peoples today. Slash/Back follows a well worn pattern of setting its stage, establishing its characters, letting loose the havoc, and watching our heroes tackle it. And it does it with clever script and strong performances from its young cast. 

Slash/Back employs a great deal of the hallmarks of b-movie horror in fun ways, while taking all of this into new territory, specifically the Inuit lands of Nunavut. There isn't a white hero to save the day and this isn't a fish out of water story. Instead we watch as a group of girls just on the verge of womanhood are the first line of defence for humanity. And along the way they explore the nature of their bonds, the challenges in their community, and discover a lot about who they are. 

Slash/Back is fun, often gross, and a great ride. It is lean (which helps what it tries to do with its small budget) and sticks to what it can do best. 

Slash/Back

Starring: Tasiana Shirley, Alexis Wolfe, Nalajoss Ellsworth, Chelsea Pruskey, Frankie Vincent

Director: Nyla Innuksuk

Writers: Ryan Cavan, Nyla Innuksuk

 

Women Talking (2022)

Women Talking is a synecdoche for women in western culture everywhere. This film is set in a Mennonite colony where the men have gone away to sell property to raise bail for other men of their community who have been charged with drugging and sexually assaulting many of the community's women and while they are away the women meet to decide what to do about the situation. 

Women Talking is a talkie movie set in a specific space in a specific time. I will confess I am partial to these sorts of narratives as I find these moments in time explorations fascinating. These women struggle with their relationships to their faith, the men in their lives, their prescribed gender roles, their safety, their responsibilities to their children (especially their daughters), and the dangers the future may face. They are not monolithic but they are all in this together. In this way this moment in time, like these women in this story, are a wrestling with what all women wrestle with in a patriarchy. It opens up the door for us all to think about how our cultures handle sexual assault and the way men lord power over other genders. 

As a talkie film sometimes Women Talking does err on the side of characters pontificating. I let this slide mostly because of my penchant for these sorts of play structures. But many times the script has its characters explain their motivations a little more than feels natural. 

But the cast truly shines. The actors here are a collection of some of the most exciting actors working today and they are an ensemble to die for. They electrify every scene. It is hard to say anyone stands out as they all play together so well. They are able to represent such a rich diversity of voices in this conversation, complicated voices who don't fall into easily definable motivations. 

Director Polley films her story in a washed out colour palate that is beautiful to watch and creates a feeling that conveys both the urgency of the moment and the need to take the time to talk things through. This balance is maintained throughout the film, even as the end draws closer and there are moments of haste. But Women Talking spends time cultivating the ways these humans we are following have been socialized along gender lines and how their approach therefore is different than the approach of those they are separated from. The film includes two characters that are not women (besides some of the boys who are running around in the background) a cis man and a trans man whose relationship with the women is contrasted in complicated and surprising ways. By casting Whishaw as the only cis-man the women include in their discussions (although his role is simply to record the minutes) he brings a different portrayal of masculinity to this role adding the film's examination of gender in fascinating ways. 

But it is the centring of women, women whose prescribed role is not to be centred, where the film is the strongest, exploring the conflicting views, positions, and passions of these women, played by one of the strongest casts I've seen in a while. Women Talking is a fascinating conversation and one we should all be having. 

Women Talking

Starring: Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, Jessie Buckley, Ben Whishaw, Francis McDormand, Judith Ivey, Sheila McCarthy, August Winter

Writer/Director: Sarah Polley 

 

Entergalactic (2022)

Full confession; I love animation, especially when the genre doesn't attempt to be hyper realistic but leans into its unique opportunity to tell stories "live action" cannot. American animation is starting to break out of the family adventure comedy mode and diversifying into more stylized approaches to telling stories like its counterparts around the world. 

Entergalactic is a love story, a rather basic one to be honest. Boy meets girl, there is a meet cute, a connection, something that stands in their way, and then the ultimate reunion. It's not the story that is original about Entergalactic. It is so much more, from the gorgeous animation to the music it is based around, to an approach to telling a falling in love story that seems fresh. 

While not entirely the same, the animation style is reminiscent of Into the Spiderverse, it is quite lovely to watch, creating an indigo world for its story to unfurl in. It also pairs well with Kid Cudi's original music for the piece (he has released an album paired with it) capturing the more surreal emotional elements of the love story over a more concrete narrative. 

Entergalactic's romance is between two modern characters who don't fall into the traps of typical rom coms. Despite the story remaining heteronormative, the characters are drawn (pun intended) as equal partners who get to be sexually expressive humans pursuing their complicated desires and life goals while also reaching a connection that respects who each of them are. Stories like this give me hope for heterosexuals in the future. The chemistry between Cudi and Williams is just right. So even though we know where it is all going, there remains a lot of enjoyment in getting there. 

Beautiful images and music helps make this story a joy to watch. 

Entergalactic

Starring: Kid Cudi, Jessica Williams, Timothée Chalamet, Ty Dolla $ign, Laura Harrier, Vanessa Hudgens, Christopher Abbott, Jaden Smith, Keith David, Macaulay Culkin, Luis Guzmán

Director: Fletcher Moules

Writers: Ian Edeiman,  Maurice Williams 

 

Bones of Crows (2022)

When a movie can so acutely tap into ver powerful and difficult emotions surrounding those who suffered at the hands of true human evil, those movies can resonate for survivors and for the greater culture that history (and present) is a part of. From Schindler's List to 12 Years a Slave, art like this has played an important role in our healing, our accountability, and our humanity. We can add Bones of Crows to that list, and unflinching and deeply personal look at the story of a survivor of Canada's residential school system. 

As I understand it the film is a fictional narrative but tied very closely to the real lived experiences of many, especially the family members of film maker Clements. She has crafted an incredibly beautiful film which pulls no punches and is powerfully honest in its depictions of the real life horrors experienced by so many. After this and her last film Red Snow, she has become one of my favourite working directors. 

Her cast is incredible, especially the actors playing the lead character Aline over the decades of her life. She has found a wealth of talent to collaborate with here and it shows as the film just truly overcomes you both with an overwhelming force of the horrific events it spells out, but a powerful triumph of hope and optimism for the future. Bones of Crows is a remarkable film that should not be missed. 

Bones of Crows

Starring: Grace Dove, Phillip Lewitski, Rémy Girard, Karine Vanasse, Michelle Thrush, Glen Gould, Gail Maurice, Cara Gee, Joshua Odjick

Writer/Director: Marie Clements

Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)

Hocus Pocus 2 is one of those sequels which just gives you exactly what you had before but again. High camp family friendly Halloween fun? Check. Silly plot held together by a string and the charisma of its stars? Check. Show-stopping musical number showcasing Midler's star appeal? Double check! But beyond being just a homage to a film that was at best a guilty pleasure, Hocus Pocus 2 doesn't offer much more. 

But having said that once again the film gets a pass because of how much fun the cast is (and is clearly having). From the original stars who are a blast to Richardson, Hale and the young leads, Hocus Pocus 2 is funny and fun to watch. And as a Halloween extravaganza that's safe for the youngest eyes without being boring or condescending to more seasoned, Hocus Pocus 2 casts its spell. 

There is a lot of debate about these sequels which rely solely on the nostalgia of the original film and I'm not sure Hocus Pocus 2 is the best defence in this arena. But for fans who do adore the legacy of a movie why not give a fun return to the well? Let them enjoy it! Hocus Pocus 2 may not be for those who aren't already devotees but for previous fans and for young families looking for a spooky Halloween film tradition, this is a great start! I was bewitched and will likely watch it every Halloween as part of a Sanderson Sisters double feature. 

Hocus Pocus 2

Starring: Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Doug Jones, Whitney Peak, Lilia Buckingham, Hannah Waddingham, Tony Hale, Sam Richardson

Director: Anne Fletcher

Writer: Jen D'Angelo