The King Tide (2024)

There are many styles that fall into the genre of film making referred to as horror from the most viscerally physical to disturbingly psychological and everything in between. While I can appreciate many forms, the style that The King Tide falls into, is often my favourite. These are stories that make us feel uneasy less then "scared" or horrified, that explore through some sort of often fantastical metaphor, unnerving social phenomenon. They serve as warning, as catharsis, as processing of emotions. The King Tide, is the sort of story that makes us wonder and worry and perhaps reflect on so much. 

This is sort of a break out film for director Sparkes who truly shines here by beautifully filming his story and finding very efficient and naturalistic ways of building backstory and moving through the plot points necessary to weave his tale. It helps that he uses the gorgeous and foreboding coast of Newfoundland and Labrador and a cast of actors who come together so completely. This is the sort of story that could have devolved into a far more farcical cult like scenario a la The Wicker Man or Midsommer but Sparkes eschews that for a far more grounded and even, dare we say, relatable setting. His community are not a group of evil acolytes, but very real feeling neighbours who disagree on how to handle what they are dealing with. And this makes it even more unnerving. 

I appreciated that he didn't compromise on the ending. The final moments are very powerful and far more natural than where I worried the film would go to wrap things up more hopefully. Sparkes is a promising storyteller with another film coming right behind this one that also appears to be a very layered and complicated story. He has made a very watchable film that doesn't hand you a way to think but lets you reflect on a number of questions that might haunt you a bit after completing the film. This is why this sort of film is my preferred sort of speculative fiction. 

The King Tide

Starring: Frances Fisher, Lara Jean Chorostecki, Clayne Crawford, Aden Young

Director: Christian Sparkes 

Writers: Albert Shin, William Woods, Kevin Coughlin, Ryan Grassby

Challengers (2024)

An ending can make a movie. Challengers is solid from start to finish but it is that finish, an intense final few moments, which ratchet up the energy, a tense - awkward - erotic - exhilarating energy, to the point where it is almost unbearable. And then release... and emotion, afterglow. You see early on Zendaya's character describes a tennis match as a relationship, like having sex. And Challengers delivers a final climax that... well... you have to experience to believe. 

Challengers is about a messy and captivating conflagration of relationships. It is set over one single tennis match, with flashbacks to flesh out the backstory that got them there, and why every volley, every grunt, and every bead of sweat, has meaning. Kuritzkes and Guadagnino weave a complicated and enticing web between their three leads that is full of innuendo, passion, and subterfuge so that everyone is always just off their game. And it comes to this moment, this match, and three people who are interconnected so intimately. 

My main critique of Guadagnino's work is the way he almost always hides his queerness in metaphor. Challengers feels like this is breaking out, but never quite escapes. It is always bubbling just under the surface in way that implies a ubiquitous presence yet integration into all relationships. Sex is a part of each connection. Desire, lust, jealousy, security. Here Guadagnino's reluctance to let his queerness explode into the world provides a layer of meaning and commentary on the relationships between men, between male friends, that in many ways is more embracing of queerness than his gay love tragedy Call Me By Your Name. 

And so much of this film is about the screen power that Zendaya wields. She is a force that both commands her costars and the audience, but also finds quiet vulnerability in her brokenness. Certainly O'Connor and Faist are at the top of their game here, both delivering layered and meaningful portrayals of their characters and the energy between them, but it is Zendaya owning everything about this film that makes it all come together in all is delicious messiness.  

Challengers is, as you have likely heard, sexy. Yes Guadagnino lingers on his stars' bodies. He makes them grunt and sweat and look at each other like they can't look away. But it is more than just the bodies of the actors. It is the way he constructs their characters, their interactions, which always keep the level of sexual tension at it height. Challengers will make you need a cold shower because of the way it gets in your head. 

And then there is that ending. And all you can do is sit back in your cinema seat and breathe. 

Challengers

Starring: Zendaya, Josh O'Connor, Mike Faist

Director: Luca Guadagnino

Writer: Justin Kuritzkes

Sasquatch Sunset (2024)

Mostly this bizarre and rather earnest story of a Sasquatch family worked for me. The only real downside for me was the humour which was often just about seeing Bigfoot fuck or take a shit in the woods. Not really that funny at all. But when the film instead focused on what life for a Sasquatch might be like if they were real, it was surprisingly moving. 

The film keeps a tight runtime and in doing so never overstays its welcome. Its story is concise yet effective as we follow these creatures, who are imagined as fairly intelligent primates if they had evolved in the mountains of North America, as they face the challenges of living in the wild, including the encroachment of humans into their world. We never see people (only their effects) but we see how human activity might have an impact on a species like this. 

I think the film's choice to use no dialogue what so ever was both smart and quite effective. It creates a real pathos for our characters as we watch them face life's challenges. The film lost me a bit when it was trying to be silly or even just trying to be uncomfortably and grossly accurate with its depiction of how non-human animals behave. But when it was about the Sasquatch and their way of life, I actually found it very compelling, especially Keough's performance. 

Sasquatch Sunset

Starring: Riley Keough, Jesse Eisenberg 

Directors: David Zellner, Nathan Zellner

Writer: David Zellner

Housekeeping for Beginners (2024)

A big part of what moved me so much while watching Housekeeping for Beginners the first time is what an excellent encapsulation of the magic and importance of chosen family, especially for marginalized people. So much of our culture is built around reinforcing biological connection as is much of our legal system. But for so many, especially those most vulnerable, biofamilies can be sources of abuse and even danger. Housekeeping for Beginners celebrates and spotlights all the mess, the drama, and the love that this kind of family can offer. 

Stolevski has quickly become one of my favourite directors with his verite style and way of bringing us intimately into the lives of his characters. Here we have a group of people thrown at us and are drawn into their beautiful and challenging mess so effectively, so rawly. By setting his story in his homeland of Macedonia, at a time when queer people and Romani people face real persecution, he shows us humanity and its vulnerabilities and connects us to that. 

That connection comes in the form of their relationships, some formed over time, some more recent, but all true and strong. There is a pureness to the way he tells stories and build characters that hits right for me. So much of what I watch in his films just feels so truthful. 

Housekeeping for Beginners is just a lovely movie filled with loss and pain and hope and is told in such a way that one just gets pulled in so completely. 

Housekeeping for Beginners

Starring: Anamaria Marinca, Alina Serban, Samson Selim, Vladimir Tintor

Writer/Director: Goran Stolevski

Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver (2024)

It is well known that Star Wars draws so much of its inspiration from 50s B-movie serials. Rebel Moon, which is said to have been originally conceived as a Star Wars story, embraces that aspect of the franchise whole heartedly. What he started with A Child of Fire continues on the same track with The Scargiver, a pulpy space opera with hyper-visual aesthetics. This is genre fiction at its most genre-y, a simple story that is meaty enough and its characters are recognizable but fleshed out. Rebel Moon is tribute to a different era of film making that is about immersing yourself in escapism and fantasy.

I believe mostly what will determine if you enjoy the Rebel Moon journey is whether you embrace the Zack Snyder aesthetic or not. His approach works for some and turns others off. His take on 7 Samurai is engrossingly entertaining and earnestly in your face. It might be too syrupy for some and perhaps not analytical enough for others. This isn't Dune Part Two with its complicated analyses of the structures of power. The themes in Rebel Moon are straight forward but not simplistic. There is an honesty in the themes of wanting to make right what you've done wrong that underlines the plot points in this epic. 

For me Rebel Moon was purely enjoyable from a visually pleasing approach and from a story telling angle, merging much of what I enjoy about popcorn cinema. There is room in my film cannon for the complicated and nuanced explorations of the human condition and for the simply inspiring adventures stories. And Snyder makes such beautiful movies that are pure entertainment. I'm down for more chapters if the team behind Rebel Moon plan to make more. 

Rebel Moon Part Two: The Scargiver

Starring: Sofia Boutella, Djimon Hounsou, Ed Skrein, Michiel Huisman, Doona Bae, Ray Fisher, Staz Nair, Fra Fee, Elise Duffy, Anthony Hopkins, Cary Elwes

Director: Zack Snyder

Writers: Kurt Johnstad, Shay Hatten, Zack Snyder

Wicked Little Letters (2024)

You had me at Colman and Buckley. They teamed up before in the much more dour The Lost Daughter but this is a wickedly fun little story (based on real events) that is both hilarious and a strong comment on how women are treated. 

I laughed throughout this far more than I have at any movie in a long time and it is all rather joyously crowd pleasing. However it also hits home a strong point. The end scene featuring Colman laughing is both inspiring and rather disconcerting. You just have to see it to get it. 

Buckley and Colman, while both playing to type, transcend that and are just wonderful to watch. You don't want to take your eyes off them. Also really charismatic is Vasan in a somewhat scene stealing role (remarkable considering who she is acting opposite) which she pulls off with a subtlety and grace that is astounding.

Wicked Little Letters is the sort of movie slap a big fat smile across your face but never once compromises on telling a damn good story. 

Wicked Little Letters

Starring: Olivia Colman, Jesse Buckley, Anjana Vasan, Timothy Spall, Gemma Jones

Director: Thea Sharrock

Writer: Jonny Sweet

 

Sting (2024)

I love a good B-movie monster flick and Sting has all the right vibes. It's premise is simple yet deceiving interesting. It's monster is a clear and creepy threat, and the characters are given just enough backstory to make you care for them as they attempt to survive. It's decently gruesome and keeps the monster off screen and in the shadows so your imagination runs wild instead of ruining the creepy crawlies by showing us a half-assed looking creature. 

Yes Sting is mostly big creepy spider mayhem and that's some fun stuff, but it is also a lovely little story about a step-father showing what being a dad really means. Corr and Browne's connection is really touching and their comic book obsession makes this play right into the hands of a nerdy audience like me. The character work here, while straightforward, was honest enough that I was invested in their survival which in horror doesn't always happen.  

Sting plays into its B-movie bone fides and doesn't take itself too seriously allowing for some humour (especially in Fowler's awesome performance) to lighten the mood without diluting the heebie-jeebies. This does feel like it knows that it is following a certain playbook but it does so with such reverence for the genre and with enough fun and spooks that it is a fun watch. At only 90 minutes it doesn't overstay it's welcome and will make your skin crawl when you next see a spider.

Sting

Starring: Alyla Browne, Ryan Corr, Penelope Mitchell, Jermaine Fowler

Writer/Director: Kiah Roache-Turner 

Scoop (2024)

Scoop feels like it thinks its more interesting than it is. It is about the true story of a British new agency getting Prince Andrew to sit down for an interview as his connections to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein had become public information. The film is set up as a sort of Spotlight-esque expose triumphing journalism. But in the end it all feels so anticlimactic no matter how hard the film tries to make its case for these journalists it is trumpeting. Yes they deserve recognition for their work which is good. But in the end what was it all worth? 

Today we look back and see that one of the most privileged white men in the world appears to have escaped any real accountability for allegedly raping underage girls. The film really tries to highlight that he had his royal titles stripped and is removed from doing official duties. Okay. So he's still a millionaire, doesn't have to do any work, and just isn't called "your royal highness" any longer? I'm sorry if I don't see how monumental this is. Perhaps yes there is an argument to say that without the diligence of the press in these circumstances he wouldn't even face those repercussions. I'm just not sure that is the winning point the film thinks it is. 

The film is flashy and slick and creates a lot of tension a la Frost/Nixon. This is good film making except for the fact that once we get to the interview and the prince doesn't actually say anything that revelatory, he just looks like a fool, it really drives home the idea that there isn't much here. The supposed "scoop" is less of one and more of just due diligence. 

The film can certainly be watched for its historical relevance and how it brings more attention to just how many of Epstein's "friends" have gotten away with some of the worst crimes ever. But as a film itself it is just sort of a let down featuring a strong cast. 

Scoop

Starring: Gillian Anderson, Billie Piper, Rufus Sewell, Keeley Hawes, Conor Swindells

Director: Philip Martin

Writer: Peter Moffat 

 

Civil War (2024)

Writer/director Garland is known for his visionary and audacious film style. In 2024 he tackles something that feels like it could truly resonate for American audiences which may feel all too close to reality. In doing so he has crafted a tense and riveting thriller that explores human reaction to the horrors of conflict, especially conflict that is close to the daily lives of those involved. It is surprisingly effective and impactful, the sort of film that works both viscerally and intellectually. Civil War is a powerful look into the toll war brings. 

Civil War doesn't necessarily follow the path you think it is going to. Instead of exploring fictitious warring sides in a modern American civil war, the film focuses on war journalists chronicling the battles and their effects. The film eschews getting into the politics of the conflict. It's not that film. Instead its plot is about getting us deep into how war effects the people it touches, especially when it encroaches on their lives in their communities, the ways we can turn a blind eye, and what happens when we don't. It is about confronting war itself and what it does to people. 

So many war films are not set within the USA and so American audiences can keep a distance that removes them from the horror or war so head on. This story takes that safety value away forcing us to confront what we are seeing and potential for it in real life. That in itself is handled so deftly here that it is somewhat earth shattering for audiences used to  keeping themselves out of conflict. There are times it will feel like a gut punch, sometimes it will make you not know how to feel. 

I truly loved Dunst's performance. It is quiet and mostly subtle yet filled with pain, strength, and trauma. The entire cast is good, especially Moura in a bit of a scene stealing role, but it is Dunst's movie and she nails it. 

Throughout the film I was finding myself with the wind blown right out of me, audibly responding to moments I didn't expect, or even if I did, was quite impacted by. And then after I just kept thinking about it, ruminating on aspects of it. Civil War is the sort of rich film that will give you more to think about over subsequent rewatches. I have so many questions and speculations that I want to work through in my mind and in conversation. 

Garland can take big swings and be bold with his films to varying effectiveness but generally I find I like what he tries to do and here I certainly did. I sat a bit shell shocked as the credits began to roll and it will likely sit with me for a while. As it should. 

Civil War

Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Nick Offerman, Sonoya Mizuno, Jesse Plemons

Writer/Director: Alex Garland 

Glitter & Doom (2024)

This jukebox musical is a love letter to Gen Z queerness and the Indigo Girls which skates a counterculture vibe with Baz Luhrmann like audacity. For me it completely worked with all its bombast and earnestness. 

The film is visually striking and narratively loose. It's a love story between young men just starting their lives filled with the poetry of reflective (older) women but yet it feels honest and raw, and just the right amount of awkward. It definitely has an underground feeling to its filming that triggered a lot of nostalgia for queer films of a different era that were made on a shoestring and distributed through alternative channels. Also the music, much of it from earlier in the Indigo Girls' career, brought back memories. 

There are fun cameos but at the heart is the chemistry between the leads Diaz and Cammish whose youthful enthusiasm for love and fear of the great life ahead is palpable. The supporting performance by Pyle is powerful. I feel she's a very underrated actress. 

For me it brought be back to a time in my life when I didn't know where things were going or how I was going to get there. Glitter & Doom just feels like love. 

Glitter & Doom

Starring: Alex Diaz, Alan Cammish, Ming-Na Wen, Missy Pyle, Tig Notaro, Lea Delaria, Peppermint, Kate Pierson, Amy Ray, Emily Saliers

Director: Tom Gustafson

Writer: Cory Krueckeberg

Dogman (2024)

Luc Besson's absurdist tragedy worked for me. I thought his approach to telling the story through the flashbacks of an unreliable narrators made the leaps in logic both acceptable but almost poetic. But mostly it was Jones' all in performance that sold me on this often horrific but ultimately inspiring story. 

This really is all about Jones' who completely sells Doug and makes him a very real human despite all that he tells us. He is known for his off-kilter performances and this may be his magnum opus. He brings such a grace and gravitas to Doug, such a power in the face of horrors, that you can't help but love him no matter how morally ambiguous he gets. 

 

Besson's direction is actually rather restrained here but he creates the kind of world where Doug's story can be told and experienced. The combination of the star's and director's styles comes together quite nicely. 

Dogman may not be everyone's cup of tea but it was more accessible than I expected it to be. Perhaps its all the puppies. I mean how can you not enjoy watching all these dogs?

Dogman

Starring: Caleb Landry Jones, Jojo T Gibbs 

Writer/Director: Luc Besson

Monkey Man (2024)

Monkey Man is the sort of film that delivers on its promise. Yes it is an intense action movie focused on well choreographed fights scenes, but it is also an inspiring tale of liberation critiquing caste and class as well as highlighting trans characters. Patel has made an impressive debut with his first directoral effort. 

Monkey Man is ambitious for sure. There is a desperate kinetic energy throughout, with Patel barely taking time to breathe as he barrels through his story. But it fits with his underdog mythology that he's building here and keeps the tension at a high level throughout. There are some moments of contemplation but he balances this quite effectively, allowing the backstory to unfold to give gravitas to his fight movie. It all comes together quite well. 

Monkey Man is a champion of the oppressed and centres marginalized characters in their fight to prove their worth. This elevates Monkey Man from just being a John Wick take off.  Patel is not only making a strong debut as a director but his performance is top notch too, bringing more than just his trainer perfected body to the role. He makes "Kid" a truly watchable and relatable central character.

This one is a winner and I'm sure I'll enjoy watching it time and again. 

Monkey Man

Starring: Dev Patel, Sharlto Copley, Vipin Sharma, Sikander Kher, Sobhita Dhulipala, Ashwini Kalsekar, Makarand Deshpande 

Director: Dev Patel

Writers: Paul Angunawela, John Collee, Dev Patel

The Wages of Fear (2024)

I can't compare this remake with the 1953 original but even without that knowledge this is a disappointment. There is such a good story here but the film drops the ball mostly by having weekly drawn characters and a lack of self-awareness. So much could be explored in a 21st century The Wages of Fear that this movie mostly misses. 

Having said that The Wages of Fear 2024 isn't a bad movie. It's standard action fare that for a rather forgettable movie watching experience manages to be just enough. There is some wonderful cinematography and there are moments of intense action. Yes there should have been much more, along with more development of the characters and their role as mercenaries in a part of the world that isn't theirs. But without that Fear is rather watchable anyways, even if you keep thinking about how it could have been better. 

The Wages of Fear

Starring: Ana Girardot, Alban Lenoir, Franck Gastambide, Sofiane Zermani

Director: Julien Leclercq 

Writers: Hamid Hlioua, Julien Leclercq

The Beautiful Game (2024)

The Homeless World Cup is a real thing, a global soccer tournament featuring homeless players, which advocates for the end of homelessness through sport. While The Beautiful Game often feels much like a commercial for the event, it also manages to be a very entertaining and engaging film. Yes it employs the trappings of an inspirational dramedy, it does so very effectively, making watching The Beautiful Game lovely.

Much of what makes it work is owed to its stars Nighy and Ward. Nighy's screen presence is always off the charts and he brings that to this film in one of his more understated parts. Ward, who I first saw opposite Olivia Colman in Empire of Light, shines bright here too by bringing much to his leading role. 

Sharrock films her movie beautifully, especially when they get to Rome and she takes full advantage of the scenery. The Beautiful Game is a beautifully shot film which may not always delve deeply into some of the more complex issues of the unhoused, but always, 100% of the time, focus on its characters as human beings. 

And maybe the Homeless World Cup deserves such an entertaining commercial. 

The Beautiful Game

Starring: Bill Nighy, Michael Ward

Director: Thea Sharrock

Writer: Frank Cottrell-Boyce

 

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

The latest Godzilla and Kong mashup is a big dumb monster movie with a capital D. The plot is so silly and the characters so badly drawn your eyes will be spinning to the back of your skull while you watch it. Really the only reason to do so is for mega monster mayhem and the one saving grace is that the film actually makes the monster battles fun and entertaining. But watching The New Empire made me wonder if it would be better to just watch a bunch of battle scenes minus all the ridiculous plot used to string them together. 

I am a huge fan of genre films and we know they can make awesome Kaiju movies that have great stories and characters that are well written and believable as they immerse you into the incredible world (Godzilla Minus One). Even this series has done so (Kong Skull Island). I'm here for big monster movies that explore interesting themes about ourselves and our real world by spinning fantastic yarns (The Planet of the Apes). I can even enjoy a fun B-movie monster flick (Tremors) but this Titans series has pushed my patience as the plots become stupider and the characters become less and less real. 

Still, there is good monster battles here and I'm willing to forgive (mostly) the inanity of the script to watch the king of the lizards and the king of the apes take on their evil doppelgängers in mighty battle. I'm just not sure how much more of this series I can take.  

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Starring: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, Fala Chen, Rachel House

Director: Adam Wingard

Writers: Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett, Jeremy Slater

Damsel (2024)

Millie Bobbie Brown is making a name for herself as a Gen Z action hero for the streaming world and Damsel is her latest addition. It's a fun little adventure story, even if it is a little feminist 101 (there's nothing wrong with that) filled with edge of your seat adventure and a pretty awesomely designed dragon (voiced wonderfully by Aghdashloo). It might be a bit light but it's also fun with a great cast. 

Princesses are often used as a literary device for how the feminine is seen in society so this story of one being sacrificed for the well being of the kingdom is a nice little allegory for how women's agency is sacrificed. It makes sense in a metaphorical way as well as telling a simple yet satisfying story. Here we get a hero who "slays the dragon" by different means than we're used to. 

I also appreciated the way the film subverts the evil-step mother trope. If you're going to use a princess story to invert classic princess cliches then it makes sense to do that too. And casting Bassett in this role is perfect. Also Wright, cast as a villain instead of the princess herself is ideal. 

Director Fresnadillo's horror roots inspire him here to direct a visually impressive film, which is a bit more brutal than I anticipated (perhaps not for the youngest of viewers). There may not be many surprises in this telling but what it does it does well. And it's ending is satisfying in the way a good fairy tale should be. 

Damsel

Starring: Millie Bobbie Brown, Robin Wright, Angela Bassett, Ray Winstone, Nick Robinson, Brooke Carter, Shohreh Aghdashloo

Director: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

Writer: Dan Mazeau

Late Night with the Devil (2024)

I was quite disappointed with Late Night with the Devil. I had ramped up my expectations that it was going to be a much different film than it was and as it played out I realized it wasn't doing what I had hoped and wanted it to do. But not only that it was doing things I don't like from a film. I tried to adjust and just consider it based on what it was doing. But even that left me disappointed. This is what high expectations can do when confronted with a rather average film, a film that otherwise you might enjoy if you hadn't built it up so much before seeing it. 

I'll start with what's good. The production design is excellent and the film's retro-cool feeling is effective. Dastmalchian is, as pretty much always, quite good, and I especially appreciated that he was playing against type. Here he isn't the outsider weirdo that we're used to him playing and he pulls off a rather complicated character very well. The world of the fictional TV show Night Owls felt very real. 

But unfortunately for me too much didn't work. The found footage genre quite often fails in actually living up to its premise. Most of the time the film's story requires there be "footage" that just has no real world explanation for how it exists or was filmed. Late Night with the Devil really drops this ball. They explain it away in world as "behind the scene footage" but what we see that isn't the actual TV show is filmed as someone (who?? not even an attempt to explain that) is walking around with a hand held camera filming what most of the time the subjects would want to be private conversations, clearly aware of a camera but not caring that their secrets are being recorded??? This could have been handled by using "security camera" style footage which would have felt real but maybe wouldn't have been as cinematic. Still this quickly took me out of the story and ruined the realness feeling this story needs to really pull it off. 

Also the script lets us down. The premise is a good one but the actual dialogue often doesn't feel realistic. I often felt that the characters just wouldn't say what they were scripted to say. Certain scenes felt crafted to explain plot points. It all just felt a little amateurish. It's too bad too because the overall arc is quite interesting and if it had been executed effectively I think it really could have been incredible. 

Finally, and this is an essential piece of any horror, the film just isn't scary. The possession scenes are filled with typical tropes, the performance of many of the actors involved aren't up to the main star's level and feel hammy. So when the film finally gets to its meaty scenes (which takes quite a while for a film that is rather short overall) they disappoint. The film makes the mistake of showing too much and not leaving enough to the imagination. What they show just isn't that horrifying and they reveal it all leaving little to no mystery. 

So overall Late Night with the Devil is rather average. It's not bad and its worth a watch, but it's not amazing, it's not that innovative. Don't expect much and you'll likely be able to enjoy it for what it is. 

Late Night With the Devil

Starring: David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon, Ian Bliss, Fayssal Bazzi, Ingrid Torelli

Writers/Directors: Colin Cairnes, Cameron Cairnes

Shirley (2024)

Regina King is a bit of a force of nature herself. So her casting as Shirley Chisholm feels perfect. She brings the necessary strength and charisma to inhabit the role of one of America's most important figures. Chisholm helped move the country forward in a turbulent time defying all who said she couldn't. King, with her impassioned performance, and Ridley, with his lovely direction, have paid tribute to her by bringing her story to generations who may not know as much as we should about her. 

Ridley's screenplay for 12 Year's a Slave was masterful. Here he shows some strength as a director by managing to tell the story of this pioneer in a linear and accessible way, juggling the issues and perspectives of the time with the events of her presidential campaign. Perhaps the film smooths over some things and drops the ball on focusing on who Chisholm was as a person. Despite some efforts with scenes with her sister and with her husband, the film holds her up on a pedestal that doesn't give us as much of a three dimensional personhood. The film's strength is instead the way it shows just how much of a struggle she took on and just how far she dragged her country. He also films it with a loving glow making it delightful to watch, even in the difficult moments. 

The entire cast is strong including one of the Reddick's final performances but also Holland in a small but standout part. But it is really all about how amazing King is, continuing to show us she is one of the best actors of her generation. She not only takes on Chisholm's affects but truly inhabits her. She shows us just how much she was able to do in the face of so much opposition, the extraordinary strength it takes to accomplish all she did. There are small moments in the film featuring her struggling with all of the weight on her, but sometimes I wished this was more palpable as even in those moments she triumphs. 

Shirley is wonderfully watchable as a movie, the kind you can put on and it will engross you. But it also reminds us of so much we have forgot and, hopefully, that we can still move things forward, even in the face of some of the worst write supremacy and misogyny we've faced.  

Shirley

Starring: Regina King, Lance Reddick, Terrance Howard, Lucas Hedges, André Holland

Writer/Director: John Ridley

 

Love Lies Bleeding (2024)

Director Glass is an exciting emerging film maker. Her Love Lies Bleeding is a pulpy crime fantasy along the lines of something we might see from a David Lynch or the Cohen Brothers at the zaniest. It is a fever dream, not based in reality but it is deeply emotionally compelling and visceral. It is definitely something to see.  

Stewart is building an incredible filmography and Love Lies Bleeding is a new jewel in that crown. Her performance as the damaged yet most capable person around her is richly intricate. Pulling off creating the world this story needs to be told in is not something any cast could do but Stewart and her cast do an admirable job. 

Glass eases us into her madness somewhat by starting off her story more reasonably and introducing the fantastic elements slowly. But be prepared. This isn't your grandmother's Thelma and Louise. This is going to some dark places and some bonkers places. But it also goes to some incredibly emotionally rich places as well. While I'm not sure the ride is completely flawless, it is worth taking it to the end. 

Love Lies Bleeding

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Katy O'Brian, Jena Malone, Anna Baryshnikov, Dave Franco, Ed Harris 

Director: Rose Glass

Writers: Weronika Tofilska, Rose Glass

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (2024)

I'll come clean and say that Ghostbusters isn't the franchise for me. I am not a fan of the original film and to be honest I don't think it holds up great. I don't hate any of the movies and have enjoyed them all to some degree. But usually I am underwhelmed. Frozen Empire falls into that category for me too. I am happy I saw it but it doesn't do that much for me. 

This film leans even more into the nostalgia than the last. While Afterlife attempted to tell a very different sort of Ghostbusters story set in a different environment, Empire throws us back into everything familiar (NYC in general but even more specifically, the Library, the firehall, Slimer, the Stay Pufts, even Peck!). I think if I was more of a devoted fan I would have loved seeing all these callbacks. Probably the thing I enjoyed most of these was seeing Annie Potts in the uniform. 

But for me where these films fall down is that I usually don't find much of the humour that funny (and Empire is on par with the other films for that) nor the ghosts very scary. In fact the way this franchise interprets the concept of ghosts never quite sits right with me nor does the way this series just pulls solutions out of the characters' assess most of the time without actually setting up any realistic set of rules for how spirits work and how to defeat them. But that's just me...

Generally I'll give the film credit for keeping its story tight and moving it along so that I never got bored. I will take away points for teasing a queer relationship for Grace's character but never having the strength to actually go there. It gets points for Nanjiani's character being somewhat entertaining but loses some for seeming to just want to throw in as many characters as possible without really giving them a reason to be there. So for me Frozen Empire was a mixed bag that I can like enough to just not be that impressed. What I'd really like to see is them do next is let Grace really be the star of this show and get her going off to fight ghosts in new and strange locations with a small rotating team of busters that could breath some life into this without just returning to the same few stock ideas each time. 

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

Starring: Paul Rudd, Carrie Coon, Finn Wolfhard, Mckenna Grace, Celeste O'Connor, Logan Kim, Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Annie Potts, Kumail Nanjiani, Patton Oswalt, Emily Alyn Lind, James Acaster, William Atherton

Director: Gil Kenan

Writers: Jason Reitman, Gil Kenan

 

Road House (2024)

Road House is a high gloss B movie featuring an A list cast and director working on a C level script. Yeah it's dumb and rather silly over all yet occasionally director Limon's energetic shooting style and the cast clearly having a blast (especially McGregor) make you forget how ridiculously stupid and campy the story and dialogue is. It's a weird mix of good and bad that is entertaining enough but asks you to check your brain at the door. 

The film has been criticized for the way Limon shot the fight scenes. They do have a "video game" aesthetic to them which doesn't quite feel real. But honestly I think this is a good choice stylistically. Nothing about this movie feels real so why should the fighting. Instead it's a heightened, stylistic approach which amplifies the film's fantasy feel. For me this worked. Gyllenhaal and McGregor's final fight was over the top and glorious. 

But you really do have to forgive a lot about a film whose story is as damn predictable as this one and whose characters are drawn as thinly as they are here. It's not really very good but its about letting that go to have some fun. It's shallow and cheap fun and if there wasn't a cast including the likes of Williams and Gage, it would have likely felt even more obviously bad. In the end it's saved by its own embracing of its ridiculousness.  

Road House

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Conor McGregor, Daniela Melchior, Jessica Williams, Lukas Gage, Billy Magnussen, Joaquim De Almeida

Director: Doug Limon

Writers: Anthony Bagarozzi, Charles Mondry 

The American Society of Magical Negroes (2024)

This film often feels like a mix of some very thoughtfully executed scenes and some hastily assembled connective tissue which feels disjointed and rushed. I oscillated between moments of clumsy execution and moments of profound insight giving my quite conflicted feelings about a film that feels like it misses its potential. 

First up, what is good. The premise, the idea is fascinating. Anyone who is part of a group that is made to feel they have to be small to accommodate the majority based on who they are will relate yet the film is set in a very specific racial and geographical community. The idea behind this is wonderful and there are moments the film delivers on this. There are conversations that feel so authentically honest, revealing much of what goes unsaid, that are liberating. You feel like you can exhale a bit watching them. This is especially true in moments featuring its star Smith.

Smith is a big part of what I liked about this film. He is incredibly charismatic and a very talented actor. His casting in this role specifically is perfect and he has both the comic skills and the dramatic to pull it all off. And there are moments in his performance, even the "big" scene at the end that he just nails. I think someone else may not have been able to make this work as well as it does. 

But so much of the film lets him down. The world building is introduced and rushed so awkwardly that it never feels authentic. It's like they can't quite commit to the idea hoping just saying it will be enough. And the film often feels like getting from one of its good scenes to the next one is just too hard so it skips over things that would make it seem lived in. For example Drew Tarver's character is just so one note it's hard to believe him. His character's believability is kind of essential to the plot and yet the film doesn't trust us enough to make him complex so he stays two-dimensional and this gives the film less weight. 

So overall I don't think The American Society of Magical Negros really works. But there are times when it does. And the ideas it is working with are important and fascinating if it can get you to contemplate them. There is even a clever "post-credit" (sort of) scene which, unlike most of these sorts of scenes, actually enriches the film by adding layers of intersectionality to the story. 

But keep watching the work of Justice Smith. He is quite magical. 

The American Society of Magical Negros

Starring: Justice Smith, David Alan Grier, An-Li Bogan, Drew Tarver, Michaela Watkins, Rupert Friend

Writer/Director: Kobi Libii

 

Les Chambres Rouges/Red Rooms (2024)

Red Rooms explores one of the darkest subjects of any movie I've seen. Yet it handles it in a way that is incredibly sensitive and insightful. This isn't Hostel. It takes a scandalously horrific premise and uses it as an indictment of our voyeuristic culture, and one that implicates its audience, an audience that often is drawn to true crime and, by extension, the suffering of others. It explores being drawn to violence and darkness using an extreme scenario. And it plays with a protagonist we do not want to identify with. Red Rooms terrified me more than I expected. 

I appreciated the way the film never exploited its premise with an attempt to titillate with gore or sensationalism. It kept the horribleness off screen with only some suggestion of it. Plante films his story partly as courtroom drama, a method of explaining much without having to experience it visually. Yet he does so quite grippingly. Despite not seeing any of the violence, we still  feel the horror of it painfully. 

But there is horror we do witness, the actions of our protagonist which is amplified by the film's aloofness to her motives and emotions. It is watching Kelly-Anne which is the most upsetting. We can understand Clementine and her groupie like fascination, even if we don't condone her position. But Kelly-Anne, her coldness, and her steely resolve are difficult to wrap our understandings around. Plante expertly builds tension and suspense even as we abhor our protagonist. Watching her is terrifying yet we can't look away. 

And the end is something to behold. It gives us both some peace while planting something insidiously worrying in our minds. Is Kelly-Anne hero or villain? Perhaps both. How does our cultural fascination with horrible crimes connect us to her or are we more like Clementine? The thought that we could live in a world where people commit such atrocities is one horror but that we live in a world where some are fascinated by them is perhaps even worse. Red Rooms makes us contemplate all of it and in so doing is one of the scarier movies I've seen. 

Les Chambres Rouge/Red Rooms

Starring:  Juliette Gariépy, Laurie Babin, Maxwell McCabe-Lokos

Writer/Director: Pascal Plante 

Solo (2024)

There is a beautiful moment near the end of Solo, where the main character is told by his sister that the power he feels when he's in drag comes from within him, that almost brought me to tears. Solo is, if anything, a love story about discovering love for one's self. Simon struggles with a toxic relationship, disconnect from his idealized mother, to find in the end that the love he needed was right there all along, in him. 

Dupuis' script and direction is gentle yet strong. She tells her story in rather typical yet subtly beautiful ways. Teamed with Pellerin, who gives a break out performance here, they craft a truly lovely story of falling in love with yourself which is powerful and inspiring. 

Filled with strong drag numbers and a beautiful central performance by Pellerin, Solo often feels like it's going to be like many other in the queer romance genre. Until it isn't and becomes something more. I love a good romance that teaches us sometimes we are better off solo. 

Solo

Starring: Théodore Pellerin, Félix Maritaud, Anne-Marie Cadieux 

Writer/Director: Sophie Dupuis

Napoleon (2023)

I hope we have finally gotten past the point where we feel that movies which go through the events of the life of "great men" make for important or entertaining films. Napoleon, an ambitious and visually spectacular film from one of the most talented directors of his generation, proves the point I am making. It's an overblown and dull film. It is beautiful and features some strong performances (especially Kirby), but it remains... well... boring. 

I guess my point is that a film has to have a story that it is passionate about telling. I don't believe that recounting historical events is enough to meet this test. There are many examples of films which take this approach and often offer little to get passionate about as a film audience despite how we have long treated these films, especially those made by "important" film directors, as special and significant. Yet do we really enjoy watching them? As I endured Napoleon, I reflected on how rarely I care about these sorts of films despite their considered status. 

Yes Napoleon shows a skilled director making a well filmed movie. There are moments that are incredibly spectacular (the battle on the frozen lake moment for example). I can see why it is up for Oscars in technical categories. The sets, costumes, cinematography are all amazing. Many talented people do wonderful work here. It is very well acted by a strong cast. The writing is tight and the score is appropriately rousing. But it all amounts to something that I never care to watch ever again. I don't feel I came out of it with anything remarkable except perhaps a little more knowledge of French history than I had before (very little). I wasn't awestruck. I wasn't enraptured. My passions weren't enflamed. 

And to be honest the film bungles some of its narrative line. In packing in the entire career of this figure of French history we jump from one aspect to another without a lot of understanding of why or what's happened in the meantime. So much is oversimplified and therefore much is lost in translation. As a historical document it fails. And if it had succeeded as entertainment that might matter less. 

Whether one is making a film about some "important" historical events or "important" historical figures, we still have to make a movie that is engaging to watch and time and time again movies like this get passes. We afford them a level of respect that they just get for existing and not being "bad". I guess my point is are they really "good" either? I likely won't get much chance to reflect on this film more as I will likely never want to watch it again. 

Napoleon

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Vanessa Kirby, Tahar Rahim, Rupert Everett

Director: Ridley Scott

Writer: David Scarpa

 

Robot Dreams (2023)

Robot Dreams is a truly lovely film in all ways from its exploration of connection and loneliness to its delightful traditional animation style. It is a film told without dialogue meaning its messages can be universal. It is touching and sweet even if it does go on for a bit longer than it needs to and its ending feels a little forced. 

Robot Dreams is the sort of film that can be enjoyed by anyone and should be seen by all. I am disappointed it won't be getting a wide release prior to the Oscars which have brought it to the attention of more people. The themes here are accessible for young and old audiences of any culture. 

My main complaint is the ending. Yes I feel the film draws out its plot a little too long but that part is forgivable and it remains watchable and charming throughout. Yes it could have done with one or two less dream sequences. However the ending is predicated on the idea that we can only have connection with one other at a time which is completely nonsensical especially in the terms of this story. There is a pathos that is powerful at the end but it is easily resolved by allowing the characters to all come together. Instead the film relies on this false idea of that some have to remain apart to allow the happiness of others. 

But besides this disappointing ending the film remains one I recommend to all. If you can get a chance to see it with such a restrictive release schedule. 

Robot Dreams

Writer/Director: Pablo Berger 

 

Dune: Part Two (2024)

Not since Peter Jackson's OG Lord of the Rings trilogy has there been such an earnest and epic film adaptation of classic genre literature. Villeneuve appears to be working on his magnum opus with his Dune saga. He is digging deep into the themes of the novel (in ways I want to talk about) and bringing the world building and characters to life with a passion and love of this story that makes for incredible cinema. 

I'll start out by saying Dune: Part Two is a wonderful movie and the sort that can be enjoyed by almost any audience from the casual to the sci fi loyalists. While it may be a bit dark for the youngest of audiences its themes are accessible to older children while being complex enough for and adult crowd. Dune Part Two is the sort of film to experience on the biggest screen possible but it isn't just gorgeous visuals and spectacular action it is incredible story telling and fascinating performances. 

I maintain my position that the novel Dune is extremely problematic when viewed with a modern sensitivity and post-colonial lens with all its white saviour nonsense, the way it treats eastern aesthetics with romantic exoticism, its queer coded homophobia, and issues with female characters. Villeneuve is determined to not just wrestle with these problems in his adaptation (as he did in Dune: Part One) but he takes those bulls by the horns and takes them down. He either exorcizes those issues (as with the queer coding which is just gone) or inverts them so we experience this story from a completely different point of view. While previous filmed adaptations often end this chapter of the story triumphantly, Dune: Part Two ends with an ominous foreboding. Paul is transformed, by Villeneuve's script and by Chalamet's performance into not just an morally ambiguous protagonist, into something quite concerning. 

Villeneuve has purposely centred Chani as a way of exploring this saga as something different than how its generally experienced in popular culture. Dune: Part One starts with her and Dune: Part Two ends with her. He is inverting how hero's journey stories are told so it is transformed into something more profound. His approach is brilliant and makes this more than just a big budget Hollywood tentpole, but an old school event that captures public imagination and brings an enduring part of the culture into relevance and re-examination. 

I have to comment on how incredible the cast is. Chalamet could have treated this as his "action star" role but instead he tackles Paul in all his complexities, embracing how dark the character becomes. Yes we sympathize but we also can be quite critical of his choices and journey. The film gives him space for this and he runs with it. Ferguson gives a similar performance as her Jessica is as complicated as Paul yet she nails it. Butler has the showiest role. The film makers and the actor both clearly enjoyed taking Feyd-Rautha in a different yet completely authentic direction. Yes he'll be memorably terrifying but he is also so much dimensional than he could have been. Some of the cast feels like they are planting seeds for future films with small yet essential roles which will have more to come, similarly to how Zendaya was used in the first film. Here she truly shines bringing her signature energy and pure force of will to a role that is more and more a central part of this story. 

Dune: Part Two doesn't compromise. It gives us a deeply moving, completely engaging, and complex narrative that is going to be satisfying upon repeat viewings as its characters and plots unwind and untangle time and again. It isn't so opaque that it can't be enjoyed on its own in one sitting (it's almost 3 hour runtime flies by) but it is dense and rich enough to be savoured over time. Together Parts One and Two make up one of cinema's most recent epics. 

Dune: Part Two

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Léa Seydoux, Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem, Tim Blake Nelson, Anya Taylor-Joy

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Writers: John Spaihts, Denis Villeneuve

 

Spaceman (2024)

The loneliness of space travel as narrative device for isolation in human interaction is not a new idea for a film. Spaceman not only recycles this idea in a way that doesn't offer much new, but doesn't manage its pacing very well making for a very dull and dragging first act. Sandler is an astronaut on a solo mission who spends his time reflecting on his relationships back on earth. But the film handles its metaphors about as well as it handles its pacing. The whole thing feels rather rote and uninspiring.

The main issues I had with Spaceman is its handling of relationships. So much of its journey depends on building these relationships and the struggles within them but the film fumbles most of them. Perhaps most of this lies in the complete lack of chemistry between Sandler and Mulligan who just never create a relationship that feels honest. But this spills over as it saps some of the connection between Sandler and Dano's characters or Sandler and his dead father as well. 

The film takes a turn midway to create more of an "adventure" story line but the stakes of this are still tied to our investment in the main character and his connections or lack of connections which the film hasn't built very well. The film takes a different approach to the ending than its source material, one that changes much of the point quite a bit. But I'm not sure it works based on how poorly the film does with its first half. 

There seems to be something here that should have been more interesting but it just felt really dull. Maybe Sandler wasn't the one to pull this off. Spaceman just doesn't live up to its potential. 

Spaceman

Starring: Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan, Paul Dano, Kunal Nayyar, Lena Olin, Isabella Rosselini

Director: Johan Renck

Writer: Colby Day 

 

Code 8 Part II (2024)

I was a little late to the first Code 8 film but I appreciate it for what it is. It, and it's sequel, know exactly what they are and they do it well. Code 8 is a very B-movie series and neither it's story, the premise, nor its execution is very original. Bit it does what it does well and owns it making this a very satisfying and entertaining sequel. 

With its slick runtime and narrowly drawn story, Code 8 Part II keeps things simple and doesn't overstay its welcome. It delivers a logical story with just enough there to keep us engaged. The Amells commit to their parts and everyone does their part. I could rail against the film not taking any chances or surprising us in any way, but instead I just let myself enjoy it for what it was and see that it doesn't feel cheap as many lower budget films do. 

Will Code 8 lead to a lengthy series of films? I think there is more to explore here and certainly room for the film makers to get more creative with what they have built. I wouldn't mind seeing them  grow this into something perhaps even more impressive. 

Code 8 Part II

Starring: Robbie Amell, Stephen Amell, Sirena Gulamgaus, Altair Vincent, Alex Mallari Jr., Moe Jeudy-Lamour, Aaron Abrams, Jean Yoon

Director: Jeff Chan

Writers: Chris Paré, Jeff Chan, Sherren Lee, Jesse LaVercombe

Perfect Days (2023)

There is a gorgeous simplicity to the film Perfect Days, a film focused on the beauty of the mundane. This will not be foreign to the fans of director Wenders who has explored themes like this in the past, but with Perfect Days he is saying something truly lovely and profound while giving us something completely ordinary. And that is the point. 

Perfect Days plays out as we watch our hero work and leisure his way through day by day. We watch him wake, do his morning routine, work as a public toilet cleaner (which since it is set in Tokyo is a lot less disgusting than a westerner may expect), take his dinner, listen to western music, go back to bed. The first 30 minutes of the film are just following him almost wordlessly go through his day. Then the pattern repeats with little variation. The film begins to inject some excitement as little things happen such interactions with a coworker, visits from family, and little personal stops. We even get to see how regular and undramatic his day off is. There are little hints at who this man is, little things said, small reactions here and there, which help us see the humanity of this man whose life so many would describe as simplistic. 

But at the end of the film Wenders and Takusho, with his wonderfully powerful yet understated performance, present us with a moment of real complicated glory. The final shot of him driving to work with a range of emotion panning across his face is one of the most powerful shots I've seen in a long time. There is a thesis here, that perhaps this man has found peace and satisfaction by living a life cut off from the struggles and passions so many pursue, that perhaps he had experienced real pain and now is free of that. It is controversial in a world where we are conditioned to want to much. 

Perfect Days is a quiet little scream against so much of what we are supposed to feel and it is purely lovely. 

Perfect Days

Starring: Kōji Yakusho

Director: Wim Wenders

Writers:Takuma Takasaki, Wim Wenders

Drive-Away Dolls (2024)

Drive-Away Dolls is a bonkers caper comedy about two lesbian friends on a road trip who get mixed up in crime and make out with many women. It's absurdist and over the top and maybe doesn't always land but the odd-ball chemistry between leads Qualley and Viswanathan is captivating and mostly it's pretty darn fun. 

Cohen channels some of his Raising Arizona/Big Lebowski energy but doesn't quite reach those heights. Still the cast is clearly having a lot of fun and it's queer aesthetic is refreshing and empowered. Centring two friends who start a romance as they run from mobsters feels very familiar but the lesbian energy makes it feel fresh and creates a compelling connection between Qualley and Viswanathan. 

Be prepared, the film is quite silly and the script is a little on the thin side so it sometimes feels throw away. But it made me smile enough that I enjoyed it's brief runtime. I almost wish they had stuck with their original title, which ends up showing up at the end of the film; Drive-Away Dykes. 

Drive-Away Dolls

Starring: Margaret Qualley, Geraldine Viswanathan, Beanie Feldstein, Coleman Domingo, Pedro Pascal, Bill Camp, Matt Damon, Joey Slotnick, Miley Cyrus

Director: Ethan Cohen

Writers: Tricia Cooke, Ethan Cohen

 

Oscar Nominated Shorts 2024

In 2024 these were the 15 films nominated in the 3 short film categories (5 each) at the 96th Academy Awards recognizing excellence in short films for the year 2023. In a turn away from the norm, the Animated films were all quite dark while the Documentaries focused on inspiring stories and the Live Action films were often tear jerkers although a few had some levity. here are my thoughts on each film. 

Animation

Letter to a Pig

This may be the most challenging of the films nominated this year. The animation style is fascinating yet brutal and the subject, reflecting on generational trauma and legacy suggests a conveyance of violence and, perhaps the hope of ending that cycle. But the narrative is vague enough to be interpreted in different ways. Stark and uncomfortable, this is a difficult film to watch. 

Ninety-Five Senses

Perhaps my favourite of the 5 animated films nominated this year, this film plays with your expectations and is remarkably hopeful for a film about... well what it's about. The film is animated by different animators for each of its segments and therefore brings us a treasure trove of visuals as it meanders its way through its tale. Surprising and rather bitter sweet, this will make you think about things differently than perhaps you had before. 

Our Uniform

Short but visually stunning, this Iranian film explored textiles through its stop motion approach connecting how clothes inform identity and interact with us personally. I appreciated the way the film maker made this connection through the form as well as the narrative. 

Pachyderm

This film sharply becomes dark quickly but only through suggestion. It leaves ambiguity but what it does hit you with it hits hard. I felt myself exhaling at the end not even realizing how long I'd been holding my breath. The more traditional animation style belies a surprisingly profound story that is told mostly through implication, never quite telling us anything explicitly, yet communicating everything very effectively.  

War is Over! Inspired by the Music of John and Yoko

The most produced of the films, with an inspiring message, it is also perhaps the least surprising or original. Still it is visually incredible to watch and there is no faulting the moral to this story. I think this is the most accessible of the nominated animated films and perhaps the one to take the prize? 

Live Action

The After

For me this film was a bit heavy handed in how it handled it's story. A tale of grief and loss that felt like it was overly dramatic. It still hit okay in the end but of the five live action films it was my least favourite. 

Invincible

Inspired by a true story, this film handled it's tragedy more deftly and powerfully. Beautifully shot and featuring a strong performance by its young lead, Invincible was perhaps the most pessimistic of the group but also felt very honest. 

Knight of Fortune

This film handles grieving and loss with a bit of whimsey and a hopeful spirit. It is the sort of film that stereotypically makes you laugh and cry at the same time. Yet it does so in a way that is truly sensitive and lovely. 

Red, White and Blue

I think this film was my favourite of this bunch. It sets up a story that you think you know, then pulls the rug out from underneath you a bit and the story becomes even more powerful. But it's ending is infused with hope and resilience. It is a hard film to get through without tears.  

The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar

The silliest of the group and also the most high profile. Wes Anderson brings his signature style to another Roald Dahl story to tell this somewhat magical and absurd story that explores the responsibility of power. I am known for not being a fan of Anderson's work normally but every now and then something he does will register for me and this is one of those times. 

Documentary

The ABCs of Book Banning

The film makers gave children age appropriate banned books to comment on and this film captures their wisdom in criticizing the practice of banning books. In an age where this is becoming more and more of a problem, this rather delightful and inspiring film forces us to reckon with how destructive a practice book banning is, yet makes us feel like the kids are alright. 

The Barber of Little Rock

Following the journey of a barber and community leader in Arkansas who works to give a leg up to working folks in his community, this film is very inspiring addressing both the ways America has been structured to prevent Black communities from acquiring and passing along generational wealth and the ways these same communities can and have been defying those blockages. Films like this give you hope people can overcome systematic oppression by coming together. 

Island In Between

Taiwanese film maker S. Leo Chiang presents this love letter to an island community that finds itself wedged between Mainland China and Taiwan both literally and figuratively. It captures both the bizarreness of being situated as it is the normalcy of day to day life there. His personal connection to the place and people informs his film and brings a little piece of this part of the world to the rest of us. 

The Last Repair Shop

The likely winner of this category, this film is sweeping and epic for a short film, capturing multiple powerful stories with a focus on how working with and playing instruments lifts people up in amazing ways. 

Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó

The lightest of the group is by far the most fun. The film maker films his two grandmothers who have come to live together in their old age and live the best lives. While hilarious and adorable there is a hint of gravitas as well as the pair talk somewhat about the inevitability of death and their love of their grandson. It is a film that will put a big smile on your face and will be remembered.