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. 

Madame Web (2024)

So Madame Web is not as bad any everyone is saying. It's a perfectly coherent superhero origin story that is never boring and is about as good as most movies of the genre. Johnson is actually quite good and it's too bad that we likely won't see more of the Spider-Women that the movie sets up for future movies that now won't happen due to the overwhelmingly negative response to a perfectly fine movie. 

I'm not saying Madame Web is great. It never quite transcends in a way that a movie like, say Blue Beetle, does managing to tap into some deeper themes about our real world. But as far as the costumed hero genre goes one could do worse... and we have. 

Madame Web

Starring: Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Celeste O'Connor, Isabela Merced, Tahar Rahim, Mike Epps, Emma Roberts, Adam Scott

Director: S. J. Clarkson

Writers: Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Claire Parker, S. J. Clarkson

 

Bob Marley: One Love (2024)

Bob Marley One Love looks good but often feels disjointed. The story doesn't flow and often it is easy to feel lost. Visually the film is striking and the integration of its artist's music throughout is compelling but narratively One Love falls flat, often not connecting dots between one moment and the next. One Love often feels edited within an inch of its life.

Ben-Adir channels the title character without feeling like a caricature. His chemistry with Lynch is rich and the two together are very compelling to watch. However I often felt the film let them down and didn't get them the chance to truly ground their characters. Because One Love often feels like a series of disconnected vignettes the characters sometimes feel thinly drawn as well. Ben-Adir manages to be the strongest when his character is on stage, truly bringing Marley to life in musical performance. But compared to many other recent films, from Bohemian Rhapsody to I Wanna Dance With Somebody, the musical numbers themselves feel reserved often failing to capture the energy and presence of the real thing. 

One Love never truly fails in its attempt to tell a story about one of the 20th century's greatest musicians but it doesn't quite succeed either. Director Green seems to have quite a vision for this story and there are moments of real cinematic brilliance, but they are cut short and cut off from a cohesive whole. One Love exists in a sort of middle ground that is neither bad nor good but does feel just alright. 

Bob Marley: One Love

Starring: Kingsley Ben-Adir, Lashana Lynch, James Norton, Sevana, Tosin Cole, Michael Gandolfini

Director: Reinaldo Marcus Green

Writers: Terence Winter, Frank E. Flowers, Zach Baylin, Reinaldo Marcus Green 

Orion and the Dark (2024)

Kaufman, the writer behind Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind, has written an animated film and it's got his fingerprints all over it. For many film nerds that will be a good thing. Not so much for me. I find Orion and the Dark suffers from the sorts of problems many of his films have for me. There is an emphasis on gimmick and a lack of focus on authentically resolving the plot line. It also feels like it loses focus half way through. 

Orion and the Dark starts out okay with a noble effort to process through childhood anxiety. In typical Kaufman style it isn't just anxiety, it is anxiety to the max... and beyond. The plot here is rather straightforward, with Orion facing his fears and learning to become comfortable. Okay. Not overly original or anything but okay enough. But the film shifts gears a few times after that becoming about other things and, again in typical Kaufman fashion, he pulls his endings out of thin air. The film is fairly meta in how it even acknowledges in dialogue that it is searching for an ending. It just didn't work for me. 

The character designs are very typically Dreamworks which again isn't my preferred style. They are rather flat and uninspired. I enjoyed the film's attempts to work in some of Orion's sketches into the art style but when this wasn't happening it felt like every other CGI animated film in look and feel. 

Orion and the Dark borrows heavily from The Princess Bride and A Christmas Carol and never quite lives up to any of it. It's not a terrible watch, but it doesn't feel like the sort of film you'd come back to to enjoy again. 

Orion and the Dark

Starring: Jacob Tremblay, Colin Hanks, Paul Walter Hauser, Angela Bassett, Ike Barinholtz, Natasia Demetriou, Nat Faxon, Carla Gugino, Werner Herzog

Director: Sean Charmatz

Writer: Charlie Kaufman

 

Argylle (2024)

Vaughn is known for his ostentatious action movies from Kick Ass to the Kingsman series. Argylle is right up that alley with a story designed to be one twist after another. It's absurd, packed to the brim with over the top action and silly jokes, and generally is a lot of fun even if it is rather light and fluffy in the end. Yes perhaps there is little substance here, and yes perhaps the twists (which I won't spoil) aren't that shocking. But overall Argylle is a fun time. 

I'm going to give a lot of the credit for how much fun I had to Sam Rockwell who brings his adorable gruffness to his rather central character and brings a smile to each scene. The whole cast appear to be having a fun time but for me it was Rockwell who delivered and got me invested. 

Argylle is a lot of wink wink and perhaps borders on Austin Powers a little more closely than I expected. But it never drags. I'm not sure I'm up for a series of Argylle films. The myth building is mostly relegated to this one story despite how hard the mid-credit scene and some chatter on the promotional circuit are trying to build it into something more. In many ways I felt Argylle was very self contained and I wonder if the schtick could get stale quickly. But who knows. Perhaps the folks behind this have a lot of other ideas up their sleeves they are saving for future instalments. 

Regardless, I had fun at Argylle and would recommend it for a light and breezy watch. 

Argylle

Starring: Bryce Dallas Howard, Sam Rockwell, Henry Cavill, Bryan Cranston, Catherine O'Hara, Dua Lipa, Ariana DeBose, John Cena, Samuel L Jackson, Sofia Boutella, Richard E Grant

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Writer: Jason Fuchs