Movie Review

Movie Review: TRIPLE 9 (2016) ****

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triple_9.jpgTRIPLE 9 (USA/UK 2015) ****
Directed by John Hillocoat

Starring: Casey Affleck, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Anthony Mackie, Gal Godot, Kate Winset, Aaron Paul, Teresa Palmer, Michael Kenneth Williams

Review by Gilbert Seah

No stranger to violent films, director John Hillcoat’s (LAWLESS, THE ROAD and his best film THE PROPOSITION) latest entry into gangster genre proves himself apt at serious comic book sensibility. TRIPLE 9, the code for ‘officer down’, plays like a ‘real’ serious adult comic book version of DEADPOOL.

It takes a while for the film to settle on its bearings. The script by first time writer, Matt Cook is clever enough not to reveal all the plot points, but keeps the audience always one step behind what is happening. An example is the bank heist. Who are the robbers working for? What is their aim? One point is a bank officer removing a safety deposit box from the vault. As far as I now, it requires two keys, one from the officer and the other from the customer to open a box. It is a good tactic. For example, the audience is aware that one officer is going down, but never sure which one or for what reason. The characters are also individually distinct and eccentric all aided by superlative performances from a eclectic cast.

The key performance comes from Casey Effleck (brother of Ben) who has proven his acting mettle in previous films like THE TOWN. His character is the only uncorrupt one, and the key one that puts the whole story into prospective. The good must always prevail. The script contains a few too many close calls for his character. As for the ambiguous baddies, there are too many too count. Interesting enough, many do good for the wrong reasons. The true baddie appears to be the Russian moll, Irina played by Kate Winslet , complete with Russian accent and is barely recognizable in her makeup.. She is also doing bad for a good reason, to aid her crooked husband escape.

Hillcoat keeps the action and fury fast and furious and nonstop. Be prepared to be glued to your seats! The film alternates between highly charged action and drama sequences. For the action segments, the bank heist at the film’s start is hard to beat. The robbers show no mercy and show they mean business. They do not shout warnings. They fire and beat up the victims, and talk later. All this makes the heist even more gripping. Hillcoat also realizes that the devil is in the details. On the highway, a robber points his rifle at a car, only to have it rammed from behind and the robber moving backwards to avoid being hit. The camerawork is excellent, the best example being the one where the camera pulls back during a car chase showing where each in on the maze of highways in the city.

Hillcoat does not skimp on the violence as evident by showing a bag of bloodied teeth at another point in the film. The characters are always angry, screaming at each other but not without reason. Every character is desperate. Every character is ready to kill.

Stay for the end credits. The 1980’s song ‘Pigs” (called so for obvious reasons) by Cypress Hill is inventive, catchy, hilarious and totally appropriate. The song can also be played on YouTube.

Movie Review: RACE (2016) Directed by Stephen Hopkins

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raceRACE (Germany/France/Canada 2016) ***
Directed by Stephen Hopkins

Stars: Stephan James, Jason Sudeikis, Eli Goree, Jeremy Irons, William Hurt

Review by Gilbert Seah

The word RACE of the film title could mean the running competition or a people of the world. Stephen Hopkin’s biographical sports drama tells both the story of African American athlete Jesse Owens (Stephan James) running in the Berlin Olympic games in 1936 and the controversy ensuing with the then upcoming Hitler regime. Owens went on to win 4 gold medals. Hopkins is no stranger to biography, having directed THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLERS.

The script, written by Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse, covers many stories. The first and foremost is the story of the athlete Owens and his white coach Larry Snyder. The other is the romance between Owens and his girl, Peggy (Amanda Crew), who he has already had a daughter with, when going to the games. A political subplot involving the boycotting of the Games by the U.S. due to Germany’s racial policy of exclusion of blacks and Jews makes good interest into an otherwise too often told tale of underdog achieving the top prize. This story pits Avery Brundage (Jeremy Irons) against host of adversaries. Despite the many stories, director Hopkins always has the main story in focus, the winning of the games, while keeping the other side stories in perspective. The overall feel is a solid narrative.

Newcomer Stephan James inhabits the role of the star athlete very comfortably. He looks young as well as buff enough to pass off as an Olympic medallist. He is convincing without having to overact his role. But it is the supporting cast that deliver the prized performances. Carice van Houten steals the show as German filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, commissioned by the Hitler to film the games. She runs head to head with the Interior Minister, Dr. Joseph Goebbels (played with sinister relish by Barnaby Metschurat). One could watch both van Houten and Metschurat, two German acorn forever.

The period piece was sot in both Berlin where the Games took place as well as Montreal to stand in for spots of Berlin. The atmosphere of 30’s Europe is satisfactorily convincing, but not over-stunning. The shot of the Games are excitingly executed with camera intercutting among the faces of the athletes, the looks on the faces of the coaches and of course, the spectators.

It is odd that this piece of anti-racism is a co-production between Germany and Canada. One would have expected the film, supported by the by the Owens family, the Jesse Owens Foundation, the Jesse Owens Trust and the Luminary Group to have some American financial backing.

Hopkins plays his film safe without trodding into too deep waters. The racial controversy is tackled with tact and quickly covered for. The result is a rather mild anti-racist film, that is more suited for the family than one to invoke controversy.

The film ends with the pictures of the real characters against the actors that played them. Again, formulaic safe filmmaking, like a history lesson that disturbs no one and stirs no still waters!

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Movie Review: THE CLUB (EL CLUB) (Chile) ***1/2

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the_club.jpgEL CLUB (Chile 2015) ***1/2
Directed by Pablo Larrain

Review by Gilbert Seah

Pablo Larrain’s (NO, TONY MANERO) latest film is a very different drama that is as absorbing as it is deadly slow-moving. The title of THE CLUB (EL CLUB) refers to an open prison for disgraced priests. The 4 priests and nun confined there in the seaside town of La Boca in Chile by the church are about to have their idyllic sojourn shaken to the ground.
EL CLUB is a very complex film, in a way similar to last year’s CALVARY starring Brendan Gleeson, a black comedy about a priest taking on the sins of a murderer. Both films coincidentally take place in a seaside setting.

The film begins innocently with a greyhound race that takes place in La Boca. The grey greyhound wins the race. It is slowly revealed that the animal is trained by a father who resides in the roomed building. There are three other priests who all place bets. It turns out that Father Vidal (Alfredo Castro), Father Ortega (Alejandro Goic), former army chaplain Father Silva (Jaime Vadell), and senile Father Ramirez (Alejandro Sieveking), disgraced priests are all dutifully tended to by a similarly “retired” nun, Sister Monica (Antonia Zegers), who is apparently not that innocent. She is called a bitch by one of the fathers later on in the film.

Trouble brews when another disgraced priest, Father Lazcano (Jose Soza) is delivered to the house. He shoots himself after a young local fisherman, Sandokan (Roberto Farias), recognizes him. Sandokan, kind of a crazed bum, remembers the abuses he suffered as an altar boy at Lazcano’s hands and starts screaming the abuses outside the doorstep. Then the church dispatches Father Garcia (Marcelo Alonso), a crisis counsellor, to settle things. The priests come to believe, that Father Garcia’s intention is to close the house down.

The story turns into a horrid tale of survival. It is each man for himself, even for Sandokan and Father Garcia who is disliked and looked upon with suspicion by all.

Director Larrain is a great story teller always keeping the audience in anticipation with always a twist in the story around very corner. His camera work is meticulous, capturing the tranquility and imprisonment of the subjects despite the beautiful seaside setting. Violence is kept at a minimum, and mostly left to the imagination. He also keeps each priest as interesting as the other – each having their own individuality despite being there for the identical purpose.
One of the greatest pleasures of the film is the director’s use of Arvo Part’s music. I first heard the Estonian composer’s music, ‘Spiegel I’m Speigel’ when I first saw Gus Van Sant’s 2002 film, GERRY years back. Part known for his classical and religious music, he delivers a beautiful score that adds to both the serenity and eeriness of the film’s proceedings.

Whether the film ending is a happy one is arguable – best left to the audience to decide. But EL CLUB is a story that concerns many key issues – identity, beliefs, redemption, fulfilment but mostly forgiveness and how one can live with oneself after any terrible deed.

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Movie Review: WHERE TO INVADE NEXT. (USA 2015) ***

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where_to_invade_nextWHERE TO INVADE NEXT. (USA 2015) ***
Directed by Michael Moore

Review by Gilbert Seah

When the title of Michael Moore’s new movie WHERE TO INVADE NEXT. was announced at the Toronto International Film Festival, it was followed by an auditorium of laughter. What would s***-disturber Michael Moore come up next to enrage his new film subject(s)? His then new film was totally hush-hush till it premeired at TIFF. Surprisingly, WHERE TO INVADE NEXT. offends no one. It is a crowd-pleaser with Moore even praising the United States, though only at the film’s very end. Moore must be getting soft in his old age.

The premise is a neat one. Moore travels to different countries, steals the ideas that work and returns with them to the United States. Moore plants the American flag wherever he travels in victory after stealing the ideas, though many countries would gladly have the U.S. adopt them. Italy is first visited first. Th idea of paid vacations, extended holidays and happy workers is the norm of the Italians. In France, it is the wonders of a different public school cafeteria food that makes the difference in healthy kids. Other countries visited include Germany, Portugal, Norway, Iceland and the highly surprising Slovenia and finally Tunisia. It is a fun trip. But the film runs long at close to 2 hours and like any vacation, no matter how entertaining, can grow a bit tiresome.

But what Moore clearly misses out on are the reasons the United States can never follow the ‘stolen’ policies of Moore’s invaded countries. One cannot just take one working concept from one country and implement it into another. Culture, upbringing of the people all come into play. Americans are known to be taught to be individualistic, and one against all, quite unlike for example the asians where, respect for oneself comes last.

Unlike Moore’s other films like ROGER AND ME and BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE in which the subjects were very focussed like GM’s auto factory and gun availablity, this film is scattered and is all over the place like the countries he hops to, one after another. Why did Moore pick most of the countries in Europe, one from Africa and none from Asia? There is also no reason for the order of his countries in terms of the importance of policies.

But Moore captures the film’s idea in one brilliant segment in which he asks a Tunisian woman to give a two-minute advice to the American people. “If you have to minutes of advice to give to the American people, what would it be?” And what she says hits the nail right on the head. This is the common theme tying in all of the film’s ideas of what makes a country work. The film contains many other moving moments like the one in which a Norwegian father of a dead son (the 2011 Norway summer camp massacre) confesses that getting revenge on his son’s killer solves nothing.

Moore’s film is nicely concluded, like a textbook with an ending to please the U.S. Moore says all the success stories from the countries have all originated from ideas in the United States. All the Americans need to do is to follow. But easier said than done. In this way, Moore tries the other way, (compared to using anger as, in his other films) i.e using niceness to get his point across.

The result is a crowd-pleasing, very entertaining film that somehow will have the same difficulty of getting Moore’s point or points implemented. The question is whether audiences like the nastier old Moore or the nicer new Moore.

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Movie Review: ONLY YESTERDAY (Japan 1991) ***1/2

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only_yesterdayONLY YESTERDAY (Japan 1991) ***1/2
Directed by Isao Takahata

Starring: Miki Imai, Toshirô Yanagiba, Youko Honna

Review by Gilbert Seah

ONLY YESTERDAY is a 1991 Studio Ghibli film which was generally produced by Master Hayao Miyazaki. Takahata also directed the well-known and loved THE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA and GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES. Studio Ghibli is known to be in financial trouble, so any reworking of the studio’s animated features is a huge welcome.

Though one wonders of the reason ONLY YESTERDAY is the film chosen for the reworking. It is immediately noticeable that the film is so unlike the favourites of Ghibli Studios the most notable being Miyazaki’s HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE, PONYO, MY NEIGHBOUR TOTORO and SPIRITED AWAY. There is an absence of Japanese folklore and mythical creatures. Magic, is present though in a different form. In ONLY YESTERDAY, the magic is in the imagination of the heroine and what life has to offer.

The premise is a simple one. 27-year old Taeko (Daisy Ridley) is unmarried. She loves the countryside. She visits her relatives there and a flood of memories brings her back to the days of first romance, puberty (done with much humour and taste) and the frustration of math (division of fractions, of all things) and boys. Takeo meets a young farmer, Toshio (Dev Patel). The two connect with feelings. Taeko is taken aback and feels uncomfortable when she is pressured by Toshio’s parents into marriage with their son.

The 1991 Japanese version is available in laserdisc format but the film has been redone in an English version, with the voices of the now famous Daisy Ridely, who had the lead as Rey in STAR WARS; THE FORCE AWAKENS and SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE’s Dev Patel.

I do not favour any dubbed version of a film, and the pleasure of ONLY YESTERDAY comes especially when the soundtrack with songs in Japanese comes on. But there are lots of American influences in the film, such as baseball and the Beatles, though they also form part of the culture that Taeko grew up with.

The best parts of the film are the simple ones – like the family sitting by the dinner table slicing a pineapple for the first time, or Takeo literally taking flight in an imaginary sequence.
But the film is not without certain flaws. For one, both Ridley and Patel could do British or American accents as Ridley is British and Patel could be coached to do American. But the strong American accent of Ridley’s character and British accent of Patel clash in the film. If one wants to argue that people from the countryside speak with a British accent to differentiate, why then only the Patel character an not the others from the countryside? The film’s imaginary happy ending also leaves the audience a bit bewildered.

But it is the animation of the Ghibli Studios, care of Takahata and his team of artists that triumphs. From the detailed shadows of the characters to the landscape of the countryside and the glorious colour and glow of the insects and background, ONLY YESTERDAY astounds and is the best of what animated films can offer. This alone is worth the visit to this breathtaking work of animated art.

ONLY YESTERDAY celebrates Studio Ghibli’s 25th anniversary (and 30 years in its founding). The studio is sadly in hiatus with no new productions after disappointing box-office receipts of their recent efforts.

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Movie Review: DEADPOOL (2016)

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deadpoolDEADPOOL (USA 2016) ***
Directed by Tim Miller

Starrting: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller

Review by Gilbert Seah

DEADPOOL the latest Marvel comic book ‘hero’ movie arrives with great anticipation and fanfare of comic book fans. Fans know their comic book hero and expect to see a foul-mouthed, angry, sexy and ugly fighter in an R-rated movie.

First of all, some background on DEADPOOL. Those familiar with the marvel character, best described as an uncensored personality would best skip this paragraph. DEAD POOL is the name of the lead character previously known as Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds). The character is less a hero than an antihero. He describes himself in the film as a bad guy paid to take out other bad guys. At first a normal human being, then voluntarily subjected to experiments in order to cure his cancer, Deadpool ends up totally mutated but also with accelerated healing powers and fighting agility. He is badly scarred especially facial wise and wears a skin tight costume. He is angry, swears all the time and beats various people up, depending on his mood. The fans expect the film to be extremely violent, especially in the already famous touted skewer scene in which Deadpool props a baddie up with his twin blades. Director Miller satisfies the fans with the segment not only shown twice, but also in slow motion.

To director Miller’s credit, the film is energetic and funny enough for the audience to be distracted from the film’s flaws. The film begins with mock opening credits that no doubt is funny at first, but soon wears out its welcome. It says for example that the film is directed by an overpaid tool with all other members of the the filmmaking team insulted except for the writers. The real credits appear at the end of the film.

The film begins with Deadpool (Reynolds) taking a cab, driven by Dopinder (Karan Soni) to fight his enemies, the main one being Francis (Ed Skrein from the TRANSPORTER remake). Deadpool has a lengthy irrelevant but hilarious conversation with Dopinder. The fight ensues, but because Deadpool has forgotten his bag of weapons, has only 12 bullets in his gun. As a result, he has to cut off his hand from a handcuff in order to escape in a garbage truck. The film flashes back to how this scene takes place. In the process, the audience learns that the film is a love story – one between Wade Wilson and Vanessa (Morena Baccarin).

The film’s storytelling format is chopped up unnecessarily as if the target audience is assumed to have a very short attention span. There is no need for the excessive violence, except maybe to satisfy the hardcore Deadpool comic book fans. The humour is forced, the dialogue terribly crude and blunt and many characters appear out of nowhere. An example is the blind old back lady, Al (the wonderful Leslie Uggams) who ends up as Deadpool’s lover, living in his apartment. Her quotable line: “I miss my cocaine.” All this might be entertaining to some but on the other hand , terribly boring to others, like the film critics.
For what it is worth, DEADPOOL delivers to its core audience. The film turned out better than I expected, having very low expectations after watching the trailer. But I am not the core audience. DEADPOOL fans will definitely be pleased!

 

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Movie Review: ZOOLANDER 2 (USA 2016) ***

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zoolander_2ZOOLANDER 2 (USA 2016) ***
Directed by Ben Stiller

Starring: Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Penélope Cruz, Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig, Christine Taylor

Review by Gilbert Seah

ZOOLANDER and ZOOLANDER 2 are milder versions of Sasha Baron Cohen’s BRUNO which are still pretty wild for most audiences unfamiliar with films like these that satirize the fashion/modelling industry.

It took a while, 15 years, since the first ZOOLANDER (2001) also directed by Ben Stiller hit the screens. It has been a long wait – the stars have grown older, and the plot makes use of the fact. Whatever goes on in the movie does not make much sense, but famous pop stars are being killed as they are protecting the Chosen One. “You can’t kill us all.” utters Justin Bieber, the 6th pop star killed in a year, before he kicks the bucket after posing on Instagram. Even Madonna has struck her last pose! Who is the Chosen One and who is the villain? As outrageous as the plot is, the twist is even more outrageous than anything found in any film in a while. Hilarious? It is in a way if one sits back and ponder over what has occurred. The script, by no less than 4 writers including Stiller, Justin Theroux (the writer of AMERICAN PSYCHO who also appears in the film as an evil DJ) is actually hilarious, though it might not seem so on first appearance. Perhaps ZOOLANDER 2 should be seen a second time to digest the mayhem on screen.

So, the not-so bright Zoolander (Stiller) is drawn out of recluse together with fellow model, Hansel (Owen Wilson). The villain is Mugatu (Will Farrell hamming it up, the most he can ever muster), engineering his escape from fashion prison. (Don’t ask!)

Not everything is original in the film. A lot of the jokes are similar to ZOOLANDER 1 and the ending sexy cat fight between two beauties, Penelope Cruz and Milla Jovovich, to the delight of all the males watching is way too similar to the scene from the French film (that did not get released here), OSS 117 NEST OF SPIES, directed by THE ARTIST’s Michel Hazanavicius.

The star cameo list is staggering. They include Bieber and real life fashion icons, Valentino, Vera Wang, Marc Jacobs, Tommy Hilfiger and Anna Wintour. The trouble is that these icons are not immediately recognizable, but their names are emphasized at least so audiences know who they are. Of the recognizable star cameos, Susan Sarandon (doing a ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW routine), Milla Jovovich, Macaulay Culkin, Billy Zane, Katy Perry, Sting and Neil deGrasse Tyson strut their stuff, all playing themselves. But the best of these belong to Benedict Cumberbatch who surprises as he plays All, a transgender looking super model so full of himself that he marries himself.

ZOOLANDER 2 plays like a spy spoof as well as a satire of the fashion/model industry. Hate it or love it, my partner best described the film as “not that funny but sill entertaining.” Yes, and the film has lots of energy! But audiences not in the know might be totally bewildered at the goings-on!

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Movie Review: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL MONOGAMIST (Canada 2016) **

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portrait_of_a_serial_monogamistPORTRAIT OF A SERIAL MONOGAMIST (Canada 2014) **
Directed by Christina Zeidler and John Michell

Starring: Robin Duke, Masa Lizdek, Grace Lynn Kung

Review by Gilbert Seah

This spritely romantic relationship comedy is exactly what the title promises. It is the story of monogamist, Elsie (Diane Flacks), in her thirties who cannot, no matter how much she tries change her ways. A slight twist to the story is that Elsie is a lesbian.

When the film begins, Elsie has just broken up with her girlfriend, Robyn (Carolyn Taylor). Robyn has not taken the breakup too easily. It is tough for them to remain friends without fighting.

Meanwhile, Elsie has a fling or two while trying to survive her job was aTV producer after a corporate takeover. She is offered advice from friends and family. As the saying goes: “Everyone has a advice and everyone is full of sh**”

That is basically what the entire film is about. It is pretty boring for those who cannot connect with the main character. Whether one does depends, but to Flacks, credit, she is not a bad actress.

The film is shot in Toronto and the directors are proud of the fact. Torontonians will recognize familiar sights like the local streets, streetcars and buildings. The film also showcases local musical and art talent.

Diane Flacks inhabits her role comfortably, passing off as a desperate lesion trying not to be desperate. She creates a likeable character and a very human one. She is pretty though not overtly pretty and smart, though human enough to make mistakes and smart enough to recognize them. She takes a little time to figure out what she wants. In other words, she is a normal person, a nice Jewish girl from Toronto (as she describes herself) in the ordinary sense. Of the supporting cast, Robin Duke stands out as Elsie’s mother, a nice Jewish woman from Montreal.

The film ends up an ok watch, but there is nothing exceptional about the film, which is a shame. Everyone tries very hard, as is evident in the last scene of the cat funeral. During the cat funeral, Elsie and Robyn have it out amidst the ceremony. It is definitely a far-fetched scene that is funny at parts, but feels too artificial.

There are no sex scenes, thanks goodness for that! The actresses are pretty but not sexy enough that the audience would like to watch them doing it in the nude. The kissing scenes are sufficient and short.

PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL MONOGAMIST, made in 2014 finally reaches the big screen after making its round across the country’s LGBT festival circuit. The film is unlikely to become a big hit, but its target audience is clearly the LGBT festival audience and maybe the local Toronto art scene.

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Movie Review: THE WITCH (USA 2015) ****

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the_witchTHE WITCH (USA 2015) ****
Directed by Roger Eggers

Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie

Review by Gilbert Seah

Set in 17th Century New England, writer/director Roger Eggers (whose background is in production design and theatre) has mounted more than a handsome production in his chilling horror debut. Looking like THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT from the frequent flickering lighting (though the comparison does not do THE WITCH, the better film justice) and Shyamalan’s THE VILLAGE from the period setting, the story follows a newly settled New England family from England.

When the film opens, we hear dialogue which informs the audience that the family has just been banished from the village due to witchcraft, details unspecified. They settle on their own on the forest outskirts. The religious family is comprised of William (Ralph Ineson), his wife Katherine (Kate Dickie) and their five children. The film centres on the daughter Thomasin (Anya Taylor-Joy), who is made to look after her infant sibling while the parents toil the land. But the baby suddenly goes missing (never explained how in the film, but assumed to be taken by a wolf), and Thomasin has no explanation either.

William and Kate descend into hysteria. Did the evil in the woods take their unbaptized child? Their twin children, Mercy (Ellie Grainger) and Jonas (Lucas Dawson), blame Thomasin but their own behaviour has become disturbingly suspect. Middle child Caleb (Harvey Scrimshaw) takes it upon himself to search for the answer with dire consequences. Thomasin admits to being a witch to scare the twins into silence but it backfires on her.

The film has certain unexplained scenes like an actual witch that appears and kisses Caleb. The other is the possession of the twins.

The film succeeds for two reasons. One is its ambiguity which makes everything all the more mysterious and scary. Is the family descending into religious madness or are there supernatural forces afoot? But the film falls apart when director Eggers shows actual demonic forces in motion. Second is the scary effects created by the light, setting and soundtrack. The characters speak with an old Northern England accent and old English which takes a while to get used to. Sample dialogue: “What’s the matter with thee? Come hither!” The story is supposed to be based on folklore and the dialogue adapted directly from old literature.

But THE WITCH is a very scary film- not scary in the form of the typical B-horror flick but in genuine fear of the unknown. Religion and superstition drive the family part. Trust in God appears to be the answer for the family, but faith is obviously not enough. The desperation of the family is on clear display and examination here. Eggers shows differing points of view, from the daughter to the father, mother and even the brother., while always centring on Thomasin. Eggers knows how to create a sense of evil from almost any prop, from the goat, to the evil stare of the rabbit, to the woods to the omnipresent darkness. THE WITCH also contains very disturbing images, made even scarier because often, it is hard to make out exactly what is depicted, and much is left to the imagination. The scariest image is the crow picking at the mother’s breast. Evil, indeed takes many forms.

Altogether a very impressive film debut by Eggers and definitely a most chilling one.

Movie Review: SNOWTIME! (Canada 2015) *** Directed by Jean-François Pouliot

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showtimeSNOWTIME! (Canada 2015) ***
Directed by Jean-François Pouliot

Starring: Angela Galuppo, Mariloup Wolfe, Lucinda Davis

Review: Gilbert Seah

LA GUERRE DES TUQUES (3D) is the highest grossing Canadian film of 2015. But almost no one in English Canada has heard of it. As the saying goes in the film industry, French Canadians see French Canadian films but English speaking Canadians do not see Canadian films at all – French or Canadian. So, it would be appropriate then to dub the French animated feature into English complete with an English title SNOWTIME! as if the original never existed.

But when the film, a delightful kids fantasy set in real life progresses, it becomes apparent that the film is very Quebecois despite the fact that all the character are speaking English. Even the names of the leads Luke and Sophie sound French (Luc et Sofie). The setting is a little village, snow covered, the typical seen in pictures of Quebec, which one kid calls the best village in the world. And he and the other kids believe it too.

The animated feature is based on and is an animated version of the 1984 family film THE DOG WHO STOPPED THE WAR (French title LA GUEREE DES TUQUES, no change here).
This review is based on the 3D English version.

The film centres on a group of children, led by Luke (Nicholas Savard-L’Herbier in the French version, Angela Galuppo in English) and Sophie (Mariloup Wolfe in French, Lucinda Davis in English), who plan and stage a giant snowball fight during the Christmas holidays. The story is unimportant. The fact that all the children appear to be having a fine time at war is all that matters. Until someone loses an eye – or a dog is hurt, as in the case of this film. As in most children’s films, SNOWTIME! is one centred around the children. There are no adults around. The kids behave like adults mostly, dealing with issues such as acceptance, loyalty, friendship and chivalry, elements that make a good family or children’s tale. This is a delightful Canadian film, quite unlike Disney expensive blockbuster animated features like FROZEN. Still, there are a few catchy tunes like “You are My Sweater” (whatever that means, I have no clue) performed at the end credits.

The 3D effects are well done with lots of snowy stuff tossed out of the screen at the audience. The village looks very Christmassy and the film has an overall warm and fuzzy atmosphere despite the ‘war’ setting.

The humour is mild at best. It is not overtly hilarious or extremely goofy, characteristics of most animated features these days. Getting brain freeze from drinking milkshakes or changing the odds of winning during an arm wrestling match are examples of the kind of humour found in the film.

The result is a rather mediocre entertaining film. The plusses of the film include the gorgeous animation on the screen, better bang for the buck that the multi million dollar products churned out by the Hollywood studios. At least Canadians can say this is our animated feature. It is up against strong competition like NORM OF THE NORTH and KUNG FU PANDA 3.

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