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Film Review: MAIDEN (UK 2018) ****

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Maiden Poster
Trailer

The story of Tracy Edwards, a 24-year-old cook on charter boats, who became the skipper of the first ever all-female crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1989.

Director:

Alex Holmes

Stars:

Tracy Edwards, Jeni Mundy, Mikaela Von Koskull

The newly refurbished Maiden yacht will dock in Vancouver, July 28-August 2, as part of a two-year world tour to raise funds and awareness for girls’ education and female empowerment.  Why is the Maiden famous and what is it known for?  Alex Holmes’s MAIDEN is an exhilarating documentary that played at TIFF 2018 and Sundance 2019, delighting audiences with its story about 26-year-old Tracy Edwards, who broke the
glass ceiling when she skippered the first all-female crew to enter the world’s biggest sailing event, the Whitbread Round the World Race, in 1989-1990 (renamed Volvo Ocean Race in 2001).  Maiden is name of Edward’s racing yacht.

The film begins with these warning words: “The ocean is out to kill!”   “It does not take a break.” “There is no hope if anything happens.”  Yet, the doc’s subject, Tracey Edwards, at the time of the race at the age of 26, face crashing waters and frigid temperatures – the big setback at sea.  In 1989, the concept of an all-female crew was inconceivable to the manly world of open-ocean yacht racing.  Press bet on their failure.  Sponsors balked, fearing that the crew might perish and bring bad publicity.  After a failure at almost 2 years for sponsorship, Edwards refused to give up – she remortgaged her home and bought a secondhand boat that the crew refurbished themselves. She finally secured sponsorship through Jordan’s King Hussein.

Holmes humanizes the story by telling the story of Tracey from young child to older woman with white hair that she has now.  This was, that the audience can relate to the character, the underdog and root for her.  Tracey had the idyllic childhood till the worse thing imaginable could happen, happened to a child – the loss of one of a parent.  She moved to Wales with her mother and new abusive step-father which resulted in her running away from home.  Other adventures led her to her realization of her love or sailing.  When she realized the difficulty of females getting on a crew for the Whitebread World Race, she formed her own crew.  The doc continues this story.

The film contains interviews with Tracey and her crew as well as a few male sailors who  talk about their admiration and astonishment of the female sailor.  The film has a major part of its running time, the race that the Maiden won.  One wonders how many of the scenes were shot, especially with the waves crashing the boat.  According to the press notes, archival footage were taken on the boat, which explains the authentic ‘fly off the wall’ footage film that would almost get one seasick.

But what is most exhilarating about the doc is the human account of an underdog doing well – showing off those skeptical who claim that it cannot be done.  Edwards hows the triumph of ones human spirit over adversity,  The film also shows that she is not the person you want to be around with either, when she is under pressure – showing both sides to the coin.

MAIDEN is a beautiful documentary celebrating the harshness of nature and the foibles and strength of man – or woman in that respect.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AecVJ3Br4zc

Film Review: NEVER-ENDING MAN: HAYAO MIYAZAKI (Japan 2016) ***

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Owaranai hito: Miyazaki Hayao Poster
Trailer

A look at famous Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki following his retirement in 2013.

Director:

Kaku Arakawa

Stars:

Hayao Miyazaki, Toshio Suzuki, Yuhei Sakuragi

Made as a Japanese TV movie back in 2016, taking 3 years before getting a commercial release at the TIFF Lightbox, one can understand the limited attraction of this documentary.  Though Studio Ghibli films are the bread and butter of Japanese animation features, still the studio’s film and director’s names are still unknown to many Americans who will never see anything not North American.  Unless one is a Studio Ghibli fan, fascinated by the films and an admirer of Hayao Miyazaki, the studio’s founder and the Academy Award winning director (for PRINCESS MONONOKE) of more than a dozen world wide successes, the target audience is limited.

The film begins with the camera panning an empty animation studio following Miyazaki’s announcement to the press and staff of his retirement.  But he soon begins work on a  short film, BORO THE CATERPILLAR (in 2018) using CGI for the first time and then contemplating the main of a full length feature, which he jokingly claims could be completed after his death.

The film is clear to point out Miyazaki’s successes with a collage of his hits including SPIRITED AWAY (my favourite), MY NEIGHBOUR TOTORO, PONYO, HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE and his last feature THE WIND RISES.

The doc clearly narrow the scope to the director’s work and his daily routines.  It clearly omits anything of his past, his childhood or his influences.  Nothing is revealed of his family either.  In one scene, Miyazaki mentions his wife, but the film has not a single shot of her.  He is also shown making his own meals (often having ramen from pack of instant noodles) and walking around what seems an empty typical Japanese house.

Miyazaki the man is shown to be a simple one, but an over-obsessed animator that strives for his vision 100% totally driving those that have a different view crazy if not out of the picture.  He has a cigarette in hand most of the time and obviously smokes too much.  Miyazaki is also shown to be a kind man.  When shown a CGI animated segment of a zombie like creature writhing in pain, he astounds all present that he says he wants nothing to do with it.  “You have no idea of pain.” He relates a story of meeting a man who suffers pain that he could not lift up his hand to ‘high five’.   He insists on the importance of being sympathetic to pain, which again is illustrated in the emotion-like characteristics in all his animated characters and figures.

Besides being a film about Miyazaki, the film also reveals the difficult task of CGI and how much work goes into producing CGI effects.  One CGI animator even claims: “Perhaps it is easier to do hand-drawn”.  The film also questions the issue of retirement among the old.  Miyazaki says he’d rather work than do nothing, a philosophy many seniors who have all their faculties share.

The doc turns out to tackle more issues than expected which audiences hopefully will get to learn more of this legendary director.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7od_hvrGeHo

Film Review: LA DISPARITION DES LUCIOLES (THE FIREFLIES ARE GONE) (Canada 2018) ***

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The Fireflies Are Gone Poster
Trailer

A frustrated teenager frees herself from her mother’s influence and her narrow life in a small industrial town to find out who she really is.

Director:

Sébastien Pilote

Stars:

Karelle Tremblay, Pierre-Luc Brillant, François Papineau

Warning: This review contains a spoiler in its plot point.  The spoiler occurs int h second last paragraph of the review.

At the start of the film, a radio show host Paul (Francois Papineau) announces on the radio that due to some unknown mysterious reason that have puzzled scientists and everyone else, all the fireflies are disappeared.  The fireflies are obviously a metaphor for something in the film which will be revealed in the second last paragraph of the review in italics.  Spoiler Alert: Skip reading the second last paragraph italics but the spoiler is included as it is crucial in the film’s critique.

The film’s best segment occurs at the start at a dinner arranged when Leo shows up late,  The uncomfortable dialogue that goes on around is brilliant – funny, informative and sarcastic.  Leo (Karelle Tremblay) is clearly out to disrespect her mother (Marie-France Marcotte) while showing her disdain towards her step-father, Paul.  It is Leo’s birthday but she leaves the dinner after excusing herself to the toilet.  Later on, the mother gives her her birthday present telling Leo never to do what she did ever again, which she promises.  The scene is multi-purposeful.  Besides introducing the audience to all the primary characters, it also reveals the relation ship Leo, clearly the protagonist has with each of the present at the table.  he dialogue is also sardonic if not witty, funny if not revealing.  Unfortunately no other segment in the film comes matches this.  But the confrontation scene between Leo and stepfather, Paul comes close.

The only character missing from the tables a local guitarist, Steve (Pierre-Luc Brillant) who is much older than her.  She takes guitar lessons from him and becomes a little infatuated with him.  When her real father, (Luc Picard) shows up, she finds him not the hero she expected him to be.

It is the performance of the actors that save this otherwise predictable tale of Leo, s girl stuck in her small town.  Newcomer Karelle Tremblay affects the audience’s sympathy without being the annoying teenager while older Quebec actors lend their support.

It does not take a genius to guess that the fireflies are a metaphor for Leo’s hope – or hope in general.  As Leo finally gains enough courage to hop on a bus to leave the small town and start life anew, the fireflies suddenly re-appear around the town in the dark (as is unfortunately totally predictable, especially for one who have seen too many films) signifying the return of hope or that hope is no longer lost.

For all that the film is, the film still succeeds as a well executed and thought-of portrait of a teen stuck in a small town.  At least Leo survives.  In a similar film, Robert Mandel’s 1983 INDEPENDENCE DAY (not the Roland Emmerich’s disaster flick of the same title), Diane Weist’s character escaped her personal prison by lighting up a cigarette while filling up the house with gas in the film’s last scene.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeY_FHcWhMo

Film Review: YESTERDAY (UK 2019) ***

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Yesterday Poster
Trailer

A struggling musician realizes he’s the only person on Earth who can remember The Beatles after waking up in an alternate timeline where they never existed.

Director:

Danny Boyle

Writers:

Jack Barth (story by), Richard Curtis (screenplay) | 1 more credit »

Stars:

Himesh Patel, Lily James, Sophia Di Martino

News had it that Danny Boyle was so impressed with Richard Curtis’s script of the idea of a singer rising to fame performing the songs of The Beatles, these songs wiped out of the minds of everybody in the world except for him that he agreed to direct the film without a second thought.  Boyle has obviously not seen many French films like the one in which all the minds were similarly erased on the memory of the songs of French singer Johnny Halliday.  Coincidence maybe? Or plagiarized premise, it will be difficult to prove.  Still YESTERDAY has enough differences in the story to stand on its own.  And it is directed by well-respected Danny Boyle who made 28 DAYS LATER and SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE and his best film, TRAINSPOTTING.

Jack Malik (newcomer Himesh Patel) is a struggling singer-songwriter from Clacton-on-Sea, England whose dreams of fame are rapidly fading.  He has the unfailing devotion and support of his childhood best friend, Ellie (Lily James) and his band. Then, after a freak bus accident during a mysterious global blackout, Jack wakes up with his guitar broken.  When his friends buy him a new one as a recovery preset, he sings to them the Beatles hit “Yesterday” only to find out that nobody else on Earth besides himself remember The Beatles.

With the assistance of his steel-hearted American agent, Debra, Jack rises to global fame by performing songs by the band. However, as his star rises, he risks losing Ellie — the one person who always believed in him.  The romance between him and Ellie makes the other part of the story.  Jack starts feeling guilty.  But director Boyle shows Jack’s guilt is fear of being caught rather than of theft of the Beatles’s songs, though he finally confesses at the end, something that goes against the trend of his behaviour.

I am not a fan of Boyle’s feel-good movies like this one or SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE.  I prefer Boyle’s darker works.  As such, YESTERDAY’s best moments are those with Jack’s agent the over enthusiastic Debra, brilliantly played by Kate McKinnon.  She paints a darker side of the recording industry lampooning it occasionally.

The film is given a tremendous boost by the inclusion of singer Ed Sheeran, playing himself.  Shreeran discovers Jack and gets him to open for him on his Russian tour.  Sheeran has quite the large supporting role in the film so Sheeran fans should make it a point to catch the singer doing his sly acting bit.

One of the pleasures of watching YESTERDAY is to admire once again the genius of The Beatles as song after song of their hits are played.  Paul McCartney has a cameo in the film as does a fictitious John Lennon (with a look alike actor playing him).

But despite Boyle’s enthusiasm that shows throughout the film, the film is highly predictable, particularly the romance and the ending.  The humour with his family is also familiar fare.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HY0GBmOxyYY

Film Review: THE EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY OF THE FAKIR (India/France/Belgium 2018) **

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The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Poster
Trailer

Ajatashatru Lavash Patel has lived all his life in a small Mumbai neighborhood tricking people with street magic and fakir stunts. He sets out on a journey to find his estranged father, but instead gets dragged on a never-ending adventure.

Director:

Ken Scott

Writers:

Romain Puértolas (screenplay), Luc Bossi (screenplay) | 3 more credits »

Stars:

Dhanush, Bérénice Bejo, Erin Moriarty

The term fakir is more unfamiliar to North Americans than say the British who likely termed the word since India was part of the British Empire.  The best example of a fakir, as often seen in British comics, is the Indian with turban blowing on a pipe with a snake rising to its music from a basket.  In the fantasy comedy THE EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY OF THE FAKIR adapted from Puértolas’ novel “The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir Who Got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe,” that came out in 2014, the fakir is Aja (Dhanush), a magician who     performs magic tricks in crowd while pickpocketing unsuspecting watchers in the bustling city of Mumbai.  But he was son of a is ale mother who embarks on a journey to Paris in search of his father, after mummy passes away and yes, he has given away his sacred cow after seeking advice from her.  Any book with a title as odd as thine, must surely attract a lot of readers, but the title of the film has been toned down a little.

Quebecois director of crowd pleasing films like STARBUCK and THE GRAND SEDUCTION i an appropriate choice to heal this crowd please given his track record.

Any fantasy story with a message despite the fact that it is fictional fantasy requires some credibility int he story or the message will fail to come through.  It is unfortunately that the source material itself involves a journey of chance from one city to another all over the world but Scott’s direction does not help either.  He does not attempt to normalize any of the fantasy situations.  Even the main message of the film met through, through the protagonists’s mother in a photograph talking to him.  

The film on the positive side, contains an impressive list of international stars.  The lead himself (Dhanush) is a popular Bollywood actor though people outside India would likely not heard of him.  Thee is a complete Bollywood style dance midway during the film allowing him to strut hi Bollywood expertise.  Though the sequence is non-consequential to the story, it still makes one of the more entertaining moments in the film.  Berenice Bejo, the Argentine born French actress (star of her husband’s THE ARTIST, the Oscar Winner for Best Film) plays a movie star who befriends Aja as does Somolian Actor Barked Abdi (Academy Award nominee for Best Supporting Actor as one of the pirates in CAPTAIN PHILLIPS) playing a Somolian refugee.  French actor Gerard Jugnot (almost unrecognizable sporting hair) as the cab driver cheated out of his cab fare by Aja.

THE EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY OF THE FAKIR ends up feeling totally fake in its execution, message and entertainment.  But the film would be enjoyed by the lesser demand audience and the film did go on to win the Audience Award for Best Comedy at the Barcelona Sant-Jordi International Film Festival

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1WASu-s4eA

Film Review: PARIS IS BURNING (USA 1990) ***1/2

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Paris Is Burning Poster
A chronicle of New York’s drag scene in the 1980s, focusing on balls, voguing and the ambitions and dreams of those who gave the era its warmth and vitality.

Director:

Jennie Livingston

Stars:

Brooke Xtravaganza, André Christian, Dorian Corey

A gay friend of mine told me once.  When you have a group of gay males around a whole wardrobe of dresses and make-up, the inevitable happens.  They will dress up as women in the dresses, put on the makeup and do drag.  This explains the fascination of gays doing drag to the extent that for many, their entire lives as demonstrated in the film, depends on.

PARIS IS BURNING began as Livingston’s student film project that involved interviews with key figures in the ball world.   Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, Angie Xtravaganza, and Willi Ninja are a few of the interviewees.  These figures share experiences on their life stories, on gender roles, gay and ball subcultures. 

Ball is explained in the film as the event where drag queens compete.  Other terms like house, voguing, shade, reading and legendary are also amusingly explained.  Many of the contestants vying for trophies are representatives of houses that serve as their families, social groups and performance teams.  Some of those names include Extravaganza, St. Laurent and others.

The doc took 6 years or so in the making due to the difficulty of attaining funds.  Though the film is only 78 minutes, it had been cut from over 70 hours of footage material.

Director Livingston does not appear or speak during the film except for a few instances the she can be heard.

The film contains a very touching moment which is exploited for good use at the end of the film.  The scene has two kids, barely16 with their arms around each other in love, as if nothing else in the world matters.  It brings out what true innocent young love is.  And no one can take away that!

PARIS IS BURNING, a film well ahead of its time, got generally excellent reviews from critics when it first opened.  It also went on to win many film awards though it failed to get an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary which implies that certain topics were excluded in the Academy’ choice of films nominated. 

The film has got a 2K restoration and opens just in time for Pride Toronto.  The film is just as timely then as is now.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78TAbjx43rk

 

Film Review: ANNABELLA COMES HOME (USA 2019)

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Annabelle Comes Home Poster
Trailer

While babysitting the daughter of Ed and Lorraine Warren, a teenager and her friend unknowingly awaken an evil spirit trapped in a doll.

Director:

Gary Dauberman

Writers:

James Wan (story by), Gary Dauberman

Stars:

Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Mckenna Grace

There is one rule in the horror book that should never be broken.  There must be deaths.  In ANABELLE COMES HOME, no one dies.  The rule is broken in one of the worst horror films or films in general to open in 2019.  It is senseless, overlong, boring and downright silly.

ANNABELLE COMES HOME is the third instalment of the ANNABELLE  franchise, a spin off fro the Conjuring movies.  The first was terrible, the second not bad and this one back to terrible.  It is the second film with the theme of a demon doll to open this month after last week’s more fun CHILD’S PLAY.  Ed Warren (Patrick Wilson) the main character of the film is clear to point out the difference.  Annabelle is not a doll that is possessed, but a portal through which demons can enter the human world.  He also claims that possession can only take place in living things therefore putting CHILD’S PLAY down.  To add on: “Isabelle is the devil.”

Determined to keep Annabelle from wreaking more havoc, demonologists Ed (Wilson) and Lorraine Warren Vera Farminga) bring the possessed doll to the locked artifacts room in their home, placing her “safely” behind sacred glass and enlisting a priest’s holy blessing.  But an unholy night of horror awaits as Annabelle awakens the evil spirits in the room, who all set their sights on a new target—the Warrens’ ten-year old daughter, Judy (McKenna Grace), and her friends, babysitter Mary Ellen (Madison Iseman) and Daniela (Katie Sarife), the troubled one guilt ridden of having killed her father in a car accident.

Director Gary Fauberman directs from the script (if one can call it that) he co-wrote with James Wan.  The film begins with Ed and Lorraine Warren who bring the audience to date of the doll and how they lock it up safely.  The couple has three scenes – the locking of the doll, the stranded car and the end.  Other than that, they disappear for the rest of the film.

The film has the typical scares found in a horror film like sudden appearance of objects or loud sounds (telephone ringing) and other assorted false alarms.  These go on throughout the entire film regardless of where the story is leading, escalating to a meaningless climax.  Too much of the same thing leads to monotony which is exactly what happens in this otherwise extremely slow paced film.

To Dauberman’s credit, his time lapse mirror segment is worth mentioning.  In it, the girl glares at her reflection in the mirror.  The reflection in the mirror occurs a few seconds in the future.  For example, she sees a falling in he mirror just before it actually falls.  Though this has noting to do whatsoever with the plot, it is quite the creepy and inventive device.

Forget the ANNABELLE and CONJURING franchise.  It is time to have the series locked up for they do no-one any good.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCxm7cTpBAs

Film Review: NIGHTMARE CINEMA (USA 2018) ***

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Nightmare Cinema Poster
Trailer

Five strangers converge at a haunted movie theater owned by The Projectionist (Mickey Rourke). Once inside, the audience members witness a series of screenings that shows them their deepest fears and darkest secrets over five tales.

Directors:

Alejandro Brugués, Joe Dante | 3 more credits »

Writers:

Sandra Becerril, Alejandro Brugués | 4 more credits »

Stars:

Mickey Rourke, Richard Chamberlain, Adam Godley

NIGHTMARE CINEMA is a horror anthology, something quite common in horror flicks of the past and re-appearing now again with 5 stories.  The common thread is the cinema theatre where several characters converge only to watch their scariest nightmares on screen.  The theatre owner is the projectionist (Mickey Rourke) who is as scary as the nightmares.

The first story is THE THING IN THE WOODS directed by Alejandro Brugues.  There appears to be a serial killer nicknamed the welder who is doing away with a group of teens.  There is a reason the welder is carrying on these violent killings which is revealed later as the thing in the woods.  This episode is passable at best and works like a slasher film with lots of blood, gore and flying body parts.

The second entitled MIRARE directed by Joe Dante is the second best of the lot as it involves besides the horror, paranoia.  The theme has been done before – where the plastic surgeon is not what he seems.  A young bride disfigured from a car accident is convinced by her fiancé to undergo plastic surgery for the wedding.  Upon recovery, she discovers other disfigured bodies in the hospital besides hers.

The third of the anthology MASHIT (the name of a spirit) has the most promise but unfortunately is the most muddled of the lot.  Perhaps Japanese director Ryūhei Kitamur is working in unfamiliar territory here.  A priest and a nun has a sexual relationship amidst some possession that is taking place with the children under their care.  One suicide leads to another.  A young girl is currently under prey but tuns out that it is her mother who is possessed.  

The next one, THIS WAY TO EGRESS, directed by David Slade where everyone speaks with a British accent involves a woman visiting a doctor after things get weirder and weirder with her.  She wonders if she is crazy but is ushered out the door by the doctor without the answer.  This one has the best cinematography and excellent disgusting looking production sets, black and white with interiors all seemingly covered in blood.   Everything looks very sinister as the woman keeps asking strangers (with faceless features) if they have seen her children.  The ending is a tad of a disappointment given the tense buildup.

The best is reserved for the last and indeed, the last episode DEAD directed by Mick Garris (who also directed the inter-joining projectionist parts) is an excellent horror piece combining a return from the dead and slasher scenarios.  After performing his concert piece, a boy and his parents are attacked while in their car in the parking lot.  The parents are killed while the boy survives a bullet wound.  Things get complicated in hospital recovery where the boy’s mother appears and ask him to cross to other side, the side of death.

Though a bit inconsistent, the horror anthology works, bringing back memories of those old anthology classics like TALE FROM THE CRYPT (1972) and DEAD OF NIGHT (1945).  The anthology ends up a mixed bag of tricks – some good and some bad segments.  For horror fans, NIGHTMARE CINEMA should still satisfy.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3STondh5fE0

Film Review: CHILD’S PLAY (USA 2019) ***1/2

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Child's Play Poster
Trailer

A mother gives her 13-year-old son a toy doll for his birthday, unaware of its more sinister nature.

Director:

Lars Klevberg

Writers:

Tyler Burton Smith (screenplay by), Don Mancini (based on characters created by)

Stars:

Aubrey Plaza, Mark Hamill, Gabriel Bateman

After a number of sequels, the original 1988 horror classic CHILD’S PLAY gets a reboot with the same title following a high tech doll that rejects its programming and becomes self aware. 

Director Lars Olevberg and the script by Tyler Burton Smith play it smart by combining the elements of camp and horror in what turns out to be a fast-moving totally entertaining reboot.  The film proves tat camp and scares can work extremely well together.  CHILD’S PLAY delivers what is expected and more.

The film opens in Kaslan Industry’s Vietnam factory that makes these big tech dolls.  A Vietnamese worker goofs off and is slapped awake by his supervisor.  Angrily, he removes all the doll’s control inhibition functions on the chip before inserting it into the doll.  It is comical to see see and hear Vietnamese in a horror film done tongue-in-cheek and it works.  The doll is eventually sold in the States but the customer returns this defective doll to a Zed-Mart worker, who is a single mother (Aubrey Plaza).  Instead of returning the doll to the factory gives, she gives it as a birthday person to her son, Andy.  This is when the trouble starts.  Chucky, the doll starts having a life of his own and in his desperation of keeping Andy as a friend, does away with those that annoy Andy beginning with the family cat.

Director Olevberg does not skimp on the blood and gore as in the lawnmower scene.  But the segment can be taken tongue-in-cheek as in the one whee the kids are laughing out loud as bodies are being dismembered, while watching THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE on the television.  There is a hidden message here in how Americans, typically American kids have been dis-sanitized from violence in films.

More camp comes in the form of the excellent ‘Buddi’ theme song, which is also played for laughs during the film’s closing credits.  Chucky also has dialogue “Are we having fun yet?” or “Is it time to play again?” to creep audiences out.

Aubrey Plaza is one of the funniest actresses around who frequently inhabits roles of loose women as evident in THE NUNS and BAD GRANDPA.  In CHILD’S PLAY, she plays a young single mother (who in he own words had a fertile sweet sixteen) has a kid who also catches her making out when entering the apartment one day.  Gabriel Bateman is also excellent as Andy Barclay the son, but one would think they would have got a younger actor to play the part.  This Andy looks too old to be receiving a toy doll for his birthday, though it may be argued that this one has all the modern controls to turn on the stereo etc.

It is coincidental that TOY STORY 4 also opens this week both with the boy also called Andy.  These are two films about toys – one for family and the other for horror fans, which make the perfect counter-programming market strategy.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeHNLikDiVw

Film Review: ANNA (France 2019) ***

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Anna Poster
Trailer

Beneath Anna Poliatova’s striking beauty lies a secret that will unleash her indelible strength and skill to become one of the world’s most feared government assassins.

Director:

Luc Besson

Writer:

Luc Besson (screenplay)

Stars:

Sasha Luss, Helen Mirren, Luke Evans

ANNA returns flashy French director Luc Besson (THE FIFTH ELEMENT, arguably his best movie) to his NIKITA (the film re-titled LA FEMME NIKITA in North America) roots with an ultra-violent slick spy/assassin action pic.  ANNA is ridiculous, stylish, sexy and camp.  Love it or hate it.  Two of my film critic colleagues, TV personality critic Richard Crouse and NOW Magazine critic Norman Milner both hated it with a passion.  I sort of loved it, so why the enormous difference in opinion?

One reason is how one wants to look at the film.  ANNA is tacky.  It would not be a surprise if the film would be re-titled LA FEMME ANNA.  Besson has done this before and better.  This might just be a vehicle for his new muse, super model Sasha Luss.

The plot can be summed up in one line.  Quote Wikipedia: “Beneath a woman’s striking beauty lies a secret that will unleash her indelible strength and skill to become one of the most feared assassins on the planet.”  Of course there is more.  Anna (Luss) has a lesbian lover, Maud (Lera Abova) as well as two male lovers, Russian Alex Tchenkov (Luke Evans) and American Lenny Miller (Cillian Murphy).  Overlooking Anna at all times is KGB chief Olga (Helen Mirren. looking sufficiently ‘awful’ for the part, glasses and all).  The film is unveiled in non chronological order, where more than too often, an incident occurs before the story moves back 3 weeks or 3 months to explain what really happened causing the incident to occur.  The tactic is laughable but this could be Besson’s intention to mock the spy/mystery genre.

The film lasts a little under 2 hours, which is quite the chore if you hate the film from the start.  On the other hand, regardless the fact, there is enough going on in the background, exotic sets and locations, beautiful people, outrageous action set-ups (like the hot sexy closet scene).

Apart from the hours of action nonsense, there is one sad part that stands out – the subplot involving Anna’s lesbian girlfriend Maud.  Maud is oblivious of Anna’s dubbed ice and just loves her regardless.  Maud dances in happiness, often whispering sweet nothings to Anna who completely ignores her for other worries.   One wishes better for this poor character which somehow stands out in this emotionless flick.  Besides Abova, Helen Mirren as Olga and Cillian Murphy as Lenny deliver stand out performances that one wishes would save the movie.

The only thing consistent about the outrageous story is Anna’s desire to become free, which she obviously attains at the very last moment in the story.  I am sure that there are quite the few in the audience who wish they could be free as well from Besson’s movie.

Besson has had a string of flops including VALERIAN which I absolutely adored.  One has to give the man credit not for want of trying.  ANNA cost $30 million to make but looks as if it cost more than double that.  It is expected to have a soft opening at the box-office.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Ku-PkrtyUs