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film reviews

Full Review: JOURNEY’S END (UK 2017) ****

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Journey's End Poster
Trailer

Set in a dugout in Aisne in 1918, it is the story of a group of British officers, led by the mentally disintegrating young officer Stanhope, as they await their fate.

Director:

Saul Dibb

Writers:

Simon Reade (screenplay), R.C. Sherriff (novel) | 2 more credits »

Stars:

Paul Bettany, Sam Claflin, Stephen Graham

 

JOURNEY’S END about soldiers (Officers and enlisted men) during an offensive in the trenches during the First World War is a story that is already too familiar to us.  Still, it is a story that needs repeating, to remind the world of the futility of war and that orders coming down from the top brass would ultimately be executed often to the death by the men of lower ranks, who has loved ones and families back home.  JOURNEY’S END is based on the 1928 play and filmed two years later by James Whale which starred Sir Lawrence Olivier as Cpt. Stanhope now played brilliantly convincingly by Sam Catlin.  The updated screenplay be Simon Reade is by no means flawless, (words like a person needing to be sorted’. the word never used at that time; an offbeat change of scenery back to England for the reading of a letter) but serves the fiilm’s purpose.

The film begins like any war film.  There is news of the war and word of fighting in France against the Germans.  Things get real only when the audience can put a face to the goings-on.  The face in this case belongs to green 2LT Laleigh (Asa Butterfeld) who wishes to join the battalion of his old school mate Cpt Stanhope who used to be his house monitor and good friend of him and his sister.   Stanhope is found to be changed due to the strain of war.  In the trenches are Lta Osborne (Paul Bettany)  veteran who is the most stable of the lot and apparentlythe one who keeps everything together.   

When the men are ordered to attack the Germans in two days time in an effort that seems pointless, casualties increase and things come to a boil in this realities tale of men caught in the war apparently to fight in what they believe for their country. It is made clear at one point, that the assault is to take place at 5 pm so that the higher ups can discuss the results over dinner.

Despite the film’s seriousness in tone, Reade’s script is not devoid of needed humour, which is provided by stiff faced Toby Jones as Mason, the men’s cook.  If not describing his cutlets as new in shape or the yellowness of the soup to entice the blandness of his meals, the on running jokes on the meals are nothing short of hilarious.

The narrow trenches emphasizes the claustrophobia of the location complete with mud rats though only one is shown) and worms oozing out from the mud during a meal.  To Dibb’s and the production designer’s credit, the film never feels like a play.

Though one might wonder at the film’s aim, it is clear that Dibb’s message is that one is never to forget that human beings are the ones fighting the war, and there are casualties on both sides as the end credits remind both sides of the millions that have died in WWI.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPX-kajacyc

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Film Review: PACIFIC RIM UPRISING (USA 2018)

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Pacific Rim: Uprising Poster
Trailer

Jake Pentecost, son of Stacker Pentecost, reunites with Mako Mori to lead a new generation of Jaeger pilots, including rival Lambert and 15-year-old hacker Amara, against a new Kaiju threat.

Director:

Steven S. DeKnight

Writers:

Steven S. DeKnight, Emily Carmichael | 3 more credits »

Stars:

John Boyega, Scott Eastwood, Cailee Spaeny

 

Steven S. DeKnight takes over the director’s reins from Guillermo del Toro making his directorial debut in the sequel to the 2013 hit PACIFIC RIM.  PACIFIC RIM is del Toro’s most successful film at the box-office making over $400 million worldwide at the box-office.  UPRISING costing $150 million aims to do the same.

The premise of the first film which is the backdrop for uprising is summarized in voiceover at the start of the film by Jake Pentecost (John Boyega from STAR WARS).  That film was set in the future, when Earth is at war with the Kaiju, colossal sea monsters which have emerged from an inter-dimensional portal on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.  To combat the monsters, humanity united to create the Jaegers, gigantic humanoid machine robots, each controlled by at least two pilots, whose minds are joined by a mental link.  The Jaeger was championed by General Pentecost, Jake’s father played by Idris Elba.  Jake was partying it up when the film opens.

UPRISING is set ten years after the Battle of the Breach, the oceans have become restless once again, but the Jaeger program has evolved into the next generation for the PPDC.  However, a mysterious organization has reopened the Breach for the Kaiju and a Jaeger has gone rogue.  Jake Pentecost, son of Stacker Pentecost, rises up to stand against the evolved Kaiju and the mysterious rogue Jaeger, Obsidian Fury, to prevent humanity’s extinction and preserve his father’s legacy.

The film is divided into two parts.  One is the action sequences, which with its $150 million budget are executed with all the pyro-technics, metal crunching and noise expect from a Hollywood blockbuster.  The film will also be released in iMAX which boasts – “See a movie, or be a part of one.”  Regardless, be prepared to get a headache.  This is a very loud film.  The second is the camaraderie among the Jaeger group.  Jake Pentecost bonds with Mako Mori to lead a new generation of Jaeger pilots, including rival Lambert (Scott Eastwood, Clint’s son) and 15-year-old hacker Amara (Madeleine McGraw), against the new Kaiju threat.  The pilots are all buffed and ideal specimens of the human race.  The script by Steven S. DeKnight, Emily Carmichael, Kira Snyder and T.S. Nowlin displays the normal enmity as well as camaraderie of the Jaeger fighters.  But dialogue like: “…not how you perform but what people think how you perform…” are meant to be taken tongue in cheek, playing with typical cliched lines.  The banter between Dr. Newt Geiszler (Charlie Day) and Dr. Hermann Gottlieb (Burn Gorman) works better.

As the first film was huge hit in China, UPRISING has a few scenes shot in China, as observed by the Chinese on the streets running away from the monists, looking like old monster movies.

Despite the efforts for making PACIFIC RIM UPRISING rise above the first PACIFIC RIM and TRANSFORMER franchise, UPRISING turns out to be a big bore with too much noise and CG effects.

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

 

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Film Review: THE DEATH OF STALIN (UK/France 2017) ***

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The Death of Stalin Poster
Trailer

Follows the Soviet dictator’s last days and depicts the chaos of the regime after his death.

Director:

Armando Iannucci

Writers:

Armando Iannucci, David Schneider |

 

Stars:

Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Jeffrey Tambor

Joseph Stalin dies unexpectedly turning his ministers into panic.  There is a re-balance of power and power grabbing, a state funeral and other un-niceties.  The premise appears perfect for a black comedy.

THE DEATH OF STALIN, as the film is appropriately called can be divided into three parts, with sufficient chaos devoted to each.  The first part of the film establishes who is who around Stalin.  The  second is the passing of Stalin and his funeral.  The third is what happens after with Stalin’s ministry.  The film is described on film sites as a ‘comedy’.

Among the who’s who is Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buchemi) who starts taking charge after Stalin’s passing.  Lavrentiy Beria (Simon Russell Beale) receives the worse end of the death, being accused of murder, execution, torture and yes, multiple rapes of little girls, of which Beria demands a fair trial.  Other well known actors Michael Palin (of Monty Python), Rupert Friend, Paddy Considine and Jeffrey Tambor add to the impressive cast making up ministers of various departments like defence, agriculture and so on.

Unlike his previous hit IN THE LOOP, Iannucci ’s THE DEATH OF STALIN, treads on the same grounds of political humour bordering on satire but turns out more crass and desperate for laughs.  The word ‘fuck’ is uttered too often and sounds out of place in a setting where the real Stalin and his men actually should be speaking Russian.   Example: When Stalin’s son is its on making a speech at his father’s funeral, Khrushchev’s response is: “and I want to fuck Grace Kelly.”  The questions: “What the fuck is going on?” is uttered many times.  The running joke of enemies of the State executed, tortured or imprisoned is fondly used.  When Stalin suffers a hurt attack and a doctor needed urgently, it is remarked that all the old doctors have been sent to he Gulag.

The film feels artificial with English spoken throughout, instead of Russian with subtitles.  The spectrum of accents is distracting.  While Buscemi speaks as if an American, the majority including Stalin speak with a strong British accent.

Despite the variety of accents, the performances are quite convincing.  Each actor could pass of as a Stalin comrade.  Buschemi is particularly hilarious, though the use of vulgarities could be toned down a little.  Jason Isaacs is also memorable as the Russian field marshall who is very fond of punching those he does not like right in the face, and then joke about it.

The sets, costumes and production design is to be commended for an authentic period Russian piece. 

In THE DEATH OF STALIN, which premiered last year at TIFF, cheap jokes and crass humour with lots of vulgarity appear the order of the day!  But these still bring in the laughs.  Just don’t expect classy black satirical humour but crass black satirical humour.  The ending is superb though with a shot of Leonid Brezhnev watching over the new proceedings like a cunning fox.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukJ5dMYx2no

 

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Film Review: CATWALK: TALES FROM THE CAT SHOW CIRCUIT (USA 2017) ***

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Catwalk: Tales from the Cat Show Circuit Poster
 Aaron Hancox, Michael McNamara

Writer:

Michael McNamara

People can grasp the concept of a dog show.  But people cannot grasp the concept of  a cat show.  This is the film, CATWALK’s premise and mission to put cats on the film map just as the successful dog show film BEST IN SHOW did for canines.

One difference between BEST IN SHOW and CATWALK should be noted.  BEST IN SHOW was a mockumentary that followed 5 different dogs with their owners as they showed off their dogs in different shows while CATWALK is a real documentary.  This does not mean that a real documentary is less funny that a mockumentary as the film occasionally proves.

The cats are judged by a panel according to:

what cat perfection is (agility; intelligence etc.)

the best of the breed (example: if the exhibitor does not comb out the knots of his/her long haired cat, a whole lot of points will be lost

The main cat that has won the most points by touring the catwalk circuit in Canada, when the film opens, is a white playful cat named Bobby owned by Kim. The other, is a Red Persian breed full of fluffy fur named Oh-La-La by owned by Shirley.  The film shows that the cat owners are just as interesting to observe than the cats.  When Oh-La-La is showcased on stage, the camera locks on the face of Kim, showing how jealous she is that her cat, Bobby might be upstaged.  Bobby and Oh-La-La are completely different cats.  The former loves to play, winning the hearts of the judges from its friendliness as compared to Oh-La-la who just sits proudly, unconcerned of the surroundings.  There is a scene whee the two cat owners are seen joking with each otter.  Deborah says to Kim: “I don’t think evil of you…. just of your cat.”

The film takes a distraction with a segment on Kim taking scuba diving lessons and having a new group of friends she considers her family.  There is no purpose this segment serves with regards to cats except as a time filler.  CATWALK runs at a brisk 75 minutes.

The film interviews two main cat owners/exhibitors and a few breeders while featuring a few of the show’s judges.

The main owner is Kim Langille who shows off her pride a white Turkish Angora.  Kim is also a show organizer and her enthusiasm for cats rubs off n her audience.  She as a wise pick to be the doc’s main character.  The other is her competitor, Shirley McCollow who spends hours grooming her Red Persian for the show.  There is a sweet moment of an autistic cat owner who overcomes her disability by devoting her efforts on her cat.

CATWALK is made more colourful  by the titles that appear on screen, one on purple or green or orange background.

CATWALK the film does not offer any advice to cat showers or messages for the audience.  (Oh, maybe just one message from a cat breeder: Good things come to good people who do good things.)   It is just an entertaining fun picture about cats, even for non-cat lovers like myself.

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

 

 

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Film Review: ABU: FATHER (Canada/Japan/Saudi Arabia/Pakistan/Thailand 2017) ***1/2

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Abu: Father Poster
Trailer

Using family archives and animation, Arshad Khan shares a deeply personal story of migration from Pakistan to Canada, self-discovery and familial reconciliation.

Director:

Arshad Khan

Writers:

Arshad Khan (story), Arshad Khan

 

On the imdb film website, a user review praised ABU as the most moving film he had ever seen in his life.
ABU is the first name of filmmaker’s Arshad Khan’s father.
A documentary about a son spending his whole life trying to gain his father ’s approval is certainly a moving subject especially proven with books/films like EAST OF EDEN.  ABU is moving without sentimentality.
Using family archives and animation, filmmaker Arshad Khan turns the camera (Khan studied cinema in Montreal in 2006) on himself with his father Abu Khan, always in the foreground affecting his every move in life.  This is a sort of home movie that serves as a life story as well.  This is a very intimately painted picture that would move every immigrant.  Every person (or a family member) is an immigrant at some time or other.  The Khan family immigrated to Canada to Mississauga in 1991.  (Myself I immigrated here in 1986, not long before.)   Khan shares a deeply personal story of migration from Pakistan to Canada, self-discovery and familial reconciliation.  An additional factor is that Khan is gay.  Therefore, as a gay man, Khan examines his troubled relationship with his devout, Muslim father Abu.
One of the most fascinating points in the film is Abu’s dream, that Abu only disclosed to his wife.  The dream concerns three wise men who visited the father.  One told him of a visit to a mosque in Pakistan another of his pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia and the third of his death at 3 o’clock.  The prophecy of the three events including the timely death in the hospital with the death certificate stating the time of death at 3 pm all came true.  (Abu 1937 – 2011).  This is disturbingly coincidental.  Is Islam really the true religion?  This would be a question to ask the filmmaker for sure.
ABU begins with an animated sequence involving a dream and a prophecy of a monster wearing a light blue buttoned shirt.  (Khan seems extremely fond of prophecies).  It was a dream Khan had 6 months before his father’s death.
Abu used to tell the family and relatives that Arshad and his sister would bring him either great fame or great shame.  From the film, Arshad probably brought him both at various times in his life.  But often enough shame or fame could be interchanged, depending how one looks at it.
The film contains many moving moments for sure – besides the father/son re-conciliation.    (That occurring on the father’s death bed makes it even more endearing.)   The part of his father telling his son that he loves him despite being gay is also unexpected given the Islam’s non-acceptance of homosexuality.  Yet another, is Khan’s initial encounter with gay love at the age of 14 (with a fellow Pakistani called Elvis) and his parents relationship.
ABU is an extremely watchable and moving film made entertaining from Khan’s personal style of filmmaking.  It unveils the fact that every other person in the world has an equally interesting story that needs to be told and filmed.

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Film Review: LOVE, CECIL (USA 2017) ***1/2

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Love, Cecil Poster
Lisa Immordino Vreeland directs this documentary about Academy Award-winning costume designer Cecil Beaton. A respected photographer, artist and set designer, Beaton was best known for … See full summary »

Director:

Lisa Immordino Vreeland

Stars:

Cecil Beaton, Hamish Bowles, Leslie Caron

LOVE, CECIL is a love letter by director Lisa Immordino Vreeland on two-time Academy Award-winning costume/set designer Cecil Beaton.  Cecil Beaton won Oscars for Best Costume and Set Design for MY FAIR LADY (a clip is provided of Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison at the races from the film illustrating the gorgeous costumes included)  and GIGI.  Cecil was also a respected world renowned photographer, artist and set designer.

When asked whether to describe himself as a painter, a photographer, an author or even a dandy, Cecil has no particular one to choose from.  Cecil is in is own words, fascinated by the labyrinth of choice so does not undertake a single path like most people.  Much of the film’s narration comes from his personal diary, as voiced in the first person by Rupert Everett.  “Hundreds of thousands of words and pictures to describe fleeting moments.”

“I started out with so little talent but was tormented by too much ambition…”  The film also contains interviews with photographer David Bailey, artist David Hockney, designer Isaac Mizrahi, and Beaton’s biographer Hugo Vickers.

Like the subject itself, the doc is filled with beautiful narration (with many quotables) and visuals so that the audience is completely immerse in Cecil’s personal world.  The camera is often on Cecil himself, courtesy of archive footage and the audience gets a good glimpse of the man, from his ‘pretty young things’ age to his older years.   It is funny that Cecil was bullied at Health MountSchool by Evelyn Waugh who wrote “Pretty Young Things” that was also made into a film by Stephen Frears.

Cecil’s career is intimately traced by Vreeland.  As expected, it is not entirely a bed of roses.  Cecil has a bad spell when he played a joke by means of a photograph in American Vogue.  He had the word ‘kike’ scribbled obscurely in the photograph.  The word could still be seen by its Jewish owners  This was an act that got Cecil fired and perhaps humbled the man.  It took a while during the war when he finally redeemed himself by taking sympathetic shots of the devastation of War.   Many said that his work influenced America to aid Britain in the War effort.

What is most impressive and invigorating about Vreeland’s film is that she excites the audience to see the beauty that Cecil himself sees, the beauty captured in his photographs and his work.

LOVE, CECIL is an intimate portrait of an artist by Vreeland.  She makes no attempt to convince her audience to like Cecil.  She provides a detailed documentary of the man showing his openly gay life, dandy and all.  She lets Cecil’s work speak for itself, that the audience can see the genius in the man’s work – visually and verbally.  If one is not drawn by art, film, photography and words, which is rare, LOVE, CECIL might a total bore and the document of the life of the man would mean nothing.

Still, LOVE CECIL is a beautiful biography of Cecil Beaton and many who have not known him will at least now be able to appreciate his 60 years of work.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/249642067

Film Review: DEAR DICTATOR (USA 2016) ***1/2

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Dear Dictator Poster
Trailer

When political turmoil forces a British-Caribbean dictator to flee his island nation, he seeks refuge and hides with a rebellious teenage girl in suburban America, and ends up teaching the young teen how to start a revolution and overthrow the “mean girls” in her high school.

Directors:

Lisa Addario, Joe Syracuse

Writers:

Lisa Addario, Joe Syracuse

Stars:

Michael Caine, Odeya Rush, Katie Holmes

 

DEAR DICTATOR has an usual and outrageous premise for its script.  Dictator teaches school girl how to deal with the ‘mean girls’ in her school while initiating a revolution on his own island.

When political turmoil forces a British-Caribbean dictator to flee his island nation, he seeks refuge and hides with a rebellious teenage girl in suburban America, and ends up teaching the young teen how to start a revolution and overthrow the “mean girls” in her high school.  The sparks really fly when General Anton Vincent (Michael Caine) actually appears to Tatiana (Odeya Rush).  “Don’t worry, mom!  He is not a creepy child molester.  He is just a Dictator!”  Tatiana re-assures her mother after she finds him in the closet, thinking she has hidden Danny there.  Other subplots like the one with the mother (Katie Holmes) trying to make it with her employee, dentist (Seth Green) also works the humour favourably.

Despite the highly unbelievable plot, the script makes no effort to make it more credible, which is a good thing.  The film takes it that everything as a given and totally believable and even takes things several steps further.

The film also works primarily due to the comedic performance of veteran British actor Michael Caine.  Caine seldom does comedy, but when he does he can be really funny, as he proved in his role as the father of Austin Powers, Nigel Powers in GOLDMEMBER.   I still remember his classic line in that movie “There are only two people I do not like in this world – the racists and the Dutch.”  The reason Caine is so funny is that he takes all the writing dead seriously, delivering the lines as if his life depends on it.  The result is the over-the-top humour that suits most of the writing in this film.  The film has a preposterous over-the-top premise and Caine makes it work.  And work well.  It is good to see Caine take on a variety of different roles and not old fart roles like a seniors trying to have sex or fall in love.  Other comedians Seth Green and Jason Biggs as Mr. Spines are also funny.

The film also contains many messages as well, and hilariously delivered at that.  The film pokes fun at America as the General criticizes Americans saying:” You eat and eat until you cannot speak anymore.”   He even convinces Tatiana that she has the power to change her school.  Also the General teaches her to diffuse factions as they rule by “fear or love”.

The film contains many quotable lines.  Besides Hamlet’s “Conscience makes cowards of us all”, there is the General Anton quote: “I am a rebel, I keep going until I am stopped!”

Another surprise is the film’s serious tone.  General Anton’ speech to Tatiana about doing what’s right despite hurting the ones one loves should be taken with a pinch of salt.

A smaller budget comedy that is well delivered because everyone is convinced that the material works, ends up entertaining and hilarious for audiences as well.  Many, many laugh-out loud moments.

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

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Film Review: TOMB RAIDER (USA/UK 2018)

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Tomb Raider Poster

Trailer

Lara Croft, the fiercely independent daughter of a missing adventurer, must push herself beyond her limits when she finds herself on the island where her father disappeared.

Director:

Roar Uthaug

Writers:

Geneva Robertson-Dworet (screenplay by), Alastair Siddons (screenplay by) |2 more credits »

Stars:

Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Walton Goggins |

 

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Film Review: THE LEISURE SEEKER (USA 2017)

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The Leisure Seeker Poster
Trailer

A runaway couple go on an unforgettable journey in the faithful old RV they call The Leisure Seeker.

Director:

Paolo Virzì

Writers:

Michael Zadoorian (novel), Stephen Amidon (screenplay) | 3 more credits »

Stars:

Helen Mirren, Donald Sutherland, Janel Moloney

 

Oscar winner Helen Mirren (THE QUEEN) and Donald Sutherland star as an elderly couple looking for adventure on one boisterous and bittersweet final road trip.

It has finally come the time (UGH!) when both Mirren and Sutherland star in a old fart film, and one that goes all the way.  Yes, heaven forbid but the worst can happen. THE LEISURE SEEKER is the camper that the elderly married couple take off on their road trip.

Italian director Paolo Virzi who also did the music for the film makes clear of his American political stand.  The film opens with Trump, newly elected voicing his speech on the radio “We will make America great again.”  Another scene later on in the film has the couple walking through a pro-Trump rally.

Ella (Mirren) is dying of cancer.  Her husband, John (Sutherland) is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.  As the film opens, their son and daughter discover that their parents have taken off with THE LEISURE SEEKER, on a last road trip.  Neither Ella nor John is interested in quietly fading away surrounded by nurses and machines just to needlessly prolong a winnowing life.  They travel from Boston to Florida (some nice scenery on display) with John behind the wheel.  He may not always be cognizant of the nature of their trip — she assures him it is just a vacation — but he gets into the spirit.  As they pass through cities and towns they see how much the world they know has changed for ill or for good.

The film is based on the novel by Michael Zadoorian.  But as a film, there is too much tackled in the film.  Everything that one can think about growing old is in the film and covered unfortunately in a clinched manner.  

The issues covered include:

sex between an elderly couple

sickness that are incurable such as cancer and memory loss

past skeletons in the closet

children who care too much

being a burden

loss of bodily functions

dying

retirement homes

being taken advantage of as seniors (the hold-up scene)

what old people really look like outside their make-up and hair pieces

Director Virzi acts like a traffic cop ushering these issues in an out.  The incidents like the traffic comes and goes, none too memorable, and quite boring too, just as the job of directing traffic.

Helen Mirren does a southern accent though her British accent can still be heard.  Her first few dialogue lines are done with British accent which is odd.  Mirren is brave enough to show her real looks, with thinning white hair and all.  Sutherland, looking really lean and sexy in the old (younger days) photographs on display in the film.

The script attempts to put some insight with lots of quotations from Hemingway as John is a former professor of Literature.

It is clear that the film is aimed at displaying humour, affection, observation, and maybe a little satire, but the result is another old farts fantasy film about old people trying to be young again.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGGKsVFslJ8

 

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Film Review: ISLE OF DOGS (USA 2017) ***** TOP 10

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Trailer

Set in Japan, Isle of Dogs follows a boy’s odyssey in search of his dog.

Director:

Wes Anderson

Writers:

Wes Anderson (screenplay), Wes Anderson (story) | 3 more credits »

Stars:

Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton

 

ISLE OF DOGS lies on many critics’ list as one of their most anticipated films of the year.  The reason is easy to see.  It has been 4 years since Anderson wowed both audiences and critics alike with the excellent THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL.  ISLE OF DOGS is also Anderson’s second animated feature after THE FANTASTIC MR. FOX and judging from that film, ISLE OF DOGS arrives with high expectations.  Fortunately, these are all met.  The film also won Anderson the Silver Bear Award for Best Director for ISLE OF DOGS which also opened the Berlin International Film Festival.

In a dystopian future Japan, dogs have been quarantined and banished to a remote island due to a “canine flu”.  Major Kobayashihas (Kunichi Nomura) who has won the election and has convinced all his voters that this is the best idea.  The all-important question is then posed; “Whatever happened to man’s best friend?”  

There is hope for the dogs.  A boy, ironically the major’s nephew, Atari (Koyu Rankin), ventures to the island to search for his dog, Spots (Liev Screiber).  There is at least one human being who still loves his pet dog.  Dogs Chief (Bryan Cranston), Rex  (Edward Norton), Boss (Bill Murray), Duke (Jeff Goldblum), and King (Bob Balaban) help him search for Spots and evade the authorities.  Eventually Atari discovers his uncle’s plot to eliminate all dogs on the isle and with the help of the dogs led by Chief saves the dog world.  The film is enough to seriously have audiences consider getting themselves a pet dog after watching the moving saga.

The film is shot in both English and Japanese.  The dogs speak English which English audiences understand while the humans speak Japanese which the dogs (and audiences do not understand).  This is a brilliant concept which is even more brilliant when one considers the reverse effect when Japanese watch the film.

The ensemble voice cast is impressive but largely wasted as many of the voices cannot be recognized.  Even Yoko Ono is on the list, but very few know what she sounds like, less alone the more famous stars that include Ken Watanabe, Frances McDormand, Harvey Keitel, Scarlett Johansson, Greta Gerwig, just to name a few.

And the film is extremely funny with more than I can count, laugh-out loud moments.  Anderson’s humour is mostly tongue-in-cheek, which is not the characteristic humour (slapstick, sarcasm, dead-pan) found in many films.   Examples are the way Anderson shoots his animated feature as if all happening is live action.  The segment on the liver transplant is done in an overhead shot as if the operation is actually filmed live with live characters.  Dialogue like one dog saying: “The ones I want are never in heat!” or “I see cats with more balls than you guys,” also come across as very funny in their situations.  The most hilarious of these occur after the film’s climax where the mayoral elections are finally over with the commentator announcing in a sort of anti-climaxed statement: “Boy, What a night!”

On originality alone, ISLE OF DOGS scores 100% which makes it one of the first 10 best films of 2018.  Boy! What a movie!

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dt__kig8PVU

 

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