Film Reviews – Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION.

Don’t Worry Darling

“Reality is an acquired taste” – a line from the movie

Florence Pugh (Alice) + Olivia Wilde (Bunny)

That’s a very simple but profound statement. When you think about it, most things in life including movies, are an acquired taste.

When I first heard about the movie “Don’t Worry Darling,” I couldn’t wait to see it. My connection to Palm Springs and knowing the movie was filmed in the surrounding area was what interested me most. I knew it would be a stylish film and didn’t expect very much other than nice scenery and interesting sets.

The film focuses on a young couple in the 1950s living a seemingly perfect life in the cloudless company town of Victory, California where some very shady business is taking place. A distorted view of reality best described as Stepford Wives meets The Matrix.

Florence Pugh (Alice) + Harry Styles (Jack)

Florence Pugh (Little Women) was outstanding as Alice in the lead role, as was musician Harry Styles who played her husband Jack in his debut role as a debonair loving husband in a controlling and regressive reality.

Chris Pine plays Frank, founder of a utopian 1950s desert community known as the “Victory Project.”

Bunny; Alice’s best friend, is played by Olivia Wilde who also directed the movie (excellent job Olivia). Bunny is revealed to be a willing participant in the Victory simulation as, having lost her children in the real world, she comes to Victory to unite with them again.

I loved this movie for the suspense, the actors, the backdrop and the mid-century modern style.

I think Olivia Wilde did a superb job as director. Didn’t look at the reviews until after. I know Rotten Tomatoes gave it a very low score but the audience gave it a relatively high one. It’s one of those things; you either love it or hate it. I know people who loved the new “Elvis” movie and others who hated it.

Like everything else; it’s an acquired taste.

Trailer:

Photos: taken from TV HBO on Demand with my Samsung.

Have you seen it? If so; let me know what you think.

Film Reviews

Whistler Film Festival

On the heels of the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) comes the Whistler Film Festival (WFF). Not that anyone needs an excuse to go to Whistler; but while you’re waiting for ski season to start (soon enough) film buffs might want to take in this unique little (but getting bigger) festival. Also; while there, make sure to check out the Audain Art Museum (housing the private art collection of Michael Audain) which is amazing in itself.

Art, Music, Movies, Documentaries….it’s all here!

Whistler Film Festival (WFF) has announced the full lineup for its 22nd edition taking place in-person from November 30, to December 4 2022 in Whistler, BC, and online from December 5 to January 2, 2023.

Selected from over 2,000 submissions, the lineup includes 86 bold and inspiring films curated into nine program strands. There are 41 features and 45 shorts from 19 different countries, including award-season contenders, new breakthrough Canadian features, heart-stopping extreme adventure films, and previously unseen projects from around the globe.

”With a particular emphasis on Canadian content creators and distinct and emerging voices, Whistler Film Festival continues to fill a valuable niche within the film festival ecosystem,” says Paul Gratton, WFF’s Director of Programming. “WFF has evolved into a premium showcase for exciting new motion pictures not previously shown at other film festivals. With our strongest lineup ever of Canadian gems, coveted international festival titles, and an inspiring selection of award-hopefuls, our 22nd edition hums with the energy and creativity that result when new voices mix with established filmmakers in one of the most awe-inspiring settings for a film festival.”

WFF is pleased to present an exciting line-up of documentaries, with a strong focus on sports and music.

A little sneak preview:

Acclaimed actor and director Jason Priestley returns to WFF for the World Premiere of OFFSIDE: THE HAROLD BALLARD STORY. Big money, big headlines, and a long list of enemies – Harold Ballard made them all during the two decades he owned the crown jewel of Canadian sports – The Toronto Maple Leafs – down the road to ruin. This not-to-be-missed feature-length documentary explores one of the most controversial figures in Canadian sports history. Directed by Priestley, this world premiere marks the star’s return to the festival for the first time since the release of his critically-acclaimed film Cas and Dylan – the opening night selection at WFF in 2013.

Music has a large presence in the WFF doc mix this year. A special screening of BUFFY SAINTE-MARIE: CARRY IT ON, with a live-streamed and in-theatre Zoom conversation with the iconic singer, songwriter, and activist, takes place on December 2. The documentary is directed by Madison Thomas, an alum of the Whistler Film Festival Indigenous Filmmaker Fellowship (2017).

WFF will screen the too-crazy-to-be-believed behind-the-scenes concert doc REVIVAL ‘69: THE CONCERT THAT ROCKED THE WORLD. Coined “the second most important event in rock & roll history,” the Toronto Rock & Roll Revival was a one-day event held at Toronto’s Varsity Stadium.

It features John Lennon in his first post-Beatles appearance, as well as Yoko Ono, Klaus Voorman, Eric Clapton, Alice Cooper (and the infamous chicken incident that put him on the map), Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, and The Doors, plus a couple of hundred bikers used to provide Lennon with a motorized escort from Pearson Airport to Varsity Stadium to make the concert in time. A must-see for any rock historian.

Music fans will love BOY CITY, a funny throwback to the era of boy bands and those who loved them, directed by Sean Cisterna and featuring Jonas Chernick. Chernick is also the co-lead in the comedy THE END OF SEX directed by Sean Garrity, a sort of spiritual successor to MY AWKWARD SEXUAL ADVENTURE which won the Audience Award at WFF in 2012.

This all sounds amazing!

For tickets + info:

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Film Reviews

VIFF Closing Film: Broker

BROKER, the closing film from the Vancouver International Film Festival, is about a baby adoption scam gone wild.

There might be a loose theme to Japanese film director, producer & screenwriter Hirokazu Koreeda’s movies. He won the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2018 for the crime drama Shoplifters, about a family that relies on shoplifting to cope with a life of poverty. It could almost be a present day theme as well. A line from “Shoplifters” that ties in with his new movie “Broker” –

“Sometimes it’s better to choose your own family.”

Broker is about broken people trying to make a living making all the wrong choices – but with heart. It was purposefully written so viewers would end up not hating the offenders and maybe give more thought to what makes people do what they do – good and bad. Along with feeling contempt for the situation and the characters in this film, there is a glimmer of hope and love among the desperation.

This film was not what I expected. To be fair; I wasn’t completely sure what I expected, but I thought this movie would be more of a comedy. While it had comedic moments in it for sure, for the most part it was more about human behaviour and what can transpire when you are given and not given choices. It’s a judgement call when you don’t have all the missing pieces of the puzzle. When you do and you start putting them together it makes more sense.

I’ll leave you with the intro from the VIFF programme:

Working for the first time in South Korea, long-term festival favourite Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters) has come up with a sprawling crime story about a baby adoption scam. But in characteristic Kore-eda style, the tone is predominantly compassionate and melancholic—even the cops warm to the perpetrators. It helps of course that the baby broker, Sang-hyeon, is played by Song Kang-ho, the charismatic star of Parasite, Memories of Murder, The Host, and so many others (Song was named Best Actor at Cannes for this performance). His scheme involves intercepting infants abandoned at a church baby box, but things get messy when a young mom (Lee Ji-eun) changes her mind and discovers his racket. She decides to go along with him to meet the the baby’s prospective buyers—actually cops in a sting operation.

Kore-eda fashions plenty of twists and turns as Sang-hyeon, his accomplice (Gang Dong-won), and the girl try to evade the law and find a safe home for the child, but as always, he’s more invested in character than plot mechanics, and the truths we learn about this thrown-together family are revealed in simple, telling gestures, looks, and shadings.

Miraculous in its sensitivity, asking questions about issues of ethics, of choice, of money, and murder, and family, and how to find love in all this sorry mess.”—Ella Kemp, Indiewire

Best Actor (Song Kang Ho), Cannes 2022

Film Reviews

VIFF: Bones of Crows

We cannot go back in time; we can only move forward and learn from our past for a brighter tomorrow.

After world premiering at TIFF earlier this month, Marie Clements’ poignant film “Bones of Crows” opened the Vancouver International Film Festival last night as the perfect lead-in for Truth and Reconciliation. The director and most of the cast and crew members were in attendance.

Grace Dove as Aline Spears in “Bones of Crows”

In Canada, every September 30th now marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation which honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.

Orange Shirt Day which also falls on September 30^th, is an Indigenous-led grassroots commemorative day intended to raise awareness of the individual, family and community inter-generational impacts of residential schools, and to promote the concept of “Every Child Matters”. The orange shirt is a symbol of the stripping away of culture, freedom and self-esteem experienced by Indigenous children over generations.

Bones of Crows

The message in this commanding film which was written, produced and directed by Marie Clements; a Canadian Métis playwright, performer, director, producer and screenwriter (founding artistic director of Urban Ink Productions) was powerful and not to be overlooked.

Inspired by true events, Bones of Crows tells the life story of a Cree woman named Aline Spears (strikingly performed by Canadian actor Grace Dove) through varying stages of her life. From a child taken from her parents to an 85 year of woman who confronts a former abuser from the church. A line that stuck with me from the film is “parents don’t always know what is best for their children – that’s why we should leave it up to the government and the church.” REALLY???

The film is intended to be disconcerting and that, it is. It is a must-see for all so that we may learn from the past so we can move forward mindfully.

Here is further description taken from the VIFF Programme:

VIFF 2022 Opening Film

In these troubled and lopsided times, we need our storytellers to help us understand our inheritance, be it pain or privilege, and to lay the intellectual and emotional groundwork not only for reconciliation, but for reparation and restoration. Vancouver-born Dene/Métis writer-director Marie Clements (whose previous films The Road Forward and Red Snow have been part of VIFF’s year-round and festival programming) squares up to the challenge with this bold, necessarily harrowing tale of oppression and resilience which spans the greater part of the 20th century.

Aline Spears (played at different ages by Grace Dove, Summer Testawich, and Carla Rae) is a happy, gifted child, until she and her siblings are removed to a residential school. The scars of that experience will run deep through the remainder of their days, though it will not be the only time that official government policy will act as an instrument of abuse and trauma. Despite this, Aline enlists in WWII, where, ironically, her fluency in Cree becomes a national asset. The reward for her service is yet more anguish and struggle.

This is a tough film, but it has epic ambition, deep-rooted conviction, anger, and urgency. Clements is not afraid to make provocative and important connections, and she marshals an outstanding cast of Indigenous actors with care and compassion.

This program contains scenes that may distress some viewers, especially those who have experienced harm, abuse, violence, and/or intergenerational trauma due to colonial practices.

Support is available 24 hours a day for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools and for those who may be triggered by content dealing with residential schools, child abuse, emotional trauma, and racism. The national Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line is available at 1-866-925-4419.

About VIFF | viff.org

Founded in 1982, the Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society is a not-for-profit cultural society and federally registered charitable organization that operates the internationally acclaimed Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) and the year-round programming at the VIFF Centre. VIFF produces screenings, talks, conferences and events that act as a catalyst for the community to discover the creativity and craft of storytelling on screen.

Film Reviews

HAPPY 40th to VIFF!

How convenient and nice of the Vancouver International Film Festival to let us stream most of the 2021 movies, documentaries, short films + animations from the comfort of home. But what was really wonderful after such a long hiatus, was to be able to view these amazing films in person “in-cinema.” Seems like a long time.

Highlights:

VIFF could not have been more excited to roll out the red carpet this year with Special Presentations that were a cause for celebration. The scope of work that was showcased was simply phenomenal, featuring auteurs like Terence Davies and Kenneth Branagh; stars such as Tilda Swinton and Benedict Cumberbatch; and a spectrum of stories ranging from intimate human dramas to towering historic narratives.

**Belfast** is a 2021 *British-Irish* black-and-white coming of age comedy-drama film written and directed by **Kenneth Branagh.**

Special Presentations included one world premiere, one Canadian premiere, and the latest addition to the VIFF lineup: The Power of the Dog by Jane Campion, which focuses on the charismatic rancher Phil Burbank who inspires fear and awe in those around him until his brother brings home a new wife and her son, tormenting them until he finds himself exposed to the possibility of love; starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons and Kodi Smit-McPhee. Additional highlights included the world premiere of The Sanctity of Space by Renan Ozturk and Freddie Wilkinson, which follows the directors as they traverse Denali National Park and uncover the story of pioneering photographer and cartographer Bradford Washburn; the Canadian premiere of Red Rocket by Sean Baker (The Florida Project), a luminous, seriocomic fable about America’s underclass through the eyes of a washed-up porn star in Texas; and Memoria by Apichatpong Weerasethakul, the director’s first film in English starring Tilda Swinton as an expat orchid grower in Colombia with a strange malady.

**Power of the Dog** – Jane Campion, Australia/New Zealand, 2021. In her strongest movie since The Piano, Jane Campion turns the machismo of the Western film on its head. **Benedict Cumberbatch** is the tyrannical cattle rancher at war with his own brother (Jesse Plemons) in this stark, revelatory drama.

The only animation I screened was Lamya’s Poem, the animated feature whose voice cast includes Mena Massoud (Aladdin), Millie Davis (Wonder) and Faran Tahir (Iron Man).

The film charts the story of a 12-year-old Syrian refugee who is given a book of poetry of classic 13th-century Persian poet, Rumi. As the perils of her journey mount, the book becomes a magical gateway. It was amazingly well executed.

I followed that with Disney blockbuster “Cruella” featuring the two “Emma’s” – Stone and Thompson – both outstanding if you haven’t already seen it. Reminded me of “The Devil Wears Prada.” This was not part of the VIFF lineup; but it made me ponder the notion of having watched an excellent animation that was based on a real person with historical fact followed by a movie acted out by real people that was based on animated fiction.

We hope you join us next year. In the meantime you might be able to catch “best of the fest” at https://viff.org/Online/default.asp

Film Reviews

I Care, A Lot

I’m just here to help… because movies are one of life’s little pleasures and if they include a message… all the better. This movie certainly does.

Rosamund Pike just won the Golden Globe for best actress in a Musical or Comedy. I Care, A Lot is a new black comedy (now showing on Netflix in the USA & Amazon Prime in Canada). The trailer piqued my interest. That and knowing that both Dianne Wiest and Peter Dinklage are supporting actors in this timely movie. In fact, just saw a news story last night about eerily reminiscent misconducts in care homes addressed in the film.

In light of a recent conversation between my boyfriend and my brother and the fact that so few people are making effort to question or think about what they are being told, sometimes the best way to get them to think is to talk about a film.

Films are often ways to reach people who are trying to “escape” their reality… which is to say, to be entertained without having to think. But whether we like it or not, films actually do make us think about topics we might not otherwise ever think about, whether it be the drug smuggling trade (Queen of the South, Narcos and El Chapo), the espionage world (e.g. James Bond and the Bourne trilogy of films), the world of grief and loss (Manchester by the Sea), or the fanciful world of royalty and privilege (The Queen, The Crown series, the Downtown Abbey series), or the world of high finance (e.g. the series Billions, and the films Wall Street, the Wolf of Wall Street, and the Big Short…)

What they all have in common is that they transport us into a world that allows us to better feel what it would be like to be in that world.

What the “I care a Lot” film is about is just how ruthless the “care” business can be. And this doesn’t just apply to vulnerable seniors. It also applies to doctors and the medical profession. That’s what the film Patch Adams with Robin Williams was about.

There are two types of people in this world. Predators and Prey!

This has implications for how our society is reacting to Covid. We tend not to question government because we think governments always have our best interests in mind. But if you don’t realize that the policy-making apparatus within so many government departments has been so captured by large corporate players, that it’s easy for them to pervert the science so they can make money. The end point are products unleashed into the market place that have been insufficiently scrutinized.

Peter Dinklage in I Care, A Lot – Neflix

This is what the back-story of “I care a Lot” is all about. It’s about trusting people and officials who are great at giving the impression that they really care, where in reality, their talking the talk is little more than marketing schmooze designed to get we the consumers to buy their questionably reliable products and/or services. This is what sets us up for maximum exploitation.

You can change the world if you care enough. But you can also change the world if you don’t care enough.

Here’s the Trailer:

https://www.imdb.com/video/vi1114947865?playlistId=tt9893250&ref_=tt_ov_vi

Film Reviews

VIFF: This week in closing…

Today marks the last day of the Vancouver International Film Festival with a short review on the last film I watched.

It’s also the day of the first vice-presidential debate of 2020 and the day I start baking again.

Right now I have a banana walnut loaf in the oven and I’ve finished baking the most delicious lavender pepper cheese scones. I’ll share that recipe with you soon because I know you’ll love it, and when you find out how easy they are to make it’s sure to become a staple. But right now…

From the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF): Contemporary World Cinema

Hammamet – Italian (French thrown in on occasion) with English subtitles.

The question is “what the hell was going on in Italy during a time many in government were perceived as being indistinguishable from the Mafia?”

Italy revisited – last night I watched a movie about an Italian historical leader that I did not know anything about and at first was reluctant to watch. Bettino Craxi was the leader of the Italian Socialist Party (1976-1993) and Prime Minister of Italy from 1983 till 1987.

I now understand why this semi-biographical drama was a box office hit at home in Italy. The drama directed by festival favourite Gianni Amelio’s (La Tenerezza, Open Doors, Stolen Children) traces Craxi’s final months with his family at his oasis villa in Hammamet, Tunisia, where he fled to avoid prison for crimes of bribery and corruption.

Hmmm….bribery and corruption. While not as prominent a thing in Canadian, influence peddling via campaign contributions from corporate sources definitely remains a thing in US politics.

But let’s get back to the Mediterranean, shall we? The scenery is lovely as you can imagine (Tunisia, Italy), however, I give this one three *** out of five stars…if only because I unfortunately did not find it exciting or as interesting as I had hoped. Others (especially those of Italian heritage) may appreciate it more.

You still have a little more time to order tickets at:

https://viff.org/

On another note: I updated my “about” page after a few people pointed out that there was nothing about me on that page. Now there is.

Film Reviews

The Hidden Life of Trees

Be like a Tree. Stay grounded, keep growing and know when to let go – unknown

So it’s October already. Happens quickly doesn’t it? The time of year when the trees begin to shed their leaves and it’s such a beautiful sight to behold. As Vincent Van Gogh once said “If you truly love nature you will find beauty everywhere.” Speaking of which…

There’s much more to trees than meets the eye

Last night I watched an educational documentary (German with English subtitles) about The Secret Lives of Trees – what they feel and how them communicate. Part of Vancouver International Film Festival’s (VIFF) Impact series for 2020.

In 2015, Peter Wohlleben, a German forester, published a popular book titled “The Hidden Life of Trees” that became a best‐seller.

Life, Death and Regeneration…

In this intriguing documentary, Peter Wohlleben shares his deep love of woods and forests and explains his observations and presents the science behind the secret and previously unknown life of trees and their communication abilities.

We find out…

Much like human families, tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, and support them as they grow, sharing nutrients with those who are sick or struggling and creating an ecosystem that mitigates the impact of extremes of heat and cold for the whole group. As a result of such interactions, trees in a family or community are protected and can live to be very old. In contrast, solitary trees, like street kids, have a tough time of it and in most cases die much earlier than those in a group.

In closing…

As Wohlleben says, a happy forest is a healthy forest, and he believes that eco-friendly practices not only are economically sustainable but also benefit the health of our planet and the mental and physical health of all who live on Earth.

From the VIFF Catalogue:

A forest is a super-organism, like an ant colony. Trees are interconnected, they communicate with each other, and even share community health care. Best-selling author Peter Wohlleben is our environmental tour guide for this eye-opening introduction to a new philosophy of forestry. We meet the oldest known tree in the world, a 10,000 year old Swedish spruce; burned out pine farms; succulent deciduous woods; there’s even a cameo from David Suzuki. You will never look at a tree the same way again.

I give this one three stars *** (interesting knowledge but slow moving).

Check out more films/documentaries/talks:

https://viff.org/

Film Reviews

Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President

There are presidents and then there are presidents

Then there’s Jimmy Carter. Right after Nixon and right before Reagan, sworn in as 39^th president of the United States of America. An unlikely candidate at first became one of the most liked in recent history. From Georgia, he was a tireless humanitarian and advocate for equality and “black lives matter” way before the phrase became known.

“I’ve never had more faith in America than I do today. We have an America that in Bob Dylan’s phrase is busy being born, not busy dying” – President Jimmy Carter states in the opening scene of this inspiring documentary, part of VIFF’s MAD series (Music/Art/Dance). He knew all the words to all of Dylan’s songs.

You begin to realize in short order what the Allman Brothers, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, John Lennon, Garth Brooks, Jimmy Buffet, Charlie Mingus, Aretha Franklin and countless other musicians had in common besides their music. They were all personal friends of music aficionado Jimmy Carter.

I enjoyed this doc so much more than I expected to. It’s such a feel-good story with incredible music and interviews from the best of the best.

Watching this was extremely refreshing especially before the eve of the first presidential debate in 2020. You come to realize what’s been missing ever since. I think everyone should see it.

“We must adjust to changing times and still hold to unchanging principles” – Jimmy Carter.

From VIFF Catalogue:

When the USA hit rock bottom in the mid 70s after years of war and corruption, the nation turned to a Georgia peanut farmer. Jimmy Carter was a devout Christian and a man of impeccable integrity. He was also a music fan. June Carter Cash claimed to be a cousin; Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan would become firm friends, and the Allman Brothers kept his campaign afloat. This rocking reminder of a very different brand of politics suggests you can tell a lot about a candidate from his musical affiliations.

“We can choose to alleviate suffering. We can choose to work together for peace. We can make these changes — and we must.”- Jimmy Carter, Nobel Lecture.

Check out: https://www.cartercenter.org/

I gave this five 1/2 out of five stars *****+

For more films/documentaries/talks visit

https://viff.org/

Film Reviews

Citizen Penn

No matter your views of Sean Penn, this startling documentary about the destruction and lives lost from the shattering 2010 earthquake in Haiti is sure to change how you see him.

Not that he cares what you might think mind you. He didn’t travel to Haiti to bring attention to himself. No. Like other first-responders on site, he too played an admirable, tireless “hands-on” role in the wider humanitarian effort to save lives, and to bring much-needed medicines, money and peace to a disturbing situation. After spending millions of his own money, he tried to raise more funds by hosting galas with celebrity friends only to become disappointed when many did not come through as he had hoped. And on this score, he has no trouble calling people out and speaking his own mind, a feature of Penn’s character which has, in past, elicited controversy.

Still, this documentary remains truly eye-opening if not heartbreaking, especially for a nation struggling to restore a more tolerable measure of normalcy in the aftermath.

Penn once compared Port-au-Prince to Detroit, saying, “It’s not more dangerous, it’s not less dangerous.”

To quote from the VIFF catalogue:

Penn, whose father Leo was blacklisted as a Communist, has made no secret of his disgust of American imperialism, and has regularly ventured to places like Iraq, Venezuela, Cuba, and New Orleans post Katrina. But as this film chronicles, over the last decade much of his energy has gone into supporting the people of Haiti after the devastating earthquake of 2010, which claimed a quarter of a million lives and displaced many more.

Penn arrived with a small team of volunteers and urgent morphine supplies donated by his friend Hugo Chávez. More surprising, perhaps, is that he opted to stay on the island for months, taking over leadership of the largest refugee camp when the US military left. Culled largely from footage shot on the ground at the time, but also drawing on interviews with Penn, Anderson Cooper and others, the film is a vivid account of first person activism, the expediencies of life and death in a disaster zone, and one man’s dedication to direct action.

In the wake of his efforts in Haiti, Penn went on to create an emergency response NGO known as CORE, which not only trains and empowers local volunteers in the US to help communities deal with natural disasters like hurricanes, but more recently, even the Covid-19 challenge, by getting N-95 masks into the hands of those who need them most, as well as helping with on-the-ground Covid-19 testing for the population at large.

We were an airplane that built itself after take off, and that’s a perilous ride in so many ways; and how it ended up surviving was the force of will of hundreds of people.

— Sean Penn, Co-Founder & Chairperson of the Board

The bottom line take-away message from seeing this documentary was in witnessing how a single person can leverage their own celebrity power to effect enormous good in alleviating the suffering of others in our world, and how one can inspire others to do likewise.

I gave it five out of five stars *****

check out more films/documentaries/talks:

https://viff.org/