The movie world continues the road back to normal. Cineplex is to have all its theatres — 164 across Canada — open again today, and incidentally, three of the most awaited and delayed films are coming next week: Tenet, The New Mutants and for the more classical cinema goers, The Personal History of David Copperfield.
While you’re waiting, check out the strong lineup at the Rio Theatre (http://riotheatre.ca), which includes Inception, another predecessor of Tenet, and the film about John Lewis (who’s being mentioned so often in American politics these days). VanCity’s streaming lineup (at viff.org) is also strong. I feature two films further down the page.
The full list is this ...
The One and Only Ivan: 4 stars
The Sleepover: 3
The Prey: 2½
Coup 53: 4
Rising Phoenix: not previewed
THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN: You want one for the whole family? Don’t miss this one. It’s heartwarming, heartrending and bears a message, too. Some of you will feel tears coming on during the very moving scenes of resolution towards the end. And look at the cast: Sam Rockwell, Angelina Jolie, Danny DeVito, Helen Mirren, Brooklynn Prince, Chaka Khan and others voicing the excellent CGI animals and Bryan Cranston as the live circus owner in charge of them. The story is from an award-winning children’s book by Katherine Applegate, who was inspired by a true tale of a gorilla put on show in a shopping mall in Tacoma, Wash. Stay to the end and you’ll see the real Ivan.
In the film, he narrates his own story (through Sam Rockwell) and wonders why humans always require gorillas to roar and be angry. And he worries he has he lost his edge because the crowds are smaller than they used to be. Cranston is afraid the circus might go broke, but is excited to announce a new attraction is on the way: A baby elephant that through sheer cuteness may save the show. Like when a new baby arrives in a family, Ivan the feels the competition. He’s no longer the headliner. The story veers another way, though. The baby hears an old elephant talk of growing up in Africa and becomes enchanted with the idea of “the wild” and “freedom.” That’s where the movie points, with an aborted escape, a sad death, Ivan emulating a girl’s crayon drawing (“the primate Picasso himself”) and an unexpected dénouement. Director Thea Sharrock has made a very enjoyable film about friends and animals. (Disney+) 4 out of 5
THE SLEEPOVER: Disney used to make films like this, about and geared to families, inoffensive, fairly funny and designed to let youngsters see themselves, although in improbable situations and looking a lot like a TV sitcom. Netflix emulates the style, updates it and offers a wild, but sweet, film that’s ideal for the whole family to watch together. Maybe not teenagers, but tweens and their parents, sure.
The title tells you little. Although a kid does come over for the night, sleeping isn’t what happens. Mom (Malin Akerman) and dad (Ken Marino) are kidnapped and forced to join with a former flame of hers (Joe Manganiello) to attend a Boston high society bash where the king and queen of Moldana will be with a very valuable tiara on her head. Sure, they’re going to steal it. The kids have to rescue them, and what kid can resist a fantastic tale like that? Or to learn things about their parents they never knew. OK, dad is not cool, that they knew. But mom is a former thief, in a witness protection program. And a Canadian at that, although that angle isn’t carried beyond a mention. She’s a skilled fighter, though, and shows it. There are also typical kid issues. The teen daughter (Sadie Stanley) isn’t allowed to have a phone, like all her friends, and the sleepover kid is completely defined by all the things he says he’s not allowed to do. A bed-wetting problem leads to a number of jokes. A boy’s dance caught on video is embarrassing. The film has a good heart and is nimbly directed by Trish Sie, who is known for Pitch Perfect 3 and many commercials. (Netflix) 3 out of 5
THE PREY: Here’s yet another version of one of the most duplicated movie tales ever. The Most Dangerous Game started as a magazine story in 1924, became a film in 1932 and has been reworked or partially copied many, many times on the big screen, on TV and on radio. The most recent, The Hunt, was in theatres around here just weeks ago. This new one about to start streaming is from Cambodia. It has the same narrative — humans are hunted for sport — and the same narrative drive that South Asian films have become known for. Not a lot of moral reflection, though. What you get is action and despicable people doing bad. With a few new touches, though.
A Phnom Penh gang is busted by police and thrown in prison, including an infiltrator (Gu Shangwei), who we learn later is an undercover cop investigating a phone scam that is preying on people in China. An “Interpol tech team” in Beijing is tracking him with a GPS wristwatch implant, but a prison warden (played by the venerable Thai actor Vithaya Pansringarm) lets him and 10 or so other inmates loose in “30 kilometres of wilderness” while a group of tourists (Byron Bishop, as their leader) pay to hunt them down. The warden claims he’s “obsessed with times when man becomes an animal.” That’s exactly what the film does. For some reason, it sells over and over again. Gu isn’t a tough enough presence; but the warden and the lead hunter are. Second-time director Jimmy Henderson keeps the hunt and several martial arts encounters moving briskly. (Streaming starts Tuesday at many video on demand sites) 2½ out of 5
COUP 53 (originally part of my VIFF coverage in October): You might think a coup that overthrew a government in Iran 67 years ago is too old to be relevant today. Not so. The ongoing tensions in the Middle East owe a lot to it. You can see where the belligerent stance of the Iranians, and, in opposition to them, the Americans, originated. You can see what the U.S. learned about regime change and how they applied, or tried to apply, it elsewhere. And finally you get a close look at a superb work of journalism and research. You’ll be enthralled as the facts are found by a team headed by director Taghi Amirani, based in England, co-written by Hollywood veteran Walter Murch and featuring actor Ralph Fiennes speaking the words of the coup mastermind.
The coup was a British action. Iran had elected a left-leaning prime minister who started to nationalize the oil industry. The Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. got Winston Churchill to help, and an MI-6 agent organized the coup, initially without American help. (The Yanks came in later). The Shah became the ruler; American oil companies got into the industry there, and Amirani reveals new details about how it happened. He names the man responsible and found a transcript of an interview he gave for a TV documentary. It was cut out of that film. No wonder; he admits everything. Those are his words that Fiennes speaks for this film. Old clips and new interviews tell the rest, and, at the end, everything is tied to the ongoing mess in the Middle East. A stimulating film. It streams as part of the VanCity Theatre Home series at https://viff.org. 4 out of 5
Incidentally, they're also streaming THE GREAT GREEN WALL, which you might remember I wrote about last week. And praised it. It starts in and features a singer from Mali, which is suddenly in the news after a coup. The film offers some background information and insight that seems relevant.
RISING PHOENIX: It’s too early to have had a preview, but this one sounds interesting just from the people involved. And the subject. This Netflix documentary tells all about the Paralympic Games, which it is said are now the third-biggest sporting event on Earth. British war vets started the games in 1948 and now more than 100 countries and thousands of athletes compete. They live with a disability that keeps them out of the Olympics. Their games follow immediately after.
The film has stories from many athletes, including Bebe Vio (Italy), Ellie Cole (Australia), Jonnie Peacock (U.K.), and Tatyana McFadden (U.S.), who is also one of the producers. British film veterans Richard Curtis and Barbara Broccoli are among them, too, and one man interviewed the Duke of Sussex, who you’ll recognize as the founder of the Invictus Games. Injured or British servicemen with disabilities compete in them. The film premieres Wednesday, Aug. 26.
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