Film Review - A Quiet Place

Day 89 flashes up on the screen. a family is moving quietly through a drug store in a deliberate quiet manner. The focus falls on the daughter who appears to be the eldest (Millicent Simmonds) is deaf as evidenced by muffled sounds when the perspective switches to her point of view. The family gets medicine for their middle son Marcus (Beau Abbott) while the youngest son Beau (Cade Woodward) picks up a toy space shuttle. Dad Lee ( John Krasinski) who also wrote and directed the film takes away the toy removes the batteries warning that it will make too much sound.  The barefooted fail begin the treck home then Beau pulls out the space shuttle that begins to flash and make noise. Lee turns to rush towards his youngest son as the bushes move a monster appears sweeping the young child off the road to his death.

In this near future world, Earth's population has been significantly reduced by monsters that are extremely fast lethal and rely completely on sound. You can walk right by them if you're quiet but if you step on a branch you're savaged and killed. Writer-director star Joe Krasinski presents a tale that draws you in from the opening scene. The Abbots are at an advantage as their oldest daughters deafness means that the entire family is comfortable and prolific in sign language. Sound and music also play a rage part in setting the tone for the film as does the special effects department for crafting the look, movement, and mechanics of the monsters. The goal is simply to protect your children especially given what occurred earlier in the opening sequence.

Krasinski's real-life wife Emily Blunt leads the cast as the pregnant matriarch Evelyn when the story skips ahead to day 473 after the horrid opening events. As the audience sees that she is pregnant the mind automatically races: how is she going to give birth at home in quiet, don't' babies cry won't that attract the monsters. Millicent Simmons continues her string of break to performances having last been seen in Wonderstruck. Regan blames herself for the death of her younger brother having given him back the confiscated toy. She is frustrated her deafness and her dads' repeated attempts to craft a hearing aid that will work. Regan feels that she is more capable that her younger reluctant brother Marcus but her dad continues to favour him. British young actor Noah Jupe is effective as the fearful middle child that is being groomed as the next man up. He doesn't want the responsibility is scared of making any sound and reliant on an ever scarcer supply of medicine.

A Quiet Place is a horror film that travels over fresh untrodden ground. The ensemble cast does not put a step out of place backed by a simple yet effective script and a crisp 90 minute run time. This is one where audience members can effect your movie-going experience. They have to buy in early, be quiet or your suspension of believe will be shattered. It's a breath of fresh air that challenges your senses that I can highly recommend.

*** 1/2 Out of 4.

A Quiet Place | John Krasinski | 2018 | U.S.A. | 90 minutes.

Alien, Silence, Sign Language, Deafness, Hearing Aid, Pregnancy, Childbirth, Short Wave, Grain Silo.

Canadian Film Fest '18 Film Review - Room For Rent

18-year old Mitch Baldwin (Mark Little) wins 3.5 million in the lottery. He begins to play air guitar with the big check starting his descent into jerkdom trying to buy acceptance from the cool kids mixed with bad investments, inventions, and patents lead to squandering the money. His dad (Mark McKiney) and mom (Stephanie Weir) are over supportive of the now 30 Mitch living at home, not working surrounded by his past failures. But when Warren is forced into early retirement the finances no longer work creating a crisis that may mean the sale of the family home. To avoid this Mitch recommends that they rent out the spare room bringing Carl (Brett Gelman) to the front door. Upon moving in Carl is the son that the Baldwins never had. He pays rent and in advance, helps out around the house listen's to and tells good stories. But when alone with Mitch he acts differently. Taking steps to push him out of the house. Our protagonist employs countermeasures turning to two people from his past both of whom he had a falling out with over the money.

Director Matthew Atkinson cuts a new distant path with this film. It has many laugh out loud moments mixed with some single white femalesque moments between Mitch and Carl. Mitch's relationships with the two former high school friends are both not as expected. His ex- girlfriend Lindsey (Carla Gullo) who has every reason to hate him surprises. As does Patrick J. Adams as Hank the popular jock from high school turned cop who was only friends with Mitch back in the day because he would pay for everything.

Brett Gelman leads the cast as Carl. His character has several arcs and twists all hit on the nose by Gelman. He generous, confrontational, scheming, thoughtful, vindictive, friendly and bent on revenge at different points during the film. Mark McKinney and Stephanie Weir are well cast as Mitch's overly enabling parents Warren and Betty. the latter doting on his every move putting up with his sloth-like behaviour. While the former lets him live at home rent free with no responsibilities giving up the spare room along with the basement to Mitch's ever losing ideas.

Room to Rent is a refreshing, original addition to the comedy landscape. The story is original mixing in a balance of laughs and tension between the main players. Each of the main characters have depth and range helped by a strong script that moves at a fast pace. The comedy goes beyond the standard sight gags or physical comedy crutches saturating the genre. The whole experience makes for a fun time at  the movies that I can recommend.

*** Out of 4.

Room For Rent | Matthew Atkinson | Canada | 2017 | 89 Minutes.

Tags; Patent, Licence Plates, Stolen Car, Lottery Winner, Stink Bomb, QVC, Evaporilla.

Fox Searchlight Film Review - Isle of Dogs

Fictional Megasaki: 20 years into the future a mass flu outbreak is blamed on the city's dogs by their iron-fisted mayor Kobayshi (Konichi Noumura -voice).  The first dog to be subject to the solution of exile to Trash Island is Spots (Liev Schreiber -voice) the protector dog of Mayor Kobayshi's regent 12-Year-Old Atari (Koyu Rankin - Voice). the rest of the cities pollution falls in line resulting in all of the resident's pets ending up on the island. On the island a short while later we meet a pack of dogs voiced by Wes Anderson stalwarts. Ed Norton voices King the leader of the pack. Bill Murray is Boss a former baseball team mascot, and Bob Balaban supplies the voice for King a former dog food pitch hound back in the city. Jeff Goldblum joins the pack as Duke the gossip with Bryan Cranston as Chief hanging at an arm's length distance a stray with a pension for fighting and biting.

The meat of the story hits when the resourceful Atari crash lands on the island in search of his beloved Spot. He teams up with the pack in an attempt to find his loyal friend. The crew trecks across the island meeting a series of interesting characters on their journey. Nutmeg (Scarlett  Johansson) a former show dog that takes a shining to the rough-edged Chief. They visit the seer dogs Jupiter (F.Murray Abraham) and Oracle (Tilda Swinton) the latter who interprets the news on television for their guidance. A group of students in the city lead by exchange student Tracy Walker (Greta Gerwig) oppose the mayor's plan wanting their dogs back. Science candidate (Akira Ito) Watanabe finds a cure for the flu that is repressed by the Mayor who wants to see cats reign supreme.

Wes Anderson creates a wonderful stop animation world. His fastidious attention to detail is fully on display mainly around displaying Japanese tradition. The film includes a mesmerizing sushi preparing sequence that's pure Anderson. Anderson shares writing credits with regular Jason Schwartzman, Roman Coppola and Nourma who voices the Mayor. The quartet weave a tale that is heavy on the indiosyncracies of Japanese culture giving a grand stage for Chief to grow and evolve balanced by Atari's single-minded quest to find his lost dog.

Isle of Dogs is a welcome addition to Wes Anderson's film catalog.  His ensemble cast of four-legged canines play off each other well. Mayor Kobayshi is an effective villain that ends up opposed to his regent nephew Atari. The action takes place in a  marvelously constructed world backed by an off-beat Alexandre Desplat score making it a film I can recommend.

*** 1/2 Out of 4.

Isle of Dogs | Wes Anderson | USA /Germany | 2018 | 101 Minutes.

Tags, Dogs, Japan, Student Newspaper, Cats, Vaccine, Snout Flu, Train Crash, Orphan, Sushi

TIFF '18 Film Review - Rosie & Moussa

9-year-old Rosie (Savannah Vandendriessche) along with her mum Lilly (Ruth Beeckmans) move into a low-income rental tower at the opening of the film. The are greeted by the buildings Super Mr. Tax (Damiaan De Schrijver) a secret tap dancer warns them to stay away from the lowlifes on the 10th floor Rosie has a prized possession a snow globe from "Katapulco"given to her by her dad who is "out of town." Here we get our first fantasy sequence where the globe comes to life with Papa (Titus de Voogt) occupying it playing guitar.

Director Dorothee van den Berghe adapts the story from Michael De Cock and Judith Vanistendael children's books. On first impression, one would expect that Rosie and her mom Lilly are out of their element in a housing building with new Belgian immigrants. But they are the ones with checkered family relations both sorting out their bond with Papa. The pair adapt to their environment with Rosie becoming fast friend with Moussa (Imad Borji) one of the lowlifes from the tenth floor and mom with Uncle Ibrahim (Mourad Zeguendi) one of Moussa's relatives without papers.

A major subplot is Moussa's goal to be a train pilot as he calls it. He has a spot near the tracks where he goes to watch the commuter trains pass. As the trains rush through it's hard not to believe that this favourite hangout literally shows that the protagonists are living on the wrong side of the tracks. He brings Rosie there enforcing his dream that he will pilot one of the trains when he grows up. Rosie hopes with her volatile homelike that she could get on one of the trains to take her to the other side of the world. The other is Papa's attempt to rejoin his wife and daughter after he returns. He can see that Lilly has moved on and that it may be best for all if he takes a step away for awhile.

Rosie & Moussa is another film in a line from this year's TIFF Kids that teach do not judge by first impressions. Lowlife Moussa has a clear career path, is very supportive of Rosie at key times and is willing to contribute to the school play even if he does not like his part. Rosie's time is half spent in fantasy as she creates an internal world to escape the harsh facts of her reality. Cinematographer Jan Vancaillie and Art director Gert Stas bring to life the fantasy sequences that will delight the grade 4-7 target range for this film. The original nature of the subject matter will no doubt draw in some more.

*** Out of 4.

Rosie and Moussa | Dorothee Van Den Berghe | Belgium | 2018 | 90 Minutes

Tags: Trains, Acapulco, Molenbeek, New Kid, Peer Pressure, School Play, Chop Shop, Caterpillar, Titus, Oysters, Lemonade, Rapping, Visitation, Football, Snow Globe.

TIFF '18 Film Review - Rock My Heart

Jana (Lena Klenke) likes to take dangerous risks. She loves speed, adrenaline rushes, and daredevil maneuvers. The problem is Jana has a congenital heart condition that causes her heart to stop when her pace gets too fast. She has had the condition since the age of 8, is tired of being poked and prodded refusing to have a newly developed surgery that's invasive but could help. After a battle over her future with her controlling fearful mom, Beate (Annette Frier) and more level-headed dad Joachim (Michael Lott) Jana happens upon a horse farm where she bonds immediately with an untrainable horse named Rock My Heart. The horses' owner Pau Brenner (Dieter Hallervorden) needs the stallion to race in the upcoming Rhineland Cup for the prize money needed to dig his farm out of debt.

Director Hanno Olderdissen presents a piece that will hold the attention of tweens and early teens. It's storyline of bonding with an animal, fighting against odds and living up to your commitments are all good lessons. The writing is somewhat telegraphed especially around the subplot relationship with Jana's boyfriend Sami (Emilio Sakraya) who met Jana at a camp for teens with similar ailments. Its reckless thread of Jana refusing her medicine, talking back to her parents and taking wild risks are somewhat troubling but understandable given the fact that the 17-year-old has been in and out of hospitals since the age of eight.

Lene Klenke is very effective as Jana, She can be tough, daring, vulnerable and stubborn all in one scene. Kleneke is particularly strong when she explains how she feels when she riding Rock and why the pair needs each other. Vetran actor Dieter Hallevorden is her perfect foil as Paul Brenner. He teaches Jana discipline, what it means to give your word while he struggles with his own personal financial issues. Emilio Sakraya's Sami is always looking out for Jana's best interest. He wants her to have the experimental surgery that could help her, keeps her secrets against his better judgment and makes a personal sacrifice to help her keep her Rhineland dreams on track.

Rock My Heart is a middle of the road film with a storyline that does not venture too far off track. The ensemble cast delivers on screen but the material could use more original beats. The soundtrack features several saccharine drenched English language songs that are distracting taking away from the moment.   The production has some useful themes that will resonate with the intended audience but will likely not garner wide appeal.

** Out of 4.

Rock My Heart | Hanno Olderdissen | Germany | 2017 | 105 Minutes.

Tags; Heart Condition, Inhaler, Experimental Surgery, Horse Training, Starting Gate, 75 MG, Riding Licence Test, Business Plan, Prize Money.

TIFF '18 Film Review - Children of Genghis

Byamba (Dorjsambuu Dambii) is talking to an unseen Sarah as he treks through the snow to go to school near his Mongolian village. He talks of the cold winter ahead of a flashback to the summer before. We see the Dambii homestead consisting of two large hexagonal yurts. Patriarch Dambii tends to the goats and sheep while his wife Tsetsegee (Ankhnyam Ragchaa) does the milking. The youngest son Ulaanaa  (Sharavdorj Dambii ) runs around as a bundle of energy while the eldest Uuganaa (Dorj Dambii) is much more reserved. The Naadam holiday race and festival is on the horizon bringing the best horse trainer Bold recruiting Uuganaa to ride his fastest horse. Byamba is upset because he likes horses more but at 9 is a year too young to ride in the race.

The Mongolian countryside is a major character in the film. The crew used drones for the sweeping overhead shots and cranes to mount and enhance the sound. The shooting of the horse racing across the countryside is unique. The production mixes real time, slow motion and stop motion shooting to produce a multi-layered end product. Director Zolbayar Dorj went to an isolated area outside of a remote small town in Western Mongolia for the authentic spot to shoot the racing.

The subplot features Sarah (Brittany Belt) a humanitarian worker who has come to Outer Mongolia to pass along safety equipment to the children riders that enter these dangerous 25 kilometer races. She is passionate about her objective but the locals are resistant wanting to keep the traditional ways and not this new hard plastic costume. Her contact Mayor Sundui does not distribute the safety equipment to the children making a comedic moment when she pops by his yurt catching him in the act.

The cast features many nonactors. The three main brothers 12-8- and 4 respectively are all brothers from a local town. Sarah's translator Delgermaa (Normin Davaasuren) is a local singer cast due to her knowledge of English. Batmend Baast as the patriarch Dambii shows the most grown next to Byamba in the film. He stoic refusing to train any horses at the outset. His reasoning dates back to an incident when his father was still alive and their legendary speed horse Beauty. Dambii feels pressure from the villagers and his middle son who begins to train a horse on his own forcing his father back into the game.

Children of Genghis is a study of a people that live a full life focusing on the simple things. They have their horses, farm animals, archery, and wrestling. They have tea and snacks ready for any friend or stranger that comes to visit. Director Dorj uses local no actors in key role giving the piece an authentic feel that rings true. They are steeped in their traditional way passed down through the generations. But are willing to embrace new ways slowly if they will help the individual or the community as a role.

**** Out of 4.

Children of Genghis | Zolbayar Dorj | Mongolia | 2017 | 101 minutes.

Tags: Sweating Horses, F.I.D., Mongolia, Naadam Holiday, Candy, Pact, Yurt , Motorcycle.

TIFF Kids'18 Film Review - Zoo

The Belfast Blitz is the backdrop of Colin McIvor's Zoo which was inspired by try events. Tom (Art Parkinson) handles narration explaining how the German raids over Belfast meant something different to him than others. Shift to the city port for the offloading of a special crate that contained a baby elephant for the zoo. The highlight of the opening segment follows as the townsfolk march following the new arrival and zoo staff through town and up the hill to the zoo. The public can't enter but Tom slips in as his dad is the vet at the facility. The war comes closer leading to the first bombing of Belfast. The government authorities determine that the predatory animals could be a threat if they escaped leading the military to shot them down. Tom seeing that Buster the Elephant could be next springs a plot to free him accompanied by his classmate Jane (Emily Fan) and Pete (Ian O'Reilly).

Director Chris McIvor pulls his story from the pages of history. Tom Hall hatched the plan believing that his father who had been called up to the war would have stopped the shootings at the zoo that he was not strong enough to do. The youngsters turned to the towns cat lady Denise Austin (Penelope Wilton) who is the central historical figure in this event having photos in the cities archive of the real Sheila the elephant and her in her backyard. McIvor includes themes of value to a young audience such as treating animals with respect., Standing up to bullies and a common thread at TIFF 18' drop all preconceived notions.

Art Parkinson runs with the lead youth role building his team to rescue Buster the elephant from the Zoo.  Emily Fan has the complicated role of a 12-year-old girl with the abusive town drunk as a dad and no mum in the picture. The third member of the youthful trio Pete portrayed by Ian O'Reilly pals around with the school bully beating up kids that are different at school while secretly caring for his disabled brother. Toby Jones is the biggest name in the cast as Charlie the security guard. He occupies the hut at the Zoo entrance is strict on admission but at the moment of truth chooses the right thing to do. Penelope Wilton gives a multifaceted performance as Mrs. Austin. At first glimpse, she is the crazy woman in town with way too many animals in her flat. But deep down she is very aware of her surroundings still grieving from a loss she suffered years before.

Zoo is the telling of a little-known event that helped to build the morale of the town at the time when its citizens were put to the ultimate test. Director McIvor and his effects and sound teams do fine work bringing the sensation of the Belfast bombings to the screen. the young leads inject comedy and a sense of purpose and duty that goes beyond the character of may adults in the film. It's a historical event that is worth a watch.

*** Out of 4

Zoo | Colin McIvor | Ireland/UK | 2017 | 97 Minutes.

Tags: Bellevue Zoo, Belfast, Air Raid, Gas Mask, WWII, Elephant, Tiger, Giraffe, Bomb Shelter, Letters, Bully,