A scene from horror movie EVER AFTER. Courtesy of Level 33
– By Mark Glass –
Though the title of EVER AFTER reads like the ending of a fairy tale, this one’s a horror flick with all the gore that fans of the genre could hope for. But the fairy tale connection still exists. Seven young lovelies go to the prototypical isolated house in the woods for a weekend bachelorette party. We know they’re bound to be besieged by crazed locals but instead of the usual range of DELIVERANCE-style rubes, their assailants are dressed as characters from old children’s tales – Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, etc.
Despite those allusions, there’s nothing amusing about the costumes and masks. Or what their occupants do. I had expected some measure of campy humor in the mix but the script from director and co-author Laszlo Illes never heads in that direction. This is straight slasher fare from the get-go. If you like the zaniness of Rob Zombie’s repertory company of Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig) and his colorful costumed killer cohorts, this will not scratch that itch.
Very little time is spent in fleshing out the young women’s’ characters before their flesh starts getting flailed. A mixed bag of personalities unfolds to some degree during their ordeal but no one grabs the reins as the standard protagonist most likely to survive. EVER AFTER is a low-budget affair, with most of the funds likely spent on crafting and showcasing the yucky stuff, rather than salaries.
The two biggest names – Malcolm McDowell and Kane Hodder (Jason in the FRIDAY THE 13TH series) – only lend their voices to the proceedings. The next most familiar actor, Mark Sheppard, gets a role late in the proceedings that calls for him to ham it up, and he does so with villainous gusto.
No nudity, very little sexual activity. This would be R-rateable solely on the gruesomeness factor. The only novelty lies in the personae of the pursuers. But if you’re in the mood for one of these flicks, you could easily do worse. I certainly have on many occasions.
EVER AFTER opens Friday, Sept. 4, 2026 in theaters and on demand on Oct. 27, 2026.
Adria Arjona in ONSLAUGHT. Photo Credit: Richard Foreman. Courtesy of A24
– By Cate Marquis –
ONSLAUGHT is an action/horror film about a ex-Army sniper defending herself and her daughter against an attack by a team of super soldiers gone rogue in a 1970s style grind-house action film, a few touches intended as gallows humor. But director Adam Wingard’s action/horror flick delivers little, with an uninspired, predictable plot, stock or unconvincingly weird characters, and more style than substance, making even its brief 90 minutes feel too long. After watching this disappointing actioner, one question springs to mind: why is this actioner in theaters instead of going straight to streaming. Far better films than this one have had that fate. Or been shelved for a tax write-off.
The press materials describe the story, which largely takes place in the New Mexico desert at a rundown trailer park, as being about a “badass” ex-Army sniper (Adria Arjona) who “unleashed hell” trying to protect her daughter from “an army of genetically engineered” opponents. There are several points in which this grind-house actioner does not match that description. While, frankly, this writer is less enamored of grind-house action than some, if a film is going to promise this stuff, it should deliver it.
Actually there are only three of these deadly fellows, not an army. They are not “generically engineered” but psychologically-altered and biologically-enhanced veterans like herself who were selected for their ability to survive rather than something lab-created. These super soldiers escape a secret private paramilitary installation that was once a military facility but is now run by an ancient German ex-Nazi played by Dan Stevens, dressed in all white and sporting some weird make-up, with an obvious bald cap with white haired fringe, an unwrinkled face with bushy eye brows but age-spotted wrinkled hands. We first meet this German mad scientist character at home with his younger, dominate wife (Rebecca Hall), indulging in a little foot-fetish fun. The three super soldiers had been activated to demonstrate their skills for a potential client, but when they get loose, Dan Stevens’ German decides a little field testing might be a good idea.
Meanwhile, we first meet Adria Arjona’s ex-sniper, Celeste, as she is engaged in a little target practice with a line of jack-o-lanterns. That they are jack-o-lanterns, not just pumpkins is a tip-off that this woman who has time on her hands. Target practice with a rifle, which she does, makes sense but finishing off the pumpkins with a semi-automatic assault weapon, which she also does, does not make sense, as it is just has to be pointed in the general direction, making that just a show for the camera.
While Arjona’s character has plenty of time to carve pumpkins to shoot up, cleaning the trailer where she lives in a run-down trailer park, is another matter. When she spots her wealthy ex-husband’s car driving up the the worn rural trailer park, she flies into a frenzy of straightening up, bed-making and, responsibly, locking up her weapons. The ex is there to drop off their young daughter, even though it is not Celeste’s week to have her. The ex has some urge business that has come up and just assumed he could drop her off. He also informs her that he is planning to move across the country, and reminds her that she does not need to live in this decrepit trailer park. Celeste tells him she wants to live there, because she feels comfortable among the residents, these fellow wounded people. Their seven-year-old daughter, Daisy (Blake Kennedy), is a sweet, polite little girl who seems not to know her mother well.
The cast is filled out with an assortment of sad residents in the old trailer park, including a cop and a few older military veterans. When the U.S. government gets wind that things have gone wrong at their former military site, they dispatch a young, stylish “fixer” named Cyrus (Drew Starkey), who they call up from his night off at a S&M club.
As far as “unleashing hell,” in fact our sniper mostly is unable to reach her large store of weapons and spends a lot of time knocked on her back and screaming until pure chance saves her from certain death at the hands of whichever super soldier is attacking. The super soldiers are nearly indestructible but they are not too bright and nearly as predictable as the plot of this sorry film.
There isn’t much to say about the acting since the characters are so predictable or stock, and there isn’t much for any of them to work with. However, Dan Stevens deserves mention for his weird-looking old-young German character, only to say that he might reconsider his recent choices of roles. The talented Rebecca Hall is wasted in her small part.
ONSLAUGHT has the gore, violence, body count and bits of sexual raciness that the genre calls for, but it falls short on the specifics the promotional materials seem to promise. Again, it is all style but little substance.
The one perhaps admirable aspect is the film’s sympathy for veterans, mistreated and discarded by the military and their government, and the long history of that treatment that is alluded to in the opening credits montage, which references WWII and U.S. wars since then. Still, that is just background to the carnage, familiar plot and stock characters, and the heroine’s many escapes by mere chance.
As said earlier, at 90 minutes, it still feels too long. Some scenes seem almost laughable with little indication that they were supposed to be comedy, and moments of intended gallows humor are more grim than actually funny. There isn’t much to recommend this action/horror offering, whose much interesting parts are the rather clever opening and closing credits.
ONSLAUGHT opens in theaters on Friday, Sept. 4, 2026.
This weekend’s big streaming premiere harkens back to a movie staple of the 1980s, the “mis-matched” buddy action comedy. And, appropriately enough, it is set in the 1980s. Another exercise in nostalgia, you’d think. Well, it’s a bit more complex than that since a big chunk of it deals with the then still “very frigid” Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union (a bit like that 81′ classic STRIPES). As for the “buddies”, we get a most unusual pairing of actors (and acting “styles”). Toss in much of the main plot of 2001’s BEHIND ENEMY LINES, chill, and then cool off with an irreverent road trip that starts with a frantic distress call of MAYDAY.
It is 1987, the last couple of Cold War years, when we meet Navy fighter pilot and “hot shot”, Troy “Assassin” Kelly (Ryan Reynolds). After helping out another pilot when his jet malfunctions, Troy stops off to visit his ailing papa Harold (David Morse). Troy wants to spend the evening with him, but Dad insists that he join his flyer pals for a night on the town. Their revelry is cut short when they run into their C.O. (Clark Johnson), who wants a private “word” with Troy. He’s going to be the “second seat” or co-pilot on a “hush hush” trek into Russia to snap some photos of a “secret operations base”. However, things go “sideways” when enemy jets attack. The Air Force’s main pilot is killed, and Troy must eject when the “spy plane” is destroyed. Flaming debris rips his chute, causing him to plummet into a snowy Russian forest. Before he blacks out, Troy sees an approaching man with a rifle. When Troy comes to, he’s tied to a bed inside a cabin. His wounds have been treated by his “rescuer”, ex-KGB Nikolai Ustinov (Kenneth Branagh). Ah, but he’s not going to take Troy to the military or the police. It seems that “Nick” adores everything about the ole’ US of A, with posters adorning his walls and a very illegal VHS “bootleg” of TOP GUN always playing on his TV. The place is warm and cozy, but Troy wants to get home. Nick insists that his former comrades are on the hunt for him, so Troy’s best escape plan is to steal an “untappable” airwave telephone and contact the US Embassy in Moscow, many miles away. But he can’t do it alone. Can these two former foes work together to escape the quickly advancing agents of the USSR and avoid an “international incident” that could heat up the COLD WAR?
And so how are these two “action buddies”? Surprisingly good, it turns out. Who’d ‘thunk it? Maybe it’s because they both “eased” a touch out of their “comfort zones”. That’s certainly the case with Reynolds as he softens his motor-mouthed wiseguy persona and makes us really connect to Troy’s plight. He’s the ultimate “fish out of water’ and that’s near the boiling point. Still, Reynolds’ Troy is steadfast, determined, and caring, particularly in the opening scenes with his hospitalized Pop. And Reynolds shows us that Troy gradually warms to his “enemy/healer/guide” Nick, subtly played by the talented Branagh. In past roles, he’s often overwhelmed his roles with bombast and bravado. Here, he shows us the quiet intensity and intelligence of a man hoping to atone for his past while reaching for a brighter new life in that utopian ideal of America (he so wants a Big Mac). Branagh also stuns in the complex “close quarters” combat sequences (can he really be in his 60s?). The film provides him with a great arch-nemesis in the current KGB overlord Volkov, played by Marcin Dorocinski with a constant menacing sneer. He’s disgusted by the warming relations with the US, and sees the capture of Kelly as a way to get Russia “back on track”. Opposing him is Nick’s estranged daughter Anna, played by “Borat’s daughter”, the compelling Maria Bakalova (also great in THE APPRENTICE as the first wife of DJT). She doesn’t hesitate to help Troy in his escape plan, but still questions her papa’s motives, while we see her yearning to reconnect with him. Morse is solid as Kelly senior, as is Johnson’s Troy’s military patriarch. Kudos also to Louis Cancelmi as the humorless Air Force “a-hole” and the hilarious Jacob Hanlon as Gorgo, the lad with the frozen “sour and sinister gaze”.
This is another solid entertainment from the writing and directing duo of Jonathan Go;dstein and John Francis Daly (forever Sam Weir on the one-season TV classic “Freaks and Geeks”). After their last flick, the “better-than-it-deserved-to-be” 2023 Dungeons and Dragons reboot, the team has returned to a more grounded reality with this action-character-driven comedy. And the action is indeed very good, going from the amazing aerial acrobatics in the first act (“Maverick”-worthy), with a nail-biting sky attack, to a dazzling barroom brawl, and a harrowing chase aboard a moving train. Sure, we’ve seen these types of set pieces before, but there’s a terrific vitality to this new “take” mainly thanks to Reynolds and especially Branagh. The Cold War paranoia is expertly recreated, down to a brief ideology debate between Troy and Nick. The film has some great location work, with Canada and Hungary seemingly subbing for Russia. So much of this is truly engaging, though a trip into 80’s action fantasy-overkill involving a big parade just doesn’t mesh with the deft blending of thrills and laughs in the earlier segments. Still, this remains a solid, briskly paced, well-acted nostalgic ride filled with engaging twists and turns that deserved a slot at the multiplex. You’ll give your big-screen home streaming set-up a terrific workout and a cinema showcase for the often marvelous MAYDAY.
3 Out of 4
MAYDAY streams exclusively on Apple TV on Friday, September 4, 2026
This 16th season of “Murder In…” – like the others – is an anthology of eight 90-minute French telefilms, with each having a different cast and location. There’s no need to have seen the earlier productions, or to watch these in any order, since there’s no overlap among them. They’re all quite good, with some appealing to me more than others. But there’s not a clunker in the seven made available for review as I write this.
Each title is “Murder In {that film’s location}”. The common threads among them are lovely, sometimes stunning exteriors; a satisfyingly complex murder (or murders) mystery du jour; police protagonists that are easy to root for. The process is invariably mixed with an assortment of personal issues and backstories for characters on both sides of the law. Suspense is sustained until reaching resolutions that make sense from the well-written scripts. As usual for such Eurofare, there’s not a lot of action; no naughty bits shown. We do see the victims in situ and on the morgue tables, but very little gets particularly gruesome.
The first is in Nimes. A dude in a gladiator costume is found with an antique sword stuck in his midsection. He’s dressed for a historical play being staged in the local Roman arena that’s being restored. Juliette Plumecocq-Mech stands out as a grizzled veteran detective on the verge of retirement due to lasting emotional wounds from a family tragedy.
The next occurs in Puy-en-Velay. A woman is found in a cathedral, apparently having died simply from fright, raising questions as to whether it was due to her frail health, or an intentional act. The real star here is Gaelle Bona, playing one of the lead detectives who is going blind from diabetes, and struggling with that even more than with the case.
The next is set in the port city of Honfleur. The local member of parliament is hauled in by some surprised fisherman who find him wrapped in a tarp and covered with salt, consistent with the procedure of a regional legend. The case goes to Captain Justine, who is pissed off by a politico imposing a retired cop-turned-professor (Bernard Farcy) on her. Her anger comes from their shared history that we learn during the episode. Another treat is a plum supporting role for one of my favorite character actors – Dominique Pinon. You may not know his name, but you’ll recognize his face.
Next we move to the city of Caudry in the Dentelles region. It’s France’s lace manufacturing center, and the stiff of the week is a member of the family owning one of the biggest companies. He’s found dead in their factory. The main subplot here involves the local main cop being surprised when his daughter turns up to take the lead. She’s angry as heck; he’s remorseful about whatever happened before they became estranged.
For an idyllic change of pace, the next takes us far away to tropical Marquises in French Polynesia. A distraught cop from France (Sara Mortensen) is there for the wedding of her bestie. Unfortunately, on the morning of the ceremony, Sara goes snorkeling and finds her pal’s body floating over the coral in her bridal gown. The local top cop tries to write it off as suicide, but Sara persists, and they eventually realize it was murder. The investigation dives deeply into local legends, rituals and superstitions, with a nod to the music of Jacques Brel. (digression: Mortensen is a lithe blond with very fair skin. I wonder if they named her character Alba as an inside joke because she contrasts considerably with the sunbaked populace?)
“Murder in Chartres” takes us to the city of that famous cathedral, and another interrupted wedding. This time the Best Man is displayed in the crypt in a Christlike pose, again evoking ritual of regional lore. This one stars another lovely and familiar face – Alexia Barlier – forced to partner with her husband (Gil Almo). They’re both competing for an imminent promotion to Commander, and the rivalry and machinations between them gives this one the most comic relief of the lot.
Family schisms again rule in the murder of the guy who runs Millau’s bird sanctuary. This one features the most spectacular landscapes from soaring cliffs surrounding the town. The lead detective sneaks her disgraced-cop father-in-law into town for help on the case, hoping to heal the long-standing rift between him and her hubby, and give their son a chance to finally meet his grandpa. This one plays out with more of a soap opera tenor than the others, but not enough to annoy your curmudgeonly correspondent.
Considerable credit goes to all the location scouts and directors for making these do double duty as travelogs for the featured areas. As to the stories, my favorites were the first and the fifth (Nimes and Marquises), but your mileage may vary.
Murder In… Season 16 premieres in September 2026 in the U.S. and Canada on MHz Choice.
Over the final weekend of August, something special happened. A movie that wasn’t supposed to see the light of day did. And what happened next was magical – COYOTE VS ACME “bolstered by an online rescue effort and strong reviews, debuted to $15.4 million.” (Indiewire) It was a huge hit with audiences and the film earned an A CinemaScore.
After enduring years of catastrophic product failures at the hands of ACME, Inc, a tenacious, unemployed coyote (Wile E. Coyote) uncovers a corporate cover-up and spearheads an unhinged battle against the multinational conglomerate that’s been blowing him up in the name of profit. Teaming up with billboard accident lawyer Kevin Avery (Will Forte), he takes on slick corporate counsel Buddy Crane (John Cena) and ACME, Inc., the profit-obsessed conglomerate behind every one of the Coyote’s chaotic catastrophes.
From director Dave Green, Coyote vs. Acme is a movie about a hero who always keeps going, no matter what is thrown in his path. As Jim Batts wrote in his review, the film “really has “heart”.
The thing that unlocked the whole movie for me was this idea that we watch cartoons and we laugh at the cartoon characters in them, and we laugh at their cartoon pain. We always have! So, in some ways, the idea of this movie was of us saying, ‘We’re sorry!’ This idea that Wile E. Coyote has been through 75 years of mistreatment and is totally sick and tired of it!” Green says.
“That then became, ‘Well, what if we treated his problem seriously? What if this whole thing wasn’t just a lark but went deeper and explored themes that we haven’t gotten to explore before?’ That was what excited me. This question: ‘What if we created real, actual empathy for Wile E. Coyote?’”
Producer producer Chris deFaria says ““We all believe that we’re Road Runner, but deep down inside, we know we are actually Wile E. Coyote.”
To help answer that musically, Green turned to the Oscar-winning composer Steven Price. For 30 years Price has been composing soundtracks for lauded movies in diverse genres. From the space opera of Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity to the war-torn battlefields of the Brad Pitt-starring Fury, not to mention a four-time action-comedy collaboration with Edgar Wright dating back to 2013’s The World’s End, his work has amplified stories, loading them with thrills and emotion.
For Coyote vs. Acme, Price was tasked with creating an original score that pays homage to classic Looney Tunes music by legendary composer Carl Stalling, while musically bringing the cartoon characters into a modern-day story of corporate intrigue and courtroom drama.
I recently spoke with the composer about his brainwave that would define the unmistakable sound of Coyote vs. Acme. In our discussion about the film, we talked about his research on the classic tracks from the Looney Tunes universe, why we should root for the Coyote, and his obsession with composing scores to give films their unique voice.
WAMG: The first time we spoke was on August 21, 2013 and here it is August 21, 2026. And we spoke about your work on Edgar Wright’s THE WORLD’s END
Steven Price: What a coincidence. The first interview I ever did.
WAMG: Coyote vs Acme. Oh, my gosh. I saw it last week. The movie that almost wasn’t is now here. Reviews are fantastic. It’s doing so well on Rotten Tomatoes.
Steven Price: Yeah, it’s been amazing to see it because it’s been quite the journey, shall we say.
WAMG: How were your first approached about composing and how did David Green say, Hey, I think you’d be great on this film?
SP: I just got called in for a meeting they were cutting in London and they called me in for a chat. They sent me the script, first of all, actually. I remember thinking it was incredibly smart. And I had a vague memory of the original article it’s all based on. I think it’s 1990 in the New Yorker. There was the original Coyote versus Acme sort of article. It’s such a great idea, the idea that he would finally sue for all of the terrible inventions that he’d bought over the years. And the script was amazing. The script was really smart and it felt like this is a really interesting way of revisiting these characters. And it’s got the best of all worlds. You get the fun of the chases and all the sort of slapstick stuff. But at the same time, you’ve got an emotional story about these cartoon characters. So that was exciting. And then I went in, they showed me, I think, 2 sequences that weren’t finished animation or anything like that, but you just got a sense of it and you realized that he was just absolutely nailing this idea. And wouldn’t it be fun to get to do music? And we talked about music and seemed to get along. So that was the start. And then it was a great experience writing it really.
WAMG: The musical cues match all the physicality, the edits, the sound effects. And how did you start planning out how you were going to combine the traditional Looney Tune world that we grew up with real life.
SP: I think the film kind of helps you out because it’s the first thing I was tackling was the start of the film, which is these incredible, authentic Looney Tunes kind of action sequences. And I’d obviously grown up with the cartoons, but I went back and rewatched lots and lots of them. And you’re kind of struck by how amazing the music is in those things and how, they didn’t have computers and all that. They were doing it for real back in the day. The first time they heard it was when it was played on the stage.
And it’s so accurate to the picture. It’s so imaginative. And the way they use the musicians and the orchestra swirling around and people are overblowing instruments to get really sort of pictorial noises out of them and that sort of thing. That was all very inspiring, so I started off doing that. And that was when I kind of established my themes as well. And then you got to take those ideas, but also thread them through into this courtroom kind of drama and this tale of intrigue and corporate espionage and all that stuff. But it was all kind of interlinked and it was kind of fun to work out how you could join the two and make them feel true all the time. It could work for the original Looney Tunes stuff and it would be full of that sort of character. But at the same time, you could slide that in and hopefully make you feel something for cartoon characters that you may not have looked at in that way before.
WAMG: Throughout the whole movie, you can hear the iconic voices of June Foray and Mel Blanc, as well as the traditional Looney Tunes we all grew up with. For many that was their first exposure to classical music like the Minute Waltz from Chopin, the Barber of Seville. Rossini, the William Tell Overture, Richard Wagner’s Tannhauser, and “What’s Opera, Doc” in 1957. So let’s talk about the professional choir singing Roadrunner’s signature Meep Meep, which I thought was so genius.
SP: Oh, it was one of those ideas that came to you and you kind of, you had to work out whether you dare suggest it because it seems so silly. But in my mind, the coyote, Wiley, he’s just an obsessive, right? All he thinks about is the roadrunner. He wants to catch and eat the roadrunner. That’s all he wants in the world. And he keeps trying and every day tries a different way. And the obsession grows and grows and grows. And the idea came. that, maybe he’s haunted by that. Maybe he’s so frustrated after all these years of failure that all he hears in his head is this meep, meep of the thing that keeps getting away from him, you know, all the time it’s going on. And almost felt like it could be like a horror thing, you know, and in his head was this constant sort of mocking him, this meep, meep, meep, meep thing. And so the idea came of doing that with a choir. And I said that to Dave and he was like, that sounds fun. And of course, you can’t demo anything like that because you have to do it for real to know it’s going to work. So then we just had this ridiculous afternoon in Abbey Road, Studio One with a choir, getting them to make that noise. And it was so funny when it first started to happen. You just stood there going, this is good fun. This is great.
WAMG: That’s what I was going to ask you. What was the reaction from the singers, from the choir? When they first get the sheet music, were they, this is great? Were they laughing? Were they like, yeah, this is going to work?
SP: I mean, they’re up for anything, which is great. We had to sit down at the start and have a conversation with them about what the noise was going to be. And I literally had to ask, if you think of the Roadrunner, do you think “beep” or do you think “meep”? And everyone voted for it. And we had to try it both ways because I’ve always thought it’s meep in the cartoon, but if you see it written down, it’s beep. And we tried and it seemed to work that it was meep. So we had that conversation and tried it a few times and then they just seemed to enjoy it, over-enunciating to make it funnier and funnier. And we ended up with the version of the “1812 Overture” with them meeping all over it as well. That was glorious fun.
WAMG: Wasn’t it? When you first hear it, its the Roadrunner, but then you realize, oh, it’s vocals. Oh, my gosh, it’s just mad genius.
SP: There’s something psychotic about it, isn’t there, when you hear it sort of classically like that.
WAMG: And what was the conversation with the film editor or sound editor to have that presence, but for it to be in the background.
SP: We constantly chipped away at it really. I was doing demos from very early on and we all work really closely together. Dave, the director, cast and the editor, myself, we were all constantly trying things and it was kind of fascinating how the comedy would work in these things. You were literally talking about A-frame or two frames would make a massive difference, you know, whether where they cut it or where I placed the music with it. It’s kind of, we had to be really careful to get those moments right because it could make something, feel exciting, feel funny or not, if you got that wrong. So we did a lot of trial and error and Dave was very patient to try a lot of things with me and we’d go a couple of different directions in some places and it gradually started to lock together. And then of course you get the glorious day where you get to record it properly and hear it for real rather than just me sitting in a room pressing keyboards.
WAMG: Since your start, you’ve worked with so many different filmmakers since that first interview. Edgar Wright, you worked on all those films, including The Running Man, which I absolutely loved. It is a great remake.
SP: I was really proud of that one. I enjoyed it.
WAMG: Watch the original, but watch the new version, the updated version, because it’s so good. It really is. You’ve also worked with David Ayer on Fury and Suicide Squad Fury. So with all these collaborations, your scores are not just background noise. It’s always conveying the characters, the feeling, what they’re thinking. So I wanted to ask you about the scene at the end of Coyote vs Acme, where Will Forte’s character is in the courtroom, it’s just so emotional.
SP: It’s one of the things I love to do more than anything really is kind of hopefully find that level of emotion that makes you kind of lean in and not realise it. That feeling of your stomach sort of lurching or just that wave of emotion. And this film sort of had that the performances were so good.
And you know, there was something about him doing the speech about the different way of seeing Wile (E. Coyote), from being this hapless kind of character to being someone who’s resilient and actually really brave and never gives up and that’s sort of admirable, you know, and it was a lovely thing to score because it’s quite a beautifully rousing speech, beautifully written.
So it was so nice to sort of just accompany him really and just build as he built and just follow it along and hopefully the combination moves people.
WAMG: It was just a lovely part of the movie and the score was absolutely perfect for that scene.
SP: The whole thing, to work on a Looney Tunes film that a lot of people keep saying they found it emotional, that’s new, I think, for that world. So that’s a great thing.
WAMG: So switching gears to Sir David Attenborough. You won the Primetime Emmy for Life on the Planet. You’re nominated again for The Ocean with David Attenborough. Both are just magnificent. And he just turned 100. He’s like the oldest Emmy nominee.
What was it like working with him?
SP: It’s been just a massive honour really to work with him at all. I’ve been working with him sort of since about 2014. We did a show called “The Hunt” for the BBC and all the people around him are amazing storytellers and the camera work is incredible. David has got to this point in his life, he’s making different sorts of films and certainly something like the Ocean film. It’s an amazing sort of message piece, really. And it was very different from anything we’d done before. It wasn’t sort of pure natural history. It was a thing designed to make a difference and to alert people to the damage that’s being done in the ocean and kind of suggest that this is unsustainable and it’s having terrible effects on the whole planet.
And it’s also not making money. It is just ridiculous. I didn’t know about any of that. And it takes someone like Sir David to stand and stare at the camera and say that. We wanted the score for that to be as emotional as he was really, and to support every bit of his message. It starts off showing the wonder of the oceans, but then it shows you just how terrible it is. And it goes really dark, the score in that place, but it sends you away with a lot of optimism. And we wanted it to feel different. So that one is a very choral score. That’s a lot of voices all overlapping and kind of the voice of the ocean was what was running through my head when I was working on it. Everything is very fluid and all the voices overlap and it kind of moves in waves. And within that, I think you could find a lot of emotion in different ways. It was a very lovely thing to work on. We’re all super proud of that one.
WAMG: How do you go from all these various genres and still keep it fresh after all these years?
SP: I think you just keep putting yourself in positions where you don’t know what you’re doing. Now, that’s my key. Just continually look for things that you haven’t done before, that you want to do in a different way. And just sort of keep trying to find the heart of a film. I like nothing more than trying to make a score that sounds like it couldn’t belong to any other film. That’s my obsession with this thing. And just try and make something that feels like it’s utterly bespoke to those characters and the way it’s been filmed, every aspect of it. So it just feels like one thing. And these lovely moments, if you do get it right every now and then, it all becomes more than the sum of its parts.
WAMG: Your score for Gravity was so unusual, as if it wasn’t made for that film, but it was.
SP: I love making things. I enjoy trying to find a new sound that feels particular. I remember when we did Fury, a lot of the percussion in that film arc the tank. we got bits of the tank delivered to a studio and we hit it and we scraped it and we did all these things and that became, so you can’t separate the film from the music, and that’s something I try and do as much as possible, really, just to try and make things that feel. you know, super unique.
With the Coyote vs Acme film, there are sounds in there that were drawn from the original sounds from the Looney Tunes effects library from the cartoons, like little clicking noises that they would have for people running, that they’re part of my rhythm tracks. I spent ages trying to do slide guitars that sounded like the Bugs Bunny. You just try and make it feel like it’s right for that film.
WAMG: I have one final question. In 2013, during the World’s End interview, my last question was, what advice would you give the young musicians considering a career as a film composer? You said, “there are always jobs that need to be done. And if you’re a musically minded person and you’re nice to have around, I think people appreciate that. And there are opportunities out there. It can appear very daunting getting into the industry at times, but I think if you’ve got the right attitude, and you’re keen to get involved, ultimately you love to do it. And there are definitely openings for people.”
What do you think about that over a decade later?
SP: If anything, I think it’s even more true. I think it’s probably even harder to get into this thing now than it used to be. There’s so many people, I think everyone’s got a studio, everyone’s got a computer, you can make scores with anything, so it can be daunting to get anyone to hear anything. To me, the way forward is to meet people and to be useful to people. There’s nothing better than when someone’s enthusiastic and wants to learn every aspect of this. I look back on my early days and I’m so grateful that I’d learned every job in film music because I had a go at all of it at some point, and helped people do it. And so when you do get to write your own, you kind of have an understanding of that and that helps. That means you’re not wasting time, you learn those things. You can just sort of focus on the job at hand. So I think people, I get a lot of letters from people who just want to write. And I’m always trying to say, oh, you should do everything. You know, the writing will come. If you’re going to write, you’re going to write anyway. But you know, learn all these other things. There’s loads of ways to, you know, to influence this stuff and to, you know, enjoy working in film music.
WAMG: Do you have anything coming up that we can look forward to?
SP: There’s a couple of things that are finished and ready to go, there’s a film called The Way of the Warrior Kid, which is coming out of Apple, I believe, in November. And then returning to the Natural History world, there’s a limited series that I did for Netflix earlier this year about the Arctic, which is a very beautiful show and really deals with how things are changing in the Arctic and how it’s affecting the people who live there and all the nature around them.
Well, that’s a coincidence. This last weekend of Summer sees another feature film with its roots in Children’s TV pop culture. While the Looney Tunes crew originated as short subjects in movie theatres, when TV arrived, these seven-minute epics had a long-time Saturday morning slot on network TV, while being part of the content for many local “kiddie shows” hosted usually by members of the “news team” (in my area, the longest airing was “Cactus Pete”). This other flick explores the world of puppet shows and other “live-action” programs centering on actors in big puffy costumes that were a staple on “edu-tainment” programs, usually on weekday afternoons on PBS affiliates. Oh, the other big difference between these two movies is that the other one is a satirical comedy while this one is almost purely parody-horror. Yes, you read that right. And, like many other horror icons like Michael, Jason, and Freddy, he’s also best known by his first name. It’s BUDDY.
Oh, and that’s the name of the TV program, “It’s Buddy”.The film’s first moments are the show’s opening titles, introducing the energetic preteen human children cavorting with a six-foot-tall plush orange unicorn. In this bright, shiny pastel-colored world, everything seems to be alive, from the mailbox to the furniture, and even a backpack named “Strappy” that belongs to a young girl named Freddy (Delaney Quinn). There are also some “peripheral adult” humans like Mailman Miles and Nurse Nancy. However, the main”players” are Freddy and her pre-teen pals Wade, Oliver, and Josh. Oh, Buddy is their fuzzy lil’ toy that comes to life and “life-sized” (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key) when the kids speak his name. In this episode, the kids are throwing a big “dance party”, which excites everyone except for the surly (maybe he’s edging closer to being a teen) Josh, who would rather read his SF book. Buddy takes him aside and tries to gently prod him into some dance moves. When Josh balks, Buddy pushes him “off-camera”. On the next episode, there’s a new character in the opening, Hannah. When Freddy and Wade ask Buddy about Josh, Buddy tells them that he’s gone to “Diamond City”. Later, Freddy spies Josh’s book in “Trashy”. And when they see Buddy with Nurse Nancy, the kids know that something is very wrong. Can they escape Buddy’s “slay ground”?The story then switches to the “real world”, as a busy mother, Grace (Cristin Miloti), begins to unravel as she has flashes of a different reality. This concerns her hubby Ben (Topher Grace) and her two sons. These dark thoughts culminate when the TV pops on to reveal a beckoning Buddy, an image Ben doesn’t see. And there’s nothing about this show online. Can she, along with Freddy and her pals, escape the warm, lingering long hugs from this orange “play(slay)mate”?
Most of the heavy human “dramatics’ are handled by two actresses. The one in “reality ” is the talented Ms. Milioti (so wonderful in the HBO limited series “The Penguin”) as the distraught and extremely confused Grace. She is a “woman on the edge” and Milioti draws us into her fearful realizations, while also venting her frustrations when being casually dismissed. In the TV world, it’s Quinn as the increasingly frightened Freddy. She’s the first to see that all is not “sweetness and fun” in their backyard setting. Yet Quinn gives her an inner strength and intelligence that keeps us in her “corner”. Topher Grace uses her sitcom-honed comic timing as Ben tries to understand and stifle this “disruption”. Without spoiling this inspired casting, another one of the trapped humans is played by a cult TV fave who’s a beloved star’s sibling (hint hint). And his fellow traveler is a snarky puppet voiced by a two-time Oscar-nominated actor. But the best vocal performance is Key in the title role (with Sergey Zhuravsky in the big suit), who switches from an all-too-sweet “sing-song” cadence to threatening passive-aggressive menace that is quite chilling.
Much like this year’s big hits OBSESSION and BACKROOMS, this is “high concept horror” on a grand scale, orchestrated by another filmmaker from the online short film arena. Casper Kelly made a big splash with his remarkable 80’s sitcom spoof TOO MANY COOKS a dozen years ago, so he was more than adequately prepared for this deep, deep dive in 1990’s kids’ TV. Crafting the screenplay with Jamie King, they capture the brightly lit, candy-colored fakery of that era, mixing elements of “Pee Wee’s Playhouse”, “Thomas the Tank Engine”, and, well, let’s call him “Purple-saurus Rex”, complete with a quartet of kids a bit too mature for the show’s intended audience. So they have the “look” down pat, but is this an SNL-style TV spoof skit that’s stretched too thin for a feature? This is a fairly brisk 96 minutes, helped by the jumps between the “TV world” and the “real”. And there’s a sustained creepy vibe, heightened by the artificiality of the settings, especially the songs and “hi-jinks”. And, as the online ads promise, it is gory, more than earning its “R” rating, though that is exaggerated to excess. Kudos to the use of practical effects, though some CGI is used sparingly. Kelly and King’s script takes several interesting and unexpected twists and turns that lead to a finale that inspires a deeper dive to explore the hints of a dark, sinister conspiracy. Sure, making fun of that old 90s PBS saccharine slob is an easy target, but there are enough scares, shocks, and gags (in every sense) to warrant a big warm cinema hug for our new movie pal BUDDY. Just remember to smile and do what he says…or else.
The summer cinema season (un)officially ends this weekend, not with a whimper, but with a bang. And a boom. And a crash. And a “Meep, meep”. Yes, at last, it’s the movie that a certain studio (hint: rhymes with “Barner Wothers”) could not kill, though they really, “weallee twied…huhuhuh!”. Now, this was supposed to have been a release for the Summer of 2023, but a funny thing happened on the way to the multiplex (As Mr. Kimball would say on “Green Acres”, ” Not funny ha ha, but more funny-weird and sad”). So, did it take a wrong “toin” at Albuquerque? Nope, the studio “suits” didn’t think it had an audience, so it would have more value banished to a vault, never to see the light of day, as a “tax write-off”. Well, I’m hoping that fans of classic comedies and cartoons will prove them wrong and reward the fine folks at Ketchup Entertainment (who also saved THE DAY THE EARTH BLEW UP: A LOONEY TUNES MOVIE) by seeing, in a theatre, COYOTE VS. ACME (cue “The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down, Mr. Stalling).
The story starts way back in 1992, late at night inside the massive Acme factory. One of its research and development scientists (a familiar face for Golden Age film fans) is trying to expose a nefarious scheme by his employers. Sadly, his cover is “blown”. Jump to now, where it’s (funny) business as usual on the almost-deserted desert roads in New Mexico. Wile E. Coyote is trying, and failing, to catch that lightning-fast Road Runner with gadgets from, yup, the Acme catalog. The battered and hungry critter retreats to his cave and tosses the new device onto a huge pile of useless products. As he concocts a new “bird trap”, something on TV captures Wile’s attention. It’s a commercial for the law firm of Avery, Jones, and Maltese (IYKYK), who specialize in cartoon-related mishaps, promising compensation for all manner of defective gizmos. The blueprint is shelved as Wile embarks on a journey to, of course, Albuquerque. There, Kevin Avery (Will Forte) shuffles into the law office, well past noon. His passion is gone, despite the prodding of his eager, ambitious intern/niece Page (Lana Condor). Their principal clientele is indeed cartoons that want compensation from Acme. But burnt-out Kev is a “settler”, preferring to settle for peanuts ($200 or so), rather than go to court. However, the Coyote strolls in and “upends” everything. He brings his magic “bottomless” bag full of hundreds of failed Acme stuff, and tricks one of the staffers into registering all of them in the lawsuit. Kevin is more than a bit annoyed, since the “swag” ups the suit to thousands of bucks. He’ll honor his “unhinged” client by heading to the Acme offices and asking for a bigger-than-usual payout. In the company’s conference room, Kevin’s rival, Acme’s hotshot “mouthpiece,” Buddy Crane (John Cena), presents a fairly generous settlement form. But instead of signing it and collecting a big check, Wile rips it to shreds. The trial is on. As Kevin and Paige prep for its start, they stumble upon a vast dark conspiracy, making them a target for the mega corporation’s CEO, Foghorn Leghorn, and his “fixers” (“wed” by a “widdle” “yewoah” birdie). And, “that’s not all folks!”…
Not to diminish the animated icons involved, but I’ll first discuss the flesh-and-blood acting ensemble. The heavy lifting is from SNL vet Forte, whose role may have the most interesting “arc”. His Kevin is just “going through the motions’ in his life, always opting for the less-challenging route. Forte’s almost a “humanized” yawn or a lurching hangover, But then he’s revived, much to his dismay, and jolted by this “desert mongrel”. This gives Forte a chance to shine, going from bewildered snark to a gradual quest for new purpose. This may be his best feature performance since NEBRASKA, though he was also terrific as TV’s “The Last Man on Earth”. Not having streamed any of her “To All the Boys..,” shows, I was unfamiliar with Ms. Condor, who is impressive as the naive go-getter Paige. She’s a terrific irritant to Forte’s Kevin, but we see that she’s not a “goody-two-shoes” when the threats from the Acme goons excite her (“a danger rush”). They’re an engaging team. After so many “nice guy” roles (well, the Peacemaker’s not that upstanding), it’s refreshing to see Cena as an all-out baddie. He makes Buddy the ultimate bolo-wearing, blustering fratboy bully (aw, don’t hoit da’ boid’!). He has an excellent toadie sidekick in P.J. Byrne (he’s almost part ‘toon as he just bounces back for more abuse). The best “deadpan” performances come from the near-stoic Martha Kelly as Kevin’s partner, the off-kilter Dottie, and Luis Guzmán as Judge Troppogrosso, who will not put up with any of these wacky shenanigans in his courtroom. As for the “non-fleshies”, the uber-talented Eric Bauza is a marvel as most of the Looney legends (check out the recent HBO shorts he voiced), while Candy Milo handles most of the lady Looneys and Jim Cummings provides great grunts and slobbers for a real “devilish” delight.
It appears that the third time feature-directing is the “charm” for David Green, who deftly navigates the chaos created from the script crafted by Samy Burch, Jeremy Slater, and James Gunn (yes, Mr. DC Studios) adapted from the 1990 New Yorker article by Ian Frazier. Happily, it is an adoring love letter to those geniuses who toiled away in the old “Termite Terrace” creating those enduring seven-minute masterpieces. Many scenes can barely contain the “eye candy” as so many supporting and “one-shot” characters dot about (blink, and you may miss a quickie cameo by an MGM star). Though I had lots of praise for 2022’s CHIP ‘N DALE: RESCUE RANGERS satiric retooling, this film is even closer in spirit to the sublime WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (now 38 years old..”paleeze”). But this time around, the “toons” aren’t “second-class” citizens that must stay in the “Toontown ghetto”. They live and work right alongside us. As for their “look”, the animators have recreated and revived them with loving care, emulating all those classic creators (mostly Clampett and Jones homages). And unlike those SPACE JAM flicks, they’re not “over-rendered” with every strand of hair or fur delineated. It’s that classic 2-D “cell” outline with a subtle shadow overtone. The highlight being the lead toon, whose delightfully detailed body language (and a “limited number of signs”) evokes the classic silent film comedy stars. That “varmit” also creates a couple of wonderful “Rube Goldberg” inspired inventions (oh BTW, you really should check out the children’s book series inspired by Rube, lavishly illustrated by the award-winning Ed Steckley; we now return to our regularly scheduled review, already in progress…) We always know the moods of the “plantiff”. Still. I don’t wish to take away from the human cast who greatly aid in making the cartoon feel “real” (Bob Hoskins would be pleased). My only complaint is some listless CGI crowd characters (what’s with the lil’ brown duckie near the end) and the “vewy” mediocre rendition of one of the few human-like cartoon icons. Yes, the laughs are frequent, but though it might seem a cliché, this really has “heart” as Kevin learns to care and the whole WEC/RR dynamic is explored and almost explained (it’s a real relationship). Many moviegoers may go due to the whole “forbidden fruit” trope (“Nobody’s gonna’ say I can’t see somethin’!”), but they’ll also be rewarded by the surprising acting, artistry, and ideas that abound in the “escaped entertainment” of COYOTE VS. ACME. Court dismissed, or as a pantless pig would say, “That’s all folks!!”
3.5 Out of 4
COYOTE VS. ACME is now playing (finally) in theatres everywhere
Antonio Banderas and Dominic Sessa in TONY. Courtesy of A24
– By Cate Marquis –
Before he was Anthony Bourdain, the famous chef/author/TV star was just Tony, a rather arrogant, obnoxious yet unsure 19-year-old college student with ambitions to be a writer, who finds himself in the quirky Provincetown during the summer. Less a biopic than a coming-of-age tale, Tony Bourdain learns lessons in cooking, people and himself during this pivotal time in idyllic Provincetown. It is the summer that changes his life.
That pivotal moment came in 1975, when a chance meeting with a girl from his high school led the 19-year-old to the unique Provincetown, a beach enclave at the tip of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. An impulsive decision leads to a summer that will change the course of his life. TONY is more an origin story, and a coming-of-age tale, than a biopic, where the young Bourdain learns lessons, about cooking, people, life and himself, during a pivotal time in this quirky, creative community, to becomes the man he would be.
Whether or not you are a fan of Anthony Bourdain, either for his bestselling books like “Kitchen Confidential” or his hit TV food-and-travel shows, TONY is simply an excellent film, the best kind of coming of age story, in which a seemingly-set life path is completely altered, but also a journey that is entertaining and filled with the crazy impulsiveness of youthful adventures.
Although it is a pivotal moment in one individual’s life, and gives is insight on who Bourdain was then, there is also something universal here, particularly for anyone who has experienced a pivotal life moment. Director Matt Johnson’s film somewhat fictionalizes Bourdain’s experiences, compressing three summers into one and combining some people into composites, yet it gets to the basic truth of young Tony’s experiences, the way another slice of life biopic, MOTORCYCLE DIARIES, captured the essence of a pivotal time when a privileged, asthmatic Argentinian medical student was changed into the person who became the revolutionary Che Guevara. Of course, Bourdain was not a revolutionary in that sense, but his writings and TV shows did much to revolutionize people’s perceptions of professional kitchens and the work and lives of chefs.
Dominic Sessa, who was so good in THE HOLDOVERS, is excellent as young Tony, playing him with the right balance of sympathetic and grating, a kid who is obnoxiously braggy and overly confident yet is clearly covering up his massive insecurities. A student at Vassar, Tony has applied for a writing grant for the summer, although he tells his friends he is only doing to have money to support a summer of idleness. Overconfident Tony is almost off-hand in his interview for the grant, seeming to assume they will give it to him, and certain he is dazzling them with his brilliance, when in fact he is grating than anything. At home with his parents, Gladys Sacksman Bourdain (Dagmara Dominczyk) and Pierre Bourdain (Rich Sommer), we see his other side, and get insight on some of the basis for his mix of braggadocio and insecurity, with his hovering, overly positive father, and coldly judgmental mother. Escaping from the pressures of family dinner, he runs into an old crush from high school, Nancy (Emilia Jones), who mentions she will be staying in Provincetown for the summer. After playing cool while bragging about his sure-thing writing grant, he secretly plans to follow her there.
Nothing quite works out as planned and Tony finds himself in Provincetown with no money and no place to stay. He sleeps, uninvited, on the porch of a beach-side bungalow, until he is discovered by the owner of the house, the chef/owner (Antonio Bandera) of a local seafood joint. The chef lets the boy sleep on his porch but puts him to work in his restaurant as a dishwasher, the lowest spot on the restaurant social ladder. Lazy and arrogant Tony finds himself forced to work harder than he ever thought he could in the kitchen, an experience he feels both as a come-down and a wake-up call for the teen who grew up in a privileged background, but it is a lesson that shifts his view of what life could offer.
After hours, Tony joins parties at the house Nancy and her friends are renting, where he tries to present himself as a writer and conceals that he is working as a restaurant dishwasher, He also finds himself, reluctantly, befriended by outgoing, confident Sal (Leo Woodall) and drawn into sometimes risky after-hours fun. Charismatic Sal is a risk-taker who lives on the edge, has a temper, and doesn’t always think things through before he rushes in. In the kitchen, Tony and his other co-workers, Tyrone (Michael Jibrin) and Stavros (Stavros Halkias), and waitress Mary (Monica Raymund), eventually create their own kind of community of teasing camaraderie and craziness, despite Tony’s initial stand-offishness.
We do get some glimpses, although not enough, of the wonderful Provincetown, a beach town at the tip of Cape Cod known for its artist colony nature and being a welcoming community for free-spirits. The film captures some of that in a community crab boil on the beach. We also get a few shots of famous locations, such as the Lobster Pot, but mostly the film focuses on the beach and the community, particularly its roots as a Portuguese fishing community turned summer beach resort. The present-day Provincetown is still a wonderful place, partly artist colony and part gay community within a summertime beach resort, and still a place that embraces the quirky and unique.
Antonio Banderas is marvelous as the owner/chef of the restaurant, a mysterious fellow who lives alone in a beachfront cottage filled with books and fine wine. We never hear his real name and he has an accent that hints at his connection to the town’s early Portuguese fisherman roots but he never says where he is from. His hole-in-the-wall restaurant serves up lobster rolls and other casual beach resort fare yet his kitchen is filled with high-level cookbooks. Hints of a high-level of skills are revealed in unexpected ways, such as making his own ketchup from scratch, although he pours into recycled commercial bottles, and making the salt in the shakers on the tables from the sea, without letting patrons know he is doing those things. He is unquestionably a chef, not a cook, and he keeps a distance from the staff.
The story follows both Tony’s romantic pursuit of Nancy and his transformation by his summer experiences in the kitchen, a job he conceals from Nancy, while trying to impress her with skills like opening oysters. The film explores the staff dynamics in the kitchen and Bourdain’s growth as a person, as well as delving into the character of his would-be girlfriend, the mysterious chef and edgy co-worker Sal who befriend Tony and introduces him to the free-spirited, often wild after-hours camaraderie and social whirl of restaurant workers.
Director Matt Johnson has a sure hand in telling this immersive, relatable story, which draws us in whether we care about this individual or not, making it seems both universal and specific. We get a sense of what working in a restaurant kitchen is really like, and even better, a sense of the magical community spirit of Provincetown, a place that welcomes those who do not fit in elsewhere.
It is worth noting that the film offers a more realistic look inside a working restaurant than shows like “The Bear,” which is more sanitized, controlled and calm than real restaurants. TONY shows the real chaos and mix of misfit and oddball characters, as well as the honest community that forms, in real restaurant kitchen, as well as the social stratification by job prestige, with the lowest being the dishwasher.
The story is based on, sometimes more inspired by, formative events in Bourdain’s young life but this is not a documentary as it departs from facts at several points. The events depicted took place over three summers, not one, and the girl of his dreams in the film was actually his high school sweetheart who became his first wife. The restaurant was one of many in Provincetown and the chef is a composite of various ones as well as his mentor, and other characters are also composites. However, all those departures from fact do not keep the film from telling the basic truth of Bourdain’s transformative experiences in and the changes are used by director Matt Johnson to elevate this film into wonderful storytelling. While it is not strictly factual, it gets at the heart of how his time in Provincetown changed Bourdain’s life direction for good, and for his good.
Dominic Sessa is superb as Tony, taking the character through all his complex changes, and making us care about him even at his snottiest, most unlikable moments. Likewise, Antonio Banderas gives a tour-de-force performance as the closed-mouth yet intriguing chef, who helps Tony find focus and the talent, buried within him. Leo Woodall, who was so good in the indie film TUNER, does a wonderful job as Tony’s fun-loving but deeply flawed kitchen buddy, opening Tony up to new experiences but also showing him where his own life could go very wrong. Emilia Jones is also strong as Nancy, who gives Tony confusing signals on romance but whose elusiveness helps keep him on track in some ways.
TONY is a very entertaining, insightful film in its own right, even without thinking about the real person behind it, but it is something extra special for those who admired Anthony Bourdain and mourned his loss. The film ends with some text about the accomplishments Bourdain went on to but refrains from anything about his death. Choosing to focus just on his life, during and after his time in Provincetown seems fitting.
Oh, sure, Labor Day is just a couple of weeks away, and most kids are already back in school. However, that doesn’t mean that there can’t be a few new family-friendly flicks opening at the multiplex this weekend. Now, I’d say that next week’s big movie is truly “all-ages”, though this one opening today is really aimed at the grade-schoolers. Unlike the recent sequels and “game IP” like the Marios, here’s a feature with literary roots, proving that the big-screen adaptations aren’t limited to Seuss and C.S. Lewis. Here’s a tale taken from a book series that started way back in 1939. Not to worry, this is very much set in the modern world. It explores how some 21st-century tech-savvy pre-teens might react after encountering THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE.
This is the tale of the Thompsons. The family of five is led by dreamy stay-at-home papa Tim (Andrew Garfield) and inventor/breadwinner mama Polly (Claire Foy). They’re a bit flustered that their three kids are too attached to their “devices” and “screens”. Despite the protests of Tim, his dinnertime pasta dishes are ignored by eldest daughter Beth (Delilah Bennett-Cardy), son Joe (Phoenix Laroche) donning a VR visor for gaming, and concerningly quiet youngest daughter Fran (Billie Gadsdon). The meal ends as Polly returns home from work and drops a “bombshell”. She quit her appliance designer job over the company’s “spyware” being installed on her creations (a fridge that records your eating habits). And since her company owns the flat where they reside, a new home must be found. But Tim has a plan. They’ll get an old farmhouse near where he grew up, far away in the countryside, where he can harvest tomatoes for his special sauce. The kids aren’t keen on it, of course. But as they hike from the train station to their new abode, Fran sees an odd purse near the trail. Spotting something moving in the foliage, she holds it out, and the purse is snatched away…by something. Actually, the purse belongs to a fairy named Silky (Nicola Coughlan). That night, she leaves a note in Fran’s room. It’s an invite to visit her at the “Magic Faraway Tree” out in the woods. With her parents occupied with rehabbing the place (no electricity), Fran walks to the location and is greeted by Silky and her unusual pals, Moonface (Nonso Anozie), the Saucepan Man (Dustin Demri-Burns), and the washerwoman Dame Washalot (Jessica Gunning). Aside from her laundry chores, she also sends the group away to other strange realms like the “Land of Sweets”. the “Land of Birthdays”, and the ” Land of Spells”. Eventually, Fran’s siblings join her. It’s all fun and laughs until an impulsive wish wreaks havoc on the family’s new life. Can the magic of that tree somehow right this wrong and provide a “happily ever after”?
Anchoring this large, diverse cast are the two heads of the family, though they stay close to the new home rather than embark on the fantasy travels and travails. Garfield’s Tim is the optimistic, “glass half-full” go-getter, following his dream. As his partner and main cheerleader, Foy is a bit more grounded as she engulfs her offspring in the bracing warmth of maternal love. As those not-so-wee ones, Gadson’s Fran is the soft-spoken, nearly silent, adventuring explorer, ready to give in to the wonder. At the other end of the spectrum is Bennett-Cardy as the often abrasive and brash Beth, the sneering, snarky “squeaky wheel”, while Laroche’s Joe “goes with the flow” as he discovers thrills without tech. The other main “human” is the terrific Jennifer Saunders as their Gramma, who just wants the Thompsons to give up on this rural nonsense and return to the “rat race” of London. Magic and myth are well represented by Couglan as the sweet, ethereal Silky, eager to guide her new friends. Anozie’s Moonface is all royal, oblivious bluster, while Demri-Burns is quite funny and absurd as the “mis-hearing” cookware-clad sidekick. Rounding out the ensemble are plenty of delightful English legends; there’s even a “Python”, with winning “bits” from Michael Dapaah as the “goodie policeman’ (“Dun’ be greeedy!!”) and Marc Heap as the irritated and bombastic Mr. Oom Boom Boom. Perhaps the biggest villain, not counting the Beth/Gramma “tag team,” is Rebecca Ferguson who appears to be having a blast as the sour, ill-tempered horrible headmistress Dame Snap.
As I mentioned earlier, this is adapted from a celebrated book series by author Enid Blyton. Bringing it to life are director Ben Gregor and screenwriter Simon Farnaby (he worked on two of the great Paddington films). The latter does “double-duty” as the farm’s daffy caretaker (“I got wify’!”). They keep the story rolling along briskly from the “real world” to the wonder-filled lands. Kudos to the art departments for their creativity and imagination, especially on the rainbow roller-disco “Birthday” backdrops. This story is indeed filled with “wide-eyed” whimsy, but other than a dark turn with Dama Snap, it’s fairly benign and toothless, which can make the overly sweet segments treacly and far too tame. It’s a great “first movie theatre” experience for the “pre K” moppets, but for a fable railing against the onslaught of tech, TOY STORY 5 has more bite (or byte) and inspired satire. The photography gives the Farm a nice golden glow, along with a shiny fairytale focus for the interior tree and the destinations. There are some good “messages” expressed, but their delivery is strained by the sincere sweetness inside THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE.
2.5 Out of 5
THE MAGIC FARAWAY TREE is now playing in select theatres
Yes, it’s the last gasp of the Summer movie season, so let’s end it with a bang. And a boom. And a stab. And a roundhouse kick to the head. As you may have guessed, here’s one last action thriller before those cold-weather awards contenders begin to arrive at the multiplex. The star of this new movie is carrying on the action superstar era probably begun in the 1980s by Stallone and Schwarzenegger. They spawned a “cottage industry” of the genre, taken over by Chuck Norris, Steven Seagal, and Jean-Claude Van Damme, along with the Asian imports, Jackie Chan and Jet Li. So who’s been toiling away with modest-budgeted “flyin’ fists” flicks? Why, it’s that Brit-born Jason Statham, who is indeed “back in action”, this time on the high seas (minus MEG) in MUTINY.
The story begins with a brief “fast forward”, then backtracks to introduce Cole Reed (Statham), a former London “bobby” who is now the head of security for a billionaire shipping magnate, Mr, Campallo (Ramon Tikaram). On this night, he’s off to celebrate the sale of his shipping company, BK, at a party for his retirement in Bangkok. The champagne is flowing at the swanky ballroom, but Cole’s “radar” is “up” after spotting some shady guests. Before the party ends, he drives his boss home. But they never make their destination. Near the docks, they’re ambushed. Cole does his best, but the army of killers takes out his boss and old friend. Reed recognizes several policemen mixed with the assassins. Naturally, the news reports that he’s the prime suspect in the murder. But Cole lifts the ID of one of the fallen bad guys and discovers that he’s a BK ship worker. Meanwhile, a former sailor named Angie (Annabelle Wallis) is called in to work as security on the BK cargo ship, the Artemis. As she prepares to cut short her shore leave (and reunion with her daughter), Reed hatches a plan to find out who is behind the fatal attack. Using the dead man’s ID, he boards the Artemis, captained by the imposing Madsen (Roland Moller). As Cole sneaks around the shipping containers, he discovers some startling “contraband”: sick, scared stowaways. Can he thwart these human traffickers while unlocking the conspiracy behind his pal’s murder, and eventually clear his name? Despite an unexpected ally, this is no “pleasure cruise”.
Much like his stoic fighting machine men of so many previous films, Statham isn’t flexing his dramatic “chops” on this one. Cole could easily be THE BEEKEEPER (sequel’s on its way) or A WORKING MAN seeking SHELTER. We get a sense of his grief over a past family tragedy before he gets down to “business”. That stoic stare is still fearsome, even as he tries to quickly make a plan to merely survive the night. He’s still a compelling screen presence, though I’d love to see him skewer this role as he did deftly in SPY. He’s got a great rapport with his co-star, Ms. Wallis, who has her own complicated backstory (single mother challenges), while she conveys a similar strength in battle. Moller has his own scary stare as the surly ship’s captain who might be up to the challenge of going “mano y mano” with this skilled stowaway. Kudos also to Adrian Lester as the military man who may just be our heroes’ best hope and salvation.
The masterminds behind the nautical mayhem are director Jean-Francois Richet and screenwriters J.P. Davis and Lindsey Michel. That last duo provides the barest of backstory before giving action fans just what they want. Ditto for Richet, who helms several great encounters on deck with the vast ocean as a backdrop, while all navigating the tight space below deck. The Artemis is a labyrinth with maze-like hallways where the baddies must be taken down with little room for flailing limbs. But there are plenty of corners for the heroes and foes to use. Of course, Statham displays his fightin’ feet and fists, though he also uses any tools at hand for some especially gruesome maiming ( that R-rating is so earned). At a taut 95 minutes, the dramatic ‘fat’ is at a minimum, with the tension kicking in after Cole boards the ship (speaking of 80s and 90s thrillers, I was getting lots of UNDER SIEGE vibes), Aside from the ocean setting, there’s not much variation on the Statham formula, but his many fans will certainly be enthralled and entertained during this MUTINY.
