I will host two pre-show In Conversations for TO Live and Glatz Concerts present Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Frozen in Concert with “Frozen” composer Christophe Beck on Friday November 29 (5 pm) and Saturday November 30, 2024 (1 pm) at Meridian Hall!
TO Live and Glatz Concerts present Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Frozen in Concert with composer Christophe Beck’s Grammy-nominated score performed live to the film. The concert will be led by conductor Evan Mitchell.
The film and its multi-platinum soundtrack feature eight songs written by Academy Award-, Emmy-, and Grammy-winning songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, including the Oscar- and Grammy-winning song “Let It Go” performed by Idina Menzel.
Fearless optimist, Princess Anna, sets off on an epic journey—teaming up with rugged mountain man, Kristoff, and his loyal reindeer Sven—to find her sister Elsa, whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter. Encountering Everest-like conditions, mystical trolls, and a hilarious snowman named Olaf, Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom. Voices include Kristen Bell (Anna), Jonathan Groff (Kristoff), Idina Menzel (Elsa), Josh Gad (Olaf), Santino Fontana (Hans), and Alan Tudyk (Duke of Weselton). The film received the Academy Award for best animated feature.
I’ll be hosting a Q&A with “The G” star Dale Dickey and director Karl R. Hearne at the Cineplex Yonge – Dundas Theatre in Toronto on Friday November 29. 2024.
Some info! Dale Dickey a formidable character actor, known for her Independent Spirit Award winning performance in “Winter’s Bone,” and appearances in more than 60 movies, like Iron Man 3 and Hell or High Water, and television shows like My Name Is Earl, Breaking Bad and True Blood. Her latest film is the dark thriller “The G.” In the movie, she plays a grandmother looking for vengeance with the help of her granddaughter Emma (Denis), who calls her “The G,” after a corrupt legal guardian puts her in a care home in order to take her property.
I sit in with CKTB morning show guest host Karl Dockstader to have a look at movies in theatres and streaming including the sequelitis of “Moana 2,” Angelina Jolie in “Maria” and the bad assery of “The G.”
I join the Bell Media Radio Network national night time show “Shane Hewitt and the Night Shift” for Booze & Reviews! This week we have a look at “Moana 2” and talk about the perfect Tiki drink to enjoy while watching the movie!
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to do a high five! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the sequelitis of “Moana 2,” Angelina Jolie in “Maria” and the bad assery of “The G.”
SYNOPSIS: In “Maria,” a new psychological biopic now playing in theatres before moving to MUBI on December 11, Angelina Jolie stars as Maria Callas, the world’s greatest opera singer, as she lives the last days of her life in 1970s Paris, after a glamorous yet tumultuous life spent in the public eye.
CAST: Angelina Jolie, Pierfrancesco Favino, Alba Rohrwacher, Haluk Bilginer, and Kodi Smit-McPhee. Directed by Pablo Larraín.
REVIEW: “Maria” finishes director Pablo Larraín’s trilogy of films about iconic women of the 20th century. Having already examined Jacqueline Kennedy and Princess Diana, this third, and final film features a commanding performance by Angelina Jolie as the temperamental opera star Maria Callas, a woman who no longer performs but admits, “There is no life off the stage.”
She may feel the absence of her voice, of performing for adoring crowds, but her life provides a dynamic backdrop for this ornate, hypnotic film. “There’s a point where self-confidence becomes a kind of insanity,” she says.
In Jolie’ hands the opera singer is every bit a diva. She is now a pill popper whose gift, a voice that once mesmerised the world, has left her, but she remains a diva nonetheless. Regal and occasionally ridiculous, she spends her days barking orders at her loyal staff (Alba Rohrwacher and Pierfrancesco Favino)—”Book me a table at a café where the waiters know who I am,” she says. “I’m in the mood for adulation.”—reminiscing about her life with an imaginary interviewer (Kodi Smit-McPhee) named Mandrax after her drug of choice and refusing to return an important call from her doctor because he said she “must” call him.
Even when there’s not much is happening in “Maria,” Jolie is captivating, emanating the larger-than-life star power that made “La Divina” beloved personally and professionally. In one playful moment Mandrax asks, “What would you say if I told you I was falling in love with you?”
“That happens a lot,” she replies with a smile.
Character study aside, the film itself is more of a mixed bag. Stunning work from cinematographer Edward Lachman and production designer Guy Hendrix Dyas create a beautiful canvas for Jolie’s work, but it feels incomplete. There are flashbacks (mostly shot in black and white) and some paparazzi style footage that provide a sense of Callas’s elevated place in the opera world, but director Pablo Larraín, working from a script by Steven Knight, is more interested in her struggles and foibles than her triumphs. It provides Jolie the dramatic space to give the crowning performance of her career so far but doesn’t allow the character the privilege of a fulsome portrait.
SYNOPSIS: Set three years after the events of the first film, “Moana 2” sends the strong-willed Moana (Auli’I Cravalho) and shapeshifting demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) off on an adventure to the seas of Oceania to break the curse of the island of Motufetu. “Before Maui stole Te Fiti’s heart,” Moana explains, “our ancestors wanted to connect our island to all the people of the entire ocean. It’s my job as a Wayfinder to finish what they started.”
CAST: Auliʻi Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Rachel House, Alan Tudyk, Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Hualālai Chung, Awhimai Fraser, and Gerald Ramsey. Directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller.
REVIEW: Originally planned to debut on Disney+ as a long form limited streaming series, “Moana 2” has been reshaped into a compact 1 hour and 40-minute (including credits) movie that hits theatres as the live-action version of the story is still being filmed.
The new animated version brings with it many of the characters that made the original so engaging. Moana, voiced by Auliʻi Cravalho, is an easy-to-root-for hero, more mature than the last time we saw her, more adventurous and connected to her culture.
The movie is at its best when she shares the screen with her demigod pal Maui, once again voiced by Dwayne Johnson. It’s a shame then that the story keeps them separated for much of the running time.
This time around Johnson amps things up, playing the mischievous demigod with more spirit, humour and heroics. His big song, “Can I Get A Chee Hoo?” is a bit of fun, playfully rhyming “Moana” with “Come On-a.”
The score and songs itself, by Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foaʻi and Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear (a.k.a. Barlow & Bear) respectively are rousing, but the magic delivered in the original by Lin-Manuel Miranda songs like “How Far I’ll Go” and “You’re Welcome” is missing. Still, tunes like “Get Lost,” by Matangi (Awhimai Fraser) are a welcome addition to the “Moana” playlist.
Visually, the animation is gorgeous, featuring beautiful visuals of Moana’s sandy island, her adventures on (and under) the water and marvelous sea creatures. It’s vibrant, state-of-the-art work that goes a long way to build Moana’s world and entertain the eye when the storytelling hits some rocky shores.
The Sequel Law of diminishing returns is in effect in “Moana 2,” but, while it may not top its predecessor, it is a tuneful, exciting kid-friendly action movie with good messages of the importance of community and connection.
SYNOPSIS: “Flow,” the Latvian entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards is a heartwarming tale of a brave cat who forms a new community when his home is devastated by a great flood.
CAST: Directed by Gints Zilbalodis and written by Zilbalodis and Matīss Kaža.
REVIEW: Completely dialogue free, “Flow” is a beautifully rendered, allegorical tale of the importance of community in the face of disaster.
With no dialogue to fall back on, “Flow” finds its emotional content in the rousing musical score by Zilbalodis and Rihards Zalupe, the lush animation and the choice to use real animal “vocals.” All animal sounds were recorded in the wild—although the capybara is “played” by a baby camel—and it gives the movie a lively, organic feel.
The visuals are supple but not as detailed as most modern animation. Zilbalodis doesn’t animate fur, which gives the animals an abstract look, but the actions of the lead character, for instance, will be familiar to anyone who has ever spent time with a cat.
The arched back, the curled back ears are familiar ways that cats communicate with humans, but it is in the details, like the way his pupils change when danger is near, that the character comes to life.
The animals behave like animals, but this is not a nature documentary by any stretch. More a riff on Noah’s Ark, this is a film that sees the guarded cat find refuge on a boat run by animals—a lazy capybara, goofy dog and self-absorbed lemur—after a climate disaster. It’s there that the various creatures, including the cat, find common ground and learn to trust one another.
“Flow” is a cinematic, family friendly movie that supplies a thrilling survival adventure with fun characters against a backdrop of catastrophe. Climate change is not mentioned, but Zilbalodis seems to suggests that the only way we can combat a climate crisis is to work as one, and that’s an appealing and timely message.
SYNOPSIS: The new crime thriller “The G,” now playing in theatres, is a story of scams, elder abuse and vengeance that features a dynamic, slow burn performance from Dale Dickey.
CAST: Dale Dickey, Romane Denis, Roc Lafortune, Bruce Ramsay and Jonathan Koensgen. Written, directed, and produced by Karl R. Hearne.
REVIEW: Ten years ago, the chain-smoking Ann Hunter, a.k.a. “The G”, played by Dale Dickey, and her now terminally ill husband retired to lead a quiet life in the suburbs near his extended family. Their quiet lives are upended when they are evicted from their home by a corrupt legal guardian who believes they are sitting on a big stash of cash. Moved to a prison-like “eldercare facility,” they are stripped of their rights and their dignity. “We have to fight back,” she says. “No money. No home. What would you do?” With the help of her granddaughter, The G, like “Granny,” decides to get even. “These are bad people,” warns her husband. “I’ve done some bad things myself,” says The G.
“The G” isn’t a typical revenge drama. A slow burn, it’s about contained rage caused by personal injustice. There are some startling moments, like the opening “buried alive” sequence and The G’s habit of drinking vodka out of a yogurt container, but this is about is about the threat of violence, which in many ways is more effective than the violence itself.
The stone-cold heart of the film is Dale Dickey in the title role. Tough and unlikable, she eventually reveals her shady past with the Texas mob and the root of her rage, but we’re with her every step of the way. When she says, “I’m not a good person,” it’s hard to disagree, but up against the evil legal guardian Rivera (Bruce Ramsay), you root for her to let her freak flag fly.
A message movie about scams that target the elderly, “The G” is also a character study of a woman in her seventies who refuses to lie down and take the shafting society often offers up to the elderly. The no-nonsense G is an antihero, but in Dickey’s more than capable hands she’s also a compelling and foul-mouthed crusader for justice.
“The G” is a testament to the fighting spirit, and a showcase for Dickey who deserves more lead roles.
The film and its multi-platinum soundtrack feature eight songs written by Academy Award-, Emmy-, and Grammy-winning songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, including the Oscar- and Grammy-winning song “Let It Go” performed by Idina Menzel.
