SYNOPSIS: Lovable underdogs Wallace and Gromit return with “Vengeance Most Fowl,” a new feature length stop-motion animated film about a vengeful penguin and technology run wild, now streaming on Netflix.
CAST: Ben Whitehead, Peter Kay, Lauren Patel, Reece Shearsmith, Diane Morgan, Adjoa Andoh, Wuzz Khan, Lenny Henry. Directed by Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham.
REVIEW: The almost twenty-year gap between the Oscar winning “Wallace & Gromit: Curse Of The Were-Rabbit” and the new Netflix offering “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” has not diminished the charm and humour of the titular duo.
The stop-motion animated film sees cheese loving inventor Wallace (voice of Ben Whitehead) and his loyal beagle and best friend Gromit welcome a new invention, a time saving “smart” household Gnome named Norbot (Reece Shearsmith).
When that device is hacked by penguin criminal mastermind Feathers McGraw, Wallace’s invention develops a mind of its own and runs amok. “I just don’t get it,” Wallace says in his unmistakeable Yorkshire accent. “Why would me own gnome turn evil?”
Antics ensue.
There’s an innocence and childlike quality to Wallace and Gromit that makes them a classic comedy duo in the Yogi Bear and Boo Boo vein. Come for their amiable, quintessentially British optimism, stay for 79 minutes of sight gags, a dead-eyed but hilarious villain and the manic machinations of Norbot the gnome.
It takes a few minutes off the top to get things rolling, but once the story is established co-directors Park and Crossingham unleash a cavalcade of silly sight gags and gentle slapstick all rendered in beautiful stop-motion animation. The odd fingerprint visible on the clay figures lends an artisanal vibe that feels alive, organic and painstakingly handmade.
Themes of our dependence on technology are woven into “Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl” but the movie isn’t really about that. It’s really about the joy generated by these two iconic characters.
SYNOPSIS: Set in 1909, “Harbin,” a new South Korean spy drama now playing in theatres, sees Korean freedom fighters launch an attack in Harbin, China against the Japanese to gain their country’s independence.
CAST: Hyun-Bin, Park Jeong-Min, Jo Woo-Jin, Jeon Yeo-Bin, Yoo Jae-Myung, Park Hoon, Lee Dong-Wook, Yun Yeo-Won, Park Ki-Duk. Directed by Woo Min-Ho.
REVIEW: Beautifully shot, “Harbin” is a straightforward thriller that winds its way to an exciting climax.
Set four years after the Eulsa Treaty took away Korea’s diplomatic sovereignty, turning the country into a colony of Japan, the story begins with Lt. General Ahn Jung-geun (Hyun Bin) and his resistance fighters planning the assassination of Japanese Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi and first Resident General of Korea.
Ahn’s risky mission to regain Korea’s statehood is made even more dangerous by a Japanese informant and the pursuit by the relentless Japanese Captain Mori Tatsuo (Park Hoon).
A story of colonial oppression and loyalty, “Harbin” excels when it is in action. An early battle scene between Korean militia squaring off against Japanese soldiers is particularly effective, capturing the up-close-and-personal violence in a vivid and visceral fashion. The slogan, War is Hell, could have been coined to describe this scene.
Another action set price, a fight in a train carriage, is claustrophobic, beautifully choreographed with thrilling action.
Director Woo Min-Ho skillfully stages these scenes for maximum impact. The brutality of those sequences, and others, underlines the mission’s risky nature in purely cinematic terms.
These intense visuals go a long way to keeping “Harbin” compelling. Unfortunately the characters, despite some fine performances, get lost in the vastness of the epic filmmaking and intricate plotting.
“Harbin” is a big, impressive film that essays life-and-death topics of colonialism and the price of freedom. It works best when it is in motion, on the battlefield, but should also offer something to students of history.
SYNOPSIS: Lovable underdogs Wallace and Gromit return with “Vengeance Most Fowl,” a new feature length stop-motion animated film about a vengeful penguin and technology run wild, now streaming on Netflix.
