I join CTV Atlantic’s Todd Battis to talk about the adventures of Star wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” the absurd social commentary of “I Love Boosters” and the demonic road trip “Passenger.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join CTV NewsChannel anchor Akshay Tandon to talk about the new releases in theatres, including the adventures of Star wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” the absurd social commentary of “I Love Boosters” and the demonic road trip “Passenger.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to brush your teeth. Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the adventures of Star wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” the absurd social commentary of “I Love Boosters” and the demonic road trip “Passenger.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: In the raucous “I Love Boosters,” a surreal new satire starring Keke Palmer and now playing in theatres, professional shoplifters wage revolutionary war against a cutthroat designer.
CAST: Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza González, LaKeith Stanfield, Will Poulter, Don Cheadle, Demi Moore. Written and Directed by Boots Riley.
REVIEW: A tale of class warfare filtered through a Looney Tunes filter, “I Love Boosters” is an imaginative, heightened movie whose real-life thought-provoking messages on labor exploitation, capitalism and consumerism cut through the surreal story.
Keke Palmer stars as Corvette, the leader of the Velvet Gang, alongside Sade (Naomi Ackie) and Mariah (Taylour Paige). They’re boosters, i.e. shoplifters, who, like couture Robin Hoods, steal high end fashions to resell at deep discount from make-shift shops in their apartments.
Their main target is Christie Smith (Demi Moore), a high-flying designer whose empire has been built on culture appropriation and exploitative labor.
Their boosting takes a sci fi turn when they meet Chinese garment factory worker Jianhu (Poppy Liu) and her high-tech teleportation device.
“I Love Boosters” is an absurd movie. And I mean that in the best possible way. Writer and director Boots Riley creates a world in which Smith lives in a tall, shiny tower in the city center that is tilted at a steep 45 degrees angle. We’ve seen big buildings before, but this one feels off. It’s familiar and yet quite unlike anything you’ve seen before. Riley uses this and other strange visuals to keep the viewer off balance, as if anything could happen in this strange world.
Keeping pace with Riley’s whimsical vision are a cast who help keep the sky-high story grounded in reality. Even when the film gets outrageous, depicting 30-second lunch breaks, teleporters and a paperwork boulder that follows Corvette around, the charismatic Palmer and the cast are game, bringing a sense of play but also emotion, which prevents the whimsy from taking over completely.
Riley has a lot on his mind. Labor exploitation, materialism and class are essayed but the propulsive comic aspects of “I Love Boosters” are the spoonful of sugar that makes the movie’s messages go down.
