I appear on “CTV News at 6” with anchor Andria Case to talk about the weekend’s best movies in theatres. We have a look at the political drama “Ella McCay,” the kid-friendly horror of “Dust Bunny” and holiday horrors of “Silent Night, Deadly Night.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 37:03)
SYNOPSIS: In “Dust Bunny,” a macabre midnight movie—but for kids—now playing in theatres, a ten-year-old (Sophie Sloan) hires her hit man neighbor (Mads Mikkelsen) to kill the monster she believes ate her foster family.
CAST: Mads Mikkelsen, Sophie Sloan, Sheila Atim, David Dastmalchian, Sigourney Weaver. Directed by Bryan Fuller.
REVIEW: “Dust Bunny” trusts that kids don’t have to be molly coddled, that they can handle some darker themes, particularly when they are presented with a great deal of offbeat humor.
The feature film debut of television showrunner Bryan Fuller, of “Pushing Daisies” and “Hannibal” fame, sees ten-year-old Aurora’s (Sophie Sloan) convinced there is a monster under her bed when it emerges and eats her foster parents.
“I’m wicked. It knows I’m wicked,” she says. “It ate my family because it knows I don’t deserve one.”
Ever resourceful, the youngster turns to the enigmatic man (Mads Mikkelsen) next door she believes is an assassin. Offering to pay him with money she stole from her church donation basket, she asks him to kill the beast.
“What makes you think I kill monsters?” he asks. “You seem like you’ve killed a lot of things,” she replies.
Trouble is, he thinks the monster is the result of Aurora’s overactive imagination. He’s convinced he was the target, and an assassin killed thew little girl’s folks by mistake.
Edgy and dark, “Dust Bunny” is the kind of children’s fairy tale you’d expect from the showrunner of “The Silence of the Lambs” spin-off “Hannibal.” Dr. Suess this ain’t. Imagine a mix of “Léon: The Professional” and “Goosebumps” and you’ll get the idea.
With a whimsical style reminiscent of “Delicatessen” and “Amélie” director Jean-Pierre Jeunet by way of Tim Burton, Bryan Fuller infuses the story with maximalist, eye-catching design—like a taxidermy chicken lamp with a lightbulb protruding out of its rear and Sigourney Weaver’s high-heel pistols—and the fruits of Aurora’s anxieties and imagination. She protects herself from the sting of losing her family through fantasy, creating a world where a monster becomes a proxy for her pain.
That emotional undercurrent, plus the odd couple relationship between Aurora and the hitman, grounds the fantasy in relatable reality. Sloan and Mikkelsen have great chemistry, she’s all exuberance, he’s stoic but as they navigate the story their differences evaporate into understanding.
“Dust Bunny’s” bloodless body count—one that defies the conventions of kid’s entertainment—and mild scares leading up to a wild climatic showdown isn’t recommended for kids under eight, but as gateway horror goes, it’s inventive fun that should spark young imaginations.
“The Woman King,” is a ripped-from-the-history books story of fierce camaraderie, discipline and determination, starring Oscar®-winner Viola Davis as a general in charge of all-female unit of warriors called the Agojie, who served as the inspiration for the “Black Panther’s” Dora Milaje warriors.
Set in the 1823 West African kingdom of Dahomey, the story begins as menace from white slave trader Santo Ferreira (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) and nearby Oyo Empire, led by the ruthless Oda (Jimmy Odukoya), threaten the reign of King Ghezo (John Boyega). He can no longer rule by diplomacy and cleverness alone. “An evil is coming that threatens our kingdom, our freedom,” says the King, “But we have a weapon they are not prepared for.”
That weapon is the Agojie, a.k.a. the Dahomey Amazons. They are a generations-old fighting force led by a brilliant tactician and general Nanisca (Davis), with right-hands Amenza (Sheila Atim) and Izogie (Lashana Lynch). “We fear no one,” Nanisca says. “We fear no pain.”
Armed with blades, spears and unlimited fearlessness, the Agojie fight against the heavily armed Oyo, for their land, freedom and King. Any Oyo prisoners are sold off to the Europeans in return for weapons. Nanisca knows her King is complicit in the slave trade, and tries to convince him to stop human trafficking and replace the cash flow with the sale of palm oil. “The slave trade is the reason we prosper,” she says, “but it is a poison.”
Until then the change, they must train a new batch of recruits, including the 19-year-old Nawi (Thuso Mbedu), a rebellious woman offered to King Ghezo by her father. Brought into the Agojie by Izogie, the teenager finds a sisterhood with the group she has never known in her life.
“The Woman King” breathes the same air as 90s era action epics like “Braveheart” and “Gladiator.” Crowd-pleasers that mixed interesting characters with history, some humor, a bit of melodrama and fierce fight scenes. That may feel like a dash of déjà vu, but director Gina Prince-Bythewood’s story comes steeped in Black history, specifically female Black history, and characters that bring it to vivid life.
As the battle-scarred general Nanisca, Davis commands attention, balancing the character’s authority, resilience and battle prowess with a hidden vulnerability.
As Nawi, Thuso Mbedu steals every scene she is in with a combustible charisma that keeps her coming-of-age story compelling.
“The Woman King” is a character driven epic, one that tempers the rousing action scenes—the audience I saw this with cheered for the Agojie—with powerful interpersonal relationships to keep us engaged. It feels like an old-fashioned action movie, but with a fresh and fascinating update.
“Bruised,” a new MMA drama directed by and starring Halle Berry, and now streaming on Netflix, punches through the usual sports cliches and training montages to tell a redemption story of a woman whose rage dominated her life.
Berry is Jackie Justice, a disgraced UFC mixed martial arts star who left the sport in disgrace when she vaulted out of the cage during a match. Four years later her hair trigger temper gets her fired from a job as a nanny and booze helps her cope with abusive boyfriend/manager Desi (Adan Canto). It was his push to take on bigger fights that sent her over the brink at the height of her fame, and now he wants her back in the ring, making money.
“I don’t want to fight,” she says, “I’m happy.” Trouble is, she doesn’t appear to be happy.
When she is spotted by fight league promoter Immaculate (Shamier Anderson), who promises to set her up with top flight trainer Buddhakan (Sheila Atim), her career looks to be back on track until the 6-year-old son (Danny Boyd, Jr.) she abandoned years ago suddenly comes back into her life.
“Bruised” is a slickly produced sports flick that takes us into a little explored world, women’s MMA. Berry doesn’t shy away from the brutal nature of the fight game, both in and out of the ring. It paints a vivid portrait of the physical and mental toll paid by Jackie as she seeks personal and professional redemption, but often veers into melodrama. Plots lines crisscross as we follow Jackie’s relationships with her mother (Adriane Lenox), her trainer, Desi and Manny. Each thread clutters the plot with storylines that are not only predictable, but also take away from the movie’s main thrust, how Jackie’s life has been shaped by trauma and rage.
When “Bruised” focusses on the fighting, it succeeds. It is interesting to see that world from a female point of view and about a woman older than might be expected in the punishing sport. Even Jackie’s trainer calls her “Betty White.”
But as Jackie’s road to redemption meanders through a laundry list of misery, the two-hour, 15-minute movie becomes weighed down by the sheer volume of story.
