It’s a new year, and while notable big films are coming, plenty of smaller films and documentaries are out there. This set of write-ups includes a couple of horror films, a batch of acclaimed docs, a return to classic Aardman characters, and a Tyler Perry war drama. The following features reviews for The Damned, The Six Triple Eight, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, Sugarcane, Beetles ’64, Soundtrack to a Coup d’Ètat, The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, and Bloody Axe Wound.
The Damned: 6 out of 10
The Setup: A 19th-century widow (Odessa Young) is forced to make an impossible choice during a cruel winter when a ship sinks off the coast, risking what’s left of the village’s dwindling supplies.
Review: As always, the first week of January gets its horror release, though instead of some schlocky affair, sometimes featuring a big-name actor scraping the barrel (White Noise), The Damned is a fairly well-mounted, internationally produced spooky movie. I wish I liked it more. The premise sets up an understandable moral dilemma that guides the rest of the film’s actions. Director Thordur Palsson uses the Icelandic locations well and keeps the actors looking nice and cold throughout. Scares range from ominous sightings to an over-reliance on music cues to produce some jumps.
My main issue comes down to my strong familiarity with horror coming at the cost of this film really having any surprises for me, but that’s not necessarily a fault of the work on display. It just makes some of the events less exciting than they could be. That said, strength comes from the atmosphere here, which is good enough.
Where To Watch: Now playing in theaters.
The Six Triple Eight: 5 out of 10
The Setup: During the height of the conflict in World War II circa 1943, difficulties in the war led to a change in priorities, and much of the mail previously reaching soldiers on the front lines was halted. As warehouses begin to overflow with unfulfilled deliveries, soldiers’ hopes are dashed as they lose contact with their families back home. To fix this problem, the 6888th Battalion, the Women’s Army Corps’ all-Black battalion, including over 800 female soldiers, is sent to tackle the impossible challenge of sorting years’ worth of backlogged mail. Even as military higher-ups hope to see the plan fail, the Six Triple Eight are determined to deliver hope to soldiers and families across the world.
Review: As both a criticism and a compliment, outside of For Colored Girls, The Six Triple Eight is probably Tyler Perry’s best-directed movie. It’s full of heart and has a story worth exposing to more people. And yet, Perry’s shortcomings as a filmmaker hold this film back from being stronger. A big issue is the identity crisis at hand. We are introduced to Ebony Obsidian’s Lena Derriecott Bell King, who is in an interracial relationship and enlists upon hearing news of her beau’s death. That leads us to learn more about the women she becomes closest friends with, which is fine, except the film also needs to focus on Kerry Washington’s Major Charity Adams. The amount of time split between these characters keeps this movie from feeling more focused.
While the overall objective is worthwhile to see, especially after seeing the sort of depiction of discrimination that naturally makes anyone feel good when everything works out for the oppressed, there’s ultimately only so much this film can accomplish beyond getting the bare minimum done to elicit the likely emotions the film is after.
Where To Watch: Now streaming on Netflix.
Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl: 7 out of 10
The Setup: Gromit’s concern that Wallace has become over-dependent on his inventions proves justified when Wallace invents a “smart gnome” that seems to develop a mind of its own. As events spiral out of control, it falls to Gromit to put aside his qualms and battle sinister forces – or Wallace may never be able to invent again.
Review: It’s been a while since the last appearance of Wallace & Gromit (2008’s A Matter of Loaf and Death), but they are a delightful duo that I’m happy to see director Nick Park and Aardman Animations revisit. Their only other feature-length film, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, is still one of my favorite things to come out of DreamWorks (basically by acquisition), so I was very excited for another excursion of this magnitude. It doesn’t disappoint.
While a bit familiar as far as “playing the hits,” so to speak, there’s a sense of joy and wonder that makes the best Wallace & Gromit efforts stand out, along with their dry sense of humor and landing physical gags by way of stop motion animation. Add to that these “smart gnomes,” which I still haven’t decided if they are creepy or hilarious, and you have a new feature that’s very easy to take in and relax to, with or without cheese.
Where To Watch: Now streaming on Netflix.
Sugarcane: 7 out of 10
The Setup: An investigation into abuse and missing children at an Indian residential school sparks a reckoning on the nearby Sugarcane Reserve.
Review: Directors Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie put a tough task in front of themselves when it came to assembling a documentary detailing the terrible forms of abuse that occurred regularly in the Catholic-run residential schools for Indigenous children in the U.S. and Canada. Having recently written a lot about the film Nickel Boys, it’s sad but fitting to once again have to deal with a story concerning how hatred and ignorance led to an eventual discovery of way too many unmarked graves for children.
In addition to learning about what was taking place, specifically regarding St. Joseph Mission in British Columbia, the film wisely features a couple of personal stories as well. One, in particular, finds co-director/activist Julian reconnecting with his father. It’s not the easiest to watch, but it’s a compelling documentary.
Where To Watch: Now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
Beatles ‘64: 7 out of 10
The Setup: A look at the band’s electrifying 1964 US debut amid fan frenzy, and their unprecedented rise to global superstardom after performing on The Ed Sullivan Show to over 73 million viewers caught in rare behind-the-scenes footage.
Review: One would think that having so many documentaries about The Beatles would threaten to take away their mystique somehow, but then again, they do seem like a band that didn’t have much to hide. As it stands, I guess I’m far more interested in the ways various filmmakers have approached them through archival footage. Ron Howard and Peter Jackson have notably put together documentaries covering the band. Now, producer Martin Scorsese has lent some of his time toward a look at Beatlemania.
Director David Tedeschi (previously one of Scorsese’s editors) has done a fine job of guiding this look at what this period was like from various perspectives, culled from behind-the-scenes footage, with some contemporary interviews to provide a bit of a guide. The results are effective, as you are put back in a moment that undeniably stood out in the realm of cultural history. Understanding the group members through this footage is also interesting, once again showing what things felt like at a certain point in time for both the band and those admiring them.
Where To Watch: Now streaming on Disney+.
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Ètat: 8 out of 10
The Setup: United Nations, 1960: the Global South ignites a political earthquake, jazz musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach crash the Security Council, Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe, and the U.S. State Department swings into action, sending jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to Congo to deflect attention from the CIA-backed coup. Director Johan Grimonprez captures the moment when African politics and American jazz collided in this historical rollercoaster that illuminates the political machinations behind the 1961 assassination of Congo’s leader Patrice Lumumba.
Review: Not everyone may be into a two-and-a-half-hour video essay focused on an assassination and how jazz plays a role, but I was enthralled. Director Grimonprez did what was needed to pull me in by presenting all this information, which is obviously aided by the film’s soundtrack. It’s a complex story and sometimes tricky to keep up with. Still, thanks to the doc’s vibrant nature and the choices made to convey so much detail, there’s an absolute joy in witnessing something so sprawling and well-researched that is also a great listen, for lack of a better way to phrase it. Also worth noting is that this is another instance highlighting how great it is to learn about events that barely register when it comes to average history studies and see them presented in a way that’s so invigorating.
Where To Watch: Now playing in select theaters and available on digital and VOD.
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin: 8 out of 10
The Setup: Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer, died of a degenerative muscular disease at the age of 25. His parents mourned what they thought had been a lonely and isolated life, only to begin receiving messages from Mat’s online friends around the world. Known online as Ibelin Redmoore, the secret life of this young World of Warcraft gamer is then vividly reimagined to provide more understanding of his guild life.
Review: This is a wonderful story. Director Benjamin Ree takes the right approach to help us understand the value of learning about Mats Steen. The early context is sad, sure, but the revelations of what this young man was doing and the choices made in this documentary to reflect his life really turn this into something special. What could come across as hokey instead plays well into helping this film stick out once the World of Warcraft game engine is used to recreate aspects of his life and relationships with others.
Of course, having interviews with some of the guild members and learning about them adds to it all, making it all the more interesting and more humanist when considering the ways in which life has a variety of difficulties and ways to deal with them. Seeing where this all ultimately goes is a sweet story that is quite moving.
Where To Watch: Now streaming on Netflix.
Bloody Axe Wound: 5 out of 10
The Setup: Abbie Bladecut (Sari Arambulo) is a teenager torn between the macabre traditions of her family’s bloody trade and the tender stirrings of her first crush. In the small town of Clover Falls, Abbie’s father, Roger Bladecut (Billy Burke), has built an infamous legacy by capturing real-life killings on tape and selling them to eager customers, but as Abbie delves deeper into the grisly family business, she begins to wonder if it’s time to take the family tradition in a new direction.
Review: I suppose it’s worth crediting a film for being quite likable despite itself. Bloody Axe Wound has enough going on for it, thanks to the main characters and a generous amount of bloody violence that almost allows me to look past the fact that it doesn’t make much sense. Granted, writer/director Matthew John Lawrence is aiming for satire. However, something is amiss when the setup is explained to me via voiceover in the first five minutes, and I still don’t quite get how things work in this film.
I suppose I could also say it felt like having to suffer through the first few minutes of Juno before taking a shine to everything else, but the movie still only has so much going for it. Relying on several classic slasher locations like high schools, suburban houses, a cabin in the woods, cars parked out by a lake, etc., is handled in good fun. Plus, Arambulo and Molly Brown have nice chemistry together, while Burke puts in some extra effort as a father/slasher villain with advice to give. Certainly unique; I just wish it was a bit clearer in execution.
Where To Watch: Now playing in select theaters and available on VOD.
