SMURFS: THE LOST VILLAGE: 3 STARS
The new all-Smurf, all-animated movie may be the most adult take on the pint sized blue creatures ever. âSmurfs: The Lost Villageâ is a heroâs journey, a character in search of a purpose. Itâs Joseph Conrad via Smurf Village. Smurfetteâs âHeart of Darkness.â
Smurf fans know she is the only female Smurf, created by wizard Gargamel (Rainn Wilson) from a lump of clay to sow the seeds of jealousy in Smurf Village. With the help of Papa Smurf (Mandy Patinkin) she transformed, becoming a beacon of sweetness-and-light and the love interest of Smurfs everywhere.
The new story finds Smurfette voiced by Demi Lovato and pondering her place in the world. All the other perky pint sized blue creatures have descriptive namesâClumsy Smurf (Jack McBrayer), Jokey Smurf (Gabriel Iglasias) and Baker Smurf (Gordon Ramsey)âbut what exactly, she wonders, is âetteâ supposed to mean?
Her quest of self-discovery leads to the Forbidden Forest where, for the first time, she sees others just like her, girl Smurfs with names like Smurfstorm (Michelle Rodriguez), Smurfwillow (Julia Roberts) and Smurfblossom (Ellie Kemper).
Unfortunately Gargamel, on the hunt for fresh Smurfs to drain of their essence so he can become the most powerful wizard in the world, takes note and makes a plan to invade this previously uncharted Smurf settlement. âIf it wasn't for you,â Gargamel cackles to Smurfette, âI wouldn't have known about those other Smurfs!â With the help of Clumsy, the bespectacled Brainy (Danny Pudi) and strongman Hefty (Joe Manganiello) the plucky Smurfette sets off to sound warning bells.
First though, the little blue ones must navigate the perils of the Forbidden Forest, a colourful place where the flora and fauna are have minds of their own and arenât happy to receive visitors. âNice forest, nice flowers,â says Hefty. âNot nice flowers!â In the inevitable showdown between our heroes, the new Smurfs of the Lost Village and Gargamel, someone shouts, âSmurfette, why did you do this to us?â Gargamelâs chilling response? âBecause it was her purpose.â
Thereâs that word again, purpose. Itâs at the heart of Smurfetteâs journey. Is she a pseudo-Smurf, a former lump of clay masquerading as part of the tribe? Of course not. The story is one long set up for a feel good message about being anything you want to be and defying labels placed upon you by other people.
Along the way there is loads of gently paced action for young viewers, silly jokes and lots of ear-wormy songs.
â30 Rockâsâ Jack McBrayer naturally has the Smurfiest voice of all the Smurfs in Smurfdom but is supported by playful work from Wilson, Kemper, Manganiello and Lovato.
âSmurfs: The Lost Villageâ may have an adult subtext but unless a surfing punââLetâs go smurfboarding!ââcracks you up few over the age of fifteen will find the journey particularly engrossing. This is first and foremost a kidâs movie without the pop culture references that sometime add a layer of maturity to keep things interesting for parents. Older folks might want to put the kids to bed and watch this as a drinking game. Do a shot every time one of the characters says the word âSmurfâ and youâll be blue in the face in no time.
GOING IN STYLE: 3 STARS
âGoing in Styleâ is a blistering social commentary disguised as an old coot caper comedy. Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman and Alan Arkin play factory workers who did all the right things only to have the system give them the middle finger in old age.
A remake from the 1979 George Burns, Art Carney, and Lee Strasberg adventure âGoing in Style,â the movie begins with Joe (Caine) confronting his condescending bank manager (John Pais). The older manâs mortgage has tripled and he will soon be evicted from his home. As they argue, outside the managerâs office armed masked men invade the bank, scooping handfuls of cash from the tellers. Joe is unharmed in the heistâone of the thieves tells him, âIt is a cultureâs duty to take care of the elderly.ââand later excitedly tells his family and friends Willie (Freeman) and Al (Arkin) about the robbery.
The afternoonâs excitement aside, Joeâs financial situation is still dire. His old company, now in the midst of a takeover, has frozen all pension cheques. He needs to come up with a way to get his hands on some cash. Ditto for Willie, who needs a new kidney and Al who can barely afford to feed himself.
When their favourite waitress gives them a free piece of pie with the truism, âEverybody deserves pie,â it dawns on Joe that she's right. âWe should be having our pie and eating it too,â he says, hatching a plan to steal back their pensions. âThese banks practically destroyed this country and nothing ever happened to them,â he says. âIf we get caught we get a bed, three meals a day and free healthcare."
âGoing in Styleâ then drops the social commentary and becomes a heist flick. Think âThe Italian Jobâ with electric wheelchairs and youâll get the idea.
Much of the charm of âGoing in Styleâ comes from watching Caine, Freeman and Arkin glideâOK, itâs more like shuffleâthrough this material. Thereâs nothing particularly new here, weâve seen loads of elderly men take back their lives on film in recent years, but subtext and actor goodwill elevate this slight story.
Caine, Freeman and Arkin are formidable actors but expertly portray the invisibility that can come with old age. As eighty-somethings they are unseenâbanks take advantage of them, the police ignore themâuntil they take their future into their own hands. The story is implausible but by the time the heist happens you want the best for these grandpas, no matter how silly the story gets.
âGoing in Styleâ is part knockabout comedy, part rage against the machine. Director Zach Braff adds in just enough sentimentality and slapstick to frame the filmâs message of âhaving a pie of pie whenever the hell I want to!â
SONG TO SONG: 1 STAR
I think itâs time Terrence Malick and I called it quits.
I used to look forward to his infrequent visits. Sure, sometimes he was a little obtuse and over stayed his welcome, but more often than not he was alluringly enigmatic. Then he started coming around more often and, well, maybe the old saying about familiarity breeding contempt is true.
For most of his career he was a tease, a mythic J.D. Salinger type who burst on the scene in a blinding flash of brilliance, made two of the best films of the 1970s, then left us hanging. Like spurned lovers we waited for him to return for two decades and at first were happy to see him again. He told wondrous stories about personal connections and the nature of relationships.
Then he started repeating himself. In the beginning I didnât mind but soon his whispered philosophical asides became tiresome and I began to look for reasons to avoid him.
Now I have one.
Itâs been said that the essence of cinema is beautiful people saying interesting things. In his new film Malick gets it half right, parading good-looking heart throbs like Ryan Gosling, Rooney Mara, Michael Fassbender and Natalie Portman around in a pointless exercise called âSong to Song.â
Fassbender plays a Machiavellian a record producer who uses his wealth and power to seduce those around him, including aspiring musician Mara, rising star Gosling and waitress-turned-wife Portman. The willowy women and mumbling men run barefoot through the loose storyâwhich often feels cobbled together from scraps of film found on the editing room floorâpondering philosophical questions in hushed tones. âHow do you know when you were lying to yourself?â they whisper. âIs any experience is better than no experience?â
All the while Malickâs camera, light as a feather, floats above it all capturing his puzzling whims. For the entire running time nobody looks like they're having any fun even when they're dancing, being goofy or laughing. Theyâre not having any fun and neither will you.
Airy and disjointed, itâs a collage of feelings and shards of life strung together on a fractured timeline. Malick indulges himself to the point that the film is less a movie and more like an experience, like going to âLaser Floyd.â
There are highlights. Val Kilmer singing to a festival crowd, âI got some uranium! I bought it off my mom!â before hacking off his hair with a giant Bowie knife is a memorable moment and cameos from Patti Smith and John Lydon are welcome, but at its heart âSong to Songâ is a movie about people trying to connect that keeps its audience at arms length.
Thereâs a quick shot of a tattoo in the movie that sums up my feelings toward my relationship with Malick. Written in flowery script, the words âEmpty Promisesâ fill the screen, reminding us of the promise of the directorâs early work and amplifying the disappointment we feel today. âSong to Songâ is the straw that broke the camelâs back, the Terrence Malick movie that put me off Terrence Malick movies.
Iâll be nice though and say, itâs not him, itâs me.
GIANTS OF AFRICA: 3 ½ STARS
Like most great sports documentaries âGiants of Africaâ isnât about really about the game. Sure much of the film happens on the basketball court but this isnât about learning to do layups or a final, climatic game, itâs about universal themes of teamwork, survival and empowerment.
Front and centre in Hubert Davisâ documentary is Masai Ujiri, the charismatic Toronto Raptors general manager who founded the Giants of Africa, a program that educates and enriches the lives of underprivileged African youth through basketball.
The Zaria, Nigeria born former player uses basketball to inspire and to bring hope to places where it is often in short supply. In Nigeria he passionately lectures the players about the country and their need to help chance their culture.
âYou have to grow up and you have to be better,â he says. âYou have to put it in your heart that you have to be a good person and you have to be better. You have to make a difference in this country. We all have to make a difference.
âGo out and make a difference in your life. Make a difference in other peopleâs lives.â
Itâs a pep speech with huge ramifications. Ujiri knows the power of words and uses them to inspire on and off the court.
Davis also gives voice to the players. Through them we learn their personal histories, stories of poverty, abuse and civil war, and gain context as to how the Giants of Africa program can help change their lives.
âGiants of Africaâ is a moving, inspirational documentary about change, about how dreams can improve lives and maybe even countries. âIn those kids I see myself,â says Ujiri, âand I think this is a little window of opportunity to help them find themselves.â