All the Bright Places
Calling this a movie about sad teens in love is unfairly reductive, but that doesn’t mean it’s an inaccurate description. Violet (Elle Fanning) is still reeling from the car accident she survived several months earlier, but which her sister did not — and we first meet her as she’s standing on the railing of a bridge. Meanwhile, the misunderstood Finch (Justice Smith), prone to violent mood swings and anti-social behaviour stemming from a troubled childhood, is labeled the school “freak”. The two meet, help each other work through some trauma, fall in love, and it’s really one of the most unsettling teen romances I’ve ever seen. The two lead actors breathe such emotional complexity into their characters, and it’s difficult to see all their moments of romantic joy tempered by the deep sadness just behind their eyes. Director Brett Haley (I’ll See You in My Dreams) contributes an artful aesthetic that makes this feel different from what you’d normally expect in a teen romance — and his surprisingly frank handling of teen mental health issues is refreshing. Credit too to D.P. Rob C. Givens for so skillfully charting the characters’ emotional shifts, whether tuning into a gritty, handheld vibe or shooting majestically outdoors with natural sunlight. Film leans heavily, alas, on that eye-rolling genre convention of faux-inspirational voice-overs in which teen characters explain the profound lessons they’ve learned from what you’ve just watched on screen. Can’t exactly say that this was fun to watch, but I did connect with this story and these characters in a deep, emotional way that I couldn’t easily shake off — and, honestly, that’s what I go to the movies for.
Distributor: Netflix
Release date: Feb. 28, 2020
Grade: B-
The Coldest Game
It’s 1962, and President Kennedy is facing the Cuban Missile Crisis. Joshua Mansky (Bill Pullman), an alcoholic former chess champion, is kidnapped by the U.S. government and sent to compete in a chess tournament in Warsaw, a ploy designed to enable contact with a Soviet asset. First-time director Łukasz Kośmicki (previously known as a cinematographer in Poland) has crafted an awfully formulaic Cold War thriller that is nevertheless handsomely mounted and quite engrossing. This is notably a Polish production that is mostly in English, and there’s a really uncanny tone throughout as an American story that feels so European. Aside from Pullman, who delivers a big, committed performance, the cast (featuring Lotte Verbeek and James Bloor as federal agents) is rather unremarkable. The one big exception is the delightful Robert Więckiewicz as the drunken director of Mansky’s hotel in Warsaw, who plies him with liquor and shows him secret passageways to travel undetected through the city. Kośmicki adds a heavy-handed postscript that positions this film as a warning, following Trump and Putin’s withdrawal from the INF Treaty — it may lack grace, but I appreciated knowing that the filmmaker has a point of view.
Distributor: Netflix
Release date: Feb. 8, 2020
Grade: B-
Dogs Don't Wear Pants
After losing his wife in a tragic accident, Juha (Pekka Strang) spends the next few years in a numb daze — until the day he inadvertently wanders into a dungeon ruled by a dominatrix named Mona (Krista Kosonen) and discovers a dark new outlet to start feeling something again. The terrific cinematography by Pietari Peltola is what you’ll remember most, all those underground reds and pinks and blues popping out from the Nordic naturalism. Kosonen is wonderful in an intensely internal performance, the camera lingering on tight loving close-ups of her face. An unpredictable genre mashup — come for the psychosexual kinky thriller and stay for the black humour and body horror. Finnish director J-P Valkeapää has chosen a bold, fascinating topic for his third feature (though the first to be released in North America); his muddy thesis, however, simply doesn’t fulfill its potential. BDSM practice as depicted in the film is exciting, and it’s hot... but it’s also unhinged and obsessive and consent is violated and boundaries are not respected and then all that is ultimately treated as a positive journey of healing. I don’t know — it feels like the filmmakers have no understanding of what exactly BDSM is all about.
Distributor: Shudder
Release date: Feb. 8, 2020
Grade: C+
Horse Girl
Psychological thriller starring Alison Brie as Sarah, an arts and crafts store employee who finds herself losing her grip on reality. Terrific performance from Brie, who does great work making Sarah a specific, fully dimensional person — and very impressive how she straddles the line of understanding that the things she’s perceiving seem crazy and yet choosing to believe them anyway because they just feel that real to her. This film’s greatest strength, in fact, is how skillfully Brie (also co-writer and a producer) and co-writer/director Jeff Baena develop the character of Sarah throughout; they take the time to establish her kindness, her thoughtfulness regarding friends and colleagues, her love of horses and generosity in sharing that knowledge... and very slowly add layers that complicate our perception of her — a hint of past trauma here, an unexpected reaction to her presence there — until we eventually come to understand precisely how Sarah has gotten to this point. Unfortunately, the storytelling becomes increasingly unhinged in the second half, leading to an abstract, unresolved ending that made me question whether watching this was ultimately worth my time. Still, there are enough pleasures in this tight, tense film to make me eager to see what Baena (Life After Beth, The Little Hours) does next.
Distributor: Netflix
Release date: Feb. 7, 2020
Grade: C+
Jessica Forever
In a dystopian near-future in France, there are many young male orphans. The state has declared these men enemies and hunts them down. The orphans have grown up in a world where they’ve had to resort to violence and murder in order to survive. Enter Jessica (Aomi Muyock), a mysterious soldier who travels the country locating these men and showing them a world of love and family, as she helps them evade the authorities. This one took me on a journey, friends. Halfway through the film, I was quite bored — there’s surprisingly very little plot — and ready to dismiss this completely... but then at the end I wondered if this might actually be a masterpiece. The truth is probably somewhere in between, though I’m feeling compelled to grade this generously. Filmmakers Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel, in their feature debut, have made a film unlike anything I’ve seen before. Such a fascinating concept, so many unanswered questions. Evokes Claire Denis’s Beau Travail at times with its portrait of masculinity and dreamlike tone, but even more esoteric and emotional. As played by Muyock, Jessica is a steel-faced enigma. None of these characters are especially developed, though a select few do get some minor storylines. Ultimately, this might be just a bit underbaked — but I haven’t stopped thinking about it for weeks.
Distributor: Shudder
Release date: Feb. 20, 2020
Grade: B+
The Last Thing He Wanted
Anne Hathaway as a political journalist stationed in Central America in the 1980s, who inadvertently inherits her father’s (Willem Dafoe) arms-dealing business and becomes embroiled in the Iran-Contra affair. Based on the novel by Joan Didion, this is easily one of the least exciting films of the year. There’s just so much I don’t understand about this movie. How was it co-written and directed by the great Dee Rees (Pariah, Mudbound)? Why on earth was she compelled to make this particular film? And why now? This is a film that would have felt dated and bland in the early-’90s when geopolitical “thrillers” like this were at their peak of popularity. Hathaway performs magic by finding emotion to play within the gibberish she’s given. Ben Affleck, as a shady U.S. politician, might actually be asleep in this movie — as if he rewatched his performances in the DC Extended Universe and decided that the energy he brought to Bruce Wayne was simply much too much. Rosie Perez, having an excellent year, does the most interesting work here as Hathaway’s photojournalist pal who becomes her only ally. Oh, and this film’s “twists” and “turns” culminate in an ending that boasts the most laughable use of slow motion in recent memory. Don’t watch this.
Distributor: Netflix
Release date: Feb. 21, 2020
Grade: D
A Second Chance: Rivals!
It’s rare for a terrible movie to be bad in such a fun way. On paper, this is extremely bland — a basic, forgettable plot about a former world-champion gymnast (Emily Morris) who returns to rural South Australia to coach a new generation of young athletes. (Will she lead them to win the state championships at the end... what do you think?) But the generic screenplay is brought to life by the brightest cast of overactors that I’ve seen in a while. As the lead child gymnast, Stella Shute does everything but mug directly into the camera, each line reading testing the human limits of enthusiasm. And she has so much charisma! I’ll take a way-too-big performance over a wooden recitation any day. Carmel Johnson, as a beloved matriarchal coach, can wring gravitas out of the thinnest lines of dialogue. This is a movie where tweens constantly explain to adults, like tiny therapists, why the adults are acting the way they are, where tweens explain a joke for the audience to make sure we didn’t miss it. It’s a movie where Disney Channel Original Movie vibes suddenly give way at times to majestic cinematography and soaring music. I found every second delightful! I didn’t even realize until during my viewing that this is actually a sequel to A 2nd Chance — a 2011 film that, as far as I can tell, was never released in North America — with most of the adult cast reprising their roles. Not believable that a 12-year-old in 2020 would reference a line of dialogue from Top Gun. I’m so intrigued by returning director Clay Glen. He’s also the only credited writer and producer here, and it seems like he almost exclusively makes movies like this about gymnastics. What’s his deal? I’m not going to pretend that this was good, but I’ve seen so many bad movies that are nowhere near as entertaining as this cheesefest. Young audiences may even find value in minor plot threads about cyber-bullying and eating disorders, though the movie resolves everything far too quickly and easily. If you’re looking for something silly to watch this weekend with your favourite edible, have I got the movie for you!
Distributor: Netflix
Release date: Feb. 5, 2020
Grade: C-
System Crasher
Nine-year-old Benni (Helena Zengel) is a traumatized child prone to aggression and violent outbursts. Running out of options of foster homes they can place her in, her social workers fear the system may fail her. Writer-director Nora Fingscheidt favours a naturalistic hand-held aesthetic, which combined with Zengel’s piercing screams makes for an often overwhelming, immersive experience. Excellent performance by Gabriela Maria Schmeide as Frau Bafané, Benni’s social worker, who conceals her heartbreak with a cheery demeanour. Lisa Hagmeister very strong also as Benni’s terrified mother. But Zengel is obviously the main attraction here, and it’s truly jaw-dropping work from such a young performer. Zengel commits so ferociously to her character’s rage, while never failing to locate her vulnerability. Rather than the fuzzy, inspirational story that you’d expect if this were a Hollywood production, Fingscheidt’s first narrative feature (which was Germany’s submission to the 2019 Oscars) focuses on the hopelessness and repetitiveness of Benni’s circumstances — which makes this a haunting, probably more realistic, film, if perhaps less of an emotionally satisfying one.
Distributor: Netflix
Release date: Feb. 21, 2020
Grade: B
The Thing About Harry
Sam (Jake Borelli), driving back from Chicago to his Missouri hometown for an engagement party, reluctantly agrees to give a lift to Harry (Niko Terho), his high school bully. Harry, it turns out, has since come out as pansexual. Sparks fly. But they must first yearn for each other for several years while they deal with problems they create for themselves. Make no mistake — this is extremely basic and predictable... but I sure am glad to live in a world where gay people get our own underwhelming rom-coms. Created for the cable network Freeform (down to built-in commercial breaks), this certainly looks and feels televisual; director and co-writer Peter Paige (Emmett from Showtime’s Queer as Folk) also co-created The Fosters for the network. Has perhaps the most irritating time jumps I’ve ever seen, a never-ending parade of chyrons indicating how much time has passed between scenes. Karamo Brown from Queer Eye has a truly terrible cameo as a pretentious art historian. The non-Karamo cast, however, is actually quite charming and have decent chemistry. I chuckled.
Distributor: Freeform
Release date: Feb. 15, 2020
Grade: C
Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made
Timmy Failure (Winslow Fegley) is an imaginative 11-year-old in Portland, Oregon who runs an amateur detective agency with the help of his imaginary friend and business partner, a polar bear named Total. Over the course of the film, Timmy juggles many cases, including finding his mother’s stolen Segway and investigating the death of the class pet, all while keeping tabs on the shady Russians in town (don’t worry; they’re just hipsters). Fegley an absolute delight in this role. Endearing performances as well from Ophelia Lovibond as Mama Failure and TV-sitcom hunk Kyle Bornheimer as her new boyfriend. The film is sweet and funny and lots of fun, though very light — the details won’t exactly stick for long. Another most welcome film for children that celebrates misfits and encourages kids to be proud of their weirdness. Truly strange, though, that this comes from director/co-writer Tom McCarthy, whose previous film (Spotlight) won Best Picture — not to mention that this bypassed theatres and was released straight to Disney+. Surely not the Oscar follow-up most filmmakers would hope for. Should we be worried about McCarthy’s career?
Distributor: Disney+
Release date: Feb. 7, 2020
Grade: B
To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You
This second installment in the teen rom-com film trilogy adapted from Jenny Han’s novels is stronger and even more endearing than its predecessor. Lara Jean (Lana Condor) and Peter (Noah Centineo) are officially a couple now, though Lara Jean is haunted by his former relationship with her ex-best friend Gen (Emilija Baranac). Meanwhile, she reconnects with John Ambrose (Jordan Fisher), one of the recipients of her old love letters from the first film, which may cause trouble for her new romance. Condor and Centineo remain winning romantic leads that I would happily watch all day. Fisher, meanwhile, positively bursting with charisma and star power (and he was a sensational Mark Cohen in Fox’s Rent: Live) — this man deserves a massive career. Truly the best kind of love triangle: both boys are sensitive, sweet, funny studs, and you may find yourself torn between the two, because both are just so perfect. Series D.P. Michael Fimognari takes over directing duties here (though you won’t notice any difference), and he does well guiding his cast to find deeper layers in these characters — Lara Jean and Gen, for instance, address the rift between them in a way I found surprisingly affecting. Holland Taylor, meanwhile, makes a welcome appearance as Stormy, a delightful life-of-the-party senior citizen who becomes something of a mentor/guardian angel to Lara Jean. Sure, this film never tries to escape its predictable rom-com trappings, nor does much ever happen below the surface — however, its target audience of teen girls and gay men will find plenty to savour here.
Distributor: Netflix
Release date: Feb. 12, 2020
Grade: B-
