What to See (And What to Skip) In Theatres This Weekend
Our favourite movie this week?: That would be The Favourite (Rating: A), a savagely funny black comedy from Greek director, Yorgos Lanthimos, features Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone as court rivals seeking the ear and more of the peevish Queen Anne (a fabulous Olivia Colman) in early 18th century, while the men are away fighting the French.
Liam Lacey likes the whole package – sharp dialogue, camera work, silly dancing and., of course, the three lead performances. But don’t just take our word for it: The Favourite swept the recent British Independent Film Awards and all three actresses are up for Golden Globe.
The Favourite: Sharpest satire and the must-see movie of the week.
Getting off our royal high horses, there’s a different kind of grisly amusement in Can-con comedy, The Go-Getters (Rating: B-minus) from director Jeremy LaLonde (CBC’s Baroness von Sketch Show) which follows indigent Owen (Aaron Abrams) and drug-addicted sex worker named Lacie (Tommie-Amber Pirie) who concoct a plan to get to a new life in – Brockville?
Jim Slotek says that the movie’s determination to offend is impressive “and yet, once you’ve absorbed their collective horribleness, the characters start to grow on you.”
Because there wasn’t a High School Christmas musical with zombies, the movie Anna and the Apocalypse (Rating: C-plus) had to be made. Set in a middle-class Scottish village, the film follows Anna (Ella Hunt) and her friends singing and zombie-smashing their way through an undead holiday invasion.
With its plucky energy, eagerness to please and derivative tunes, says Liam Lacey, the whole thing feels as if it might have been produced by an actual high school class.
Finally, we have a trio of documentaries: Almost Almost Famous (Rating: B minus) explores the enduring legacies of Elvis Presley, Jackie Wilson, Buddy Holly, Bill Haley, through the musicians who impersonate them on tour. Kim Hughes says it’s a small, but fun, fly-on-the-wall look at an obscure corner of the entertainment world.
Searching for Ingmar Bergman (Rating: B), by German director Margarethe von Trotta, is a generous, modestly insightful look at Swedish director from the perspective of other filmmakers and collaborators, says Liam Lacey. He was unimpressed by another biographical doc, Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes (Rating: C), which barely scratches the nasty surface of the late Fox News founder and Republican political strategist.
Have a great weekend!