Mini Review - Love of an Icon: The Legend of Crocodile Dundee
Love of an Icon: The Legend of Crocodile Dundee (out Mar 27) is a lovingly made, 87-minute documentary which chronicles of the success of 1986's Crocodile Dundee. There are wonderful titbits of information to leave you smiling but above all else, it tells a bloody good rags-to-riches story. A great watch! Grade: A-.
Mini Review - The Cats of Gokogu Shrine
The Cats of Gokogu Shrine (out Mar 27) is a niche, narration-free documentary about a Japanese township and the people who help care for its homeless cats. Will have its fans but, in my eyes, it's not a subject that generates enough interesting contest to justify a two-hour runtime. Grade: C+.
Mini Review - Oh, Canada
Oh, Canada (out Mar 27) is a meandering, Paul Schrader-directed drama about an acclaimed documentary filmmaker (Richard Gere) giving one last interview before succumbing to the effects of terminal cancer. I struggled to latch onto whatever this film was selling. Grade: C.
Mini Review - The Alto Knights
The Alto Knights (out Mar 20) tells the true story of two childhood friends who became mob-leading rivals in the 1950s. It takes a while to warm-up and get past the weird novelty of Robert DeNiro playing both leading roles... but once it gets going, it's a really interesting true story. Grade: B+.
Mini Review - Snow White
Snow White (out Mar 20) is a song-heavy, live-action retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale. Much has been spent on production values (they look good) but it's a tired narrative and the filmmakers struggle to make it fresh. Grade: B-.
Mini Review - The Rule of Jenny Pen
The Rule of Jenny Pen (out Mar 20) is an underwhelming New Zealand thriller about the bizarre happenings at an aged care facility. Geoffrey Rush and John Lithgow add star power but it's hard to the premise seriously. Grade: C+.
Mini Review - Black Bag
Black Bag (out Mar 13) is a slick thriller centred on a group of six talented (well, most of the time) spies trying to find out which one of them cannot be trusted. With a snazzy film score and distinctive direction, Black Bag is quality adult fun. Grade: B+.
Mini Review - Flow
Flow (out Mar 20) is a Latvian animated feature, with zero dialogue, made using open-source 3D computer graphics available to the public. That not selling it? Should I mention that it won the Academy Award for best animated film?!?! It’s the tale of a black cat trying to find their way to higher ground when a devastating flood sweeps through its forested home. With stunning visuals and a surprisingly moving story, this is memorable cinema. Grade: A-.