THE MARVELS: 3 STARS
Thirty-three movies in, the interconnected Marvel Cinematic Universe offers up 鈥淭he Marvels,鈥 a new superhero flick now playing in theatres that acts as a follow-up to the 2019 film 鈥淐aptain Marvel鈥 and a continuation of the 2022 television series 鈥淢s. Marvel.鈥
Brie Larson returns as Avenger and former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers. After destroying the Supreme Intelligence, the AI that ruled the alien race known as the Kree, civil war erupted, leaving their planet Hala barren, with little air or water.
In an effort to rebuild her homeland and eke out revenge on Captain Marvel, Kree revolutionary warrior Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) obtains one of the powerful Quantum Bands, an ancient magical bangle that matches the one worn by Kamala Khan/Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani).
When Dar-Benn uses the power of the Band to rip a hole in the fabric of space and time, S.A.B.E.R. bigwig Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) jumps into action.
鈥淲e are at war,鈥 he says. 鈥淐aptain Marvel, we need you to save the world.鈥
With S.A.B.E.R. astronaut Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) at her side, Captain Marvel sets off on her mission, only to discover that Dar-Benn has created an electromagnetic bond between her, Rambeau and Ms. Marvel, that causes them to switch places when they use their powers.
Imagine an interplanetary 鈥淔reaky Friday鈥 and you鈥檒l get the idea.
At 105 minutes, 鈥淭he Marvels鈥 is the shortest MCU film to date. In its brief running time (for a Marvel movie) it zips along at a pace ranging from frenetic to chaotic, mixing and matching heartfelt scenes of superhero bonding with slapstick comedy and large scale MCU-style action scenes. The galloping pace keeps the eye busy, distracting from the film鈥檚 derivative story elements.
Also distracting, but in a good way, is Ontario's Vellani as Ms. Marvel, a starstruck Captain Marvel fan and aspiring superhero. Her wide-eyed naturalness amid the fantasy is nicely played to comedic effect. It鈥檚 a warm, big-hearted performance that stands out in a sea of kaleidoscopic CGI. Her relationships with her family, Captain Marvel and Rambeau are lovely, tethering this otherworldly movie firmly on planet earth.
鈥淭he Marvels鈥 has a breezy, light tone and comedy that leans toward a younger audience. The chemistry between the three leads goes a long way to earn a recommendation, and who doesn鈥檛 like kittens with tentacle tongues? But the lackluster villain鈥擜shton is the kind of snarling world-ender we鈥檝e seen a hundred times before鈥攁nd disjointed, messy story, (even Nick Fury wonders aloud, 鈥淲hat the hell is going on here?鈥) renders the film underwhelming.
ANOTHER BODY: 3 ½ STARS
鈥淎nother Body,鈥 a true crime investigative documentary that looks at a very 21st century criminal act, the deepfaking of pornography. 鈥淣o woman in the world is safe from this technology.鈥
Wikipedia defines 鈥渄eepfake鈥 as a 鈥減ortmanteau of 鈥榙eep learning鈥 and 鈥榝ake鈥" and explains they 鈥渁re synthetic media that have been digitally manipulated to replace one person's likeness convincingly with that of another.鈥 In other words, taking the real-life image of someone from the web and digitally cutting-and-pasting their face on pornographic footage.
鈥淎nother Body,鈥 from directors Sophie Compton and Reuben Hamlyn, dives into the story of Taylor Klein, a 22-year-old engineering grad who began receiving strange, provocative messages from strangers on her social media. Turns out she鈥檚 being doxed by someone who has also deepfaked her face onto an online pornographic film.
Humiliated and concerned, she contacts law enforcement, who say they are unable to help her because no laws have been broken in that state. The deepfakes, she says, 鈥淸make me] feel like I鈥檓 not in control in that one area of my life, [and] it鈥檚 causing me to feel out of control in other areas of my life.鈥
When she hears of Julia, an old classmate whose life is being turned upside down by similar deepfaked images, the two become advocates for themselves as they compare stories and come up with a suspect, someone they both knew who would be capable of this most personal fraud.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 really think there is anything that could make up for what has happened,鈥 Klein says.
To reinforce the power of this deepfake technology Compton and Hamlyn, in an effort to maintain Klein鈥檚 privacy, do the standard stuff, changed her name and the name of her school. What is different is the way they very realistically deepfaked an actor鈥檚 face over her real face. It protects her identity, but if you need any more convincing of the effectiveness of the technology to create realistic looking facial replacement, look no further. Once revealed, the effectiveness of it is chilling.
鈥淎nother Body,鈥 despite its high-tech trick, is a fairly straightforward sleuthing documentary. Linear in its investigation of the crime, it uses modern tech, like Zoom and loads of screen grabs, etc, to tell the story of the grassroots, online connections that brought together a number of deepfake victims who form a community in the face of a lack of help from law enforcement. True justice may not be served鈥攊n most states deepfakes are not yet illegal鈥攂ut Klein and the people she uncovers prove that something can be done.
WHO鈥橲 YER FATHER? 3 STARS
鈥淲ho鈥檚 Yer Father,鈥 hailing from P.E.I. and now playing in theatres, is a comedy caper film, but underneath the crime and slapstick is a romantic beating heart.
Larry Constable (Chris Locke) is P.E.I.鈥檚 only private investigator (PI). After a week of training, he hangs out in his shingle, cornering the market on the small island.
鈥淟arry Constable on the case,鈥 he sings. 鈥淚鈥檓 showing up at your place.鈥
He gets the gig of his life when seafood magnate Luke Thorne (Matt Wells) hires the guileless PI to look into black-market lobster sales that are taking a piece of his business in the tiny village of Sandbar Cove.
鈥淲hat I need you to do is find out who is buying the lobster,鈥 Thorne says.
During his investigation, he meets plucky convenience store clerk Rhonda (Susan Kent). She has a way with a phrase鈥"This is getting dirty enough to grow potatoes in,鈥 she says at one point.鈥攁nd a willingness to help Larry. But when their stakeout reveals that Thorne鈥檚 wife Nicole (Kaniehtiio Horn) is having an affair, they decide to blackmail her鈥斺淚t鈥檚 not blackmail,鈥 Rhonda says, 鈥渋t鈥檚 more like manifesting.鈥濃攁nd run away to a happily-ever-after with the cash.
Distracted by the burgeoning love affair with Rhonda, Larry allows the situation to spiral out of control.
鈥淲ho鈥檚 Yer Father鈥濃攖he name comes from Maritime shorthand, a way to quickly figure out family and friend connections in close knit communities鈥攊s an unapologetically silly movie that feels like an East Coast Kitchen Party in tone, loose, fun with delicious seafood chowder (courtesy of Rhonda鈥檚 secret recipe).
Larry is a classic comedy character, a hapless guy, in over his head, but Locke makes sure there鈥檚 a sweetness to him as well. That goes a long way to keeping us onside with Larry and Rhonda as their blackmail scheme goes awry.
Kent plays Rhonda as a sharp-tongued troublemaker, the romantic interest who leads Larry on the movie鈥檚 central, hairbrained plan. She鈥檚 having fun, and Rhonda, with her downhome sayings and chowder recipe, would be a hoot to hang with.
Fun performances make 鈥淲ho鈥檚 Yer Father?鈥 crowd pleasing hokum, a mostly good time, but like a lot of parties, even ones with laughs and good food, it goes on a bit too long.
TESTAMENT: 2 ½ STARS
Academy Award winning Quebec filmmaker Denys Arcand returns to theatres with 鈥淭estament,鈥 a satirical look at cancel culture and political correctness.
Rémy Girard is Jean-Michel Bouchard, a world-weary 73-year-old bachelor living in a retirement home. To pass the time during the day he walks in the local cemetery and volunteers at a school. At night, thinking about how little time he has left, he has trouble sleeping.
One afternoon a protest happens outside the retirement home.
鈥淩espect our First Nations,鈥 the assembled crowd chants.
The object of the activist鈥檚 disapproval is an antique fresco that hangs in the home鈥檚 front hallway. In its depiction of the Iroquois people welcoming Jacques Cartier to their land, the First Nations are presented as uncivilized and sexualized, whereas Cartier is decked out in European finery.
The protestors call it a distortion of history, a depiction of genocide created from a Eurocentric point of view and demand the home鈥檚 director, Suzanne Francoeur (Sophie Lorain), have the painting removed.
鈥淭his whole painting is a disgrace,鈥 they say, 鈥渁nd we鈥檙e going to come back here every day until you do something about it.鈥
Suzanne finds herself in the midst of two scandals as she orders the fresco to be painted over, hidden from sight, only to have the Deputy Minister of Culture Raphaël Saint-Aubin (Robert Lepage) declare that the painting鈥檚 artist was 鈥渢he greatest muralist of the 19th century鈥 and should never have been covered.
鈥淲hat you鈥檝e done is unspeakable,鈥 he yells at Suzanne. 鈥淭here are no words. It was a D鈥橝ubigny, you idiot.鈥
As the controversy roils, Jean-Michel has an awakening as his feelings for Suzanne take shape.
As a satire 鈥淭estament鈥 aims for obvious targets鈥攚oke culture, political correctness, eager activists鈥攁nd goes after them with a sledgehammer. The absence of subtlety in Arcand鈥檚 culture war screed mires the satire with a 鈥済et off my lawn鈥 mentality that feels too easy, too mocking.
In one scene Saint-Aubin and director of fine arts Emmanuel D鈥橝rgenson (Yves Jacques) indulge in a whataboutism argument that hits every talking point in the anti-woke playbook. Trouble is, it doesn鈥檛 play like satire, it plays like bad social media memes given the breath to speak. It鈥檚 not exactly cutting edge.
Better is Jean-Michel鈥檚 awakening. As Suzanne becomes a scapegoat for her bureaucratic bosses his gruff exterior fades away, revealing his feelings for her. It鈥檚 a late start for a man who never embraced life completely, and Girard displays those wasted years, those regrets with a subtlety the rest of the movie lacks. By the film鈥檚 end, he has something to live for, and realizes that change is possible, no matter your age. That should be 鈥淭estament鈥檚鈥 real message, its beating heart. Not the poking of a finger in the eye of ideology.
