It’s odd to think that before the 2000s pirates were considered box office poison unless accompanied by felt puppets.  But after Johnny Depp put on some eye shadow and busted out that Keith Richards impression he did at parties, pirates turned into one of the most profitable commodities in movie-land. As a general rule, it’s always best to look at movies with that sort of trendy subject matter with a healthy amount of skepticism. However, The Pirates: Band Of Misfits needn’t be approached with such trepidations. This is the latest stop-motion feature from those plasticine geniuses at Aardman Animations, who previously gave us the Wallace and Gromit series and Chicken Run. Those lovable British chaps have a knack for producing hilariously sharp animated features that are just as likely to tickle grown up children as, you know, actual children. Five years in the making, this is probably the largest scale stop motion production Aardman has attempted to date and after the mild disappointment of their two CGI efforts (Flushed Away and Arthur Christmas), something of a return to form for the studio.

This equally intelligently crafted and gloriously silly project came from a series novels by Gideon Dafoe, whose work is known for straddling the delicate smart/silly line. Hugh Grant stars (well, in animated form) as the genial, yet useless Captain Pirate. He’s spent years swashbuckling his way through the seas and amassed a loyal crew of dingbats, deadbeats, morons, and one particularly curvaceous pirate with a high voice and a strangely fake looking beard. They’re a ragtag bunch at best and rarely succeed at anything beyond getting into trouble. However, this year the Captain Pirate has decided to go for the ‘Pirate of the Year’ award handed out for to pirate who amasses the biggest booty. He’s not very good at it, though, and after a series of failed adventures ends up accidentally stumbling onto Charles Darwin’s ship. While the love-starved scientist has no booty to offer, Darwin (voiced by Dr. Who’s David Tennant) does notice that Captain Pirate’s strange looking shoulder bird is a dodo, not a parrot. There’s money to be made from scientists for discovering a seemingly extinct bird, so the pirates decide to pursue that venue to get their gold. Confusion, slapstick, and wordplay galore inevitably follow.

This is British comedy at its silliest and gloriously executed. Dafoe cranked out the joke-packed script himself with the animation team led by director and Aardman-founder Peter Lord packing in more visual gags than should legally be allowed on a single screen. The film moves at such a brisk pace with so many wonderfully ridiculous asides that children are sure to laugh hysterically throughout. It would be a mistake to let this pirate romp play purely for kiddies, though, as that’s certainly not the only crowd Aardman designs their comedy for. We’re talking about a movie in which one of the biggest laughs involves Jane Austin abusing the Elephant Man. While there might be a particularly literate 5 year old out there somewhere who will enjoy that gag, I’ve got a feeling it’s mainly for a different crowd.

Like Pixar, the good folks at Aardman strive for nothing more than unabashed and sneakily intelligent entertainment that plays for all ages. Even if you’re not someone particularly enamored with pirate-related slapstick, the technical craftsmanship alone is worth the price of admission. It’ll take multiple viewings to pick out all the characters, jokes, and sets the crew of animators crammed into Pirates. This thing has the scale of a CGI adventure, yet it was almost exclusively created with good old-fashioned puppetry. The five years spent on production weren’t wasted and for animation nuts, this thing offers glorious eye-candy a-plenty. Throw in a voice cast led by Grant, Tennant, Jeremy Piven, Brendan Gleeson, Martin Freeman, and Britain’s greatest baritone theatrical voice Brian Blessed and you’ve got a cavalcade of talent crammed into a trim 88 minutes.

It’s also worth noting that the movie was shot in 3D and I suppose it shows off the depth of the sets fairly well. However, aside from the occasional shot of a pirate swinging towards the camera, the plastic glasses add very little to the experience. So if you don’t feel like shelling out double the ticket price, it doesn’t really make much of a difference how many dimensions you decide to view this movie in. Just see it and while you’re at it, go ahead and have one hell of a good time. The Pirates: Band of Misfits is a giddy sugar rush of British animation entertainment.

If you see one of the showtimes for a movie highlighted, it means we are have a contest to give tickets away for that particular showing! For more information or for a full list of titles in our giveaway, head here! And don’t forget to check out our first, second, and third batches of reviews, too!

NOTE: Films marked as being Rush Only were rush as of press time. Please check before you head out. For more up to date information, a full list of films, showtimes, venues, and ticketing information, please visit hotdocs.ca.

Indie Game: The Movie

Directors: James Swirsky, Lisanne Pajot

Program: Special Presentations

94 minutes

Recommended?: Yes. If you have a passion for creating anything you’ll get something out of this film.

This slickly produced Canadian doc isn’t just something for gamers or geeks; anyone who has ever tried to create something will be able to relate to the stories being told. Indie Game: The Movie has the distinction of being first major film of its kind to honestly profile game creation – and all the blood, sweat, and tears expended in the process. The film follows several indie game designers as they struggle to complete their respective games, including Team Meat – the chaps behind the wonderful platformer Super Meat Boy, and Montreal’s Phil Fish – co-creator of the recently released and long in development FEZ.

Indie Game: The Movie has two goals: it has contextualize games and game design for a broad audience, and it has to relay several thematically similar but separate tales centred around game designers effectively. To their credit, co-directors Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky accomplish both these goals in the course of the film’s 94 minute running time with very few missteps. The direness of one of Fish’s many crises later in the film is probably slightly overplayed and at times the film can feel a little over-produced (underwater cameras in a pool, repetitive epilogue), but these are minor complaints for a film that has a great, untold story to tell and a big heart to boot. (Will Perkins)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Screens

Thursday, May 3^rd, 9:00pm, Bloor (RUSH ONLY)

Indie Game: The Movie will also screen across Canada at local Cineplex theatres on Thursday, May 3rd at 9pm EST, 8pm CST, 7pm MTN, 6pm PST. For more participating theatres and tickets visit www.cineplex.com/Events.

We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists

Director: Brian Knappenberger

Program: Rise Against

93 minutes

Recommended?: Yes.

For anyone well versed in internet culture, WikiLeaks, or 4chan, We Are Legion might not hold many revelations or surprises in its look at the roots of online social activism and the rise of Anonymous and Lulzsec, but Knappenberger does a great job of pulling a lot of disparate elements together to create a portrait of an often malleable and misunderstood concept.

From the early days of hacking to the eventual toppling of the Egyptian government, Knappenberger ably shows the distinction between doing something for the lulz and actually making a difference. Multi-faceted and well balanced, the film makes use of some great recent history and insightful talks with those both actively working with Anonymous and those who recently got out. It’s the picture of a group that’s equally sympathetic, loathsome, unorganized, and powerful told with the greatest amount of precision that someone could possibly get. (Andrew Parker)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Screens

Tuesday, May 1^st, 6:15pm, Bloor (RUSH ONLY)

Thursday, May 3^rd, 3:00pm, Lightbox 1

Saturday, May 5^th, 7:00pm, Lightbox 1 (RUSH ONLY)

Sexy Baby
Directors: Jill Bauer and Ronna Gradus
Program: Special Presentations

Screens With: The Relationship Doctrine of Don Blanquito (7 minutes)
84 minutes
Recommended?: Yes

It’s a topic that will come up for us no matter what: how is sex perceived these days, how does it affect the rest of our lives and how can you protect someone from the harm it might inflict but still let them know how strong and independent they are? This documentary follows three women – a teenager named Winnifred, a young teacher named Laura and a stripper turned porn star turned mother named Nichole – and tries to make sense of how they react to the way sex is perceived in the digital age.

Sexy Baby shows a balanced view of these topics while getting you to feel compassionate about its characters. It’s especially compelling to watch Winnifred’s story. You may understand what she’s going through. You think of how you don’t want your future daughter growing up to cater to what’s shown in porn or putting very revealing photos on Facebook. Nichole put it best, stating there’s a difference between “I’m going to show you something” and someone saying “let me see.” (Jessica Lewis)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Screens

Tuesday, May 1^st, 9:00pm, Bloor

Thursday, May 3^rd, 6:45pm, Isabel Bader

Friday, May 4^th. 7:00pm, Lightbox 1

Detropia

Directors: Rachel Grady, Heidi Edwing

Program: Special Presentations

91 minutes

Recommended?: Yes, very strongly

From the opera house and the local tavern to hard working auto plant employees about to be laid off and scavengers looking to make a few dollars out of some scrap metal, Jesus Camp directors Grady and Edwing take a sprawling look at the widespread canvas that is the city of Detroit and just how far the once mighty manufacturing powerhouse has fallen.

While the film seems to largely gloss over the city’s dramatically high crime rate, the deeply personal and well informed stories come together in a adroitly assembled package that makes the viewer feel almost sorry enough for the city to want to visit. It’s pretty gloomy and downtrodden, but not devoid of its share of hope and optimism for the future. (Andrew Parker)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Screens

Saturday, May 5^th, 5:45pm, Bloor (RUSH ONLY)

Finding Truelove
Director: Sam Kuhn
Program: Nightvision
68 minutes
Recommended?: Yes, not strongly

Intrigued by the word “Caduceus” on its cover, Clay, Michael and Andrew purchased a yearbook from Chico High’s class of 1990 at a Value Village. Amongst the Zack Morrises and Kelly Kapowskis of the yearbook photos, the three friends became intrigued by one smirking, floppy-haired student: Timothy Truelove. With a Google Checkout purchase and a road trip from Portland to California, they jump on the opportunity to crash the Chico High’s 20th reunion.

Though the premise is solid, Finding Truelove goes through long stretches where it’s
less of a documentary and more like a home video of a road trip. The filmmaking itself is clumsy and immature at best, but the way that these guys genuinely want to befriend the students of Chico High makes Finding Truelove worthwhile. (Sasha James)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Screens

Monday, April 30^th, 11:30 PM, Bloor
Tueday, May 1^st, 9:15 PM, Cumberland 3
Sunday, May 6^th, 6:45 PM, Lightbox 4 (RUSH ONLY)

Bones Brigade: An Autobiography

Director: Stacy Peralta

Program: Special Presentations

110 minutes

Recommended: Quite strongly, especially for skateboarding fans, but the film could definitely use a trim

Dogtown and Z-Boys director Peralta takes a more personal look at skateboarding culture by chronicling the days where he and business partner George Powell played mentor to a nearly unbeatable group of upcoming skaters in the 80s that included the likes of sport icons Tony Hawk and Rodney Mullen.

Sometimes self gratifying and easily 20 minutes too long, the autobiography of the title is a bit of a misnomer as it’s more of an oral history told by all of those who lived it and not just the director. It’s still highly entertaining and the personalities involved and their anecdotes keep things lively and quite poignant even when Peralta drags his heels in the editing department. (Andrew Parker)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Screens

Tuesday, May 1^st, 6:30pm, Lightbox 1

Wednesday, May 2^nd, 2:00pm, Lightbox 2

Sunday, May 6^th, 4:00pm, Revue (RUSH ONLY)

Mom and Me

Director: Danic Champoux

Program: Canadian Spectrum

Screens With: Of Insects and Men (12 minutes)

Subtitled

52 minutes

Recommended?: Only if animated re-enactments of Quebec’s storied history with biker gangs appeal to you.

Don’t let the heartwarming title fool you. Mom and Me is a partly-animated documentary about the rise and fall of feared gang leader Maurice “Mom” Boucher and a kid who idolized the violent kingpin. Told mostly through the eyes of the director as a young boy, filmmaker Champoux parallels his own troubled upbringing in Sorel, Quebec with that of the notorious Hell’s Angel leader who inhabited his neighbourhood in between prison stints.

Aside from childhood run-ins with the Angels, Champoux’s connection to the gang seems tenuous at best. The doc is a jumble of wonderful (and decidedly X-rated) animated sequences, as well as interviews with many interesting characters (including an astrologist, for some reason) who tell many stories at once. Mom and Me certainly paints an interesting picture of suburban Quebec during the reign of the biker gangs, but it never really comes together. On their own, the stories of Champoux and Boucher would likely be stronger tales. Mixed together though, the doc suffers from a lack of focus that can be both confusing and off-putting at times. (Will Perkins)

Screens

Friday, April 27^th, 6:30pm, Cumberland 2

Sunday, April 29^th, 3:30pm, Lightbox 4

The World Before Her

Director: Nisha Pahuja

Program: Canadian Spectrum

Some Subtitles

90 minutes

Recommended?: Strongly. One of the festival’s most powerful films

In India where westernized influences are often running afoul of religious ideals and traditions, Pahuja looks at two different, but equally compelling ends of the spectrum as she profiles both women preparing for the highly competitive Miss India pageant and other that are sent off to a Hindu Fundamentalists camps for combat training and to learn to be subservient.

The contrast between the two worlds leads to some genuine tension and intelligent conversation. The women in the pageant are smart, sympathetic, and at times, somewhat inspirational. On the other side, the depiction of religious extremism comes across as bone chilling as it sounds. A great movie could be made from any single part of the story, but Pahuja assembles the pieces in a powerful and well paced fashion. (Andrew Parker)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Screens

Wednesday, May 2^nd, 7:00pm, Isabel Bader (RUSH ONLY)

Saturday, May 5^th, 9:30pm, Lightbox 1

Sunday, May 6^th, 11:00am, Isabel Bader

Beware of Mr. Baker

Director: Jay Bulger

Program: Next

92 minutes

Recommended?: Yes, and not just because I fear the film’s subject punching me in the face.

Journalist Bulger revisits the subject of the Rolling Stone piece that made his career in this on-point, tightly crafted look at one of the most gifted and bat shit insane musicians in rock history.

More of a jazz drummer than the hard rocker he was made out to be, Ginger Baker oversaw the formation of the short lived by highly influential Cream and dozens of other equally short lived band. Bulger interviews the chronically pissed off and belligerent Baker from his South African estate about everything from his childhood and his musical influences to his travels across the Sahara and his drug addiction.

Baker is an equally magnetic and polarizing figure, and Bulger hits all the high notes with very little filler and some key insights from rock royalty that knew him best or were influenced by him. (Andrew Parker)

Click here to view the embedded video.

Screens

Friday, April 27^th, 6:15pm, Bloor

Saturday, April, 28^th, 1:45pm, Isabel Bader

Saturday, May 5^th, 1:00pm, Lightbox 2

The Job

Director: Didier Cros

Program: World Showcase

Subtitled

94 minutes

Recommended?: No. It’s an interesting, but ultimately missed opportunity that drags.

An unnecessary and painfully overlong attempt to demystify television job interview based reality shows like The Apprentice and Top Chef, Cros takes a look at a group of potential candidates of various ages and skill levels interviewing with a consulting firm for a poor paying entry level insurance sales position.

None of the candidates are ever allowed to be anything more than an name on an application sheet, as Cros predominantly focuses on the mindnumbing banality of lengthy recruiting tasks. Even the one-on-one interviews never rise about shit talking and “every man and woman for themselves” mentality. If the point was to show how boring it is to apply for even the most marginal of professional positions, mission accomplished, but there’s barely twenty minutes of good material here, not 94. (Andrew Parker)

Screens

Friday, April 27^th, 9:00pm, Cumberland 2

Sunday, April 29^th, 1:30pm, Cumberland 2

Sunday, May 6^th, 1:15pm, Cumberland 3

Following mediocre adaptations of The Grinch and Horton Hears a Who and an truly unwatchable take on The Cat in the Hat, calling The Lorax the best adaptation of Theodor Geisel’s work in recent years might be to damn it with faint praise. In this case, such a laudatory note holds a lot of weight since The Lorax will likely cast a magical spell on all who see it, young and old alike. For the first time in a long time, a filmmaker has captured the philosophical essence and good will at the centre of a Dr. Seuss book. It feels really great to say that again.

Based on Seuss’ most outwardly political kids book (loosely adapted, of course, since a 25 page rhyming picture book doesn’t exactly seem like the most cinematic thing to follow to the letter for 90 minutes), the film tells the story of Ted (voiced by Zac Efron), a young man living in Thneedville, a town made entirely out of plastic and laid out with convenience in mind. In a Spaceballs like twist, the air is so polluted that the most powerful man in town, Mr. O’ Hare (Rob Riggle) sells people bottled and canned air.

The pollution and lack of clean air is caused by a complete lack of trees, which were cut down years ago by an inventor living outside of town called The Once-ler (Ed Helms). When Ted ventures out of town to find out how to secure a tree for an artistic minded girl he’s sweet on (Taylor Swift), The Once-ler regales him with the tale of how he chopped down all the trees in the forest, much to the chagrin and disappointment of The Lorax (Danny DeVito), a mythical creature with some rockin’ facial hair that speaks on behalf of the trees.

Despicable Me director Chris Renaud was definitely the right choice for this material. The film’s intricate plotting (jumping back and forth between Thneedville and the story of The Lorax) also incorporates musical numbers that don’t detract from the story. While the songs are clearly catering to the youngsters in the audience, they still manage to give the adults some chuckles. Renaud finds the sweet spot between keeping the attention of kids and adults while balancing a hard to pull of script.

Credit also belongs to the film’s writers, Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul, who take Seuss’ most satirical and bittersweet book and make it into mainstream entertainment that never descends into preachiness (save for one groan worthy lines in the last few minutes) or dampens the impact of the story’s message. As a book, The Lorax never carried a subtle message. It was always up front about the protection of forests and the environment. Similarly, the film doesn’t deal in subtleties outside of a few clever modern references and some killer sight gags, but the message feels just as fresh now (and probably more vitally important) than it did when the story was first published.

Visually, Renaud and his French animation crew have outdone even their strong debut feature. Never before have the colours of a Seuss book been this vibrant and fully realized. The frame fills with spectacle that doesn’t succumb like many modern animated films to fast cuts designed to create the illusion of movement when there isn’t any. The 3-D option adds a little to the movie at times, but this is probably best viewed flat to properly enjoy the vividness of it all.

Admittedly, the actual story of The Lorax and The Once-ler feels far more entertaining than the stuff involving Ted and his family, but the film seems to know that. It’s hard not to well up during some of the more heartfelt moments of The Lorax, especially when DeVito’s character realizes he’s been had.  While DeVito and Helms are easily the best of the voice cast, Riggle also has some killer lines and holds things down in the present timeline with his midget in a suit routine. Also on hand, all too briefly is Betty White as Ted’s grandmother in a performance perfectly matched to her somewhat creepy, but genuinely sweet character.

Renaud, his cast, and crew have made the first film that feels worthy of the good doctor’s name. Sure, there are a couple of pop culture references (including a killer call back to Groundhog Day), but in a story that was designed to be topical when it was first written, it feels allowable. Most importantly of all, the perfect sentiment is in place. Look for this one to stick around come next Oscar season as a possible nominee for Best Animated Film.

Even dubbed into English, it’s hard to go wrong with almost any film bearing the Studio Ghibli name on it. Similarly, the much beloved children’s novel The Borrowers – written by the late Mary Norton with no fewer than four big and small screen adaptations – stands as an enduring brand in family entertainment. While only written by Ghibli head maestro Hayao Miyazaki and only somewhat faithful to Norton’s beloved source material, The Secret World of Arrietty still manages to be another solid, but slight effort from the Japanese powerhouse.

Young Shawn (voiced by David Henrie) has recently moved to the country to live with his Aunt Jessica and her housekeeper Hara (Carol Burnett). Shawn is there to kill time away from his work obsessed mother before a serious heart operation that he might not live through. In the walls of Jessica’s house live the Clock’s, a family of little people known as “borrowers” who sneak into people’s kitchens at night and take only what they need to survive and keep house. The daughter of the clan, Arrietty (Bridgit Mendler), has just turned 14, meaning she’s old enough to start borrowing on her own. But when she’s spotted by Shawn on her first mission with her father (Will Arnett), it begins a series of events that put the small family in great danger. Shawn, desperate for a friend, looks to Arrietty for someone to talk to, much to the chagrin of Arrietty’s parents.

No dubbing of a Ghibli film will ever be equal to subtitled version of the same film, but here the script holds some of the film’s wonkier elements. While Miyazaki and co-writer Keiko Niwa (and translator/English dialog writer Karey Kirkpatrick) do a great job setting up both the world of Shawn and the background of the Clocks, the film’s pacing seems a bit off. While most adaptations of Norton’s original work make it known that the housekeeper character will turn out to be somewhat villainous, here the story turns almost on a dime and simply turns Hara into someone acting crazy just for the sake of having conflict. It creates a sense of disconnect in the film’s second half that’s a little hard to get past, but forgivable in the light of the film’s other strengths.

The voice cast here mostly sounds and acts their parts appropriately, with Mendler and Arnett doing the best of the bunch. Far less successful, however, is a terribly miscast Amy Poehler as Arrietty’s mother. All she has to really do is act histrionic, but it feels almost as if she never got a chance to see her character’s motions before recording her part. But even she’s better than the abjectly dreadful sub-Tori Amos piano ballads that permeate even some of the dialog scenes in the film. Things could be going just fine until the soundtrack screeches things to a resounding halt.

What Arriettey does have going for it is that it nicely capture Norton’s message of loving all creatures great and small. It helps that this message has been something Miyazaki and company have gone back to time and time again, but it’s always harder to keep that sentiment when crafting an adaptation of an iconic work against making an original film.

As always, it should go without saying that the hand drawn animation is simply stunning, and one point even fooling me into thinking the animators somehow cheated and used real grass in scenes where Arrietty roams the gardens. The design of the characters and backgrounds in a Ghibli film often give their productions just as much heart as the story. They could probably make an entirely silent film with just as much impact as some of their greatest success, and on an artistic level, The Secret World of Arrietty follows in that grand tradition. It’s not the best the famed studio has come up with, but still more worthy than a lot of other animated films with a lot less soul.

Beauty and the Beast returns to the big screen this weekend (with a 3-D retrofitting) just a shade over 20 years after its initial release and several years after an extended cut of the film made the rounds. The film – which was one of my fondest childhood movie going experiences – holds up nicely in a thematic sense, with as much love for cinematic craft as Hugo and The Artist, but while the 3-D does add to the film, the HD transfer makes a case that maybe not all hand drawn animated films should be toyed with.

The “tale as old as time, and song as old as rhyme” remains the same, as the heroine Belle (voiced by Paige O’ Hara) takes the place of her inventor father after he is captured by a fearsome and selfish beast (Robbie Benson), who just so happened to be a handsome prince cursed by an enchantress. Together in his enchanted castle full of singing and dancing bric-a-brac, Belle helps Beast learn the true nature of love and caring for someone more than he cares for himself.

Despite being the first ever animated film to be nominated for best picture at the Academy Awards, the story to Beauty and the Beast was always structurally unsound. Belle’s transformation from headstrong women, to withering captive, to somewhat sunny optimist still comes full circle, but the character transitions aren’t handled very well, with motivations tied more to plot conventions and storybook moralizing than logical behaviour. Then again, this is ostensibly a children’s film.

That’s all comparatively small potatoes when one approaches the film as more of a historical artifact. From the opening musical number where Belle speaks of her humdrum existence in a provincial French hamlet, Beauty and the Beast strikes a tone of pure joy for the written word. Belle’s bookish ways are looked down upon by a French upper class that thinks a woman couldn’t possibly learn anything from them. It’s a sequence equally literary and cinematic, and a subtle dig at French cinematic sensibilities towards film criticism with the classic line “How can you read this? There’s no pictures!”

Compare this feeling with The Artist, which for all its greatness is a simple story about one man and not saying so much about cinema other than displaying how the rises and falls of celebrity culture are entirely cyclical. Even moreso, compare Disney’s sense of spectacle to Scorsese’s raging polemic disguised as a family film. Disney’s writing staff lucked into a subtler and less headache inducing defence of the cinematic art form in a five minute musical number than Hugo could hammer into someone’s head in over two hours. Coming fresh off a year that many of my colleagues deemed as being too nostalgic for its own good with regards to past masterworks and auteurs, it feels wholly fitting that the best case is made by a 21 year old film.

But enough about subtext, back to the film itself and its new transfer. Reverting back to the original theatrical release and excising the deleted musical number that found its way into the extended cut from a few years back, the backgrounds of the film remain as gorgeous as ever and the sound mix is clear as day. The 3-D makes the combination of hand painted scenery come to life in new and exciting ways, and the HD makes the colours all the more vibrant, but those added dimensions also raise an interesting point.

In scenes where characters are shown in extreme close up, the modern technological advances act as a disservice to the film. With increased picture clarity, the imperfections of hand drawn animation are brought to the forefront. Every pencil stroke and jerky movement is literally in the viewers face and in HD. While I found an odd sense of comfort in being able to visually see the effort that went into making the film, I could also see how some people would say that it now looks cheap by comparison. It leads to a very interesting thing to think about.

While the film was made during the interim between hand drawn and computer animation (which are married seamlessly in the Busby Berkely styled “Be Our Guest” and the titular ballroom dance number), one has to wonder if audiences have not become spoiled by computer animation designed to delete any and all imperfections tied to the use of a decidedly less steady human hand. Does the computer give humanity to something that isn’t there or does the human holding the ink impart some of themselves onto what could be seen by modern audiences as an imperfect creation? Have we been spoiled by the proliferation of computer animation and in about 15 years will we be able to have the same appreciation for these films we once did?

Despite all of this thinking about how the film pertains to modern cinema, I was still taken back to the first day I saw it. The press screening of this version just so happened to be the 20th anniversary of my seeing it for the first time on a snow day from school at the movie theatre I remembered from my youth. It was quite possibly the first time that I looked at a film from a critical perspective. The issues I had with the plot at the age of eight are still roughly the same problems I have now, but as a work of pure cinematic spectacle it might be even more relevant to my tastes as an adult.

Side note: The film is preceded by a short sequel to the movie Tangled. It’s well worth showing up for and serves as proof that Disney has gotten its mojo back when it comes to making short films again.

What makes animation so galvanizing is how, for so many of its creations, one weaker or void aspect can still be lifted to great heights by the others. Ghibili films usually have no trouble finding fascinating and inspiring tales, and Akira’s density is made up for by rich atmosphere. But animated films can be about nothing and everything, because of the message in their beauty. And, some films can be about nothing and nothing, but deliver everything. Redline isn’t about nothing, but it isn’t about much. Nothing stops Redline from hitting goals. Nothing stops Redline from victory. Redline is so ferocious and unwieldy that it’s too dangerous to be bound in your hands, it’s too fast for the qualms of plot or logic. It can’t slow down. The wonderful thing about animation is that it’s a world from scratch, created only by the pen instead of constructs of likelihood. Redline is its own universe, and it rockets through it so fast you’ll miss planets if you blink.

“Sweet” JP is a racer, and while in this fantastical, lawless future race vehicles can be made to look like mecha beetles and sexy superheroes, JP is an odd traditionalist who prefers to blast through the finish line in a monstrous Camaro. JP earned the nickname “Sweet” due to his resistance to using weaponry, though his slate’s been scarred from a history of game fixing; a mob reeking debt that haunts him and his collected partner, Frisbee, to this day. The good news is, while losing the qualifying race, a popularity vote propels JP into the main event, the Redline, the end-all be-all of intergalactic races. The bad news is the reason space became available is due to other racers getting cold feet over the controversial location: Roboworld, a totalitarian planet of cyborgs who use their self-given title of peacekeepers as an excuse to secretly develop planet-busting weaponry, and a government that despises the Redline and the media presence it would bring. Now JP has just one defining race to hold off the competition, the militia of Roboworld, his mob woes and, worst of all, an infatuation with his rival: “Cherry Boy Hunter” Sonoshee McLaren, who drives an amphibious crab.

Seven years in the making and written by Katsuhito Ishii, who made Funky Forest (though Redline is nowhere near as surreal), Redline glows with radioactive colours and alien beings who seem like cut-outs from foreign magazines and comics that define the term “culture shock.” Even with a subject so machine heavy, the cars are organic beings, that pulse and thump and flip out when provoked and stretch when pushed past logically capable speeds. Redline is seven years of detail. While the film is two races with a slower, “off time” chapter in between, the pace is kept up with visions of livid living creatures.

Then there are the races, which are both comparable to the redeeming, euphoric final bout of 2008’s Speed Racer. Antes are constantly upped to degrees that would make Dragon Ball Z feel dizzy, with new speed boosters and disastrous weaponry rabidly spewing one-upmanship. Nitro capsules, claustrophobic cockpits with switches and gears crammed in around leather seats, and mad calamity, especially during the Roboworld siege. Everything and the nuclear kitchen sink is thrown at the competitors, and the competitors throwing everything back.

The minor cast and their tropes aren’t as gimmicky as the Wacky Races posse, aside from perhaps an over-sexualized pair from fantasy land and a duo of spandex-costumed bounty hunters, but there’s no Dick Dastardly among them switching the signs to throw rivals on cruel detours. Perhaps to make these racers feel believable, even in an unbelievable world, they aren’t out for each other’s blood, they’re a communal, sporting bunch. Missiles are thrown, but only in the name of sabotage. Even the grand champion, a blocky monolithic car-hybrid with an ego known as Machinehead, anticipates the idea of being bettered, and would rather out-do his foes than kill them. The same can not be said for Roboworld, their armadas, generals and freakishly grotesque top secret bio-weapon, Funky Boy, who looks like Tetsuo’s booger.

There is no great storytelling ambition for Redline, it’s guts-and-glory underdog story doesn’t quake the same heartstrings as other anime greats. Those with with a Grave of the Fireflies shrine won’t so much as shrug, but it does get the blood pumping, as jet stream missiles launch ad nausuem and screaming becomes the new dictation standard. Few gestures are done twice, and every bit of architecture and machinery will bust new valves and gaskets to function or go faster. JP’s destructive devotion tears down his car, his safety and your face. But his pompadour is invincible.

The festival runs from October 20 – 27 at the Toronto Underground Cinema. Be sure to visit the Toronto After Dark website for the full schedule of films playing this year.

Below you can find a few of our picks for the fest. There are many great films playing at Toronto After Dark this year, but we think these ones are particularly noteworthy

Redline, dir. Takeshi Koike

A film that could easily be described as a mash-up of Speed Racer and Death Race 2000, Redline takes futuristic auto racing to a place where most cars never go: outer space! This break-neck anime feature from the animation gurus at Madhouse was seven years in the making. Blisteringly fast-paced and beautifully realized, Redline is unlike any anime you’ve ever seen. The film follows JP, an up-and-coming race jockey who qualifies to compete in the Redline – the galaxy’s most dangerous (and lucrative) race.

Redline features the voice talents of Takuya Kimura, Yû Aoi, and Tadanobu Asano.

Screenings: Saturday, Oct. 22, 4.15pm at Toronto Underground Cinema
More info here.

The Divide, dir. Xavier Gens

Sheltered in the basement of an apartment building, eight survivors of a nuclear apocalypse have trouble surviving one another. Think of The Divide as a post-apocalyptic riff on Lord of the Flies, only with adults, fallout, and no beach. Director Xavier Gens made a splash on the horror scene with his bleak and brutal 2007 film Frontier(s). The Divide looks to be a claustrophobic return to form for Gens. Seriously though, what is with this guy and axes?!

The Divide stars Michael Biehn, Rosanna Arquette, Milo Ventimiglia, Michael Eklund, and Lauren German.

Screenings: Tuesday, Oct 25, 7.00pm at Toronto Underground Cinema
More info here.

The Innkeepers, dir. Ti West

Director Ti West (House of the Devil) tackles the well-tread haunted hotel subgenre head on with The Innkeepers. A New England hotel with a history of unearthly phenomenon and mysterious sightings is about to be shut down. With only one weekend left before the hotel is shuttered forever, two employees take it upon themselves to uncover the secrets of the old inn.

 The Innkeepers stars Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, and Kelly McGillis.

Screenings: Thursday, Oct 27, 9.45pm at Toronto Underground Cinema
More info here.

Gil Alkabetz Retrospective & Workshop (Click to enlarge)

An evening with the creator of many award-winning short animated films, presented by the Toronto Animated Image Society in partnership with Goethe Institut and the National Film Board of Canada.

Best known for his animation in the award-winning film, RUN LOLA RUN, Alkabetz joins us from Stuttgart, Germany, to present his retrospective and to discuss ideas of storytelling.

Films will be shown on its original format of 35mm.

Admission:
$10 TAIS & NFB Members
$15 General

Tickets can be purchased online at: www.tais.ca

More new footage arrived from the Wondercon convention this past weekend; while we let you guys know about the extended Green Lantern trailer yesterday, today we come back with some new Thundercats footage!

I’m a little young for Thundercats, so I’m going to leave the nostalgia-ing to those who’ve had a little more experience; maybe it’s time that I go back and relive one of the 80s’ much-vaunted series.

Click to enlarge.

Dethklok #3 reads just like an episode of the wildly dark and humorous TV show Metalocalypse, from which it is spawned. The comic takes its name from the heavy metal band that the animated show revolves around. This isn’t classic, ground-breaking, soul-searching writing, but not every comic needs to be an epic examination of the worlds of our imagination. Dethklok is just pure awesomeness. Over-the-top wackiness with very edgy humor, this comic makes fun of everyone – from superstar musicians and their fans, to agents and satanic forces, with the economy and copyright laws thrown in for good measure. Nothing is sacred to writers Brendon Small and Jon Schnepp.

The art by Lucas Marangon is drawn in the same style as the TV show’s animation, and this dedication to the source material is reflected in every aspect of the comic. So, if you aren’t a fan of this bizarre and hilarious show about the world’s greatest heavy metal band, then this comic is likely not for you! Unashamedly vulgar, sometimes nonsensical, and completely twisted, Dethklok is black humor at its best.

The plot revolves around Dethklok’s world tour atop a death-trap train whose construction has both ended the current global economic depression and subsequently caused another. There is a story regarding an old musician’s attempts to reclaim his Devil-possessed soul, and this leads into a wonderful (and wonderfully bizarre) rant about copyright and creative control. Both the comic and the animated show have this great knack for weaving intelligent socio-political commentary amongst its crazed plot lines and grotesque humor. Definitely worth picking up for fans of Metalocalypse.

McDuffie also was responsible for the creation of Milestone Media, an imprint of DC Comics. Through this imprint, McDuffie gave the world its first taste of many heroes, like Icon and Static Shock. It was also described as a “coalition of African-American artists and writers who believed that minorities were severely underrepresented in American comics,” and for that, I commend them on their work.

McDuffie was also instrumental in many children knowing Green Lantern as a strong black role-model, as John Stewart replaced Hal Jordan in Justice League.

I suggest you all go and watch some of the episodes he wrote; as Matt Fraction informed us on Twitter: “Dwayne McDuffie wrote funny. Not “comics funny,” but legitimately funny. He never drooped down to “comics funny” and I loved him for it.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

Our condolences go out to his family. Though the cause of his death is unknown at this time, this post will be updated when more information becomes available.

All-Star Superman is DC’s newest animated feature and drops today on Blu-ray and DVD; it follows the storyline set out by the comic book of the same name. Released between November 2005 to October 2008, All-Star Superman gave us the quintessential Superman story – there were elements from every part of his mythos, and it was all tied together by one overarching plot point: Superman is dying, and needs to come to terms with his mortality.

The comic was written by the combination of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, who, admittedly, I’ve never been a fan of. I dislike Quitely’s art (specifically his faces) and Grant Morrison’s writing seems to reward the person who has read every speck of his work while punishing those who haven’t. More often than not I’m scratching my head wondering what I’ve just read while wondering why Wonder Woman looks like she has Superman’s face.

However, Morrison did not write this film, nor did Frank Quitely animate it. Instead, they provided an amazing framework to be used by the animation magician, Bruce Timm. For the uninitiated, Timm did the work behind most of the DC Animated Universe, and produced this film. Along with him is Dwayne McDuffie, the creator of Static Shock and writer/producer for the Justice League animated series, who co-wrote the film. On paper, All-Star Superman looks quite good.

And it is. The film does the job the comic did originally: it makes Superman seem relevant in a time where superheroes need multiple layers of drama and (to be frank) bullshit in order to hide genuine personality.

The opening scenes of the film involve Superman absorbing a lethal dose of solar radiation while saving some scientists studying the sun. This is set up by Lex Luthor, who wants to kill Superman before he himself is executed for crimes against humanity. As a result of his solar exposure, Superman’s powers are supercharged to extremely high levels, and he must figure out a way to spend his remaining time alive.

So the rest of the movie is spent doing just that. Each area of the Superman mythos is touched on: Lois Lane, Smallville, dealing with time-hopping villains, Lex Luthor and being a journalist are each touched on, and serve to show different sides of Kal-El before… the end.

The movie actually omits certain story lines from the book (namely the large Bizarro section.) I’m kind of glad they did, because they were largely confusing. They were what I’m guessing was Morrison’s requisite “you have to read it five times to understand it” sections. They would not have translated well to film at all, so I’m glad they didn’t try.

The voice acting cast of the film is star-studded: we’ve got Ed Asner playing Perry White, Anthony LaPaglia playing Lex Luthor and Mad Men‘s Christina Hendricks headlining as Lois Lane. However, the most crucial voice – Superman, voiced by James Denton – comes off uninspired and lifeless. I can tell by the way he reads the lines he doesn’t truly care about the Superman character; sometimes Clark just seems plain bored to be in the situations he’s placed in. That shouldn’t happen.

My only other complaint lies with Lois Lane; however, it’s not with Christina Hendricks. What irks me is the way she’s written. One moment she’s paranoid and murderous, another she’s pompous and condescending and then she shifts back into lovey-dovey mode in time to utterly rebuff Superman’s attempt to come out as Clark Kent. It was frustrating to the point that I just wanted Lois to appear as little as possible, and that shouldn’t happen to a main character.

Ultimately, All-Star Superman is a great film for anyone who loves superheroes. You don’t need to know anything about Superman besides a loose definition of his powers and an idea of his immediate supporting cast; even if you don’t, the movie holds your hand and explains just enough for you to get by. All-Star Superman is genuinely good, but not amazing; I’m not able to rave about any one specific part of it. The animation is not on par with earlier DCAU work, nor is the voice talent able to compare with Superman: The Animated Series. This does not mean they’re bad, but fans expecting improvements or companions to those products are going to be disappointed.

I wonder if we’ll ever get to the day where those series’ are surpassed; I mean, Kevin Conroy isn’t going to live forever, nor is Mark Hamill’s larynx eternal. One day we’re going to have to accept new standards for the characters.

Though All Star Superman is a good attempt, it isn’t that new standard – I welcome Timm to keep trying.
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Matt Demers writes about comics for Dork Shelf. You can follow him on Twitter and take a look at his work on his personal site.