Ghostbusters might be the only heavy hitter this week, but there’s plenty of other stuff opening in town. Wanna run through the list with me?
Captain Fantastic: Viggo Mortensen and some really talented young actors keep Matt Ross’ ungainly parental allegory going even after the script runs out of gas.
Closet Monster: Connor Jessup, this week’s SEMcast guest, stars in Stephen Dunn’s reasonably audacious queer-panic drama. And Aaron Abrams, one of my very first SEMcast guests, is in it too! Isn’t that cool? Jose caught it for us at TIFF.
The Dark Stranger: Katie Findlay is terrific as a traumatized young woman in writer-director Chris Trebilcock’s horror movie — which would be a lot more satisfying as a straight drama. Not everything can be The Babadook, you know?
Equals: Drake Doremus pairs heavy hitters Kristen Stewart and Nicholas Hoult in a dystopian love story with echoes of THX-1138; Rad found it overwhelmed by its concept and production design.
Ghostbusters: Paul Feig reinvents the franchise for a new generation with funny women and smart choices. The words “total protonic reversal” have never sounded so sweet.
How to Build a Time Machine: Jay Cheel’s documentary turns melancholy and regret into a narrative engine, turning the obsessions of two very different men into something powerfully universal. Do check it out.
The Innocents: Susan really likes Anne Fontaine’s period drama, which is doubly interesting because she really hated Fontaine’s last picture. Hmm.
The Missing Ingredient: What Is the Recipe for Success?: You have to go a pretty long way to make a documentary about New York’s restaurant scene that bores me. Michael Sparaga manages it by trying to spin a five-minute story to feature length.
Queen of Spades: The Dark Rite: A father tries to protect his young daughter from a spectral threat in this Russian spin on the likes of Candyman and The Grudge. Literally and figuratively bloodless.
Sound of Redemption: The Frank Morgan Story: NC Heikin’s doc takes a pretty safe look at the life of a legend who was not safe at all. But the music is wonderful.
Under the Sun: Vitaly Mansky’s amazing, genuinely daring look behind the North Korean propaganda machine is one of the most thrilling films you’ll see this year. Trust me on this.
And now, back to work in the studio! The perfect workspaces don’t build themselves, you know …