Justice for Kali

 Happy New Year to all and sundry. My hopes for this year are that it runs a bit more smoothly than last. It's also a chance to say goodbye to some old favourites, not least Stranger Things, which concludes its five-season run last week. 

SPOILER ALERT 

Like many, I was gripped by the drama with its twists and turns, new characters and at least one old face. Unlike many, I was thrilled to see Kali, she of the supposedly reviled Lost Sister episode of season 2. In the original episode, not only did Eleven discover she was called Jane, she actually met her birth mother and aunt, thereby giving some context to her life. But not only that, she discovered another survivor of the lab experiments in Kali, who helped her discover her powers. I loved this episode and was disappointed when Eleven/Jane simply discarded all of this new info and headed back to grim Hawkins and her toxic father figure, Hopper. 

Kali then vanished from the story until episode 4 of season 5 and, shock horror, she was back in the clutches of the evil scientists, this time led by Dr Kay. Naturally, I assumed she would join forces with her sister Jane and take down the villainous Vecna. Others assumed differently. The internet with rife with theories that Kali was a plant from Vecna or trying to undermine Eleven. Not a problem--everyone has an opinion. 

 But what were the Duffer Brothers playing at? In bringing her back, they said they wanted to give her a chance to shine, blah, blah. Well, if being repeatedly sidelined and victimised is shining, then they succeeded. Kali barely had a chance to do anything and only used her powers of illusion as she escaped the lab. Nobody really acknowledged her except her sister and even worse Hopper was openly hostile to her. I could not understand what her purpose on the show was, unless it was to make Eleven look good by contrast. Such a wasted opportunity. 

And her demise was grotesque--Hopper leaves her wounded as he carries off Eleven, only goes back grudgingly to get her when Eleven asks him to, then appears quite happy to let her get shot so he doesn't have to give away Eleven's hiding place. But he never needed to give away anything. He could have given fake info to at least stall the captors. Previously, Hopper had said he would happily kill Kali if she made a wrong move. Kill her. A young woman who had been repeatedly tortured, as had Eleven. Who saw her comrades excecuted by the military. Who was then held and had her blood drained repeatedly for experiments. 

 Where was the compassion? The empathy? At least some acknowledgement that this person was suffering trauma? Nowhere. Instead, this character, who had been absent for several years, was just served up as some kind of limp sacrifice to create conflict or influence Eleven's journey or some such nonsense. Yeah, thanks for that. Kali deserved better. 

I like to imagine Jane and Kali off somewhere, invisible to the human eye, living a life away from the military, toxic alpha males, mad scientists and the crazed fanbase that never respected there could be two sister survivors of Hawkins Lab.  

A Tooth Fairy Tale

Who doesn't love an animation featuring fairies, goblins and trolls? I was really looking forward to this new film from director Michael Johnson. But, oh, dear. 

Van is an aspiring tooth fairy being tutored by his strangely muscular dad in the ways of harvesting teeth from unsuspecting children. But Van is restless and not really in tune with his magical powers. Plus, he gets his head turned by hot green goblin Gemma when he catches her spiriting away one of his would-be captures. So ensues an action adventure romance thingy. 

So far, so okay. But Johnson and his screenwriters concoct an awful mess involving an annoying troll, some tooth mines, family drama and, most egregious of all, villainous spiders. Why spiders? Who knows? The writers had a cornucopia of mythical beasts to choose from including gremlins, dragons, griffins, leprechauns, werewolves, centaurs, and gorgons. And they went for spiders, including a cackling queen lazily voiced by Fran Drescher, clearly phoning in her performance, as befits the material.  

Some elements of the story work, such as the idea that the feuding tribes can work together to free their offspring and look to a better future. One without spiders, presumably. Utterly baffling. And really not great for educating kids about biodiversity. Plus, Gemma, who is meant to be a brilliant scientific mind, is reduced to a passive love interest who has to be rescued in the rather ridiculous third act. 

Oh, and Michael Johnson et al, about that climax? Most spiders can swim. Please do better.

Trailer  

 A Tooth Fairy Tale is available on digital download from 8th December
 

 

 

Upon Her Lips: Open Secrets

 This collection of five shorts on lesbian themes is a curious beast, wildly variable in tone and quality. 

The first one, CCTV (Iran) feels like a proof of concept, setting up a scenario in which two schoolgirls are summoned from class to explain themselves for an unnamed transgression. It seems like it's going to explore their relationship or perhaps their plan to escape punishment but does neither. 

SHE’S A FRIEND [UNA AMIGA] (Spain) is much longer, depicting a couple arriving for some type of holiday in a cabin and then being interrupted by the brother of one of them. It becomes quite the melodrama but it is never clear why there is such drama in this family. 

 The next two are definitely the best. QUEEN SIZE (France) is very cleverly written and shot, showing two disparate women dragging a mattress across Paris and getting to know each other a best. The two actors have good chemistry and one wants to see what happens once the film ends. 

 A LADY’S RITUAL (Germany) is the longest, at 30 mins, and is an oddity, a costume drama that also has elements of eco-politics that seem more modern. There is quite good use of costume and it has humour, as well. 

 The final film, JOEY’S HEART (New Zealand), I found quite confusing. The opening is a delight as the titular Joey expertly multi-tasks, attending a video call while also, uh, performing other  actions. From there it is a bit downhill, never capturing the earlier vigour. It feels like it jumps around in time as characters appear and disappear from Joey's love life, while she complains about being single. For me it does not go anywhere and it is not clear how it fits in with the theme of open secrets. 

 So, a mixed bag.  

Trailer

Available on various UK and global streaming and digital platforms, including Vimeo PeccadilloPOD and Payhip and Amazon.co.uk. 
 

She's the He

 This teen gender swap comedy from writer-director Siobhan McCarthy is a bit of a Marmite film. High school buddies Ethan and Alex decide to pretend to be trans to visit the girls locker room and from that springs the tale.... 

I didn't find the film all that funny or original. The premise is absurd and the film spends much of its time revelling in Alex's crude sexism and idiotic posturing while then pulling back in the final third to attempt to be tender and sensitive. The big set piece features an arsenal of sanitary products repelling a group of not very convincing jocky guys and Ethan's journey from cis guy to trans woman feels entirely rushed and unconvincing. There are a few witty moments of whimsy and some of the underwritten supporting characters like Forest are more intriguing than the main ones. Nico Carney has some good moments as Alex, but the post-credits out takes are much funnier than anything in the film.  

Trailer

Forgive Us All

This debut feature from dir/writer Jordana Stott is a curious blend of sci-fi, horror and action Western, which delivers some chills and thrills. 

The story is formed of two strands: widow Rory lives with her father-in-law Otto in a remote location where they eke out a living from the land, while constantly imperilled by unseen zombie hordes, frequently heard howling in the woods. Much of the initial scenes featuring these two are largely dialogue-free and composed of long static shots. 

Suddenly we are in a Western, as a horseback rider flees three pursuers into a forest. Gunfire is exchanged and everything is dialled up several notches. Wha??? 

The two strands converge some way down the line and it becomes a bit clearer what is going on, as Noah the horseman is on a deadly mission. His pursuers GMA who are some kind of government enforcers, emerge as the antagonists, rather than the zombies, who barely feature until the last 15 minutes of the film. A bold move, if you are telling people you are making a zombie film!

Stott (and her co-writers) throw a few curveballs into what could be quite a formulaic picture. There is very little backstory given, a few flashbacks hinting at the traumas surrounding Rory and Otto. Nobody explicitly explains who GMA are or what they do. And love doesn't triumph in the end. In fact, I found the ending rather bleak, but that's me. 

Still, there are some strong incentives to watch. Firstly, the cinematography is gorgeous, bathing everything in a caramel glaze and showing off the local scenery to fine advantage. "Ooh," I found myself saying at several moments. Secondly, the actors, led by Lily Sullivan as Rory, turn in fully committed performances, even in the face of some rather silly moments. Every time someone said, "I'll stay here and hold them off," I stifled a guffaw. The action is well handled and the baddy, GMA officer Logan, is truly scary. Solid entertainment. 

Trailer

Forgive Us All will have a DVD & digital release on 13th October. 

Iron Ladies

 This doc by Daniel Draper casts an eye over the women who stepped up during the 1984-5 miners strike in the UK. Many of them were wives of miners and many attest in the film to the history they had with mining, coming from mining families and growing up in mining communities. 

Women Against Pit Closures is the thing that brought them all together, as local chapters sprang up across the UK once the strike bit. They provided food and clothing and information, stood on the picket lines and, as several of them state, kept the strike going. Some of the most affecting footage is the static shots of the now redundant works in several locations from Kent to Durham.

Unfortunately, although the interviews with the women form the backbone of Draper's film, he really does not do them justice. Each of them has her name shown on screen the first time she appears and then never again. As there are some 15-20 interviewees, it is impossible for a first-time viewer to keep track of who is speaking. Worse, Draper employs a rather quirky camera technique, zooming in for extreme close-ups that are jarring, and letting the camera drift one way or another as someone is speaking. At some point, I thought I must be watching the film in the wrong aspect ratio as a woman spoke with the top of her head, including her eyes, cut off. Utterly bizarre. And it really takes the viewer out of the narrative, such as it is. 

As the film progresses, we see that there is some kind of event being planned for 2024. I think it was a 40th anniversary meet-up but as there is no narration, I had to guess. Speaking at the event, several women affirm that the strike, though unsuccessful for the men, changed their lives. More context would really have helped increase the emphasis of this very flawed but welcome film.  

Trailer 

 Iron Ladies will be in UK cinemas from 10th October 
 

Borderline

A so-called black comedy about a star coming to the attention of a misguided fan who tries to strong-arm her into his world, Borderline sounds a bit like Cecil B. Demented, but unlike John Waters' feel bad film, this one is a bit hit and miss, mostly miss. 

Paul (Ray Nicholson) has his sights set on marrying pop star Sophia and assembles his A team of lunatics to kidnap her from her house and get her to the altar on time. Nicholson's one-note performance, a cheesy manic grin firmly in place, grows irritating over time and the frequent acts of violence take the edge off finding the situation funny. Stabbings, shootings, immolation--writer-director Jimmy Warden seems intent on finding new ways to torment his cast. 

 Samara Weaving does her best as Sophia, an entitled princess entertaining her basketball player date (Jimmie Fails, far too small to be convincing as a baller) sometime in the 90s (shades of Madonna and Dennis Rodman?), but the script does not give her much to do other than pout and wear a bunch of skimpy outfits.  

One bright spark is Alba Baptista (Ava from Warrior Nun!) who arrives far too late to save the film, but whose cheerfully malevolent presence offers its one genuine note of comedy (did I mention it is billed as a comedy thriller? No? Well, there is a reason.). Her duet with Sophia in ridiculous circumstances is an absurdist delight.  

Special mention to Eric Dane whose security guard gets stabbed and shot but maintains a granitey presence, and Jimmie Fails, who looks fetching in a wedding dress. They deserve better material. 

Borderline will be available on Digital Download from 8th September 

Trailer