Disney Pixar’s Coco brings Land of the Dead to life
Movies
Big Release on Nov. 22: Coco Big Picture: Kids used to visit places like Oz, Narnia and Wonderland – and now they’re visiting the Land of the Dead. Is it a sign of the times? Disney brings to life Mexican- Aztec folklore as a little boy named Miguel visits the beautiful, mysterious Land of the Dead. Picture a bunch of skeletons living in a colourful, magical hybrid of Los Angeles, a Marc Chagall painting and an exploded crayon factory. Miguel is on a quest to find his musical muse and idol, but he may unlock his own family secrets along the way. The voice cast includes Benjamin Bratt and Gael García Bernal.
Forecast: Not an obnoxious border wall in sight between our world and this foreign land! I predict Donald Trump will mistake this animated family film for a documentary, and impose a travel ban on the Land of the Dead – or threaten to deport “all those bad, loser skeleton hombres” from America. TV
Big Events: Marvel’s Runaways ( Nov. 22, Showcase); Godless ( Nov. 22, Netflix); She’s Gotta Have It ( Netflix, Nov. 23)
Big Picture: Marvel’s Runaways is about teenage mutants who must unite against the most vile villains of all- time: parents. This coming- of- age tale is like Hogwarts meets X- Men meets Riverdale, but it’s only superpower may be explosive clichés. The fall season has not been kind to new Marvel shows; this one comes to Showcase via Hulu.
“It is a fearful thing, to love what death can touch,” Godless’s tagline intones. You know what that means, probably a lot of death. This Steven Soderbergh western is set in a remote New Mexico mining town that is governed by women. Michelle Dockery, Jeff Daniels, and Sam Waterston costar. ( They better not all be cyborgs. I want a new twist ending).
Finally, Spike Lee’s first TV series is modern take on his 1986 classic She’s Gotta Have It. It’s about a Brooklyn artist and her complicated love life.
Forecast: Pop culture may need to take a break from comic- book material for a little while. You know, examine some other source material. Like books ( humanity has written a lot of them), or, gasp, original screenplays. Music
Big Releases on Nov. 22:
Björk ( Utopia); Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds ( Who Built The Moon?)
Big Picture: Björk offers us Utopia on her ninth studio album; at 71 minutes, this musical paradise is a long visit. The mysterious artist is backed by a 12- piece Icelandic flute section, bird calls, and more! Of course, the one- of- a- kind Icelandic songstress probably has a one- of- a- kind interpretation of utopia. ( I imagine it involves humanity living in harmony with elves on top of a giant volcano that spurts frozen ice cream, and travelling the world on flying carpets. Count me in, Björk).
Meanwhile, Oasis alumnus Noel Gallagher releases a third album with his outfit the High Flying Birds. Once upon a time, Noel was self- involved and told the world he was bigger than the Beatles, and now he is asking important cosmic questions through his music. Who built the moon? Do tell, Noel.