SEVEN FILMS WORTH CHECKING OUT
Bodied K This Eminem-produced film feels like
8 Mile if it were written by a Ph.D student. The film centres on Adam, a student writing a thesis on the use of the N-word in rap battles, until he gets challenged and finds he has an innate talent for these insult throwdowns. Joseph Kahn, a former music video director, makes the battles fun and kinetic, but Bodied lags in between. Raju Mudhar Borg/McEnroe K Filmmaker Janus Metz succeeds marvelously in recreating one of the great matchups in tennis history: the 1980 Wimbledon contest between Swede Bjorn Borg, seeking his fifth title in a row, against upstart American bad boy John McEnroe. The casting is just right, especially Sverrir Gudnason, who bears a strong resemblance to Borg, but also conveys a sense of conflicted man beneath the “ice borg” facade. There’s a nice buildup, including back stories, leading to a climax that is tension-filled. Bruce DeMara The Carter Effect K With Drake as an executive producer, it is no surprise that The Carter Effect is as much a love letter to Vince Carter as it is to Toronto. Sean Menard’s hour-long doc looks at Carter’s time with the Raptors and how he put the team on the map, and brought respectability to basketball in Canada. R.M. Don’t Talk to Irene K Canadian filmmaker Pat Mills delivers a tale both tart and sweet, about an overweight high school outcast in small-town Ontario struggling against mighty odds — an overbearing mom, cruel peers — who finds hope in an audition for a television talent show. Michelle McLeod is a winning protagonist and Geena Davis (as herself sort of) beams in from time to time to bolster Irene’s flagging spirit. B.D. Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami K Before Gaga and Madonna, there was glorious Grace Jones. Sophie Fiennes provides a meandering observation of the woman behind the glamazon, disco diva and full-throated and furious singer/performance artist in this unstructured doc. Fans will revel in stunning concert performances, from “Nipple to the Bottle” to a deeply moving “Amazing Grace.” Linda Barnard Kodachrome K Director and Toronto native Mark Raso takes a familiar concept, a road film, and a familiar subject — a difficult father-son relationship — and transforms it into a film with real heart and a hint of nostalgia for the ways that were and could have been. The script by Jonathan Tropper is well constructed with dialogue that rings true and scenes steeped in maturity and depth.
It’s sure to draw further praise for Raso, a rising star in the independent film world. B.D. On Chesil Beach Set in a time when the wedding night was as dreaded as anticipated, Ian McEwan ( Atonement) skilfully adapts his novel about innocents on their 1962 Dorset honeymoon, and the upbringing and temperaments that colour their interaction. Saoirse Ronan ( Brooklyn) and Billy Howle ( Dunkirk) find love, expectations and a clinical sex manual (read by her with disgust) are not enough to make things right.
A marvellous scene at a nervous wedding supper in their hotel room leads to the marriage bed, where doing what comes naturally is anything but. L.B.