Seen in October

Robert Redford was a natural in The Natural

There is a trend line in my viewing statistics that I appear to be seeing fewer and fewer films. I'm not tracking it per se, but it's pretty plain to see. Am I being more selective? Unlikely. Here's what I saw in October.

He may be a hero, but he still needs a ride.

Peacemaker S02
Crave
John Cena will surprise you as Chris Smith, aka Peacemaker. Peacemaker is basically a killing machine with a heart of gold, and James Gunn has continued his way of finding fringe superhero characters and re-imagining them with more humanity and purpose. Peacemaker might be a big lummox, but he really will be your best friend when you need him the most. This HBO series, based on the DC character that time forgot, is similar to Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy. It's funny and silly, but it is grounded in characters you will come to care about. In this season, Peacemaker accidentally kills himself from another dimension (he has an altercation with a parallel universe version of himself). He discovers in that universe his racist father and brother are both still alive. Unfortunately, it's not as "rad" or cool as he initially thought, and his friends risk themselves to bring him home.

Colin from Accounts S01
CBC Gem
A "broken dog mends broken people" story? Pub owner Gordon (Patrick Brammall) and med student Ashley (Harriet Dyer) meet when she crosses in front of his car, "distracts" him, causing him to run over a stray dog. The pair bond when they can't bear to have the dog put down and decide instead to split his incredibly expensive surgery. They then rename the dog "Colin… from Accounts" and so their story begins. This Australian comedy finds a balance between sweetness and sourness.

Typical Wes Anderson

The Phoenician Scheme
Prime Video
Too much Wes Anderson. I always understood the doubters of Wes Anderson's films when they said it was more style than substance, but I simply disagreed. In fact, I thought there were times when his films' style was integral to their substance. Often, the stories were more like fables and fantasy which were buoyed by Anderson's unique view. With The Phoenician Scheme, however, there are too many twists and turns that feel oddly pointless. It's not a long film, but it feels like one. Benicio del Toro is Zsa-zsa Korda, an eccentric and ruthless billionaire who is risking his entire fortune on one very complex plan to cement his legacy. Unfortunately, he is beset by troubling assassination attempts and partners who are greedier than himself. The whole thing whirls restlessly until it runs out of steam. I think my main complaint is not about the overly convoluted plot but that every actor is handcuffed and stilted by Anderson and Roman Coppola's lifeless dialogue. Michael Cera is one of the few actors who brings a pulse to his part, but many of the other fine cameos feel wasted. If Anderson returned to collaborating with Noah Baumbach or Owen Wilson, I'm sure the magic would return.

David Byrne at Massey Hall

David Byrne: Who is the Sky Tour
Massey Hall
Massey Hall. David Byrne. This must be the place. Having seen and listened to American Utopia, Byrne’s celebrated, highly choreographed stage show that reinterpreted some of his older music to expand into his newer catalogue. The result is a kind of hybrid between a Broadway musical, a halftime show, and a rock concert. There was even more technology on display in this show with a stage floor made of LED screens and a backdrop of multiple curved walls. Elaborate, evocative videos and images accompanied each song. While a few of the new songs from Byrne’s solo were enjoyable, it’s his Talking Heads’ catalogue that made my heart vibrate like a tuning fork. Some songs are like talismans to us. They stick to our memories and emotions like anchors in a muddy seabed that are easily hoisted to the surface from the first few notes. Songs like Nothing but Flowers, Slippery People, Psycho Killer, Life During Wartime, This Must Be the Place, Once in a Lifetime, and Burning Down the House are as much pages in Byrne’s portfolio as they are cairns in his audiences’ lives. There were moments that had a dreamlike quality when I had to remind myself this was really happening. It was the place, and this is my beautiful life.

The Natural has an almost unnatural magic hour glow to the whole film.

The Natural
YouTube
Often referred to as one of the best sports films of all time, the story of Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) and his journey from farm kid, baseball prodigy, fallen hero and finally an enigmatic icon is one for the ages. Filmed as though each scene was straight from a Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post cover with a score reminiscent of American composer Aaron Copland, this is baseball as an analogy for America, or at least how Americans see themselves.

Oh Seymour!

Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
The musical remake of the 1960 comedy-horror about a flower shop employee who discovers a strange man-eating plant. Seymour (Rick Moranis) works at a run down little florist in a lousy part of town (downtown - I guess in the 1980s, downtown was the crappy part of a city?), and he can't catch a break in work or love until he convinces his boss (Vincent Gardenia) to put an odd little plant he discovered in Chinatown on display in the shop. Seymour discovers the plant, which he's named Audrey II after his co-worker crush, flourishes when fed blood, and from there it grows at a steady pace. It's a corny, funny, and weird little film with quite a cast, from Steve Martin as the sadistic dentist, to Bill Murray as a masochistic patient, to soul singer icon, Levi Stubbs as the voice of the plant. It also has a remarkable production quality filmed at Pinewood Studios, which gives a sort of special air of nostalgia. It's one of those films that is so well known, I had forgotten I had never seen it, and what better time than October?