MOVIES: Smaller films but big stars and more Oscar hopefuls

The big film today is called Cocaine Bear, about, you guessed it, a bear that went on a rampage after consuming a smuggler's cache of the drug. It really happened but you won't read about the film here today. The distributor chose not to preview it widely.

So failing that check out the many smaller films I've reviewed. Big stars and big topics mingle with newcomers and issues you have avoided so far.

And I've got notes about more of those short films with Oscar nominations this year.

They're in here too:

Joyride: 3 stars

Juniper: 3 ½

Guitar Lessons: 3

Oscar Shorts, part 2: various

Jesus Revolution: 2 ½

Pacifiction: 2 ½

JOYRIDE: Like in another film reviewed today, here's a mismatched pair coming to an understanding. This one is from Ireland, and it's warm-hearted, though unlikely. Olivia Colman is the veteran here (named Joy, wouldn't you know it) and Charlie Reid plays the 13-year-old she has to abide during a road trip. How all that comes about is unbelievable. He grieves at his mother's funeral, sees his dad steal money from a contributions box, steals some back and then drives off in a stolen taxi.

There's more that only a screenwriter would think up. There's a baby in the back seat of the taxi, and its mother (Olivia Colman). She's a lawyer who had the baby but doesn't want it and is on her way to give it to her sister. She and the teen boy have to tolerate each other, learn what they have in common (both lost a mother) and deal with both the expected and the philosophical. On such a trip you of course run out of gas and hitch a ride with a truck driver. You avoid cops and blend in with a street procession of fanciful characters. And you come to agree on big issues like love, forgiving and dealing with setbacks. Accept the farfetched details, and you can enjoy this one. (Available starting Tuesday from Cineplex, Telus, Bell, iTunes and other on platforms) 3 out of 5

JUNIPER: A veteran and a newcomer tangle dramatically in this satisfying tale of human connection. And for a new director too. Charlotte Rampling plays a hard-drinking grandmother who is bed-ridden or wheel-chair bound and needs help just to get to the bathroom. George Ferrier plays her grandson who is suspended from school and ordered to take care of her. It's a form of punishment inflicted by his dad who goes off on a trip leaving lots of time for the two to argue, recognize a few points of agreement and slowly grow to understand each other.

It's the kind of film you can predict early but can enjoy anyway. Partly that's because of the acting talent. Rampling's we know from many films, Ferrier's is new to us but convincing as a surly, self-destructive young man. We learn later why he is so but a suicidal urge is a bit too much in the way his character is written. The rest is fine, he's rebellious and angry, smokes dope with his friends and rejects authority. Gran is a former news photographer who was hardened by the images she collected in various wars. The pair clash but really share a lot. When he's expelled from school, she doesn't judge. “All the bet people get expelled,” she says.

The film is from New Zealand and its director, Matthew J. Saville, based the story on relations with his own feisty grandmother. The title, by the way, refers to juniper berries out of which her favorite drink, gin, is made. (In theaters. The Varsity in Toronto and the 5^th Avenue in Vancouver. With at least 11 other locations soon) 3 ½ out of 5

GUITAR LESSONS: It's a week it seems for movies about characters who are very different but come to learn from each other. And especially noteworthy with this one is how Canadian it is. Extremely. You see Northern Alberta beautifully and people who know the area say it perfectly captures the pace of life there. Writer-director Aaron James drew on his own impressions from when he taught as a substitute teacher up there years ago.

Country singer Corb Lund stars and Kaden Noskiye plays a Metis teenager who asks him to teach him how to play guitar. He inherited the instrument from the father he never knew and the potential is there for a story about a replacement father figure. The film is more concerned with differences though. Corb's character gave up music, is now a contractor on oil drilling sites, and doesn't want to teach. The boy is persistant though. Corb sees that he's much like himself and gives in. Gradually they understand each other. Lund doesn't sing, just strums and picks his guitar to teach. He's believable as the gruff Albertan. His background needs more clarity but details like an unecessary but funny side character, an Indigenous man who comically rags about “colonizers,” add to the strong Canadian feel. (In Theaters) 3 out of 5

OSCAR SHORTS part 2: Adding to what I covered last week, I have the animated shorts today plus a documentary I want to expand on a bit. It's called STRANGER AT THE GATE and tells about an American ex-Marine who grew to hate Muslims during a couple tours of duty and planned to bomb a mosque when he got back home. His daughter, leaders at the mosque and he himself tell what happened. It's tense and surprising.

Still highly recommended is HOW DO YOU MEASURE A YEAR? in which you watch a filmmaker's daughter grow up and HAULOUT, a startling example of climate change.

The ANIMATED SHORTS are not all particularly short. One is 33 minutes long, another is 26. But the styles of animation are very diverse. And notice: no Disney or Pixar film.

AN OSTRICH TOLD ME THE WORLD IS FAKE AND I BELIEVE IT is from Australia, in stop-motion animation and very funny about modern advertising, merchandising and office work. Cheeky humor with bite.

ICE MERCHANTS from Portugal is very simply drawn and carries a subtle climate change message. THE FLYING SAILOR, from our National Film Board, has a surreal look telling an unbelievable story from the 1917 ship explosion in Halifax. MY YEAR OF DICKS, corrrectly advised as not suitable for children, tells one young American woman's story of losing her virginity. There's film of her talking to open each of the five animated chapters about her extended quest.

My favorite in this category is THE BOY, THE MOLE, THE FOX AND THE HORSE, which is from England and is presented by the streamer Apple TV+.

(The Oscar Shorts are in a few theaters, like the VIFF CENTER in Vancouver, and now the Bloor Hot Docs theater in Toronto. More venues to come, maybe.)

JESUS REVOLUTION: I guess this counts as a faith based movie but I see it more as a historical drama. Back in the 60s and 70's we called these people Jesus Freaks. The term gets a brief and very late usage in the film which prefers to revere them. While anti-war demonstrations were going on, they were backing off into religion. Time magazine which had earlier declared God is Dead, published a cover story in 1971 entitled The Jesus Revolution about “the greatest spiritual awakening in American history.” It was taking place in California, brought in hippes who gave up drugs and led to mass baptism session at at place called Pirate's Cove.

This film dramatizes what was going on. Kelsey Grammer plays the pastor of struggling church who notices how strongly young people respond to a self-styled preacher named (believe it or not) Lonnie Frisbee (Jonathan Roumie). He lets him address his tiny congregation and before you know it the church is bustling with young people. Elders object but they can't stop it. They need a bigger church, and according to the film end notes, a national chain of them emerged. The film is centered on one you ng character played by Joel Courtney who gets involved in the movement. He's got problems with his dad, with his girlfriend's dad and even with her. “You're looking for an excuse to be unhappy,” she says. Not here, in what is essentially a nostalgic relic. (In theaters) 2 ½ out of 5

PACIFICTION: The story is not that clear (is it possible or not?) but the satirical mood is strong and engrossing. On the south seas Island of Tahiti, a French colony, there's a rumor shaping up that nuclear bomb testing is about to resume. It was done there in the 1950s. Indigenous leaders oppose the idea but just as strongly state another complaint: they may be barred from a new casino. The local governor, officially called High Commissioner, has to deal with both issues. He hasn't been told anything, sees a growing naval presence and can't get any information from a high-living admiral. The film doesn't have any answers either. It's about murky politics, beaucracy and the lack of information.

It's stylish though, and dabbles with suspicions. The Commissioner played by Benoît Magimel flirts with Shannah, a woman of indeterminate gender played by Pahoa Mahagafanau, and acts nice but with little respect to the native leader (Matahi Pambrun). Resumed testing “would make us a great power,” says an old newsreel. But this place, today, says one character “is completely cut off from reality.” That's pretty well the thesis expounded by director Albert Serra in this overly long (162 minutes) leisurely, but colorful film. (In theaters) 2 ½ out of 5