MOVIES: One huge, Beetlejuice, and three smaller but worthy

The Toronto International Film Festival is now on and we get news from there everyday. The latest I saw was that protesters last night briefly disrupted the opening film, Nutcrackers, which stars Ben Stiller. They were pro-Palestinian and anti-TIFF's bank RBC. They were booed. 

Also last night, the Tragically Hip documentary had its world premiere to a sold-out house. Justin Trudeau was there and spoke briefly. 

If you're at TIFF you're probably too busy for anything else. If you're not, you might be wondering what other films are new out there.

Here are notes on four.

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice: 2 ½ stars

His Three Daughters: 4  

The Front Room: 3 ½

Deaner '89: 3 

BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE: It's been 36 years since the original; lots of time for it to age nicely and earn that label “beloved.” The sequel? First of all, you need to be familiar with the first film because this one is crammed with references back and story points it doesn't bother to explain. However, if you do catch up (maybe by watching the original which CRAVE is streaming) you'll see that this new one doesn't have the same loosey-goosey charm. It's forced, stuffed too full of plot. I've seen others use the word belabored and agree. It's still zippy playful fun; Tim Burton and his cast are having a good time but it's not quite the same. 

Several characters are back, including Catherine O’Hara, as Delia, now a pretentious artist, Winona Ryder as Lydia who in the first film was the only one who could see the ghosts in the house and  

now hosts a TV show about the para-normal, and of course Michel Keaton as the “bio-exorcist” named twice in the title and three times at your peril in the script. New in the cast are Jenna Ortega as Lydia's daughter and emphatic non-believer in ghosts, Willem Dafoe as a former movie star now a cop in the afterlife and Monica Bellucci as Beetlejuice's ex-wife seeking revenge. Those last two aren't important in the story but are evidence of how too much has been stuffed in. Some clever writing explains why two possibly-problem actors aren't back. And how we're again taken back into the world of ghosts. Day-O, the calypso classic is back, sung by a choir this time, and the new musical quirk is an inspired use of the song MacArthur Park. It's goofy and eccentric, like the film is in part. (In theaters) 2 ½ out of 5 
 

HIS THREE DAUGHTERS: Don't be turned away by the death-watch aspect of this film thinking it'll be too grim. It's not. It's emotional and affecting, very well-written and nicely acted by a three actors at their best playing sisters. They're sitting in their father's living room while he is lying in bed in another room dying of cancer. As the sisters wait, the film by Azazel Jacobs explores family relations by listening to them talk. 

Katie (Carrie Coon) is a controlling type and anxious. She's obsessed with getting a do not resuscitate order signed. She's quick to criticize.

Rachel (Natasha Lyonne) will inherit his apartment but insists that's not why she spent so much time there. “I've been here for him, not this stupid place,” she maintains. She smokes weed and bets on sports. 

Christina (Elizabeth Olsen) is a free-spirit, much more laid-back and quick to apologize when she feels the need. The differences in their character are clear. They disagree, agree, argue and debate as family gatherings commonly do. It's especially pronounced and succinctly stated when Katie starts writing an obituary and they all have separate impressions of dad. They're estranged from each other and wonder what if anything will connect them after dad is gone. It's a sincere examination of family ties by Jacobs who did it before in French Exit (2020) and The Lovers (2017). (Select theaters now and on Netflix in a couple of weeks) 4 out of 5 

THE FRONT ROOM: Sometimes a horror story is most effective when it's set in common daily life. Something we're familiar with which is then upset. You don't need drooling monsters when you've got a visitor like Solange as in this film by two of the Eggers Brothers, Max and Sam. Solange is elderly, walks unsteadily with two canes and has been invited to stay at the home of her stepson (Andrew Burnap) and his wife played by Brandy Norwood. You might know her as the singer Brandy. 
 

She's welcoming of the old lady despite her husband's caution that she may not approve of their relationship. We soon find out what that means. She, played with feisty presence by Kathryn Hunter, is a demanding and interferring terror. a Jesus freak, a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, maybe a racist, while they're an inter-racial couple. 

The wife already has a lot to deal with; her job is in danger, she's pregnant and has to be rushed to the hospital for a C-section. When she returns home Solange has had it redecorated in an old colonial style without even asking her. She has dreams at night of her baby crying. Mother-in-law coughs repeatedly at the dinner table, is incontinent in bed and takes offence easily and forcefully. Worse the husband is no help; he's usually off at work. The film builds the pressure tightly and in some cases too grossly. Still, it's effective real-possibility horror. (in theaters) 3 ½ out of 5 

DEANER '89: Here's an affectionate and accurate portrayal of a Canadian headbanger, you know a fan of heavy metal music grooving to 1980s bands like Judas Priest and Dokken. That second band in particular. In one scene Deaner, full name Dean Murdoch, jumps up on a stage as they're playing, sings, crowd surfs and draws big cheers. It's a fantasy but typical of the wild man he imagines he is. It's likely to resonate with many young men who grew up back then. 
 

Paul Spence plays him, as he did in a couple of movies and a TV series called Fubar which were popular a few years back. But the distributor insists this is not a Fubar movie. (I think there might be a legal issue involving a split up by two creators). Also those films were set in Alberta; this is in Manitoba. Murdoch narrates his own story, looking back at his hard-won rise to music star from typical small-town hockey player. He resists pressure by bikers try to throw games, learns how to shotgun a beer and gets inspiration from stuff in a trunk his late father left him. That includes knowing his heritage, Metis, and the hardships inflicted on Indigenous people in Canada. Spence drew on his own history for that part and elevates the film above the low-life tale it seems to be at the start. There's good direction by Sam McGlynn and good acting by Star Slade as Dean's sister, Will Sasso as his adoptive father and Mary Walsh as a mentor in the ways of rock “n” roll. Besides acting, Spence has a variety of functions: acting: producing, writing, composing and briefly singing. (In theaters across Canada) 3 out of 5