Compared to January, I didn’t see quite as many movies this month, but I nonetheless had some memorable experiences: my first animated Chinese movie as well as the Canadian premiere of the Bob Marley biopic.

The Storm

China | 2024 | 102m | Chinese

I wanted to like The Storm more than I did. I went into my first Chinese animated movie (actually, it’s one of my first Chinese movies in general) not knowing what to expect; while the trailer gave me vague Spirited Away vibes, Miyazaki this is not. The animation and visuals are spectacular throughout, in a style distinct from the animation coming out of any other country. There’s a long, action-packed tracking shot inside a boat during the movie’s climax that is particularly masterful.

My biggest issue with The Storm is how quickly the story becomes utterly incomprehensible. Still, the connection between the father and son characters is moving and heartwarming. I might give this a second viewing one day.

2/5

Bob Marley: One Love

United States of America | 2024 | 107m | English

I was able to catch the Canadian premiere of the new Bob Marley biopic at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Director Reinaldo Marcus Green and Ziggy Marley were in attendance to recount their experiences and answer questions. The film they created is a great tribute to the Jamaican music legend.

I will say that Bob Marley: One Love felt a bit too hagiographic; Marley doesn’t really portray any character flaws until probably two-thirds of the way through the movie. That aside, the filmmakers achieved a firm sense of authenticity, which is one of the movie’s biggest strengths. Much of the movie is filmed on-location in Jamaica and most of the dialogue is in Patois. The music scenes take place not only on stage but also in the studio, where we feel like a fly on the wall as the band pieces together what would eventually become iconic tracks on Marley’s 1977 album Exodus. I think this is a movie that most people will like, even if they have only a passing familiarity with Bob Marley.

3.5/5

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – To the Hashira Training

Japan | 2024 | 104m | Japanese

Okay, let’s be honest: this segment of the Demon Slayer storyline (the end of one action-packed arc and the beginning of another, much less action-packed arc) does not at all lend itself well to a movie. To the Hashira Training was not created because the animators had a tight, 90-minute story adapted for the screen; it was created because they knew it will effortlessly make oodles of money.

Demon Slayer successfully lands most of the battle shonen tropes, which is why it’s so popular, but it has a major problem with tonal dissonance. There is a moment where a demon is going to brutally kill everyone unless a swordsmith can create and deliver a sword to the protagonist in time. But the picky swordsmith doesn’t want to deliver the sword for goofy, selfish reasons, and when the protagonist takes the sword anyway and saves the day, the swordsmith’s only response is to be comically enraged at the protagonist. It’s all played as a joke, but none of it makes sense in the context of the conflict and robs the story of tension and impact.

I know that I gave a pretty negative review to the last Demon Slayer theatrical experience, but one of the ways I was able to convince myself to go to the new one was by seeing in “4Dx.” That means that the seat moves and shakes along with the action onscreen. That’s an experience you can’t get at home! Only a fraction of To the Hashira Training was actually in 4DX, but I enjoyed the parts that were, and I think they enhanced the unquestionably impressive action sequences. I was also glad to see that the filmmakers took to heart the criticism that their last effort garnered and ensured that To the Hashira Training was actually edited to resemble a unified, movie-length narrative. This time around, there aren’t any false end credits or flashbacks of scenes from just moments prior. The bar’s pretty low, but we’re getting somewhere.

1.5/5

Fear is the Key

United Kingdom, United States of America | 1972 | 103m | English

Fear is the Key is an early-70s action-adventure movie with an anti-hero protagonist and a wild plot that carries the reader from a courtroom shootout to a long car chase sequence to a memorable and tense final scene in a submarine. Side note: this was the only movie actor Ben Kingsley performed in until he starred in Gandhi ten years later. None of the acting in Fear is the Key is anything to write home about, and I don’t think this movie left too much of an impact on me, but it was nice, campy fun.

2/5