New movie reviews in brief: Creed, Victor Frankenstein and The Good Dinosaur
CBC's Eli Glasner cuts through the cinematic clutter and shares new releases that are worth your time
Creed
The Rocky franchise might have been finished if not for the persistence of director Ryan Coogler. The Fruitvale Station director was raised on the Rocky films and approached creator Sylvester Stallone with an original idea.
- Creed's Michael B. Jordan, Ryan Coogler visit Toronto's Queen Alexandra Middle School
- WATCH | Creed's Ryan Coogler, Michael B. Jordan and Tessa Thompson on family and inspirations
Working with rising star Michael B. Jordon, Creed puts the boxing saga back onto its feet with its story of Adonis, son of Apollo Creed. With a chip on his shoulder and furious work ethic, the son of the legend wants to stand on his own, but battles a temper born from years of neglect. After convincing the retired Rocky Balboa to coach him, Adonis is determined to go pro: cue the training montage!
The truth is that inside and out of the ring, Jordan and Stallone make an effective pair. Also not to be missed is Dear White People's Tessa Thompson as Adonis' girlfriend, pushing him almost as hard as Rocky does.
The female character not shrinking in the face of combat is just one of Coogler's refreshing ideas. Though the addition of Rocky's own health crisis seems unnecessary and contrived, what he's done is bring a new sense of relevance to the series, while also paying tribute the past. By the time we arrive at the climactic fight scene, it's obvious that Coogler's learned a lot from Rocky and might even be able to teach him a few new things.
— 4 out of 5 stars
Victor Frankenstein
In the footsteps of 2009 bromance Sherlock Holmes comes Victor Frankenstein, starring Daniel Radcliffe and James McAvoy. The irrepressible Radcliffe gives it his all as Igor, the misshapen circus clown with a talent for anatomy who is rescued by McAvoy's mad doctor. For personal reasons of his own, the young, brilliant and slightly unhinged Frankenstein wants to create life. We get thunder and lightning as the partners embark on this dangerous, yet familiar, journey.
Bursting with arcing electricity and slow-motion shots galore, Victor Frankenstein is conventional filmmaking, but behind the steampunk labs and monstrous creations are a few performance that bring this beast to life (as it were). Radcliffe's innate goodness makes his Igor easy to root for, while McAvoy's spit-spraying take on Mary Shelley's mad scientist holds nothing back. Speaking of Sherlock, Andrew Scott (better known as Moriarty from the BBC's modern take on the iconic sleuth) is shoehorned into an unfortunate role: a religious Scotland Yard inspector – a waste of a subtle actor in a role that becomes an abomination.
— 3 out of 5 stars
The Good Dinosaur
A strange amalgam between the traditional boy-and-his-dog movie and The Incredible Journey, The Good Dinosaur is not the film you're expecting. The latest from Pixar is set in a world where the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs missed. Jump forward a million years and the dinos are farmers, using their massive bodies to plow fields and water crops.
Into this simple agrarian Apatosaurus tale comes Arlo, the runt of the litter. When he gets separated from his family, Arlo begins an epic journey with a barking caveboy named Spot at his side.
The Good Dinosaur has been in the works at Pixar for years and, at one point, the entire voice cast and director changed. It's worth pointing out because the story doesn't have the intuitive feel of the studio's best work, feeling more like a patchwork of elements. Poor Arlo doesn't fit in. There's a bizarre, but entirely amusing Western component (complete with a cattle round up led by T-Rexes). Even the animation itself is a mix of awe-inspiring landscapes and googly-eyed creatures with Play-Doh bodies.
That said, the relationship between Arlo and his pet boy is remarkably effective. The whole endeavour is also elevated by one of Pixar's traditional accompanying shorts, the wildly inventive Sanjay's Super Team, in which an Indo-American boy dreams up superhero versions of Hindu gods.
— 3.5 out of 5 stars