Searching for connection: Jacob Elordi in ‘The Dog Stars’.
THE DOG STARS *** (118 minutes) MA
When it comes to life after the apocalypse we all pretty much know the routine by now.
Society has failed, survival comes before civilized behaviour, fuel is scarce, electricity is self-generated and there are marauding savages roaming about, ready to ravage any settlement where people are just trying to live. Sometimes these marauding savages are zombies looking to feed on human brains, sometimes they’re just regular people looking for a feed.
Even the sight of crumbling, deserted cities slowly submitting to the advance of nature have become ever-so-familiar.
Still, veteran director Ridley Scott (Alien; Blade Runner; Gladiator; The Martian) adds his distinctive cinematic touch to the well-worn settings and vistas of The Dog Stars, delivering a sufficiently gritty world’s-end escapade about the global devastation brought on by a bad case of the flu and the survivors pitting hope against the ever-encroaching threat of annihilation.
Living on a decrepit airfield set deep in the verdant mountains, we meet skilled scavanger and devoted dog owner Hig (Jacob Elordi) who regularly flies to what remains of Denver city to replenish the supplies needed for him and his cynical buddy Bangley (Josh Brolin) to make it through.
A former marine who loves standing guard to cap any intruders with his long-range sniper rifle, Bangley argues that where they are is the closest they’ll get to paradise.
Thus, he pushes back at Hig’s desire to move on, in particular to follow a faint radio transmission from what could be a better home.
In his travels – the sturdiness of his valiant light plane must be making the people at Cessna very happy – Hig happens upon a father/daughter duo (Guy Pearce; Margaret Qualley) who extend his social circle beyond the almost idyllic community of Mennonites – who are not Mormons, the film stresses – that, while not immune from the effects of population-stripping pandemic, have yet to encounter any real post-world nastiness.
Though it’s far from his top-tier work, Scott serves up the type of entertaining, big-scale programmer that has made up much of his CV of late.
Written by Mark L. Smith (Twisters; The Revenant) and Christopher Wilkinson (Nixon; Ali) drawing on the 2012 Peter Heller novel The Dog Stars doesn’t add much to the cinematic portrait of the after world we all know and fear, yet it is dispatched with enough flair and pace to justify the price of a choc top.
& SONS ***1/2 (120 minutes) M
In this absorbing, unusual family drama consummate British long hauler Bill Nighy does some of his best work yet playing Andrew Dyer, a famous writer who, nearing the end, summons his disaffected sons (Johnny Flynn; George MacKay; Noah Jupe; Arthur Conti) to his sprawling mansion.
Dealing with tensions in their own worlds, they bicker and reel as their eccentric father drops a five-megaton truth bomb about his past.
A prestige showcase of top-tier acting, the piece is directed by Pablo Trapero and written by Sarah Polley, adapting the 2013 David Gilbert novel.
I WANT YOUR SEX ***1/2 (90 minutes) MA
What begins as a naughty bit of BDSM fun develops nicely into a raucous, enjoyable, well-rounded, strictly adults-only comedy as financially strapped young dimwit Elliot (Cooper Hoffman) stumbles into the web of sex-obsessed artist Erika (Olivia Wilde).
Working in her over-sized art studio the awkward idiot is easily drawn into her world of straps, buckles, leather and latex where he relishes the role as her sexual plaything.
As their strictly non-committal relationship bounces along, Erika needs to get her new show together while Elliot needs to deal with his beautiful but apathetic girlfriend (Charli XCX) and his best pal/roomie Apple (Chase Sui Wonders) who helps ground Elliot.
The film toys with power plays, permissiveness and consent as a plot slowly congeals.
Very proficiently and energetically directed by veteran Gregg Araki (Kaboom; The Doom Generation; The Living End) the piece gets more engaging the more perplexed our awkward, decidedly dim young hero gets.
Terrific stuff.
THE PARTY’S OVER! ***1/2 (95 minutes; subtitled) M
Laure Calamy shines amidst a high-calibre comic ensemble in a wonderful French social satire as the live-in caretakers for an estate owned by a wealthy family engage in class warfare when they decide they haven’t been properly paid for years.
Eager to impress his girlfriend’s legal eagle father enough to land a job, a budding young lawyer (Sami Outalbali) attempts to mediate a situation that gets increasingly heated.
Comedy about class and greed was once a big thing and it’s great to see the French serve up this sharp, tasty, topical morsel, which features a memorable hot tub scene.
A real cracker.
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