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 Shadows off the beaten pathIndies, foreigns, docs and shorts...
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THE FIRE INSIDE |
PRESENCE |
THE SLOTH LANE
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| See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 10.Feb.25 | |||||
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The Fire Inside Review by Rich Cline | 
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 dir Rachel Morrison scr Barry Jenkins prd Michael De Luca, Elishia Holmes, Barry Jenkins with Ryan Destiny, Brian Tyree Henry, Idrissa Sanogo Bamba, Jazmin Headley, De'Adre Aziza, Chrystian Buddington, Teanna Weir, Olunike Adeliyi, Shechinah Mpumlwana, Sekhai Smith, Sarah Allen, Lanette Ware release US 25.Dec.24, UK 7.Feb.25 24/US MGM 1h49 TORONTO FILM FEST Is it streaming? |
 The true story of teen American boxer Claressa Shields is adapted into an inspiring film that's infused with big emotions and deeper issues. With a lot of boxing action, this is a portrait of an unusually tenacious young woman who refuses to give up against all odds. Even if it feels a little long, the film is beautifully shot and edited, directed with real skill by Rachel Morrison. In 2006 Michigan, young Ressa (Headley) is yearning to train in the boxing gym with coach Jason (Henry). Seeing her determination, he takes her under his wing. Five years later at age 16, Ressa (now Destiny) is a rising star boxer with the nickname T-Rex, competing in the national championships and Olympic trials in Shanghai. And she fully intends to win gold at London 2012, which is a huge challenge for anyone, let alone a girl from a poor community. Afterwards, she faces personal obstacles along with the appalling gender bias throughout the sporting world. Serious issues abound in Ressa's troubled home, including childhood abuse, unhelpful parents and ongoing responsibilities. To find some stability, she gets closer to Jason, his wife Mickey (Aziza) and their kids (Buddington and Weir), but they are facing major difficulties of their own. Poverty is the main challenge for these fragile families, for whom every day feels like an uphill battle. And without fair financial remuneration, boxing success won't will help with that. Gifted young actress Destiny brings a striking forcefulness to the screen as this strong-willed teen who doesn't understand why men earn cash while women have to settle for praise. Her quest for parity in sport becomes as important to her as winning. And Henry is also terrific as the good guy who does everything within his power to support her. The various people around both of them add further jolts of authenticity, bringing each scene vividly to life. This is a story about how top athletes must tap into their mental strength even more intensely than their physical skill. And because the challenges Ressa faces stretch beyond the boxing ring, the film has resonance outside the usual sports biopic. And it's refreshing that Ressa's journey doesn't follow the usual cinematic trajectory. In Jenkins' earthy script and Destiny's open-handed performance, Ressa shows us what it takes to be the kind of person who changes the world, no matter where they come from.
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Presence Review by Rich Cline |
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 dir Steven Soderbergh scr David Koepp prd Julie M Anderson, Ken Meyer with Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan, Callina Liang, Eddy Maday, West Mulholland, Natalie Woolams-Torres, Lucas Papaelias, Julia Fox, Benny Elledge, Daniel Danielson, Jared Wiseman release US/UK 24.Jan.25 24/US 1h25 SUNDANCE FILM FEST TORONTO FILM FEST Is it streaming? |
 Although billed as horror, this is actually an unusually quiet ghost story that centres around emotional undercurrents rather than anything supernaturally scary. That isn't to say that there's no tension, as the story features a properly nasty turn of events. Director Steven Soderbergh uses a clever point-of-view style of filmmaking, which makes the movie remarkably soft-spoken and intimate, like a fly-on-the-wall doc about a family facing something inexplicable. Moving into a beautiful home, Rebekah and Chris (Liu and Sullivan) are trying to be relaxed parents to their sparky teen kids Chloe and Tyler (Liang and Maday). Chloe instantly senses a presence in the house, and recognises it as the spirit of a friend who recently died. Meanwhile, Tyler is preoccupied with other things, hanging out with his skater-dude pal Ryan (Mulholland), who shows an interest in Chloe. When the whole family witnesses signs of an overactive poltergeist, they call in a psychic (Wolams-Torres). And she's more ominous than helpful. All of this is shot from the perspective of the spirit as it prowls around the house watching this family settle in, paying particular attention to Chloe as she flirts with Ryan and then invites him over when her parents are out. Occasionally the ghost intervenes to interrupt something that's going on, rendered skilfully with subtle but eye-catching effects work. This adds to a growing sense that something nasty is coming, and the story's twists are very clever. Performances have a natural earthiness to them that plays into how this family is unaware that someone is watching their every move. Liu and Sullivan are terrific as busy but involved parents, sharp-edged and warmly understanding, respectively. Liang is particularly strong at the centre of the narrative, giving Chloe a crisp sense of intelligence and self-will, even as we see her putting herself in danger. Both Maday and Mulholland have vivid moments of their own in subtly complex roles. Fans of grisly horror will probably be disappointed with this film, because it uses everyday drama to create suspense with only a couple of intense flourishes. Indeed, this is a deliberately internalised film, exploring the lingering connections between the living and the dead. So it's involving on a more sensitive level than expected, generating a low-key creepiness while finding tension in the bracingly recognisable relationships between these family members.
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The Sloth Lane Review by Rich Cline |  US title: A Sloth Story
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 dir Tania Vincent scr Tania Vincent, Ryan Greaves prd Kristen Souvlis, Nadine Bates, Ryan Greaves voices Teo Vergara, Olivia Vasquez, Ben Gorrono, Leslie Jones, Facundo Herrera, Matteo Romaniuk, Evie, Remy Hii, Andrew Cook, Dan Brumm, Ricard Cusso, Tania Vincent release Aus 25.Jul.24, UK 14.Feb.25, US 28.Feb.25 24/Australia Universal 1h30 Is it streaming? |
 Sloths may be the world's laziest animals, but this animated romp centres on a hyperactive teen sloth who refuses to slow down. With a strong Latin American vibe and a sparky mix of slapstick comedy and action-adventure, the film is a lot of fun, even if some of the elements feel thrown together in a rather haphazard way. And there are some solid themes running through the story. In a small village, young sloth Laura (Vergara) is tired of always being told to slow down by her parents (Vasquez and Gorrono) and older brother Mani (Herrera). After a freak storm destroys their family restaurant, they pivot to run a food truck in the big city. Laura urges her parents to speed up so they can take on the fast food chain run by speed-obsessed executive cheetah Dotti (Jones). But now, as Laura discovers a talent for bowling, she doesn't have time to practice with her new friends on a cricket team. A typical teen, Laura feels like no one ever listens to what she has to say, and that life is pushing her in directions she doesn't want to go. Indeed, her parents seem oblivious to the idea that she might want to have a life outside the food truck, and this is something the ruthless Dotti can exploit in her effort to crush the competition. But of course this plucky family won't go down without a fight. The animation is colourful and energetic, even if the design work sometimes feels a little plasticky, and it's populated by a bizarre range of critters (including a kiwi and a platypus) with oddly human features. Even so, the characters are lively and likeable, including Jones' aggressively nasty Dotti, who is determined to addict the general population to her cheap, rushed food. The ensuing action is very goofy, but witty animated flourishes liven things up. Evan if the central story is predictable and silly, with nutty references to movies from Indiana Jones to Braveheart, there are some strong observations along the way. The main one is keyed into the whole sloth-family dynamic: take time to stop and appreciate the special moments. And then there's a note from Laura's father about how we all grow in different directions, but our roots remain as one. These are very simple ideas, but they add some meaning to the wackiness.
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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL © 2025 by Rich Cline, Shadows
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