Rust Released, Hazard Ahead, Eight Arms to Hold You, Romance a la Francaise and Secrets of the Sexiest Man in Winnipeg.

In 2021, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot to death on the set of Rust when Alec Baldwin fired his prop gun that was loaded with a live round. Protocol calls for guns on movie sets to be loaded with dummies – no live ammunition, just a big bang. But Baldwin’s gun contained live ammunition and tragically he shot her through and through. Armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was responsible for weapons safety on the set; she said she loaded dummies, but somehow a live round was among them. She, Baldwin and bystanders were questioned on the scene; Gutierrez-Reed was sentenced to 18 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter and Baldwin was charged with involuntary manslaughter. A judge later dropped the charges, but Baldwin was indicted again. The case was then dismissed.  Frankly, I’m surprised Rust was ever released; the scene in which a seated Baldwin reaches for his gun cuts there. However, the resulting film, released all these years later, is very good, with excellent performances by Baldwin as Rust, and Patrick Scott McDermott who plays Rust’s grandson Lucas. It’s the wild, lawless West, 1880s Wyoming. Orphan Lucas, who knows more than a child should about gunfights and death, accidentally shoots and kills a man and is sentenced to hang. Out of the blue his estranged grandfather Rust (Baldwin) appears, breaks him out of prison and they ride off, against Lucas’ will. Who will care for his little orphaned brother? U.S. Marshal Wood Helm (Josh Hopkins) and bounty hunter Preacher (Travis Fimmel) are hot on the duo’s trail thanks to a massive bounty. Word spread and pursuers rush in. Rust and Lucas race on two horses over the harsh prairies and do what it takes to survive; even misleading their pursuers by sending one of the horses to its death. Many stops, confrontations and memorable characters along the way, this wild west version of Homer’s Odyssey rings true. The script is topnotch, balanced between action / adventure and a think piece raised by beautifully drawn characters. What a story – you’ll be glued to the screen. Hutchins’ legacy cinematography is sensationally supple, evocative, nature based and creative but never takes us out of the story. Maybe that’s why they released it. In theatres in Canada.

What would you do if you moved into your dream home in an isolated wooded area, only to find the road out front is a death trap? A poorly imagined highway intersection on their corner is awkward enough to cause regular fatalities. Josh (Ben Foster) husband to Rachel (Cobie Smulders) and father to Max (William Kosovic) witnesses crashes, psinouts and post accident scenes far too often. He tries to save the victims but the fault in the layout makes the odds of deaths high; they haunt him. 911 is a long way away so he sets up a watch station as caretakler of the dead and dying and thus begins his spin out.  Jason Buxton’s Sharp Corner is based on a brilliant, unique concept – hell on earth because of an improper road curve. One afternoon Josh and Rachel are making love in the front room window when a tire smashes through; there’s been an accident and Josh, obsessed, goes to the young man’s funeral.  A tree has grown over a Caution road sign; Josh notices and immediately cuts the tree, but the sombre drumbeat continues. Then with his savious complex, takes a first aid course and skips work to practice life saving techniques on a mannequin. Max is pulling his hair out and Rachel wants to move now, but how can they unload it? Josh gives a clip to a news person covering yet another fatality. Josh decides he needs to practice his life saving skills for real and what he does next is a stunning signal he needs serious help. Sharp Corner puts us in a peculiar state of mind, watching this guy implode, suspecting from the beginning he was already imploded. Sharp Corner’s a unique take on the thriller; an ordinary family unhinged by a one in a million circumstance.  In theatres.

Now for a breath of fresh air! An octopus is a thinking, sentient, emotional being. Some call them underwater puppy dogs, some call them sexy, and comic Tracy Morgan calls them vulnerable; he’s obsessed with the eight-armed, beaked wonders. He kept four in massive tanks in his home but his heart kept breaking when they died. Short life spans – about four years. He’s replaced them with Moray eels, small whales, and other water creatures. Octopus trivia! Paul the octopus correctly predicted eight football match winners in 2010! An Australian octopus famously escaped his tank and found his way to the sea! They can live on land for long periods! They recognise people!  They change colour, texture and shape at a moment’s notice of an enemy nearby! Phoebe Waller-Bridge who produced and narrates this astounding two parter follows a hatchling Doris from birth to death and this doc is the result.Doris raises herself alone in the dark depths of the ocean, a feat, finds a mate, has sex, eats him and becomes a mother to 80 thousand little ones. Each octopus has a 1% chance of survival; Doris sticks by her babies, not leaving to eat for four years, starving to death, to make sure they are protected and fed. Honestly her story brings tears to the eye.  We meet a Spanish scientist in search of a Striped Ocean Octopus, the rarest. Seems lots of people are obsessed with the slimy creatures. Millennia ago, Aristotle called them stupid, but their fans beg to differ, Ari! Each tells stories about signs of intelligence they’ve witnessed. Strangely no one calls multiple octopus octopi. Oh, the doc is called Octopus! The Japanese eroticised them, fishers in Greece say the population is diminishing and one woman, a marine scientist and octopus fan has a body octopus tattoo. This slimy documentary is one of the most captivating I’ve seen in a while. Take a peek and hang on for the ride.  Prime Video Original Series streaming now.

Canadian author and filmmaker Durga Chew-Bose’s feature film debut, a remake of the 1958 film Bonjour Tristesse based on Françoise Sagan’s novel is extraordinarily seductive.  Widower Raymond (Claes Bang) is spending a relaxed summer on the French coast with his daughter Cécile (Lily McInerny) and his partner Elsa (Naila Harzoune) who appears to be about the same age as Cécile. It’s a luxurious life; the estate’s relaxed elegance and rock cliffs provide a private haven for sunbathing and idle living away from prying eyes.  The rich and beautiful lead different lives but here by the sea, it gives way as we discover they are just like us, struggling, albeit on champagne and caviar.  Elsa’s remark “Everything is about listening” seems wise but odd, as the its all about voyeurism, with limited chat.  Life-altering moments are silent.  Suddenly Anne (Chloë Sevigny), a friend of Raymond’s late wife appears and the tone changes.  She talks and cooks, but why is she there?  Her presence throws Cécile off-balance; conversations become more interesting and personal. Anne becomes an ersatz mother; she slices a pineapple in a tellingly homey and intimate sequence as her intelligence and historic bond with Raymond raises the tenor of the gathering.  A walk to the coast is a turning point in this portrait of human experience.  Sevigny is magnificent and Chew-Bose’s debut confirms her talent and ease in creating evocative, important personal cinema.  If you don’t get to the south of France this summer, this will do.  TIFF LIGHTBOX now.

Prime Video’s Amazon Original documentary, The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg is a strange one. Entertaining but deeply strange. Talk about calm, cool and collected – Steve Vogelsang, an extremely popular Winnipeg TV sportscaster, the life of the party at CTV Manitoba’s CKY NewsHour, and its number one personality, brings hilarity, surreal and whimsical elements to his sportscast and to life in Winnipeg. That was 1990. The overweight, homely anchor who dubbed himself “The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg” had a certain je ne sais quoi and worked it every day, whether cracking up the anchors onset, while being followed by enormous crowds at golf matches, or fundraising. His ex-wife called him “the smartest person you’ll ever meet”. Well, maybe not if you follow his true crime trail. He left CKY and taught journalism in Red River but that dried up as well. One day, he entered a bank, with a bandage covered in ketchup around his wrist, crying about needing money for his granddaughter (he had none), with wires in his shirt that tellers thought was a bomb and a note demanding money.  They gave him 78 dollars and called the police.  Over the next short while, he pulled the same act at anywhere from 7 – 12 banks across the Prairies, some just hours apart. He’d just walk casually away, maybe have a facial. He always wore a ballcap. Police hunted high and low and finally arrested him. Public disbeleif was surreal too. That funny engaging sportscaster from Winnipeg?  He got five years in prison and served three and a bit. Filmmakers Charlie Siskel and Ben Daughtrey followed him as he returned to show them the scenes of his crimes. He’s a tad remorseful but his true dark nature comes out. Wow! He’s not listed on the Wiki page for CTV Manitoba. Streaming now.