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Movies & TV

New Years film Revelations

Anomalisa, The Revenant, Canadas Top Ten boy, this years starting off at speed, huh? And those are just the ones with the biggest promotional budget behind them just look around the listings and youll find plenty of other cinema on which to gorge this week.

First and foremost: The 17th Animation Show Of Shows, which starts a weeks run today (Friday January 8) at the Carlton Cinemas.

As is always the case with this festival, the lineup is terrific, but the inclusion of one work in particular would make this edition a must-see even if everything else was hot garbage. (Just for clarification, there is nothing in this years package that I would classify as hot garbage.)

That would be World Of Tomorrow, a magnificent 17-minute exploration of life, the universe and everything from Don Hertzfeldt. Hertzfeldt is the genius absurdist who gave us the antic weirdness of Rejected, among other things, and whose feature-length Its Such A Beautiful Day turns its stick-figure hero into a resonant, tragic Everyman. (If you havent seen that, its on Netflix. Make a note.)

With World Of Tomorrow, Hertzfeldt explores the human condition from a different angle. Our hero is four-year-old Emily, who gets an unexpected visit from her future self an adult with dazzling stories of a future that isnt quite as bright and shiny as we might want it to be. But Emily is just a kid, and doesnt really understand what lies ahead a notion that Hertzfeldt spins into a full-blown emotional arc over the course of the piece.

When it arrived last spring, a friend and fellow critic David Ehrlich has deemed World Of Tomorrow the best short film hed ever seen, and Im not entirely sure I disagree. There is a universe of feeling inside its spare running time, amplified and focused by Hertzfeldts precise-yet-chaotic aesthetic. It is a magnificent, magical work of art, and you should go and see it with other people who are similarly inclined to sit in the dark and be transported. Also, the other shorts are pretty good too.

Mark your calendar: its time for another NOW Free Flick Monday at The Royal, and this month (on January 11) were presenting Edgar Wrights delirious, Toronto-centric action romance Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World. Its a wonderful picture with a fantastic cast and a killer soundtrack, and itll be my pleasure to introduce it on the night. As always, the doors open at 6:30 pm and the first 100 guests get free popcorn as well as a free movie the show starts at 7:30 pm, and fun is guaranteed. Check out our Facebook event page if you need further enticement.

Keep an eye on The Royal all week, actually, because theyve booked some great stuff: On Wednesday (January 13), the Laserblast cult series introduces Torontonians to Ugandan action cinema with a special screening theyre calling Welcome To Wakaliwood: Invasion Canada! Actor/producer Alan Ssali Hofmanis will present an evening of DIY commando cinema, including a work-in-progress screening of his crime thriller Bad Black. Therell also be a Skype Q&A with director Nabwana IGG. The evening gets underway at 7:30 pm, and Im reasonably sure it wont end until everyone is covered in their own sweat. So bring a towel, maybe.

And on Thursday (January 14), Laserblast gives way to the Neon Dreams Cinema Club, which also uses The Royal to celebrate films that might otherwise go uncelebrated. This month, theyre screening George Armitages absolutely fantastic 1990 Miami Blues.

Miami Blues is a crime comedy in the way Pulp Fiction is a crime comedy, finding cockeyed humanity in the hearts of some very dangerous people. Produced by Jonathan Demme right around the same time he was making The Silence Of The Lambs, its an adaptation of Charles Willefords novel about a world-weary Florida cop, the psychotic who steals his badge and starts running around fighting crime and the chipper hooker with whom said psychotic sets up housekeeping.

Fred Ward, Alec Baldwin and Jennifer Jason Leigh are note-perfect Ive argued that this represents their best work, separately or together and Armitage, whose idiosyncratic resume also includes Rolling Thunder and Grosse Pointe Blank, makes every scene a taut, sun-drenched pleasure.

Fun fact: I begged the nice people at Shout! Factory to remaster this for Blu-ray, and they did, and it looks great … but Neon Dreams shows its movies in well-loved 35mm prints, and that really is the best way to experience Miami Blues. A pristine presentation would almost work against it the movie needs to be a little disreputable. The pre-show starts at 7 pm the movie gets underway at 8 pm. You dont want to miss it.

Oh, and the Golden Globes are still a thing somehow, so Ill be live-tweeting them Sunday (February 9) starting at 8 pm EST. Follow along, wont you? I apologize in advance, but Ill be doing it sober cant risk the hangover when Scott Pilgrim awaits the next day. Trust me, its for a good cause.

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