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Our City Tonight

By Jim Gordon and Leeta Liepins

Published 2:22 PDT, Fri October 25, 2024

Spotlight on more great films

THE VIEW #1 – GOODRICH

From writer/director, Hallie Meyers-Shyer, comes this wonderful film about Andy Goodrich (Michael Keaton), a man in his “autumn years”, whose life is turned into chaos when his second wife of nine years suddenly checks into rehab, leaving him unprepared to look after their two young children. He loves his kids and his wife, but his now struggling LA art gallery is, and has been his main focus for many years, something Grace (Mila Kunis), his thirty-six year old daughter from the first marriage, knows all too well. Though they have a friendly relationship, you can see and sense there’s a lot Grace has kept bottled up inside where dad is concerned – and with her on the verge of parenthood, their issues need to be resolved. Goodrich is the kind of film that grows on you, leaving you smiling and content. As for Michael Keaton, this is the kind of role made for his talents (not surprising it was written specifically for him). He excels as Andy Goodrich, a man who does truly care, but often is too caught up in his own world to remember he needs to be there and do the right thing for his loved ones. Goodrich is in theatres now.

THE VIEW #2 – ABSOLUTION

Since 2008’s blockbuster, action thriller Taken, Liam Neeson has played versions of that tough guy character many times in many different settings. One thing has always been constant: his characters may not always take the ethical route, but when it comes to the bad guys, he’ll get the job done and eliminate all of them. Which brings us to his latest film, Absolution. Neeson plays an aging gangster still on the job carrying out low-level tasks like collecting money, transporting illegal cargo and assisting the boss’s inexperienced son. You can see the weariness on the face of Leeson’s character, a look that seems to say he hates what he does and the people he deals with, but other than some minor boxing success in his younger days, this is all he knows. He also must contend with a medical diagnosis, which has him reflecting on his own mortality and all the times he wasn’t there for his estranged kids. Like with Michael Keaton in Goodrich, Liam Neeson was the right choice for this character and it’s almost as if his performance in Absolution brings an end to all those similar characters he’s played convincingly since Taken. Absolution is in theatres starting Nov 1.

THE VIEW #3 – MEANWHILE ON EARTH

One of the most interesting and unique films we’ve seen in 2024 is a French film called Meanwhile on Earth. In this sci-fi, drama, we meet 23 year old Elsa, a woman who is still morning the loss of her brother, Franck, an astronaut and “absent hero” who disappeared during a space mission three years earlier. She is struggling with life and the emptiness she feels until one day she hears his voice and is contacted by an alien life who offers to bring her brother safely back to earth. But what this unknown life form wants in return only adds to the uniqueness of this film. Megan Northam (in her first lead role) gives a strong performance as Elsa, and writer/director, Jeremy Clapin has created a film worth seeing. Meanwhile on Earth is in theatres starting November 8.