It’s a shame that Guillermo del Toro’s name doesn’t get brought up as one of film’s great auteur directors nearly enough. In fact, IMDb doesn’t put him on its list of Greatest 50 Auteur Directors at all.
Nevertheless, del Toro’s clear vision for his films brings unique stories and elaborate set designs to the screen in a way that separates him from most every other modern screenwriter and director. His latest project, "Nightmare Alley," opens at Camana Bay Cinema on 28 January. A supposed medium (Bradley Cooper) makes his living as a carny when he becomes involved with a psychiatrist (Cate Blanchett) who may see to his downfall. Adapted from a 1946 novel and 1947 film of the same name, del Toro recruits old "Hellboy" pal Ron Perlman, as well as Toni Colette, Rooney Mara and Willem Dafoe to retell this tale of mystery and deception.
If last month’s release of Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story" had you craving more new film musicals, boy do I have good news for you. Director Joe Wright ("Darkest Hour") brings us "Cyrano," based on the 1897 play "Cyrano de Bergerac" by Edmond Rostand. The story follows a writer named Cyrano (Peter Dinklage) who is convinced he’ll never win the heart of his love, Roxanne. Instead, he helps a man named Christian woo Roxanne by writing love letters in his name. See "Cyrano" starting 4 February.
KIDS CLUB
Two words come to mind when thinking of 2000’s animated adventure, "The Road to El Dorado": “extremely” and “fun." Two con artists in early 16th century Spain (voiced by Kevin Klein and Kenneth Branagh) come across a map to the storied El Dorado — the city of gold. They set sail with a stowaway horse to the New World, hoping that their list of cons can keep them out of trouble or, at the very least, not dead. With beautiful contrasting colours and a soundtrack by Elton John, get down to the cinema on 22 January and ride there like there’s no mañana!
CLASSICS
Hey, McFly! McFly! — I’m talking to you! It's 2022 and we don’t have hoverboards, flying cars or the 18 sequels to "Jaws" we were supposed to get by 2015, so what gives? While you figure that out, let’s take a look back at the original "Back to the Future" from 1985 to figure out what exactly went wrong. See it on 25 January.
SO LONG, FAREWELL, AUF WIEDERSEHEN, GOODBYE
It has been an absolute pleasure to write for you about the great art of film since the summer of 2019. However, this will be my last column — a new and demanding career opportunity now calls. I hope you found my writings informative and enjoyable. See you at the movies! Take care — Jarett Theberge.
This article will also be published in the January 2022 print edition of Camana Bay Times.