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Alec Baldwin

The Boss Baby: Family Business – Wild, Weird… and Kinda Works…?

October 19, 2021 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

The Boss Baby: Family Business reacquaints the viewer with the life of Tim Templeton (James Marsden). Once a child dealing with his bossy baby brother, Tim is now a stay-at-home dad caring for his two daughters. With his eldest daughter approaching teenage years, Tim begins to feel like he’s losing his connection with her like he did with his baby brother Ted (Alec Baldwin). Now a big-shot CEO, Ted has the world at his feet and has had little time for his family for several years. However, when Baby Corp comes calling once again, the two brothers must reunite—and turn back the clock—to go undercover and prevent an evil genius from destroying the relationships between babies and their parents around the world.

Once again directed by Tom McGrath, The Boss Baby: Family Business is another insanely strange mindtrip that takes the unexpected path for its sequel. Instead of simply charting ‘the next chapter’ in the relationship between Tim and Ted Templeton, Family Business unnecessarily fast forwards 30 years into the future, with both men fully grown adults who have taken different paths. Why this decision was made is somewhat of a mystery, especially as it forces them to ‘rewind time’ by making the men younger. Perhaps the decision has something to do with the fact that Netflix has a fairly successful series (yes, there is a series…) but, admittedly, somehow that sort of strange writing is also a staple of the franchise. As always, Family Business provides fast-paced animation, wild storytelling and ridiculous humour that borders on the insane.

But, somehow, it kinda works…?

For those who are unaware, the Boss Baby franchise is anchored on voice and comedic talent of Alec Baldwin. While he may not be the first name you think of when you think of funny, Baldwin has done more than his share of humour, having won Emmys for his role on 30 Rock and his portrayal of Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live. As Ted Templeton, Baldwin excels in the role of CEO/’Boss Baby’ by playing his unique style of ‘business-themed comedy’ to the Nth degree here. In fact, it should be noted that Baldwin’s silly business rhetoric really is the show here. (If you’re not sure of that, note that he remains in the lead role while the voice of his onscreen brother was recast for the sequel, by substituting James Marsden for Tobey Maguire.)

Whereas the first film is a bit of a mind-trip about one brother, the second film fully embraces its own madness. Now adults, Family Business knows that it’s a film about babies so it creates a magical milk that gives full-grown adults an opportunity to be kids again. Between tyrannical toddlers to robotic exo-suits to ninja newborns, Family Business is a wild and unruly ball of crazy that will make some laugh and frustrate others. Are the events entirely in Tim’s head as he attempts to reconnect with his daughters? Or are they actually taking place in reality? Honestly, it doesn’t really matter. This is a franchise that doesn’t care if it blurs the lines between reality and imagination if it offers a few laughs on the side. 

Having said this, the world of Boss Baby actually seems to thrive on the chaos. Despite its utterly nonsensical plot devices and silliness, the sequel may actually be funnier than the original. (Or maybe I’m immune now?) By focusing more on the adventure than the ‘business ethics’, Family Business has more opportunity to lean into the bizarre more than its predecessor, which works for this franchise. In fact, the film is even entirely self-aware of its divisiveness. For example, when adult Tim Templeton is asking his daughter what she thinks of his stories of his childhood, she seems unimpressed. “But the jokes were funny, right?,” he asks. “Not really,” she replies.

Even so, there still is an unexpected genuineness to this franchise. At its heart, the film has its brothers on two different (but connected) emotional arcs. On the one hand, Tim is a man who fears losing his daughter as she begins to show signs of growing up. On the other, Ted is a man who has grown up too much, throwing money (and neglect) on his nieces rather than spending time with them. As they work together to save babies around the world, so too do the ‘men’ begin to reassess their priorities and how they understand their families. Whereas Ted begins to realize how little he has appreciated his brother and his kids, Tim begins to recognize that growing up doesn’t mean the end of everything good. 

Flooding the screen with inane colour and drug-induced dreamscapes where it can, the animation admittedly does look quite good on disc, especially in 4K. What’s more, the bonus features offer the necessary extras to keep your kids engaged. The most noteworthy additions may be the new short, Precious Templeton: A Pony Tale which is entertaining and Boss Baby Art Class which offers some tips on how to draw. While the materials aren’t enough to excite, they are in great quality and worthy additions to the disc.

Though there will be many who aren’t interested in the film, The Boss Baby: Family Business is a relatively worthy successor to the original. There’s such a silliness to the movie that, if you can enjoy, manages to draw you in with its madness.

However, if you’re looking for logic, it’s best to take your Business elsewhere.

The Boss Baby: Family Business is now available on 4K, Blu-Ray, and VOD.

Filed Under: Featured, Film, Reviews, SmallFish, VOD Tagged With: Alec Baldwin, James Marsden, Jimmy Kimmel, The Boss Baby, The Boss Baby: Family Business

GIVEAWAY! BOSS BABY: FAMILY BUSINESS on Blu-Ray!

October 10, 2021 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

This (Canadian) Thanksgiving weekend, you can bring the [Boss] Baby home!

Thanks to our friends at TARO PR, we are giving away a Blu-Ray copy of The Boss Baby: Family Business!

With the adventures of their youth (mostly) forgotten or the stuff of legends, Tim Templeton and his Boss Baby brother Ted are now adults and living their own separate lives. Whereas Tim has settled down with his wife and two daughters, Ted is now a big-shot CEO and living his corporate dream. However, when Baby Corps comes calling, the two men are called back into action. After drinking a magical formula that reverts them into babies for 48 hours, the two brothers must join forces with Tim’s secret-agent daughter in order to prevent an evil genius from destroying the fabric of families everywhere.

In order to enter, simply like/share this post on Facebook and/or Twitter and tell us the actor who plays Ted Templeton, the Boss Baby himself!

Winners will receive a Blu-ray copy of Boss Baby: Family Business.

All entries must be received by 11:59pm on Wednesday October 13th, 2021.

Boss Baby: Family Business was be released on Blu-Ray, 4K and DVD on September 14th, 2021.

Filed Under: Featured, Giveaways Tagged With: Alec Baldwin, Boss Baby, James Marsden

Motherless Brooklyn: Pulling at the Thread of Power

October 31, 2019 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Directed and adapted for the screen by Edward Norton, Motherless Brooklyn tells the story of Lionel Essrog (Norton), a Brooklyn detective in post-war New York. Working with street smart private investigator Frank Minna (Bruce Willis), Lionel (who also goes by the name Brooklyn) and his team uncover the truth for hire. However, when Minna is shot and left for dead, Lionel determines to unravel the mystery, plunging him into a Brooklyn underworld riddled with crime, corruption and colourful characters. As his quest for truth leads him further up New York’s ladder of power, Lionel’s investigation is complicated by his Tourette syndrome, which leaves him prone to compulsive behavioural tics and inappropriate verbal outbursts.

Adapted from the 1999 novel of the same name, Brooklynis a tightly written throwback film to classic Hollywood’s noir films like The Big Sleep or Chinatown. With a stellar cast and tightly written script, Norton creates a world which feels both foreign and familiar. While the film transports the audience back to 1950s New York, it also feels current in today’s culture, highlighting racial tensions and the growing divide between the upper and lower classes. In Motherless Brooklyn, power is a drug that gives people the freedom to ‘do whatever they want, whenever they want’ but it’s also short in supply. Divided by racial and financial lines, Brooklyn is a city on the brink of chaos.Those that have little power are struggling to make their voices heard while those who have much fight ferociously to maintain it. 

As Brooklyn himself, Norton’s performance is sharp, engaging, and loving. At the same time, the character becomes a metaphor for the town for which he’s named. Plagued by Tourette Syndrome, Brooklyn feels as though there’s a chaos in his mind that bubbles over and has to be released. While the casual passerby may not immediately notice Brooklyn’s struggle, his mental chaos inevitably reveals itself. With this in mind, the film clearly draws a line between his character and the city itself, as its own unseen chaos can’t help but overflow from the underground. Diffused lighting and growing shadows point to tension between light and darkness, as Brooklyn (the character) attempts to uncover the truth about Brooklyn (the city). Like his compulsion to pull on the threads of his sweater, Brooklyn also must unravel the web of deception until the facts about his city is revealed.

Furthermore, the film also does not shy away from engaging in the complexities of Brooklyn’s mental health issues. Bullied as a child for his affliction, Brooklyn has always been the one that was pitied by others. After Minna’s death, Brooklyn becomes seen by others primarily for his mental affliction as they constantly try to ‘look out’ for him, rationalizing that he needs their protection. Frustrated by his inability to control his mind and constantly reminded of the burden he is by others, Brooklyn remains ashamed and embarrassed by his behaviour. 

Conversely, however, while clearly struggling with his mental illness, he also recognizes its value. Despite the chaos within him, his Tourettes is also what makes him a great detective by forcing him to ‘pull on the thread’ of truth and allowing him to retain incredible amounts of information. What’s more, the film even paints a portrait of Tourette syndrome with an element of beauty by highlighting the musical aspect of Brooklyn’s mental chaos. (For example, this comparison is highlighted when, in one particularly poignant scene, Brooklyn’s inadvertent vocables cause him to become a participant in a jazz ensemble.)

Featuring strong performances and well-written script, Motherless Brooklyn is an entertaining and engaging return to the noir genre. Under the Norton’s direction, the film is also impressive visually, as the shadows and darkness of New York’s underworld are constantly warring against the light of truth. 

Motherless Brooklyn unravels the mystery in theatres on November 1st, 2019.

Filed Under: Film, Film Festivals, Reviews, TIFF Tagged With: Alec Baldwin, Bobby Cannavale, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, film noir, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Leslie Mann, Motherless Brooklyn, TIFF, TIFF19, Willem Dafoe

Shadows of Power: 1on1 with Edward Norton (MOTHERLESS BROOKLYN)

October 29, 2019 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Directed by Edward Norton, Motherless Brooklyn tells the story of Lionel Essrog (Norton), a Brooklyn detective in post-war New York. Working with street smart private investigator, Frank Minna (Bruce Willis), Lionel (who also goes by the name Brooklyn) and his team uncover the truth for hire. However, when Minna is shot and left for dead, Lionel determines to unravel the mystery, plunging him into a Brooklyn underworld riddled with crime, corruption and colourful characters. As his quest for truth leads him further up New York’s ladder of power, Lionel’s investigation is complicated by his Tourette syndrome, which leaves him prone to compulsive behavioural tics and inappropriate verbal outbursts. Adapted from Johnathan Letham’s book of the same name, Norton wanted to bring the story to life due due to the interesting and complex nature of its lead character.

“The character [of Lionel] was entirely the initial hook for me,” he begins. “The many things that got woven into it to sort of expand on its scope or the broader target that it had ultimately were not where I was within the beginning. I just was completely enamored with this character that Jonathan Letham created, not just because he’s a unique character with a unique condition and the idea of sending him, a person with those mental gifts and challenges, up against the idea of solving mysteries is just sort of fun. [It was also that] Jonathan’s emotional hook is brilliant. It’s exactly what we… transposed in the film.”

“You hear his inner voice from the opening page. You’re inside his head. You know him free of his condition. You know his inner mind, his inner heart and then, you see him on the outside [where] he’s kind of a hot mess of ticks and twitches and shouts [so] watching him navigate that is funny and poignant. That’s all before the end of page two. You’re rooting for him. He’s a great underdog character. You’re laughing, wincing and you [know that] wherever this guy’s going, it’s going to be fun because watching him navigate this is itself the pleasure. That was the entirety of my initial interest in it.” 

Though many of his characters over the years have appeared to struggle with a variety of conditions, Norton feels like this may be the first chance he has had to portray a man with genuine mental health issues onscreen. In order to prepare for the role, much of his research involved exploring the individualistic nature of Tourette syndrome.

“I’m trying to think if I have played characters with authentic mental health issues. I’ve played [many] characters who are faking…” laughs Norton. “So, I actually think arguably this is the first time I’ve played a character with an authentic psychological condition. It’s not a reductive , like how do you approach it? There are documentaries about people with Tourette’s. I’ve met some. You talk to people. For me, honestly, because Tourette Syndrome has many components and can be expressed in people in very individualistic ways… what I set myself out to do was find out what are a credible sort of symptomatic pieces of it and then build my own basket of them for Lionel so that you can create a weave of consistent things, like his compulsion to tap people that he feels close with or his compulsion that the idea of having a single word – in his case ‘if’ – that he says over and over… Then, [I tried to] structure that into the story…” 

However, Norton also argues that much of the importance in representing mental illness onscreen lies in refusing to allow one trait to define the character entirely.

“I don’t actually tend to think that representing physical manifestations of a thing are the hardest thing or the most important challenge,” he explains. “I think the bigger thing is not reducing any kind of disability to the whole of that person’s character. I think [that] if there’s anything people I’ve talked to say really drives them nuts, it’s when it’s made all about the disability. Obviously, in this [film], a huge part of this is Lionel’s love for Frank. It’s his sense of being motherless. It’s as much about the fact that he has never been a person who, as he says, looks past his own problems. So, I kind of concern himself with the rest of the world, you know? He’s got to grow up like anybody else… But what I think is really cool is when Laura [says], that it’s not everything. ‘Everybody’s got something,’ she says kindly. We’ve all got daily battles, right? And, it really pulls him up. Suddenly, someone’s looking at him and not seeing him just for that. They’re saying that’s just a part of life.” 

In light of this, one of the film’s more poignant scenes highlights the complicated nature of Lionel’s Tourette syndrome by comparing it with the sonic beauty of jazz music.

“I think jazz has a very Tourettic characteristic,” says Norton. “There’s the idea of looping around, playing with variations on a theme. The kind of exuberant release that is in jazz. There’s a great passage in the book about Prince’s music, but obviously we weren’t going to do that [due to the film’s period setting]. So, to me, the idea of… a scene where you see and feel for once [of] Lionel happily losing his inhibition and finding a moment of poetic liberation in it was a neat idea. I liked the idea of it that he finds an affinity with a Charlie Parker, [or] Dizzy Gillespie kind of a figure who sees him.” 

While the film’s title extends from Lionel’s nickname, it is also focuses its lens on the future and well-being of Brooklyn itself. Asked whether or not he sees any comparison between Lionel and the city, Norton believes that any comparison lies in the damage that happens when anyone (or anything) is left ‘motherless’.

“I think [the idea of the title, Motherless Brooklyn is expressed when] Laura says that, ‘We all need someone looking out for us.’ On an individual level, it’s a very lonely condition to not have anyone caring for you… Some people said to me, ‘Why are you going to… break your back trying to figure out on a budget how to effectively recreate Penn Station?’ It is kind of tilting at windmills, but it’s not nothing. The micro scale is that its lonely and sad and hard to be alone in the world and people should take care of each other. But, on the macro, it’s that, if our city is motherless, we lose Penn Station. We lose things that we’ll never get back… We lose some of the richest, most diverse communities in Brooklyn [and they] get replaced with the worst ghettos in the world, the projects. They literally [take] stable places, call them slums, rip them down and put up slums. There’s aesthetic loss. You lose the things that make a place great, like Penn Station, and to me it was like, you’ve got to see the ghost of what we lost. To make the subconscious point, these are the costs of allowing power to tell us all to get out of the way.” 

Using the shadows of its 1950s noir atmosphere, Brooklyn explore the perils of absolute power upon the average citizen. With this in mind, Norton believes that the corruptive nature of power takes root when authorities lose sight of the value of others.

According to Norton, “I think that part what creates the drive for power in some people is impatience with other human beings and a lack of authentic affection for [others]. I think we’re in an era where we’re seeing it expressed in a new resurgence of a very exclusionary idea of what America is, not only antagonistic to our actual ideals, but antagonistic to our whole history. That’s what’s so crazy about it. It’s like this romance for a thing that never existed in the first place. But it’s like what my friend (who is Mexican) said, ‘This is the Latin American hefe (or ‘dictator’) problem.’ There’s something base in us that responds to the audacity of someone [else] saying, ‘I’m going to punch through the inefficiency of us having to all work together and just get [stuff] done.’ It’s like some part of us goes, ‘yeah…’ It’s amazing that, in 2019, we’re actually still grappling with the idea that, under the right circumstances, people will elevate a bully.” 

While some might immediately assume that he is solely addressing the current presidency, Norton argues that abuses of power extend far beyond the Trump era.

“I think the thing that I was trying to look at is the idea that, in America, we’re supposed to know where the power is,” he continues. “It’s with us, right? That’s where it’s supposed to be. It’s not supposed to reside in places that we not only didn’t assign it, but we don’t realize that it has become outside of our purview… When where the power is [remains] unseen, that’s a truly dangerous situation because we’re walking around in democracy, thinking everything’s okay. We believe in the system and we don’t realize that there are forces dictating what’s really happening, that do not have our best interests in mind. That’s the most dangerous situation. To me, that’s as much about the Koch brothers as it is about Trump.” 

“The darker idea is that like there’s a mayor being inaugurated [who is] completely irrelevant and we’re about to learn that the guy who is patiently looking at his watch in the shadow of a column, whose face we haven’t seen…, is the one who calls all the shots. Whether you want to ascribe it to Citizens United or an intrinsic part of American life and capitalism that enormous amounts of power get amassed outside of the political system and to the degree that they own the political system or are evading the political system. That’s what Ralph Nader rightly said. ‘The great challenge of democracy will be whether people can retain the priority of human interest over corporate interests (he would say) … but the interest of power, basically.’” 

To hear full audio of our interview with Norton, click here.

Motherless Brooklyn uncovers the truth in theatres starting November 1st, 2019.

Filed Under: Film, Film Festivals, Interviews, TIFF Tagged With: Alec Baldwin, Bruce Willis, Chinatown, Edward Norton, film noir, Motherless Brooklyn

Before You Know It: Growing Up is Hard to Do

September 20, 2019 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Before You Know It tells the story of Rachel (Hannah Pearl Utt) and Jackie (Jen Tullock), two dysfunctional co-dependent sisters who live above a theatre in New York. Tasked with caring for their aging father (Mandy Patinkin), the two women are shocked to discover that Sherrell (Judith Light), the mother they thought had died when they were young, is alive and starring on a popular daytime soap opera. Emboldened with questions as to where she has been all of their lives, the two women set out on a quest to meet their mother and begin a relationship with her.

Starring and directed by Hannah Pearl Utt, Before You Know It is a charming coming of age comedy that examines the responsibilities of parent-child relationships. While the film works through several heavier topics ranging from grief to puberty, it does so with a light touch, allowing the comedic talents of its cast to come to the forefront. Veteran actors Judith Light and Mandy Patinkin are given suitable material for their talents, yet it’s the relationship between the two sisters that drives the story forward. As Rachel and Jackie, Utt and Taylor have a solid rapport as two sisters with very different outlooks on life. Despite having no children of her own, Rachel takes on the role of caregiver for the family while Jackie lives her life more freely, even though she is the mother of pre-teen Dodge (Oona Yaffe). 

By highlighting the parent-child relationship, Before You Know It shows the dangers of inadvertently mirroring our own damaged upbringing. For example, while Rachel and Jackie mourn the loss of their father and wonder why they were abandoned as children, Jackie fails to realize that she too is missing key moments in her own daughter’s life. In other words, though they blame their mother for missing their childhood, neither woman is there for young Dodge as she is attempting to navigate puberty and her own questions about becoming a woman. While it’s hard to judge their behaviour based on the revelation of their long-lost mother, their self-absorption also begins to lay the groundwork to repeat similar behaviour that they despised so much growing up as well. In doing so, Before You Know Itdemonstrates that ‘coming of age’ can happen at any time, regardless of one’s stage of life. As Dodge is growing into a young woman, so too must Rachel and Jackie finally step out and take responsibility for their own lives as well. (In fact, this journey also mirrors that of Sherrell, who must face down her own past and grow into the role of responsible parent as well.)

Fun and light-hearted in its approach, Before You Know It is an enjoyable look at what it means to become an adult. Taking on double duty as director and star, Utt proves herself an interesting talent both in front of and behind the camera, creating a story filled with grace and humanity.

Before You Know It opens in select theatres on Friday, September 20, 2019. 

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Alec Baldwin, Before You Know It, coming-of-age, Hannah Pearl Utt, Hannah Utt, Judith Light, Mandy Patinkin

TIFF ’19: Motherless Brooklyn

September 14, 2019 by Steve Norton Leave a Comment

Written and directed by Edward Norton, Motherless Brooklyn tells the story of Lionel Essrog (Norton), a Brooklyn detective in post-war New York. Working with street smart private investigator Frank Minna (Bruce Willis), Lionel (who also goes by the name Brooklyn) and his team uncover the truth for hire. However, when Minna is shot and left for dead, Lionel determines to unravel the mystery, plunging him into a Brooklyn underworld riddled with crime, corruption and colourful characters. As his quest for truth leads him further up New York’s ladder of power, Lionel’s investigation is complicated by his Tourette syndrome, which leaves him prone to compulsive behavioural tics and inappropriate verbal outbursts.

Adapted from the 1999 novel of the same name, Brooklyn is a tightly written throwback film to classic Hollywood’s noir films like The Big Sleep or Chinatown. With a stellar cast and tightly written script, Norton creates a world which feels both foreign and familiar. While the film transports the audience back to 1950s New York, it also feels current in today’s culture, highlighting racial tensions and the growing divide between the upper and lower classes. Divided by racial and financial lines, Brooklyn is a city on the brink of chaos.Those that have little power are struggling to make their voices heard while those who have much fight ferociously to maintain it. 

As Brooklyn himself, Norton’s performance is sharp, engaging, and loving. At the same time, the character becomes a metaphor for the town for which he’s named. Diffused lighting and growing shadows point to tension between light and darkness, as Brooklyn (the character) attempts to uncover the truth about Brooklyn (the city). Like his compulsion to pull on the threads of his sweater, Brooklyn also must unravel the web of deception until the facts about his city is revealed.

Featuring strong performances and well-written script, Motherless Brooklyn is an entertaining and engaging return to the noir genre. Under the Norton’s direction, the film is also impressive visually, as the shadows and darkness of New York’s underworld are constantly warring against the light of truth. 

Motherless Brooklyn is currently playing at the Toronto International Film Festival. For more screenings, click here. 

Filed Under: Film, Film Festivals, Premieres, Reviews, TIFF Tagged With: Alec Baldwin, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Leslie Mann, Motherless Brooklyn, TIFF, TIFF19, Willem Dafoe

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