Tag Archives: François Simard

Review: Turbo Kid

Director(s)François Simard
Anouk Whissell
Yoann-Karl Whissell
Principal CastMunro Chambers as The Kid
Laurence Leboeuf as Apple
Aaron Jeffrey as Frederic
Michael Ironside as Zeus
Edwin Wright as Skeletron
Release Date2015
Language(s)English
Running Time 95 minutes

Turbo Kid is possibly one of the most endearing movies I’ve seen in the past decade and is a movie I genuinely think will be a cult classic in a few years. I have no idea why this genre-defying one-of-a-kind love letter to the 80’s and early 90’s that manages to package a heartwarming message with an off -the-walls chaotic story in a way that makes sense has managed to be so overlooked and underrated. If you thought that sentence was a run-on, you’re not even ready for the roller-coaster of frenetic energy that is this absolute shot of adrenaline to the heart. If you’ve been looking for a movie to just find that spark or feel some genuine joy , in these times especially, and the trailer seems like it’s up your alley, do yourself a favor and watch this ASAP. As of 3/27/20 it’s available on Amazon Video and is free for Prime Members.

The movie follows the Kid, a teenager scavenging a post-apocalyptic 1997 wasteland for artifacts to trade in for food, water, and most importantly , comic books featuring the hero (and the Kid’s role model) Turbo Rider. When our fairly reticent protagonist runs into the bubbly,high-energy, pink-haired delight that is Apple he gets unnerved by her overt kindness and tries to escape to his underground lair. Thankfully, his attempts to get away are thwarted as Apple manages to find him. Once he realizes he’s stuck with her, the two strike up a friendship that is threatened by Zeus, the man who claims dominion over the wastelands. Forced into action, both the Kid and Apple have to find a way to survive against all odds.

I won’t spoil the journey, but the way the movie jumps from bit to bit is genius and reflects an adept understanding and appreciation of 80’s and 90’s culture. It’s not so pronounced as to distract from the overall story or the themes, but it will definitely elicit a chuckle from fans of the time period. For example, Frederic, a cowboy who feels like a Clint Eastwood character from a Western, is tough as nails and is best known for being a champion arm-wrestler. You read that right. Forget gun-slinging. Turbo Kid‘s post-apocalyptic universe uses arm-wrestling with high stakes as the principle mode of competition. I couldn’t stop laughing when I saw the first match go down as though it was a serious shoot out. Turbo Rider’s blaster looks exactly like Mega-Man‘s arm cannon which is a great reference. It’s made comical because despite such technology existing, Apple and the Kid have to traverse the environment on bicycles. The juxtaposition of the futuristic and the retro creates this cool feeling of being somewhere different but familiar.

The story works and is allowed to get away with these absurdities because the core relationship between the Kid and Apple is heartwarming and filled with a real spirit. It’s the glue that holds every other element of the story together. It starts with just how much life both our lead actors bring to their roles. Chambers is great at portraying that awkward shy loner type that the Kid starts off as. He feels like he lacks a genuine of knowledge at how to deal with a social butterfly like Apple is both endearing and comedic in it’s own right. You can tell from his facial expressions and awkward physical posturing he’s not used to social situations at all , let alone with gregarious pink haired girls. He’s stuck, alone, in the wasteland and can’t help but running from the first sign of amicability. It’s what makes his subsequent relationship with Apple so meaningful. It’s not that she’s his sole reason for doing anything. It’s more so that she sparks in him a desire to change by demonstrating a genuine appreciation of life and its simplicity (a slight crush doesn’t hurt). Likewise, Leboeuf absolutely knocks it out of the park as Apple. Her genuine love and excitement for each and every little thing is infectious and completely feels genuine. I was shocked at how much I believed her eccentricities instead of laughing at them. She somehow manages to convey it all through her gaze, which she holds for these precise periods of time that somehow convey her enthusiasm and energy authentically. It sounds weird to describe it, but if you watch the movie you’l get what I’m saying. Both of them play off each other so well and you can genuinely feel the friendship budding and blooming between them. It’s natural and actually goes through some serious issues in a way that’s lighthearted and authentic.

A common criticism I’ve seen (and felt after I watched the trailer) is that Apple’s your typical Manic Pixie Dream Girl who exists for the sole sake of motivating the Kid to go on and embrace life for what it is. I’m happy to report that the movie never falls into the same trappings. The storytelling and setting make it apparent that the Kid hasn’t had a friend in forever , so Apple serves as a much-needed social companion for a fairly alienated fellow. Furthermore, Apple has her own desires, chief of which is being the Kid’s friend. While there are hints of romance between the two (which feel cute and natural as opposed to forced) , the focus is on their friendship and what that means to each of them in an increasingly desolate world. The reason I cheered for them to overcome all the odds wasn’t so they could end up being a couple or having some final kiss. It’s because it’s clear they have so much fun just exploring the world and interacting with each other that I can’t help but get invested. It’s an infectious joy and their friendship feels emotionally poignant and grounded despite the nature of the story.

Now all of this story and character work would’ve been great on it’s own, but it’s elevated to the next level because of the sheer aesthetic that is Turbo Kid. From the beautiful and vibrant costumes that help the characters stand out from the background to the amazing props that feel like items taken straight out of video-games the movie feels like a fever dream come true. As a huge horror fan, the slapstick gore is what served as the cherry on the top. There are huge bursts of blood and body mutilation during key action scenes but they come off as morbidly comedy. These moments don’t happen every-time violence goes down and only happens when it serves as a comedic punchline to a moment. The synth score absolutely delivers on all fronts and is actually MEMORABLE in a sea of 80’s synth score homages. I could actually feel the spectrum of emotions as different pieces came on, each one only playing when absolutely necessary, coming into the background like the theme song would in a video-games. When everything starts lining up, you can tell that this movie is genuine through and through and has a cohesive and resonant message at the heart of it.

REPORT CARD

TLDRTurbo Kid is a love letter to 80’s and 90’s movies that takes inspiration from a hodgepodge of sources and manages to incorporate all of them in a cohesive, thematically tight, and genuinely touching story. The core friendship between the main characters is one of the most touching I’ve seen in a long time and gives the movie a touching spirit that’s rare. If you need a cheer me up and can let go of your cynicism for a while, I think you’ll find a lot to love in this deft genre-blending gem of a movie
Rating9.7/10
GradeA+

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Review: Summer of 84

Director(s)François Simard
Anouk Whissell
Yoann-Karl Whissell
Principal CastGraham Verchere as Davey
Judah Lewis as Eats
Caleb Emery as Woody
Cory Gruter-Andrew as Farraday
Tiera Skovbye as Nikki
Rich Sommer as Officer Mackey
Release Date2018
Language(s)English
Running Time 106 minutes

After the absolute blast that was 2015’s Turbo Kid, I was more than excited when I saw the writer-director trio behind it had made this 80’s inspired horror mystery about a group of high schoolers trying to track down a local serial killer. Though it didn’t quite reach the peaks of the trio’s first movie, Summer of 84 has more than enough heart , spirit, and tension to entertain genre fans or people looking for a well-executed murder mystery story.

The story follows Davey, a 15 year old paperboy neck deep in conspiracy theories, who starts to suspect his friendly neighborhood cop, Officer Mackey, might actually be the dreaded serial killer terrorizing his small suburban neighborhood. Hungry to get to the bottom of the case, he enlists the help of his friends: Eats,Woody, and Farrady. What stands out the most about the group of four is how well defined they are as individuals and in relation to one another. Their conversations feel like they have a genuine history and weight behind them even if at times its just a series of quips back and forth. Davey, on top of being the conspiracy theorist of the group , is also the one most invested in the excitement the morbid situation presents him and his otherwise sheltered suburban life.Eats is the typical abrasive loud-mouth of the group. Woody is nervous, loyal, and defensive about his Mom. Farrady is know-it-all of the group. These characteristics might be interesting in end of themselves, but their origins reveal a lot more. Angst doesn’t just come from somewhere; there’s always circumstance that informs it. Discovering what that background is is what the movie is all about.

Davey tells the audience as much in a voice-over near the beginning of the story where he warns that anything that could be happening behind anyone’s closed doors and you’d never know. The normal and routine could just be a smokescreen or deflection to cover up something more sinister. Or it could just be that- normal and routine. The story explores this idea not only through the mystery and investigation at the heart of the narrative but also in the way background details regarding different characters get revealed. For example, Davey learns that his former babysitter’s parents are getting divorced when his dad casually lets it slip that he heard something. It’s telling in how quickly they all accept the news almost like we hear what we want to hear. In a world where we quickly accept or deny information based on how well it coheres with other facts we process, how easy is it for an action to be construed as being intended in one way verse another? Watching the characters wrangle with that question is what keeps the movie entertaining. Even as someone who thought the ending felt predictable, I didn’t feel upset because I think the movie is deft in how it applies this sense of misdirection up until the big reveal.

Speaking of misdirection, Rich Sommer deserves a serious round of applause for playing the main suspect, Officer Mackey, with just the right amount of ambiguity. Every action he takes feels like it could either be malicious or it could just coincide with regular behavior. The way he emotes simultaneously feels genuine and for a specific purpose and trying to figure out whether or not he’s really the killer places you directly in the protagonist’s corner only to take you out of it again. If he wasn’t capable of switching from charming to menacing at the flip of the hat the mystery at the heart of the movie would never work.

If you’re a fan of 80’s inspired music and references, this movie has them in spades. The sound is synthy and hypnotic like you’d expect and I snapped along to the music more than once. The terror and danger of the situation the boys get themselves into during their mystery is conveyed almost perfectly through the tenser tracks that had my heart pumping in anticipation. Don’t worry if you’re annoyed of the 80’s aesthetic ; it’s never forced down the audience’s throat. Yes the characters talk about Episode VI and Gremlins but it only happens once.

My biggest issue with the movie is the ending. It felt predictable and even thought it was executed to a T, I expected more. The issue is at a certain point it becomes obvious that the story is kind of locked into certain paths which makes guesswork easier.There’s one scene that’s left in the second act that almost feels like the directors intentionally letting the audience know who to suspect. That being said watching it all come together in the third act is immensely satisfying because it plays on the depths of what you’ve learned up till that point as opposed to pulling any new twists or turns. It’s subversion done well and to an an effective degree. I just wish the lead up to it involved more red herrings and the story went off into zanier directions to force the characters and the audience to confront their biases in a more rushed and frantic way.

REPORT CARD

TLDRSummer of 84 is an 80’s fueled murder mystery that prioritizes mood and atmosphere over visceral scares in its exploration of the way we mediate our public image and likewise attempt to understand what others “really” mean by their public images . From the dynamic synthy-techno score to the fleshed out and realistic characters, it’s clear that a lot of love and care went into making the movie feel aesthetically on point without sacrificing nuance or personal identity. Thought it doesn’t tick of all my boxes , the movie’s fun ,energy, and willingness to experiment more than justifies a watch.
Rating9.4/10
GradeA

Go to Page 2 for the spoiler discussion.
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