★★★★ Directed by: Matthias Salzburger Written by: #MatthiasSalzburger Starring: #JuleneRobinson, #KayaBayleyHay, #AmelieLeroy, #ChevinDash LGBT Film Review by: #ChrisOlson Portrayals of identity struggles are often combined with a physical conflict in the story in order to parallel the fight for freedom. This is no less evident than in filmmaker Matthias Salzburger’s ferocious short film I am Mia in which a transgender boxer attempts to overcome the prejudices of her sport and gain the acceptance of her daughter and those around her. Julene Robinson plays the titular Mia, a woman who underwent surgery to become female. Now a rising star in the world of female boxing, she has to take punches in and out of the ring whilst she attempts to pursue her passion. The most distressing of her concerns, however, is not the looming fight with a formidable opponent (Amelie Leroy) but the tense relationship she now has with her daughter Anita (Kaya Bayley-Hay), unsure whether or not she will be in her corner, so to speak. Stylishly filmed and full of powerful themes and fighting sequences, I am Mia is an impressive and moving film. It’s a movie that applies tenderness when needed, whilst not pulling its punches when it comes to delivering the meat of the story. Mia’s struggle is depicted with an authenticity that roots the movie in the boxing genre splendidly, whilst exploring the #LGBTQ topics. It was refreshing to see a story about a strong black transgender character done within a sport movie, a genre often riddled with clichés and hackneyed characterisation. I am Mia was reminiscent of a wonderful short movie I reviewed for the BFI London Film Festival last year called Fly, in which a rising star in the rap world explores her identity. The movie dealt with gender disparity and class/social status in a really unconforming way. Likewise, Salzburger’s film, whilst slightly more conventional, does throw many of the overworked elements of boxing movies out of the ring in favour of aspects that have heretofore not appeared. There are a few wobbles with the short, which is a shame because so much of it is excellent. The delivery from Bayley-Hay was a little wooden, robbing some of the scenes of their emotional potency, and the fighting itself was played quite safe. Instead of punches landing with a smacking blow they seemed to flow onto each of the fighters. With a more aggressive choreography, these could have been the knockout punch to make I am Mia exceptional. As it is, however, this is still a phenomenal short with bulging cinematic muscles and a heavy-hitting depth to boot. Watch the official movie trailer below.

2019 Pitch Panel at the London Independent Film Festival Film Festival Feature by: Chris Olson Set amongst the atmospheric and glorious interior of the Genesis Cinema in Whitechapel, film fans and filmmakers were treated to a brilliant feature at the 2019 London Independent Film Festival. Six notable figures of the filmmaking community would listen (and critique) movie pitches from six storytellers who wanted feedback on their idea and, equally as important, how they could get it green-lit. Why do I need to pitch a film? Largely, because of money. Unless you come from the 1% and can self-finance any whim that comes to fancy, most people need a huge amount of support (money, skills, time, etc) to get their idea from the page to the screen. Pitching your film to executive producers and studios means you have the chance of getting their backing. Which is, usually, financial as well as technical. Who do I pitch a film to? In the case of this LIFF panel, there was an eclectic mix of people across the spectrum. From film festival organisers to sales agents. Pitching could technically be to anyone who could help you, including members of the filmmaking community or friends and family. Or it could be pitching to a studio or distribution company. What should I say in my pitch? Well, lessons we learned from the panel were numerous. Pitches should be solid, structured, and largely trying to pique the interest of people who sit and listen to pitches all the livelong day. Sell your story, giveaway enough to get them hooked, go into depth about the characters and show you have thought out all the angles. It doesn't mean you need to give away the whole plot (they will ask to see the script if they are interested) but you need to reel them in. What questions will they ask me after my pitch? This varies depending on who you are taking to but the best advice is to have an answer ready for any question they might throw. Similar to a job interview, you need to be prepared for the interview to have a very special set of criteria they are looking for. That being said, there were some fundamental questions to which everyone should have an answer at the ready. These are some of them: “Who is your story for?” “What's your budget?” “How are you going to market the film?” “Who do you already have on board?” “What would make me pay £12?” “What certificate would it need?” Do I need to be original? Again, this will depend on an individual case, but one of the pieces of feedback which ??? gave was to at least set the atmosphere of your movie by mentioning an example. E.g. if your story is a Scandinavian noir, probably best to mention The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Otherwise it can be hard to get the listener where you need them to hear the rest of your pitch. One pitch had a great idea which she stated was a psychological thriller but without a reference point one of the panel thought she was aiming for a Bridget Jones type piece! What should I avoid putting in my pitch? Clichés. Don’t rock up and start pitching an idea for this movie about a girl who likes this guy but he’s married to her best friend. It’s gonna end in tears...your tears. Instead, pick out the aspect(s) of your idea/story that will stand out from the crowd. Avoid being uncertain or embarrassed about any of your idea. They are going to want to feel your confidence in what you are saying. Also avoid topics that might be likely to turn investors off. You would need to present them in a marketing-friendly manner, because at the end of the day they are looking for a return on their investment.

★★★★ Directed by: #DaleMcEwan Written by: #DaleMcEwan Starring: #DaleMcEwan Film Review by: #DarrenTilby Dale McEwan's #documentary details the devastating consequences of counterfeit medicine in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. Specifically counterfeit Avastin, which blinded a number of patients in 2013. The problem here is that Iraq’s devolved governments are tasked with sourcing their own medical supplies (amongst other things) on quite a tight budget and often try to do so as cheaply as possible. This has led to the Kurdistan Health Ministry purchasing drugs from unverified sources from neighbouring Turkey. Smugglers run these counterfeit drugs over the border and sell them to the Health Ministry, who then, unfortunately, fail to assess if the drug is suitable. Or even genuine, as was the case here. Covering all of the salient points and leaving no stone unturned, McEwan interviews victims, officials from the Kurdistan Health Ministry, doctors and activists, as well as experts in the UK. #Interviews are conducted professionally and with purpose, but don’t shy away from probing for uncomfortable truths where necessary. Methodical in his approach, McEwan presents evidence and counter-arguments clearly, effectively and timely; unveiling more than a few fabrications in the process. Of course, none of this would have been possible if McEwan hadn’t done extensive research beforehand. But I’m happy to report that, like all good investigative #journalists (of which there seems to be less and less of), he very much has. Having gathered copies of lab reports and other written evidence, and expert and victim testimonies, he systematically sets about uncovering the blanket of deceit which the local government had lain over the situation. Indeed, watching as McEwan presents evidence that disproves the Kurdistan Health Ministry’s version of events – often completely blindsiding the official being #interviewed – never gets boring, and is, in fact, wholly satisfying. The camera work is as to be expected for the type of film this is (an #interview-heavy #documentary), and the film does lack the flourish often found in other #documentaries. However, the video and audio quality are both excellent, and the hard-hitting investigative nature of the movie more than makes up for any lack of pizzazz. It's also worth mentioning that at 1-hour in length, the film feels just long enough to cover everything sufficiently, but not too long that it feels like it’s overstayed its welcome. My only complaint here is that, at times, the subtitles aren’t always very well synced with the interviewee's speech: there are several moments throughout where the speech will end and leave the subtitles still rolling. Although this can be a little off-putting, it isn’t really a big problem. Stolen Vision is a wonderfully informative piece of investigative #journalism. McEwan has crafted an incisive and concise takedown of governmental #corruption through exhaustive research and solid film-making. More to the point, it’s nice to see a #journalist properly hold to account those who have/continue to lie at the expensive of people’s health. Keep it up!

★★★ Written and Directed by #EBHughes Story by E.B. Hughes and #GregoryVoight Starring #GabeFazio, #AugieDuke, #FedericoCastelluccio Indie Film Review by #HannahSayer E.B. Hughes’ third feature-film as both writer and director is difficult to define to one genre of filmmaking, as it encompasses many elements throughout its run time. This makes for an intriguing watch, as the film jumps around from a detective/mystery drama to psychological thriller to a relationship drama, as the viewer attempts to uncover the truth about what has gone on, like Billy himself. In an attempt to fix their struggling relationship, Billy, played by Gabe Fazio, and Lisa, played by Augie Duke, have dropped everything to go on a weekend getaway to The Doctor’s Inn. Things escalate between the couple from the get go and there are clearly problems between the two of them, as paranoia and dread begin to build from the outset. Weird and unusual things start to happen on their way to their trip and as they arrive at the house. Are these things really happening – or is Billy’s paranoia influencing his mind into playing tricks on him? When Billy discovers a video of a murder that occurred in the very same hotel room that they are staying in for the weekend, things only get weirder as Billy tries to uncover the truth about what happened in the tape. The original music in Exit 0 is created by #ThomasSimon and it is effective in evoking an eerie and unsettling tone. #WilliamJMurray's cinematography alongside the original score is particularly memorable. When Billy is unable to sleep and he is captured wandering around the corridors of the house, danger is evoked through the red hues standing out amidst the dark corridors, creating an imposing visual look to the film. The shaky and up close camera work feels intimate and raw in the scenes when Billy is reacting to the haunting events which are taking place and this filming style reinforces the unnerving nature of these strange things that are happening around him. This style also highlights the great performance from Gabe Fazio as Billy, whose paranoia and uncertainty around his past feels real. His chemistry with Augie Duke as Lisa carries the scenes focused on their relationship drama. The majority of the film takes place within the confined setting of The Doctor’s Inn, and the film does a good job at reinforcing the sinister and paranoia inducing elements of the script. Floorboards creak in The Doctor’s Inn, the characters which inhabit the house are strange, time seems to move differently in the house, and not to mention drawers open and close of their own accord. Exit 0 does suffer from how much it tries to explore, yet the film is a brilliant study in paranoia which works best in its more unsettling moments.

★ Directed by: #AndrewDeBurgh Starring: #SamBrittan, #SharmitaBhattacharya Indie Film Review by: #AndrewGalvin As Michael Mann’s Heat showed us, a simple conversation between two interesting characters can sizzle on the biggest of screens. If the dialogue crackles with tension and subtext, with the right editing and powerhouse performances, these scenes can say so much with so little. So it’s a shame to report that Andrew De Burgh’s The Bestowal — essentially stitching together three portentous discourses between a depressed businessman and an angel of death —features precisely none of these things, and is instead more interested in examining the precise contents of its own navel ad nauseum. At the forefront of The Bestowal’s (a dull, pretentious title from the off) cinematic problems is its truly woeful script and its dead-weight dialogue. Accepting the fact that one of those we see on screen is a supernatural being, neither of our leads ever even attempt to talk as actual human beings, instead spouting unbearably self-important thesaurus-bothering philosophical nonsense that sound more like two A Level students discussing their essays too loudly in the corner of a pub. Lines like “It’s the spirituality you’ve been endowed with…as a result, you’ve forgone the aging process” that fill every second of screen time leave the film feeling frigid and means that we, as an audience, have nothing to cling onto or care about. It’s impossible to tell if Brittan and Bhattacharya are any good as performers, as they are given nothing interesting to work with. Worse still, these conversations never go anywhere. The first, where we meet our businessman on the verge of suicide, gets stuck in a time loop, going back to the evils of corporate greed and our central character’s hypocrisy: fine if we’re with these people for four of five minutes, but this nonsense lumbers on for well over half an hour. The second section is even worse, talking of days of debate with the Dalai Lama and helping the poor of the third world. It’s like that try-hard humble-bragger you know that you blocked on Instagram after they wouldn’t stop wanging on about their enlightenment. One of the most irritating aspects of genre cinema is when a director clearly thinks he’s above its trappings and so can elevate it to higher ground and deliver something special. It seems De Burgh that De Burgh thinks this is what he is doing with science fiction, but even with the film’s intellectualising and showing off, he abjectly fails to say anything more than what you might find on an inspirational cat poster. It might be nice to look at for a few seconds, but no one wants to spend an hour and a half looking at a wall.

★★★★ Directed by: Filipe Piteira Written by: #FilipePiteira Starring: #SusanaBlazer, #JoãoDuarteCosta Short Film Review by: #ChrisOlson Portuguese short film Ephemerality (aka Efemeridade) explores the transient nature of love and emotion, capturing the natural quest for connection which changes as quickly as it can be made. Written and directed by Filipe Piteira, the movie stars Susana Blazer as Mulher - a woman searching for meaning and direction following the possible break up with her partner Homem (João Duarte Costa). Through sparse but poignant dialogue, the audience is able to piece together the central character's anxiety over the role of love in her life. As we see Mulher in different locations, sometimes on the bed with Homem, or aimlessly walking through a dreamlike landscape of rocks, her confusion borders on disorientation as she attempts to make sense of her own, complex feelings. It's a mood piece that plays to its strengths well. Ephemerality has a fluid atmosphere that doesn't anchor the viewer down with plot points or backstory. Instead, the short movie relies on the physicality of the performers (in particular a strong performance from Blazer) to engulf the audience in an almost silent love story. The heartache and pathos layer the piece perfectly to ensure you are absorbed into the story, allowing one to quiz the details in their own mind as you experience the tender and emotive familiarity of a person going through separation. Piteira delivers a visually pleasing short. The use of natural landscape, bright lighting, and cityscape views is the perfect way to arrest the viewer and put them into the same contemplative mood as Mulher. The same goes for the slow and steady editing which has a dreamlike quality to it. We are never asked to halt our ponderings or jolted out of our reverie for some bump in the road. Piteira expects and allows the audience to consider the thematic depth of the piece, question our attitudes on the transcendental nature of love, and what it means to see it come and go. The score was a little heavy handed. There is a thumping piano that does run the risk of derailing the otherwise subtle and atmospheric movie. Perhaps done to add tension and juxtapose the lighter elements of the film, it felt mostly distracting and tended to feel at odds with the graceful elements surrounding it. This is my only gripe, however, in an otherwise solid piece of #filmmaking. Full of mesmeric cinema and thematic tension, Ephemerality is a transportive short film loaded with emotion and poignancy. Watch the official Movie Trailer for the film below.

★★ Directed by: #JamesHeaney Starring: #JoshuaClarke, #BrandonWatts, #PatrickSuttie, #WillTownsend, #AlexDoddy Short Film Review by: #NathanialEker Virtual Brutality boasts a cute premise: a chap explores his new VR headset, whilst intruders invade his home, and he inadvertently and obliviously murders them. This idea could lead to a humorous short, but unfortunately, the execution and vision are lacking. James Heaney’s direction is unclear, with the comedy feeling forced and a bit on the nose. Sadly, the #filmmaking elements fail to synergise either, resulting in a bit of a messy experience. Despite its short length, the pacing is bizarrely weighted, with the first third dedicated to the delivery man character who initially seems to be the central player. This is soon shifted to an advertisement parody, though it doesn’t make much sense in the context of the what we’ve seen so far. The shift is jarring, and feels a bit too random to properly invest in. Credit must however be given to the VR effects, which manage to look convincing and professional. What is neither convincing nor professional, regrettably, is the acting. The performances are universally wooden and are not supported by a strong script. In particular, the two home invaders played by Brandon Watts and Patrick Suttie lack believability, despite the stylised comedic tone. While director James Heaney aspires for an irreverent script, the dialogue lacks wit or subtly, opting instead to state the obvious via an unclearly presented narrator, played by Alex Doddy, who is spontaneously introduced following the hastily added advertisement plot. The #soundtrack initially seems to encapsulate the comedic tone well, but soon begins to clash with the on-screen events. A crescendo for the arrival of the delivery man, for example, feels misplaced, and a bit sloppy. When balanced with the heightened style of the fight scene, the score is more affable, but on the whole, it doesn’t fit the narrative, and again, adds to the confused tone and haphazard storytelling. The wider sound design also overlaps far too often. The obviously improvised dialogue of the intruders is muddled, fighting to be heard over the voice of the lead, as well as the soundtrack. The fight scene, however, is well done. The action is well choreographed and the sound design matches each hit. The blood effects, for a film of a presumably small budget, also look reasonably good. However, the graphic gore somewhat clashes with the previously established comedic tone. The editing is also fine, with classic signals such as dutch angles to indicate danger, though the camera work is occasionally rushed and untidy. In review, Virtual Brutality is a fun concept, with some impressive special effects, a decently choreographed fight scene, and some good directorial ideas. Unfortunately, the bizarrely muddled script, poor dialogue, and clunky acting make it difficult to get on board with. There is clearly passion infused here, but a lack of attention to detail, and narrative focus make it a perturbing watch, whether in this reality, or the virtual world.

★★★ Directed by: #MarekDabrowski and #DzikoKazembe Starring: #HannahHoad, #JudsonVaughan, #ChristopherFosh, #DuaineASamuels and #GeorgeMcCluskey Indie Film Review by: #BrianPenn In an age where knife crime grabs the spotlight, it’s easy to forget the ongoing war against drugs. Indie film White Powder aims to explore the trade in human weakness and desire for power. A small time Charlie spots an opportunity to play with the big boys but how is all going to end? Justin (Judson Vaughn) is a coke head who dreams of moving up the leagues. A local dealer has been found dead in a hotel room and wonders if there has been a shift in power. Justin gets a call from Yasmin (Hannah Hoad), a lap dancer who wants to unload a stash of cocaine. Justin jumps on the opportunity to prove himself. He enlists the help of Yardi (Du’aine A. Samuels) who has a somewhat colourful past. He was a member of local crew, the Head Hunters and a dealer of some repute. Somehow he managed walk away from a charge while Georgie Boy went down for an eight stretch. Yardi was promptly kneecapped for his perceived disloyalty. So you might think a drugs deal would be the last thing Yardi needs, but nevertheless puts the feelers out. Local mobster Big Ron (George McCluskey) hears about Yardi’s involvement via bent DI Bennett (Christopher Fosh). Big Ron is anxious to recover his produce and sends Head Hunters Mikey and Ray off to have a chat with Yardi. Whilst it’s easy to pick holes there is something very dynamic about the plotting of White Powder; which moves along at pace with some clever twists along the way. The promise of wealth and status is laid bare as only balls of steel can win the day. The notion of risk and reward is apparently justified, never mind how much misery it might cause. White Powder is ultimately let down by some wayward acting and characters who come across as hopelessly naïve in a brutal business. However, the characters do their job and drive the plot to a dramatic conclusion.

★★ Directed by #NeilMarshall Written by #AndrewCosby Starring #DavidHarbour #MillaJovovich #IanMcShane Film Review by #HopeMadden It has been 15 years since Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman first brought Mike Mignola’s cat loving, iron fisted, soft hearted son of Satan to the big screen. You’ve got to feel for any filmmaker tasked with following in del Toro’s steps, especially when the film in question is a monster movie brimming with innocence and wonder. That is really his wheelhouse. But Neil Marshall is no slouch. His first film out the gate back in 2002, Dog Soldiers, offered a wickedly funny war movie with werewolves. This gem he followed in 2005 with what may be contemporary horror’s scariest monster movie, The Descent. Since then? Nothing to write home about. But that means he’s due for a comeback, eh? And Hellboy’s ready for a reboot. Right? No to both. The first difference you’ll note, maybe 15 words into the film with the first of many f-bombs, is that Neil Marshall’s Hellboy is rated R. It’s also a horror movie, make no mistake. Hellboy is lousy with limb severing, blood gushing, intestine spilling action. Also, it’s just lousy. Hellboy (Stranger Things’s David Harbour, who does an admirable job) struggles against a prophesy and a lifetime in the shadows to decide his destiny for himself. Milla Jovovich is a witch. There is a boar monster, a scrappy teen medium, a were-cheetah and some seriously sketchy CGI. Yikes, this movie looks bad. There are those who will complain about Marshall’s gleeful gorefest, but not me. Demons ripping the flesh from the faces of innocents? Others may be hiding their eyes from the carnage, but what they’re mercifully missing is digital animation on par with Disney’s The Haunted Mansion (the 2003 film or the amusement park ride, take your pick). Aside from two creepy images—one of Jovovich’s Blood Queen in flowing red robes beneath a shadowy, skeletal tree; the second a quick sideways glance into Baba Yaga’s pantry—Marshall’s vision is weak. His storytelling is not much stronger. Working from a script by Andrew Cosby, the film opens with exposition, repeats that exact exposition midway through Act 2, and halts at least three additional times for one character to stand still and articulate a big block of story for us. Often that character is dead and attached to the mouth of a young girl via a long, gurgly, worm-like body, which probably the most laughable element of the film. Probably. Watch the Hellboy movie trailer below.

★★★ Directed by #WooPingYuen Written by #EdmondWong #TaiLeeChan Starring #MaxZhang #DaveBautista #MichelleYeoh #TonyJaa Film Review by #MattWeiner Master Z picks up right where Ip Man 3 left off. Cheung Tin Chi (Max Zhang), still emotionally beaten down after losing his fight to Ip Man, contents himself with living a quiet life with his young son. He has traded in Wing Chun and his martial arts school for a grocery store and what passes for domestic bliss. This being a martial arts movie, Cheung’s serenity doesn’t last long. He quickly finds himself up against feuding gangsters, local police and their bullying colonial counterparts. When tensions escalate, Cheung’s store goes up in flames, and he and his son move in with sympathetic bar owner Fu (Xing Yu) and his sister Julia (Yan Liu). For its simple setup, if anything Master Z suffers from too much world-building. The franchise spinoff lacks the compelling history of characters like Ip Man and Bruce Lee, which wouldn’t have to be a problem if the script didn’t insist on so much rote backstory and twists and turns that don’t really go anywhere. Thankfully, Master Z comes alive during the fight scenes. Director Yuen Woo-ping, who also worked on fight choreography for Ip Man 3, confidently cycles through tense, simmering send-ups to slapstick to death-defying brawls. Each fight has its own emotional character, and taken together they serve as a refreshing reminder that fast-paced action can still be intelligible. It’s amazing what directors can do with choreography when they don’t need to compensate for poor fighting skills or excessive CGI. Another highlight is Dave Bautista as Owen Davidson, a foreign businessman whose dealings are less savory than the restaurant fronting them. Despite his hero status in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Bautista has managed to keep an air of unpolished menace to his characters. (That’s not a dig against certain other comically large wrestlers-turned-actors, but it does allow Bautista to carve out an interesting corner for himself even if he continues down a path of big-budget stardom.) Action royalty Michelle Yeoh and Tony Jaa round out the cast—Yeoh impeccably so as a sharp crime boss, and Jaa all too briefly as one of her hired guns. But for all its machinations, Master Z at least continues the franchise’s deftness at homing in on a message and beating it into you. Master Z is about as family-centric of an action movie as you can get when the subject matter includes limb removals, drug overdoses and the legacy of colonial corruption. Cheung finds the redemption that eluded him as he goes from everyman to superman for the sake of his son. His story might no longer be the stuff of legends, but Master Z suggests that such a life is equally worthy of celebration. Or, at the very least, a worthy spinoff.

★★★ Directed by: Tina Gordon Written by: #TinaGordon #TracyOliver Starring: #MarsaiMartin #IssaRae #ReginaHall Film Review by: #HopeMadden Based on a concept by 14 year-old executive producer and star Marsai Martin (Black-ish), the comeuppance comedy Little flips the script on the Tom Hanks Eighties adventure in manhood, Big. We open with Martin as Jordan Sanders at 13, a science nerd who takes a chance at the talent show to win over the Windsor Middle School student body. When she fails, she pins her dreams on one day being an adult who bullies everyone else before they can bully her. Flash forward 25 years. Jordan (now Regina Hall) is a monster boss, terrorizing the developers at her tech firm and making life especially miserable for her assistant, April (Insecure's Issa Rae). Can some carbs and a little magic return Jordan to her adolescent form so she can unlearn the lesson that sent her life in the wrong direction? It’s a slight story, penned from Martin’s idea by director Tina Gordon and co-writer Tracy Oliver (Girls Trip). The two choose not to represent bullying as anything other than a fact of life to be tolerated, but they do layer in some silly fun and spots of surprising humor, mainly thanks to the strength of the two leads. Rae charms throughout the film. Her smile and energy shine, and she offers natural chemistry with both adult and teen versions of her boss. Rae brings a reluctant but earnest sense of compassion to the role, and her comic timing is spot on. Martin is the film’s real star. She carries scenes with a clever knack for portraying an adult brain inside a child’s form. The physical performance amuses, but it’s really the way she delivers sly lines with a saucy look or toss of the head that brings a chuckle. It would be tough for this film to be more predictable, but several side characters—a social services agent (Rachel Dracht) and dreamy 7th grade teacher (Justin Hartley) work wonders with their odd characters and limited screen time. The plotting is pretty sloppy and at no point does the comedy draw more than a chuckle, but Little is an amusing if forgettable waste of time. Martin is someone to remember, though.

★★★★ Directed by: Chris Butler Written by #ChrisButler Starring #ZachGalifianakis #HughJackman #ZoeSaldana #StephenFry #TimothyOlyphant Film Review by #GeorgeWolf Like its titular character, Missing Link is a bit of a mixed breed. An animated family adventure, its humor is more dry than zany, with a stellar voice cast and an often sophisticated air to its snappy dialog that is centered around a lonely Sasquatch. And it looks freaking gorgeous. Hugh Jackman brings charming life to Sir Lionel Frost, an ambitious, self-centered 1800s explorer on the trail of any big discovery that can get him admitted to the prestigious adventurer's club led by the aggressively pompous Lord Piggot-Dunceb (Stephen Fry). A hot tip leads Frost to a face-to-face with the fabled missing link between man and monkey who, as it turns out, provided that hot tip. See, "Mr. Link" (an endearing Zach Galifianakis) is lonely, and figures Sir Lionel is just the guide savvy enough to lead him to his people, the equally urban-legendary Yeti tribe of Shangri-La. So our heroes set off across the globe, enlisting the help of Frost's old paramour Adelina (Zoe Saldana) while they try to outwit Stenk (a perfectly villainous Timothy Olyphant), the assassin sent to stop them. This is the latest animation wonder from Laika studios, and the follow-up to 2016's amazing Kubo and the Two Strings. Even if Mr. Link's adventure wasn't as engaging as it is, the film would be worthy on visuals alone, as you've barely digested one "wow" moment when another is there to blow your hair back. From the texture of Frost's gloves to the ripples in a puddle, from a slow dissolve into a binocular lens to a wide, eye-popping set piece on an ice bridge and beyond, Missing Link serves up a hearty feast of cutting-edge stop motion technology. And while the pace may leave the youngest viewers a tad restless, writer/director Chris Butler (Laika's ParaNorman) crafts a heartwarming, witty and intelligent tale anchored in the layered relationship of Frost and Link. Jackman and Galifianakis make them a wonderfully odd couple, and play off the indelible supporters around them (including a gloriously droll Emma Thompson) to keep all the globe-trotting character driven, leaving just enough room for the messages about inclusion and progress to be subtly effective. The result is a film that's confident but unassuming, fun without being silly, and satisfying from nearly every angle. Watch the Missing Link movie trailer below.