Total Recall (1990)

In honor of Movie Club, I'm reposting this.  Originally posted 08 Jul 2012.    I know, it's practically a crime for me to have never seen this film, especially since the remake is coming out in about a month.  I remember flipping channels when I was a kid and seeing the part where he cracks his facemask on Mars and his eyeballs bug out and it completely creeped me out so I changed the channel.  The image stayed with me, though, as my young brain filed away moments like this for a later date when I would be able to understand them.  Now I know that scene is literally right after the opening credits and is nothing more than a nightmare of the protagonist.

Doug Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is an average dude with a blue-collar job and a smoking hot wife (Sharon Stone).  He keeps having recurring dreams, however, about mountain climbing on Mars with a brunette.  His wife thinks it's a reaction to watching constant news of the Martian colonies struggling with rebellion and advises him to turn the TV off for a while.  But when Doug hears an ad for Rekall, a company specializing in implantable memories, he can't resist taking off for a little faux vacation.  He signs up for the deluxe "secret spy on Mars" package and next thing he knows is that he's been dumped in a cab with no memory of where he was.  Then a co-worker inexplicably tries to murder him, telling him that his life has just been a cover-up implanted over his real memories which had been erased.  Which are that he's a secret spy from Mars.

No wonder he sounds like he's gargling rocks.  The man's had so much brain work done it's amazing he can walk without drooling all over himself. 

Doug escapes by yelling and swinging wildly at the stunt people until they all fall over and runs home.  He tells his wife the whole story and she immediately also tries to murder him because, wouldn't you know it, she's an evil secret agent too and she's really married to some other guy (Michael Ironsides).  Doug manages to escape and pick up a briefcase containing a video message from ...himself, or the self he used to be named Hauser.  Hauser was a secret agent who turned on his boss, Cohaagen, the governor of Mars (Ronny Cox), and got caught.  But before his brain got wiped, he made this video tutorial for himself about how to stop Cohaagen's evil plans. 

Doug/Hauser goes to Mars and meets up with the rebellion in the form of Melina (Rachel Ticotin), a prostitute who looks remarkably similar to the woman he keeps dreaming about.  They get shot at a lot but such is the business of trying to stop an evil corporate overlord, right?  Except that there's no guarantee that this is anything other than the stay-cation Doug paid for. 

When I heard they were remaking this movie, I thought "oh, great, Conan wasn't enough?  We gotta have another Total Recall too?" but after seeing it, I think it's ripe for a reboot.  This version did the best it could with practical effects (by the legendary Rob Bottin) and some early blue screen but we can take it so much further now.  From what I've read, it looks like the new one is dropping the Mars angle completely, and also going back to the original source ("We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" by Philip K. Dick) for inspiration. 

I can see why this version has its fans because it's fun in a completely campy way but I'm now looking forward to seeing what the new one will be like.

Wilson (1944)

  This has been in my queue for ages as unavailable but fortunately, someone put the entire thing on YouTube.  Content warning:  blackface portrayal of Teddy Roosevelt for some ungodly reason

This is a lavish, borderline hagiographic biopic of President Woodrow Wilson (Alexander Knox) that follows his political career from President of Princeton University to Governor of New Jersey to President of the United States, but also as a Wife Guy and a Girl Dad.  Turns out having three daughters amply prepares you to stand against Congressional hawks and foreign military engagement.  But Wilson is no mere shrinking violet.  He only wants what's best for the country, in a sternly paternal and professorial way.

I don't know if I can adequately express how bizarre this movie feels.  It's so morally upright and virtuous it's almost a miracle Knox didn't achieve apotheosis during filming.  Between the tearful martyrdom of his first wife (Ruth Nelson) and the whither-thou-goest puppy eyes of his second (Geraldine Fitzgerald), there's enough stand-by-your-man energy to power Tammy Wynette like a dynamo.  And the inspiring stump speeches!  Hope you don't get sick of hearing "Hail to the Chief" every 15 minutes.  But it is surprisingly progressive for 1944.  There's Black people in it!  One of them even has a speaking role!  He's a butler waxing nostalgic about how his family served the First Lady's family, but you know.  You can't have everything.

This won five Oscars, which makes sense, but it didn't win Best Picture (lost to Going My Way) and according to Wikipedia, producer Daryl F. Zanuck was livid.  Apparently, he spent a fortune on promotion only to see it lose out to Bing Crosby in a Roman collar.

Watching this in the Year of Our Dumpster Fire 2025 is especially surreal.  Every single one of Nobel Peace Prize-winner Wilson's policies, ideals, and principles has been eroded, gutted, or sold to the highest bidder.  It's funny in a ha-ha-we're-all-going-to-die kind of way.

Anyway, it's a cool 2 hrs and 33 minutes long so pack a snack but it's free on YouTube if you want to absorb some great costumes and righteous propaganda.

Pokemon the First Movie (1999)

Happy Labor Day!  Here's a movie about gladiatorial combat with cute, fuzzy creatures!  I am not the target audience for this movie.  I was too old when Pokemon came out.  But my partner is a huge fan.  He collects the cards, has all the games, goes to conventions, all the things.  Everything I know about Pokemon, I have learned through osmosis.  It's a surprising amount, though, because I was well-prepared to watch this movie.

Junior Pokemon trainer Ash Ketchum (Veronica Taylor) is having a picnic with friends when a mysterious invitation is delivered.  Someone calling themselves The Master is holding a grand tournament on a private island to see who can Be the Very Best, Like No One Ever Was.  Ash is very excited and heads out right away, only to be told that a massive storm has disrupted the ferry to the island and no one can cross.  Several other trainers see it as no obstacle, using their Pokemon to brave the hurricane.  Ash, Misty (Rachael Lillis), and Brock (Eric Stuart) do the same.  When they arrive at Kindergartner Kumite, they learn their host is actually a genetically engineered Pokemon named Mewtwo (Philip Bartlett) who has become obsessed with world domination.  He has staged this tournament in order to isolate the best Pokemon genetic sequences that he plans to clone and turn into his own private army.  The children are very upset by this because apparently forcing Pokemon to fight their clones is bad, despite it being the basis of their entire society.  Unsporting because it's an existential crisis, maybe?  Anyway, a literal actual demigod named Mew shows up, and everyone learns about the power of friendship.

This movie has a 17% on RottenTomatoes, which isn't really fair.  I don't know shit about Pokemon and I thought it was okay.  Actual fans probably really enjoy it.  I know my partner remembers seeing it in theaters at 10-years-old.  You can't tell him this isn't a cinematic masterpiece.  Anyway, Pokemon is a cultural juggernaut and you probably know at least one child who is super into it.  This is for them.  It's not currently streaming anywhere but the Blu-ray triple-feature with all the movies is like $10 on Amazon.

Fargo (1996)

  I didn't post last week because I had a couple of deaths in the family.  I can't believe I've never posted a review of Fargo but it got picked for Movie Club so I re-watched it.

Car salesman Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy) has a problem:  he has committed fraud and needs almost half a million dollars or he'll get caught.  He knows his father-in-law (Harve Presnell) has the money, so he comes up with a scheme to hire two criminals (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife, Jean (Kristin Rudrüd), and hold her for ransom.  Things do not go to plan and as the body count rises across multiple jurisdictions, police chief Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) begins pulling apart the various strands leading back to Jerry.

This was pretty much an instant classic when it came out and it continues to be held in high regard.  I have had my ups-and-downs with the Coens but I can't deny that Fargo is a great movie.  It's got the alchemy of a great cast, great writing, and great direction.  Sometimes you can have all three and still not work out, but when you do, it really is movie magic.  There are still some things I would change (because I'm an asshole) but not enough to even talk about.  If you've never seen it, you definitely should.  Also, the TV show is very good as well.  It's streaming on Kanopy with a library card or Tubi and Roku for free with ads.

Superman (2025)

  I wasn't going to see this but my friend got tickets and I'm glad she did.  This was much better than I thought it would be.

Three years after revealing his existence to the world, Superman (David Corenswet) has engaged in his first globo-political controversy.  He intervened in the annexation of poor, underdeveloped Jarhanpur by its overpowered neighbor, Borovia, going so far as to threaten the Boravian president (Zlatko Buric) with bodily harm.  Superman knows Borovia has nefarious intentions, but doesn't know that they are being bankrolled by billionaire whiny man-baby Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult).  Luthor has poured uncounted amounts of money into this scheme, which involves tearing small holes in the fabric of reality because fuck everyone on the planet if it means he can kill Superman.  

Thank God it's not another origin story.  Also, it is in very bright colors!  Like it was filmed in daytime and everything!  

It is recognizably a James Gunn film.  Your mileage may vary on that depending on how burned out you are after the sheer volume of work Gunn has produced within the superhero genre on film and TV, for Marvel and DC.  I enjoy the banter, snappy action scenes, deep-cut soundtracks, and style of humor.  For me, the standout performance was Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific.  His line delivery was so perfect.  Also, Rachel Brosnahan made a great Lois Lane.  She was smart, determined, and reminiscent of Margot Kidder's performance without the neurotic edge.  The whole movie felt like a throwback to Richard Donner's Superman down to using the iconic original score (complimentary).  It's currently playing in theaters.

Never on Sunday (1960)

Happy 4th of July, Americans!  This is another Jules Dassin movie where he plays a bumbling doofus who ruins everything.  The man was working through some things.  

Homer Thrace (Jules Dassin) is an American in Greece looking for the cure for all the world's ills.  Ills he has defined as a divergence from the Ancient Greek philosophical ideals.  Ilya (Melina Mercouri) is a prostitute in a small coastal town.  She chooses her own customers, makes her own hours, is beloved by the townsfolk, and believes in making your own happy endings, no matter how sad the story.  So obviously, Homer becomes obsessed with trying to "fix" her.  

A lot of older movies don't hold up all that well but this remains a banger.  Ilya is a great character and Mercouri plays her to the hilt.  The tone is light and fun with zero judgment.  Homer is a stuck-up scold but it's played for laughs.  

It's streaming on Amazon Prime.

Sully (2015)

  This would have been a great Father's Day post.  Oh well.

In the days after a forced water landing on the Hudson River, airplane pilot Captain Chesley Sullenberger (Tom Hanks) must defend himself in an inquiry by the NTSB to determine what, if anything, could have been done better.  

My brother recommended this to me a long time ago.  It's a little hagiographic for my taste but this is a solid Dad-movie directed (of course) by Clint Eastwood.  Tom Hanks has the appropriate amount of gravitas, Aaron Eckhart radiates charm, and it's stuffed to the gills with character actors whom you'll recognize even if you have no idea what their names are.  If you're looking for a nice quiet movie to put on so your dad can nod off while he swears he's just resting his eyes, look no further.  It's engaging but not so much so that you'll be irritated if someone texts you while you're watching.  

Currently streaming on HBO Max.

Rififi (1955)

 A group of low-level criminals hatch a plan to rob a jewelry store but are betrayed by their human impulses.  This is kind of an anti-Ocean's movie.  Content warning:  violence, child endangerment

Tony (Jean Servais) has just gotten out of prison and needs quick cash.  His friend, Jo (Carl Möhner) knows a couple of guys with a score in mind.  They take a few days to recon and plan the heist but Tony is distracted by trying to find Mado (Marie Sabouret), the woman who left him while he was in prison, discovering that she's now the moll of a low-level gangster named Pierre Grutter (Marcel Lupovici).  

This is a black-and-white French crime noir and I feel like you probably already know if that's your jam or not.  Personally, I thought it was very good.  The heist is immaculate and I dearly love seeing people do something well.  It's awesome that a 70-year-old movie can still be this riveting.  The second half suffers a little in comparison but I was still on board.

Unfortunately, it's not streaming right now but keep an eye on Criterion and Kanopy.  If it does show back up, it'll probably be there.  

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (2023)

  Another easy watch.  Content warning: blood, clowns

Sasha (Sara Monpetit) has a moral imperative not to eat human beings, which is a problem because Sasha is a vampire.  Her parents, dad (Steve Leplante) especially, have tolerated it as a quirk --the cryptid equivalent of being a picky eater-- but at 68, it's time for some tough love.  They send Sasha to live with her cousin, Denise (Noémie O'Farrell), in the hopes that she will learn a killer instinct.  Instead, she meets Paul (Félix-Antoine Bénard), a suicidal teen willing to be Sasha's first victim.

Longtime followers of this blog (or really, anyone who's ever mistakenly engaged me on this subject in real life) know that self-hating vampires are one of my biggest narrative pet peeves.  It's hard to see someone live out your dreams, much less be ungrateful about it.  Nevertheless, this is a very cute movie.  It's a little Amelie, a little Girl Walks Home Alone at Night with some Only Lovers vibes.  It toes right up to the line of being twee but the supporting characters save it.  It's currently streaming on AMC+ and Shudder, which I get through Amazon Prime.  Check it out if you like cozy horror.

The Taste of Things (2023)

  Are you overwhelmed by *gestures broadly*?  Do you like watching highly competent people cook things?  Do you like beautiful presentation in food?  How about genial anecdotes delivered in soft-spoken French?  Try The Taste of Things!

Dodin (Benoît Magimel) is a retired professional chef who now only cooks with Eugénie (Juliette Binoche), his loving co-chef who refuses to give up her independence by marrying him.  They prepare beautifully balanced multi-course meals for a small circle of gourmand friends and mentor a young prodigy (Bonnie Chagneau-Ravoire) in their country home in the late 19th century.

This is a very easy watch.  There's no villain, no real conflict, just lovely food being prepared by gifted people.  Currently streaming on Hulu and Kanopy if you have a library card.  It would make a good companion piece with Chocolat, if you want a double dose of Binoche.  

House of Flying Daggers (2004)

This was the movie I chose to introduce people to wuxia, wire-fu, and Zhang Yimou.  I remembered it as being beautiful and sad.  I did not remember it as being borderline rapey.  There's at least two scenes of sexual assault and one of a peeping tom.  Content warning on that.  Also, as I was dragging this post back to the front page, I realized I never actually described the plot.

Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro), a police officer, goes undercover to discover the leader of the Flying Daggers, an anti-government resistance movement that has eluded capture, by ingratiating himself to Mei (Ziyi Zhang), a blind dancer, but as the stakes get higher, Jin begins to have real feelings for Mei that complicate his mission even further.

It's very twisty, lots of shifting loyalties, lots of beautifully shot action sequences.  I stand by my choice.  Originally posted 26 May 2010.    I remember the first time I saw this movie in theaters. It was 2004 and I was living in Georgia. My (at the time) husband and I went to see this because we were both big Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fans.

I was so pissed over the ending. I felt completely cheated and I didn't understand at all, which made me hate it. And yet... The imagery and story stayed with me. I found myself mulling over it at the oddest times during the next six years. So I bought it. It's rare for me to feel anything for longer than a moment, and I always want to reward (or at least possess) things that accomplish that.

I re-watched it for the first time since on Wednesday. Maybe I'm more cynical now, but the ending made a depressing sort of sense. Don't get me wrong, I seriously doubt I would ever do the same, but it didn't feel like a betrayal. I was able now to see it as an even more highly stylized operatic fantasy than CTHD. The vividness of the colors, the shifts in season that don't correspond to reality, and of course the spectacular stunt-work combine to tell a story that I can at least respect, even if I can't identify with it.

My last boyfriend was a Chinese linguist and we had numerous discussions about Asian films. I don't think we referenced this one by name (I think we were talking about The Curse of the Golden Flower) but I mentioned how depressing it was that **SPOILER ALERT** everyone dies **END SPOILER** at the end of every Chinese movie. He said that it was just part of the style of film-making over there. Even their comedies end like that. Call me culturally insensitive, but I prefer to have at least ONE major character live to see the end credits. Still, I can't fault them. They told a story and they told it well. It may not be how I would have written it, but I can't hold that against them.

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)

  I took last week off to adjust to having a new job. For the last four years, I have worked from home but now I'm in the office five days a week and it was kicking my ass.  Content warning:  cancer

Greg (Thomas Mann) is trying to get through high school without any meaningful relationships.  He has one friend/co-worker, Earl (RJ Cyler), with whom he makes parody films, and a teacher (Jon Bernthal) who lets him watch movies with Earl during study hall, but that's it.  All's well until his mother (Connie Britton) makes him hang out with Rachel (Olivia Cooke), a girl his age who has cancer.  

I don't have anything against the "kids with cancer discover romance" genre but it's not really my bag.  This one isn't bad, though.  The supporting performances from adults like Bernthal, Molly Shannon, and Nick Offerman really help leaven the schmaltzy overdramatic teen drama.  Cyler gets reduced to kind of a caricature and that's a shame because he's very charismatic.  

I started watching this a couple of weeks ago, right after the Oscars and it took me days to get through so pace yourself.  It's streaming on Hulu.

No Other Land (2024)

Nominated for Best Documentary Feature    The last of the nominees I managed to watch (32 in total this year!) before the ceremony and it was the winner of its category.  Content warning:  dead people, gun violence

A young Palestinian man and his Israeli friend document the ongoing destruction of Palestinian homes in the West Bank of Gaza by the Israeli army.

I'm glad this won.  Even if it feels like too little, too late.  It will be an important record in the future, the way the documentaries about Syria and Ukraine will be.  I'm not going to go on a long-ass rant about it.  

It has no distribution in the United States so dust off that VPN.  Maybe an Oscar win will overcome some cowardice, maybe not.  It's worth searching out.

Black Box Diaries (2024)

Nominated for Best Documentary Feature    Content warning:  description of rape

Journalist Shiori Ito documents her legal and social battle after publicly accusing a prominent news anchor of raping her.  

Every year we have to have this conversation.  And every year it is just as infuriating.  Please realize that women put their lives at risk to call out rapists, especially prominent ones who can weaponize police forces and have government leaders on speed-dial.  Civil suits are often the only way to get any kind of justice but there is literally no amount of money that can un-rape someone.  

Anyway, it's streaming on Paramount+.

September 5 (2024)

Nominated for Best Original Screenplay    

ABC studios sent their sports broadcasting crew under executive Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard) to film the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany, with live reporting by Peter Jennings (Benjamin Walker).  During the Games, the terrorist group Black September took 9 Israeli athletes and two coaches hostage in their Olympic Village hotel room.  Arledge seizes the opportunity, refusing to turn coverage over to the ABC News team, and authorizing George Mason (John Magaro), head of the video control room, to use all measures to get the story.  Mason scrambles to get Jennings and cameras in place before the police clear the area of journalists, and has their translator (Leonie Benesch) listen to the police scanners.

This is based on real events.  My mom remembers seeing it live.  It was a major moment in broadcast journalism as the first terrorist hostage-taking shown on live television.

I don't want to knock the movie.  It's very well done, it tells an interesting story and does so in an interesting way.  (It's also only about 90 minutes, which is refreshing as fuck.)  But I do lament the timing of it.  It feels really suspect that a film centering on the murder of Israelis by Palestinian terrorists is coming out while the news is dominated by stories of Israelis systematically starving and murdering Palestinians.  I don't think that was the intent of the film-makers.  The wiki page states that they spent months going through archival footage and researching.  It's not a conspiracy; it's just really shitty timing.  Unfortunately, if I've made the connection, I'm betting other people will have as well.  And that sucks.  The movie doesn't deserve to be tarred with that brush.

It's not up for Editing, which feels like a slight since they did manage to make the archival footage look pretty seamless.  I don't think it will win but hopefully the exposure will put it in front of more eyeballs than it would have gotten if Paramount had just dumped it on streaming.  Which it's not on yet, by the way, but keep a lookout.

Anuja (2024)/A Lien (2024)/I'm Not a Robot (2023)

Nominated for Best Live Action Short Film    I managed to find three of the Live Action shorts so I just shoved them all into one post.  This one is on Netflix.  

Anuja (Sajda Pathan) is 8-years-old and working with her older sister (Ananya Shanbhag) in a textile factory.  A math whiz, she is offered a chance to take a placement exam at a boarding school but the factory owner (Nagesh Bhonsle) makes a counter-offer:  work in the office for slightly more money or he will fire Anuja and her sister.

It has an open ending but it's still a little fucked up that an 8-year-old child has to weigh her entire future and choose between opportunity but being separated from her only family and crushing poverty but not being alone.

  Content warning:  deportation  

This one is on Vimeo.  Oscar (William Martinez) is in the Immigration office for his final interview before he receives his green card when he is targeted by ICE for deportation.  His frantic wife (Victoria Ratermanis) struggles to find the paperwork that will keep their 7-year-old daughter (Koralyn Rivera) from being taken as well.

Here's your friendly reminder that ICE is an evil organization and should be abolished.

  Content warning:  suicide  

A woman (Ellen Parren) fails a Captcha test at work and spirals into an existential crisis.  

This is also fucked up but at least it's funny, like a Black Mirror episode filmed by Wes Anderson.  It's on YouTube and The New Yorker website.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)

Nominated for Best Visual Effects  After the main trilogy, this is kind of depressing.  Content warning:  dead animals (apes, eagles)

Noa (Owen Teague) sets out on a journey of revenge after his tribe is murdered by rival apes.  He learns the teachings of Caesar from Raka (Peter Macon), a scholarly orangutan, and grudgingly tolerates a human, Mae (Freya Allen), following him.  He learns his tribe has been forcibly assimilated into the kingdom of Proximus (Kevin Durand), who yearns to have unquestioned dominion.  The key to this is hidden inside a bunker filled with weapons, locked away during the human wars.  Only Mae knows the way in, but she has an agenda of her own.

This movie feels extraneous but it does serve as a decent bridge between the Caesar trilogy and the original series or the 2001 Tim Burton remake, whichever you prefer.  Where the Caesar trilogy ends on a hopeful note (for some characters at least), this has a more ominous tone.  Which is fine, inevitable, really, I just wasn't in the mood to be brought down.  

The effects are good.  I don't know that they're great.  I feel like it's getting harder now because there's so much CGI in everything.  I wouldn't be mad if this won, but I feel like Dune 2 is going to take it.

Better Man (2024)

Nominated for Best Visual Effects    Content warning: drug use, attempted suicide

British singer Robbie Williams recounts his rise to fame as a member of a boy band, his split amid a haze of drug and alcohol abuse, success as a solo artist and crash as a human being, before getting clean and resuming his career.  But, you know, as a mo-cap chimp.

This is an absolutely bog standard musician biopic with the only difference being the mo-cap.  Is that enough of a novelty to win over an entire-ass franchise devoted to mo-cap chimps?  Who knows.  The musical numbers are fine.  I think the mo-cap is distracting.  I would have preferred just a straightforward film but this was clearly someone's vision.  

Is Robbie Williams famous enough for the biopic treatment?  According to this movie, he is very famous in Britain but is he Elton John famous?  Freddie Mercury famous?  Hell, I would have thought Mick Jagger would have gotten a biopic before this guy.  The entire movie is filled with his catalogue and I recognized precisely one song and didn't even know it was by him.  And I've been listening to pop music for 40 years.  

But he is definitely too famous to read this blog, so I feel okay talking shit.  LOL

This is not out on streaming yet so if you're really interested, feel free to dust off that VPN.

The Seed of the Sacred Fig (2024)

Nominated for Best International Feature   Content warning:  protest violence, blood

Najmeh (Sohelia Golestani) is trying to keep her family from falling apart after her husband (Missagh Zareh) gets promoted to Investigator for the theocratic Court in Tehran.  The position requires complete anonymity because of the fear of reprisal, so Najmeh cautions her two daughters against anything that would identify them or cause suspicion.  But Rezvan (Masha Rostami) and Sana (Setareh Maleki) are tired of the propaganda they've been fed their whole lives, and want to be involved with the on-going protests for women's rights.  When their father's gun goes missing, Najmeh must decide which is more important:  protecting her daughters or appeasing her husband.

The story itself is pretty basic --youth rebelling against authority-- and only elevated by the inclusion of actual protest footage that made it past the social media bans in Iran.  That is a hard watch but necessary.  Framing it in a fictional story probably had the added benefit of giving real-life authorities fewer people to target.  

The performances were good, especially Rostami, who acts as a moral compass for the film.  Pacing lags a bit, especially between setting changes, but that's a pretty minor complaint.  You might be able to catch this in theaters if you live near an arthouse one, but most likely you'll have to clicky-click that VPN if you want to watch it at home before the Oscars.

Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024)

Nominated for Best Animated Feature    No content warnings needed for this one!

Faithful companion Gromit feels the sting of rejection when Wallace (Ben Whitehead) invents a "helpful" robot gardener called Norbot (Reece Shearsmith) and seems to prefer its company.  But the pair's old nemesis, Feathers McGraw, is plotting revenge from his prison cell/enclosure and hacking Norbot is the first step.  Gromit must stop the rogue AI garden gnomes from destroying Wallace's good name and reputation and framing him for theft before Wallace is locked away.

At this point, the "turn evil" button/setting on robots is old hat but still funny.  I would have liked more focus on Feathers McGraw and less on the cops but I understand you need some characters to talk in your movie.  

If you are already a W&G fan, congrats on another successful entry.  If you're not, this won't make you one.  Head on back to Memoir of a Snail, fellow degenerate.  It's currently streaming on Netflix.