It’s the weekend again, and that means Film Focus. Here’s Mike Laidman with what’s new in local theaters.
This weekend marks the Chinese New Year, and with so many people going home for the holidays and spending time with their families, there isn’t a whole lot happening in the theatres.

This week, we take a quick look at the latest in an animated series, and another of this year’s films to win a handful of Oscar nominations.

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Mike Laidman

Welcome to another edition of Film Focus. I’m Mike Laidman.

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Carol (2015, Todd Haynes)
A photographer develops a relationship with an older woman.

First, let’s start with Carol, a film that has earned Oscar nominations for both lead actress Cate Blanchett and supporting actress Rooney Mara.

The movie is an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's novel The Price of Salt. It follows two women from very different backgrounds who find themselves in an unexpected love affair in 1950s New York. A young woman in her 20s, Therese Belivet is a clerk working in a Manhattan department store. She meets Carol, an alluring woman trapped in a loveless, convenient marriage. An immediate connection sparks between them and their connection deepens. While Carol breaks free from the confines of marriage, her husband begins to question her competence as a mother, her involvement with Therese, and her relationship with her best friend.

Anchored by its cast, the film is free to explore what it meant to be gay in the 1950s, about two people trying to be together in a society that is quietly suffocating them.

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Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip (2015, Walk Becker)
Alvin, Simon, and Theodore continue their adventures with Dave.

Turning to a much lighter note now, here’s the latest installment in the somewhat-popular Alvin and the Chipmunks franchise.

This is already the fourth entry in the franchise, and if you haven’t seen the first three, or weren’t ever a fan of the music and shows when they were hot back in the 80s and 90s, then you’ll likely be left in the dark here.

Through a series of misunderstandings, Alvin, Simon and Theodore come to believe that Dave is going to propose to his new girlfriend in Miami...and dump them. They have three days to get to him and stop the proposal, saving themselves not only from losing Dave but possibly from gaining a terrible stepmother.

This has all the makings of a suitable movie for kids: colourful, fast, cute. But it ends there. It’s all harmless fun, but there’s absolutely nothing here to inspire or teach.