Ryan Reynolds and Walker Scobell are seen in in "The Adam Project" (Netflix)
Ryan Reynolds has carved out a unique and profitable niche for himself on screen. The current king of the non-IP action comedy, he recently scored big hits with “Red Notice” and “Free Guy,” original movies not based on a comic book or existing videogame premise. This week, add to that list “The Adam Project,” a sci fi adventure flick now streaming on Netflix co-starring Mark Ruffalo and Jennifer Garner.
Adam Reed (Walker Scobell), a precocious thirteen-year-old living with his mother Ellie (Garner), is still stinging from the death of his father a year earlier. “Son, you need to think about your future,” Ellie says, “because it’s coming. Sooner than you think.”
In fact, it may have already arrived.
One day Adam finds a wounded fighter pilot hiding in his family’s garage. Turns out the stranger isn’t a stranger after all. He’s Adam (Reynolds) from the future; the grown-up version with a bullet hole in his side and a mission. “You’re me,” says the awestruck youngster. “That’s classified,” says older Adam, “but yes, I once was.”
The time traveller jumped back to 2022 to save the world, using information created by his late scientist father Louis (Ruffalo). To do complete the mission, he’ll need to jump back in time further, this time with young Adam at his side. First though, there is a time travelling villain (Catherine Keener) and the question of how to come to grips with the past while saving the future.
Time travel movies rarely ever make perfect sense, and “The Adam Project” is no different. Time may be a flat circle, and destined to repeat itself, but the cinematic machinations of jumping from year to year, of changing the past from the future, often make my head hurt and take me out of the story.
“The Adam Project” sneaks by, not because of its grasp of the paradox of theoretical physics, but because if the chemistry between Reynolds and his young co-star Scobell.
Reynolds, reunites with his “Free Guy” director Shawn Levy, brings his trademarked charisma and way with a joke, while Scobell, making his acting debut, is a natural foil. He is funny, charming and holds his own against Reynolds, arguably one of the best scene stealers in movies today.
They click and because they do, the movie works. The sci fi aspects of the story, the Stormtrooper-looking soldiers from the future or the noisy CGI climax, don’t make as much of an impression as the film’s heart and soul, the relations ship between the Adams and their father as they heal the wounds caused by their dad’s death.
“The Adam Project” threatens to allow the special effect fireworks to overshadow its story, but contains just enough heartwarming material to earn comparisons to the 1980s Ambling movies that were clearly an inspiration.
This image released by Disney+ shows characters, from left, Abby, voiced by Hyein Park, Miriam, voiced by Ava Morse, Priya, voiced by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Mei Lee, voiced by Rosalie Chiang in a scene from "Turning Red." (Disney+ via AP)
You can tell Pixar’s “Turning Red,” a charming new animated film now streaming on Disney+, was directed by someone who grew up in Toronto. Academy Award winning director Domee Shi includes such staples of city life as a TTC pass and the CN Tower, but it is her reference to the Skydome, the original and only proper name, of the arena now known as the Rogers Center, that cements her Hogtown bona fides.
Meilin Lee (voice of Rosalie Chiang), the movie’s main character, is a free spirit in a traditional family. She likes to dance, hangout with her friends and she especially loves the boy band 4*Town. “Ever since I turned thirteen,” she says, “I’ve been doing my own thing.”
She is navigating the line between dutiful daughter to mother Ming (voice of Sandra Oh) and nonconformist. “Number one rule in my family is honor your parents,” she says, “but, if you take it too far you might forget to honor yourself.”
Everything changes for Meilin one morning after she has a nightmare and before you can say, “Poof!,” she changes into a giant red panda. Hearing a commotion upstairs, Ming investigates. “You are a woman now and your body is starting to change,” she says through the door to her obviously upset daughter.
When the truth of the situation is revealed, Ming is not surprised. Turns out the panda transformation runs in the family, usually following some kind of emotional episode. Unless Meilin wants to be a shapeshifter for the rest of her life, she has to listen to her parents. “There is a darkness to the panda,” says Mei's father Jin Lee (Orion Lee). “You only have one chance to banish it. And you cannot fail, otherwise you’ll never be free.”
A special ceremony can cure her of the plight, but it must be performed under the red moon, which is one month away, the same night as the big 4*Town show at the Skydome.
“Turning Red” is an imaginatively animated movie that will make your eyeballs dance. Toronto is lovingly recreated and the characters have personality to burn. Mei’s alter ego, the giant red panda, is equal parts terrifying and adorable, a metaphor for puberty come to life, writ large. Topped off with great voice work from Chiang and Oh, it’s a Pixar worthy effort that can sit on the shelf next to the classics like “Up,” “WALL-E’ and “Toy Story.”
The coming-of-age story is equally well handled. The importance of family is a key message, like it is in many kid’s movies, but it is Shi’s sensitive (and very funny) lessons of asserting and being true to yourself that set it apart. Mei feels smothered by the overprotective Ming, but she sticks up for herself, even if it is scary. “I’m changing mom,” she says. “I’m afraid it will take me away from you.”
“Don’t hold back, for anyone,” replies Ming. ”The farther you go, the prouder I’ll be.”
It’s more touching and more nuanced than you might expect from a film about a young girl who changes into a panda, but “Turning Red” is that movie. It is unafraid to be silly, serious and heartfelt, often at the same time. It’s a lovely, insightful portrait of the chaos of being a kid and how respect, family and friends (and a little boy band music) can help smooth out the wild ride. Oh, and Toronto has rarely looked better on screen!
This image released by A24 shows Justin H. Min and Haley Lu Richardson in a scene from "After Yang." (A24 via AP)
“After Yang,” a new sci fi film starring Colin Farrell and Jodie Turner-Smith now playing in theatres, is about a sentient robot life, but the firepower of humanoid android movies like “The Terminator” has been replaced by a slow, contemplative mood.
Set in the near future, “After Yang” begins with the loss of the artificially intelligent Yang (The Umbrella Academy’s Justin H. Min), an android purchased by Kyra and Jake (Jodie Turner-Smith and Colin Farrell) as a cyborg companion and “older sibling” to their adopted Asian daughter Mika (Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja). When Yang suffers a core malfunction and shuts down, Mika mourns the loss of her “gege” or older brother in Mandarin.
Jake’s search for a way to repair the “technosapien” caregiver is trickier than you would think. It’s more complicated than taking a malfunctioning iPad back to the Apple store. The manufacturer will only fix the twelve most common problems, and warns Jake it is illegal to access the data stored in the robot’s memory banks.
Nonetheless, Jake accepts a tool to access Yang’s core chip from museum curator (Sarita Choudhury), only to discover he’s been refurbished several times and holds memories from his many experiences.
Director Koganada focuses attention on the meditative aspects of the story, not the mechanical, creating introspective sci fi that elegantly and subtly explores issues of existence, grief, love and memory. The film’s cold, detached exterior melts away as the running time clicks along, as the sci fi aspects of the story become a study of relationships and why we connect with the people and objects that we do.
Understated but heartfelt performances from Farrell, Turner-Smith , Min and Tjandrawidjaja add emotional resonance to a speculative story that is geared to appeal to the heart as much as the brain.
“Ultimately, the film Koganada has made is a poignant family drama with some sci fi elements. But just because “After Yang” is more interesting than exciting doesn’t mean it isn’t effective and memorable.
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
Five thousand public service jobs will be cut over the next four years, while underused federal office buildings, Canada Post properties and the National Defence Medical Centre in Ottawa could be turned into new housing units, as the federal government looks to find billions of dollars in savings and boost the country's housing portfolio.
With a variety of fiscal and policy measures announced in the federal budget, winners include small businesses and fintech companies while losers include the tobacco industry and Canadian pension funds.
From plans to boost new housing stock, encourage small businesses, and increase taxes on Canada’s top-earners, CTVNews.ca has sifted through the 416-page budget to find out what will make the biggest difference to your pocketbook.
Police say that arrests have been made in connection with a $20-million gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport one year ago.
Three teenagers were arrested in connection with a pair of alleged hazing incidents on a Manitoba hockey team, police say.
Phonebooks have been in circulation since the 19th century. These days, in this high-tech digital world, if someone needs a phone number, 'I Google,' said Bridgewater, N.S. resident Wayne Desouza.
The Liberals are proposing new charges for the use of violence while stealing a vehicle and for links to organized crime, as well as laundering money for the benefit of a criminal organization.
The federal government is providing up to $5 billion in loan guarantees to help Indigenous communities invest in natural resource and energy products. But when it comes to a promise to close what advocates say is a sprawling Indigenous infrastructure gap, Ottawa is short more than $420 billion.
Phonebooks have been in circulation since the 19th century. These days, in this high-tech digital world, if someone needs a phone number, 'I Google,' said Bridgewater, N.S. resident Wayne Desouza.
Three teenagers were arrested in connection with a pair of alleged hazing incidents on a Manitoba hockey team, police say.
An inmate who escaped from Dorchester Penitentiary in Dorchester, N.B., on Saturday evening has a long history of violent crimes and a history of escaping custody.
Toronto police say they have laid 54 charges against three suspects following a carjacking investigation.
A Quebec Superior Court judge has authorized a class-action lawsuit against 16 pharmaceutical companies that are alleged to have misled consumers about the efficacy and dangers of opioid medications.
From plans to boost new housing stock, encourage small businesses, and increase taxes on Canada’s top-earners, CTVNews.ca has sifted through the 416-page budget to find out what will make the biggest difference to your pocketbook.
Defiant and determined, House Speaker Mike Johnson pushed back Tuesday against mounting Republican anger over his proposed U.S. aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other allies, and rejected a call to step aside or risk a vote to oust him from office.
The world installed 117 gigawatts of new wind power capacity in 2023, a 50 per cent increase from the year before, making it the best year for new wind projects on record, according to a new report by the industry's trade association.
Australia's prime minister said Tuesday a French construction worker who confronted a man who stabbed six people to death in a Sydney shopping mall is welcome to stay in the country as long as he likes.
The British government's plan for a landmark smoking ban that aims to stop young people from ever smoking cleared its first hurdle in Parliament on Tuesday despite vocal opposition from within Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party.
After its last closure in 2021, it has now reopened for guided tours of the air raid shelter and the bunker. The complex now includes a multimedia exhibition about Rome during World War II, air raid systems for civilians, and the series of 51 Allied bombings that pummeled the city between July 1943 and May 1944.
The first seven jurors for Donald Trump's hush money trial were seated Tuesday after lawyers grilled the jury pool about their social media posts, political views and personal lives to decide who can sit in fair judgment of the former president.
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
From plans to boost new housing stock, encourage small businesses, and increase taxes on Canada’s top-earners, CTVNews.ca has sifted through the 416-page budget to find out what will make the biggest difference to your pocketbook.
Small- and medium-sized business owners are set to receive a long-awaited refund from Ottawa, which was holding onto billions of dollars while it sorted out a way to deliver them their carbon pricing rebates.
For years, conventional wisdom in fitness culture has promoted the belief that stretching to become more flexible leads to better movement and injury prevention.
The strain placed on Canadian health care during the COVID-19 pandemic shows no sign of abating, and the top official of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA) is warning that improving the system will be a 'slow process' requiring sustained investment.
A group of doctors say Canadian cancer screening guidelines set by a national task force are out-of-date and putting people at risk because their cancers aren't detected early enough.
NASA confirmed Monday that a mystery object that crashed through the roof of a Florida home last month was a chunk of space junk from equipment discarded at the International Space Station.
Using genes from coffee plants around the world, researchers built a family tree for the world's most popular type of coffee, known to scientists as Coffea arabica and to coffee lovers simply as 'arabica.'
NASA is seeking innovative methods that could help retrieve samples collected by the Perseverance rover on Mars in the future.
Participant, the activist film and television studio that has financed Oscar winners like 'Spotlight' and socially conscious documentaries like 'Food, Inc,' and 'Waiting For Superman' is closing its doors after 20 years.
Classic characters, new stories, fresh mashups. Will it all be a bonanza for makers as classic works again begin entering the public domain?
A portrait of Winston Churchill by an artist whose work the British leader loathed went on display Tuesday at Churchill's birthplace ahead of an auction in June.
Unifor says it’s temporarily withdrawing its applications to represent workers at two Vancouver-area Amazon facilities, accusing the e-commerce giant of providing a “suspiciously high” employee count.
Shoppers Drug Mart is facing a proposed class-action lawsuit by current and former franchise owners at the retail chain who allege parent company Loblaw engaged in corporate practices that placed them in an “irredeemable conflict of interest” and put patient care at risk.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the annual pace of housing starts in March declined seven per cent compared with February.
In Salman Rushdie's first book since the 2022 stabbing that hospitalized him and left him blind in one eye, the author wastes no time reliving the day he thought might be his last.
A Celebrity Apex cruise to the Caribbean this month turned into a rocking Newfoundland kitchen party when hundreds of people from Canada's easternmost province happened to be booked on the same ship.
The one thing 9-year-old Cal Clifford wanted more than anything since he was a toddler was a pet octopus.
One of the nation's most beloved and decorated curlers, Glenn Howard, officially announced his retirement on Tuesday.
Three teenagers were arrested in connection with a pair of alleged hazing incidents on a Manitoba hockey team, police say.
An Ontario woman says she never expected to be gifted a Blue Jays jersey for her ailing husband when she sat alone at the team’s home opener next to a couple of kind strangers.
Tesla has hit a series of roadblocks, including increased competition and declining sales. The company announced Monday it is slashing 10 per cent of its global workforce.
A driver from London will have to find alternative transportation after an OPP officer clocked them travelling nearly 200 km/h on Highway 401 over the weekend.
General Motors will move its Detroit headquarters to a new downtown office building next year and work to redevelop its iconic home along the Detroit River, company and city officials confirmed Monday.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.
While many people choose to keep their medical appointments private, four longtime friends decided to undergo vasectomies as a group in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.
A popular highway in Alberta's Banff National Park now has a 'no stopping zone' to help protect two bears.
B.C. resident Robert Conrad spent thousands of hours on Crown land developing an unusual bond with deer.
A Sudbury woman said her husband was bringing the recycling out to the curb Wednesday night when he had to make a 'mad dash' inside after seeing a bear.
A school teacher who took part in the Quebec version of the Survivor reality TV show took time off work to be a contestant is now out of a job.
A young actor from Prince Edward Island is getting the chance to fulfill a childhood dream, playing the precocious and iconic Anne Shirley on stage.
British Columbia's highest court has upheld a manslaughter conviction against a Vancouver man who shoved a senior outside a busy Costco store, rejecting his argument that the trial judge failed to consider how his claustrophobia and fear of crowds led to the fatal altercation.
Unifor says it’s temporarily withdrawing its applications to represent workers at two Vancouver-area Amazon facilities, accusing the e-commerce giant of providing a “suspiciously high” employee count.
A Metro Vancouver developer is once again teaming up with TransLink to give users of one of its new buildings free access to transit and study the impact of the subsidy.
Police say that arrests have been made in connection with a $20-million gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport one year ago.
A Toronto woman is warning others to be on the lookout after a coyote approached her while she was sitting on a park bench near Ontario Place last weekend.
Ontario’s Minister of Health is asking her federal counterpart to help close a loophole she says has led to a “disturbing” rise in clinics charging for access to primary care.
A Crown prosecutor making the case against three men charged with mischief at the border blockade at Coutts, Alta., told jurors Tuesday they don’t have to determine the accused were kingpins of the protest in order find them guilty.
Marda Loop business owners are expressing concern over revenue losses after the City of Calgary announced construction in the area is expected to continue several months longer than planned.
Calgary police say the driver of a BMW was given a summons for a mandatory court appearance after being caught travelling more than double the speed limit.
Five thousand public service jobs will be cut over the next four years, while underused federal office buildings, Canada Post properties and the National Defence Medical Centre in Ottawa could be turned into new housing units, as the federal government looks to find billions of dollars in savings and boost the country's housing portfolio.
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
CTVNewsOttawa.ca looks at four things in the federal budget that will have an impact on the city of Ottawa.
Quebec's education ministry says it is working on clarifying directives on when officials can communicate with the public in a language other than French.
The federal government plans to convert some government office buildings into housing, including some in Quebec, and to leasing federal land, according to the budget announced Tuesday.
Teenagers are showing post-pandemic improvements when it comes to screen time, according to a new study published Tuesday by Montreal Public Health.
Staff caring for frail babies at hospitals in the Edmonton area are asking for help from the province.
Three people have been charged after police recovered nearly half a million dollars worth of stolen property.
A pipeline was involved in a wildfire in western Alberta on Tuesday, Yellowhead County says.
A Celebrity Apex cruise to the Caribbean this month turned into a rocking Newfoundland kitchen party when hundreds of people from Canada's easternmost province happened to be booked on the same ship.
The Nova Scotia RCMP says four people have been charged following a man’s homicide two years ago.
A portion of Barrington Street has reopened after a three-vehicle crash Tuesday morning.
Three teenagers were arrested in connection with a pair of alleged hazing incidents on a Manitoba hockey team, police say.
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
One Winnipeg sports memorabilia shop has been the target of multiple break-ins and is now looking to recover some stolen property.
Winter weather seemed to be in the rear view mirror for Saskatchewan the past couple weeks, but now Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is forecasting as much as 30 centimetres of snow for some parts of the province.
Municipal Hail Insurance and the Hospitals of Regina Foundation (HRF) has teamed up to raise money for upgrades to the Mosaic Heart Centre at the Regina General Hospital (RGH).
A Yorkton woman is still catching her breath after reporting a $100,000 lotto win.
The mayors of Kitchener and Waterloo are weighing in on the federal government’s 2024 budget.
Grand River Rocks will have limited time in their new home on Victoria Street North, after Kitchener City Council officially approved the rezoning of the property to allow for a condo development.
Many people have their sights set on summer, but it seems some spots in Waterloo Region are stuck in another season.
The founders of a Saskatoon real estate investment company that left investors with millions of dollars in losses have reached a settlement with Saskatchewan’s financial and consumer watchdog.
Two men accused of beating and tying up a mentally ill man on a Saskatchewan farm have pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm.
Winter weather seemed to be in the rear view mirror for Saskatchewan the past couple weeks, but now Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is forecasting as much as 30 centimetres of snow for some parts of the province.
Rescue crews are searching for a man reported missing on the weekend after the vehicle he was driving was pulled into a creek near the Quebec border in northern Ontario.
The YMCA of Sault Ste. Marie is selling its building and ceasing operations in May.
As city council in Sudbury prepares to debate – again! -- the future of Sudbury Arena, here’s a quick look back at how residents got here.
A two-vehicle crash between a pickup truck and a transport truck on Highway 401 in London, Ont. has resulted in one fatality Tuesday afternoon, with police warning motorists to expect delays in the area.
It’s an issue affecting local high schools across the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) and the London District Catholic School Board (LDCSB).
A driver from London will have to find alternative transportation after an OPP officer clocked them travelling nearly 200 km/h on Highway 401 over the weekend.
One of the nation's most beloved and decorated curlers, Glenn Howard, officially announced his retirement on Tuesday.
Two new shows are coming to Casino Rama's Entertainment Centre for fans of country music and 80s rock.
Fire officials say a lithium-ion battery inside a vacuum cleaner sparked a fire at an apartment complex Sunday afternoon in Gravenhurst.
A group of landlords contesting the city’s new residential rental licensing bylaw is appealing a recent court decision.
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
The ‘faint hope’ hearing of Ali Al-Shammari, 38, continued Tuesday in Superior court.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
British Columbia's highest court has upheld a manslaughter conviction against a Vancouver man who shoved a senior outside a busy Costco store, rejecting his argument that the trial judge failed to consider how his claustrophobia and fear of crowds led to the fatal altercation.
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
British Columbia is planning to add 240 new units to its complex-care housing program, providing homes for people with mental-health and addictions challenges that overlap with other serious conditions.
More than 80 residents from a low-income apartment building in Kelowna, B.C., have learned they won't be able to return to their homes for at least another two weeks.
Mounties are investigating a reported "road rage" incident in Kelowna, B.C., that left two men injured last week.
Lethbridge West MLA Shannon Phillips is calling on the province to reinstate funding for the Lethbridge Elder Abuse Response Network.
If you’re planning to head to the coulees this weekend to enjoy the nice weather, don’t forget to look down.
With the weather starting to feel like spring is really here, more kids will likely be outside enjoying the sunshine and warm temperatures, which organizers of the Slow Your Roll campaign say is a perfect time to re-launch the campaign.
The Sault College Women’s Hockey team is less than a month removed from its second straight ACHA W2 National Championship.
A long-time Sault Ste. Marie bartender is teaming up with a local restauranteur on a new business venture.
The YMCA of Sault Ste. Marie is selling its building and ceasing operations in May.
A Celebrity Apex cruise to the Caribbean this month turned into a rocking Newfoundland kitchen party when hundreds of people from Canada's easternmost province happened to be booked on the same ship.
A pricing agreement has been reached between crab fishers and seafood processors that will allow for Newfoundland and Labrador's annual crab fishery to get started.
Longliners across Newfoundland and Labrador are tied up once again, as a new protest by the province's fish harvesters threatens to derail the crab fishery for a second straight year.
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