Remember when the St. Louis Park tourism board rechristened its coverage area Westopolis? I do, because I never forget silly shit like that. This is all just my very long and rambling way of explaining the headline, and of getting around to discussing the 15th annual Twin Cities Film Fest.
As always, the fest brings docs galore to the screen, many of them locally made. I'm not familiar with most, but let me just mention that Lucy Hawthorne, a Racket contributor/staffer-in-law (Jay's spouse), was among the filmographers for The Ultra Pickle Juice Project. As for the rest of the films, I'm personally looking forward to Nightbitch (despite a mixed reception so far, I remain a Marielle Heller fan) and On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (I dug Rungano Nyoni's I Am Not a Witch). Read all about the fest here.
Special Screenings
Thursday, October 17
Lost Boys (1987)
Grandview 1&2
The Coreys are so scary, I'm glad they're not real. Also Sunday. $12. 9:15 p.m. More info here.
2001 A Space Odyssey (1968)
The Heights
See it in 70mm—the only way to go. $18. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
Tom Petty Heartbreakers Beach Party (2024)
Lagoon Cinema/Marcus West End Cinema
The 16mm reels Cameron Crowe shot of the band in the early '80s were long thought lost. Lagoon: $15.25. 7 p.m. Sunday 2:45 p.m. More info here. West End: $16.11. 7 p.m. Sunday 4 p.m. More info here.
Hope in the Water (2023)
Marcus West End Cinema
A look at aqua farmers. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. Free. 5 p.m. More info here.
Conclave (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
Ralph Fiennes discovers dark secrets in the Vatican (oh really?) as the cardinals choose a new pope. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $25. 7:15 p.m. More info here.
Manila in the Claws of Light (1975)
Trylon
A Filipino fisherman searches for his girlfriend. Presented by Archives on Screen. $8. 7 p.m. More info here.
Friday, October 18
The Shining (1980)
Alamo Drafthouse
Never marry a writer. $10. 9 p.m. More info here.
The Fall (2006)
Alamo Drafthouse
Tarsem Singh's sumptuous fantasy. $14.50. 8:20 p.m. Saturday 6:50 p.m. More info here.
Star Wars (1977)
Insight Brewing
Never heard of it. Free. 8 p.m. More info here.
Friday the 13th (1980)
Marcus West End Cinema
True fact: This was one of Kim Jong Il's favorite movies. Also Saturday. $6.51. 10 p.m. More info here.
Orca: Black and White Gold (2023)
Marcus West End Cinema
A look at the brutal trade in orcas. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. Free. 1 p.m. More info here.
Hidden in Plain Sight (2023)
Marcus West End Cinema
How safaris exploit Africa. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. Free. 1:45 p.m. More info here.
The Minnesota Integration Story (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
How Hale and Field Elementary schools integrated. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. Free. 2 p.m. More info here.
Good Men (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A celebration of men who resist the patriarchy. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. Free. 2:45 p.m. More info here.
Ben and Suzanne: A Reunion in 4 Parts (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A man tries to reignite a spark with an NGO worker in Sri Lanka. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. Free. 3 p.m. More info here.
Back on Track: Rebuilding the Waupaca Train Depot (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
How a rural Wisconsin train station was restored. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. Free. 3:15 p.m. More info here.
Boundary Waters (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A tween growing up on the Iron Range suspects that his dad is abusing his mom. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 5 & 6 p.m. More info here.
376 Days: Nick Cave Keep it Movin' (2022)
Marcus West End Cinema
Nick Cave (not that one) prepares for a career retrospective. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 5:15 p.m. More info here.
Los Frikis (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
Cuban punks in the '90s deliberately inject themselves with HIV so they can live for free at a government treatment center. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 5:30 p.m. More info here.
Nightbitch (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
Director Marielle Heller is great. Amy Adams is great. People loved the book. Why are jerks on Twitter who haven't even seen this so disparaging about it? Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 6:45 p.m. More info here.
The Activated Man (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A man undergoes a profound change after his dog dies. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 8:30 p.m. More info here.
Dirty Boy (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A man fights back after a cult frames him for ritualistic murders. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 9 p.m. More info here.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Parkway Theater
Will you people keep it down? I’m trying to watch the movie! With live shadow cast performance by Transvestite Soup. $10/$15. Midnight. More info here.
Barbarian (2022)
Trylon
I wonder if good things will happen if I go into this basement? Full review here. $8. Friday-Saturday 7 & 9:15 p.m. Sunday 3 & 5:15 p.m. More info here.
Aesthetic Athletics
Walker Art Center
A selection of films examining how artists makes images of sports. Free if you wear a jersey. $12/$15. 7 p.m. More info here.
Saturday, October 19
Cat People (1942)
Alamo Drafthouse
*Randy Newman voice* Cat people got no reason to live. $10. 12:30 p.m. More info here.
Back to the Future Part 2 (1989)
AMC Rosedale 14/AMC Southdale 16
Back 2 the Future was right there. Also Monday. $16.28. 7 p.m. More info here.
Live at the Met: Grounded
AMC Rosedale 14/AMC Southdale 16/Emagine Willow Creek/Marcus West End Cinema
An opera about the effects of modern technology on soldiers. $26.05. 12 p.m. Wednesday 6:30 p.m. More info here.
Taeyong: Ty Track in Cinemas
AMC Rosedale 14/AMC Southdale 16/B&B Bloomington 13
The Kpop star performs. Prices, times, and more info here.
The 2024 Super Spookshow Spectacular!
Emagine Willow Creek
Eight hours of scary stuff from the folks at Cinema Macabre. $25. 1 p.m. More info here.
Deep Red (1975)
Main Cinema
Argento's Xmas slasher. $11. 9:45 p.m. Monday 7 p.m. More info here.
The Legend of Lex Zander (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
An 11-year-old boy convinces his friends and family to help him make a sci-fi movie. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. Free. 10 a.m. More info here.
The Ultra Pickle Juice Project (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
The stories of some folks who run the Superior 100. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 10:30 a.m. More info here.
Antarctic Voyage (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A doc about a biologic research expedition. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 10:45 a.m. More info here.
A Letter From the Fathers: Chapter II (2024)/Pops (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
In the first film, fathers share their experiences. In the latter, a son helps his father with dementia. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 12 p.m. More info here.
Figures (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
Snake enthusiasts travel to Africa. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 12:15 p.m. More info here.
The Battle of a Hustler (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A man searches for his missing ex-fiancee with her son. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 12:30 p.m. More info here.
All We Carry (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A family flees Honduras and awaits an asylum verdict in Seattle. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 1:45 p.m. More info here.
Panda Bear in Africa (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
An animated Chinese panda travels to Africa. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 2:30 p.m. More info here.
24 Days Without You (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A pregnant woman's delivery has life-threatening complications. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 3:15 & 3:45 p.m. More info here.
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Dystopia
Marcus West End Cinema
A block of short films. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 4 p.m. More info here.
My Town - Part 1 (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
Former Minnesota Gov. Cory Hepola visits small towns throughout the state. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 4:30 p.m. More info here.
We Strangers (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A housecleaner tells her employer she can talk to the dead. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 5:15 p.m. More info here.
The Donn of Tiki (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
An animated documentary about the life of adventurer Donn Beach. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 6:30 p.m. More info here.
A Thousand Clowns (1965)
Marcus West End Cinema
Joel Hodgson presents his favorite film, a Jason Robards classic. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 6:45 p.m. More info here.
Unstoppable (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
The story of champion wrestler Anthony Robles, who was born with one leg. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 7:15 p.m. More info here.
Sunday, October 20
Casper (1995)
Alamo Drafthouse
I was Casper for Halloween in what must have been 1976, because my brother was old enough to be annoyed at me for saying I was going to learn to fly and Star Wars had obviously not come out yet. $10. 1 p.m. More info here.
Saw (2004)
AMC Rosedale 14/AMC Southdale 16
The unrated version, gore fans. $13.63. 4 & 7 p.m. Wednesday 7:30 p.m. More info here.
AXCN Gundam Fest: Mobile Suit Gundam (2024)
Emagine Willow Creek
A special screening of the new anime. Also Wednesday. $12.50. 3 p.m. More info here.
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012)
Emagine Willow Creek
Electric Dawn Boogaloo. $9. 12 & 6 p.m. Wednesday 12 & 5:40 p.m. More info here.
Broken Eyes (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A filmmaker covers how Lasik destroyed her eyesight. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 10 a.m. More info here.
The Fishing-Hat Bandit (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A man tries to reignite a spark with an NGO worker in Sri Lanka. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 10:15 a.m. More info here.
Qatar Stars (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A look at how the girls in a Doha rhythmic gymnastics school grow up. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 10:30 a.m. More info here.
The Kids' Table (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
Can a mom pull off the perfect Christmas Eve? Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 12:15 p.m. More info here.
If That Mockingbird Don't Sing (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A pregnant teen decides to get her ex back. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 12:30 p.m. More info here.
Juneteenth: Reckoning With Slavery (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A look at the effects of slavery on Minnesota. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 1 p.m. More info here.
Basketball State – The Land of 10,000 Hoops (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
Minnesota's basketball legacy gets its due. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 1:45 p.m. More info here.
A Sea Change for Superior: The Warming of the World’s Largest Lake (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
Title kinda says it all. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 2:30 p.m. More info here.
Scars Unseen (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A documentary about three survivors of domestic violence. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 2:45 p.m. More info here.
Luther: Never Too Much (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A documentary about the life of Luther Vandross. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 3:15 p.m. More info here.
Documentary: Passion and Purpose
Marcus West End Cinema
A block of short films. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 4:30 p.m. More info here.
Inheritance (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
After her father dies, a woman discovers he has left everything to her estranged sister. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 4:45 p.m. More info here.
La Cocina (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A theft at a busy New York restaurant leads to an investigation of its many undocumented workers. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 5:30 p.m. More info here.
Adventure Tom (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A couple meets cute on their way to Minneapolis. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 7 p.m. More info here.
Incompleteness Part 3 (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
"A terminal cancer diagnosis leads a miserable workaholic on a self-indulgent quest to win back his pregnant-and-estranged wife and connect with his unborn son through a self-funded, semi-autobiographical movie about the meaning of life." Wow, that's a lot. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)
Trylon
It was the best of siblings, it was the worst of siblings. $8. 7:30 p.m. Monday-Tuesday 7 & 9:15 p.m. More info here.
Monday, October 21
The Brood (1979)
Alamo Drafthouse
Director David Cronenberg called it his version of Kramer vs. Kramer, "but more realistic." $10. 7 p.m. More info here.
The Monster Squad (1987)
Not to be confused with the Saturday morning TV show I loved as a kid. $6. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
WTF Club
56 Brewery
As in "Watch Terrible Films." Free. 7 p.m. More info here.
Magpie (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A couple is torn apart when their daughter is cast in a film. Star Daisy Ridley will be in attendance. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $25. 6:30 p.m. More info here.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Pilllar Forum
Pilllar's doing Monday movie nights now. Bring a chair. 6:30 p.m. More info here.
Tuesday, October 22
A Nightmare of Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1984)
Alamo Drafthouse
Who can forget the Dio song? $10. 7 p.m. More info here.
Memoir of a Snail (2024)
Alamo Drafthouse
An advance screening of a new stop-motion film. $14.50. 6:30 p.m. More info here.
Union (2024)
Main Cinema
Unionizing workers in Staten Island take on Amazon. $11. 7 p.m. More info here.
Owl (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A woman returns home to Oakland to help his ailing father with his business. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 5 p.m. More info here.
Finding My Voice
Marcus West End Cinema
A block of short films. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 5:15 p.m. More info here.
The Eagle Obsession (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A look at how the spaceship from Space 1999 inspired fans. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. Free. 4:30 p.m. More info here.
A Real Pain (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
Jesse Eisenberg and Roman Roy are cousins touring Poland together. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 7:15 p.m. More info here.
Solitude (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
What if a reality TV show was haunted? Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 7:45 p.m. More info here.
Wednesday, October 23
Longlegs (2024)
Alamo Drafthouse
A screening of Osgood Perkins's overhyped serial killer flick, with a pre-recorded Q&A with the director and a first look at his up-and-coming follow-up, The Monkey. $14.50. 7 p.m. More info here.
Clue (1985)
Grandview 1&2
Board games are so scary—OK, I guess it's time for this bit to end. $12. 9:15 p.m. More info here.
Gremlins (1984)
Lagoon Cinema
Girl, are you a gremlin? 'Cause I wanna get you wet and multiply. 7 p.m. $12.25. More info here.
Three Films from Digger Kohler (2024)
Main Cinema
An action adventure role playing animation. $12. 7 p.m. More info here.
Canyon Chorus (2024)/Body Electric (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
Reflections on mentorship in the LGBTQ+ community while traveling down a river, preceded by a short look at body dysmorphia. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 5 p.m. More info here.
Camp Ricstar (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A look at a music camp for the disabled. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 5:15 p.m. More info here.
Out of Time (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
A woman places herself in danger as she tries to tell the truth about Big Pharma. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 6:30 p.m. More info here.
Sheepdog (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
Veterans struggle with trauma. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 7:15 p.m. More info here.
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
The latest from Rungano Nyoni, whose I Am Not a Witch was so good. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 7:30 p.m. More info here.
Heart to Heart (2024)
Marcus West End Cinema
One last block of short films. Part of the Twin Cities Film Fest. $13. 7:45 p.m. More info here.
The Exorcist (1973)
Parkway Theater
Contains more footage of Max Von Sydow roaming around in a desert than you might remember. $9/$12. Trivia at 7:30 p.m. Movie at 8 p.m. More info here.
Spaces of Exception (2019)
Trylon
A comparison between a Palestinian refugee camp and an American Indian reservation. Presented by Mizna. $10. 7 p.m. More info here.
Opening This Week
Follow the links for showtimes.
Exhibiting Forgiveness
A Black artist receives a visit from his estranged father.
Hocus Pocus (1993)
The witchy kids classic (if you say so) is back in theaters.
Rumours
Guy Madden made a movie about G7 leaders chased by zombies?
Smile 2
If the first Smile wasn't bad enough for you.
We Live in Time
Florence Pugh Run Me Over With a Car: The Movie
Ongoing in Local Theaters
Follow the links for showtimes.
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
It’s nice to be pandered to occasionally, so in the run up to the release of this redundant sequel I’ve enjoyed hearing how Winona Ryder and Jenna Ortega geeked out on set about their shared love of Soy Cuba, as well as the Letterboxd promo where Ortega tried to sell Catherine O’Hara on The Passion of Joan of Arc. But then there were the CarMax, Denny’s, and Progressive ads reminding us the real reason why beloved films of the past can never die: $$$. And the movie itself? Well, with Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin’s quaint Maitlands having moved on via an unexplained “loophole,” the Deetz clan—Ryder's Lydia (now a famed ghost hunter), O'Hara's Delia (now an established NYC artist), and Ortega as Lydia’s sullen daughter Astrid—reunites for the funeral of its patriarch Charles (l’affair de Jeffrey Jones is navigated around cleverly). From the re-maniacal Michael Keaton and Ryder’s unstable goth mom to newcomers Justin Theroux as Lydia’s weaselly beau and current Burton GF Monica Bellucci as a soul-sucking spook, everyone here is game, and yes, there is involuntary singing and goopy mayhem. But while this silly little romp through a familiar world consistently errs on the side of goofball exuberance, the storylines race around frantically in search of a reason to happen. As for Ortega, she was good enough in the 2021 school shooting film The Fallout that I hope she frees herself from the afterlife of 20th century IP at some point and shows us what she's got. And I couldn’t help but be haunted by the fact that if he’d made the original a few years later, Burton would probably have cast Johnny Depp instead of Keaton. B-
Megalopolis
An undisciplined cornball’s autocratic celebration of humanism, Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis is a movie for people who manically deem any mere mess of a film “batshit” and therefore essential viewing, for cineastes who refuse to distinguish between the incomprehensible and the incoherent, or for sentimentalists who consider the completion of a quixotic project as achievement enough. If Ayn Rand had written The Power Broker about a pretentious tech guru with a bad haircut, she might have imagined Adam Driver’s Cesar Catilina, who is determined to build the city of the future from a substance called Megalon, flattening housing developments in the process. And he's apparently the hero. Ambition isn’t always a positive attribute, after all, and if anything, film history treats megalomaniacs far too kindly, squinting past what we see for evidence of what we should have seen. Ultimately, what’s most disappointing about Megalopolis is that this is exactly the movie that Coppola wanted to make. Read the full review here. C
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Reagan
No one should see this movie. I’m not joking. No, really—I’m worried that if I make any jokes here you’ll think maybe Reagan is bad in a fun way, or in a way that’s at least instructive about modern conservatism. It’s bad in a mildly stupefying way, leaving you with fewer thoughts about Reagan than you had before you entered the theater, drifting along from event to event with the pacing and depth of a History Channel historical reenactment. Reagan is clearly not history, but it’s not really entertainment either. It’s barely a movie, and even to call it propaganda suggests a manipulative skillfulness it lacks. Reagan is more like a two-hour bedtime story, meant, like the man himself, to reassure those frightened by history. Read the full review here. D+
Speak No Evil
Nope, haven’t seen the 2022 Danish original, despite hearing good things about it, and yet I could tell this Blumhouse photocopy was missing something even before I checked the former’s plot synopsis. Uptight Americans Mackenzie Davis and Scoot McNairy meet rowdy Brits James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi while vacationing in Italy and for some reason agree to come visit their country home. The hosts begin testing the guests’ limits, and the Yanks are such ninnies they go uncomfortably with the flow until, yes, it’s too late to turn back. McAvoy does have a ball as the rural psycho, but the film never builds any real tension. And it just isn’t nasty enough; we’re allowed to identify with the victims rather than taking any pleasure in their discomfort. It’s Straw Dogs with straw men, and what fun is that? C+
The Substance
Without our shared cultural knowledge of Demi Moore’s life and career, The Substance, Coralie Fargeat’s absurdist experiment in gory meta-hagsploitation, is a fairly limp if expressively graphic satire of impossible female body standards. Moore’s presence, and her performance, give the film its moments of depth—moments Fargeat doesn’t always seem particularly interested in. Moore is an aging, discarded star who injects herself with a black-market serum that looks like radioactive pee and mitoses into the “ideal version of herself,” a perky-butted and gleam-smiled Margaret Qualley who calls herself Sue. Each woman gets to remain conscious for exactly a week apiece, spending each alternate week as a nude, comatose lump ingesting bagged nutrients. And as Elisabeth begins to sulk through her allotment of days and Sue wants more time to shine, rules are inevitably bent, with increasingly disastrous results. The subtlety-free finale, which fire-hoses blood at the patriarchy and anyone else in proximity, will either have you pumping your fist at its audacity or rolling your eyes at what a cop out it is. For better or for worse, what Fargeat is “trying to say” and her grisly overindulgence are inseparable. Read the full review here. B-
Twisters
Twister may not be quite the summer classic that anyone who wasn’t old enough to vote in 1996 thinks it is, but it knew what it was and what it was supposed to do. This not-really-a-sequel (unless every movie about a shark is a Jaws sequel) is a bigger mess than a small Oklahoma town after an EF5. It can't really be about climate change because blockbusters have to be carefully nonpartisan, but it can’t not be about climate change because why else (as everyone in this movie is constantly saying) are there more tornadoes than ever. The goofiest part is that the chasers keep abandoning storms to instead rush into threatened towns to "help," i.e. telling everyone to get away from windows and get into the basement, which, sorry, but if you live in tornado alley and don't already know that you deserve to get swooped up into the sky. As Normal People and Hit Man showed, both Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell are better actors than they are movie stars. He needs to find another auteur to cast him against type instead of passing off his permasquint and smackably handsome grin as charisma; she needs to star in a Jane Austen adaptation or a Paddington sequel or something because I don’t believe she could find Oklahoma on a map. This will make enough money that neither of those things will ever happen, and I bet director Lee Isaac Chung never makes another Minari either. Meanwhile we’ll probably lose the National Weather Service. C+
The Wild Robot
What happens when an all-purpose droid designed to perform just about every utilitarian task crash lands on a human-free island? Short answer: She learns intuition and love from the wild animals around her. Longer answer: After she accidentally smooshes a family of geese, ROZZUM Unit 7134 (aka Roz) makes it her task to raise the sole survivor, a runt. Lotsa nice messages about motherhood and such here and the animation has a brisk sense of physical comedy. Lupita Nyong'o is fun as Roz, and so’s the rest of the all-star voice cast—Pedro Pascal as a wily fox (is there any other kind?), Catherine O’Hara as a hedgehog mom who keeps losing count of her progeny. But I was so impressed with how casually Lilo & Stitch creator Chris Sanders captured the everyday, no-big-deal, unsentimental brutality of the animal world in the first part of the film that I was a little bummed when the critters all learned to get along in order to survive. Sorry, I’m just an “overwhelming indifference of nature” guy, what can I say? B
