COYOTE VS. ACME - MIFF 2026

 

As per the MIFF guide: “For decades, pure-hearted predator Wile E. Coyote has suffered the slings and anvils of outrageous fortune: every gimmicky mail-order product he bought from the ACME Corporation has failed grievously instead of helping him catch the infuriatingly swift Road Runner. He’s been battered by boulders, dudded by detonators, rattled by rocket-skates, tricked by tunnels and walked into thin air off every cliff in the American Southwest. Now he’s suing the profit-obsessed ‘everything store’. But can his small-time lawyer Kevin Avery and Kevin’s plucky niece Paige win against Buddy Crane, ACME’s slick corporate counsel – and Kevin’s old boss?”

If possible, on the final day of MIFF I like to try and book films that are a little lighter and more fun than the usual tough, depressing dramas that are more the norm, as a way to sort of wind down from the festival and to just enjoy myself. This year I got the chance to book a ticket for Dave Green's animation / live action hybrid “Coyote vs. ACME”; a film that very nearly never saw the light of day. Back in 2023, the CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery David Zaslav decided to shelve the finished film and use it as a tax write-off instead. Fans were irate and started a campaign to have the film released. Initially, it didn't look like they were going to be successful but out of nowhere Ketchup Entertainment saved the day and acquired the film and the rest is history; the world will now be able to see “Coyote vs. ACME” for themselves and see if it was a deserved tax write-off or a new comedy classic.

Growing up in the early eighties, the classic Looney Tunes cartoons played on our television sets every weekday, late afternoon, as we were getting home from school, so I have always had a love for Bugs, Daffy, Tweety and the rest of the gang. As I have reached adulthood, I haven't followed these characters later adventures, but I will admit that I was shocked at the dumping of this film for tax purposes which I thought was disgraceful. If it ever was to come out, I had planned to see it, just as a giant “F--- YOU!” to Warner Bros., and I hoped that it would turn out to be a very successful film in the process. However when the initial trailer came out, my opinion of it was more than a little luke warm, and I thought that maybe Zaslav knew he had a dud on his hands and did end up doing the right thing by pretending it never existed. Anyway, it showed up at MIFF and I decided that I would see it, but I wasn't getting my hopes up about it. Turns out “Coyote vs. ACME” was a bloody entertaining film, packed full of laughs and surprisingly filled with a lot of heart too. I had so much fun with this film, and so did the entire audience, I am happy to say.

What makes “Coyote vs. ACME” so successful, is director Dave Green's obvious love for these classic cartoon characters. He does not change them in any way by trying to update them for today, or anything like that, these are the characters you know and love from the old Looney Tunes days. Making a film where the main character, Wile E. Coyote, does not speak, you would assume that there might have been some thought to change that and get the old boy talking here, but no, just like way back then, the only way Coyote and Road Runner ever speak (outside of “Beep Beep”) is via (a limited number of) signs. Green also keeps the pace up and the gags coming, and the majority of them are very funny and of a slapstick nature (keep an eye in the background for a multitude of sight gags). Even when the humans get mixed up in the animated gags, it is done with so much fun and silliness that it works perfectly with the tone of the film. Green just knows what type of film he is making and delivers time after time, which is essentially a live-action Looney Tunes film, filled with animated characters.

Speaking of animated characters, all of your favourites make an appearance here from Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Foghorn Leghorn, Tasmanian Devil, Tweety Bird, Sylvester, Road Runner, and there is a very, very funny joke involving the now cancelled character of Pepé Le Pew, which had my cinema roaring with laughter. But this is legitimately Wile E. Coyote's movie; he is so funny in this, and it reminds you just how great all his classic cartoons were, with his failed ACME products, some which get replayed briefly in this film. One thing that I was very happy about was Dave Green's choice to stick with 2D hand drawn animation for the Looney Tunes characters, instead of trying to jazz them up with 3D computer animation, which he does do for some of the ACME products that Coyote uses, but never the characters themselves.

In regards to the human performances, everyone understands that they are essentially making a live-action cartoon and thus adjust their performances accordingly, with John Cena (who plays ACME lawyer Buddy Crane) coming out best with his over-the-top bad guy shtick. Will Forte is great as a no-hoper lawyer, Kevin Avery, who cannot be bothered doing the legwork to become a good lawyer, only to be inspired by the never-give-up attitude of a certain Coyote that sees him change his ways for the better, and while it may be strange to say, Forte also has amazing chemistry with Wile E. Coyote, with the scenes those two are in together being the highlights of the film. And this is also where the heart of “Coyote vs. ACME” comes in too, as the two end up building a real friendship between them that they even start caring for one another. There is a really sad scene, when Kevin is fed up with all of the Coyote's nonsense and constant plans to try to catch the Road Runner, when he turns around and screams “YOU WILL NEVER CATCH HIM!!”. The look of utter despair on Coyote's face when he hears this leaves a lump in your throat; his ears go down, his eyes droop, he is so upset, it's devastating.

Did I dislike anything about “Coyote vs. ACME” ? Well I wasn't a fan of the arrogance of Foghorn Leghorn, and the explanation of why ACME products keep (deliberately) failing was a little stupid, but hey, when a film is this fun and full of life and laughs, why worry about the little negatives. If I was being critical, I do not think it quite gets to the level of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” (1988), which is still the high bar set for animated / live-action hybrid films, but it comes closer than anything else before it.

One thing I want to mention before I sign off was that at our screening of “Coyote vs. ACME” we were lucky enough to have Eric Bauza introduce the film and do a Q&A after the screening. Bauza was the voice actor for most of the Looney Tunes characters within the film and he was just outstanding with his time and his answers. He was so full of energy answering questions while changing character voices mid-sentence; he was incredible. He was also genuinely thankful for everyone turning out to watch the film and fight to see it released. I normally do not hang around for Q&A's because I have to get to the next film, but since my next film was in the very same cinema, I stayed and was very glad I did because I was so impressed by Bauza who seems like a really genuine person; he also stayed in the MIFF Festival Hub after the screening to sign anything people might have had or just to shake their hands. Well Done.

Overall, I thought “Coyote vs. ACME” was a loving tribute to all things Looney Tunes (notice how all of the human characters are named after the key Looney Tunes creators), was incredibly funny, surprisingly full of heart, and that it definitely lived up to the hype. It would have been a travesty if this film had never seen the light of day, because it is so much more than just a tax write-off. Every one involved in this film knows exactly the type of film they are making, and it is great to just go to the movies and having a grand time, laughing your arse off at the absurdity of these fantastic classic characters as they interact in the real world and humans as well. Take your kids, take your family; I guarantee that you will have a fantastic time with “Coyote vs. ACME” (which I also saw at ACMI cinemas); it was worth the wait.

3.5 Stars.

 

JOSEPHINE - MIFF 2026

As per the MIFF guide: “Eight-year-old Josephine is out running with her father in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park when she witnesses a brutal sexual assault. Her parents, Damien and Claire, are unsure of how to help their daughter process this experience, working through their own feelings of futility, helplessness and horror. As a court case prosecuting the attacker draws closer, Josephine is haunted not only by the memory of what she saw but also by the presence of the perpetrator, who lingers in her mind – and, she imagines, in her bedroom – like a ghost.”

Were it not for Marie Kreutzer's “Gentle Monster”, Beth de Araújo's “Josephine” would have been the most devastating film I saw at MIFF this year, as it is about the loss of innocence for an eight year old girl who is an unwitting witness to a vicious rape while out for an early morning jog with her father. It is such a heavy film dealing with both the after effects on Josephine after witnessing such a crime, as well as the balancing act of her parents who try to navigate around explaining what she saw so she may understand it and come to terms with it, while trying to protect her from it at the same time. I am not sure I have seen a film like this before examining the trauma of a child while also exploring how difficult it is to help her make sense of something she does not understand. One thing de Araújo does well in her film is highlight just how many people can be affected by such a violent crime, as it is not just the rape victim who suffers.

Director Beth de Araújo starts her film right out of the gate with the rape scene taking place within the first ten minutes of “Josephine”. Before it, we get a number of small scenes which show the great rapport father and daughter have together, their love of sports, and the fact that Josephine is a normal eight-year-old girl. Jo and her father, Damien, become separated at the park due to the competitive nature between the two with Jo attempting to prove she is faster than her Dad at running. When she reaches a fork on the path, she bolts down the left side, while Damien mistakenly assumes she went to the right, separating them for a couple of minutes. While alone, Jo witnesses the sexual assault taking place right in front of her, but doesn't understand what is actually going on, except that the woman doesn't like it. Horrified, she watches as the man chokes the woman before making a noise that stops the crime in progress and turns the man's attention to Jo herself, just as her father returns to chase the rapist away. This furthers the trauma for poor Jo who is now left alone with the victim as she attempts to put her clothes back on, while in tears herself. De Araújo does not sugarcoat any of this, as the rape is very graphic and shocking to behold. Thankfully it is all shown from Jo's point of view so there is some distance to it and Mason Reeves, the little girl who plays Josephine, is never in the same shot as any of the violent or sexual material that is taking place. This is interesting too, because de Araújo would have had the same dilemma as Damien and Claire, the characters in her film, in working out just how much she needed to share with her young star about these scenes without traumatising her in the process.

After the assault, Jo has trouble processing everything she has just seen and starts to suffer from behavioural issues that leads her to lashing out and doing some horrible things to both her classmates at school and her parents at home. While overhearing her parents talking about the incident, she hears a word she doesn't understand and then googles it for a definition. The word? Rape. Something no eight-year-old girl or boy should ever need to know about, and this discovery of a new word leads to some painful questions and awkward encounters. In sports class she is running against the boys, beating them all and Jo turns around and says “None of you can rape me!” which shocks the teacher into calling Jo's parents to school, while a moment in the car ride home has Jo asking her mother if she had ever been raped, which is just heartbreaking to hear from your child.

The dilemma for Damien and Claire is just how much do they explain to Jo, and by withholding information from her, under the guise of her own protection, does it do more harm than good? One thing is for certain, it clearly shows just how hard this situation is for parents and that parents do not always have the right answer for everything. The way Damien and Claire deal with the situation differs greatly too, as Damien is all about the physical, the here and now. Let's take action, so we can control the situation, so he makes sure Jo enrols in self defence classes so she can protect herself if ever the moment did arise where she may be in danger. He is also trying to be positive about the future, but is this giving Jo a false sense of security? Claire on the other hand is much more worried about the mental side of things, and how this will affect Jo in the future from a mental health perspective, because it is impossible to be able to tell how much this incident has affected her. It is never mentioned outright in the film, but it is hinted at that Claire herself may have gone through something similar when she was a child and is still suffering the effects from, and that she doesn't want Jo to go through what she went through by making sure she talks about what happened, and then seek professional help to deal with the trauma that comes with it. Both parents want what is best for Jo at all times, there is never a question about that, but often they do or say (especially poor Damien) the wrong things at the wrong time which clouds Jo's understanding of the world.

During the film, Damien and Claire find a moment together to engage in some relaxing sex which Jo walks in on and is horrified that her father is hurting her mother, screaming “get off her, daddy! Don't hurt Mummy!!”. It is such a sad scene because how is this young girl meant to know the difference between sex and rape when to her eyes they look so similar. This in turn means the parents have to engage Jo in another awkward conversation, and it is easy to see how this poor child loses her innocence at such an early age. There are other heartbreaking moments in the film like when Jo essentially shuns her father because he is a man and she doesn't trust men anymore, and there is a shocking moment involving a very pregnant Claire that I do not want to reveal but will make your mouth drop.

Channing Tatum is excellent as Damien, in what is his most mature and serious role to date. He comes across as a great father who loves spending time with his daughter, but constantly frustrated at not knowing the right things to do or say to her to make her life easier. Tatum always appears to be moving, like action while solve everything, whereas Gemma Chan is quiet and calm as Claire, but just as concerned. Like I said above, the fact that it appears that she may have gone through a sexual assault herself when she was young or witnessed one, there is different nuances in her performance as it looks like she is recounting what happened in her childhood, and then trying to do the opposite so Jo wouldn't have so many regrets later in life. Mason Reeves, as Josephine, just steals this movie though and your heart cannot help but go out to her, as she is so confused about everything going on in her life, as a world she had no knowledge of is suddenly exposed to her. She has big, expressive eyes that give away what she is feeling from confusion, terror, anger, and even fun. She is fantastic in this and is definitely the beating heart of “Josephine”.

There was not much I didn't like about “Josephine”, as I think director Beth de Araújo has handled the difficult material very maturely and head on, which was the best way possible, but there was one directorial decision I was not a huge fan of. After the assault, poor Jo is traumatised by the attacker and can not get him out of her mind. De Araújo has decided to handle this by having the actor who plays the rapist constantly showing up in Jo's room, laying next to the bed, opening the door for her, reflected in her mirror etc. Personally, I think the visualisation of Jo's trauma was a little too on the nose, and just her dialogue of her saying “I see him everywhere!!” would have sufficed and got the same point across. Every time I saw him, I just rolled my eyes because it seemed so obvious and it wasn't needed. The film is powerful enough without this visualisation of trauma. The only other minor issue I had is that in the final third of the film, “Josephine” becomes a courtroom drama and it does drag a tiny bit, although I admit there are some great moments within it like the devastation of her parents as they watch her being cross examined, and the mic drop moment Jo herself has directed at the defence council when they are attacking her for not helping the woman being raped. This is also another thing that poor Jo has to come to terms with which is firstly, how was the man allowed out on bail after doing what she saw him do and how he still might not go to jail despite her evidence. These are grown up issues forced onto this poor little girl, which through her eyes would make little sense at all. Seriously, explain how bail makes sense to a young girl who saw this man do what he did.

Overall, I found “Josephine” to be another harrowing and heartbreaking film, but one that has been so very well made and acted, fully respecting the difficult subject matter on display. It has the most beautiful and heart wrenching final scene, situated on a beach, that if you are not choking back tears by it's end, then you are a cold-hearted bastard. Yes, I will admit that “Josephine” is not an easy watch at times, especially if you are a parent, but it is an important film that I highly recommend to those of you who like tough cinema.

4 Stars.

 

THE FRIEND'S HOUSE IS HERE - MIFF 2026

As per the MIFF guide: “Hanna is a contemporary dancer who posts videos of her work online, while playwright Pari stages experimental theatre productions. In Iran, both of these acts are illegal. Thick-as-thieves besties and housemates who participate in Tehran’s underground art communities, they live their lives – as artists, feminists and unwed women – in defiance of an authoritarian government that is openly hostile to everything they do. Armed with their friendship, their ideologies and a serious streak of rebellion, Hanna and Pari try to make art and make it through another day.”

Sadly, but totally understandable with the current war taking place, I only saw two new Iranian films at MIFF this year, Mahnaz Mohammadi's “Roya”, and “The Friend's House Is Here”, a delightful little film from directors Hossein Keshavarz and Maryam Ataei. Most films coming out of Iran deal with the crushing reality of living life under the current regime, and the dangers that exist on a day to day basis. “The Friend's House Is Here” deals with this exact same material, although here it plays more in the background, with the key focus on the film being about friendship and solidarity, and making the most out of your life even during these difficult times. As such it is a much lighter affair than is the norm coming out of Iranian cinema, but it is what also makes it stand out in the crowd. First and foremost, it is a celebration of life and particularly friendships, something the directors really wanted to highlight, as they feel this is what the world needs right now.

“The Friend's House Is Here” is a film with incredible energy which is due to not only the type of film that it is, but the way it was shot. Directors Keshavarz and Ataei shot the film in secret, guerilla style so they were grabbing shots and scenes quickly when on the busy streets of Iran, but like I said this gives the film so much energy and an immediacy to it all. The film also feels up to the moment too, as there are references to the current war and recent seize fire, and the regime's full shut down of the internet and communications during the recent massacre of protesters in an effort to not let the truth become known worldwide. Again, these points are not laboured on as that is not the aim of this movie, but characters mention how much they missed each other when they couldn't get in contact with them for such a long period, and how they worried about one another. It is about the friendships of the group, not the bigger picture of Iran today.

When “The Friend's House Is Here” begins, we are actually witness to one of Pari's underground plays depicting a scene of a panicked Pari as she searches for her best friend Hanna, worried she has been taken by authorities over her dance videos she posts on the internet. The set of the play is like a pared back version of Lars Von Trier's “Dogville” (2003); there are no walls or doors defining each set, with sound effects used to show knocks on doors or doors opening. Initially I was worried that the whole film was going to be like this, especially as I knew it had been shot in secret, and thought this was how the directors got around it, and I wasn't that thrilled to sit through a film so much like a play. However soon the carpet is pulled out from under the viewers feet to reveal that, yes, this is just an underground play directed by and starring Pari. From here, we go to the after party where friends unwind and talk about the performance, and the film starts in earnest, as we meet all the various characters important in the film. It becomes a lot more cinematic too, beautifully shot by cinematographer Ali Ehsani who is able to capture little moments of fun and warmth between friends. The film has a real casual visual sense, but very professional looking, which belies its shot in secrecy status. Also early on in “The Friend's House Is Here” we are treated less to full scenes, but more snippets of the two girls, Hanna and Pari, as they enjoy their daily lives, either together, by themselves or with other friends. The editing by Hossein Keshavarz is exemplary here, as it gives a kaleidoscopic vision of all the fun the girls find in their lives, while also giving the film the energy I keep talking about.

The film changes around the halfway mark as Pari falls foul of the regime who arrest her for performing underground theatre without any permits. This is actually a chilling scene by the way it progresses. The government agent first comes across like he is a fan of Pari's performance before he starts asking if she thought about asking for a permit so her plays could reach bigger audiences and didn't have to be shown underground. She replies in the negative stating that she was not willing to censor her project so more people could see it. The agent keeps the conversation going down that path, talking about all the other plays she had done, what would need to have been censored in them, and where she performed them. Pari suddenly realises that she is in big trouble, and the man is not who she originally thought, and worse they clearly have a whole file on her already. This scene is shot via one single take, and one shot that starts very wide but slowly zooms in closer and closer to Pari and the man, as the enormity of her situation is realised. In other Iranian films, the focus of the film would switch to Pari's time incarcerated and the hell she would be going through while being interrogated, but “The Friend's House Is Here” does the opposite focusing on Hanna and her attempts to find the money to bail Pari out. I should mention that Hanna has just got a visa and plane tickets to leave the country, but is willing to give all this up for her friends safety despite knowing the unlikeliness of her getting another exit visa to leave the country for good. Friendship and solidarity. Once Pari is out, the rest of the film is about the community coming together to get the money to pay back Hanna so she can still leave like she had originally planned. It may put a financial burden on all of them, but everyone is willing to help as much as they can.

Directors Hossein Keshavarz and Maryam Ataei really wanted to show the Iran of today, which has changed dramatically thanks to the women's movement in the past couple of years, highlighting a much more colourful and fun looking Tehran than is usually seen in Iranian cinema. It is also quite a shock to see a film with almost no hijabs in it, characters dancing enthusiastically to pop music, and women wearing clothes that show off the shape of their bodies. When it comes to Hanna, not only is her hair out, but you should see the volume of it too! Some of the most fun scenes in the film are Hanna choreographing her dances that she plans to film for the internet, because again they are full of so much energy, and it is just not something you usually see in an Iranian film. My favourite moment in “The Friend's House Is Here” though is a tiny moment of conversation between Hanna and Pari where, after getting so much advice about leaving from friends and family, Pari finally asks Hanna “what would you do if I asked you to stay?”. Hanna replies “I would stay”, which Pari replies to with silence. She does not ask Hanna to stay because she knows life would be better for her away from Iran; it is such a beautiful and real moment but one that happens so quickly and naturally.

All of the female and male actors involved in “The Friend's House Is Here” are wonderful and have a real friend dynamic to them, and this is because most of them are friends in real life and most of them are non-professional actors coming together to help the directors make their film. Hana Mana and Mahshad Bahram, who play Hanna and Pari respectively, are both fantastic and have a lightness in their performance, and come across as two people that really enjoy each other's company and life as a whole. During the second half when life gets more serious for the pair, the camaraderie between the girls stays as strong even as the stakes get higher; they always want what's best for their friend. While I have highlighted the two girl's performances, everyone is really great though, even those who have the smallest role, as there is a sense of community between them all.

Before I wrap this up, I want to mention a little anecdote that took place at my final MIFF screening of 2026 which was for, ironically, the opening night film “Wicker”. The directors, Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, introduced their film, while explaining that they too had seen ten or so films at MIFF while showing off their own film and that they had fell in love with a beautiful film, which was none other than “The Friend's House Is Here”. They then pointed out that the directors of the film, Hossein Keshavarz and Maryam Ataei, were in the audience that night, and the crowd erupted in cheers. It was such a sweet moment of filmmakers supporting other filmmakers.

Overall, “The Friend's House Is Here” is a delightful film, and considerably different than the norm coming out of Iran. Rather than focusing on the more heavy topics of what life is like living under the current regime, directors Hossein Keshavarz and Maryam Ataei keep this element in the background of their film, while highlighting the friendship and solidarity of a group of friends determined to make the most of their lives, despite their difficult living situation. I also have to say that I absolutely love the clever title as it cheekily answers the question of Abbas Kiarostami's “Where Is The Friend's House?” (1987). While “The Friend's House Is Here” may not be as devastatingly powerful as some other Iranian films, it is well worth searching out.

3.5 Stars.