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A nine year labour of animated documentary love, "Endless Cookie" is the wonderful, cerebral, meandering film perfect for the times.

A long distance bridge of a film between Pete and Seth Scrivens tying together a unique family relationship between a white man from metropolitan Toronto and an indigenous half brother residing in the remote Shamattawa First Nations community of Northern Manitoba.

Shot in colourful, bubbly Spongebob manner, "Endless Cookie" looks delicious on the screen. The fun animation proves the perfect medium to present what is in essence a nine year conversation between the brothers. Stories are told. Stories are interrupted. Stories are picked up, only to be interrupted again. Some are funny, some are sad, some are amazing, but all ring true. As true as the laconic, relaxed conversation that can only come from loving brothers sharing lives despite a wide geographic, and societal separation. And of course, there is a cookie.

A beauty.

Wild-eyed Frankie is distracted. Distracted to death.

Ariella Mastroianni inhabits the doll-like protagonist, a single mother with escalating problems she tries valiantly to chase down. Darn near impossible since she cannot experience the passage of time without constant prompts. Dyschronomentia proves a hurdle for everyday tasks, but something else when it comes to messing with memory.

Makes holding down a job impossible, and executing daily tasks quite the adventure. All confusion and anxiety, Frankie's life is spiralling out of control. She has lost custody of her daughter, the life of her husband, and much of her sanity. When a stranger appears with possible solutions, Frankie dives into an ill-advised adventure to recapture what is left of her former life.

"Gazer" is a moody, stylish noir thriller where very little is what it seems, and utilizing the point of view of a scattered lead keeps things nicely jumbled. Who knows what exactly is going on when Frankie is the plot guide? Still, it is easy to root for the plucky heroine as she valiantly tries to right all the wrongs.

Some bizarre David Cronenberg style dream episodes add a touch of surrealistic horror to the stew, and offer clues as to what transpired in Frankie's very murky past, but the film works best when working in a classic whodunnit mode. A little lengthy, but worth the ride.

Makes for pretty good cinema.

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Michael Cera spotting. Who unsurprisingly, plays the classic Michael Cera character: sweet, fidgety, awkward, manchild, armed with a deceptive sense of humour. He's one half of this road trip, buddy-buddy flick. Michael number two, Angarano, is the smooth talking, too clever for his own good chum. Young adults with looming responsibilities on a journey to who knows where.

One is escaping, the other is returning, but neither is sure to or from what.

Angarano triple duties with writing and directing credits, is perfect as the affable but dangerous friend from the past. The one that existed as an awesome school foil, but seems oddly out of step in the adult world. Despite their history, the friendship is clumsy, as crucial time has passed. Events too.

Dealing with a pregnancy and a shaky job situation, Cera is in full nervous mother hen mode, but surprisingly agrees to a road adventure with his unscrupulous chum. It is a chance to sort. The duo provides great passive aggressive sparring and physical wrestling as only true friends can. And we have movie.

"Sacramento" turns out to be a classic talkie that explores emotional conflict and relationship struggles seldom tackled for generation Y. Feelings are hurt, lessons are learned, and there is a tidy ending. It comes with just enough funny tickles to bring it all home.

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