Lots of horror films (recently, in fact) have had a large focus on capitalizing fear through a device of sorts. And then here comes a film by Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen. While it’s not what you’d call horror necessarily, the keen intent of capturing fear through the eyes of a child is also prominently featured here, […]
TIFF 2017: ‘What Will People Say’ Review
As the title suggests, What Will People Say is about expectations, image and reputation. Even more than that though, Iram Haq’s second film is an honest but brutal portrayal of the second-generation immigrant struggle to both fit in and devote oneself to family. Nisha (Maria Mozhdah) lives a double life – at home, she follows the […]
‘IT’ Review: Scary, Funny, and Emotional
So far 2017 is considered one of Hollywood’s worst box office years in recent memory with many big budget action and comedy movies completely flopping while costing their studios millions of dollars. Against all odds and expectations, 2017 is proving to be the year where horror movies are reclaiming the box office glory of the […]
TIFF 2017: ‘Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle’ (‘Muchos Hijos, un Mono y un Castillo’) Review
Playing out more like a series of home movies than a documentary, Lots of Kids, a Monkey, and a Castle follows director Gustavo Salmerón’s family and his eccentric mother, Julita. As a newlywed, she wished for three things: the eponymous lots of kids, a monkey and a castle. They were ambitious dreams for sure, but […]
TIFF 2017: ‘The Judge’ Review
The Judge (not the Robert Downey Jr. one) is a very apt title for this documentary. I think we all unintentionally associate the profession with men, so Erika Cohn’s film about the first female judge in the Middle Easts’ Shari’a courts is a welcome surprise. Kholoud Al-Faqih is an extraordinary woman – prior to becoming a […]
TIFF 2017: ‘Porcupine Lake’ Review
Love never feels quite real from afar, but once you’re face to face with it, it’s like nothing else matters. Ingrid Veninger’s Porcupine Lake brings us an honest tale of discovery of a young girl named Bea, who meets Kate during a family trip. While Bea and Kate form a connection and explore a loss […]
TIFF 2017: ‘High Fantasy’ Review
The hedonistic era of filmmaking has had a much needed boost over the past few years, ones that gave off vibes of undoubtable realism. Jenna Bass’s High Fantasy is a movie that manages to keep that realization at hand with a twist to it. Here, a group of South African teens recoil a camping trip […]
‘The Space Between’ Review: The Book Would have Been Better
The Space Between, written, directed, and produced by Amy Jo Johnson (who you may recognize as the Pink Power Ranger, Kimberly Hart from the 1990s series), would have been a good book. On a bright sunny morning, a new father, Mitch, finds out his miracle baby is not actually his. This sudden and unwelcome discovery […]
‘Pilgrimage’ Review: Solid Talent Both In Front of and Behind the Camera
Pilgrimage is a good movie that could have been great if there was bigger budget. But at the same time, there is no big audience out there for a film like this so it’s difficult to blame the investors for keeping things small and place their bets instead on the talents of the crew in […]
‘The Queen of Spain’ Review: A Forgettable Hollywood Caper
These days, it seems like every studio is scrambling to make sequels out of modern classics: the biggest culprit being the long line of Star Wars sequels and spin-offs that are rolling out for the foreseeable future. Elsewhere, we have Blade Runner 2049 and even Dazed and Confused’s “spiritual sequel” Everybody Wants Some!. A sequel you […]
‘Bushwick’ Review: Ambitious, but Fails to Deliver
In indie action film Bushwick, a stark departure from director duo Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion’s previous feature Cooties, Brittany Snow stars as Lucy, a 20-year-old student who has come back to her home in Brooklyn to visit her grandmother. Unbeknownst to her, the neighbourhood has fallen into chaos after an invasion from a Texan […]
‘Le Ride’ Review: A typical doc with Intriguing Insight
A flood of documentaries come out each year, all in which attempt to accomplish either a mission or give insight to real life. Le Ride takes the insight route, breaking down the 1928 Tour De France cycling event. A challenge amongst nearly all athletes, a 3,500+ mile course in which only 41 competitors were able […]
‘Logan Lucky’ Review: Four-leaf Clover Approved
When planning to rob the Carolina Speedway, it always helps to make bacon, stay organized and build a model using cardboard and toilet paper rolls. These three things alone will guarantee success in convincing your little brother to join you. After being laid off from his construction job because of his limp, Jimmy Logan (Channing […]
‘Annabelle: Creation’ Review: The Horror Genre is Alive and Well
Not every genre movie is original or unique and there is nothing wrong with one just done right. There are many horror releases every year, but most of them are not very effective or memorable. The expectations after the release of the very original and successful Get Out earlier this year were low, but Annabelle: […]
‘Icarus’ Review: A Fascinating Look at Sport’s Biggest Doping Scandal
George Orwell, and in particular, his novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four” is a recurrent motif in Bryan Fogel’s fascinating documentary Icarus. The film opens with a quote from Orwell: “During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act.” Regarding the massive doping scandal which swept the Rio Olympics, telling the truth does become a […]