Ever wonder where luck comes from? That’s the tagline of LUCK (Peggy Holmes), a computer animated film, and the latest Apple TV+ original with Skydance animation. LUCK was released to the streaming platform on August 5th, and for a “lucky” few, select theatres around the US. LUCK is a world where coincidental fortune, both the […]
Author: Ian Donnelly
PREY Review – Predator Redux
PREY (Dan Trachtenberg) is the newest addition to the PREDATOR franchise. PREY is a prequel set around 300 years prior to the first entry, PREDATOR (John McTiernan), notably featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger in a role now played by Amber Midthunder. The films are also set in the same fictional universe as the ALIEN (Ridley Scott, James […]
HotDocs Review: DARK BLOSSOM
Now streaming at HotDocs 2021, DARK BLOSSOM, directed by Frigge Fri, follows the trio of Josephine, Mareridt, and Jay. This documentary focuses primarily on self-discovery and friendship, but also explores the changes that one can’t control, as well as community and acceptance. The three friends are into the goth lifestyle. They’re all in their early […]
SHIVA BABY Review – The Uncomfort of Mourning
SHIVA BABY (Emma Seligman) has its viewers attending a Jewish Shiva, a mourning period for immediate family, and this film excels at making everyone feel like immediate family. Primarily following the experiences of Danielle (Rachel Sennett), she is first seen having a sexual encounter, later revealed to be a paid arrangement. She claims to make […]
SOME KIND OF HEAVEN Review – Retirement in Florida
Directed by Lance Oppenheim, SOME KIND OF HEAVEN begins with the sounds of a pipe organ, alluding to funerals or church services, as the title subtly suggests. The story takes place in America’s largest retirement community: The Villages in Florida. Introduced in an overview alike a promo for a tourist attraction, The Villages is a sort […]
VANGUARD review – All The Jackie Chan!
VANGUARD is a recent Chinese action film, and the latest outing for the legendary Jackie Chan and his director Stanley Tong, one of Chan’s regular collaborators. The movie is named after the private army of its story. Vanguard employs military trained soldiers, and other uniquely talented individuals, to protect their clients. In this story, Vanguard […]
SOUND OF METAL review – Oscar Nominated Awesome
SOUND OF METAL (Darius Marder) is an affecting journey from club stages to stillness in a quiet world. The film primarily follows Ruben Stone (Riz Ahmed), a drummer for a heavy metal act called Blackgammon. Ruben and his partner Lou (Olivia Cooke) live in an Airstream motorhome that serves as a residence and travelling studio. […]
PIXIE Review – An Engrossing & Enjoyable Story from Ireland
PIXIE (Barnaby Thompson) takes place in Northern Ireland, and as implied by its title, the story revolves around a young woman named Pixie Hardy (Olivia Cooke). Her mother was killed, but nobody really trusts her story, or her. She’s portrayed very much as a free spirit, and someone that never stops standing up for themselves. […]
MINARI review – A Slice of Life Presentation
It isn’t often that a movie can be described as endearing, yet that was the feeling that permeated MINARI (Lee Isaac Chung). The film has a ‘slice of life’ presentation, as it follows a tumultuous period for a Korean family. Moving from California, we join the family in their car, as they follow a moving […]
A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX review – Free Your Mind
Ask yourself “Did you want to visit this website?” If you believe that our world might not exist, then your visit might be the result of forces beyond your understanding. A GLITCH IN THE MATRIX (Rodney Ascher) explores the belief of simulation theory. This idea is not new, and has been a mainstay of recent […]
Black History Month review – JUST MERCY
The story of JUST MERCY, directed and co-written by Destin Daniel Cretton (SHORT TERM 12), begins in a forest. A logger looks up at a patch of sky, obscured moments ago by the tree he just fell. This becomes a significant memory. The way the branches are described as dancers in the wind. It’s the […]
Victoria Film Festival Review – QUEEN OF THE ANDES
In QUEEN OF THE ANDES we follow Pillar Grant. We first meet in awkwardly setup interview, of which both participants seem a little in over their heads. She turns the interview into a tribute to her own studies. She is overjoyed to continue the related projects, but quickly finds those plans made irrelevant. We learn […]
Victoria Film Festival Review – BIG NORTH (Il Grande Nord)
BIG NORTH (Il Grande Nord) is an Italian film, and the spoken language is in Italian. Non-Italian speakers will make use of the available subtitles. I’m not a student of language, but Italian doesn’t seem to have a lot of cognates that are similar to their English counterparts. The narration is done by a native […]
Review – Wolfwalkers – Taking Animation To The Next Level
WOLFWALKERS came as a very nice surprise, and a movie that I not only watched a second time, but would highly recommend. I was left so interested in the film, I learned that it’s the final entry of a trilogy grown from Celtic folklore (the previous two being the highly acclaimed SONG OF THE SEA […]