“This film was very special and distinct from my other work. I had worked a lot with kids in my previous films, but these films were not necessarily for children. Although, the previous films had great lives in festivals (the short JUST ME AND YOU won the crystal bear at the Berlinale – awarded by […]
movies
CFF 2023 Interview – POLARIZED director/writer Shamim Sarif
“My wife and producer Hanan and I both come from families who’ve experienced being immigrants. My family escaped apartheid, and of course Palestinians have often had to escape conflict. Right now we’re seeing a new hard line rhetoric about immigration all over the world. Therefore I wanted to explore what it might take for two […]
BULLET TRAIN Mini Review – This Train Won’t Stop
Bullet Train is the type of movie I like, a film that takes place on a single night. I love that feeling that you can feel the character’s desperation of getting out of their situation before dawn breaks. A good film with a plethora of characters with different stories that all have led them to […]
MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON Review – Big Things Come In VERY Small Packages
The pandemic revealed that many of us have a strong need for companionship and close relationships and that we suffer when those things are removed. The feature film MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON is ostensibly about a mollusk named Marcel, but it’s mostly about the importance of family and community. MARCEL started life as a YouTube […]
TOP GUN MAVERICK Review – Pushing The Eighties Memories To Eleven
In the spring of 1987, I distinctly remember going into a small four-screen theatre in Orange, California excited to see a double feature. Though uncommon these days, double features were popular with some studios late into their theatrical runs, and Paramount had a deal to see CROCODILE DUNDEE and TOP GUN back-to-back. My family was […]
#Canada150: Our Favourite Canadian Actors
Canada’s Day festivities are sadly over but that doesn’t mean that the party has to stop. In our last feature we looked at some of our team’s favourite Canadian actresses. So it was inevitable that we looked at our favourite Canadian actors. Canadian actors not only make movies great to watch but some of the most […]
‘The Hero’ Review: A Character Study that Resonates
The first thing that comes to mind when thinking about The Hero is that it is this year’s Birdman. This is one of the biggest compliments I could give a film. The story centers around an aging Western icon, Lee Hayden who, thanks to a viral video has a chance at reviving his career in the movies. Along […]
CSFF 2017: ‘Keepers of the Game’ Review
For years lacrosse has been the main sport for the men of the Akwesasne Mohawk Territory. But that changes when the local High School forms an all girls lacrosse team. They must face an uphill battle to be respected by their classmates but also their community. When they reach the Championship, it’s much more than […]
‘The Handmaiden’ is a Unique, Spellbindingly Complex Work of Film Noir
By: Tom Magennis In 2003, Park Chan-Wook’s Oldboy exploded into theaters, shocking western audiences with its complex narrative, eye-wateringly brutal violence, and the kind of twist that snaps your brain in half like a fresh breadstick. Oldboy went down in the history books as a defining work of East-Asian Film, it’s untouchability only solidified by […]
‘Free Fire’ is Insane for All the Right Reasons
By: Alex Perez Spanning in at a quick 90 minute runtime, director Ben Wheatley decided it would be a good idea to film a movie precariously set on a group of characters shooting guns at each other the whole time. He certainly did that with Free Fire, and when it works, it works very well. […]
‘Their Finest’ is a Light, Charming British Drama
By: Ali Habous The British are talented filmmakers and even better actors. Even if they give us a predictable drama with some clichés, they still come through and ably deliver a decent show. That is simply because they have a lot of talent in front and behind the camera. This time the director’s chair is […]
A Close Look at the Trailer of ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’
With Star Wars Celebration heading to Orlando this year to honor its 40 year history it seemed suitable for fans to expect a few surprises. With the follow up to The Force Awakens coming out this year it seemed like an appropriate time to release the first official footage of Star Wars: The Last Jedi. […]
‘The Fate of the Furious’ is Utterly Ridiculous and That’s Okay
By: Daniel Chadwick-Shubat The Fate of the Furious is the eight installment in the Fast & Furious franchise and it’s understandable that some people are starting to be less interested in the series. I was in the group that believed that the way Furious 7 ended was a perfect way to end the series. Paul Walker’s death had a huge […]
Podcast: Top 10 Movies of 2016 Part 1 and 2
On part 1 we look at our top 10 movies of 2016 numbers 10-6. Since we usually disagree on movies Mason and I brought in three guests to judge our choices. Jairo from the True Bromance Film Podcast, Mike from the War Machine vs War Horse Podcast and JD from In Session Film. It’s a beer […]
‘Going in Style’ is Innocuous Fun
By: Alex Perez On the surface of Going in Style, you have a comedy staring three top-notch actors. Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Alan Arkin can be considered legends at this point. On the flip side though, this project really came out of nowhere. Considering I haven’t seen the original (and I doubt that many […]