Weapons Review: Zach Cregger Weaves a Horrifying, Hilarious, Human Story of Trauma and Grief

Zach Cregger Weaves a Horrifying, Hilarious, Human Story of Trauma and Grief

Weapons is not a subtle film. It is not difficult to draw a line from its premise -that one night at 2.17 in the morning, 17 children from the same elementary school class woke up, got out of bed, walked out the front door of their homes, and vanished into the darkness like a squadron of spitfires- to a specific recurring incident in American schools, and how that incident rips apart both families and communities as people look for answers.  However, it also touches on a universal truth in contemporary society: the suburbs are scary.

No matter what version of suburbs we’re talking about, from the the many rows of cookie-cutter homes to the quaint, smaller towns and cities that surround metropolises, there’s an inherent dread that lies inside these communities, especially those facing more challenging economic times.  Most people present themselves as normal and well adjusted, but behind closed doors, we don’t know what might be going on, what traumas might be being inflicted and borne, or what danger they might pose to anyone outside.  

Writer and director Zach Cregger understands this: that a large house on a quiet street is the American dream, but with a few newspapers lying on an unswept porch and windows you cannot see into, it can also become an American nightmare.  

Continue reading “Weapons Review: Zach Cregger Weaves a Horrifying, Hilarious, Human Story of Trauma and Grief”

Film Review: Birthrite

Folk horror with some interesting narrative twists elevated by twin lead performances.

I just love it when a director knows how to shoot a film, you know? Forgive me stating the painfully obvious – after all, I’m reviewing a film, and that’s usually the topic of discussion – but it doesn’t happen as much as you’d think. The intricacies of shot composition, the holy glue of editing, the soul in the audio design, the breath of the movement; all too often, a filmmaker can overlook these important things, prioritizing bombast and spectacle over any human connection (Ballerina, or more precisely Len Wiseman’s parts of it) instead of interesting technique laid over actual character work in amongst the noise of everything else (Thunderbolts*. What a film.)

That means when a filmmaker clearly loves their craft, and deploys it in fascinating ways, it can elevate a genre story you’ve maybe seen before into something special.

Continue reading “Film Review: Birthrite”

Lurker Review: Théodore Pellerin and Archie Madekwe Shine in an Exploration of Obsession

Lurker

Obsession is one of the great literary themes.  One person in a position of power, another aspiring to attain it, a relationship between them evolving from fascination to camaraderie and into something else.  Alex Russell, writer on such series as The Bear, Interior Chinatown, and Beef, takes on this classic setup in his first feature film, Lurker.  

In the film, a young retail worker named Matthew (Théodore Pellerin) worms his way into the entourage of rising pop star Oliver (Archie Madekwe) after impressing him with his taste in music. Oliver, self-assured but desperate for validation, invites Matthew to a show and is soon relying on him for creative feedback and ideas. The story then proceeds as prescribed, but with two outstanding performances to anchor it.  

Continue reading “Lurker Review: Théodore Pellerin and Archie Madekwe Shine in an Exploration of Obsession”

Marvel’s Eyes of Wakanda is Fun, Thoughtful, Gorgeous, and Too Short

EYES OF WAKANDA

Marvel is, according to most, at a bit of a crossroads.  We spent a few years saturated in their stories post-Avengers: Endgame, and that time has left most of us a bit jaded thanks to what felt like a focus on quantity over quality. In 2025, they’ve promised to get back to a focus on telling the right stories the right way, and they’ve mostly succeeded.  Daredevil: Born Again is good, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is great, and two of the three movies they’ve released so far have been met with critical acclaim, if not the kind of runaway box office success they previously enjoyed.

In short, it feels like Marvel has turned a bit of a corner toward being good again.  Their next project, the animated series Eyes of Wakanda, bears this out. In fact, it’s so good, the only real question to ask about it is “why didn’t they make more?” 

Continue reading “Marvel’s Eyes of Wakanda is Fun, Thoughtful, Gorgeous, and Too Short”

‘The Naked Gun’ Recaptures the Magic of Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker

The Naked Gun

Spoof comedy is incredibly hard to get right in large part because one must be incredibly smart to write it.  It sounds counterintuitive, but some of the dumbest jokes you can think of require razor-sharp instincts and wit, and those things don’t grow on trees.  It’s not just that fart jokes require excellent timing; Wordplay needs to be clever but feel organic. Sight gags take a ton of planning, and need someone who is willing to deliver all of that and look ridiculous doing it.  

Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker were the undisputed masters of this form.  In the 1980s, they made three spoof masterpieces: Airplane!, Top Secret! And The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! They combined the lowest common denominator with stunning wordplay, clever sight gags, and a love of exclaimation points.  They had recurring jokes that could make you laugh each time, even when repeated nearly verbatim, and this balance is so well maintained that these movies remain incredibly funny (if a little dated) to this day.  They also cast dramatic actors to deliver ridiculous lines completely deadpan, and changed the direction of Leslie Nielsen’s career entirely.  

With legacy sequels and existing IP being so popular today, it was only a matter of time before someone tried to recapture that magic. Luckily for us, after three decades of pale imitations, producer Seth McFarlane and director Akiva Schaffer have delivered the goods with The Naked Gun, a ridiculous spoof comedy that is as smart as it is dumb, and stars a dramatic actor to deliver ridiculous lines completely deadpan. This new The Naked Gun isn’t just a good spoof comedy, it’s a great one. 

Continue reading “‘The Naked Gun’ Recaptures the Magic of Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker”

‘Oh, Hi!’ Goes Both Too Far and Not Far Enough

Oh, Hi!

Handcuffing someone to a bed might be fun, but if you don’t let them go, it becomes a crime, a civil matter, or both.  In either case, this is the centre of the story of Oh, Hi!, the new comedy from director Sophie Brooks, co-written and starring Molly Gordon. 

In the film, Gordon plays Iris, a young woman on her first couples trip with her boyfriend Isaac (Logan Lerman).  They are quite obviously infatuated with one another, laughing and singing, lovemaking, cooking, reading, drinking, and generally having a great time at a farmhouse in the country.  It’s the kind of romantic getaway that can solidify, or indeed even define, a relationship.  In a bedroom closet, they find restraints, and after an evening of drinking and desire, they decide to use them.  Iris chains Isaac to the bed, and they make spectacular love.  Soon, while basking in the afterglow, it’s revealed that while Iris has been under the impression that they are in a committed and deepening relationship, Isaac has not.

Continue reading “‘Oh, Hi!’ Goes Both Too Far and Not Far Enough”

Review: Jurassic World Rebirth

Extinct.

It shouldn’t be this hard to make these movies good.

Let’s cut to the chase: this is not a good film. The most frustrating thing is that in the seventh Jurassic film’s few flashes of originality and humour, when Gareth Edwards gets a tiny chance to do something that hasn’t been rigorously organised on a flashcard board for six months by a committee of test audience clipboard-holding film execs, it’s *very* good. But there’s no metaphorical amber here to defy the laws of narrative physics to preserve it, and suddenly it’s gone, red-lit smoke in the darkness, disappearing back into the forest.

And onto the next flash card.

Continue reading “Review: Jurassic World Rebirth”

Film Review: KPop Demon Hunters

Tuning Red.

Many will point out the influence of Into the Spidey-Verse on KPop Demon Hunters, Netflix’s new film about a group of girls carrying a generational weapon of demon-slaying vocal chords. They’d be right, of course; not only because this is from the same animation studio, but also because it has much of the style and swagger of a film that has repeatedly proven to be one of the most influential titles in recent years.

However, it’s impossible to watch KPop Demon Hunters without thinking constantly about how much it loves 2022’s Turning Red, and also how much more it could have taken from it.

Continue reading “Film Review: KPop Demon Hunters”

Predator: Killer of Killers Gets the Formula Right

PREDATOR: KILLER OF KILLERS

The Predator franchise is the platonic ideal of an action horror franchise.  There are highly skilled people in the world, and there’s a whole race of monsters that hunts those people for sport. The setup is simple, allowing it to serve as a framework for various kinds of stories.  At their worst, films in the franchise are dumb-but-fun action movies; at their best, they’re character-focused stories that illuminate deeper truths about humanity.  The latest entry in the franchise, Predator: Killer of Killers,  is an animated anthology that lands somewhere in the middle of that.  

Continue reading “Predator: Killer of Killers Gets the Formula Right”

Home Video: The 2025 Canadian Screen Award Nominees and Where to Buy, Rent, or Stream them

The 13th Canadian Screen Award Nominees are here! This years main ceremony will take place on June 1st with comedian Lisa Gilroy hosting.

Some stand outs among the nominees include Matthew Rankin’s Universal Language which scored a towering thirteen nominations and David Cronenberg’s The Shrounds with nine. Be sure to check out the Best Motion Picture nominees at least, The ApprenticeDarkest Miriam, Gamma Rays, Village Keeper and Who Do I Belong To.

There are a ton of great Canadian films to watch this year –and reminder, this is just a small subset of the total!– and the awards are coming up soon, so without further ado, here are the 41 narrative film nominees for the 13th Canadian Screen Awards, and where you can buy, rent, or stream them.

Continue reading “Home Video: The 2025 Canadian Screen Award Nominees and Where to Buy, Rent, or Stream them”

Review: Andor Season Two is Among the Best of Star Wars and the Year

Sequels and prequels are individually difficult. The former have to carry on story threads and push characters into new places in satisfying ways, the latter have to thread the needle of being their own entity while directly leading into the events that viewers have already witnessed.  Andor season two then faces the difficulty of being both a sequel to its incredible first season and a prequel to the much-loved Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

It’s no mean feat, and while there is a lot to say about this season of television and this review will be as spoiler-free as possible, here is the main thing you need to know: if you liked season one, you are going to like season two.  Season two is very much the same show as season one, with some structural differences, but the same compelling characters, excellent production value, and overt political allegory to our current world.  

Continue reading “Review: Andor Season Two is Among the Best of Star Wars and the Year”

Podcast: Megalopolis & Saturday Night

Megalopolis & Saturday Night

Greetings programs!  Welcome back to our two-episode extravaganza! In this episode we review and discuss Francis Ford Coppola’s biggest swing in decades, Megalopolis and Jason Reitman’s Saturday Night, a close look at the 90s minutes preceding the first-ever broadcast of Saturday Night. We have a ton to say about each so join us!

One note before you do though, that on the heels of our impromptu hiatus, we’re headed into an actual hiatus until the new year.  We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season, and we’ll see you in the new year!

In the meantime join us for reviews and discussions of Megalopolis and Saturday Night!

Continue reading “Podcast: Megalopolis & Saturday Night”

Podcast: Joker: Folie a Deux & The Substance

Joker: Folie a Deux & The Substance

Greetings Programs!  We’re back after an impromptu hiatus with two new episodes, of which this is one!  Join us for a conversation about Joker: Folie à Deux by Todd Phillips and The Substance by Coralie Fargeat.  These are both divisive, singular works of filmmaking, but do they both work?  Listen to find out!

One note before you do though, that on the heels of our impromptu hiatus, we’re headed into an actual hiatus until the new year.  We hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday season, and we’ll see you in the new year!

In the meantime join us for reviews and discussion of the films Joker: Folie a Deux & The Substance!

Continue reading “Podcast: Joker: Folie a Deux & The Substance”