Everything to do with films!
The 2021 Vancouver International Film Festival is officially underway, and here we are with quick reviews of two films for you to check out.
Continue reading “VIFF ’21 Quick Reviews: ‘The Beta Test’ and ‘Quickening’”
A trio of inseparable brothers in arms, one with second sight, one with a temper, and one with a hidden past, get stranded in an unfamiliar place. An effective setup for any film, but Saloum adds folklore and the unspeakable atrocities of Africa’s recent past to the mix to make something unique.
Continue reading “Fantastic Fest Review: ‘Saloum’ is a wild, genre-twisting ride from start to finish”
Canada has a certain reputation that we like to uphold. We’re viewed as America’s nice neighbour, as the reasonable ones. The thoughtful and the multicultural ones. If you’re from here, though, you know that Canada’s reputation is not as deserved as we would like you to think it is, and we have a dark history of racism and colonialism that persists to this day.
This is the history that writer and director Danis Goulet draws on to imagine the post-apocalyptic world of Night Raiders, one in which the legacy of Canada’s treatment of indigenous people –and the Residential School system in particular– is drawn out to its logical darkest endpoint.
Continue reading “VIFF ’21 Review: ‘Night Raiders’ draws on Canada’s dark past to imagine a dark future”
We’ve all been there. That feeling of being trapped in a relationship and not seeing a way out, knowing that you need to act but not knowing exactly what to do. The characters in The Trip are in this place, but rather than taking an ordinary course of action, they separately decide to kill each other. Things only go downhill from there, and the movie that follows takes this couple and puts them through the wringer. It’s brutal, and it’s problematic, and it’s pretty fun.
Continue reading “Fantastic Fest Review: ‘The Trip’ is fun, funny, and mean-spirited as hell.”
Jake Gyllenhaal is one of our great actors at this point. He has proven himself over and over again in a multitude of supporting and leading roles. That he carries The Guilty –a remake of a recent, critically acclaimed Danish film of the same name– should be no surprise then, given his stature. Given the conceit that most of the other characters are only ever heard on the phone, it’s also the main thing that the movie has going for it.
Continue reading “Review: ‘The Guilty’ is saved by a fully committed Jake Gyllenhaal performance”
Over the last several years, Mike Flanagan has made a name for himself as a director of horror, and at the same time, become one of my personal favourite filmmakers. This past week saw the release of his latest project, the Netflix series Midnight Mass. To celebrate this, here are three great films and two series he directed.
Continue reading “Home Video: Great Films (and series!) from Director Mike Flanagan, and where to Buy, Rent, or Stream them”
One of my favourite films at this year’s Fantasia Film Festival, Junta Yamaguchi’s Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is now playing for US audiences as part of Fantastic Fest 2021. I had the opportunity to sit down with the director via zoom (and with a translator) to speak about the film.
Continue reading “Fantastic Fest Interview: Junta Yamaguchi on his one-take time travel film ‘Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes’”
Have you seen that movie where a group of teens are systematically murdered by what may or may not be a supernatural presence? Yeah, I have too, and so has Simon Barrett, the writer and director of Seance, premiering on Shudder this week.
Continue reading “Review: ‘Seance’ Doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but that’s ok!”
Greetings programs! It’s that time again, Awesome Friday on a Sunday! Remember, it’s a state of mind and not a day of the week. In this episode, we have two new series to talk about, the latest Star Wars project Star Wars: Visions and director Mike Flanagan’s latest series for Netflix, Midnight Mass. This episode is nearly 90s minutes long, but that’s because we absolutely loved one of these series and have a lot to say about it. Join us!
Continue reading “Awesome Friday Movie Podcast: ‘Star Wars: Visions’ & ‘Midnight Mass’”
Here’s a hot take: I love teen slasher movies. There is a wide range of quality in the genre, but mystery killer killing teens one by one is a genre that I almost always enjoy. There’s Someone Inside Your House is a solid entry in this genre, with some fun kills that will let you compare it to the classics, and a healthydose of Gen Z wokeness to make it feel more modern.
Continue reading “Fantastic Fest Review: ‘There’s Someone Inside Your House’ is a solid teen slasher”
Greetings programs, and welcome to a special episode of the podcast. This week we’re doing something a little different and taking a look at three versions of the same film. 1951’s The Thing From Another World, 1982’s John Carpenter directed horror classic The Thing, and the 2011 remake/prequel thereof, also titled The Thing.
Continue reading “Awesome Friday Make/Remake Podcast: Three Versions of ‘The Thing’”
This week will see the release of the new Sion Sono directed Nicolas Cage starring post-apocalyptic sci-fi adventure thriller Prisoner of the Ghostland (see my Fantasia review here!) in theatres and on-demand. It’s a super weird film, and if you like weird Nicolas Cage, it probably has something for you.
Here are five more great Nicolas Cage performances in that same spirit and where you can buy, rent, or stream them from home.
Continue reading “Home Video: Great Nicolas Cage Performances and Where to Buy, Rent, or Stream them”
Greetings programs! We’re back with our 9th episode of the new Awesome Friday Podcast. This week we’re talking about one new thing and one not so new thing. First up is the new Mary Elizabeth Winstead starring action film from Netflix, Kate, which we have mixed feelings about, and second is the new-to-all-Disney+-subscribers film starring Emma Stone, Cruella, which as it turns out, we both really like.
Continue reading “Awesome Friday Movie Podcast: ‘Kate’ & ‘Cruella’”
I am, if I am totally honest, not even sure where to begin. Kate, the upcoming action film from Netflix, has a killer lead actress, a killer premise, looks gorgeous and falls entirely flat at every turn. If it were not for some stylistic flourishes –which are problematic in their own right– I don’t know if I’d have anything nice to say about it.
Continue reading “Review: ‘Kate’ has a killer premise that you have definitely seen before”
It has been a long time coming, but (as of this writing) the 25th James Bond film No Time to Die will finally be released on September 30th 2021, in the UK and on October 8th, 2021, here in North America. That gives you about a month to catch up on the franchise, and here’s where you can do just that! Below you’ll find links to buy, rent, or stream each of the 24 official (and 2 non-official) James Bond films.
Continue reading “Home Video: Every James Bond Movie and Where to Buy, Rent, or Stream them”
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