Pop Culture News, Reviews, and Opinions
Ayar is another entry into the ongoing oeuvre of COVID-19. Taking place mid-pandemic, it follows a young mother trying to reconnect with her daughter. A simple enough premise, but rather than take the straight path to get there, director Floyd Russ new film opts for something more experimental and experiential, to fascinating results.
Continue reading “North Bend 2021 Review: ‘Ayar’ is a fascinating experiment”
Marvel Studios has become an unstoppable cultural behemoth. Under normal circumstances, their films routinely make a billion dollars at the box office, the kind of money that every other studio on the planet has been chasing ever since the 2012’s The Avengers proved that the interconnected universe of films is a thing that could work.
It’s a shame that these aren’t normal circumstances then, because with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic pushing Black Widow –the film so many fans have been waiting for for years– into a hybrid release, it probably won’t make a billion dollars at the box office. To be clear: that’s a shame because it’s excellent.
Continue reading “Review: ‘Black Widow’ is a great, character-driven action-adventure”
The cinema of the pandemic is taking many forms, and I think the long term effect on media is going to be an interesting one to pay attention to. The pandemic is going to touch every genre and it appears the next entry is the romantic comedy.
Continue reading “Tribeca 2021 Review: ‘7 Days’ is a sweet, pandemic inspired rom-com”
Imagine that you have met the love of your life. You have an adorable meet-cute, you share a magical first date, and you connect on a profoundly deep level. Now, imagine that your memories of this relationship are slowly dripping away. This is the story of Little Fish, a love story set in the midst of a global pandemic that causes memory loss and one that will break and fill your heart in equal measure.
Continue reading “Review: ‘Little Fish’ is a new twist on a familiar heartbreak”
Film from this time period is going to be interesting. Much like the years after wars or the September 11th attacks, the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic can’t not have an impact on the art we produce. Some of that is going to be in the form of movies about viruses. Others, like this one, are going to be about how scary is can be to go outside and see people again.
Continue reading “Review: ‘In The Earth’ ventures into the woods and the darkness”
Greetings all! It’s the night of nights in Hollywood and Simon and I are back to liveblog the event! the 93rd Academy Awards kick off at 5pm Pacific Time (just a few minutes away) and we’ll be offering snark and commentary, as per usual.
This year is a little different, due to ongoing global pandemics and other obligations so you will mostly be hearing from Simon tonight, but I’ll be popping in whenever I can too.
So let’s watch the show and enjoy! Newest Updates at the top!
I like movies that are based on plays, or that resemble them. Movies where characters sit in a room and talk endlessly. Showcases for actors, heavy with dialogue and a tendency toward big performances. Malcolm & Marie, the new film by Sam Levinson starring John David Washington and Zendaya is not based on a play, but it does resemble one.
2020 has been a hell of a year. With theatres ending up being an unsafe place to be during an ongoing worldwide pandemic you’d think it would be a harder year for film, but looking back it’s clear that this year has been an as vibrant and diverse year for film as any other.
Of course, the difference is that without theatres, there have been far fewer blockbusters and far more indie and middle-tier films. The impact on my film diary for the year has been an interesting one, with bigger budget films losing the endorphin high of the theatrical experience –and thus losing some of the immediate forgiveness they earn if they aren’t great. Additionally, film festivals moved to an online experience either in whole or in part this year, which has meant that I have “attended” more of them.
As a result, I have seen more than 120 of 2020’s films, a steep increase from years past. Narrowing the list down to a group of favourites is as difficult as ever! Also this year, for the second time, I am going to highlight some of the performers that blew me away.
Continue reading “Matt’s Favourite Films & Performers of 2020”
Tenet was one of the most anticipated movies of the year. Delayed multiple times due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was finally released to theatres late in the summer in an effort to save the cinema business but need up only proving that the world still wasn’t safe enough for that to happen. Not a flop at the box office exactly, but not a moneymaker either, there isn’t a movie with a more interesting story behind it this year.
Now, finally, it has arrived on home video, and I have finally had a chance to see it. So, how is it? Well, it’s a visually stunning and completely frustrating mess of a movie.
Continue reading “Review: ‘Tenet’ is visually impressive but too clever by half.”
Whistler Film Festival, one fo the last festivals on the Canadian circuit, has started! Due to the ongoing worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, the festival has moved online the year. The festival started on December 1st and runs until December 20th, and films will be available to stream all the way to December 31st.
Starting this week, we will have some limited coverage of the festival, which boasts nearly 100 films this year; an impressive feat given the ongoing worldwide pandemic. You can find all of my coverage at the WFF 2020 tag here on Awesome Friday!
I’m thrilled to be able to cover the festival this year, which features predominantly Canadian content. You can find a complete listing of features, short films, and creator talks on the Whistler Film Festival website.
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Canadian horror lovers take note: The annual Blood in the Snow horror film festival is coming up from October 28th to November 7th, and I will be covering the films!
Continue reading “Heads Up Canada: Blood in the Snow Film Festival is coming!”
We haven’t really talked about Soul since it hasn’t really come up since the website relaunch, but now it has been affected by the ongoing worldwide crisis that is COVID-19.
Continue reading “Pixar’s latest, ‘Soul’ pushed back to Christmas, and to Disney+”
Remember when I said that The Batman moving back to 2022 wasn’t going to be the last of that kind of story? I wasn’t kidding!
Who had this one in the betting pool? The Batman, previously schedule for an October 1st 2021 release, has been pushed back to spring 2022.
Continue reading “‘The Batman’ delayed into 2022, and a number of other schedule changes, too”
Thanks, COVID-19. One of the largest cinema chains in the US and UK is closing all their locations.
Continue reading “Cineworld, Regal to close all theatres in the US and UK”
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