Blair Witch
Adam Wingard’s Blair Witch isn’t quite a franchise reboot as it is a do-over or a reworking of previous ideas used in the series’ much-hated sequel Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2.
2016
TIFF 2016: ‘Abacus: Small Enough to Jail’
I was utterly enamoured by Steve James’ ode to film journalist Roger Ebert in 2014’s Life Itself. My wife, on the other hand, found it difficult to tap in to and suggested it was because she didn’t have any preinvested interest. With James’ latest doc Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, I relate to my wife’s prior disconnect. Not because of the content, but because of the documentarian’s chosen genre. Audiences who are riveted by courtroom…
Chopping Block
Reviewing films from the Legless Corpse collection is becoming a thankless task. How else do you describe these titles that are oh-so obviously made for the close-knit amateurs that make these low-budget indies?
TIFF 2016: ‘150 Milligrams’
Emmanuelle Bercot’s 150 Milligrams may be a medical drama about a specialist fighting for justice, but – to me – the film was about how an ensemble cast fights against dense writing and direction, and manages to come out alive.
Addio Commentary: Much More to ‘Mother’s Day’
Let’s take a brief break from hot ticket TIFF screenings and talk about something that most movie goers have tried to forget: Garry Marshall’s Mother’s Day.
TIFF 2016: ‘Free Fire’
It is probably inaccurate to call Ben Wheatley’s Free Fire “a comedy of errors” given that term’s context, but perhaps the term “comedy of injuries” could be coined to describe this cross between cruelty and the absurd in a way that only Wheatley can do.
TIFF 2016: ‘Marija’
In Michael Koch’s feature film debut Marija, the audience observes the dishevelled title character’s routine and her struggle to support herself – it’s certainly enduring to watch.
TIFF 2016: ‘Paterson’
Paterson is a study of ennui in its purest form. Paterson is a love letter to the seemingly inconsequential town of Paterson, New Jersey. Paterson is about Zen and the creation of art. The fact that all of this is contained in a film about the quotidian activities of a man’s life across one week is nothing short of a miracle.
Urge
On Saturday Night Live, Bill Hader would frequent Weekend Update segments as hip clubgoer Stefon and review the latest, most bizarre nightclubs. Urge plays like a live-action version of what Stefon would describe as a “hot spot”. “After being admitted into the club by eyes projected on the side of the building, guests are fondled by the staff while a man in a balloon suit entertains them, followed by a night of bath salt binging”.
TIFF 2016: ‘India In a Day’
First, the good news: India In a Day moves quickly. As a fan of 2011’s Life In a Day (also co-produced by Ridley Scott), I can admit that Kevin MacDonald’s doc had sagging stretches of unhelpful video. The filmmaker and his editor were too comfortable, which meant they often forgo their timeline.