Based on the memoir North of Normal by Canadian author Cea Sunrise Person, Carly Stone’s drama of the same name is about a very interesting mother-daughter dynamic that’s been influenced by an unconventional upbringing and the ripple effect made by varying degrees of neglect.
By: Jolie Featherstone Talk to Me, by brothers Danny and Michael Philippou (a.k.a. RackaRacka of YouTube fame), is a modern folk tale charged with the rush and hook of viral trends, and the desperate compulsion of grief.
The discussion about which older movies wouldn’t be made today because of current sociocultural identities and relations is occasionally debated, but chats about which contemporary movies couldn’t be made “back then” are not discussed enough. I’m grateful for D. Smith’s Kokomo City, a revealing documentary that belongs in the latter exchange, because of its progressive existence. It challenges transgressive opinions and uses the medium to address, and bring awareness to, important issues of personal representation…
Director Thaddeus O’Sullivan guides The Miracle Club efficiently, successfully telling a period story of four women who bond over the course of a pilgrimage to the French town of Lourdes in search of their own miracles to lend guidance for their medical conditions. Although the story’s devoutness is prominent, it’s mild compared to the focus on the film’s relationships.
Theater Camp is less of a satire on community theatre nor is it a snide comedy towards theatre dorks. In fact, Theater Camp is actually quite sincere with its representation of people who are very enthusiastic about the performing arts – kids and adults alike. Through that sincerity, there are still self-aware moments that will make this moviegoing demographic laugh at themselves but, still, Theater Camp is all in good fun.
In the grindhouse tribute Mad Heidi, a maniacal dictator (Casper Van Dien) aspires to phase out the lactose intolerant with his firm laws for dairy consumption, which will then lead to world domination. This fascism leads our titular swiss miss (Alice Lucy) to be permanently distanced from her grandfather (David Schofield) and her hunky, underground cheese peddling lover Goat Peter (Kel Matsena). Heidi is later thrown into an all-women’s prison where everyone exchanges intimidating looks and…
Thematic crossovers and shared stories are bound to happen when so many movies are being released close together; these flukes are not uncommon. While it’s easy for movie goers to gripe about déjà vu, it’s hard to complain when the separate works are good in their own right.
By: Trevor Chartrand Many B-Movie enthusiasts are likely familiar with the squib-bursting insanity of Who Killed Captain Alex?, the Ugandan action movie with a violent – and loud – viral trailer on YouTube. Shot in an impoverished slum, the film is creative with its budget, which reportedly was less than $200. The movie is absurdly violent. It’s goofy, it’s strange, and it looks and sounds terrible. But, Captain Alex is also a film with a…
