Articles by Shannon Page
The Scent of Rain and Lightning
The Scent of Rain and Lightning is a tense and beautifully shot thriller that regretfully unravels in its third act.
The Other Side of Hope
Directed, written, and produced by Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki (Le Havre, The Man Without a Past), The Other Side of Hope is a timely and oddly touching comedic drama that manages to combine artistry and humour with wry social commentary.
Toronto After Dark 2017: ‘Cold Hell’, ‘Eat Locals’, ‘The Endless’, and ‘Lowlife’
Cold Hell (DIR. Stefan Ruzowitzky) Cold Hell is a dark and gritty crime thriller written by Martin Ambrosch and directed by Stefan Ruzowitzky. The film has been deservedly compared to other serial-killer thrillers like David Fincher’s Se7en; though it doesn’t revolutionize the genre, Cold Hell’s adrenaline-fuelled brutality prove that following the usual formula isn’t always a bad thing.
Toronto After Dark 2017: ‘Dead Shack’ and ‘Rabbit’
Dead Shack (DIR. Peter Ricq) Audiences that like their zombies with a healthy side of laughs shouldn’t miss Dead Shack, director Peter Ricq’s dark comedy about three teenagers whose week-long vacation at a cabin in the woods takes a nightmarish turn when they learn that their neighbour in the cabin next-door is feeding unsuspecting young locals to her undead family.
Toronto After Dark 2017: ‘Beyond Skyline’ and ‘Victor Crowley’
Beyond Skyline (DIR. Liam O’Donnell) Liam O’Donnell’s Beyond Skyline is the sequel to 2010’s critically panned sci-fi action flick, Skyline. Movie fans have been eagerly anticipating Beyond Skyline after an impressive trailer dropped earlier this year. With performances by Frank Grillo (Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War) and Iko Uwais (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), many were hopeful that the new film would be a vast improvement on the original.
Great Great Great
Set in the Roncesvalles neighbourhood of Toronto, Great Great Great is the story of Lauren (Sarah Kolasky) and Tom (Dan Beirne), a couple in their early thirties whose relationship is coasting along steadily despite Tom’s inability to find steady employment as an urban planner. Nothing about Lauren and Tom‘s life is particularly awful: they eat food, they go to the gym, they have relationships with friends and family. Everything begins to fall apart when Lauren‘s parents…
Hunting Pignut
Written, directed, and produced by Martine Blue, Hunting Pignut is the story of Bernice, played by Taylor Hickson (Aftermath, Deadpool), a teenager in a rural Newfoundland community. She is a typical teenage misfit: lonely, bullied at school for no obvious reason, and picked last at sports. When Bernice’s estranged father dies of a drug overdose, his wake is crashed by a gang of gutter punks claiming to have been his closest friends – one of…
Letters from Baghdad
Tilda Swinton (Doctor Strange, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Okja) narrates the letters of Gertrude Bell in this documentary that traces Bell’s life from childhood to death through her personal correspondence.