The Animal Kingdom
By: Trevor Chartrand Thomas Cailley’s The Animal Kingdom is a modern-day fairy tale. A compelling and imaginative film that combines fantastical whimsy with an ominous, satiric edge.
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Ghostwritten
By: Jeff Ching “Writer’s block is B.S. You’re just lazy,” says anybody that isn’t a writer… and they should shut their mouths.
One Road to Quartzsite
By: Trevor Chartrand The town of Quartzsite, Arizona hosts an eclectic mix of wanderers each winter, from senior snowbirds in RVs to homeless nomads, from drug addicts to nudist bookstore owners. You’d think the locale, with its bizarre amalgamation of citizens and a variety of worldviews, would be a melting pot for an inevitable conflict. However, as filmmaker Ryan Maxey demonstrates in his doc One Road to Quartzsite, the town is surprisingly tranquil – peaceful…
Orah
By: Trevor Chartrand Lonzo Nzekwe tells a very personal story in his gritty revenge-thriller, Orah. Having lost his brother at the hands of an alleged corrupt police officer in Nigeria, the filmmaker has admittedly helmed this movie as a sort-of revenge fantasy; with his characters exacting justice in ways he never could. As the film’s writer and director, Nzekwe’s ambitions are noble and empowering but, as a film, Orah is ultimately a messy series of…
The Teachers’ Lounge
By: Jolie Featherstone Ilker Çatak’s award-winning feature The Teachers’ Lounge is a scintillating, modern-day fable.
T.I.M.
By: Trevor Chartrand For years, filmmakers have pondered the potentially apocalyptic dangers of self-aware, sentient computers: from Kubrick to the Wachowski’s, and everything in between. The machine uprising is an all-too-common cautionary tale, but has also never been more relevant than it is today. With deepfakes and ChatGPT, it appears we are closer than we’ve ever been to this trope becoming a reality. So the timing is right for director Spencer Brown to throw his…
A Disturbance in the Force: How The Star Wars Holiday Special Happened
By: Trevor Chartrand Directors Steve Kozak and Jeremy Coon explore a relatively uncharted galaxy in the Star Wars universe with A Disturbance in the Force: How The Star Wars Holiday Special Happened, a documentary that examines the television variety show that never was: The Star Wars Holiday Special.
Rise of the Footsoldier: Vengeance
By: Trevor Chartrand For full disclosure, Rise of the Footsoldier: Vengeance, is the sixth film in an action/crime/thriller series that I am, admittedly, unfamiliar with.