By: Trevor Chartrand First-time director Bing Liu shows some real promise with his highly personal and reflective documentary, Minding the Gap. Viewers watching may find themselves concerned early on, especially since the film appears to focus on a group of skater burn-outs and their quest to get drunk. However, the doc challenges those expectations and quickly proves to be a profound examination of their troubled lives.
Lizzie is a decent psychological slow burn, but its problematic pacing leaves me wondering if the film could’ve been stronger had it been workshopped more. With his second feature film, director Craig William Macneill demonstrates his ability to build tension through taut silences and piercing instrumentals. However, Bryce Kass’ script doesn’t match the filmmaker’s patience.
Reviewing movies can be such a subjective experience. Sure, I’m writing about my feelings towards the film and how it affected me, but I also have to keep in mind that an audience – completely different to myself – may engage with it more.
While it may appear as a sole sequel to Michael Moore’s 2004 hit documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, Fahrenheit 11/9 is also a spiritual, updated follow-up to some of Moore’s other movies. Movie goers will notice hints of Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore in TrumpLand, and Sicko as the Oscar-winning documentarian covers gun control, political divides, and the health and safety of Flint, Michigan’s water supply in this provocative presidential exposé.
Love, Gilda captures the spirit and energy of comedienne Gilda Radner. That achievement alone makes Lisa Dapolito’s documentary a success. What makes the film particularly exceptional though is how it duals as a recap of Radner’s life, and as a master class in comedy.
By: Jessica Goddard A movie unafraid to leave your head spinning from the farfetched quantity of twists, A Simple Favor is fun, well-paced, and stylish. Directed by Paul Feig, it balances elements of a mystery/thriller/dramedy, borrowing from too-many-to-count eerie pop culture phenomena before it. And yet, successfully, it pulls off homage (as opposed to shameless rip-off) time and time again, in a way that feels fresh and full of energy.
Using brilliantly ominous visuals and an amazingly unsettling musical score, Panos Cosmatos’ Mandy serves up a simple story that isn’t on the same level of competence as those technical achievements. Cage and Andrea Riseborough (The Death of Stalin) play Red and Mandy, a soft-spoken bohemian couple who are suddenly captured and tortured by a travelling crew of cultists. When his girlfriend is kidnapped and used as a pawn for a “special” ritual, Red has no other desire…
Eating Animals is an eye-opener, despite giving audiences the urge to turn away at times.
After touring the festival circuit and sweeping the hearts of many movie goers, Tulipani – Love, Honour and a Bicycle finally makes its way into theatres to claim more adoration from audiences.
Jamie Adams’ Alright Now, a romantic dramedy following a rock star following a particularly brutal double breakup, boasts that it is completely improvised. Here’s the funny thing about improvisation: you need actors who are good at it.