Reviews
Embrace of the Serpent
By the end of the month, faithful viewers of the Academy Awards will see if Ciro Guerra’s Embrace of the Serpent is able to beat out the other pictures competing for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year. I can’t comment if Guerra’s film is better than the other contenders, but I think the Academy was very generous by nominating it in the first place.
Race
Jesse Owens is a fascinating individual and he absolutely deserves a biopic, but Race is not it. Interestingly enough, the title gives away many of the film’s faults: it conflates racism and running to an uncomfortable degree. Stephen Hopkins’ movie is almost completely devoid of subtlety – it’s so naive, it hurts.
Touched With Fire
It’s the classic love story: girl commits self, girl meets boy, boy and girl spiral each other into massive manic episodes. You know, the usual.
The Pasta Killer
For two-and-a-half years, Stefan Phillips has been working on his first feature length film titled The Pasta Killer with frequent collaborators that make up his YouTube ensemble ‘UnorthodoxPoppycock’. The project – a faithful film noir – was a labour of love.
Star Men
Four English astronomers hit the road to celebrate fifty years of their time with each other and in their field of work. They stop at telescopes they have histories with and reflect on the past. It’s a reunion that could’ve been more special and intimate if filmmaker Alison Rose wasn’t trying to retrofit these men and their stories into a boring documentary.
Portrait of a Serial Monogamist
Portrait of a Serial Monogamist, so far, is the best Canadian indie of the new year. Filmmakers John Mitchell and Christina Zeidler have co-wrote and co-directed an identifiable and balanced film about stalled romance.
A Date with Miss Fortune
Real-life couple Ryan K. Scott and Jeannette Sousa wrote, produced, and star as the leading couple in director John L’Ecuyer’s cross-cultural romantic comedy, A Date With Miss Fortune. The film also features appearances by two well-known Canadians: Grammy award-winning musician Nelly Furtado and George Stroumboulopoulos – consider it a Score: A Hockey Musical reunion for the celebrities.
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Burr Steers’ Pride and Prejudice and Zombies arrives at an awkward time for horror mash-ups.