Drifting Snow
Written and directed by Ryan Noth (No Heart Feelings), Drifting Snow depicts a rural Ontario winter in all its frozen glory. But, tangled timelines and poor pacing hinder what could otherwise be a compelling drama.
Reviews
Painkiller
Painkiller is more of a mouthpiece than a movie. The filmmakers are so excited by the film’s premise, that they would rather table action sequences and tense showdowns to have discussions about Big Pharma and the opioid epidemic it seems to be encouraging. I admire their enthusiasm, but this attitude has distracted them from making a good movie.
A Bump Along the Way
By: Jolie Featherstone Shelly Love’s feature film directorial debut A Bump Along the Way is an emotionally intelligent dramedy about a mother and daughter coming-of-age together at different points in their lives.
Eat Wheaties!
For the sake of transparency, I want to start by making it clear that I am not the ideal audience for this film. While Eat Wheaties! may aspire to being a humorous commentary on popular culture and the cult of celebrity, I found the social critique rather thin. In the end, Eat Wheaties! came a bit too close to making light of stalking and harassment for my taste. There are plenty of people out there who…
The Outside Story
By: Trevor Chartrand A brilliant slice-of-life comedy, The Outside Story is a charming and lighthearted little film. This day-in-the-life movie tells the story of Charles Young (Hotel Artemis’ Brian Tyree Henry), an introverted video editor who’s down in the dumps after splitting up with his ex. After accidentally locking himself out of his apartment, this homebody is forced to stop and smell the roses in his neighbourhood for the first time since he moved in. While…
Golden Arm
Golden Arm succeeds with showmanship. Or rather “showwomanship”, given the film’s gender flip of a formula usually associated with testosterone-fueled sports movies.
The Mitchells vs. The Machines
The Mitchells vs.The Machines is very much cut from the same talented cloth as Sony Pictures Animation’s Oscar-winning hit Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The brilliant artists at Sony Pictures Animation, yet again, set a new bar for computer animation; offering audiences indescribably energetic visuals that astonishingly never lose the film’s lightning-fast pace. But just like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the story struggles to keep up with the film’s skill. The movie assuredly commits its general theme to the…
In the Earth
In the Earth is the first truly effective COVID-era horror/thriller. Mostly because it doesn’t call attention to the virus, and rather uses its inflections throughout this terrific biological (and supernatural) chiller.
Tiny Tim: King for a Day
Directed by Johan von Sydow, Tiny Tim: King for a Day is the story of Herbert Khaury. A social outcast from childhood, Khaury grows up to become Tiny Tim, one of the most unexpected and unusual pop stars of the 1960s. With long hair, a falsetto voice, and a ukulele, Tiny Tim was seen by many as a freak for defying social norms. Tiny Tim: King for a Day argues that Tiny Tim’s insistence on…
The Marijuana Conspiracy
The Marijuana Conspiracy, simply put, has no buzz. Unlike The Stanford Prison Experiment, a similar movie about impressionable and intelligent young minds involved in an important study, writer/director Craig Pryce has made a loosely-biographical bore that fails to captivate audiences with substance and style. The film does pride itself on costumes and make-up, and the design artists involved deserve their Canadian Screen Award nominations for their work. But, the film’s effort doesn’t exceed beyond its period…