The dedication writer/director Aki Kaurismäki has for the art of deadpan is nothing short of impressive, and he successfully conveys just how well he understands the form of communication with Fallen Leaves. The issue is Kaurismäki’s movie peaks too early, staying loyal to its consistency but also refusing to evolve from its core strength.
A movie based on a Broadway musical that is, in turn, based on a two-decade old cult classic teen comedy doesn’t exactly read like a recipe for cinematic success. The original Mean Girls, released in 2004, was directed by Mark Waters (2003’s Freaky Friday, Just Like Heaven) and featured performances from some of the biggest teen stars of the early aught’s — including Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, and Amanda Seyfried. It was an instant hit,…
Movie goers who have claimed big screen adaptations of stage plays are stilted may be ready to dismiss Freud’s Last Session, but I hope they give it a chance. This two-hander between Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins (as neurologist Sigmund Freud) and Matthew Goode (as British author C.S. Lewis) is riveting and reminds viewers about the power of great acting.
While actor Daniel Levy has proven to be a comic force for loyal viewers of TV’s Schitt’s Creek, I personally find his demeanour suggests that he’s the smartest person in the room. Self-confidence is an admirable trait, but only if it avoids puffing up one’s ego. The idea of a feature film written and directed by Levy had me feeling skeptical, but I was optimistic for a surprise. Fortunately, Levy’s feature filmmaking debut, Good Grief,…
Actor Saffron Cassaday (Pete Winning and the Pirates: The Motion Picture) gives audiences an up close and personal perspective of her experience with ulcerative colitis and invites the viewer to tag along on her biohacking journey in her documentary Designer $hit.
The amazing minds at Aardman Animations think outside the coop for Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget, a fitting follow-up to the studio’s early 2000s hit although this sequel is so-so at best.
The smoke sauna tradition of Vőromaa, in southern Estonia, is nearly a thousand years old. On UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage of the world, smoke sauna practices include the building and maintenance of saunas, smoking meat, making bath whisks, and bathing and cleaning rituals.
Denny Tedesco’s Immediate Family is the ideal spiritual sequel to his doc debut The Wrecking Crew, and a great example of a comfort film. I’ve seen this documentary twice now: once to review it, the second just to revisit the groovy atmosphere.
