Patricia Marcoccia’s documentary The Rise of Jordan Peterson chronicles just *that*: the increased interest around the University of Toronto psychology professor, leading to his worldwide notoriety and success of his best-seller 12 Rules For Life. But while the movie does a good job bringing uninformed viewers up to speed on the popularity and controversy of Peterson, it doesn’t add much else to the conversation. The movie is just, kind of, “there”.
The melodic title of Robin Hays’ Anthem of a Teenage Prophet suggests, at the very least, a kind of experimental approach to tragedy and trauma. Instead, this adaptation of Joanne Proulx’s award-winning novel Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet is surprisingly familiar; replete with the traditional rebellious drug-fueled angst we’ve come to expect from cinematic representations of teenage life in the suburbs.
Using a narrative that gradually builds momentum through a series of hustles and surprises, Parasite is utterly unpredictable. It’s a memorable flick not only for its mind-bending story, but because director Bong Joon-ho (The Host [2006], Snowpiercer, Okja) has reinvented the farce formula with this Palme d’Or award-winner.
World War II has been done! This is hardly a controversial claim when it comes to cinema; everyone and their mother has already made a film about World War II—whether about how bad the war was or how heroic—and seemingly every possible angle has already been covered. Filmmaker Taika Waititi, however, finds a way to stand out with Jojo Rabbit, a movie that refuses to be about the war at all, instead using his unique brand…
By: Trevor Chartrand Pedro Almodóvar’s Pain and Glory is a well-crafted melodrama; an emotional piece weighed heavily by its evocation of sadness and regret. The film stars Antonio Banderas as Salvador Mallo, an aging filmmaker who reflects on his past and the mistakes he’s made – mistakes that seem more clear through older, wiser eyes. Almodóvar explores themes of life, love, family, regret, and retribution, all through the lens of the classic mantra: ‘hindsight is…
When Robert Eggers appeared on the cinematic scene with The Witch at 2015’s Sundance Film Festival, he exposed untold new ways to tell horror stories. So, what can someone who has already reinvented a genre do to follow up such a work? Eggers decided to use a similar formula—mainly the research of authentic historical documents that went into the screenplay’s creation of horror—to tell a brand-new story. The results are great.
Corporate Animals is aggressively heartless, as if it’s in a competition to be the cruelest dark comedy. But in doing so, the film sacrifices itself and proves to audiences just how two-dimensional it really is.
Greener Grass is a suburban social comedy dressed up as an irreverent weirdo. While it may paint itself into a corner by setting a high bar for itself, I loved being in its company nonetheless.
