Often, you’ll hear a film criticized for having a premise that’s more suited for a short film rather than a feature-length movie. Filmmaker Saul Pincus, who has a background in making shorts, has surely caught wind of this comment because you can see the mechanics in his latest breakout indie Nocturne try to dodge this nitpick.
The strengths in Streamer are very subtle and camouflaged by deliberate monotony.
Inspiration may be Jason Armstrong’s first feature-length movie in seven years, but he’s been a consistent storyteller. Just this Summer, Armstrong (along with frequent collaborator Mike Klassen) made 9 Days with Cambria, a moderately successful web series confronting abuse through short stories performed by different actresses portraying the same character.
A murderer whose calling card is a scratched-down horror story; a couple goes trick or treating and it quickly gets out of hand; a family brings home a witch to burn at the stake; a group of gutter punks find an easier way to come by food; a pair of police officers have a shady side business.
Siobhan Devine’s The Birdwatcher is a bad movie, but it made me reflect on how spoiled Canadian audiences really are.
After a blow-up at a house party over a drunken bad decision, brothers Luke and Travis (Andrew Rotilio and Charlie Hamilton) drive home in a huff and are struck by a pick-up truck. Travis receives minor injuries, but The Hotel Dieu follows a blinded Luke as he endures a strenuous recovery and discovers romance while staying at the hospital.
Being a film critic, you witness certain – shall I say – ebbs and flows; usually reflecting on what mainstream audiences are demanding or what studios are labelling “hot”. I usually understand trends in popularity, but the volume of Canadian productions dabbling in supernatural quirky comedies is stunning.
No Stranger Than Love is known around the Wylie household for its unofficial working title I’ve coined – the ‘Alison Brie Hole-in-the-Floor’ movie. However, the only memorable aspects of Nick Wernham’s rom-com are those two details – the former Community actress and the bottomless pit that randomly sprouts in her living room and gobbles up a promiscuous co-worker (Colin Hanks).
Sami Khan’s indie drama Khoya is a captivating cascading trip through India as Indo-Canadian Roger (Rupak Ginn of TV’s Royal Pains) embarks on a quest to restore his birth history. But, when the film isn’t washing over the audience, the movie falters and indulges in its own mystery and melodrama.
Watching The Pasta Killer was a great experience. Not only did it reassure me of the power a great story can have over its audience, but it was nice to switch perspectives from a supportive friend to a fascinated movie goer.