By: Jolie Featherstone “Three chords and the truth” – Harlan Howard’s oft-quoted definition of country music may well describe the soul of Wild Rose. Directed by Tom Harper and written by Nicole Taylor, Wild Rose is a classic underdog tale with an endlessly watchable underdog in the form of the fiery Rose-Lynn Harlan.
I recently interviewed Eve Harlow about her role in Noble Jones’ feature-length filmmaking debut The Tomorrow Man, a romantic drama starring John Lithgow and Blythe Danner. Harlow and I agreed that it’s pretty lame to assume movies starring older actors are for older audiences. However, for me, that argument starts to fold in on itself when filmmakers pander towards a specific demographic – The Tomorrow Man does just that.
Gloria Bell is eventually invigorating. “Eventually” usually has a negative connotation, but not in the case of Sebastián Lelio’s movie. After all, the search for one’s identity isn’t going to be easy.
A movie is made up of many moving parts, as you know, but The Tomorrow Man really makes you appreciate its supporting characters. John Lithgow and Blythe Danner (as Ed and Ronnie) are terrific actors who have no problem holding our attention and steering the story (provided by writer/director Noble Jones). But, their characters would have a hard time finding momentum if it wasn’t for Ed’s temperamental family – a group of people we’re briefly involved…
By: Trevor Chartrand Contrary to its title, Funny Story isn’t so much a funny story as it is a cringe-inducing series of awkward, and uncomfortable escalating situations.
By: Trevor Chartrand On their anniversary, successful films often get a special edition re-release that includes new bonus features, interviews, and a high-def restoration that celebrates the film’s impact and longevity. With a film like 2009’s After Last Season, however, the tenth anniversary brings us nothing but bootlegs and a handful of rare DVDs that sell for $300 online.
If you prefer science fiction to be grim, perhaps Pella Kågerman and Hugo Lilja’s Aniara will be your “thing”. Although I can’t comment on the film’s faithfulness to its source material (Harry Martinson’s Nobel prize winning poem of the same name), Aniara is very good in terms of riveting near-future sci-fi, but it’s definitely for a specific crowd.
By: Jolie Featherstone The latest film from Olivier Assayas (Personal Shopper, Clouds of Sils Maria) is a classic comedy of manners imbued with dry wit and social commentary aplenty set amongst the bourgeois-bohemian Parisian publishing world.
A feature-length story being dissected into individual short films is a concept full of possibilities, only to be expanded on when three filmmakers sign up to shape the narrative. Canadian thriller Ordinary Days take a swing at this challenge but, unfortunately, produces weak results.
