By: Jeff Ching Clean Slate is a documentary that can be described as The Fabelmans meets Dopesick. Instead of trying to cover the opioid crisis and the countless lives that have been ruined because of it, Clean Slate takes a more grounded approach; simply focusing on two best friends (Cassidy and Joshua) in rehab, whose lives have been ruined by their addiction to painkillers. However, Cassidy and Joshua share one passion – their love of…
When I reviewed a sci-fi flick named Ashgrove at this year’s Canadian Film Fest, I sensed that it was a different type of movie for its director Jeremy Lalonde. It was significantly more dramatic than his previous work, which have either been ensemble comedies (Sex After Kids, How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town) or high-concept projects (The Go-Getters, James vs. His Future Self), and I felt like he was challenging himself as a storyteller to look…
Clerks III features writer/director Kevin Smith “returning to the well” to follow up with everyone’s favourite perturbed convenience store employees, Dante and Randal.
I’ll be reviewing Gaspar Noé’s Vortex very soon, and I wanted to use the filmmaker’s latest short Lux Æterna as a gateway to his latest feature. I’m a fan of Noé’s polarizing work from what I’ve seen (Irreversible, Enter The Void), but his latest projects utilize a split-screen technique I haven’t seen him play around with before. As a provocateur, the writer/director has been know to explore and experiment with “gratuitous filmmaking”. It’s overkill for…
For as morbid as it is, I had a really good time watching The Comeback Trail, a dark comedy about a scheming film producer banking on the “accidental” death of his leading star. Think Bowfinger or The Producers with more slapstick and cynicism.
Greenlight works as a thriller, but I can also see it being a cathartic outlet for student filmmakers looking to cut their teeth in an exclusive industry.
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound has been directed by seasoned sound editor Midge Costin, which explains a lot.
Spice It Up does something really special that I hope will translate to general audiences. It rips on practically everything that has to do with making a movie, including those brave enough to take on such a task. It even doubles down on its niche by teasing student filmmakers and the amateur qualities they have yet to grow out of. Spice It Up isn’t mean, but it’s self-aware enough to shoot off some well-meaning friendly…
You’ve heard of a movie “spinning its wheels”, but have you seen a movie that is simply “spinning”? That’s what Orson Welles’ recently recovered The Other Side of the Wind makes its audience feel like – it’s an evening on a sociable, abrasive lazy suzy with Hollywood elites admiring each other just as often as they’re jumping at another’s throat.
There is a police parade walking down the street. Dozens of men in uniform are walking in formation, surrounded by revelers. Suddenly, Andy Kaufman pulls out a gun and shoots someone down. He is subdued and shot. With his last breath, he says “God told me to.” I have only seen one Larry Cohen film, and yet it managed to contain one scene which placed itself directly into my brain. Cohen has spent decades writing…