Orion and the Dark
Netflix’s animated Orion and the Dark may not be the streamer’s most memorable family film, and it isn’t one of the strongest adaptations of a children’s book, but its imagination can’t be ignored.
Ike Barinholtz
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
By: Jeff Ching When I had first heard about a movie centred around Nicolas Cage playing himself and that it was going to be “the most Nicolas Cage movie ever made”, it became the film I was anticipating the most this year. He’s been my favourite actor since, maybe, grade 8. Con Air was the first R-rated movie I ever snuck into…and got caught doing so as well. We tried to pull off the whole, “I…
For Madmen Only: The Stories of Del Close
In the late 1980’s, Del Close set out to write his autobiography, Wasteland, for DC comics. In Wasteland, the actor and comedian, who mentored comedy legends from John Belushi to Tina Fey but found little material success in his own career, presented a fictionalized and darkly surreal version of his life story. In director Heather Ross’ semi-experimental documentary, For Madmen Only: The Stories of Del Close, Wasteland serves as a frame for a deeper examination…
The Hunt
The Hunt is more politically charged than expected. It’s also more cartoony than expected. It’s a sardonically funny thriller that points out hypocrisies of right-wing and left-wing beliefs, and favours extravagantly violent finales over mutual understandings. Cynical, yes; but The Hunt is a really ballsy movie for strapping on a blast suit and barrelling through such edgy, non-partisan material.
Mark Felt – The Man Who Brought Down the White House
By: Jessica Goddard Mark Felt – The Man Who Brought Down the White House will work for those already familiar with the Watergate scandal of the 1970s, but Peter Landesman’s film will be less interesting to audiences not well-versed in political history. The screenplay doesn’t offer much exposition and relies on the smarts of its audience to keep up and understand.
Suicide Squad
Movie theatres have been over-saturated with comic book adaptations, and audiences have been spoiled. “Spoiled” in two ways: studios want to give movie goers more bang for their buck, but by now, just about everyone is burnt out on these action/adventures. Part of the reason Marvel’s Deadpool was such a success is because it wasn’t afraid to make fun of itself and reinvent the formula – people appreciated that breath of fresh air.
Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising
The laughs in Seth Rogen’s first live-action sequel Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising are every bit a part of the movie’s rollicking Revenge of the Nerds pastiche. The film is driven by the dubious actions and deceptive prank wars between two scrambling teams, which amount to amusing, frenzied chaos.