By: Trevor Chartrand Director Bassam Tariq and actor Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler, Sound of Metal) are the co-writers of BBC Films’ Mogul Mowgli, and together they explore the concepts of family, tradition, and cultural identity/responsibility with their recent collaboration.
Bodied, TIFF’s people’s choice award winner on 2017’s Midnight Madness circuit, has been produced by self-proclaimed “rap god” Eminem. Considering the film sinks itself into the world of rap battles and diss shakedowns, comparisons to Eminem’s 2002 8 Mile are inevitable and appropriate. But 8 Mile is most certainly a product of its time. The movie isn’t dated per se, but it represented an underground culture of individuals channeling their repression through rhythm and flow. With…
Benny Boom, the music video director/indie filmmaker behind Next Day Air and 48 Hours to Live, has been given a chance to swim in a larger pond with the Tupac Shakur biopic All Eyez on Me. On paper, this should work. Boom’s been working upwards to larger projects, and the source material is certainly in his wheelhouse.
By: Jessica Goddard Geremy Jasper’s Patti Cake$ is a fresh and energetic take on the “wannabe rapper” sub-sub-genre.
By: Addison Wylie Alias made me frustrated. Watching Michelle Latimer’s documentary provoked me in a way that pushed me to talk back to the screen – something I rarely do. Alias focuses on a small handful of Toronto rappers trying to be heard and to please an audience with their music and lyrics. According to the synopsis, Latimer’s doc “digs deeper than the usual portrait of the rap world as glamour, guns and swagger.” I…