Orson Welles’ 1938 radio broadcast War of the Worlds was so convincing, some listeners were persuaded into thinking a martian invasion really was at large. Brave New Jersey, a quirky small-scale comedy from budding director Jody Lambert, sets a funny fictitious story in this historical footnote, resulting in a sweet and refreshing flick that stays faithful to its period.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is an astonishing film. Visually, it could even be described as a masterpiece. Unfortunately, a formulaic third act and a lack of chemistry between the two leads sink one of the most promising films of the year.
By: Nick Ferwerda Even with an open mind and fair expectations, the latest sci-fi/thriller The Recall will leave you feeling disappointed.
The Devout is a new addition to the faith-based genre, and it’s actually a pretty cool flick. You don’t often hear “cool” in the same discussion as recent faith-based cinema, so I assume I already have your attention.
The team behind last year’s efficient horror anthology Minutes Past Midnight return to bring similar chills and thrills with Galaxy of Horrors, another feature-length anthology hand-picked by Torontonian film programmer Justin McConnell. This time, he’s showcasing horror shorts with a sci-fi twist.
The premise of Criminal involves an ex-con being used as a vessel to contribute to an ongoing investigation by the CIA. Information and memories are transferred via a scientific procedure from a recently murdered agent to the agency’s newly hired hand. This set-up is bonkers, but the cast sells it as best as they can.
No Men Beyond This Point is a Canadian comedy that isn’t constantly funny as it is consistently clever.
Much of Prisoner X’s scenery is dark and grey, which describes my experience watching Gaurav Seth’s movie. It’s not very stimulating and I was left feeling cold.
By: Shahbaz Khayambashi For the first time in their ten year history, the Toronto After Dark Film Festival broke with tradition and allowed an under-18 crowd to one of its screenings. More specifically, anyone over the age of 14 was invited to come and view Lazer Team, the new film from Rooster Teeth Productions. A company which is apparently very popular with kids, according to the sheer number of teenagers who turned out to see…
By: Trevor Jeffery At Toronto’s Fan Expo (an annual gathering for sci-fi super fans, comic book buffs, anime addicts, gaming geeks, horror… fans), badge-wearing nerds flock from all around, many garbed as pop culture icons, to enjoy a convention of collective interests. It’s a place where people can gather in community, compliment each other’s costumes, bathe in their favourite entertainment cultures and, of course, enjoy the celebrity guests.