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Vortex Media

Reviews

T.I.M.

By: Trevor Chartrand For years, filmmakers have pondered the potentially apocalyptic dangers of self-aware, sentient computers: from Kubrick to the Wachowski’s, and everything in between.  The machine uprising is an all-too-common cautionary tale, but has also never been more relevant than it is today.  With deepfakes and ChatGPT, it appears we are closer than we’ve ever been to this trope becoming a reality.  So the timing is right for director Spencer Brown to throw his…

Reviews

Raging Grace

Joy (Max Eigenmann) is a Filipina immigrant living in the UK with her young daughter, Grace (Jaeden Paige Boadilla).  Because of her undocumented status, Joy struggles to make ends meet and provide a safe, stable home for Grace — often living secretly in the homes she cleans while the wealthy families who live there are away on vacation.  But when the aloof and uptight Katherine (Leanne Best) hires Joy as a live-in care-worker for her…

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Golden Delicious

Golden Delicious is melodramatic molasses.  Each emotional beat, as sincere as they may be, can be seen coming from a mile away as they slowly roll their way towards the screen.  Personal epiphanies from the characters feel like déjà vu to movie goers who may be more than familiar with coming-of-age stories involving closeted teens becoming more in touch with who they are.

Reviews

The Retirement Plan

Everyone’s favourite Nicolas Cage (The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent) is back playing another enigmatic oddball.  However, the role doesn’t play towards the actors usual blend of ticks and outbursts but rather, and unintentionally so, reflects the movie he’s starring in.

Reviews

The Channel

By: Trevor Chartrand The Channel, directed and co-written by William Kaufman, is a sub-par action-thriller that lacks charisma and crowd-pleasing charm.  A typical B-Movie in almost every way, the film feels completely unoriginal and uninspired, borrowing many tropes and concepts from much more successful films.

Reviews

Retrograde

The intentions of Retrograde are tough to pin down and, if the viewer likes the movie, the Canadian indie is even more difficult to recommend because of how persistently obnoxious it is.  I should know because I belong in this camp, and I’m going to do my damndest to explain why I think Adrian Murray’s movie is a brilliant comedy.