Top-notch performances from a talented cast form the back bone of director David Mackenzie’s contemporary take on the western heist genre, but Hell or High Water is more than a well-executed thriller. It is a carefully crafted film that isn’t afraid to cast a bold light on modern issues.
Standing Tall is unlikable, but I don’t think Emmanuelle Bercot made this film to be easily embraced. Unfortunately, it’s terribly unappealing.
Sausage Party is a shock comedy that’s heavy on “shock” and light on “comedy”. The film is supposed to subvert clean-cut animated films with inappropriate dialogue and black humour, but ends up becoming a crass and awkward in-joke between the comic cast.
I’m catching Life, Animated far into its successful theatrical run, and after it was a hit on the festival circuit (placing sixth on the audience favourites list at Hot Docs, winning an award at the Sundance Film Festival for Roger Ross Williams’ direction and also being nominated for the prestigious Grand Jury Prize). I’m thankful to have seen the documentary, and I’m elated to pay the recommendation forward to anyone who hasn’t yet watched this…
The Toronto Youth Shorts Film Festival is still going strong with a total of 44 locally produced films screening over a two-day period (August 5 and 6).
I’m going to be honest: VAXXED: From Cover-Up to Catastrophe is a film I debated reviewing. You can’t necessarily critique Andrew Wakefield’s exposé on vaccines and their potential Autistic influence without chiming in with personal opinions. As far as grading the actual filmmaking, it’s obvious that Wakefield is concerned more about facts than shot composition.
In their essay “Cinema-Ideology-Criticism”, Jean-Luc Comolli and Jean Paul Narboni speak of a category of cinema which is politically progressive in content, but whose politics can be discounted due to the generic and status quo supporting form. This category is exemplified in Nerve, a film which, just like your friend who speaks about how others “don’t understand”, manages to talk for 96 minutes without ever actually saying anything.
The Blackout Experiments could be that “next big thing” for horror folks who avidly discuss the genre. Not only does it offer envelope-pushing originality, it also shows an underbelly that is generally out-of-bounds for a mainstream crowd. Some outsiders may find the doc’s humiliating and semi-exploitive nature to be too intense, but they won’t be able to take their eyes off the screen.
