Iliza Shlesinger: Over & Over
Comedian Iliza Shlesinger gives at-home viewers an up-close-and-personal look at her career leading up to her latest Netflix special in the “fan-u-mentary” Iliza Shlesinger: Over & Over.
2019
Hotel Mumbai
We don’t watch Hotel Mumbai, we experience it. Filmmaker Anthony Maras makes his feature film debut with a dramatization so intense and effective that the audience has no choice but to grit their teeth and squint their eyes as they muster through the film’s realistic reenactments. I haven’t felt that way since Paul Greengrass’ heart-wrenching portrayal of 9/11 in United 93 (2006).
Yesterday
By: Jessica Goddard Yesterday offers a fun hypothetical situation, and if you don’t overthink it, you’ll enjoy this movie as a tribute to the Beatles’ legacy. Spattered with modern Beatles covers and commentary on the ways the music industry has transformed since those songs were written, the film explores what might happen if one struggling singer-songwriter were suddenly the only person to remember the work of John, Paul, George, and Ringo.
Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki
At just over an hour, Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki is a rare opportunity to watch Studio Ghibli’s master at work as Miyazaki comes out of a temporary retirement to experiment with CGI animation.
Yesterday
What would happen if you woke up one day and just one seemingly ubiquitous thing had vanished off the face of the earth? As far as thought experiments go, this formula can lead to a variety of paths, most of them worth a bit of digging. However, what would happen if the Beatles vanished off the face of the earth and the answer was told by a cheque-cashing Danny Boyle, based on yet another formulaic…
The Kid
From my experience, audiences usually like when a movie shifts into high gear right off the hop; especially if it’s an action movie. The Kid does just that. Using a pair of young fugitives as a vessel for the audience, the film essentially starts in the middle of a power struggle between Pat Garrett (Ethan Hawke) and Billy ‘The Kid’ Bonney (Dane DeHaan).
Wild Rose
By: Jolie Featherstone “Three chords and the truth” – Harlan Howard’s oft-quoted definition of country music may well describe the soul of Wild Rose. Directed by Tom Harper and written by Nicole Taylor, Wild Rose is a classic underdog tale with an endlessly watchable underdog in the form of the fiery Rose-Lynn Harlan.
Paris Is Burning
Jennie Livingston’s award-winning documentary Paris Is Burning has received a 4K restoration twenty-eight years after its initial release, and it’ll screen in select theatres across Canada throughout the year. I believe the re-release was planned in part to curate the footage, but also because the documentary is relevant as ever.