July 2022

Reviews

Infrared

By: Jeff Ching The movie title Infrared is pronounced (infa-red), to which I bet that most people not familiar with the camera setting would pronounce it (in-fraird);  or maybe it was just me?  Just getting that out of the way now, as this is a title that deserves respect and to be pronounced properly.

Reviews

Becoming a Queen

Becoming a Queen is a very straightforward documentary that zeroes in on one person, their career, and their primary achievement. The film follows this standard structure well enough, issuing the occasional bit of history along the way, but I wish director Chris Strikes followed a less conventional format to this vibrant subject matter.

Reviews

The Gray Man

A dependable cast (which includes Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Billy Bob Thornton, and Julia Butters) is let down by weak storytelling and sloppy filmmaking in Netflix’s summer blockbuster The Gray Man.

Reviews

The Bad Guys

The Bad Guys is a big screen adaptation of a popular book series for kids, perhaps to tide over the Diary of a Wimpy Kid crowd.  But even as someone who was completely unfamiliar with the series, I thought its feature-length debut was great.  It’s one of the coolest and most exciting films of the year.

Reviews

Fire of Love

“Do I like this movie, or do I just like the footage?” I frequently asked myself this during Fire of Love, a documentary about the relationship between volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft and their explosive expeditions.

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Nope

By: Jolie Featherstone Jordan Peele’s latest thriller Nope roars into theatres.  Nope is grand in every way: open landscapes, blockbuster performances, and big ideas.  Peele’s vision brings to life a number of ideas while keeping the story fully energized.

Reviews

Vortex

Hot on the heels of Gaspar Noé’s intense split-screen short Lux Æterna is the filmmaker’s feature-length split-screen endeavour Vortex, and I appreciate the opportunity to watch and review these movies (pretty much) back-to-back.

Reviews

The Nan Movie

The Nan Movie has made its way across the pond from the UK to North America like a rolling storm cloud.  Sometimes though, an anticipated storm turns out to be pretty mellow and not the disaster you were expecting;  a pleasant surprise, even.  And sometimes, such is the case with The Nan Movie, that storm can hit you harder than you ever expected.

Reviews

The Royal

Directed by Marcel Sarmiento (The ABCs of Death [D Is for Dogfight], Faceless) and written by Gregory W. Jordan, The Royal is based on the true story of Willie Mays Aikens, a star hitter for the Kansas City Royals (and the Toronto Blue Jays!) who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for drug possession.  Before his arrest, Aikens was one of the top sluggers in major league baseball, hitting a total of 110 home runs…