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September 2023

Reviews

The Baker

Last week, The Retirement Plan disappointed me with its inconsistencies.  What I didn’t acknowledge in my review, buried underneath the tacky filmmaking, was a tangent involving a congenial heavy-hitter played by Ron Perlman (of Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy series).  Perlman is squandered, portraying a brute named Bobo who shows compassion towards a young victim and eventually seals his fate after reuniting with Season of the Witch co-star Nicolas Cage.

Reviews

The Beasts

By: Trevor Chartrand The Beasts, from director Rodrigo Sorogoyen, is based on the ominous and tragic true story of discrimination set in rural Galicia, Spain.  With all due respect to the victims involved, this true story is captivating – there’s tons of cinematic potential in this narrative that The Beasts, frankly, fails to exploit.  Instead of a tense, emotional thriller, Sorogoyen has chosen to take a much slower paced and melodramatic direction, which doesn’t feel…

Reviews

It Lives Inside

Horror movies often have an allegorical thread within them and, currently, it’s hard to spot a story in one of these spooky flicks that doesn’t also double for another, deeper meaning.  While the efforts are usually appreciated when filmmakers try to push themselves, sometimes their movies are simply too good at fulfilling the broader strokes.  Such is the case for Bishal Dutta’s It Lives Inside.

Reviews

Spy Kids: Armageddon

The once reliable Spy Kids franchise finds itself, somewhat, back on track with the Netflix feature Spy Kids: Armageddon.  It isn’t a flawless endeavour, but the movie offers enough reassurance from filmmaker Robert Rodriguez that audiences will believe that the series may actually have potential to be rebooted properly in the future.

Reviews

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.