Julian Glander’s vaporwave indie Boys Go to Jupiter is an exercise in procrastination. Experienced by the characters, but felt – with each painstaking step – by the audience. In a Floridian suburb, high school dropout-turn-courier-for-hire Billy 5000 (voiced by Jack Corbett) has set a goal to save $5,000. Why $5,000? Because Billy 5000 supposes he could finally get his life moving with that much dough. He’s also discovered a currency glitch through his courier’s app that…
Shook puts the “eh” in GTA; as in someone from the Greater Toronto Area recognizes something they see in the movie, elbows you and says, “eh! Remember that? From Toronto! Pretty neat that it’s in a movie, eh?”. Truth be told, Amar Wala’s feature filmmaking debut has been conceived from a genuine, semi-autobiographical point-of-view (expanding on Wala’s short film of the same name starring Fondi ’91‘s Raymond Ablack and The Joke Thief’s Sugith Varughese). However, Wala’s attempts at authenticity…
Nicola Rose’s sophomore feature Magnetosphere reminded me of Nickelodeon programming I grew up with – family friendly fodder that used sitcom conventions as an entry way for outcasts to identify with off-beat humour and a unique perspective on life. While the nostalgia is hard to shake, with this current collection of coming-of-age films aimed at pre-teens, Magnetosphere is in a league of its own. Maggie (played by newcomer Shayelin Martin of Wild Goat Surf) sees…
Oh, Hi! would make a surefire date flick for seasoned couples who have since shed their desperation for romance. Having that self-assurance would make Sophie Brooks’ off-kilter rom-com much more satisfying. If you’re a couple that is more green, hey, there’s nothing wrong with a film provoking some interesting post-screening chats about comfort and communication over some coffee and pie. Issac (Logan Lerman of The Perks of Being a Wallflower) and Iris (Theater Camp’s Molly Gordon,…
Magnetosphere is a sophomore indie from filmmaker Nicola Rose and a standout flick for pre-teens. Pitching itself as a reliable coming-of-age story from a teenage wallflower, Rose uses specific experiences, such as viewing life through synesthesia, to identify with broader and universally relatable growing pains; all while issuing a warm and welcoming feeling for anyone watching her latest effort. I wanted to speak with Nicola Rose about making such an inviting film. From casting her ensemble…
Fire Island filmmaker Andrew Ahn follows up his streamer sleeper hit with The Wedding Banquet, a contemporary remake of Ang Lee’s 90s rom-com of the same name. While I can’t comment on how faithful this adaptation is to its source material, outsiders (like myself) will enjoy Ahn’s genre-clashing family dramedy. Much of The Wedding Banquet can be perceived as a farce – misunderstandings and personality swaps build up to a grand charade where the masqueraders will benefit…
Boxcutter is both a love letter to Toronto and a hate-letter from struggling, hustling artists trying to make it in the big city. This is a well-meaning Canadian indie with bounds of excitement, and it’s unfortunate that so much of that passion gets lost in the shuffle of the production’s immaturity. Playing out like an RPG version of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, robbed amateur rapper Rome (Ashton James) must locate copies of his missing…
40 Acres represents the best qualities of Canadian cinema. R.T. Thorne’s outstanding survival thriller is enormously entertaining with taut and rhythmic tension, but the movie also pitches hauntingly beautiful scenery (a near-future dystopia using Northern Ontario as a backdrop) and a metaphorical vision about land being usurped from minorities. The blockbuster hit A Quiet Place was a sensory experience for audiences to perceive the stark hopelessness of an apocalypse through silences. In comparison, 40 Acres offers movie goers…
Bride Hard is an example of an action-comedy that has everything and, at the same time, absolutely nothing. Pitch Perfect co-stars Rebel Wilson and Anna Camp are the headliners, so one would assume their chemistry hasn’t changed since then. Filmmaker Simon West (Con Air, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The Mechanic, Wild Card) has been brought on to direct, so one would assume he knows the language of an action flick. The film is also supported by seasoned actors like Stephen…
I recognize Jamie Elman from the Canadian cult teen comedy Student Bodies, and I remember Eli Batalion making me laugh with his tech comedy Appiness. But, I had never watched their efforts on YidLife Crisis, a web series created and starring Elman and Batalion that explores and celebrates Jewish culture through sketch comedy. After finding an audience online, the duo have since adapted their observational humour for live stage shows. Despite having a passion for their heritage, they’re…