Tunisia’s harrowing Oscar nominated documentary Four Daughters is a trip in the sense that you never know what to expect from it. It’s a sympathetic filmmaking experiment that aims to work as closure for its subjects but, along the way, rediscovers old family wounds that also need to be addressed.
“Tacky” and “hacky”. Those are the first words that spring to mind when describing The Underdoggs, an R-rated, pee-wee sports comedy from director Charles Stone III (Mr. 3000, Uncle Drew), and starring rapper Snoop Dogg. “Tacky” because the humour derives from the stale gag of having adults swearing around, or at, kids. “Hacky” because Snoop should feel guilty for aiming at such low-hanging comedic fruit.
While Trolls Band Together works as an innocuous piece of children’s entertainment, it’s official that the popular animated series may be finally spinning its wheels and overreaching for ideas. Resident franchise directors Walt Dohrn (Trolls World Tour) and Tim Heitz (Trolls Holiday in Harmony) return to helm this sequel that does something the other feature-length movies haven’t done: call attention to itself.
Director F. Gary Gray calls back to his days as an acton-thriller filmmaker with Lift, a heist movie that aspires to be an airborne version of Gray’s remake of The Italian Job. However, that former influence was an entertaining and accessible thrill ride with enough charisma to boot. Lift , the complete opposite, is an expensive-looking, self-serious knockoff; hampered by a convoluted plot and absent camaraderie among the cast. The only thing this empty-headed flick…
The dedication writer/director Aki Kaurismäki has for the art of deadpan is nothing short of impressive, and he successfully conveys just how well he understands the form of communication with Fallen Leaves. The issue is Kaurismäki’s movie peaks too early, staying loyal to its consistency but also refusing to evolve from its core strength.
Be Still, an experimental biopic on Canada’s trailblazing photographer Hannah Maynard, educates and hypnotizes viewers. Thanks to filmmaker Elizabeth Lazebnik, Be Still channels Maynard’s creative vision and offers viewers a very special perspective. Eager to know more about the movie, I contacted Lazebnik to pick her brain.
Movie goers who have claimed big screen adaptations of stage plays are stilted may be ready to dismiss Freud’s Last Session, but I hope they give it a chance. This two-hander between Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins (as neurologist Sigmund Freud) and Matthew Goode (as British author C.S. Lewis) is riveting and reminds viewers about the power of great acting.
While actor Daniel Levy has proven to be a comic force for loyal viewers of TV’s Schitt’s Creek, I personally find his demeanour suggests that he’s the smartest person in the room. Self-confidence is an admirable trait, but only if it avoids puffing up one’s ego. The idea of a feature film written and directed by Levy had me feeling skeptical, but I was optimistic for a surprise. Fortunately, Levy’s feature filmmaking debut, Good Grief,…
