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.
Kelly Fyffe-Marshall’s When Morning Comes is a true standout in the overcrowded coming-of-age sub-genre. It’s also a landmark in slice-of-life filmmaking.
By: Jolie Featherstone Adorable funnyman and prolific Hollywood actor Randall Park (seriously, look at his IMDB page) makes his feature film directorial debut with the much-anticipated Shortcomings, based on the lauded graphic novel series by Adrian Tomine who also adapted the screenplay.
Serpent’s Lullaby writer/director Patricia Chica, who has always been busy with making short films and music videos, completes an effortless transition to feature-length storytelling with her debut Montréal Girls, an affable vehicle for herself and her breakout leads. The movie pushes past its familiarity with notes of magic realism and method acting. The results are impressive, though the story still rings some bells.
Thematic crossovers and shared stories are bound to happen when so many movies are being released close together; these flukes are not uncommon. While it’s easy for movie goers to gripe about déjà vu, it’s hard to complain when the separate works are good in their own right.
L’immensità is a mesmerizing 70s slice of life, anchored by excellent performances and deeply felt emotion both in front of and behind the camera.
I Like Movies, a coming-of-age dramedy set in the early-2000s, alternates between the double life of 17-year-old Burlington native Lawrence Kweller (Isiah Lehtinen): an outspoken high school senior and an obsessive film buff at his local video store, Sequels Video, who is simply trying to fit in. Lawrence is an opinionated know-it-all under both roofs, but he feels more in his element at Sequels and is elated when they finally hire him on as an…
By: Jolie Featherstone Winner of the 2022 TIFF People’s Choice Award and one of the most anticipated films of the year, The Fabelmans gives us a peek-behind-the-curtain…er, camera of one of the most beloved director’s of all time: Mr. Steven Spielberg.
Set in the early-2000s, I Like Movies alternates between the double life of 17-year-old Burlington native Lawrence Kweller (Isiah Lehtinen) as an outspoken high school senior and an obsessive film buff at his local video store, Sequels Video. Lawrence is an opinionated know-it-all under both roofs, but he feels more in his element at Sequels and is elated when they finally hire him on as an employee.
