One thing that tends to endear viewers to a film is something that has been described as a “personal” style of filmmaking. When the director finds something that they have a deep personal connection with and they present it to us in an authentic, unpretentious way, that is usually something to be commended. Unfortunately, it is also possible to become too personal, giving up certain aesthetic qualities in favour of familiarity. When that happens, the…
Focused on Toronto’s Regent Park, My Piece of the City follows a few local kids as they prepare for their community-inspired stage production, The Journey.
By: Jessica Goddard An intercontinental survey of the state of the archaic shoe shining profession, Stacey Tenenbaum’s Shiners is endearing in its graceful simplicity and ability to shine a spotlight on truly memorable, delightful characters. Tenenbaum has a genuine gift for seeking out excellent subjects – from the quirky and lovable, to the inspiring and pleasantly puzzling. All have in common a philosophical attitude towards the work of shoe shining; whether they consider it a bona…
And here I was thinking that this week’s scatological doc Poop Talk was going to be the most pointless release of the year.
By: Jessica Goddard One of last year’s most eagerly-anticipated headlines – the death of Charles Manson – makes this documentary on the notoriously fascinating subject all the more topical. Narrated by Rob Zombie, Charles Manson: The Final Words uses disturbing files from the original murder investigation, interviews with members of Manson’s cult, and exclusive audio from phone conversations with the aged Manson himself while he was still alive and serving his life sentence at California State…
Where You’re Meant to Be isn’t without good music, interesting history, and touching moments, but I still feel like director Paul Fegan misses the mark.
The Final Year captures the calm before the storm. With an upcoming (and controversial) election on the horizon, director Greg Barker gained exclusive access to the Obama administration by chronicling activity by the former president and his foreign policy team.
Starting this month, Dmitrii Kalashnikov’s experimental doc The Road Movie begins a theatrical tour that will last over a year. Toronto’s Royal Cinema is the first stop, and the journey continues through the United States before heading back to Canada next February; it concludes in Boulder, Colorado the following month. That’s impressive for a shoestring indie, especially one that would be “TOO HOT FOR TV”. Twenty years ago, Joe Francis would’ve sold this at 2:00am…
