The 4th marks the second Fourth of July comedy to be released this year, and it’s certainly the better flick over Mad Families. The shoestring slacker comedy isn’t necessarily anything to write home about either, but writer/director/star Andre Hyland uses an unusual blend of schadenfreude and repetition to make his audience chuckle.
Film, as a physical material medium, is an unusual object: film reels can often survive in strange settings, remaining undiscovered for decades, and yet these same reels can suddenly go up in a blaze, often taking their surroundings with them. This is an underplayed theme in Dawson City: Frozen Time, the newest work of filmmaker Bill Morrison. Film is at once destructive and salvageable, destroyed and saved.
By: Nick Ferwerda Academy Award nominee Rooney Mara (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Academy Award winner Casey Affleck (Manchester by the Sea) play M and C, a couple who lives in an old fashion country home that holds a lot of history. After C is killed in a car accident nearby, M is left with the haunting image of her love and debates moving despite adoring the house. C returns to the house as a ghost…
The Little Hours fuses arthouse cinema with modern comedic stylings borrowed from Judd Apatow’s toybox. In other words, it’s a film with lovely cinematography and patient pacing, yet features bawdy behaviour and provocative profanity.
I don’t know who bothers me more: indifferent Bruce Willis or cocky Bruce Willis. Precious Cargo and Marauders gave audiences more of the former, featuring the actor barely showing effort in his performances. Cop Out and his latest action flick Once Upon a Time in Venice shows more of the latter Willis as he smirks and sleepwalks through his role. The actor, who has been great and charismatic in the past, seems to be uninspired lately. Then…
The horror independent film scene may be the most supportive community of movie goers and filmmakers. Take Blood Hunters, for instance. Despite the movie’s routine qualities, I can imagine horror fanatics who scroll through weekly VOD titles every Tuesday will appreciate it for what it is – an honest effort with some admirably gruesome moments. Blood Hunters isn’t just for this niche audience though. It’s a harmless escape for those with a strong enough stomach…
Summer blockbusters are sneaking up on us, and I’m really hoping Nick Hamm’s modest film The Journey doesn’t get lost in the seasonal shuffle.
