I'm from Victoria BC and love watching films from all corners of the world. I'm fascinated by interpreting films and connecting with other film lovers. I love sharp, clever dialogue (QT), beautifully shot films (The Thin Red Line) and a filmmaker who trusts the audience to put it all together and leave room for discussion (PTA).
This is a difficult film to get into. The cast is quite the hook: Emma Roberts, Kiernan Shipka, Lauren Holly and James Remar. The film is shrouded in mystery, told as a montage of images that don’t always make sense. It’s completely fine to tell a story out of sequence, even keep your audience in the dark but this film is obnoxious in its structure…
Jeremy Saulnier landed on my radar in 2013 with his second feature, Blue Ruin when it played at Fantastic Fest. Green Room has one hell of a cast: Imogen Poots, Patrick Stewart and Anton Yelchin to name a few. We haven’t seen a trailer yet, we only know that a punk band gets stuck at a venue after witnessing an act of violence. Saulnier has demonstrated the…
Count this as my favorite discovery at SXSW. A Space Program will polarize audiences. In fact, many people walked out during the World Premiere screening. The mockumentary/performance piece is sci-fi by way of Wes Anderson. Writers and directors Van Neistat and Tom Sachs constructed the basics required for space travel: space shuttle, space suits…
It’s been 21 years since the day we lost Kurt Cobain. It speaks volumes that all these years later his fans still miss him and still want to know more about him. Thanks to the work of Brett Morgan (Director) and his team, Cobain fans will gain access to unheard/unseen footage of Cobain in his youth and during his days spent in the spotlight. Fans are treated to recordings of Cobain playing his guitar as a teenager and…
Gauging the strength of a film involves many factors that depend greatly on the type of film you’re watching. Does it entertain? Is it thought provoking? Does it engage you? Do you have a difficult time suspending disbelief? Is it timeless? The list goes on, and for sci-fi films, cinema lovers tend to be tougher on these films. Other ideas that factor in the enjoyment of a sci-fi film: Is it Original? Is it scientifically accurate? (Queue the 100 things wrong with …..
Some of the best horror/thriller films start with a plausible premise. When a filmmaker takes an every day situation we can all relate to, that has the workings of a classic that that genre lovers will re-visit many times. The Invitation is set during a lavish dinner party and the hosts dance a fine line between creepy and hospitable.
Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart are giants in the entertainment industry. Both performers have an immeasurable fan base and in their careers have delivered much laughter and happiness. It’s an odd choice that they agreed to work on a project that involves the lowest, most primitive forms of comedy: homophobic jokes and racism. Get Hard is a mixed bag because it does contain sporadic moments of …
J.C. Chandor has built quite the resume over the last four years with Margin Call, All is Lost and his latest entry, A Most Violent Year. His continued success will no doubt earn him a place in the upper echelon of working filmmakers. The film takes place in 1981 New York where Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac) is on the brink of realizing The American Dream. Morales owns and operates…
Mountain Men is a film centered on estranged family dynamics. Cooper (Chace Crawford) returns to a small mountain community for the weekend to attend his mother’s wedding. Cooper’s brother Toph (Tyler Labine) has other plans, he wants to bond with his estranged brother and talk over quality time spent at the family cabin. Toph convinces Cooper to investigate a…
Stay Awhile is a film about a Canadian super group called The Bells. The story centers on the relationship developed between two of the group members and the rise and fall of the band. The music sounds great but this film feels like a short film stretched out to become a full-length feature film…