film
I think the great scholar (and cinematic philosopher in his own right) Roger Ebert said it best when he said:
“I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it. Hated every simpering stupid vacant audience-insulting moment of it. Hated the sensibility that thought anyone would like it. Hated the implied insult to the audience by its belief that anyone would be entertained by it.”
The Selfish Giant Review
Fictionalized small town poverty has rarely ever felt as visceral and multifaceted as it does in Clio Barnard’s Northern England set coming of age drama The Selfish Giant.
Ice Soldiers Review
The dull, lifeless Canadian action thriller Ice Soldiers concerns a trio of recently thawed out indestructible super soldiers being reanimated, but since the film around them never comes to life it just seems like the only thing that was thawed out from long ago was the freezer burned screenplay.
This Week at The Bloor: 1/24/14
Another solid week at The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema brings a look at an offbeat Icelandic museum in The Final Member, the rise of one of basketball's most recent superstars in Linsanity, a screening of one of the best rock concert films of all time (Stop Making Sense), and a very special tribute and fundraiser for recently passed documentary icon Peter Wintonick.
Mourning Has Broken Review
In the low key, touching, and darkly funny microbudget indie Mourning Has Broken – produced by Jason and Brett Butler for only $1,000 – a nameless man (played by Robert Nolan) goes about his daily routine angry at the world around him, but it's the film's unpredictable nature that keeps things moving nicely.
The Past Review
Asghar Farhadi’s Iranian melodrama The Past is pretty much everything that made his previous film, the Oscar nominated and genuinely excellent A Separation, a success except amplified, blown up and drawn out, which means it’s ultimately less successful.
Devil’s Knot Review
Atom Egoyan’s dramatized take on the events surrounding the West Memphis Three murder case and trial, Devil’s Knot, is a tad too redundant and tasteful for its own good.
Whitewash Review
Whitewash is an ambitious, if decidedly problematic debut Canadian feature that’s arriving in theatres at the perfect time.
Godar(t): The Works of Jean-Luc Godard at TIFF
The TIFF Bell Lightbox kicks off the first of a nearly year long, two part look at the works of famed filmmaker and writer Jean-Luc Godard this Thursday, one of the most passionate and fascinating figures in cinema history.
Interview: Atom Egoyan
We talk with award winning Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan about his latest film Devil's Knot what drew him to make a film about one of the most notorious unsolved crimes in American history (The West Memphis Three case), the film’s adherence to the facts of the case, the hectic shooting schedule, and why his talented cast was such an asset to the production.
Interview: The Butler Brothers
We talk to filmmakers Jason and Brett Butler about their $1,000 budgeted dark comedy Mourning Has Broken and about expanding the film to feature length, how they kind of bluffed their way through their initial pitch with producer Ingrid Veninger, their collaboration with actor Robert Nolan, and how they like to keep audiences guessing.
CONTEST: Win Passes to the Cineplex Great Digital Film Festival!
Enter for a chance to win a pair of passes to The Great Digital Film Festival, running from January 31st to February 6th at select Cineplex locations across Canada, and a copy of The Essential Batman Encyclopedia!
Interview: Aaron Eckhart
We catch up with I, Frankenstein leading man Aaron Eckhart to talk about his recent shift towards higher profile films after starting off in independent movies, constructing the look of a modern monster, the physical preparation for the role, and the surprising amount of deep emotional research he did that took just as heavy a toll.
Contest: See an Advance Screening of I, FRANKENSTEIN in TORONTO!
Enter for a chance to win a pair of passes to an advance screening of I, Frankenstein in Toronto on Thursday, January 23rd at 7:00pm, courtesy of Dork Shelf and eOne Films!
Films in Brief: 1/18/14
We play a bit of catch up looking at the found footage horror Devil's Due, the animated animal heist flick The Nut Job, Ralph Fiennes look at Charles Dickens The Invisible Woman, a Stephen King retrospective at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, a screening of the Lebanese war drama Zaytoun, the continued popularity of the documentary Nicky's Family, and free return engagements from some films that played the European Union Film Festival last year.