1. In 1989, a young man killed fourteen women at Montreal’s Polytechnique school of engineering with a Mini-14 semi-automatic carbine. In 2009’s Polytechnique, the tragedy is fictionalized in deep focus black and white that clarifies every bullet hole. There is the placid face of the young man pausing to reload his carbine. And you, the …
As fancy as it may feel, and as stacked as its ensemble is, Prisoners is pretty much a very well-acted and technically proficient feature-length episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. To be as generous as possible, you might simply take out that NBC drama and insert the grimmest crime procedural on the air you can think of. Like the best cop dramas, Prisoners is compelling and twisty, red herrings planted with care throughout.
Most moviegoers can agree on one thing: there were way too many movies this year. If you’re (un)fortunate enough to live in New York, you had the opportunity to see around 600 new features come and go; the rest of us didn’t get that many fewer. That means that anyone who’s been put in …
Most moviegoers can agree on one thing: there were way too many movies this year. If you’re (un)fortunate enough to live in New York, you had the opportunity to see around 600 new features come and go; the rest of us didn’t get that many fewer. That means that anyone who’s been put in a …
Incendies is the first unqualified masterpiece of 2011
It was Canada’s turn for glitz and glamour last night as the red carpet rolled out for The 31st Annual Genie Awards, Canada’s biggest night in film. Awards were handed out at the National Arts Center in our nation’s capital last night and hosted by icon and current funnyman William Shatner. The televised event on …
Infused with its own brand of hyper-stylized realism, Dogtooth feels so out of this world that it’s almost impossible to pin down. The winner of the Prix Un Certain Regard at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, the Greek film is twisted and weird enough that the absurd comedy of Todd Solondz seems lucid by comparison. …
Are you already sick of Oscar coverage? Tough luck, ’cause Justine and Simon have some thoughts on the major categories at this year’s festivities, so if you’re planning an Oscar pool – well, maybe look elsewhere, ’cause frankly Simon’s batting average isn’t all that great. (Just ask his wallet.) Anyway, in this first installment, they’ll …
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Front Row Center, the new videocast from Sound on Sight. That’s right, for the first time ever, we’ve put our faces where our mouths are. Wait, that can’t be right. Anyway, in our first installment, we take on an appropriately patriotic subject: Justine and Simon discuss Canada’s (Quebec’s, really) entry …
The five films nominated for Best Foreign Language Film by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, will be announced next week. Right now they are down to nine contenders. On the list is a film that we here at Sound On Sight raved about way back in 2009 – Greece’s critically beloved Dogtooth …
Disclaimer: I purposefully did not include Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. For my purposes, it’s too American. I am interested in hearing if you think it should qualify and if you are willing to undertake a discussion on defining National Cinema. It is tricky, I certainly don’t object to others who would include it on …
It’s always tricky for the Sound On Sight staff to choose their favourite films each year. Since we have contributors across the globe and because many movies have different release dates in various countries, there’s always a few movies that not everyone on our team has the opportunity to watch. These films have a disadvantage. …
Incendies Directed by Denis Villeneuve Canada’s submission to the Best Foreign Language Film category for this year’s Academy Awards comes in the shape of a rather atypical piece of Quebecois cinema – a mostly Arabic language war drama. Originating as a coup de foudre that director Denis Villeneuve had for Wadji Mouawad’s play of the …
Best Animated Feature The Secret Of Kells Directed by Tomm Moore I realize The Secret Of Kells was nominated for an Academy Award in 2009, but technically the film was only released in 2010 and quite frankly I don’t care much for the Oscars. The Secret of Kells remains a feast for the eyes with …
“Villeneuve’s screen adaptation has been hailed as his best feature film to date.” Incendies Directed by Denis Villeneuve Canada’s submission to the Best Foreign Language Film category for this year’s Academy Awards comes in the shape of a rather atypical piece of Quebecois cinema – a mostly Arabic language war drama. Originating as a coup …