Before I met my wife, my longest relationship lasted a span of only three months. I wasn’t afraid of commitment; I was too committed too early. I fell fast and hard. Every time. But that doesn’t mean I never went through the typical relationship bumps in the road. I fought with plenty of exes about …
Oz the Great and Powerful Directed by Sam Raimi Written by Mitchell Kapner and David Lindsay-Abaire USA, 2013 Oz the Great and Powerful is a film obsessed with façades. The characters, particularly the lead, rely on being able to control and define what is and isn’t real. Oscar Diggs, a would-be genius magician who accidentally …
Oz the Great and Powerful Written by Mitchell Knapper and David Lindsay-Abaire Directed by Sam Raimi U.S.A., 2013 Here we go again. Another March, another major live action Disney film coming to theatres. More than that, it is another live action adventure which taps into very old, much beloved fantasy literature, directed by a major …
For better or worse, films don’t exist in a vacuum. If literature derives from itself, and, according to Marshall McLuhan, the content in any new medium is always the same as in the old, then films don’t exactly have a wealth of opportunities to be original. You can always compare a film to one that …
Take This Waltz Directed by Sarah Polley Written by Sarah Polley Canada, 2011 Actress, writer, producer, director, Sarah Polley can apparently do it all. Ever since her touching, memorable performance in Atom Egoyan’s The Sweet Hereafter, she has earned her place within the film industry on both sides of the Canadian-American borders. Her work is …
Keep the Lights On Directed by Ira Sachs Written by Ira Sachs and Mauricio Zacharias USA, 2012 Keep the Lights On tells the story of Erik Rothman (Thure Lindhardt), a gay Danish documentary filmmaker living in late 90’s New York City. While not filming, Erik likes to patron the city’s phone-sex lines, soliciting no-strings-attached one-night …
My Week with Marilyn Written by Adrian Hodges Directed by Simon Curtis UK/USA, 2011 My Week with Marilyn’s key strength, and obvious biggest point of interest for most viewers, is Michelle Williams’ turn as Monroe. Williams excels at portraying various facets of Monroe’s star image omnipresent in pop culture, but the quality of the performance …
The news of indie favourites Grizzly Bear contributing an all-original soundtrack for the intense romantic drama Blue Valentine has been circulating on the internets for quite sometime now. Bated breaths were held, waiting for the new material to surface accompanied closely by the also no doubt brilliant, yet heartbreakingly beautiful, film featuring Ryan Gosling and …
Blue Valentine Directed by Derek Cianfrance Written by Derek Cianfrance, Joey Curtis and Cami Delavigne Possibly the natural result of having a gestation period longer than some directors’ entire careers, Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine manages to feel tortured but not labored. Written and workshopped over half a decade, and conceived considerably longer ago, Cianfrance’s film …
Every year in January or February I put together a predicted list of my favourite films of the year. Not only am I usually completely wrong, but about half of my predicted picks never even see a release. It is, nonetheless, a fun little project and is a good exercise in getting a sense of …
“Although masterful in its art and creative limitations, the film direly falls apart at the end…” Meek’s Cutoff Directed by Kelly Reichardt Yet again, director Kelly Reichardt and screenwriter Jon Raymond collaborate to raise modern-day contemporaneous issues, this time in a pre-colonial fashion with Meek’s Cutoff. As 2006’s Old Joy confronts the dissolutions of brotherhood, …
Fall is now upon us. With Labor Day upon us, that means it’s time to get the rake out and pass on those trick or treats. Football has replaced Baseball, although with the pennant race in full gear, important baseball is still to be played. I am glad I mentioned the word important because that …
————– If you’re facing down the Toronto International Film Fest’s immense schedule and feeling a strong urge to self-harm, you’re not alone. This year’s lineup is densely packed with enough documentaries, Oscarbait, and intriguing foreign features to drive any movie fan who can make it to TO up the wall. To help whittle it down, …