To be honest, I didn’t think French filmography could get any worse after the last season of Emily in Paris. I was wrong, very wrong. Somehow I still managed to dread this film. Maybe it’s a ‘me thing’ but, when has any iteration of French humor ever landed? Although it is possible I am frustrated […]
The film Neo Sora’s Happyend shows a preview of their social conditions before introducing any of the characters. Happyend is also striking in its teenage drama and political critique, though the film never successfully attempts to resolve or blend these two opposing scales of society. The film envisions a not-too-distant future marked by climate change,
In the past, films were hardly longer than an average spin class. Movies were strictly capped at ninety minutes, which for some reason, forced directors and writers to tell stories more efficiently (which, to my eyes at least, is an art form that seems to have been lost nowadays) but, back in the day, that
A striking dehumanization which is a built-in feature, not a bug, of the United States immigration system regarding asylum seekers is that it expects them to prove the extent of their suffering an applicant must show that they merit existing in their home country by risking death in a manner specific enough to be granted
Twelve years back in 2013, during the Sundance Film Festival, I watched Fruitvale later to be called Fruitvale Station, Ryan Coogler’s heart-throbbing saga about Oscar Grant who was a young man shot to death by Bay Area police even though he was innocent. When the film came to an end, it was apparent that every
The Land That Time Forgot from 1918 has had some notable adaptations, including the 1974 Kevin Connor film. Now, The Asylum, which previously tackled the title in 2009, brings the story back to the screen. Can this new version balance the feeling of the original with contemporary elements without losing the spirit of the novel?
Right after Nicole Kidman’s Babygirl, a new psychologically dizzying take on an erotic thriller emerges from one of the autumn festivals. The Toronto International Film Festival, in its Discovery Section, is screening an Argentine thriller Linda which places a sultry, enigmatic maid inside a household where she emotionally shatters the family she serves. The magic
Why does the 30-something Quebecoise filmmaker cohort want to delve into the exhausted porn cliche of unfulfilled wives having their sexual needs catered to by hot handymen? In 2023 Monia Chokri’s OK dramedy The Nature of Love received a nomination at Cannes and ended up winning a César for best foreign film. Now, Chloé Robichaud
Johanna Moder’s newest work, the pervasively tense, darkly humorous “Mother’s Baby” is a striking example of control over tone for as long as it lasts. It almost gets to the finish line but gets tripped up in its closing moments with some choices that strip the story of its fundamental power: the postpartum depression’s gaping
My Annoying Brother (alt. Hyung) has been on my watchlist for quite a while because of the positive remarks regarding Kyungsoo’s acting. However, I chose to put it off because I knew it would be sad. It turns out I was right but I wish the synopsis didn’t hide some things. You are going to
