“What is going to happen to this country?” Novelist James Baldwin believes this the real question that should be considered, while appearing on The Dick Cavett Show, rather than the one he has been asked regarding why black people are not jovial about their better life. Of course Baldwin, and those taking in Raoul Peck’s […]
Tag Archives: 2016
February
18
TIFF Next Wave: 2 Fists Up
posted by Courtney Small
“They were trying to police how we fight for liberation” states Ayanna Poole, a University of Missouri student and founding member of the school’s Concerned Student 1950 activism group, recounting one particular protest that was designed to get a face-to-face meeting with university president Tim Wolfe. Despite being told to move their protest to the […]
January
17
New on Blu-ray: Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
posted by Courtney Small
Jack Reacher does not go looking for trouble, but trouble always seems to find him. If you have ever read one of Lee Child’s novels starring his iconic Jack Reacher character, then it is easy to understand why Tom Cruise would want to portray the character onscreen. A former military officer turned drifter, Reacher leads […]
January
15
Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival: Angry Inuk
posted by Matt
An Inuit community in Canada’s northern territories faces an interesting challenge. How can a culture, that prides itself on a patient and understated expression of anger, make themselves heard when their opponents are famous for a more aggressive approach? Canadian seal hunting has gotten a lot of media attention since the late 1970s thanks to […]
January
09
Fences
posted by Courtney Small
“You’ve got to take the crooked with the straights” barks Troy Maxson to his son Cory while instructing the young man to quit the football team. The line is not meant to comfort Cory, whose hope of earning a scholarship will be killed as a result of his father’s demands, but rather to remind him […]
January
05
La La Land
posted by Jess Rogers
Every few years a movie comes along that tries to reinvent something in Hollywood. The last big reinvention was The Artist, which tried to revive silent films, or at least the concept of silent films and old Hollywood. These novelty films are often lauded for simply that, their novelty. While I HUGELY value originality, I […]
December
28
Tower
posted by Courtney Small
On August 1 1966, Charles Whitman, a student at the University of Texas, barricaded himself in the tower of the main building on campus and opened fire on unsuspecting civilians. Armed with a sniper rifle, among other weapon, Whitman killed 16 people and wounded 36 others before he was taken out by police officers. […]
December
25
Hidden Figures
posted by Courtney Small
History is often shaped by those who tell it. This is why many will know the tale of John Glen’s historic journey that made him the first American astronaut to orbit the earth, but few will have heard of some of the people that helped him get there. Theodore Melfi’s latest film Hidden Figures aims […]
December
23
Reset
posted by Courtney Small
According to famed dancer Benjamin Millepied, ballet is all about, at its core, the relationship between music and movement. It is when these two elements are working in unison that the art form is most powerful. As directors Thierry Demaizière and Alban Teurlai show in their documentary Reset, achieving this harmony, and making it look […]
December
21
The Thoughts That Once We Had
posted by Derek Jacobs
Though ostensibly a documentary, it is disingenuous to cast director Thom Andersen’s The Thoughts That Once We Had as anything but a spruced-up video essay. It is a YouTube video stretched to nearly two hours, with a more-practiced hand at the helm. Andersen is unabashed about his love of cinema, and clearly states that this […]
December
20
Sing
posted by Courtney Small
It is easy to dismiss a film like Sing if one was to merely judge it by its marketing. By all accounts the popularity of singing competitions has run its course. Sure, shows like The Voice are still on the air, but they lack the national obsession that American Idol first garnered when it began […]
December
19
Kaili Blues
posted by Derek Jacobs
Kaili Blues is a gorgeous film that interlaces realism and fantasy with the same grace as a Gabriel García Márquez novel. The film is the feature debut of Bi Gan, a Chinese director born in Kaili, Guizhou, and it certainly announces him as a burgeoning talent. The story has a wandering and quixotic nature to […]
December
18
Kate Plays Christine
posted by Derek Jacobs
Kate Plays Christine is a confusing commentary on the public’s obsession with true crime drama. The film is structured as a kind of documentary, focusing on an actress named Kate Lyn Sheil as she is preparing to play the role of Christine Chubbuck. Chubbuck was a news anchor in Sarasota, Florida who infamously committed suicide […]
December
17
Hooligan Sparrow
posted by Derek Jacobs
In Hooligan Sparrow, director Nanfu Wang take great risks with her camera, and not just artistic ones. Her film focuses on a woman named Ye Haiyan, also known as “Sparrow”, an infamous women’s rights activist who is known for viral stunts and art projects that shine a light on the abuse of women in China. […]
December
13
Life, Animated
posted by Courtney Small
One of the remarkable things about Roger Ross Williams’ Life, Animated is the way it celebrates the power of film without feeling like a promotional tool for that which it praises. Disney movies have been leaving lasting impressions on generations of film lovers both young and old for many years. While their best films can […]
December
11
The Academy of Muses
posted by Matt
Trying to review The Academy of Muses feels a lot like faking my way through an essay question on an exam for which I’ve barely studied. A professor of philology, which apparently is a thing, teaches an advanced course in Barcelona for which we get a front row seat. Professor Pinto’s class seems to offer […]
December
10
Right Now, Wrong Then
posted by Matt
Right Now, Wrong Then is the kind of movie that bores you to tears and then makes you feel like a dummy for it. I hate to write off moves as “boring” or “slow”. I pride myself on my sophisticated tastes and patience with deliberating pacing. The latest feature from Hong Sang-Soo is the kind […]
December
09
Jackie
posted by Courtney Small
Death is something, no matter how often it may occur, that we never seem ready for. Dealing with the grief it causes and the burden of responsibility that comes with organizing the funeral, so family and friends can say there official goodbyes, are not things we are taught to do. It is this period of […]
December
07
Christine
posted by Courtney Small
When reporter Christine Chubbuck shot herself during a live broadcast on July 15, 1974 it was to make a point, a gruesome and horrifying statement. Television news had lost its way and became too obsessed with providing sensationalism rather than the truth. Her deadly action was meant to be a wake-up call to society; a […]
December
05
Antibirth
posted by rmpixie
With a Toronto premier during the 2016 Toronto After Dark Film Festival, Antibirth caused quite a stir, not only because Natasha Lyonne’s attendance at the After Dark screening, but for the psychedelic film experience. Lou (Lyonne) is a rough and tumble party girl, with a permanent all-access pass to the closest after-hours, a bong permanently […]
