An engrossing feature debut from Mehdi Fikri, After the Fire, is a deliberate and powerful drama that times its moments perfectly. It purposely leaves a sour taste in your mouth while leaving you with hope – an incredibly striking film. In the aftermath of a crime, a young Arab living
Tag: movie blog
Homecoming (Máhccan) ★★★★ 1/2 TIFF 2023
Homecoming (Máhccan) is a film that superbly engages its audience and allows us to connect with the struggles that people like the Sámi community endure in getting their cultural property back. Suvi West and Anssi Kömi have made a moving and fascinating documentary. As museums worldwide are increasingly pressured to
Boil Alert ★★★ 1/2 TIFF 2023
Throughout Boil Alert, you keep muttering why nothing has been done about the situations the Indigenous communities in North America find themselves in. Steve Burns and Stevie Salas in their poignant and vital documentary. An indigenous woman journeys through First Nations reservations to shine a light on the devastating struggle
Megalomaniac ★★★
Karim Ouelhaj’s Megalomaniac is a disconcerting look at the cyclical nature of violence within a family. Full of striking imagery, this is a purposely provocative and ugly film. One that doesn’t quite dig as deep into its characters’ psyches as needed. If the story matched the painstaking imagery, then what
Seagrass ★★★★★ TIFF 2023
As absorbing a family drama as you will see, Meredith Hama-Brown’s Seagrass introspective feature debut is astounding. Excelling in the small moments, this is an exceptional look at a fractured biracial relationship. Set in the mid-1990s, a Japanese Canadian woman grappling with the recent death of her mother brings her
Modern Goose ★★★ 1/2 TIFF 2023
Modern Goose wonderfully brings awareness to how we as a species take for granted animals’ need for nature in our ever-growing suburban landscapes. Karsten Wall’s short documentary is a compelling reminder that this planet isn’t just ours. Able to navigate by reading the Earth’s magnetic field, fiercely loyal to flock
Farewell My Concubine ★★★★★ TIFF 2023
At times difficult viewing, but always mesmerising, Farewell My Concubine is a gorgeous, emotional tragedy of a film. From beginning to end, this is what cinema is about. Cheng Dieyi (Leslie Cheung) and Duan Xiaolou (Zhang Fengyi) grow up enduring the harsh training of the Peking Opera Academy, where instructors
Ride Baby Ride ★★★★ HollyShorts Film Festival 2023
Ride Baby Ride is a mean horror short that finds a great balance in inflicting sharp inhales from the audience. Sofie Somoroff has conjured up a fantastic short that affects you. A young mechanic gets the chance to fix up a 1978 Camaro, but her dream care soon becomes her
Prey (Short Film) ★★★★
Prey is the type of short that pulls you in, tackling the difficult topic of suicide; Ben Poppy and Kory Séan Williams take advantage of Poppy’s excellent script to provide us with a strong, anxiety-inducing short film. A man’s life is in danger when a mysterious stranger comes knocking at his door. Ben Poppy and Kory Séan
Dropping ★★★ 1/2 HollyShorts Film Festival 2023
A tension-filled 9-minute short film that you do not want to end, Dropping excels at keeping the audience in the dark as well as on their toes. RJ Collins’ film has a great concept that should be explored in feature form. Upon her father’s insistence, Nora joins her stepbrother and
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