Regina King’s feature directing debut with drama ‘One Night in Miami…’, from a screenplay by Kemp Powers based upon his original stage play of the same name, is the crowdpleasing TIFF20 film you should be watching. Blending entertainment and activism, fame and principle, together on one fabled evening to remember. One Night in Miami… imagines a night in …
Category Archives: 2020
TIFF20 Review – ‘Under The Open Sky’
TIFF20’s fourth film on our schedule is the incredibly beautiful Japanese feature ‘Under The Open Sky’ (originally titled ‘Subarashiki Sekai’). Inspired by Mr. Ryuko Saki’s novel ‘Mibuncho’ (translated ‘Inmate Files’), director Nishikawa Miwa for the first time ever uses someone else’s story to create one that’s inspired by ex-convicts who try to adapt to a …
TIFF20 Review – ‘Holler’
Our second day – and third film – of TIFF20 is reserved for Nicole Riegel’s debut feature ‘Holler’. Riegel, winner of Palm Springs Festival’s “Directors to Watch”-award, channels some serious gritty ‘Winter’s Bone’-vibes, including a promising young lead and a look at a small community living far beneath the poverty line, trying to survive in …
TIFF20 Review – ‘Tove’
Toronto International Film Festival is off to a great start with Zaida Bergroth’s ‘Tove’, a biography on Tove Jansson’s life, showing both her personal relationships and the creation of the popular Moomin books. Helsinki, 1944. The end of the war brings a new sense of artistic and social freedom for painter Tove Jansson (Alma Pöysti …
Review – ‘Indigo Valley’
Indigo Valley is Jaclyn Bethany’s debut feature film and tells the story of estranged sisters Louise and Isabella. When Isabella unexpectedly joins Louise and her new husband John on their honeymoon through the wilderness, tensions arise and secrets between all three begin to surface in unpredictable and dangerous ways. Written and directed by Bethany, she …
Review – ‘Becky’
Like a twisted gory version of ‘Home Alone’, a 13 year-old rebellious girl channels her teen angst when a weekend getaway at a lake house with her father (Joel McHale – ‘Community’) turns deadly. Teen angst and emotional flashbacks to Becky’s mother’s death make for great triggers when having to deal with these killer convicts …
Fantasia International Film Festival Short Film Review – ‘Who Goes There?’
Astrid Thorvaldsen’s graduation film from the National Film & Television School in the UK, western/horror ‘Who Goes There?’, was shortlisted for this year’s Student BAFTAs and had its world premiere at Indy Shorts International Film Festival this July, where it won both the Heartland Horror Award and the Heartland Horror Audience Choice award – and …
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Fantasia International Film Festival Review – ‘Sanzaru’
Sanzaru, Japanese, noun – three wise monkeys (who “see no evil, hear no evil, and speak no evil”), a concept that one can interpret as a denial of unwanted truths. Xia Magnus’ debut feature intertwines spirits from the past and the now, transcending beyond Western borders. Evelyn (Aina Dumlao – ‘Introverts’), a young Filipina caretaker, …
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Review – ‘The New Mutants’
The final chapter in Fox’s X-Men Cinematic Universe has finally arrived. ‘The New Mutants’ was originally slated for a mid-2018 release, but was then pushed back to 2019 for re-shoots that in the end never happened. After Disney’s purchase of 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios) was finalized, the film got pushed back another …
Short Film Review – ‘We Die Alone’
In Marc Cartwright’s latest short film ‘We Die Alone’, a quiet young man finds it hard to connect with the opposite sex. As much as he wants to, his anxiety and fear of making a complete fool of himself always get in the way, resulting in ghosting his online dates. His co-worker Elaine is always …