Based on true events. Set in 1948 Palestine, Farha tells the story of a 14-year-old girl (Karam Taher) whose dreams of receiving a formal education are taken away from her due to the start of what would come to be known as the Nakba (the catastrophe). Confined to a small supply room, Farha watches as …
Category Archives: reviews
Dear Evan Hansen – Film Review
We have a few big screen adaptations of popular Broadway musicals headed our way, like it or not, ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ is definitely one of the more highly anticipated ones. Does Stephen Chbosky’s film version hit the right notes? Evan Hansen (Ben Platt) is your (stereo)typical angsty, nerdy, pill-popping high school teen. Nobody knows he …
The Gateway – Film Review
Washed-up social worker with a slight hero complex, Parker (Shea Whigham), finds himself thrown deeper into the St. Louis crime underbelly when the father (Zach Avery) of his assigned family is released from prison. Struggling with demons of his own, Parker sets to write the wrongs of his past to prevent another child from growing …
Paka (River of Blood) – Film Review | TIFF ’21
Only blood can quench its thirst. Set in India, Paka tells the tale of two families, torn apart by hatred and feuding over the past, a love set to bring them together, and a river that connects them all. On the eve of their marriage, Anna (Vinitha Koshy) and Johnny (Basil Paulose) find themselves struggling …
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You Are Not My Mother – Film Review | TIFF ’21
With its strong attention to female filmmakers this year, TIFF offers us Kate Dolan’s feature debut ‘You Are Not My Mother’. An Irish psychological horror film with a twist steeped in lore. Char (Hazel Doupe) lives in a Dublin housing estate with her grandmother, father and her troubled mother Angela (Carolyn Bracken). The woman is …
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Yakuza Princess – Film Review
In 1999, during a family gathering in Japan, Akemi’s family was gunned down by a hidden assassin. She was whisked away for protection and never knew what happened to her family. 20 years later in Brazil, Akemi (MASUMI) lives a quiet life, training in self defense, working her mediocre job, and singing karaoke with her …
The Starling – Film Review | TIFF ’21
The process of grieving is a thankful subject for a drama and for any actor to sink their teeth in. But does Theodore Melfi’s ‘The Starling’ have anything fresh to add? Lilly (Melissa McCarthy) and Jack (Chris O’Dowd) are set for a happy life when tragedy strikes. Reeling from the loss of their baby, both …
Zalava – Film Review | TIFF ’21
While investigating a town with a shared belief in demonic possession, military sergeant Massoud’s (Navid Pourfaraj) beliefs are challenged by the zealous exorcist, Amardan (Pouria Rahimi Sam). Demonic possession films are fairly commonplace in the world of horror and thrillers. Many of them as derivative as the next. More often than not, this type of …
Reflection (Vidblysk) – Film Review | Venice 2021
Serhiy (Roman Lutskyi), a Ukrainian surgeon captured by Russian soldiers at the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian war, is subjected to witnessing the inhumane treatments of fellow Ukrainian captives while serving as medic for the Russian military. Upon release, Serhiy must put together the pieces of his now shattered life and learn how to cope with …
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The Guilty – Film Review | TIFF’21
Huis-clos thrillers aren’t the easiest to pull off. But when you want to make a movie during a pandemic, it might be your best bet of getting something made. Antoine Fuqua takes a stab at remaking the Danish movie ‘Den Skyldige’ and comes out mostly unscathed. Officer Joe Baylor (Jake Gyllenhaal) has issues. Plenty of …