Fox TV’s treatment of Firefly never made much sense to the few fans it found during its run. The series, created by Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel mastermind Joss Whedon, was the type of show a network would have to go out of their way to screw up. Sadly, Fox did. Episodes were regularly… Continue reading Film Review: Serenity now! Serenity now!
Tag: Film
Film Fest: Deep Blue
Few things are cooler than the ocean. Explorers, horror-fans and visual junkies alike need look no further than our tumultuous seas for their respective fixes. Deep Blue attempts to capture every reason the ocean fascinates us and manages to succeed at nearly every turn. Narrated by Pierce Brosnan, the film brings Hollywood blockbuster-style cinema- tography… Continue reading Film Fest: Deep Blue
Film Review: Twist needs a twist
By Kenzie Love
What’s your name, boy?” a stern faced work-house supervisor inquires of a charge near the beginning of Roman Polanski’s Oliver Twist. Because he is slow in responding the boy is thought a fool, though he can be forgiven for his confusion. Past versions of the classic tale have shortened his name to Oliver! in the… Continue reading Film Review: Twist needs a twist
Film Fest: Undead
Undead is an over-the-top, ridiculously silly, very Australian horror-sci-fi-comedy hybrid well aware of its audience and how to cater to it. Written, produced, edited and directed with oodles of style and confidence by brothers Michael and Peter Spierig, it’s a kindred spirit of Peter Jackson’s Dead Alive, all extraneous gore and nonsensically badass characters. Characters… Continue reading Film Fest: Undead
Film Fest: Me and the Mosque
“If not now, when?” This is the central question of director Zarqa Nawaz’s documentary, Me and the Mosque. The film explores the Islamic attitude towards women, specifically in regards to partitions, an alarming new trend in Canadian mosques. These usually opaque barriers separate women from men during prayer. One of many interviewees in the film… Continue reading Film Fest: Me and the Mosque
Film Fest: Rhinoceros Eyes
Rhinoceros Eyes, starring Michael Pitt of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and directed by David Cronenberg’s nephew, is a quirky picture hitting pretty much every cult-film touchstone but managing to elevate itself with pure charm. Pitt plays Chet, a reclusive and probably mentally handicapped kid who works in a movie prop shop. When a woman… Continue reading Film Fest: Rhinoceros Eyes
Film Fest: Go for Zucker!
Coming to Calgary boasting great critical acclaim in its native Germany, Go for Zucker! promised to be one of the highlights of the festival and it didn’t disappoint. The movie tells the story of two brothers, one a gambling, drinking, permanently-in-debt burnout, the other a devout Jew and family man, who must reconcile their differences… Continue reading Film Fest: Go for Zucker!
Film Fest: Amu
Amu doesn’t start off strongly, playing like a travelogue combined with an incredibly awkward love story throughout its first half. A recent university grad from Los Angeles travels to Delhi to experience the country she left when she was three years old. She marvels at the architecture, has awkward conversations with her cousin at a… Continue reading Film Fest: Amu
Film Fest: 2046
Acting as an almost-sequel of The Mood for Love Wong Kar-Wai’s 2046 is a complicated film following an author, Mr. Chow, through a series of relationships and paralleling them with the tale of one of his character’s escapes from a futuristic city. Though confusing, 2046 expertly examines the trials of love using time in an… Continue reading Film Fest: 2046
Film Fest: All of a Sudden
Canadian film has enough of a stigma attached to it already, and it would be a shame to discourage people from taking risks on smaller films. Condemning a movie someone spent 13 years–an eighth of a century–working on also feels horrible, but All of a Sudden deserves it. Last year’s Phil the Alien showed Canada… Continue reading Film Fest: All of a Sudden