Repo Men
Directed by Miguel Sapochnik
Have you ever seen Repo! The Genetic Opera? It premiered at Fantasia on July 18th, 2008 to a packed house. Upon receiving mixed reviews the film obtained a limited theatrical release in North America the following winter and was finally released on DVD a few months later.
Surely you must be asking [...]
Shutter Island definitely begs a second viewing, and while it might not rank up there with earlier Scorsese classics, it remains a masterpiece in my eyes, and a production that has set the new standard for all future psychological thrillers.
Shutter Island
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Before seeing Shutter Island, all I knew about the plot was [...]
When comparing these critical scenes to their counterparts in such classics as An American Werewolf in London or The Howling, they are simply not in the same league.
The Wolfman
Directed by Joe Johnston
Joe Johnston walks into a bar and says: “Bartender, I’ve directed Honey I Shrunk the Kids, Jurassic Park III and Hidalgo. I think that [...]
bills itself as a low-budget film bent on entertaining audiences…
Daybreakers
Directed by Michael and Peter Spierig
Over the years several pairs of brothers have directed high-grossing, successful Hollywood films. Notable duos include the Cohen’s, the Wachowski’s, the Hughes’ and the Farrelly’s. However, the Spierig brothers from Australia will never, ever be on that list.
They are responsible [...]
I judge the efficiency of a documentary based on two things: its ability to inform in an interesting way, and its long-lasting effect. If I am still thinking about it a week later, then it’s passed the test. Based on those criteria, here are my top 10 documentaries of the decade.
1- Children Underground (2001)
Directed by Edet [...]
Review of Amreeka
Directed by Cherien Dabis
There is an obvious correlation between the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the rise in Islamaphobia across the United States. Arabs (or anyone Arab-looking) who had already established their lives in the States before that year suddenly found themselves the target of racial prejudice, and those who would [...]
The Men Who Stare at Goats
Directed by Grant Heslov
According to Jon Ronson’s book The Men Who Stare At Goats, the U.S. government has experimented with various extra-sensory ‘abilities,’ such as remote-viewing and mind control, since the 1950s. These highly classified sub-divisions of the Army were developed in the hopes of creating a different kind of [...]
Directed by Spike Jonze
As I left the cinema Friday night still reeling from my experience, I realized that the perfect barometer for Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are was the 4-year old girl walking with her mom in front of me. Throughout the film I could hear her alternating between laughing, crying and screaming. [...]
Lars Von Trier is never one to shy away from controversy. In 1998, Zentropa was the first mainstream film company to produce hardcore pornography. Guess who it belongs to? Despite that highly interesting fact, that’s the closest you’ll ever see Von Trier’s name associated with the word “mainstream,” because nothing [...]
District 9
Directed by Niel Blomkamp
South Africa has been to hell and back during the past century. Famine, corruption, AIDS and the apartheid era have seriously hindered the country’s chances of becoming a serious player within the African continent. A few years ago, local director Neill Blomkamp produced a short film entitled Alive in Joburg, a [...]
Inglourious Basterds
Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Normally I approach a new Tarantino film with caution because more often than not, due to his fame and talent, his movies are severely hyped in the months leading up to their release; they are promoted with so much zeal and accompanied by so many industry buzz-words that I usually end [...]
While waiting in line late last night for one of the most anticipated screenings at Fantasia, I saw a rather old gentleman with a huge grin slowly making his way towards me. He was shaking peoples’ hands and making small talk – I had no idea who it was and before [...]
Friday July 10th marked the North American premiere of Thirst at Fantasia, Park Chan-Wook’s latest effort. Mostly known for his Vengeance Trilogy, Park has created a movie that is even more stylistically polished than his previous films, if you can believe that.
Thirst is immaculately shot and cleverly punctuated with scenes that would easily offend the [...]
Myles of Footage
I had a dream once where I was being chased by a monster down a long, narrow hallway. It felt like I was stuck in quicksand because I couldn’t quite get my legs moving fast enough to escape the monster’s claws. Right before watching Polanski’s Repulsion I shared that dream with a friend [...]
It is by complete surprise that I ended up with a copy of this movie. There I was, walking the aisles of my virtual movie store, looking for ‘The Empire of the Wolves’ when my clumsy fingers stumbled and clicked on Neil Jordan’s (The Crying Game, In Dreams, Breakfast on Pluto) film instead.
The result? Pure [...]
