Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is charming. That’s not a description you expect to see for a Tarantino movie. Well, you also don’t expect corny scenes with precocious little girls and gratuitous sho...
Must See Films
Blockbusters, Cult Classics, Latest Releases, Films
Men in Black goes ‘International’ with slicker suits and less personality
Men in Black: International is probably most interesting as an example of how films have changed. It’s the same movie as the first, more or less beat for beat. But it’s got less attitude, less conf...
The Souvenir is an uncompromising vision from Joanna Hogg
The Souvenir is good, very good, in a way that means that many will not like it. It is meticulous, in vision and presentation. It is hauntingly authentic, to the eye and to the heart. And it is p...
Nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up is vital viewing for Canadians
Nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up, winner of the ‘Best Canadian Feature Documentary Award’ at the 2019 Hot Docs, is one of the most important Canadian films of the year. The film pulls back the cu...
All is True is a charmingly quiet take on Shakespeare
All is True is a small film in the best sense. Its locations are few, its cast list is short, and its focus—William Shakespeare’s last few years of life, post-London—is narrow. Coming from director...
The White Crow delivers where it counts
Early in The White Crow, I started to worry that it was the type of movie that wouldn’t let you see dancers in motion until halfway through the third reel. Happily, that’s not the case. As the stor...
Audio Series: Essential Tips For Your First Documentary From DOXA Filmmakers
The Doxa Documentary Film Festival is now upon us and to kick things off, we thought we’d have a number of this year’s filmmakers and directors give some advice to those seeking to make their first...
Vancity Theatre: Walter Murch on editing now and Apocalypse then
On April 16th, VIFF and Vancity Theatre hosted a sold-out evening with renowned film editor Walter Murch, who’s known for major motion pictures like Apocalypse Now, The English Patient, and J...
Vancouver Badass, Day Three: The Hollow Child and Knuckleball offer up Canadian badass
The VBAFF is in some ways destined for throwback material. “Badass” as a concept is both fraught and indeterminate in the days of performative-wokeness pop culture. And indeed, the gangsters, capti...
Vancouver Badass, Day Two: A Mata Negra and Amazon Hot Box in a double feature from the Darkside
VBAFF’s second day offered up two features from Darkside Releasing: Brazilian black-magic-and-blood-splatter fantasy horror A Mata Negra (The Cursed Forest), and women-in-prison exploitation throwb...
Vancouver Badass, Day One: Polterheist, Perfect Skin, and a séance!
There are lots of ways you can take the word “badass.” The Vancouver Badass Film Festival, now in its fifth year, seems happy with any and all of them. Over four short films and two features, the f...
The Shadow of Gold sheds a light on the dark corners of today’s mining industry
Gold: a much-worshipped metal, often used to symbolize greatness and purity. But before it reaches consumers, gold undergoes a process that undercuts the greatness we often ascribe to the final pro...
