“It’s not about you; it’s about the boat.” The most prevalent trope for sports film is overcoming adversity. The Boys in the Boat, directed by George Clooney, certainly fits that pattern. Based on the book by Daniel James Brown (adapted into a screenplay by Mark L. Smith), this is the true story of the 1936…
As I watched Carl Joseph E. Papa’s animated film The Missing, I spent most of the first half writing down questions. That could be the sign of a sloppiness, but here it is the way we get pulled into the story so that in the second half of the film the story can slowly reveal…
ISIS (or Daesh or the Islamic State) often seems like a monstrous evil. I’m not saying it isn’t, but it is made up of people. Rojek, from filmmaker Zaynê Akyol, gives us a chance to meet some of these people. They provide an interesting insight into the mindset that has led to so much death…
“We were called to be us.” Taken from Immediate Family, truer words have yet to be spoken. Directed by Denny Tedesco, this film taps into the power of people behind the scenes. These are the many souls who help make history yet do so without pomp and circumstance. Though immensely talented, these are the legends that…
What is the appropriate amount of grief? This is the key question behind Better Days, a film that taps into the unpredictable nature of grief while still celebrating the life we have yet to live. Better Days follows Kate (Sonja Smits), a grieving wife who has just lost her husband of over thirty years. Broken by the loss,…
Films about cooking aren’t usually about cooking. That just serves as the framework to tell a story. Food may serve as a metaphor of love or even grace. In Trân Ang Hùng’s The Taste of Things, cooking is not just coincidental to the film, it is central to everything—and still serves to shed light on…
Even after over 30 years, it turns out the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are still alive and kicking. Directed by Seth Rogen, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is an energetic reboot that breathes neon-green life back into the beloved franchise. Funny, fast-paced and furiously animated, Rogen’s vision is a gleeful celebration of youth that pops visually as well….
Set within the harsh winter of 1964, Eileen tells the story of Eileen Dunlop (Thomasin Mackenzie), a young secretary who works within the administration offices of a Massachusetts prison. Often ignored by her co-workers and treated like a child by her father, Eileen feels as though her life lacks meaning. However, things begin to change when a…
The Boy and the Heron is written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli. At the beginning of the film, Mahito loses his Mum in a drastic fire. A year after this, he and his father move from Tokyo to the countryside to live with his new stepmother, Natsuko, who is pregnant. Mahito isn’t…
My Animal tells the story of Heather (Bobbi Salvor Menuez), a teenage girl who yearns to play for her local hockey team. However, in this male-dominated town, she is kept at bay simply because she ‘isn’t a boy’. Things begin to change for Heather though when she meets Jonny (Amandla Stenberg), an attractive figure skater who…
