The Student, a tiresome proclamation of Russia’s growing fears of religious fundamentalism, feels about as cynically detached as these kinds of films are expected to be. It tells the story of a teen who turns into a Christian ultraist, altering his school’s…
Movie Review: The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki
The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki (shot in classical black-and-white) recalls the old down-and-out boxer stories that enchanted old Hollywood. The myth of uneducated and unsophisticated vagrants, blessed only with the talent of giving and taking a beating,…
Movie Review: Elle
To read previous VIFF coverage, click here. Paul Verhoeven’s ventures into irreverence and topical discussion have always been assigned to lavish psychosexual entertainment, mostly overlooked however are his films’ dramatic undertones, which are always sincere, biting and deeply self-aware. Elle…
Movie Review: It’s Only the End of the World
Louis, suffering from an unspecified terminal illness, constantly checks his watch, only realizing for the first time in his life how precious time really is. Xavier Dolan adapted It’s Only the End of the World from the stage play Juste…
VIFF Review: Elle
To read previous VIFF coverage, click here. Paul Verhoeven’s ventures into irreverence and topical discussion have always been assigned to lavish psychosexual entertainment, mostly overlooked however are his films’ dramatic undertones, which are always sincere, biting and deeply self-aware. Elle…
Denzel Washington’s Beautiful Fences Trailer
The trailer for Pittsburgh-set family drama, Fences, has arrived and it promises locations as intricate and expressive as stars Denzel Washington and Viola Davis’ performances. Unlike many stage-to-film adaptations, which opt for stale indoor settings, the film highlights the texture of the…
Cannes Report #5 (American Honey, Personal Shopper, Hell or High Water)
One thing about the Cannes film festival is that you watch so many noteworthy films that you are bound to lost track of some. Case in point David Mackenzie’s Hell or High Water (8/10) which screened as part of the…