Primarily coming from a background in television and documentary filmmaking, for his feature-length effort Last Breath, director/co-writer Alex Parkinson adapts one of his docs of the same name that chronicled this same story of a stranded and submerged saturation diver. During some underwater pipeline maintenance, a disruption leads to a snagged, and ultimately severed, oxygen supply for the diver. As his team works to save him, the diver tries to conserve the last of his…
The recent cinematic success of online gaming being represented competently freezes with Eat the Night, a very silly French drama from Jessica Forever filmmakers Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel. Siblings Apolline (Lila Gueneau) and Pablo (Théo Cholbi) have a shared interest in Darknoon, a World of Warcraft-inspired role-playing video game that has allowed Apolline to come out of her shell. Unfortunately for them, an in-game announcement conveys that Darknoon’s days are numbered and will be discontinued from its…
Parthenope (Celeste Dalla Porta) is an intelligent and challenging anthropology student who impresses her teachers and peers. When she’s not in class, the Naples native embraces life with her brother, Raimondo (Daniele Rienzo), and lifelong best friend Sandrino (Dario Aita). The men around Parthenope are infatuated with her, and the women admire her. Is there anything she can’t do? The answer: no – she can in fact do it all; such as take a break from…
Grand Theft Hamlet adds itself to a list of movies that were developed during the COVID-19 global lockdown but, also, stands out as one of the more unique examples that will represent this era of filmmaking. A portion of the population found themselves gravitating to video games during the lockdown, considering it was one of the only ways to stay connected with people. For instance, comedienne Sarah Silverman and writer/producer Rory Albanese built a romantic…
Earlier this month, director Jon M. Chu was awarded Best Director for his work on Wicked, the long-awaited stage-to-screen spin-off of The Wizard of Oz. The award came to a surprise for Chu, considering the production had been campaigned heavily for its performances and more cosmetic attributes. The award came to a surprise for me too. Though I like some of Chu’s earlier work, I felt that the filmmaker was out of his depth with…
Canadian filmmaker Matthew Rankin (The Twentieth Century) wraps his latest feature, Universal Language, in his admiration for fellow auteur Guy Maddin. Described in the press notes as an “autobiographical fever dream”, and much like Maddin’s My Winnipeg, Universal Language pitches an absurdist vision of Winnipeg from different embellished perspectives – some of these stories work better than others. Universal Language peaks early on with a fine-tuned comedy featuring eccentric gradeschoolers, their disappointed French teacher (Mani…
In Naoko Yamada’s beautiful anime The Colors Within, teenage wallflower Totsuko (voiced by Sayu Suzukawa) experiences life in colour. While this trait helps her identify someone’s true personality, she admits how difficult it is to fit in or be vulnerable. A difference that acts as a personal beacon for Totsuko as she navigates her high school career at an all-girl, Catholic institution. Totsuko finds herself attracted to the colour emitted by Kimi (voiced by Akari Takaishi),…
Last seen on screen in Close To You but more famous for her groundbreaking performance in John Cameron Mitchell’s sexually charged Shortbus, Sook-Yin Lee tries to match Mitchell’s knack for tender confrontations with her directorial effort Paying For It. The Shortbus filmmaker must approve. After all, Mitchell serves as an executive producer on this adult flick. The inspiration for Paying For It also comes from Chester Brown’s graphic novel that Lee is adapting, which drew inspiration from Lee and Brown’s real-life…
Fernanda Torres is an Oscar front-runner for Best Actress, after winning the Golden Globe for her sensational performance in the epic drama I’m Still Here – the buzz is well-earned. Despite the movie being too long while also rushing through the last period in this devastating story, I’m Still Here is a very strong movie about the emotional endurance of love. Torres plays Eunice Paiva, the mother of a large family who are trying to live under strict…
Take one of Tyler Perry’s earlier melodramas, use the same bundling the filmmaker/playwright uses when trying to tell multiple stories, give Madea some heart-wrenching secrets, and her husband Joe some internal conflict. That well-adjusted flick would be the closest comparison to Hard Truths, a memorable tragicomedy from writer/director Mike Leigh (Naked, Happy-Go-Lucky, Mr. Turner). Leigh’s character-driven story is centred around a black-Caribbean family in London. While trying to make ends meet, they’re constantly reminded of their failures…