Month: May 2019
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Godzilla: King of the Monsters
What do you know? They made another bad Godzilla movie! For some reason, Hollywood just can’t seem to lock down the key to this mystery. The fundamental problem with a monster movie always comes down to people. For some reason, we have to bracket city destroying action with a human story. I suppose it makes…
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Booksmart
Booksmart was lost in the shuffle of the ‘blockbuster every weekend’ model, but it’s a smart, funny comedy that deserves to be found and celebrated. Let’s get the record straight—Booksmart is not the female Superbad. While the latter dealt in larger-than-life, satirical embodiments of a desperation to be cool, Booksmart’s pairing of best buddies are…
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High Life
Claire Denis’ new film High Life, starring Robert Pattison and Juliette Binoche, is a science fiction exploration that is alternately insane, disorienting, haunting, and thoughtful. I believe that Claire Denis’ sensational new science fiction film gets its title from two sources. One is more literal than the other: High Life evokes, in a simplistic way,…
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Falls Around Her
Falls Around Her, starring the enormously talented Tantoo Cardinal, gives her little to work with. There might be a good movie buried in there somewhere. Falls Around Her, the new drama from Anishinaabe filmmaker Darlene Naponse, is certainly well-intentioned. The film, shot and set in the Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation reserve outside of Sudbury, Ontario,…
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John Wick 3: Parabellum
John Wick 3 expands on the Wickiverse even further, which changes its DNA from what the first movie was all about, but mostly works well. While I was watching John Wick 3: Parabellum, I couldn’t decide if it was a brilliant action movie in line with the original, or a silly, cheesy, post-Fast and Furious…
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Panned Gold: Queen – Hot Space
It made sense in 1982 that Queen’s album Hot Space was panned by most. But now that we have historical perspective, Dave takes another listen. Panned Gold is our way of reminding music fans of the wealth we miss out on when we adhere to a critic or algorithm’s notion of ‘the best.’ Albums that…
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Big Thief – U.F.O.F.
Brooklyn band Big Thief take big chances again, to wonderful results, with their new album U.F.O.F; it’s Noah’s favourite album of the year so far. On Big Thief’s 2017 sophomore album ‘Capacity,’ the band switched up their tempo, opting for an engagingly demure approach to their songwriting. Rousing and upbeat electric guitars present on their…
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UglyDolls
Our own brave and intrepid writer, Thomas, is a self-flagellating glutton for punishment, or he lost a bet, or whatever. Either way, he reviews UglyDolls. This is an odd review for me. It’s not to say I’m incapable of finding enjoyment in children’s movies; I’ve enjoyed 90% of Pixar’s oeuvre, and I remember the Shrek…
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Band vs. Brand
The documentary Band vs Brand looks at the idea of bands, brands, and everything in between — the industry and the branding of artists. The premise of this film is simple, and is explained on the box: “When does a band become a brand?” This refers to when the band name becomes a synergy of…
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Long Shot
We aren’t getting much in the realm of comedies in today’s world of franchise filmmaking, but Long Shot is a distraction mostly worth your time. It isn’t exactly “Beauty and the Beast” but the quote-un-quote “unlikely” pairing of Seth Rogen and Charlize Theron, as two lovers destined for a quirky whirlwind romance, is undeniably charming…