Cinephilia
CINEPHILIA: Who will win at the 88th Academy Awards?
February 22, 2016If the itches on my back were the Hollywood elite, the Oscars would be their back scratcher; an awards show by Hollywood to please Hollywood. Exclusivity is a part of what makes an award prestigious, and even though the Academy gives Meryl Streep a participation medal every year, the Oscars try to keep up this appearance. Much hoopla has been made with regards to the lack of racial diversity in this year’s slate of nominees, but I think this is less a product of the Academy’s racism than their closed-mindedness to certain kinds of films. Of course, there were outstanding…
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CINEPILIA: Superlatives of Sundance
February 15, 2016The way time is experienced at a film festival is paradoxical — accelerated by the lack of sleep, and at the same time decelerated from living so many lifetimes inside cinema. As I sit here nearly a week later, recalling…
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CINEPHILIA: Norm of the North’s weak attempt at satire falls flat
February 1, 2016The ineptly paced, written, and animated Norm of the North is a cinematic defecation left to be flushed in the month of January. It’s an evil film masquerading as liberal commentary, a cynical, post-modern grotesquery, devoid of any authentic feeling,…
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CINEPHILIA: TIFF’s Top 10 showcases the best in Canadian film
January 25, 2016Since 2000, the Toronto International Film Festival has selected the top 10 Canadian films of the year, touring them across the country and giving Canadians another chance to see our best cinematic offerings. These are the three best feature films…
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CINEPHILIA: Son of Saul captures daily life in Auschwitz-Birkenau
January 19, 2016Most films we view emotionally and cerebrally but Son Of Saul, the holocaust drama from first-time director Laszlo Nemes, is experienced physically: it hits like a truck, leaving bruises under your skin; it pulverizes like a wrecking ball, smashing the…
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CINEPHILIA: Anomalisa is relatable, funny, and poignant
January 4, 2016We uncomfortably identify with Michael Snow, our self-centered and predatory protagonist of Anomalisa: his neuroses, egoism, and disillusionment. Whether female or male, family or stranger, friend or foe, to Michael every face, voice, and personality is ubiquitous and indistinguishable. His…
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Cinephilia: Victor Frankenstein fails to breathe life into a classic tale
November 30, 2015Do you prefer your Franken-shteene or -shtine? I’m more a “shteener” than a “shtiner,” but Paul McGuigan’s confused Victor Frankenstein is neither Mel Brooks parody nor classic gothic horror. The film shifts between tones without satisfying either connotation of these…
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Cinephilia: James White showcases a different side of New York City
November 23, 2015If cities are character actors, New York usually plays one of two roles: the wingman for romances with cultured hipsters, or a desolate backdrop for loners who don’t fit the “New Yorker” label. The capitalist capitol of North America has…
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Cinephilia: The Secret in Their Eyes proves remakes aren’t easy
November 16, 2015At their worst, remakes appeal to popular laziness and an unwillingness to read subtitles, submerge into foreign cultures, or watch older films with slower editing. Although it’s easy to blame Hollywood for this supposed sacrilege, the remake can be effective…
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Cinephilia: Theeb is a Western set in the East
November 6, 2015Theeb is a Western with guns, outlaws, and savages, depicting a world on the brink of change and gentrified order — a frontier moving toward industrialization. The narrative centres on a foreigner with secrets and a quest across the desert…
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