Cinephilia
Cinephilia: SFU alumnus creates a subversive, anti-romantic comedy
June 29, 2015We know how this story is supposed to go. There is a guy, there is a girl. He is married, and she is too. His wife is boring. Her husband is adulterous. We see them laugh; we see them flirt; we see them passionately have sex. By most movies’ standards, this is enough for us to care about them — we can forgive their transgressions if they want to be together. According to many filmmakers, this is love. Martin’s Pink Pickle is a subversive, anti-romantic comedy that builds this fantasy while asking the deeper, harder questions that a more shallow…
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Cinephilia: Bigger dinosaur teeth can’t save Jurassic World
June 22, 2015Just like I wouldn’t want to go to a surgeon who knows lots of theory but no practical skills, I didn’t like Jurassic World, which recognizes the reasons that it is so bad while failing to practice what it preaches.…
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Cinephilia: Greg is an unlikely hero in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
June 15, 2015If Me and Earl and the Dying Girl were a person, I would wrap my arms around them and squeeze as hard as I could. Based on a single viewing, this is one of the most affecting and lovely films…
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A mysterious falcon is Aloft in this feel-bad movie
June 8, 2015Here are some things you can look forward to in Aloft: a pig giving birth in the opening shot, numerous sex scenes where the characters seem to be enjoying themselves as much as the aforementioned pig, and a pigish mother…
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Cinephilia: When Marnie Was There is a poignant film about loss
June 1, 2015If you’ve ever lost a loved one, you’ve experienced the emptiness, depression, and longing to retain every memory. How are you going to live without them? Old photographs, bedrooms, and other significant places draw old memories which bring solace, but…
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Tomorrowland is a lighthearted apocalyptic film
May 25, 2015[caption id="attachment_2697" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Photo courtesy of Walt Disney Studios.[/caption] One thing I’ve never understood about people who love action movies is the thrill they get out of seeing skyscrapers, cities, and the world explode à la Michael Bay. Popular…
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Is there such a thing as a Good Kill?
May 19, 2015[caption id="attachment_2565" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Photo courtesy of IFC Films.[/caption] Someone playing Call of Duty or Halo presses the trigger, and bang, a character dies. But they’re not actually dead — they can respawn and get shot again, and again, and…
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Montage of Heck is an intimate look into Kurt Cobain’s short life
May 11, 2015[caption id="attachment_2479" align="aligncenter" width="720"] Photo courtesy of Rolling Stone.[/caption] At the centre of Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck is not a mythical hero or a deplorable villain but a man and a young boy crying out for normality only to…
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Cinephilia: Inherent Vice is a convoluted tale of ’70s debauchery
March 30, 2015[caption id="attachment_1984" align="aligncenter" width="940"] Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures.[/caption] Paul Thomas Anderson’s adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s novel, Inherent Vice is a labyrinth with no way out; the more you think about its plot and try to piece together all…
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It Follows explores our innermost fears
March 23, 2015[caption id="attachment_1649" align="alignright" width="940"] Photo courtesy of Animal Kingdom.[/caption] What are you afraid of? Economic hardship, alienation, feelings of guilt because of sexual promiscuity? Most horror movies are just retreads of The Exorcist or Halloween with jumpy editing and loud…
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