Film
The dogs revolt in White God
March 27, 2015Have you ever seen one of those tear-jerking SPCA commercials with the manipulative Sarah McLachlan song bellowing? If you find those brief ads insufferably painful, White God, a new Hungarian film, will be almost impossible to watch. Dog lovers will be able to relate to the young girl Lili’s heart-wrenching dilemma: allow her father to put the dog, Hagen, down, or release Hagen on the street to fend for himself. Lili’s mother and step-father are leaving the country to go to a conference, leaving the young girl to stay with her cruel father who lives in an apartment complex that…
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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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Which prolific director should make a live-action version of your favourite Disney movie
March 23, 2015[caption id="attachment_1646" align="alignright" width="300"] Image by Rachelle Tjahyana[/caption] Earlier this month, Disney announced that Tim Burton had been tasked with bringing a live-action version of Dumbo to the silver screen. Perhaps even more surprising is how unsurprising the announcement is,…
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Cinephilia: Merchants of Doubt presents a scientific argument without the science
March 16, 2015Robert Kenner’s Merchants of Doubt follows the deceptive tactics of corporations who hire “experts” to publicly doubt scientists in order to continue selling harmful products for profit. Cigarettes, fire retardants, and man-made climate change; the film tracks the similarities between…
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Cinephilia: Karl Marx would have hated Kenneth Branagh’s Cinderella
March 9, 2015Recessions, terrorism, and 9/11 have left a firm imprint on the kinds of films that have been produced in the last 15 years or so. Superheroes, a once shining beacon of hope, have become morally ambiguous. Many Hollywood films are…
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SFU Masters in Fine Arts grad Casey Wei makes things happen at Kingsgate Mall
March 2, 2015In June 2014, Casey Wei, a graduate of SFU’s Masters in Fine Arts program, bravely engaged Kingsgate Mall to explore the intersection between art, music, community, and the public space of commerce. As an artist-in-residence at the Western Front, she…
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Tu Dors, Nicole is a captivating film about a banal life
March 2, 2015Summer. The temperature is hot. Nicole awakes from a one-night stand. She is about 20. The parents go away. The house is left to her and her brother. He practices with his band in the house. Nicole works at a…
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After the Ball modernizes Cinderella
March 2, 2015After the Ball is a beautiful revision of the traditional Cinderella story. With so many different versions out there, it is refreshing to see one that not only modernizes but also adapts the story in such a way that it…
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Fifty Shades of Grey glorifies psychopathy
February 23, 2015Fifty Shades of Grey, an adaptation of E. L. James’ book of the same name, grossed over $100 million in North America on its opening weekend and has become the centre of hype for many moviegoers. The film has promised…
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The American Dream is alive and well in McFarland, USA
February 23, 2015Jim White loses his job at an affluent high-school where he coached football, and relocates to a poor rural area, McFarland California, where his white privilege is tested. There, he learns to accept his Mexican immigrant neighbours. White coaches the…
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