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Film Festivals
SIFF Review: "The Way Way Back"
- Details
- Parent Category: Film Festivals
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Wednesday, 03 July 2013 08:10
- Written by Matt Oakes
"The Way, Way Back"
Directed by Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
Starring Liam James, Sam Rockwell, Steve Carell, Toni Collette, Robb Corddry, Amanda Peet, Maya Rudolph, Allison Janney, River Alexander and AnnaSophia Robb
Comedy, Drama
103 Mins
PG-13
While The Way, Way Back has a firm handle on its supporting cast, it leaves the plot to the dogs. It’s that strange breed of hybrid - commonly known as a dramedy - that refuses to settle with just being funny and in reaching for something more, comes up short. In a way, the experience is akin to hanging out at your parents’ beach house: you have to wait in suspended restiveness until the vacation is finished, pretending to enjoy yourself the whole time. At least the weird, beach-deserted manboy trying to be friends with you is actually funny here.
SIFF Review: "A Hijacking"
- Details
- Parent Category: Film Festivals
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Thursday, 20 June 2013 21:03
- Written by Matt Oakes
SIFF Review: "Blackfish"
- Details
- Parent Category: Film Festivals
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Wednesday, 19 June 2013 09:23
- Written by Matt Oakes
"Blackfish"
Directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Documentary, Drama
90 Mins
PG-13
A documentary thrives on three elements: diligent research, visceral impact and well-structured organization. Going down that list, Blackfish can take solace in a big black check through each. Although I wasn't as knotted up as the woman wiping a torrent of tears from her eyes for a good 75 percent of the film sitting next to me, the weighty subject matter, hard hitting questions and inviting narrative structure make this a documentary that is not to be missed.
Documenting the life of a single killer whale who takes his genus name all too seriously, director Gabriela Cowperthwaite invites us to explore not the life of a monster but the journey of a tormented soul. In true documentarian fashion, Cowperthwaite takes us to the beginning of the story so that we can better understand the perceived transformation of one docile creature into a man-eating beast.
SIFF Review: "The Bling Ring"
- Details
- Parent Category: Film Festivals
- Category: Reviews
- Published on Thursday, 13 June 2013 20:25
- Written by Matt Oakes
"The Bling Ring"
Directed by Sofia Coppola
Starring Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, Emma Watson, Leslie Mann, Claire Julien, Taissa Farmiga
Crime, Drama
90 Mins
R
In a funny way, The Bling Ring is Sofia Coppola's most accessible film to date. As cognizantly distant and empty-headed as the teens-on-a-tear at the center of the film are, Coppola takes aim at the celebrity-woozy, status-driven ethos of the eGeneration and blasts a cartoonish hole in the midst of it. At the center of this distorted "me, me, me" psychology is a generational confusion of money for fame that we've all grown accustomed to, and likely sickened by, since the proliferation of reality television. Behind the mass thievery in the film of designer clothing, excessive jewelry and cold hard cash and beyond the drivel of faux-postmodern wisdom, competent and unexpected camera work from the late Harris Savides drives Coppola's picture towards a lingering statement on the despondent emptiness of a life pursuing status and fame.
