This film is like a theatrical cut of an eight part limited Netflix / Hulu / Amazon Prime series with a big price tag and starry names attached but an end result which just doesn’t fully click - and even in this theoretical “shorter” version, not much is improved. A lukewarm, clichéd screenplay dulls a somewhat interesting political thriller with intrepid journalist Anne Hathaway (the film’s best performance) scooting around Central America and the Caribbean in order to avoid getting…

One might think that after recently watching a slew of Oscar nominated / shortlisted documentaries which include footage of war atrocities and dead bodies, I’d be alright watching the goings-on of a group home in Ontario for emotionally disturbed kids and teens. But these howls of pain and mournful wails and punches and loogies had me averting my gaze. Warrendale is fierce and persistent, not unlike both the residents and staff there. With straitjacket-like embraces and probing conversations, the goal…

Film School Drop Outs - Weekly Challenge 2017

Week 3: Movement - German Expressionism (1920-1927)

Leave it to Murnau to add a serious creep factor to a sunlit beach in the middle of the day. 

Although I'd say its German Expressionist traits are a little less in your face than in films like Faust or The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu takes the already-chilling tale of Dracula and ramps it up - not only do these townsfolk fall prey to…

Film School Drop Outs - Weekly Challenge 2018

Week 1: Actor - Lillian Gish

Choosing between Lillian Gish and Mary Pickford to kick off FSDO 2018 was an easy choice for me. Nothing against Pickford at all, but I’ve been impressed by Gish’s monumental career (75 years on stage and in films) and curious to dive into her filmography since I got into film in the first place. 

My copy of The Wind starts with an introduction by Gish herself,…