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Cascadia Film & Television Critics Association 10 Best Films of 2024 | Cascadia Critics
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The membership of the Cascadia Film & Television Critics Association –the group I co-founded– has voted and our top ten films of the year list is now live! Once again the list is full of excellent films, including at least one or two you may not be expecting. Check the list here: https://www.cascadiacritics.com/2024/12/cascadia-critics-ten-best-films-of-2024/
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Better Know a Contributor: Matthew Simpson | Contra Zoom
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On this episode of Contra Zoom, the subject is me! In lieu of a full episode this week, we bring you the ninth in our series of bonus episodes, , where we ask frequent guests of the show 10 Contra Zoom Pod movie questions so you can learn more about your favourite voices. On this…
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The 10 Best Films You Didn’t See in 2024 | Exclaim!
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As part of Exclaim!’s 2024 year-end coverage, I contributed to this year’s 10 Best You Didn’t See list, writing about the Canadian gem The King Tide. The King Tide delivers a striking exploration of community, faith and the lengths people will go to in the name of faith. Set in a remote Newfoundland village, the…
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Exclaim!’s 10 Best TV Series of 2024 | Exclaim!
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As part of Exclaim!’s 2204 year end coverage, I contributed to the ten best television series of 2024 list, writing up the #6 entry: Mr & Mrs Smith: Balancing explosive action with sharp humour and tender moments, the series explores compatibility, trust and the challenges of partnership while on a mission and at home.…
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Exclaim!’s 20 Best Films of 2024 | Exclaim!
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As part of Exclaim’s 2024 year-end coverage, I was invited to participate in their 20 best films of 2024 list, contributing the write-up for the #3 pick: Civil War. Upon this movie’s release in the springtime, it felt like a warning; now, it feels like condemnation. Its plot feels scarily and potentially prescient, and…
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The Classics Shelf: Billy Wilder | That Shelf
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The Classics Shelf is an ongoing retrospective of classic cinema produced monthly by writer Bil Antoniou in collaboration with other writers in the That Shelf stable. This months edition is a celebration of the work of the great Billy Wilder, a director who made more than his share of outright classics. I contributed short…
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Brotherly Love Is a Balm in ‘A Real Pain’ | Exclaim!
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Everyone has someone in their life they oscillate wildly back and forth on whether they love or hate them. That person’s their complete opposite, but someone they’re inextricably connected to because, in some perverse way, they complete one another. The strengths of one are the weaknesses of the other and vice versa — and…
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Giallo! | Contra Zoom
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For our Halloween special this year we decided to fill in some horror blind spots and check out the Giallo collection that is available to stream on the Criterion Channel. We review Blood and Black Lace, Don’t Torture a Duckling and Deep Red. Joining the show is Matthew Simpson, one half of the Awesome Friday podcast. Listening Links
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Woman of the Hour & Don’t Move | Awesome Friday Podcast
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Greetings programs! This week on the show we are reviewing Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut Woman of the Hour, a based-on-real-life thriller about the time a serial killer went on The Dating Game, and then a new Netflix thriller called Don’t Move. We have a lot to say about each and we hope you join…
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A24 Retrospective – Mojave | Contra Zoom
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We continue our series going through the entire catalog of A24’s films. On this episode we are looking at 2015’s Mojave, directed by William Monahan. The film stars Garrett Hedlund as Tom, a depressed director who goes into the desert and ends up coming across Oscar Issac’s drifter Jack where they have a confrontation…
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Speak No Evil & The Wild Robot | Awesome Friday Podcast
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Greetings programs! This week on the show, we’re talking about two new-to-home video releases. First up, Speak No Evil is a remake of a 2022 Danish film starring James McAvoy. Then we dive into the world of The Wild Robot, a lovely new film from Dreamworks Animation starring the vocal talents of Lupita Nyong’o,…
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Cascadia Critics Top 10 Picks From VIFF 2024 | Cascadia Critics
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This year’s Vancouver International Film Festival ran from September 26th to October 6th, and many Cascadia Film & Television Critics Association members were in attendance. We decided to put together a top ten list to celebrate the festival and all the great films we saw. I had the privilege of writing the blurb for…
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‘Shrinking’ Rises to Its Tall Order in Season 2 | Exclaim!
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A great television season is hard to pull off, but following it up with another comes with added pressure to stick with the core ideals that made it good in the first place — which is exactly what the cast and crew of Shrinking have with their second season. Picking up shortly after where Season 1…
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Drag Me To Hell | The LAMBCast
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A close vote determined the MOTM this October, but the last minute submission by Matthew Simpson of the “Awesome Friday Podcast” won out. Matthew selected Sam Rami’s 2009, PG-13 horror film, “Drag Me to Hell” and it goes to show that a PG-13 rating does not have to indicate a bad horror movie. On…
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VIFF 2024: Rumours & The Apprentice | Awesome Friday Podcast
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Greetings programs! This week on the show, we’re looking at the last of our VIFF 2024 coverage with a discussion of Guy Maddin’s surreal political satire Rumours and, following that, a look at the new Donal Trump biopic The Apprentice. Both of these films are challenging to the viewer, for entirely different reasons, and…