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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…
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‘The Substance’: A Singular and Unapologetic Piece of Cinema | Movies We Texted About
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I have been staring at a blinking cursor for several minutes now, failing to find a place to start discussing Coralie Fargeat’s The Substance. This is, to be clear, not a complaint. The audacious and unrelenting film is one of the most singular works of cinema I have seen this year, anddebatably in any other. It’s a laser-focused satire…
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VIFF 2024: ‘Bonjour Tristesse’ Says Hello to a New Canadian Talent | Exclaim!
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There’s something about a lazy holiday. Lounging around on long afternoons and warm nights make for easy days. It’s easy to get lost in these moments, especially for the 17-year-old just starting to figure out their individual wants and desires. There’s freedom but also a touch of melancholy in these times, as they are…
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VIFF 2024: ’40 Acres’ Is a Tried-and-True Post-Apocalypse Story | Exclaim!
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It is interesting to chart our vision of what the post-apocalypse might be. The shortage is never the same, but the outcome always is: we run out of something, people get desperate, and then the rest of the movie happens. R.T. Thorne’s 40 Acres follows this formula, with the shortage being food. The film takes place…
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VIFF 2024: Mongrels | That Shelf
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It is more difficult than most of us know to pull up roots and move to another country. The costs involved aren’t simply monetary. You give up community, culture, and your entire network of friends and family, but you do it in the spirit of finding a better life for yourself and your children. Mongrels,…
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VIFF 2024: Inedia & It’s What’s Inside (& Transformers One) | Awesome Friday Podcast!
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Greetings programs! On this week’s show, we’re taking on two exciting films. First up, a BC shot indie film that played as part of the 2024 Vancouver International Film Festival, Inedia. Then we turn our attention to a new Netflix release, the single-location mystery movie It’s What’s Inside. Both films are exciting for some…
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VIFF 2024: Lucky Star & Conclave | Awesome Friday Podcast!
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Greetings programs! Our favourite time of year is back; the Vancouver International Film Festival is on now! The 2024 edition features a ton of great films, and we’re here to talk about two of them: Gillian McKercher’s family drama Lucky Star and Edward Berger’s All Quiet on the Western Front follow-up Conclave. It’s a…