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Dog of God Review: A Beautifully Animated Nightmare | That Shelf
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The wonderful thing about animation is that it can be used to tell any kind of story. Too often, we deem animated films as somehow lesser than or relegate them to being just for kids even some of the most creative and inspiring films of late are animated. Into the Spider-Verse, Flee, Mad God, and last year’s Flow, to…
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Redux Redux Review: A Satisfying Twist on the Multiverse | That Shelf
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How far would you go for revenge? If someone were taken from you, what would you do to the person who took them? What would exacting that revenge do to you? How much of your humanity would you sacrifice? These are the kind of questions that no one will know the answer to until…
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“The Well” Walks a Well Worn Path Through an Intriguing World | ForReel
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Post-apocalyptic stories tend to serve as warnings that come in many forms; sometimes they are about how the apocalypse might unfold, or about the resources we will fight over, or the people who will be doing the fighting. Whether the future is filled with robots or devoid of resources, there’s always human drama and…
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A Second Life Review: A Lovely Walk Through Paris | That Shelf
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We’ve all felt depressed. It’s a fact that sometimes life will get you down, and if you let it, depression and anxiety can isolate you from having any meaningful relationships. The luckiest of us have only had fleeting experience with this, but all of us have felt it at one time or another. A Second Life is…
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Strong Performances Keeps “Horsegirls” on Track | ForReel
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Horsegirls is a unique film about a young woman’s journey to find her place in the world. It hits several beats that you will see coming along the way, but it gets there with some important distinctions and directions that you perhaps won’t. Margarita (Lillian Carrier) is 22 and autistic. She lives with her…
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“Birthright” Goes Horrifyingly Wrong in All the Right Ways | ForReel
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There is, it is fair to say, often generational divides. One that we are living through today is between millennials (who are now in their 30s and 40s) and boomers (who are now mostly retired). Boomers grew up in a world that had ample opportunity, and a more fair distribution of wealth, whereas millennials…
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Fantasia Festival 2025 Begins This Week! | Awesome Friday!
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You know, Fantasia is one of my favourite film festivals. Good news, everyone! The Fantasia Film Festival is back for another year. One of Canada’s premier film festivals, and one of the biggest genre film festivals on the continent. This year’s lineup looks great, but here are five films I’m looking forward to. Link:…
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“Inside” Is a Compelling Prison Redemption Story | ForReel
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Each of the men in this story exemplifies a part of these themes, both shared and individual. Warren (Pearce) is a scruffy older man serving time for violence he committed in the past. His parole is coming up, but he’s indebted to other inmates who will get what they’re owed one way or another…
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Smoke Review: Arson Investigation Drama Is Rainy Day Viewing | That Shelf
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The saying goes that where there is smoke, there is fire—a simple adage, and one that proves itself time and time again. When we’re talking about actors, where there’s smoke, there’s often Taron Egerton. This is not a perfect metaphor, but the point is that Egerton is on fire. He has talent and charisma for…
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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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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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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…