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2021 Tribeca Film Festival Most Anticipated Movies | ForReel
Tribeca Film Festival beings June 9th and goes until June 20th. So, we gathered some familiar voices to discuss what we’re looking forward to. In this episode ahead of Tribeca 2021, Taylor Beaumont and myself are joined by friends and fellow virtual festival attendees Taylor Baker from Drink In The Movies in Seattle and Matthew […]
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Army of the Dead | ForReel
Matthew Simpson from Awesome Friday joins Thomas Stoneham-Judge and Tim Nagle to discuss Zack Snyder’s new heist zombie film ARMY OF THE DEAD, now streaming on Netflix. Episode Homepage: https://thisisforreel.com/home/forreel-crew-cameos-ep-4-army-of-the-dead-talk-with-matthew-simpson
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Interview: Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli on their film ‘Violation’ | Awesome Friday!
Violation is the first feature film by Canadian filmmakers Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli. A take on the rape-revenge genre, it is a tense and uncomfortable film, but in the best way possible. I had the distinct pleasure of sitting down with the pair via Zoom during the Victoria Film Festival. Needless to say that this […]
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The Best Films & Performers of 2020 | Awesome Friday!
2020 has been a hell of a year. With theatres ending up being an unsafe place to be during an ongoing worldwide pandemic you’d think it would be a harder year for film, but looking back it’s clear that this year has been an as vibrant and diverse year for film as any other. Of […]
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Interview: Amelia Moses on her film “Bloodthirsty” | Awesome Friday!
Amelia Moses has had a breakout year, with not one but two feature film releases: Bleed With Me, a psychological horror film which screened at Fantasia Festival this past summer, and now Bloodthirsty, a werewolf movie with more than a few twists and turns. Both films are screening as part of the 2020 Blood in the Snow […]
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All 93 Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror Segments, Ranked | Awesome Friday!
The Simpson’s annual Treehouse of Horror Halloween Special had its 31st edition this year, one year shy of the 32 years that the series has been running. It has produced some of the best episodes of the entire series and, over the years, let the writers and performers explore stories that they couldn’t get away […]
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VIFF 2020: Festival Favourites | ForReel
The Vancouver International Film Festival has come to a close, so I hopped on Zoom to talk with two friends and fellow film festival attendees, Matthew Simpson from Awesome Friday and Leanne Mclaren from 103.5 QMFM. We discuss our top 3 favorite films each of them saw during the festival, as well as some honorable […]
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VIFF 2020 Interview: Curtis Woloschuk, VIFF Associate Director of Programming, on the changes and challenges of hosting a festival during a pandemic | Awesome Friday!
There’s no denying that 2020 has been an abnormal year for film, and film festivals are by no means exempt from that. I sat down with Curtis Woloschuk, associate director if programming for the Vancouver International Film Festival, to talk about this years festival moving online and other challenges of hosting a festival during a […]
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VIFF 2020 Interview: Cheryl Foggo on her film ‘John Ware Reclaimed’ | Awesome Friday!
ohn Ware Reclaimed is a look at one of the least told types of stories in Canada, that of black history. John Ware himself is a locally famous figure and telling his story has been a lifelong interest of Canadian historian and writer Cheryl Foggo, who wrote and directed the film. I have already watched and reviewed […]
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VIFF 2020: ‘John Ware Reclaimed’ looks to change the conversation about the famous black cowboy | Awesome Friday!
For Foggo, John Ware has been a lifelong concern. She started a research file in the early days of her career as a writer and, in 2012, wrote a play titled John Ware Reimagined –songs from which are staged throughout this film– about his life and times. She admits that she knows she is no […]
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VIFF 2020: ‘Jumbo’ is a sweet film about love and acceptance | Awesome Friday!
On its face, Jumbo is about a young woman who falls in love with a carnival ride. No, not “oh hey, I love that ride.” She develops a deep emotional and sexual attachment to the ride. Yes, that’s a bit weird, but that is just the surface of the story. At its heart, Jumbo is about the […]
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VIFF 2020: ‘The Magnitude of All Things’ looks at climate change through the lens of personal loss | Awesome Friday!
Of all the stories presented, one common thread is money. Unfortunately, those who do the damage are more concerned with money than with the people affected. Again, this is not new information. Living through late-stage capitalism has made none of this surprising, only disappointing. Many stories in The Magnitude of All Things are as much about industries […]
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VIFF 2020: ‘Inconvenient Indian’ Is a Powerful Look at the Past, and Present, of Indigenous Life in Canada | Awesome Friday!
What makes Inconvenient Indian powerful is that it doesn’t let us get away with this. After a long section of various indigenous efforts to reclaim culture and foster some hope, the film also draws a straight line from our collective past to our present ignorance. It directly shows the police violently arresting Wetʼsuwetʼen people in BC as […]
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VIFF 2020 Interview: Clark Backo on her starring role in “Happy Place” | Awesome Friday!
Clark Backo is a star on the rise. Known for her roles in Letterkennyand Supernatural, she makes the jump to lead actor in Happy Place, the new adaption of Pamela Sinha’s play. I spoke with Clark on Zoom about her experiences making Happy Place. Full Interview at Awesome Friday: https://awesomefriday.ca/2020/09/viff-interview-clark-backo-on-starring-role-in-happy-place/
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VIFF 2020 Interview: Director Helen Shaver on her film “Happy Place” | Awesome Friday!
Helen Shaver is kind of a big deal. This year alone, she has directed episodes of Westworld, Snowpiercer, and Lovecraft Country. She is a veteran of prestige TV and directed a made-for-TV movie in 1999 that won an Emmy. Her new film Happy Place, streaming as part of the Vancouver International Film Festival, is her first feature film. I was […]
I am a Rotten Tomatoes-approved, freelance film & television critic and podcast host from Vancouver, Canada! I am a co-founder of the Cascadia Film & Television Critics Association and a voting member of the International Film Society Critics, Pandora International Critics, and the Online Film & Television Association.
I maintain bylines at Exclaim!, Awesome Friday!, That Shelf, ForReel, Movies We Texted About, KeithLovesMovies, and I can be heard regularly on the Contra Zoom Podcast and The LAMBCast.
