New Zealand Jonathan King Someone had to finally force sheep buggery into a horror film, and it makes sense that a Kiwi would be the one to do it. With Black Sheep, Jonathan King has made a film so obviously indebted to Peter Jackson (Dead Alive in particular) that it can be difficult to … Continue reading
UK Christopher Smith In 2004 Christopher Smith’s debut Creep was a TIFF Midnight Madness pick I recommended, albeit with qualifications. For 2006 I’m happy to recommend his second feature, Severance, with no qualifications at all. People are calling it The Office meets Deliverance, which is as good a way as any to get asses … Continue reading
USA Jem Cohen Concert films are next to useless. It’s easy enough to point a camera at a band, wave it around a little, then mince the footage like hamburger. And the kids seem to love it. I don’t. I’ll take the concert flick as a bare substitute for a band I never saw … Continue reading
Russ’s 2005 coverage.Russ’s 2004 coverage. Do you think the disconnect between audience and critic is not as large as advertised? Do you want to see the deepest and most unique collection of films to play in North America in a given year? Or maybe you just want to pay twenty bucks (Canadian, which is now … Continue reading
USA, Jeff Garlin You know — or should know — John Waters as the director of some of the dirtiest low-art movies ever made. If Pink Flamingos, Polyester and Female Trouble aren’t in your repertoire, it’s high time to update the Netflix queue. But Waters is also an able speaker; his lectures are more like … Continue reading
South KoreaBong Joon-ho Monster movies get short critical shrift, especially when they’re massive blockbusters that run on CGI like a Dodge guzzling leaded gasoline. But when the same film has a strong family component and undercurrents of environmental and political awareness, people pay attention. Such is the case with The Host, which has broken records … Continue reading
Hungary/Austria/FranceGyörgy Pálfi A few months back, I caught the trailer for Taxidermia and immediately had to see the film. A triptych of tales, the thin script follows a family born into poverty. The original patriarch is an orderly at a wartime orphanage; while lusting after the two deliciously teenage girls stationed within, he explores his … Continue reading
Hong Kong / ChinaJonnie To I probably say this every year, but I’d pretty much written off Hong Kong cinema a few years back. Then I saw Breaking News, Johnnie To’s ambitious flick about the interplay between criminals and the media. The movie didn’t deliver, exactly, but it got close, with enough going on to … Continue reading
USA/CanadaGuy Maddin On my first trip to the Toronto Film Festival, I was thrilled to sit in the Elgin Theatre for the premiere of Guy Maddin’s The Saddest Music In The World. He’s entered a handful of short films into the fest in the years since, but no other features have been forthcoming. Brand Upon … Continue reading
AustraliaMurali K Thralluri While I was in Toronto a Montreal student opened fire in his university, proof that the pressures which created Columbine are everywhere. For much of 2:37, which follows troubled, seemingly normal high school kids for a day, it’s easy to infer that Columbine has come to Australia, too. The lives of these … Continue reading