Writer-director Randy Moore challenges convention in his feature film debut. Covertly filmed on hand-held cameras at Disney World and Disney Land, Escape From Tomorrow is an epic example of guerrilla film-making. Escape From Tomorrow begins as a dreamscape at the wonderful world of Disney and slips into a nightmarish romp through the uncanny and absurd. Jim White […]
Film + TV
Posted inArts + Music
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
A whip-smart, witty high school grad (Emma Stone), who is mourning the death of her father (Denis Leary) while navigating her fraught relationship with boyfriend Peter (Andrew Garfield), enters the workforce, just another girl trying to make it in New York City. She gets a good job, in her field of scientific research, at a […]
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The Other Woman
Nick Cassavetes, son of John (and Gena Rowlands), directed The Notebook, so he is on our side. And based on a few obvious cuss word loops and jarring story edits, The Other Woman was probably supposed to be an R-rated sex romp that was cut to appeal to a broader audience. (That’s definitely why there […]
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Trailer Park Boys: Don’t Legalize It
The Boys return for round three of the same, at first in splinters but eventually brought together by petty crime and Ottawa, of all places. Julian (John Paul Tremblay) is selling urine stolen from the military to drug parolees in Montreal; Bubbles (Mike Smith) is living under J-Roc’s (Jonathan Torrens) porch and delivering fried chicken […]
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Transcendence
Evelyn Caster (Rebecca Hall) and husband Will (Johnny Depp) are high-end, famous scientists in the field of artificial intelligence. When a radical anti-technology group murders Will, Evelyn puts his consciousness “online,” after which he directs her a boarded-up desert blot of a Hollywood crud town which she upcycles into a secret science lair. Will wants […]
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Tim’s Vermeer
Inventor Tim Jenison, a designer of post-production equipment for film and TV (he did Video Toaster), is not an artist. But he wants to know how Johannes Vermeer, back in the 1600s, created his photo-realistic paintings. He produces his best guess: a mirror on an arm, reflecting the source material in tiny chunks, so the […]
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My Prairie Home
I first watched–experienced–My Prairie Home during a free screening hosted on the NFB’s website. A social network status update alerted me to the screening and although I was tired and the hour was late, I embarked on the documentary. I was not disappointed. The subject of the film is country-folk singer-songwriter Rae Spoon–a transgender person […]
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Amber Alert
Amber Alert is a found footage horror-thriller that actually does something different. In a genre that is almost exclusively populated by ghosts, witches, devils, zombies and other supernatural foes, this movie features a very real monster. Sam (Summer Bellessa) and Nat (Chris Hill) are making an audition tape for a popular reality television show. They’re driving […]
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Afternoon Delight
Afternoon Delight is a meandering story about sexual excitement, boundary testing and the wreckage of revenge. Rachael (Kathryn Hahn) is a quirky and charming stay-at-home mom who seems to have everything: a beautiful home, a successful husband and a good child. Unfortunately, she is bored out of her skull and likely depressed. Rachael becomes obsessed […]
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Rio 2
Sometimes I hate things on principle—like when I refused to see Rio because it looked like one long annoying Madagascar-esque monkey music video, and then Netflix happened and it was actually adorable. So of course, it had to have a sequel, because doesn’t everything? It’s like the long slog of life played out on the […]
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The Grand Budapest Hotel
Oh the capering that abounds across Europe in Wes Anderson’s latest fairytale for adults, The Wartime Nose-Punchings. As usual, it’s beautifully set-designed, impeccably scored and acted with all the emotion of Hannibal Lecter on a bender. Ralph Fiennes is the best thing by a Kropog as Gustave H., the elder-lovin’ concierge at the Grand Budapest […]
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Draft Day
Kevin Costner’s unexpected comeback continues with this surprisingly fine sports jam in the vein of Moneyball—it’s not about the meal, it’s about how the sausage gets made. In this instance, the NFL draft. Costner is Sonny Weaver Jr., GM of the Cleveland Browns, and he needs to bring his town a win (because as the […]
