Last night’s Oscars felt dead on arrival when Queen opened
the show with a performance that was so lifeless and awkwardly shot one might
have mistaken it for a clip from Bohemian
Rhapsody. Fortunately, though, the ever-reliable trio of Tina Fey, Amy Poehler,
and Maya Rudolph brought the energy back to the room. In the absence of the
usual opening monologue, the trio offered a funny bit that ripped on the many
gaffes the Academy made en route to this year’s Oscars, including losing host
Kevin Hart and backtracking on its decision to award several categories during
the commercial breaks and present edited clips later in the show. This year’s
Oscar broadcast might have been the swiftest one yet since it didn’t have a
host to pad the evening with jokes and filler. The Oscars didn’t suffer much
without a host, but like the show could have used a bit more pizzazz. One can
hardly fault the Academy because they ultimately listened to viewers and
delivered a show that focused largely on the nominees and winners.
2/25/2019
2/22/2019
Oscar Predictions: Final Round - Will Win/Should Win
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Clockwise from top left: Roma, BlacKkKlansman, Black Panther, A Star is Born, The Favourite, Green Book |
Another year, another utterly toxic Oscar season in the can. I don't know if this year was as brutal as the last one, but jeez - don’t you remember when the Oscars were fun? Don’t you remember
when you could champion a movie because you loved it, because it moved you, or
because it wowed you unlike anything you’d seen before? I mean, could you even imagine Titanic
winning Best Picture in 2018? If The Boy Who Cried Woke thinks
its classist to say “You’ve gotta see Roma
in a theatre!” then Titanic would have
gotten killed because Rose, the rich girl, survived the shipwreck and Jack, the magical boy from Steerage, died. An iceberg would be the least of Titanic's problems.
2/15/2019
Five Films to See at TIFF Next Wave
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Catch must-see Oscar nominee Minding the Gap at TIFF Next Wave Courtesy of TIFF. |
Forget Max Ophüls, the archival 35mm print you need to see
this week is But I’m a Cheerleader!
TIFF’s Next Wave Film Festival returns this week offering youth-oriented
programming with films both old and new selected by young movie buffs. Jamie
Babbit’s campy and hilarious cult hit is just one of the retrospective
highlights of the film that should attract moviegoers eager to explore films
that didn’t make the cut at TIFF’s recent 1999 series. (Still waiting on that Thomas Crown Affair spotlight, dear
Lightbox!)
Labels:
TIFF
2/11/2019
Watch Oscar Nominee 'Animal Behaviour'
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Animal Behaviour NFB |
Labels:
Animation,
Canadian Film,
NFB,
Oscars,
Shorts
2/07/2019
Oscar-Nominated Live Action Shorts are Sadistic Hell
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Fauve |
Wowee, the short film branch of the Academy is a sadistic
bunch. I love the five films they nominated for Best Animated Short, but the
programme for Best Live Action Short is simply intolerable. With the exception
of one contender, the nominees are relentlessly bleak, exhausting, and, at
times, excruciating films. Oscar completists must tread lightly in this
scenario, for it might better to fill out the ballot than endure the miserable
hell of a screening. At the very least, find out the screening order of the
films and plan bathroom breaks or walk out times accordingly.
Labels:
2019 reviews,
Canadian Film,
Oscars,
Shorts
2/06/2019
Canadian Talent Dominates Oscar-Nominated Animated Shorts
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Animal Behaviour NFB |
I might have a bone to pick with Oscar voters for their choices
in the insufferably bleak live action and documentary shorts, but the animation
team delivered one of the few truly great sets of nominees this year. The five
Oscar-nominated animated short films represent the best of the field and
deliver the full spectrum of the art form by storytellers from around the
world. The cherry on top is that Canadians hold the majority of slots in the
category with one NFB production and two films by Canuck directors landing on
the ballot—and the three films are honestly the best of the bunch.
2/03/2019
'Giant Little Ones' Embraces Fluidity
Giant Little Ones
(Canada, 93 min.)
Written and directed by Keith Behrman
Starring: Josh Wiggins, Maria Bello, Darren
Mann, Taylor Hickson, Kyle MacLachlan, Peter Outerbridge
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Josh Wiggins stars in Giant Little Ones Mongrel Media |
Love stories often contain fireworks. Either literal or figurative, sometimes both, these bright bursts offer convenient metaphors for sparks that fly between connected souls. In Giant Little Ones, the long-awaited sophomore feature of Keith Behrman following his 2002 debut Flower & Garnet, the story offers no fireworks, but it does shoot off a few flare guns. The image of best friends Franky (Josh Wiggins) and Ballas (Darren Mann) sending little rockets into the air offers a touching, understated image of sexual awakening. The flares that fly upwards into the night don’t travel a straight path—they sail in unconventional arcs before erupting into bright, glowing euphoric bursts of red light that warm the heart. Handsomely shot and driven by an upbeat indie soundtrack, Giant Little Ones is at its best when it speaks for the characters without saying anything. These explosions in the sky are warmly reassuring gestures in an intimate coming of age story.
Labels:
2019 reviews,
Canadian Film,
Giant Little Ones,
TIFF CTT
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