What to watch at CUFF 2013
So the Calgary Underground Film Festival starts today, and in my relatively biased opinion (I’m on the board, but I’m not the guy who picks the movies), it’s definitely one of the best things you can spend your time on this week. The programming team has yet again put together an incredibly solid line-up, and … Continue reading
The Globe’s gone indie: Where to go from here
This is sort-of an addendum to the film piece I wrote in Fast Forward the other week. When I wrote that, the state of the Globe was very much up in the air–in fact, I had it on good word that they were about to announce their closure–but fortunately they’ve worked out a way to … Continue reading
What to see on CIFF’s last weekend
Again, the disclaimer: I work for CIFF, so this isn’t exactly objective reporting. But The Consumption is my own opinions, not those of the fest. There’s still four days left of this year’s Calgary International Film Festival, so this seems as good a time as any to run down some more of my festival favourites. … Continue reading
Countdown to CIFF: #1. So many short films
For the 10 days leading up to CIFF’s opening gala, I’ll be posting a quick write-up per day on some of my favourite movies at the fest. I’m not exactly unbiased — CIFF does give me a paycheque, after all — but these posts are my own opinions and not those of the festival. And … Continue reading
How to get people psyched for your Halo adaptation
Three easy steps for creating excitement for your low-budget Halo adaptation, courtesy of Wilfrid Laurier University’s student paper interview with director Jared Pelletier: 1. Stress that the project is about the power of art and storytelling: “The idea came from seeing the success of other films based on popular video game content,” said Pelletier. 2. … Continue reading
TIFF 2011 Day 3: The Odds; Jeff, Who Lives At Home; Keyhole
THE ODDS A Canadian analogue of Rian Johnson’s Brick, The Odds similarly cross-breeds film noir and high school drama, this time focusing on high-stakes gambling instead of drug dealing. And while it doesn’t make the same impact as Johnson’s film — writer/director Simon Davidson doesn’t have quite the same ear for slang or eye for … Continue reading
Belated: The best movies of 2010
Now that the holidays are over and school’s back in swing, I finally have the motivation to get back into blogging (ie. a desperate need to procrastinate). So, without ado, my favourite movies of 2010, sticking to the exactly-50-words format that’s worked so well before. Heartbeats Heartbeats may turn off some with its depiction of … Continue reading
TIFF trailings
A few more to add to the list. I only have one more industry screening after this, but I may try to rush a public screening of the Herzog doc (good luck without getting there three hours early) and one or two others over the weekend. It’s a bit of a bummer getting here too … Continue reading
Beyond Prometheus: An interview with Vincenzo Natali of Splice
I just think we’re beyond the Promethean myth. We’re no longer having to question whether this technology should exist or not. We’re not questioning whether we should be stealing fire from the gods — that’s already happened. It’s simply a matter of questioning how to apply that technology in a way that will do maximum good and minimum harm.
The Birth of Burning Man
FILM: Dust and Illusions: As far as pure counterculture is concerned, few events balance popularity with cultural cachet like the Burning Man festival. Every year, thousands of artists, hedonists and general weirdos gather in the Black Rock desert for a week of almost-anything-goes celebration and creativity. Examining that sort of event objectively is no easy … Continue reading
The Consumption 