Ask any inspiring filmmaker out there about the difficulties of making their first feature film and they’ll be able to reel off a dozen difficult encounters and challenges that they had to face. However, Clayton Scott’s experiences and struggles filming the tense crime thriller “Below the Fold” are something special. Continue reading Exclusive Interview With Clayton Scott, Director of “Below the Fold”
After watching Angela How’s hard-hitting and very real drama/thriller “Bullied” I was very keen to speak to her about the development of the film and her inspiration behind it. As a child I was subjected to bullying at school and it did have a significant impact on my overall perception of myself and my confidence. I found myself really relating to the character of Charlotte (played by the brilliant Jacinta Klassen) and I wasn’t quite aware of how much the film had impacted me until afterwards when I was coming up with the questions for How. There’s such a rawness and sense of realism, that this story could have only come from someone who had lived through the effects of bullying. In this interview below, How discusses her inspiration behind the picture, the struggles of casting and the female filmmakers who influenced her as well as her next upcoming project which sounds fascinating. Continue reading Exclusive Interview with Angela How, Director of “Bullied”
While the film tries very hard to build suspense, there is too much exposition and not enough action. We meet the main characters and learn of their relationships to each other in the broadest terms and that is pretty much the entire film. A news reporter (Shashana Pearson) does her best to warn of impending doom but the tension never really ratchets up. The camera is repeatedly thrown out of focus when various characters are either physically or emotionally in crisis and this becomes a distraction. The acting is simply not strong enough to make us care for these people, whether they are facing the apocalypse or are oddly blending into Technicolor in addition to that. “Monochrome: the Chromism” may grow into a more solid story in future episodes but for now, it might be best to wait to see the whole series to get a clearer understanding of the plot. Continue reading Review: Monochrome: the Chromism
“Rose: A Love Story” is the feature debut for director Jennifer Sheridan, about a married couple living an isolated existence in the woods near a little town in the north of England. Sam (Matt Stokoe) is a man whose life is lived in service to his loving wife Rose (Sophie Rundle) as she struggles with a mysterious illness. Rose’s days are spent indoors, with only a typewriter and a radio handy to keep her occupied in the couple’s dimly lit cabin, while Sam enjoys a separate daily life filled with light, hunting and gardening, and making sure the many locks installed on the outside of their house are secured. Continue reading Review -Rose: A Love Story #LFF2020
Indie filmmaker Justin McConnell has been making movies for nearly two decades and the struggle has its ups and downs. Clapboard Jungle explores similar filmmakers and their stories of making it in the film industry. Continue reading Fantasia Festival Review: Clapboard Jungle
Ever so rarely does a film so jaw-clenchingly vexatious on the onset ever end well for me. Writer-director Adam Rehmeier’s film began, and thirty minutes in I was cringing. We’re introduced to two vapid caricatures and we wince at the notion that we will have to spend nearly two hours with them as the story meanders listlessly.
However, the two vapid–or so I thought–caricatures eventually meet up, and become the players of the biggest plot twist of 2020 so far: a film that I hated so much in its opening minutes ended up winning my heart in the end. Heck, it’s impossible to believe that this charmer came from the mind behind 2011’s exploitative “The Bunny Game”. Continue reading Fantasia Film Festival Review: Dinner in America
To create a feature length film primarily within one location, and one character can seem like an extreme task, but Yung-Jen Yan effectively did so in his thriller ‘Locked Alone.’ The narrative follows a young woman (Claire Hsu) moving into a Manhattan apartment. A seemingly nice location, affordable apartment and the world at her feet. However, she soon finds out that it is far from the American Dream-like life she was hoping for, as an unwelcomed presence locks her in the apartment, isolated and with minimal resources. Continue reading Greenpoint Film Festival Review: Locked Away
“Love Sarah” is the debut feature film from director Eliza Schroeder. The film is a sweet little comedy/drama about three women who are brought together by the loss of their mother/daughter and best friend, Sarah. Together they decide to open a baery to honour Sarah’s memory. Editor Bianca Garner caught up with Eliza to discuss the film in further detail, how the strong women in Eliza’s own ife inspired the three main characters and which Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet film inspired her the most. Please find the interview below! Continue reading Exclusive Interview with Eliza Schroeder, Director of Love Sarah
“Archive” is the feature debut from writer/director Gavin Rothery. It’s a complex, through-provoking and intelligent sci-fi film which features great performances by Theo James and Stacy Martin. Set in 2038, “Archive” tells the story of George Almore (James) who is working on a true human-equivalent AI. His latest prototype is almost ready, and his end goal is to be reunited with his dead wife (Martin).
What’s unique about the film is how it focuses on the themes of replacement and jealousy as well as proposing the question, “how would an A.I. react if it became sentient?”. ITOL editor Bianca Garner caught up with Gavin to speak about “Archive” and the role of a problematic computer played in the inception of the story. Continue reading Exclusive Interview with Gavin Rothery, Director of “Archive”
One of the best things this reviewer loves about cinema is the feeling of awe when one is transported into the world of the film. In the time of the current pandemic, the cinema experience is being missed more and more. Some filmgoers would love to venture into something new and otherworldly while other filmgoers would love to venture into something warm, comforting and familiar.
It is quite fitting that of the film under review, “The Vast of Night” (2019), is about the wonder of discovery under tough circumstances. When the film had its first showing at the Slamdance Film Festival in 2019, it premiered to glowingly positive reviews and has now been released earlier than expected on VOD due to the pandemic. Will the film live up to its immense hype? Continue reading Review: The Vast of Night
In Their Own League 