Category Archives: Canadian

#AIFF2017 Day 3: The Square, Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool, Sweet Virginia

September 17, 2017 flawintheiris

I tend to be impressed by film doing a single thing well and managing to do that one good thing through its running time. Ruben Östlund's Palme d'or-winning The Square manages to be good at doing many things simultaneously, to the point where it's hard to collect all those things in your head at once. I…Read More

#AIFF2017 Opening Gala: Long Time Running review

September 15, 2017 flawintheiris

The gala red carpet premiere of the Atlantic International Film Festival took place at the Rebecca Cohn on Thursday evening, a lovely venue, especially for the music-filled launch film chosen: Long Time Running, Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier's documentary of the Tragically Hip's 2016 tour. I still had a twinge of regret we weren't…Read More

Hunting Pignut review — Punky coming-of-age tale flies apart

September 14, 2017 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Martine Blue | 94 min One of the entries in the 2016 Atlantic Film Festival opens locally opposite the 2017 edition, but only out in Bayers Lake. Hunting Pignut is a scrappy Newfoundland drama about a teenager, Bernice (Taylor Hickson), from around the bay, estranged from her gutter punk father, who,…Read More

#AIFF2017 Preview + CTV + The Coast!

September 14, 2017 flawintheiris

September is here, and so is the AFF, or FIN, or AIFF. Whatever you call it, the local film festival is a bonanza for the Haligonian film lover, a chance to see local, Canadian, and international features and shorts, many of which won't ever find their way to a big screen near you. Last weekend…Read More

Goon: Last Of The Enforcers review

March 16, 2017 flawintheiris

Directed by Jay Baruchel | Written by Baruchel and Jesse Chabot, based on the book Goon by Adam Frattasio and Douglas Smith | 101 min The first Goon was a violent and foul-mouthed hockey comedy with a surprisingly sweet hook and a solid central performance by Seann William Scott. Maybe my biggest grudge against it was…Read More

#AFF2016 — The Rehearsal, Paterson, Below Her Mouth reviews

September 22, 2016 flawintheiris

The Rehearsal Directed by Alison Maclean | Written by Maclean and Emily Perkins, adapting the novel by Eleanor Catton | 102 min The Rehearsal is an unexpected pleasure, a New Zealand picture about drama school students that goes interesting places. Stanley (James Rolleston) is 18 and one of those students. He's a little awkward, but the classes…Read More

#AFF2016 — Personal Shopper, American Honey, Operation Avalanche reviews

September 18, 2016 flawintheiris

Personal Shopper Written and Directed by Oliver Assayas | 105 min Personal Shopper is a film that refuses to pay off, but in the most delightful way. Assayas directed Stewart in The Clouds of Sils Maria, and once again creates a character for Kristen Stewart that's in a position of subservience to someone famous, though this…Read More

#AFF2016 Opening Gala: Maudie review

September 16, 2016 flawintheiris

This year's festival got off to a strong start with the Opening Gala screening of Maudie and the annual party, this one taking place at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, the perfect location given the subject of the film, folk artist Maud Lewis. Like the last AFF, the opening film was screened at the Rebecca…Read More

Atlantic Film Festival 2016 Preview

September 15, 2016 flawintheiris

Here we are again, that moment in September when Halifax goes movie crazy. I've been attending The Atlantic Film Festival since 2003. That year the festival programmers screened some of the biggest and most beloved films of the year (Lost In Translation) along with the obscure, but no less delightful, gems ( such as Wilbur Wants To…Read More

Hevn (Revenge) review — Expertly chilled Norwegian drama

June 9, 2016 flawintheiris

Directed by Kjersti Steinsbø | Written by Steinsbø and Ingvar Ambjørnsen | 100 min | ▲▲▲▲△ A woman named Andrea is, in fact, Rebekka (Siren Jørgensen). She takes on a fake identity as a travel writer in order to track down a hotelier, Morten (Frode Winther), a man with a secret. She has good reason to kill him with…Read More