Category Archives: Indie

The Bling Ring review

Written and directed by Sofia Coppola, from the Vanity Fair article byNancy Jo SalesAs an anthropological study, The Bling Ring works. As a study of characters who engage, it doesn't really. Judge accordingly.Based on the true story of affluent Los Angeles teens who—obsessed with celebrity in their midst—stole $3 million worth of clothes, shoes and jewellery…Read More

Before Midnight review

Directed by Richard Linklater Written by Linklater, Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke, based on characters by Linklater and Kim Krizan What might have been film history's most unlikely—and delightful—sequel gets a sequel. Back in 1995 Linklater told a story in Before Sunrise that had the tang of authenticity and autobiography; two 20-somethings meet on a…Read More

American Mary review

Written and Directed by Jen and Sylvia SoskaSo great to see a homegrown horror with some new ideas. And especially good to see Ginger Snaps' Katherine Isabelle again on the big screen.The new ideas in the Soska twins' film are front-loaded. We start with Mary, a medical student who seems to really know her stuff,…Read More

To the Wonder review

Written and directed by Terrence MalickCinema as poetry. This is how Malick's last feature, The Tree of Life, was described by some. But that wasn't half of it. To the Wonder takes that descriptor far further. And in doing so, Malick provides an astonishingly beautiful film, but one that demands a lot of attention and…Read More

The Place Beyond The Pines review

Directed by Derek CianfranceWritten by Cianfrance, Ben Coccio and Darius MarderThree stories, interlocked. The first: A stunt-driving motorcyclist (Ryan Gosling) returns to Schenectady, New York—a city whose name in Mohawk means, roughly, the title of this picture— and finds a woman (Eva Mendes) and an infant. Cycle guy decides to stay, to try and be a…Read More

Spring Breakers review

Written and directed by Harmony KorineFrom celebrated American indie iconoclast Korine, responsible for bizarro gems like Gummo and Trash Humpers, Spring Breakers arrives as probably his most broadly accessible work. And people are still going to have big problems with it, because it refuses to be one thing.The picture works as both a celebration of the…Read More

Stoker review

Directed by Park Chan-Wook | Written by Wentworth Miller and Erin Cressida Wilson | 98 min | On Demand A little like if Dark Shadows was played totally straight, Stoker is a concoction both fluffy and gothic, a self-conscious Hitchcock pastiche that dances on the edge of camp before eventually becoming the thing it pretends to be. Park…Read More

Charlie Zone opens

A heads up for FITI readers living in Halifax, Cape Breton or Toronto, Michael Melski's thriller Charlie Zone is opening today at a cinema near you.It's a tale of the dark underbelly of Halifax, one that I totally believe exists but is rarely represented in locally made movies. I think the last time I took…Read More

Side Effects review

Directed by Steven SoderberghWritten by Scott Z. BurnsIs this Steven Soderbergh's last feature film? If it is, it's a strangely fitting one, an exemplar of two of Soderbergh's distinct strengths: clean, uncluttered humanist storytelling and a zippy way with genre.That these styles—in this film anyway—make it something of a mash-up is OK with me. Going into it,…Read More