SIFF ’18 Capsule Review: ‘TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID’

May 29, 2018 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged Horror, Issa López, Mexican Horror, SIFF 2018, Tigers are Not Afraid Leave a comment

Not even children are spared in this gritty Mexican fantasy-thriller from writer/director Issa López. Both grounded in dark realities and anchored by larger-than-life fantastical elements, Tigers Are Not Afraid shares DNA with Guillermo del Toro’s Spanish-language horrors movies (think Devil’s Backbone), which smuggle pervasive social commentary in with spooky, mythic thrills. A 10-year old girl joins up with a similarly orphaned child gang, roaming the streets and eluding ill-intentioned adults in this unsettling fable about loss and criminality. Moody and uncompromising, Tigers marks López as a blooming talent to keep a close eye on. (B-) Read More

SIFF ’18 Capsule Review: ‘THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS’

May 28, 2018 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged David Kellman, Documentaries, Eddy Galland, Robert Shafran, SIFF 2018, Three Identical Strangers, Tim Wardle Leave a comment

Eddy Galland, David Kellman, and Robert Shafran had their lives turned upside down with the discovery that the three 19-year olds were long-lost triplets. Overnight media sensations, the long-separated trio discover a nefarious plot to settle the argument on nature vs. nurture in this stranger-than-fiction type documentary from Tim Wardle. Equally compelling and fascinating, Three Identical Strangers is a psychological tragedy that shuffles between the influences of fame, genes, and mental disease to startling effect. Runs out of steam as the surprises fade away but remains a largely arresting watch nonetheless. (B) Read More

SIFF ’18 Capsule Review: ‘RUIN ME’

May 25, 2018 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged Horror, Marcienne Dwyer, Preston DeFrancis, Reviews, Ruin Me, SIFF 2018, Trysta Bissett Leave a comment

This concept horror from Preston DeFrancis tries to combine the shlocky guesswork of a whodunnit in with the craze of Escape Rooms to middling effect. When ex-addict Alexandra (Marcienne Dwyer) accompanies boyfriend Nathan on Slasher Sleepout, the orchestrated haunt becomes menacingly real and the pair must fight for survival. Some of the narrative twists work but the acting is standard C-list horror subpar, the practical effects disappointing, and the scares lacking entirely. The script from DeFrancis and Trysta Bissett is loaded with bromides and jump-to-conclusions dialogue as well as some hare-brained endgame mustache-twirling that comes across as more tasteless and off-putting than brutal and brilliant. (C-) Read More

SIFF ’18 Capsule Review: ‘LEAVE NO TRACE’

May 24, 2018 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged Ben Foster, Debra Granik, Leave No Trace, Review, SIFF 2018, Thomas Harcourt McKenzie 1 Comment

Following 2010’s Winter’s Bone, Debra Granik continues to peer into the grungy sideshow of backcountry American life in the delicately told Leave No Trace. About a father and daughter who attempt to live off the land, Granik’s third feature film tackles heavy themes with a soft touch, allowing Ben Foster and Thomas Harcourt McKenzie’s soulful performances to soar in this quiet coming-of-age character study. A treatise on the bonds that tie and emotional scars too ugly to bear, Leave No Trace is a graceful and absorbing drama about the profundity of family love. (B+) Read More

SIFF ’18 Capsule Review: ‘BEAST’

May 23, 2018 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged Beast, Jessie Buckley, Johnny Flynn, Michael Pearce, Reviews, SIFF 2018 Leave a comment

This moody slow-burn from writer-director Michael Pearce is a psychosexual tone-poem of quiet desperation. On a reclusive island, Jessie Buckley’s misfitted Mal falls for Pascal (Johnny Flynn) who just so happens to be the chief suspect for a string of heinous murders perpetrated against the communities’ women. Pearce’s seductive romantic thriller plays a tantalizing game of cat and mouse, teasing the audience with an eerie soundscape and an off-axis visual palette. Buckley is a find as Mal, offering a full-charged performance and a different breed of leading lady. (B) Read More

SIFF ’18 Capsule Review: ‘SORRY TO BOTHER YOU’

May 22, 2018 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged Armie Hammer, Lakeith Stanfield, Reviews, SIFF 2018, Sorry to Bother You, Steven Yeun, Tessa Thompson Leave a comment

Sorry to Bother You is on its own level of strangeness. Like stranger than tentacle porn strange. Bold, experimental, and loaded with rich, cryptic and powerful themes of the African American and working-class experience, Boot Riley has crafted a sashimi raw, energetic manifesto exploding with purpose, despite flaws. Seeing Lakeith Stanfield’s lackadaisical mystique dominate a lead role is a joyous experience but the film’s attempts at comedy can sometimes be too broad, even when rooted in razor-sharp satire. Going places you will never in a million years anticipate, STBY is rich with strange soul and sickening twists and turns, smuggling “white voice” and meta-human rights in to challenge audiences in this not-to-be-ignored creationist tale that tackles new racial epitaphs and demented sociopolitical hierarchies. (B) Read More

SIFF ’18 Capsule Review: ‘BODIED’

May 18, 2018 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged Alex Larsen, Bodied, Calum Worthy, Dumbfoundead, Jackie Long, Joseph Kahn, Kid Twist, Rory Uphold, SIFF 2018, Walter Perez 1 Comment

Joseph Kahn’s battle rap satire is a dish delish of sick burn served hot and heavy. Exuberant slashes of searing bars and ill rhymes punctuate this come-up story of an unlikely friendship broiling in the maw of an oft-unseen underground culture. Kahn’s electrifying feature takes down the hip-hop scene, collegiate PC culture and the unquenchable thirst for success detailing this underdog ascension to the throne and he does it with style to spare. Rap game cinema hasn’t burned this hot since Hustle & Flow with writer Alex Larsen (aka Kid Twist) borrowing from his own life and capacity for epically clever rebuttals to make this the crowd-pleasing Whiplash of rap battle entertainment. Get hyped! (A-) Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘DEADPOOL 2’

May 17, 2018 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Brianna Hildebrand, David Leitch, Deadpool 2, Josh Brolin, Julian Dennison, Karan Soni, Out in Theaters, Paul Wernick, Reviews, Rhett Reese, Ryan Reynolds, Stefan Kapičić, T.J. Miller, Zazie Beetz 4 Comments

The novelty of a fourth-wall-breaking, F-bomb-slinging, crotch-grabbing “superhero” may be gone but Deadpool’s not backing down an inch in this full-brunt sequel to the wildly popular R-rated 2016 comic book movie. With Deadpool 2, audiences will get what they expect – Ryan Reynolds spitballing irreverently, kinetic action scenes, a garbage truck full of winks and jabs at other superhero movies – but the comedic blockbuster has been reworked as a whole (*insert Deadpool joke about “reworking” a hole*), ironing out some of the kinks of its lurid predecessor, and making for an all-around more streamlined and better product. Read More

SIFF ’18 Capsule Review: ‘EIGHTH GRADE’

May 16, 2018 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged A24, Bo Burnham, Eighth Grade, Elsie Fisher, Josh Hamilton, SIFF 2018 1 Comment

A bighearted DM of awkwardness and warmth, Bo Burnham’s transportive comedic-drama debut Eighth Grade will return audiences to those pimple-pocked middle years; when being cool was synonymous with having no personality and anxiety over self-identity dominated every waking thought. The drama from A24 marries a tender coming-of-age saga with perfectly-layered cringe-comedy in a universal story of finding oneself in the digital age. Compelling use of musical cues and spirited, raw performances from Elsie Fisher and Josh Hamilton characterize this sweet, memorable story about the soul-crushing horror-show that is middle school. (A-) Read More

SIFF ’18 Capsule Review: ‘BOUNDARIES’

May 15, 2018 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged Boundaries, Christopher Plummer, Lewis MacDougall, Shana Feste, Vera Farmiga Leave a comment

Shana Feste’s pot-slinging cross-country road-trip dramedy deals in paternal disappointment and familial reconciliation but remains a bit high on its own supply. Vera Farmiga and Christopher Plummer stand out as a neurotic, animal-rescuing single mother and her laid-back, ne’er-do-well father, an 85-year old who enlists grandson Henry (Lewis MacDougall) to help sell marijuana under her nose. A well-meaning bong-rip of family drama, if a bit meandering and overcooked, Boundaries is definitely not your average stoner film, and works best as an earnest two-hander between the always reliable Plummer and Farmiga. (C) Read More