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| EFC STATS |
| Movies Listed: |
25537 |
| Total Ratings: |
244509 |
| Total Reviews: |
26191 |
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| OUT OF THE FURNACE |
"He Who Smelt It Dealt It"
Peter Sobczynski says... "It is one of the amusing paradoxes of the moviegoing universe that at just the precise time of year where the real world shifts into a theoretically festive and joyous mood, the multiplexes are suddenly crammed with increasingly grim fare from a creative community desperate to lay bare the horrors of the human condition for all to see and, if possible, score a few Oscar nominations in the process. There may be peace on Earth and goodwill to man in the streets but the multiplexes have decked their halls with boughs of holocaust, familial dysfunction and other unhappy screen subjects. When these films are done properly by people with a sincere point of view, of course, they can result in powerful cinematic documents but when they don't work, they come across as awkward messes that have been cynically conceived by people working under the impression that a bleak perspective is a surefire ticket to a little gold statue." (more)
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| FROZEN (2013) |
"The Mouse goes feminist."
Rob Gonsalves says... "In Disney’s latest feature "Frozen," the true love that saves the day turns out not to be between the prince and the princess but between sisters. This deserves some applause." (more)
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| BLACK NATIVITY |
"An unusual musical, though not a transcendent one."
Jay Seaver says... "It's not exactly uncommon for people to make musicals as relatively small as "Black Nativity", although they generally don't have the likes of Fox releasing them wide or a cast full of familiar faces. The big studios tend to go big when they do something like this, but its the small independent nature of this movie that makes it interesting, even when it does seem to have a split personality." (more)
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| CARRIE (2013) |
"A bloody waste"
Daniel Kelly says... "Let’s play a game. It’s called guess the film. Ready? Okay? Here we go. It’s a remake of a beloved genre picture with Julianne Moore. It’s pointless and style deficient with a director ill-suited to the challenges of building tension. The lead actor is ostensibly meant to be playing a troubled and deeply scarred introvert with serious mommy issues, but proves too polished and naturally communicative for the task. Got it yet? No? Well, the answer is Gus Van Sant’s maligned 1998 “Psycho” redux. Want To play again? No? Fair enough. I guess I’ll review Kimberley Peirce’s “Carrie” remake instead." (more)
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| HOMEFRONT |
"Sometimes an action movie needs to be more than just a little odd."
Jay Seaver says... "Here's a question: If a by-the-numbers genre movie that otherwise has direct-to-video (or, these days, video-on-demand) written all over it somehow puts together a group of interesting actors who actually play their parts fairly well, does it really matter if this doesn't make for better action? Maybe, maybe not. There winds up not being much to "Homefront", but it's a lot less laughable between fights than many other movies of its ilk." (more)
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| COLD TURKEY (2013) |
"The title is sadly accurate."
Jay Seaver says... "Folks from other continents much watch movies taking place on Thanksgiving and wonder why Americans have given themselves and extra week end of annoying travel to share a relatively bland meal and unresolved issues with family - even if many do end with the family members realizing how much they need each other. It's actually a lot more pleasant than that most of the time, but you certainly wouldn't know that from watching the likes of "Cold Turkey"." (more)
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| OLDBOY (2013) |
"Not Exactly A Walk In The Park"
Peter Sobczynski says... "Ever since it was announced that "Oldboy," South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook's internationally successful screen adaptation of the popular Japanese manga, was being prepared for an English-language remake, fans of its previous iterations have wondered how a tale filled with such brutality, both physical and emotional, could possibly make it through the Hollywood studio system without losing much of the darkness that made it such a memorably unpleasant experience. After years of false starts (including a period in which it was being conceived as a Will Smith vehicle), the Americanized version has finally arrived, courtesy of no less of a filmmaker than Spike Lee, and I can assure you that it is just as bleak and bloody as the original. The question that most people should have been asking is not how an American "Oldboy" could be made but rather why such a thing should be made in the first place. This is a query that the film never quite manages to answer satisfactorily and the result is a film that isn't so much a bad movie (though Lord knows it isn't very good) as much as it is a staggeringly pointless one." (more)
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| FROZEN (2013) |
"Hyperion Avenue Freeze-Out"
Peter Sobczynski says... "2013 will most likely not go down as a landmark era for filmmaking but for fans of animation, it has been an exceptionally fallow period. Most of this year's offerings have been forgettable at best and flat-out awful at worst, the contribution from the once-reliable Pixar was a crushing disappointment and even the advent of a new film by Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki was tempered severely by the announcement that it would most likely be his last. To judge by the early reviews, it would seem as if "Frozen," the latest effort from Disney Studios, has turned the tide around with some observers calling it the best bit of Disney animation in years. It is a definite improvement over such recent Mouse House fare as "Bolt" and the obnoxious rip-off "Planes" and I suppose that a case could be made for it being the best animated film of the year (though I have yet to see the Miyazaki as I write this). That said, it is still an uneven enterprise that misses as often as it hits and which never comes close to approaching the greatness of the true Disney classics." (more)
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WHISTLER FILM FESTIVAL 2013 INTERVIEW – BEST MAN DOWN DIRECTOR TED KOLAND
by Jason Whyte |
| "“BEST MAN DOWN follows bride and groom Kristin (played by Jess Weixler) and Scott (played by Justin Long), who are forced to cancel their honeymoon and fly home to the snowy Midwest to arrange for the funeral of their obnoxious and over-served best man, Lumpy (played by Tyler Labine), after he unexpectedly dies at their destination wedding in Phoenix. But getting Lumpy’s body back to Minneapolis is just the start of their adventure, as the well-intended sacrifice surprises at every turn. And when the newlyweds’ path leads them to a fifteen year-old girl (played by Addison Timlin) in a small, northern Minnesota town, all bets are off on who Lumpy really was.” Director Ted Koland on BEST MAN DOWN which had its premiere at this year's Whistler Film Festival." (more) |
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BACK UP THE HILL: TAKING A LOOK AT THE 2013 WHISTLER FILM FESTIVAL
by Jason Whyte |
| "Now in its 13th year, the Whistler Film Festival continues to get stronger and stronger. This is the seventh year I have trekked up the hill from my little house in Victoria, BC to take part in the annual festivities. From the snow, the great films, the fun events and the hot dog/poutine joint nestled right near the ski gondolas, this is an annual tradition and this looks to be one of the best yet. First attending in 2007 gave me a fresh perspective on traveling to and attending film festivals, and I look forward to seeing what happens." (more) |
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'NOW THEY WILL KNOW WHY THEY ARE AFRAID OF THE DARK. NOW THEY LEARN WHY THEY FEAR THE NIGHT.'
- Thulsa Doom, Conan The Barbarian
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