I’m overjoyed to present our first review this week not just because it stars Alexandra Beaton, Kate Wheeler’s daughter but because the web series Spiral is really good! A group of college students share a house with a quirky history and find its influence may be bleeding into their lives, literally. Alex is Emma a shy scholarship student bullied by her wealthy roommate Alex (Angela Palmer) who has it on for her. When Alex’ best friend Sophie is found dead, each roommate is under suspicion ion this fun, fast paced horror drama. Spiral was shot on location in Victoria and Spiral Beach (!) and Here’s Alex dying in Gerard Butler’s arms in 300.
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TIFF is well underway. I’ve been busy watching films about professional poker professionals starring an A-list actress..
and Suburbicon, a Coen Bros/ George Clooney co-pro starring Matt Damon and Julianne in a double role as the sunlit burbs are rocked by racism, deceit, murder and hypocrisy. A strong script and bitingly funny performances.
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There’s a sensual romantic Italian love story that marries food, gardens, beautiful people, sex and sunshine…
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Then the true story of an aboriginal hockey savant who became a star, a delightfully funny film shot in Hamilton about a rebel highschooler. Willem Dafoe is at his best in the staggering film The Florida Project. He’s a welfare motel manager presented with unusual problems when a precocious little girl takes over. This It’s provocative and authentic, a real gem.
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…and French actress Sandrine Bonnaire as a woman who follows her outsourced job to the underbelly of Tangiers. Then there’s another woman who makes the journey home to rural Norway to finds out what matters. Sorry some titles are missing but those are under embargo!
Police in the US are warning of potential real life sightings of creepy clowns as IT, the horror based on Stephen King’s novel, lands in theatres. Toronto stands in for the town of Derry where children are going missing, leaving behind only blood spatter and children take it upon themselves to hunt down the insane clown Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård). It’s a remake of the Tim Curry’s acclaimed frightfest of 1990. There’s huge anticipation for the film and King says it exceeded his expectations and that the producers had done “a wonderful job”. Don’t look in the storm drains or the old house! THB who likes clowns anyway?
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Well ladies – are you a WHIP (Woman Who is Hot and in Her Prime)? Reese Witherspoon is a reluctant even accidental one in Nancy Meyers’ produced domestic romcom Home Again when three handsome young men show up at her home and stay. She’s estranged from her husband and you can guess what just might take place. But then her husband (Michael Sheen) shows up while her mother (Candice Bergen) looks on in bemused shock as Reese’ character tries to get a grip on what’s happening to her. Plenty of awkward laughs.
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Rememory starring Peter Dinklage, looking extremely threatening or mystical, and Julia Ormond hard to say which, was not screened for critics. It sounds pretty interesting; a brilliant inventor is murdered after having created a machine that records memories. Dinklage shows up and offers to investigate for the man’s widow and looks to the machine’s ability to unveil folks’ darkest secrets. Rememory is Anton Yelchin’s second last film made before his tragic death.
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One Mississippi Season 2 on Amazon Prime stars Tig Notaro as an acclaimed LA talk radio host who moves home to Mississippi when her mother dies. She decides to stay to look after her step father whose anxiety is relieved by telling her and her brother in minute obsessive detail how to do household chores. Her now limited life is a fascinating world for her. She’s gay, Democratic and ironic which is tough where she is. The humour is sweet and whimsical but throws off the occasional left wing zinger, a true fish out of water satire, well written. Lots of anti- Trump lines – this is top drawer stuff.
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American Horror Cult, Season 7 takes a big riff on Donald Trump’s presidency too and it’s a hoot. And then of course it’s scary. I can’t watch – it’s too gory and weird for me and Christine Bentley can’t either so beyond what I’ve told you, I just don’t know. On FX
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Chris Pratt alert – he and his fellow Guardians of the Galaxy are available now on disc. Volume 2 is a cool and fun action adventure ride with “Awesome Mixtape #2” driving the action along. Great cast including Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, an evil Kurt Russell and for good measure Sly Stallone. Loved it in theatres, love it again.
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by @annebrodie
BFCA BTJA AWFJ TFCA FIPRESCI