Film

Picture Day: A film review

Doug Ferguson — Fri, 17 May 2013 07:00:16 +0000

- Vancouver, British Columbia - A couple of weeks ago I got a chance to see Picture Day, a Canadian film at the Vancity Theatre here in Vancouver. It's a theatre that specializes in festival cinema rather than mainstream films. What drew me to this film was that the lead actress is Tatiana Maslany, who I knew quite a few years ago through improv theatre circles, though admittedly not too well, however, we had some good conversations together. I knew her younger brother better. Geez, I guess that was almost ten years ago now. Well, it's been really fun seeing some of my old acting peers' careers grow, and Tatiana's has been quite noteworthy as she even had a secondary role in the hit Valentine's Day movie, The Vow.

The Big Wedding: A film review

Steve Ferguson — Fri, 03 May 2013 07:01:00 +0000

- Vancouver, British Columbia - Justin Zackham must have spent ages getting this movie together, and was probably thrilled as a puppy when he finally got to make it with such a reputable cast. Besides directing it, he produced it and wrote the screenplay, and one might be half-tempted to give him writing credits as well. Except that the movie is adapted from some French movie that came out in 2006. Well, apparently the original wasn’t amazing so film purists out there can calm down a bit.

Lloyd the Conquerer: A film review

Doug Ferguson — Fri, 03 May 2013 07:00:00 +0000

- Vancouver, British Columbia - This year at Vancouver's Fan Expo, one of the final events was a screening of the movie Lloyd the Conqueror, a film shot in Calgary about LARPing... and if you don't know what LARPing is, you might not understand this movie or the appeal behind it. I had heard of it before and was even given a cinematic example of it in the 2008 comedy Role Models. That film was pretty good and it turns out LARPing has a natural cinematic quality because it's somewhat comedic in nature and is visually interesting. And for those of you out there who do it and think I'm making fun of you, come on, have a little fun and just look at it. LARP stands for Live Action Role Playing, which takes the concepts of Dungeons and Dragons and makes them more real by dressing up as their characters and physically battling one another to some sort of end. You get fake stabbed, you fake die and so on. It's for those who just love it so much that sitting around a table and using your imagination isn't good enough. Personally, I think I would rather LARP than play DnD... though I don't think I have the desire or even the time for either.

Oblivion: A film review

Steve Ferguson — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 07:00:00 +0000

- Vancouver, British Columbia - Sometimes I get frustrated at trailers for movies. Go ahead and really watch them with some critical questions in mind. Like “what can I surmise about the plot from this? Are there any scenes which seem like they reveal major plot points? Does it try to sell watching the film, or compressing and summarizing the film?” You might be surprised at the results. I’ve found that trailers can ruin a film, spoil too much, or even completely fail at establishing the tone of the film (like Jack, the 1996 Robin Williams film, being advertised as a wacky comedy, when it was really a depressing mire).

Today On Netflix: Volume 1

Doug Ferguson — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 07:00:00 +0000

- Vancouver, British Columbia - I don't know about you, but once Netflix came to Canada, it really started to change the way I watch movies at home. I'm not trying to shamelessly plug it or anything, but it really has been a great resource for me to see movies that I might not otherwise see quickly and easily. The hardest part is picking which movie in the endless list I want to see. It's a real shame that it killed most video stores, but it's hard to compete with a model that's so chap and efficient. But because I see so much content on Netflix, it becomes hard to review all of it or share the ones that I feel are worth seeing. So, I decided that every so often I would put together a list and short reviews of films I've seen through Netflix so you can decide if you want to check them out or not. And sorry for those elsewhere in the world, this only applies to Canadian Netflix. My understanding is that the American version has much more content, but not all of the same content, so I might have something on my list that isn't elsewhere. Oh yes, and this will also include TV shows if I see fit, so take that. But not today apparently.

Trance: A film review

Steve Ferguson — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 07:00:43 +0000

- Vancouver, British Columbia - Oh Danny Boyle. What a fun filmmaker you are. Say what you like about the content or subject matter of his films, but the skill and storytelling power he demonstrates are first rate. I think Boyle has gotten to the point in his career where he has enough of a following where any movie he puts out is bound to at least make its budget back, like Kevin Smith or Michel Gondry. I have seen remarkably few of his films (with one of my brothers ready to break my kneecaps if I don’t get on 28 Days Later soon), but I will say that I really enjoyed Sunshine and love the palpable atmosphere in that film.

Hit 'n Strum: A film review

Doug Ferguson — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 07:00:00 +0000

- Vancouver, British Columbia - I finally got a chance to watch a local film that gathered some buzz around film festivals and eventually got a very limited theatrical release just this last month. I didn't know much about this independent picture, but after reading a bit about it, it truly is a local Vancouver film at heart, telling the story of a homeless street busker in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, the infamously poor neighbourhood. Also, I live there so it's only natural that I would take interest in a movie filmed and taking place in my neighbourhood, often in Gastown but sometimes literally across the street from my apartment. Hey, the rent is cheap. These reviews don't exactly pay the bills. Another thing that piqued my interest was that it was apparently inspired by a local busker named Andre, who I actually knew pretty well a few years ago. I used to do an outreach program down here before I moved into the neighbourhood. He even gave me guitar lessons for a while. Haven't seen him much in recent years though.

Miami Connection: A film review

Doug Ferguson — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 07:00:00 +0000

- Vancouver, British Columbia - Once upon a time in the 1980s, which is how all great stories begin of course, there was a silly B-grade movie made called Miami Connection. First off, producer and star Y.K. Kim had trouble even distributing it and when he finally found a small distributor to do the job, the film flopped and he nearly went bankrupt. Since then it only had the tiniest of cult followings. In 2009 that all changed when someone made a blind eBay bid on the 35mm print for $50, only to win and when he watched what movie he got, he contacted the program director at Drafthouse Films, who wanted to re-release the film. At first, Y.K. Kim thought they were joking and ignored their calls, but apparently after much persuasion, he gave them the rights to distribute and Miami Connection was rediscovered. Only now, the world was ready for it.

Evil Dead: A film review

Steve Ferguson — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 07:00:00 +0000

- Vancouver, British Columbia - I was recommended Evil Dead II (1987) back when I was 19, and my first thought was “that title sounds stupid.” I was quickly assured that the franchise was not only intended to be tongue-in-cheek and silly, and also amazingly awesome. I trusted the opinion, and put it in my to-watch list. Seven years later, my brother and I finally got around to watching the whole trilogy, which was gory for sure, but also immensely entertaining. This was in no small part due to Sam Raimi’s innovating direction, and Bruce Campbell being Bruce Campbell. The first movie was straight up horror, even though it may be a little tamer than today’s standards. The next two films were hilarious and worth a watch.

Beautiful Girls: A film review

Steve Ferguson — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 07:00:00 +0000

- Vancouver, British Columbia - With my own rapidly approaching 30th birthday in a few months’ time, I can’t help but wonder how the hell I got to be this age. I still can’t get over the fact that I’m an adult and I can do things like eat dessert before dinner, or drive down across the border just because I want to. I’m also intimidated by all the notions that are supposed to be “adult” – having a family, keeping a budget, being responsible, owning a car and a house, keeping down a full time job, coordinating family events…now, I’ve got most of those things down (except for the house…damned Vancouver) and it really doesn’t seem like a big deal in my day to day life. But as a concept, when I step back and think about it as opposed to what my life was like before I moved out from home, it’s huge and daunting.