April 19, 2010
Although its story recalls the hope and determination of the first Rocky (John G. Avildsen, 1976), Rocky Balboa is a pale copy.
October 17, 2013
Shield of Straw My first film at Fantasia in 2013 was Takashi Miike’s Shield of Straw, one of the director’s contribution to the festival. Miike is a known workhorse, directing sometimes three films per year, in a myriad of genres and styles. Yet, there seems to be a connecting thread through his films, which feels harder to ascertain for me […]
February 26, 2013
Mitsuko Delivers is a great beginning to the festival for me, starting with what could be the best acting performance of the year. Riisa Naka plays the eponymous Mitsuko, an energetic and pregnant young woman who travels back to her old stomping grounds and quickly befriends a cast of quirky local characters, forcing them to seek happiness, whether they’re open […]
April 19, 2010
In The Lookout, after a violent car accident, a promising young man, disabled by a memory condition, is persuaded into robbing the local bank he works in.
March 29, 2010
Michael Clayton suffers from its intellectualism, just as Syriana (Stephen Gaghan, 2005) did, and never lets you connect to the stakes emotionally.