Foreign
Film Review – Roma
Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma (2018) plays like a magic trick. At first, we wonder where he is going with his story, but slowly, he peels back the layers to reveal a tapestry full of all the nuances of life. The good, the bad, the joy, the…
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An Appreciation – Drunken Master 2
My earliest memory of Drunken Master 2 (1994, released in the U.S. as The Legend of Drunken Master) came from a friend who purchased a bootleg VHS copy at a local swap meet. As kids, we were already fans of Jackie Chan before he made…
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SIFF Film Review – Let the Sunshine In
I like being married a lot, mostly because my husband is awesome, but also, I never want to date again. I was last single 18 years ago, and back then Internet dating was still kind of weird. Do people even still meet possible partners out…
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SIFF Film Review – Dead Pigs
Dead Pigs presents a panorama of modern lives in go-go-go Shanghai, like La Dolce Vita (1960) and The Great Beauty (2013) did in Rome or Nashville (1975) did in…well, Nashville. Much like how Magnolia (1998) brought down a rain of frogs to unite its disparate characters,…
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SIFF Double Feature – Ruin Me and Good Manners
Ruin Me: Alexandra (Marcienne Dwyer) might just be the world’s best girlfriend. (During this particular weekend anyway.) Her boyfriend Nathan (Matt Dellapina) has tickets for Slasher Sleepout – a cross between an escape room adventure and a horror movie LARP. When his best buddy can’t…
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SIFF Double Feature – Love and Shukla and Jinn
Love and Shukla: Mumbai rickshaw driver Shukla (Saharsh Kumar Shukla) is happy when his parents finally pick out a bride for him. He’s tried to follow the rules of his Brahmin upbringing and has been mostly successful. (He’s still a virgin, but has watched porn.)…
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SIFF Double Feature – Rubén Blades Is Not My Name and Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle
Rubén Blades Is Not My Name: My Anglo husband likes to make fun of me for my Rubén Blades love. HE JUST DOES NOT GET IT. OR ME. I mean, mostly he does. But not this. He just thought of Blades as some character actor…
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SIFF Double Feature – Kiss & Spell and Ava
Kiss & Spell: Directed by Stephane Gauger, Kiss & Tell is a Vietnamese language remake of the Korean film Spellbound. (Which I have not seen, but am probably going to check out now I’ve seen this one.) Tung (Ngo Kien Huy) is a successful magician…
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