— by H.G. WATSON — In “I Am Love,” an Italian film from Luca Guadigino, Tilda Swinton plays Emma Recchi, a bored Italian housewife married to a wealthy textile merchant in Milan. She watches as her children leave home and begin their own lives while she remains static, presiding over[...]
Author Archive
An Exclusive Interview with Director Benjamin Parslow
— by H.G. WATSON — I spend a lot of time staying up till the wee hours of the night browsing film sites and Facebook looking for new and interesting movies to watch, a sleep-wrecking habit that began when I started reviewing films. The honest truth is that most of what I stumble upon is [...]
Windsor International Film Festival: Preview
— by H.G. WATSON — Windsor, Ontario (the little town with the big casino right across from Detroit, Mich.) plays host to the sixth annual Windsor International Film Festival this weekend. WIFF, as it’s been dubbed, showcases Canadian and international feature length fiction and documen[...]
Paul: Trailer
— by H.G. WATSON — Every once in a while, my expectations for a film are exceedingly high. It depends on the actors in it, sometimes the director, and just every once in a while on the concept itself. If all three are combined, then my anticipation skyrockets. So let me put it this way, [...]
Under Review: ‘Best Worst Movie’
— by H.G. WATSON — In the documentary “Best Worst Movie,” one film critic muses on what can make a bad movie so watchable. “You don’t listen to bad music or go to see a bad band; you don’t tell all your friends to go read a bad book.” But a really, truly bad film […][...]
Trailer Talk: ‘Burke and Hare’
— by H.G. WATSON — There seems to be something that makes American studios uneasy about films that don’t have one character with an American accent. It’s as if the second they realize there isn’t one marketable Yank actor in the flick, they feel they have to market the film to the [...]
Under Review: ‘High School’
— by H.G. WATSON — The high school movie. It’s a genre that can be difficult for film critics to grapple with psychologically. For one thing, it’s a genre that’s populated with some loathsome examples of implied misogyny and racism. Think of “She’s All That” which, infamously[...]
Toronto After Dark Film Festival: Friday Preview
— by H.G. WATSON — Tonight is the finale of Toronto After Dark, and after a week of films — good, bad and ridiculous — the film fest ends on an outrageous note with two rather out-there films. At 7 p.m., is the French film “Rubber.” Robert, the main character, is sick of [...]
Toronto After Dark Film Festival: ‘The Last Exorcism’
— by H.G. WATSON — In Peter Biskind’s excellent book “Easy Riders, Raging Bulls,” Biskind documents the rise of the great directors of the ’70s, including: Spielberg, Lucas, Scorsese, Coppola, De Palma and William Friedkin. In a chapter dedicated to Friedkin’s seminal horro[...]
Toronto After Dark Film Festival: Japanxploitation
— by H.G. WATSON — Exploitation films are, for me, in many ways often the most difficult films to review. They are, obviously, exploitative of whatever subject matter the filmmaker has chosen. Keeping that in mind, it’s pretty hard to come down on a film for being sexist, racist, or ju[...]
Trailer Talk: ‘The Romantics’
— by H.G. WATSON — Judging from the trailer for “The Romantics,” I imagine the pitch for the film went something like this: DEVELOPMENT EXEC: Ok, so … it’s like “The Big Chill.” PRODUCER: Really?[...]
Toronto After Dark Film Festival: Zombie Appreciation Night
— by H.G. WATSON — You know you’re at a unique film festival when the festival director kicks things off by having the audience chant: What do we want? Brains! When do we want them? NOW! But that’s just a regular Saturday night at Toronto After Dark Film Festival. Saturday night was [...]
Toronto After Dark Film Festival: Monday to Wednesday Preview
— by H.G. WATSON — There is one Toronto film festival that is eagerly anticipated by Torontonians every year, and it isn’t that big flashy one that you’ll be hearing more about in September. Now in its fifth year, the Toronto After Dark Film Festival bills itself[...]
A ‘Comic’ Look at the ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. The World’ Trailer
— by H.G. WATSON — It’s a special film that inspires creativity in people before the movie even opens. “Scott Pilgrim vs. The World” must really be special because fans have been churning out art and videos for months. Some of the best include band Former Fat Boy’[...]