Category: REVIEWS

By Nick Boyd.

“The Way Back,” as much a relationship drama as it is a sports drama, stars Ben Affleck as Jack Cunningham, a down-on-his luck construction worker who is recently separated from his wife, drinks continually, and mopes about.  His drinking is so bad that he has to be helped home on a regular basis by someone at the local bar. 

One day he gets a call asking him to coach basketball at the Catholic high school where he was once a star.  He refuses at first, but eventually agrees to take the job.  As in many sports movies, the team has been on a long losing streak so he knows it won’t be easy.  But it’s a challenge he needs at this point in his life.

When Cunningham is introduced to the team by the assistant coach Dan (Al Madrigal), they are lacking in any discipline or unity.  While Cunningham tries to energize and motivate them, we still see them losing game-after-game by huge margins.  Eventually, we do see them start winning, as they seem to be genuinely enjoying and believing in themselves.

Despite the success of the team, Cunningham still struggles with his drinking and has to find ways to conceal that aspect of his life from the team.  A scene where he meets with his ex-wife for lunch and another one where he attends a boy’s birthday party do a good job illustrating the demons that he has been dealing with.

However, I found there to be too many shots of Affleck’s character in the shower drinking a beer.  Also, while the film tries to steer clear of the usual feel-good, happy sports genre formula with its realistic feel, the team’s turnaround seemed to come about too quickly.  

While I thought that the players on the team all gave decent performances, I would have liked to have known them better.  The best parts of the film are when Affleck has one-on-one scenes with them off the basketball court, letting himself and the players open up about their lives and struggles.  

Affleck is excellent in the role, giving an understated, vulnerable performance, reportedly inspired by his own marital hardships.  Madrigal is also quite effective in a smaller role, as someone who tries to help keep both the team as well as Affleck’s character on track.

The Way Back effectively shows how redemption and recovery can be a slow, but in the end, cathartic process.  The finale is open-ended and hopeful, but has a true to life feel to it.

Batsh*t Bride…a title like that is enough to make anyone – or people like me at least – feel like they have to see this film. I also feel that the title, being as much a selling point as it was with Snakes on a Plane, it is also something of a detriment to the film itself. The story to this romcom is that a bridezilla wants the perfect wedding.

Heather’s mother had the perfect wedding, and that is exactly what she wants, no matter what. You think of any part of a wedding, she is cherry picking it to perfection. She needs to loosen up, as her friends tell her – only for it to completely backfire when she does.

The reason that I say that the title is a detriment to the film is that when you hear the title Batsh*t Bride you think of a film that is, well, Batsh*t! Something either hyper stylized or artful, or even something that is just raunchy or running at a breakneck pace. That was that mindset that I had when going in. So I was very surprised to find that it felt like a romcom that Reese Witherspoon would have starred in back in the early 2000’s.

Well, maybe that is a bit harsh as I did find the film to be funny. It is well written with some very well crafted jokes. A lot of it is situational humour, with every character reacting very poorly to the situation’s that they are in. The actors, in particular lead actress Meghan Falcone, all have excellent comedic timing as well as charming personalities.

Even when they are meant to be hair-pullingly frustrating, they are so much fun to watch. It really adds to the film’s likability. Romcoms, like any other genre of film, can fall into the meanspirited camp – where everyone and everything, no matter how lighthearted, can feel detestable. But, with Batsh*t Bride, it’s hard not to find the actors likeable.

The film does have a nice message at heart, even if the reveal of this message is both a little heavy handed and sloppy. Outside of this, the film works very well from a story standpoint. While the characters definitely do questionable things, it does all work to a better goal. They grow and learn from their mistakes and the film doesn’t feel malicious like such films as Bride Wars.

An unfortunate letdown is from the films direction. Low budget films can look great. Along the same lines Juno was low budget and that film, for all its faults, looks like it was more expensive. But Batsh*t Bride looks and feel pretty cheap. When the same locations are shot so flatly, it does become evident that they only had a limited amount of sets to shoot on. It is a good thing that we had this script and this cast as the directing was done with little flair, feeling very workman like and uninspired.

I do recommend Batsh*t Bride. It isn’t the kind of film that I usually go for, for I enjoyed it. It was funny and charming, overcoming its faults and making for an engaging watch.

It is something that those who like romcoms will find a lot to enjoy. Still, I will give credit to a film that engaged someone outside of its target audience. Maybe it isn’t as stylish as it should be, but it is more than worth your time.

We live in a world where 1% of the world’s population owns 90% of the world’s wealth. We live in a time where there are great political and economic struggle, where the people are being told that if they work hard then they too would eventually rise to the level of wealth that they’ve only dreamed of having. Even if that promise is a lie.

We live in a time where giant corporations with global monopolies over certain markets take advantage of their workers and punish them when they step out of line. We live in a time where the world’s population is sick of being treated like slaves, where the 1% rules over the rest and that if something isn’t done then a revolution may be in the air -and it’s not for the first time.

Capital in The Twenty-First Century is a documentary all about the rise, fall and rise again of the world’s economy and where it all went wrong. Talking to a line of historical and economic experts, Capital in The Twenty-First Century carefully maps out every economic boom and crash whilst clearly talking to an audience who may find the subject too daunting.

Using films, literature, Public Service Announcements and advertisements, Capital tells its story and makes it as plain as day, with some startling parallels to the worst times in the twentieth century and how we live today.

Using many examples to illustrate its points, Capital explains to its audience how we all managed to go through good times and bad, only for them to go back and forth through history. From the Wall Street Crash of the 1920’s to the financial property crisis of 2008, Capital reminds the audience that whenever we feel too comfortable about our lives, then financial ruin may be just around the corner.

However hopeful one time may seem, the pattern that history seems to follow is that we should enjoy it while it lasts because we may never get that time back.

So, for now Capital in the Twenty-First Century serves as a reminder of what lessons we have to learn from our political and economic history. It reminds us that if we don’t heed the warning signs from history that led us down the wrong path, we may be doomed to go there all over again.

STAR WARS Review – #MayTheFourthBeWithYou.

“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….”

George Lucas’ Star Wars (later retitled to A New Hope) is one of the most influential pieces of entertainment ever produced. That really goes without saying though.

Ever since its release in 1977, millions of people all around the world have fallen in love with this film’s amazing characters Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Princess Leia Organa (the late Carrie Fisher), Darth Vader (James Earl Jones) and so many more. They are all so interesting and the way that the original trilogy develops them along the way is genius and is unlike anything we have ever seen before.

Usually, when a movie is several decades old, you start to realize that maybe it doesn’t quite hold up as good as you once thought it did. Luckily, that is not the case with Star Wars. Forty-three years later, this is still one of, if not the most influential film of all time. Everything that we see in this movie is still tangible for today and is still just as fun, exciting, and memorable all these years later.

On top of that, Lucas did a fantastic job at setting up a three-movie trilogy that at the time, audiences just didn’t expect. They thought this was a one-off movie. But then three years later, the masterful Irvin Kershner-directed The Empire Strikes Back was released in theatres. Then, of course, in 1983 we saw the final installment of the original trilogy with Return of the Jedi.

Spanning throughout all three of these original movies are white-knuckling action sequences, incredible storylines, and incredibly memorable characters. I quite simply cannot see other actors playing these characters other than the original cast members.

But aside from the awesome lightsaber battles, the eye-popping visual effects, and the amazing space battles, what makes Star Wars so special to me are the characters. I have seen every film in the saga numerous times over, yet I still get just as excited to venture off into a galaxy far, far away with these characters like it is my very first time.

Star Wars is not just a movie to me. It’s not just a movie to a lot of people. It’s a part of who we are. It defines us. It’s an important piece of our lives and it will live on in all of us forever.

Tammy’s Always Dying: The BRWC Review – On the 29th of every month, when the welfare runs out, Catherine MacDonald (Anastasia Phillips) talks her alcoholic mother Tammy (Felicity Huffman) off of the same bridge. Literally. Catherine, a connoisseur of bad decisions, dreams of being successful. At anything. Tammy, her mother, has been so poor for so long all she can do is party about it. When Tammy is diagnosed with terminal cancer Catherine is forced to move in and care for her. Enter Ilana, a glamorous purveyor of talk-show tragedy porn who wants to help Catherine publish her life story. Caught between sacrifice and selling out, Catherine must decide if life without Tammy is really a better life.

Amy Jo Johnston has made quite a name for herself throughout the course of several decades, perhaps best known for portraying the Pink Ranger, Kimberly Hart, in the original television series of the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers. However, it was not until 2013 that she started to direct some films as well as star in them. Over the years, she has directed such films as Bend, Lines, The Space Between, and now, Tammy’s Always Dying – a powerfully deep, thought-provoking, and oftentimes emotional film that has a rocky start, but eventually finds its footing.

One of the reasons why this film works as well as it does is because of the script from Joanne Sarazen, who has only penned shorts in the past. It’s frequently hilarious while also not getting too funny so that it distracts you from the overall core of the story. One minute you’ll find yourself laughing and the next you’ll find yourself getting a little bit sad in all the best ways.

However, yes, it does start off relatively dull and slow and stays that way for the first twenty-thirty minutes. It starts rather quirky and for a while, it can become tremendously unclear as to where this story is going to go and what it’s really about at the end of the day. Luckily though, after the first couple of scenes are out of the way, the film picks up greatly and from there, becomes interesting and gripping.

A lot of the movie’s intrigue and heart come from the lead character, Tammy, portrayed by Felicity Huffman in incredible style. This is without a doubt one of her best performances in years, as she is asked to do a lot with this role, and pulls it off completely. She gains your sympathy but she is also a character that feels a little bit mysterious. The more we learn about her, the more interesting the film as a whole becomes.

The dynamic between Tammy and her daughter Catherine was also one of the highlights here. Much like Huffman, Anastasia Phillips delivers a truly terrific performance as a woman who is just trying to do her best to take care of her mother even though it can be stressful, to say the least. The chemistry between these two actresses was great to see.

And so, while this movie does take a little bit of time to find its footing, in the long run, it worked tremendously. It does feel relatively short, too, clocking in just a few minutes short of ninety minutes. But, nevertheless, this is a remarkably impressive feature from Amy Jo Johnson with two truly powerful lead performances and a story that will grab your interest.

Tammy’s Always Dying takes a while to find its footing, but once it gets going, it becomes a funny yet emotionally thought-provoking film with two great lead performances.