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Note: This review was originally published as part of our Fantasia 2024 coverage. The G opens in theaters and on VOD on June 27.

Ann Hunter (Dale Dickey) loves her husband. She’s simply never been the caregiver type. That’s what drew him to her in the first place––leaving his wife to be with someone more his speed in their ruthless, take-no-prisoners attitude. Age comes for everyone, though. And it came for him fast. Unfortunately, they had already moved closer to his son in a place Ann couldn’t stand beyond the ability it afforded her to grow close with his granddaughter Emma (Romane Denis). So she filled the time with cigarettes and alcohol, alienated herself from everyone but the girl, and inevitably found herself being chastised by his doctor for neglecting the care his deteriorating body needs.

Whereas this development would generally give Ann the chance to turn things...

The retribution visited upon exploiters of seniors by June Squibb in current sleeper hit “Thelma” has but Nerf-ball impact compared to the brass-knuckles style of vengeance practiced by Dale Dickey in “The G.” This considerably less cozy tale has the star as a vinegary veteran of hard living who turns out to be very much the wrong person for organized criminals to safely prey upon.

Canadian writer-director Karl R. Hearne’s second feature recalls much 1970s cinema in its emphasis on gritty character detail over suspense mechanics, resulting in an ostensible thriller that’s not very thrilling. Still, its storytelling has the same grim satisfaction that drives its heroine, a woman who’s not particularly ingratiating but is quite capable of doling out punishment to deserving parties.

Known as “the G” to granddaughter Emma (Romane Denis), 72-year-old Ann Hunter is less fondly regarded by others, including in-laws who blame frail...

The internet age has completely changed how dating works with hookups and dating apps reigning supreme. For the more reserved out there, that notion can be daunting as is the case for Andrea Bang's Grace in the upcoming rom-com​​​​​​ Stay the Night. Feeling like an outcast in this frightening new dating landscape, she comes across a down-on-his-luck stranger, Carter Stone (Joe Scarpellino), who may be the one to solve her problems. Collider can exclusively share a new trailer for the film which shows these two strangers finding something special in each other after everything in their life has recently gone so wrong.

It is Asian Heritage Month in Canada, and few characters are more iconic than Janet Kim from “Kim’s Convenience” (2016). In this widely-watched TV show, Andrea Bang spins Janet as a headstrong, single 20-some year old who brings her Korean Canadian family together. After the show’s sudden shut-down last year, Bang re-emerges in feature form with director Renuka Jeyapalan (also from “Kim’s Convenience”). “Stay the Night” marks the duo’s re-entry into the film world, and not without applause. The film premiered in SXSW and more recently screened at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival.

Here, Bang plays Grace, a stubbornly introverted corporate employee. Her roommate Joni (Humberly Gonzalez), however, is anything but. So when Joni kicks out Grace for (yet another) spontaneous hook-up, Grace finds herself looking for a retreat. She resorts to what any desperate urban, young woman would do in her shoes: find a one-night stand.

Stay the Night SXSW Film Festival Narrative Spotlight Section Reviewed for Shockya.com by Abe Friedtanzer Director: Renuka Jeyapalan Writer: Renuka Jeyapalan Cast: Andrea Bang, Joe Scarpellino, Humberly González, Raymond Ablack Screened at: SXSW Film Festival Online, LA, 3/13/22 Opens: March 12th, 2022 All it takes is one chance encounter to change a person’s life. There […]

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She is a dissatisfied Hr advisor. He is a professional hockey player placed on waivers. She hasn’t got much luck when it comes to her relationships and learns her colleagues find her just a little standoffish. He finds himself having to make a decision that may very well shake up his world. In rehashing the stranger-connects-with-a-stranger premise that cinema has such a soft spot for, writer-director Renuka Jeyapalan develops a vision that balances a lack of a distinctive visual voice with committed character work.

Grace (Andrea Bang) and Carter (Joe Scarpellino) meet outside of a bar in Toronto. They share a cab, they walk, they talk, they confess their hopes and fears to one another. The film puts grounded exchanges at its forefront; this emphasis on intimate expression is a double-edged sword, though, because while it enhances the believability of the pair’s bond, it puts to the test their capacity to.