js-66130
Joined Apr 2017
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Ratings231
js-66130's rating
Reviews219
js-66130's rating
Bare bones dystopian sci-fi future thriller without AI, robots, cell phones, nuclear fallout or helicopters. Just farm living. And only crops are involved. Not even a smart pig. "40 Acres" works as a minimalist thriller because everything is very simple. A family defends their land from the bad guys. There you go.
A simple premise with plenty of layers to chew on. Technology is useless, except for radios and guns. Seeds are gold because livestock is deadstock, or just disappeared stock. No stock. Farms are the new countries, barb-wire bordered and defended to the death.
The defenders here just happen to be of a mix of Native and Black North Americans, coexisting as a well-oiled military machine, thriving in a survivalist bootcamp scenario. Community, culture, education, loyalty, tradition, family, survival, greed, coming of age, life lessons, it is all here. Albeit a bit formulaic and predictable, the film is lively enough to pull the scenario off.
"40 Acres" is a very good-looking film, brimming with excellent performances, that never strays far from the action. The secret to succeeding in this genre: never slow down so the audience can question the sketchy logic. Go go go!
A simple premise with plenty of layers to chew on. Technology is useless, except for radios and guns. Seeds are gold because livestock is deadstock, or just disappeared stock. No stock. Farms are the new countries, barb-wire bordered and defended to the death.
The defenders here just happen to be of a mix of Native and Black North Americans, coexisting as a well-oiled military machine, thriving in a survivalist bootcamp scenario. Community, culture, education, loyalty, tradition, family, survival, greed, coming of age, life lessons, it is all here. Albeit a bit formulaic and predictable, the film is lively enough to pull the scenario off.
"40 Acres" is a very good-looking film, brimming with excellent performances, that never strays far from the action. The secret to succeeding in this genre: never slow down so the audience can question the sketchy logic. Go go go!
- hipCRANK.
A nine year labour of animated documentary love, "Endless Cookie" is the wonderful, cerebral, meandering film perfect for the times.
A long distance bridge of a film between Pete and Seth Scrivens tying together a unique family relationship between a white man from metropolitan Toronto and an indigenous half brother residing in the remote Shamattawa First Nations community of Northern Manitoba.
Shot in colourful, bubbly Spongebob manner, "Endless Cookie" looks delicious on the screen. The fun animation proves the perfect medium to present what is in essence a nine year conversation between the brothers. Stories are told. Stories are interrupted. Stories are picked up, only to be interrupted again. Some are funny, some are sad, some are amazing, but all ring true. As true as the laconic, relaxed conversation that can only come from loving brothers sharing lives despite a wide geographic, and societal separation. And of course, there is a cookie.
A beauty.
A long distance bridge of a film between Pete and Seth Scrivens tying together a unique family relationship between a white man from metropolitan Toronto and an indigenous half brother residing in the remote Shamattawa First Nations community of Northern Manitoba.
Shot in colourful, bubbly Spongebob manner, "Endless Cookie" looks delicious on the screen. The fun animation proves the perfect medium to present what is in essence a nine year conversation between the brothers. Stories are told. Stories are interrupted. Stories are picked up, only to be interrupted again. Some are funny, some are sad, some are amazing, but all ring true. As true as the laconic, relaxed conversation that can only come from loving brothers sharing lives despite a wide geographic, and societal separation. And of course, there is a cookie.
A beauty.
Wild-eyed Frankie is distracted. Distracted to death.
Ariella Mastroianni inhabits the doll-like protagonist, a single mother with escalating problems she tries valiantly to chase down. Darn near impossible since she cannot experience the passage of time without constant prompts. Dyschronomentia proves a hurdle for everyday tasks, but something else when it comes to messing with memory.
Makes holding down a job impossible, and executing daily tasks quite the adventure. All confusion and anxiety, Frankie's life is spiralling out of control. She has lost custody of her daughter, the life of her husband, and much of her sanity. When a stranger appears with possible solutions, Frankie dives into an ill-advised adventure to recapture what is left of her former life.
"Gazer" is a moody, stylish noir thriller where very little is what it seems, and utilizing the point of view of a scattered lead keeps things nicely jumbled. Who knows what exactly is going on when Frankie is the plot guide? Still, it is easy to root for the plucky heroine as she valiantly tries to right all the wrongs.
Some bizarre David Cronenberg style dream episodes add a touch of surrealistic horror to the stew, and offer clues as to what transpired in Frankie's very murky past, but the film works best when working in a classic whodunnit mode. A little lengthy, but worth the ride.
Makes for pretty good cinema.
Ariella Mastroianni inhabits the doll-like protagonist, a single mother with escalating problems she tries valiantly to chase down. Darn near impossible since she cannot experience the passage of time without constant prompts. Dyschronomentia proves a hurdle for everyday tasks, but something else when it comes to messing with memory.
Makes holding down a job impossible, and executing daily tasks quite the adventure. All confusion and anxiety, Frankie's life is spiralling out of control. She has lost custody of her daughter, the life of her husband, and much of her sanity. When a stranger appears with possible solutions, Frankie dives into an ill-advised adventure to recapture what is left of her former life.
"Gazer" is a moody, stylish noir thriller where very little is what it seems, and utilizing the point of view of a scattered lead keeps things nicely jumbled. Who knows what exactly is going on when Frankie is the plot guide? Still, it is easy to root for the plucky heroine as she valiantly tries to right all the wrongs.
Some bizarre David Cronenberg style dream episodes add a touch of surrealistic horror to the stew, and offer clues as to what transpired in Frankie's very murky past, but the film works best when working in a classic whodunnit mode. A little lengthy, but worth the ride.
Makes for pretty good cinema.
- hipCRANK.