This is a mostly excellent kidnapping thriller driven by two absolutely excellent performances and an all-around great supporting cast. The film is so close to being amazing that I was actually quite disappointed that it wasn’t.
Category: 2013
Snowpiercer (2013, Joon-ho Bong)
It’s great when genre flicks get celebrated and take on a life of their own. And I’m glad that a reasonably smart one such as this has become such a big thing (at least online). But while Snowpiercer is highly entertaining, like so many “high concept” action films, it’s flawed and it’s also kind of long …
SAGA – Curse of the Shadow aka Curse of the Dragon Slayer (2013, John Lyde)
This is s special kind of film.
Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013, J.J. Abrams)
I was somewhat of a Star Trek fan in my youth: I watched The Next Generation pretty much all the time it was on – both new episodes and reruns – I watched DS9 and Voyager and I watched enough reruns of the original series, to the point where I probably saw a small majority …
Your 2013-14 Toronto Raptors
A little while ago I wondered aloud whether or not this Raptors team would rank among the best ever. [Editor’s note: Post since deleted because a) it was just a listicle of good Raptors teams and b) 2019 happened.] Now that they have been eliminated by the Nets, I think we can say that they …
Pain and Gain (2013, Michael Bay)
I don’t like Michael Bay’s movies, at least I haven’t since I grew up. Some people have tried to defend him, claiming he is some kind of modern Godard-esque stylistic rebel. I have never felt that way. I usually feel like his films don’t defy internal film logic because of some kind of deep-seeded artistic …
Warm Bodies (2013, Jonathan Levine)
From the very beginning, this movie – and presumably its source, the novel – violates many if not most genre conventions. So maybe it shouldn’t judged on the terms of those conventions. Because if it is judged on the conventions of the genre, it is bad. But I guess if it willfully violates the genre’s …
American Hustle (2013, David O. Russell)
I don’t really know where to start with this strange and kind of brilliant film.
The Bad Plus Live at the Wintergarden Theatre, December 12, 2013
I only knew the Bad Plus from their excellent jazz covers of rock songs and I actually was completely unaware that they were doing their own material for some time.
Gravity (2013, Alfonso Cuaron)
Every so often, a film comes along that redefines what is possible in cinema.
TIFF 2013 Wrap Up
This year I managed to see only 10 films. I say ‘only’ because usually I see at least 12 and because next year I would like to say more. Alas. What follows are the ten movies I have seen this year, ranked by how good I thought they were.
12 Years a Slave (2013, Steve McQueen)
This may seem a weird thing to say but I think this is McQueen’s least difficult material to date. Obviously, slavery is a difficult subject – this is not an easy film to watch – but it is not morally difficult subject, at least for most of us. Hunger may not have been morally difficult …
The Police Officer’s Wife (2013, Philip Gronning)
There are perhaps few movies I have seen more in need of a little common-sense editing than this film. The filmmakers made a bizarre choice which may have made some kind of artistic sense in post-production but which pretty much punishes the audience for watching this film in reality.
A Field in England (2013, Ben Wheatley)
I don’t really know where to begin with this film. Experimental or avant garde cinema – whether that cinema forsakes narrative or not – rarely has a sense of humour.
Almost Human (2013, Joe Begos)
So Jen, I’m trying to decide if this was the worst movie I have ever seen at TIFF. Really, Seth? That seem’s a little harsh. But Jen, the opening 5-10 minutes of it were painful. Seth, you’re right, that was bad. As was that scene in the diner, Seth. Jen, it was like we were …
Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus (2013, Madeleine Sackler)
This is an important and emotionally compelling film about theatre under repressive regimes.
Wolfe Island Music Festival 2013
This was my third year attending the Wolfe Island Music Festival (WIMF) and though I can’t say that I found it as musically entertaining as previous years I had a good time as always at pretty much the only festival I manage to get my ass too.
This is the End (2013, directed by Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen)
I knew nothing about this movie going in, save for that it was starring some famous comedic actors as themselves and that it was about the end of the world. I saw it because the ex-girlfriend wanted to. I had never seen – or really heard of – the short and I think I may …
Secret Chiefs 3 Live at the Drake Hotel, May 24, 2013
So I have been a fan of SC3 since sometime in the early 2000s, but I had never seen them live and – due to my music addiction making music money scarce – I had not kept up with their musical output past 2004’s Book of Horizons, where the satellite band “concept” first came to …
The Book of Mormon
Last night I saw the US National Tour version of The Book of Mormon, the musical by the creators of South Park and Avenue Q.
Timing is Everything
When the RCMP announced they arrested two suspected train bombers the other day, many people questioned the timing. They claimed they had been following them for a year, and yet there was no immediate danger to public safety. Announced in the week following the Boston Marathon bombing, many suspected the RCMP were either just trying …
Your 2012-13 Toronto Raptors
I think this year has to be viewed as a major disappointment for Raptor fans. Though I didn’t watch nearly enough games to properly judge this team I will do so anyway. [Note: the real title of this piece should be “Riley cannot evaluate basketball talent.]
Jarome Iginla Trade to the Penguins
Iginla used to be my favourite player back in the day, even though I am not a Calgary fan. So I am glad to see him move to a contender, even though it certainly would have been nice to see a player who entered the league more recently than Lidstrom finish his career with one …
Did Boardwalk Empire Jump the Shark at the end of its third season?
Nazem Kadri’s 2013 NHL Performance
Based on nearly half of this bastardized “season,” the remarks I made about Kadri were wrong. And, provided he keeps up this point-per-game pace – and there is no guarantee that he will or won’t – his emergence as a legitimate top 6 forward in the NHL stands as a reminder to people like me …
Jackson Hole Mountain Resort
I have just returned from spending five nights at the Elk Country Inn in Jackson, Wyoming, where my brother and I skied (and snowboarded) at Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, just outside of Jackson. We did not know this, but JHMR is widely considered one of the most difficult ski resorts in North America. (We were …
On Your Way, Jose: Raptors Trade Calderon
You may wonder why I haven’t yet started a “Campaign to fire Bryan Colangelo” in this space. Well, there are two main reasons. To this day, I do not know basketball like I know hockey. At this moment, without cable and without league pass, I watch way more college basketball than NBA basketball, and I …
2013 Maple Leafs Season Preview
I begin this season for the first time in a few years not having to preface the title with “The Campaign to Fire Brian Burke.” It was interesting to note the number of Leafs players mourning his firing. If he did one thing in his tenure, he created a culture of loyalty. In organizing my …