Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to do a high five! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about “The Monkey’s” damn dirty ape, the family story “The Unbreakable Boy” and the Canadian drama “Morningside.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I join the CTV NewsChannel to talk about “The Monkey’s” damn dirty ape, the family story “The Unbreakable Boy” and the Canadian drama “Morningside.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: “Morningside,” a new indie feature starring two-time Juno Award winner Fefe Dobson and now playing in theatres, is a multi-pronged story of seven characters as they navigate life, and creeping gentrification, in the tight-knit Toronto suburb of Scarborough.
CAST: Fefe Dobson, Oluniké Adeliyi, Alex Mallari Jr., Lovell Adams-Gray, Kiana Madeira, Joanne Jansen. Directed by Ron Dias.
REVIEW: A fractured portrait of a place and a place in time, “Morningside” does a good job of weaving together disparate stories to form a narrative whole. The structure is complex, but the content is down-to-earth, essaying themes of resilience, hope, gentrification and tragedy. It’s a broad canvas, but captivating characters keep the piecemeal story cohesive and compelling.
From a young man with dreams of opening a resort and a security guard who wants to become a police officer to an influencer with an eye on a career in music and the threat of gun violence, the film touches on a wide array of topics and characters until they dovetail in a dramatic finale.
Director and co-writer Ron Dias and writer Joanne Jansen end on a bittersweet note with an effective coda that says a great deal about gun violence without ever actually mentioning gun violence. It’s one of the film’s most effective scenes (NO SPOILERS HERE) because it juxtaposes the promise of what might have been with the grim reality of what is.
“Morningside” captures the spirit of its Scarborough, Ontario neighborhood—locals will recognize many landmarks—but it isn’t just about a vibrant geographical location, it’s about the people who make the neighborhood, for better and for worse.
