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 “CTV News Toronto at Five” with anchor Zuraidah Alman 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! (Starts at 16:00)
I join CTV Atlantic anchor Todd Battis 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! (Starts at 29:50)
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!
I sit in with CKTB morning show host Steph Vivier to have a look at movies in theatres and streaming including “The Monkey’s” damn dirty ape, the family story “The Unbreakable Boy” and the Canadian drama “Morningside.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with guest host Andrew Pinsent to talk about the new movies coming to theatres and streaming including “The Monkey’s” damn dirty ape, the family story “The Unbreakable Boy” and the Canadian drama “Morningside.”
Listen to 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.
In “Brother,” a new coming of age story from “The Wire” director Clement Virgo, now playing in theatres, weaves three timelines together to form a vivid portrait of memory, regret and grief.
Based on the novel of the same name by David Chariandy, and adapted by Virgo, “Brother” is the story of Francis (Aaron Pierre) and younger sibling Michael (Lamar Johnson), the sons of Jamaican immigrants, growing up in Scarborough, Ontario. The athletic Francis, who harbors dreams of becoming a music producer, exudes confidence. He is Michael’s surrogate father and, despite quitting school mid-term, is his role model and guardian angel.
But even with Francis on his side, Michael is overwhelmed by police overreach and the gang violence gripping the neighborhood. Random shootings are a regular event and once, a stray bullet even pierces the wall of a nearby apartment, killing an innocent child.
On their way to adulthood, the brothers are bonded by family, but choose different paths.
The parallel stories of “Brother,” told on a broken timeline, are skillfully handled by Virgo. He
interlaces the various timeframes to create a vivid portrait of the lives of these two young men and the pressures that formed and informed their personalities.
As adults the two lead characters are brought to vivid life by British actor Aaron Pierre, who reveals real vulnerability as the formidable Francis, and Lamar Johnson as younger brother Michael, who struggles to live in the long shadow cast by his older brother.
It is the story of their struggle to live up to expectations, but more importantly, it is about the toll of the struggle. Disappointment hangs over Francis’s character, and as he becomes more and more unpredictable, Pierre skillfully displays the ways that his risk taking is the symptom of dashed dreams and it is heartbreaking.
Virgo’s supple, elegant filmmaking reinforces the film’s central themes by creating a richly textured world for the characters to inhabit. The streets that represent a looming danger to Michael are beautifully shot, at once suburban stark and yet poetic. It is that juxtaposition that gives “Brother” its layered, complex thematic feel.
“Brother” features fine performances, a killer soundtrack that ranges from Nina Simone singing Jaques Brel to reggae to hip hop, and combines them to tell an emotionally arresting story that is both thoughtful and tangible.
Check out episode three of my new web series, “In Isolation With…” It’s the talk show where we make a connection without actually making contact! Today, broadcasting directly from Isolation Studios (a.k.a. my home office), we meet the director and star of the soon-to-be-midnight-movie-favourite “She Never Died,” Audrey Cummings and Oluniké Adeliyi. In my review I called this “a snazzy horror film with equal parts gore and gags… Come for the bloodshed, stay for the subtext.” Join us and find out about the virtues of vinegar water, making a movie in 15 days and how to pass the time during the pandemic. Come visit with us! In isolation we are united!
Watch the whole thing HERE!
