I appear on “CTV News at 11:30” with anchor Andria Case to talk about the best shows and movies to watch this weekend, including the film “His Father’s Son” in theatres, the docuseries “Call Her Alex” and the Apple TV+ series “Smoke” with Taron Egerton and Jurnee Smollett.
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 15:12)
I join “CTV News Toronto at Five” with anchor Zuraidah Alamn to talk about new movies in theatres including the wicked quick “F1,” the AI action of “M3GAN 2.0,” and the family drama of “His Father’s Son.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (Starts at 15:46)
I join CTV Atlantic anchor Todd Battis to talk about the wicked quick “F1,” the AI action of “M3GAN 2.0,” and the family drama of “His Father’s Son.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I joined CTV NewsChannel anchor Roger Peterson to have a look at new movies coming to theatres, including the wicked quick “F1,” the AI action of “M3GAN 2.0,” and the family drama of “His Father’s Son.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I sit in on the CFRA Ottawa morning show with host Bill Carroll to talk about the new movies coming to theatres including the wicked quick “F1,” the AI action of “M3GAN 2.0,” and the family drama of “His Father’s Son.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to make the bed! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the wicked quick “F1,” the AI action of “M3GAN 2.0,” and the family drama of “His Father’s Son.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: “His Father’s Son,” a new Canadian drama now playing in theatres, focusses on an Iranian family in Toronto thrown into conflict when a family friend, who they haven’t spoken to since they left Iran years before, leaves $1 million to youngest son Mahyar (Parham Rownaghi). “What better way to show his love for our family to leave it to our youngest,” Farhad (Gus Tayari). “It’s the symbolism. That’s how Persians are.”
CAST: Gus Tayari, Mitra Lohrasb, Alireza Shojaei, Parham Rownaghi, Romina D’Ugo. Directed by Meelad Moaphi.
REVIEW: A quiet family drama, “His Father’s Son” is a story of secrets and truth, but truth be told, the secret at the heart of the story isn’t that well-hidden. No spoilers here, but the big reveal is little more than a McGuffin. It’s the event that drives the narrative toward the film’s more interesting aspects, like the study of family and interpersonal dynamics and cultural representation.
Writer-director Meelad Moaphi, in his feature film debut, carefully and methodically builds tension through the conflict of the brothers, Amir (Alireza Shojaei) and Mahyar (Parham Rownaghi), and, more pointedly, between Amir, an aspiring celebrity chef who chose Italian cuisine over Persian flavors, and his more traditional father Farhad (Gus Tayari). It’s within these fractured relationships that “His Father’s Son” finds its purpose.
Key to the film’s success is the portrayal of the family. As in real life, each family member is flawed, but it is in their foibles that they emerge as real people. From the ambitious, philandering Amir’s stubborn refusal to embrace his heritage and Farhad’s generational distance from his sons to Mahyar’s naiveté, the family and their interactions feel authentic, sometimes frustratingly so. But that’s just how families sometimes are.
“His Father’s Son” is at its best when it focusses on family. When it drifts, as it does on the way to its rather sudden ending, it loses some of its well-earned momentum but nonetheless remains a well-crafted essay on family dynamics.
“I Like Movies,” a coming-of-age story set against a background of angst, anxiety and Paul Thomas Anderson, is a period piece set in a time when local Blockbusters were shrines for suburban film lovers.
Set in 2003, in Burlington, Ontario, a small city midway between Toronto and Niagara Falls, the film centers around teenage film bro and wannabe moviemaker Lawrence Kweller (Isaiah Lehtinen). Arrogant and insecure, he allows his love of film, dream of attending NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and anxiety alienate the most important people in his life.
His life is changed when he gets a job at Sequels, a cheekily-named video store in his hometown. He’s there for the ten free weekly rentals available to employees and to recommend obscure art films to folks who would rather watch “Shrek.”
The job, of course, isn’t exactly what Lawrence hoped it would be. At the insistence of his manager Alana (Romina D’Ugo) he is forced to wear a sash, emblazed with the titles of movies he thinks are beneath him. And, let’s face it, learning to rotate stock in the drink cooler is about as far from movie making as you can get.
As the summer ends so does the dream of attending NYU, forcing Lawrence, with the help of his frazzled mother (Krista Bridges) and some tough love from Alana, to rethink his movie dreams and confront reality.
Part work-place comedy—think “High Fidelity” only set in a video store—part character study, “I Like Movies” is sweet-natured, funny film that digs deep to make us feel empathy for Lawrence, a socially awkward character who hides his real feelings behind a facade of bluster and pretension.
Lawrence is not a likable character, at least not when we first meet him, and yet director and screenwriter Chandler Levack—who worked in at a Blockbuster Video as a teen—inspires empathy for him. His arrogant bluster stems from insecurity, and the more we get to know about him, the more we feel for him even as he drones on about Paul Thomas Anderson or Stanley Kubrick. As Alana pushes him to reevaluate his attitudes and look at life beyond the screen, Lehtinen allows us to see the wheels turning inside the character’s head as his redemption looms.
Strong performances, particularly from Lehtinen and D’Ugo, and a genuinely heartfelt script make this take on adolescent angst (and film bros) a winning debut for Levack.
