Skip to Content

‘Turbo Kid’ is modest midnight fun

‘Turbo Kid’ is a post-apocalyptic love letter to the action-horror genre. It looks and sounds wonderful, with the kind of world building you would expect from ‘80s film aficionados. Unfortunately, a lackluster script and bland leading performance prevent it from being more than just a pleasant trifle, but it’s a bloody fun way to spend your Saturday night.

Read More about ‘Turbo Kid’ is modest midnight fun

Horror and romance blossom in the haunting ‘Spring’

The less you know about Spring before its arrival, the more enthralling its subtle charms. This is a delicate little gem that reveals its mysteries grudgingly; a seamless blend of moods and genres that never stops surprising you. Darkly comic and unflinchingly romantic, Spring steeps its horror mythology in realism to create a genuine sense of uneasiness. Director Justin Benson’s exquisite story of painful transformation is one of 2015’s best films.

Read More about Horror and romance blossom in the haunting ‘Spring’

‘Before I Disappear’ is a droll, trippy pleasure

Before I Disappear Written and directed by Shawn Christensen USA/UK, 2014 We don’t get many cinematic one-man shows these days.  Shawn Christensen takes up the challenge by writing, directing and starring in the new indie mind-screw, Before I Disappear.  Though thin on plot and heavy on convulsions, there’s enough visual flair and wickedly-dark humor to …

Read More about ‘Before I Disappear’ is a droll, trippy pleasure

CIFF 2014: ‘The Alley Cat’ is an existential drama on the dreamy streets of Chicago

The bicycle is by far the most existential vehicular choice when making a road film about a character in a state of mental cross roads. Unlike the car, the bike is solely powered by the human and it’s capabilities are dictated by the rider’s. Anyone can press a pedal and go 100 mph, but with a bicycle the wheels are only an extension of the human drive to move forward. In Marie Ullrich’s The Alley Cat, this sense of propulsion collides with the main character’s struggle to move forward mentally. Jasper was a mother but gave her child up to her sister, with the deal that her little girl can never know who her real mom is. It’s during a wild, late-night bike race through Chicago’s south loop that she reassesses her priorities and just what she’s supposed to be doing with her life.

Read More about CIFF 2014: ‘The Alley Cat’ is an existential drama on the dreamy streets of Chicago

Indie Summer Movie Preview

Yes, every summer movie season looks more the same as the last one. We have another Shrek, another Iron Man, another Sex and the City, another Twilight, another … well you get the point. Indie movies are the only remedy for this Summer blockbuster fatigue. Last year was quite strong (The Hurt Locker, Moon, 500 Days of Summer, …

Read More about Indie Summer Movie Preview

Netflix Adds Hundreds of Indie Titles

Great news for customers of Netflix, who announced this week that they will add hundreds of award-winning and critically acclaimed Indie Films that can be seen instantly through a string of new streaming deals. The selection of films includes works from The Criterion Collection, Gravitas Ventures, Kino Lorber, Music Box Films, Oscilloscope Laboratories and Regent …

Read More about Netflix Adds Hundreds of Indie Titles