review

Snow is Rarer Than Gold in ‘Snowfall’ #1

A number one issue is a tough thing to figure out, especially when building your own world as Joe Harris and Martín Morazzo are doing in Snowfall #1. The balancing act between setting up your story and characters, while maintain the mystery and intrigue that will draw them back for issue two is maybe one of the most difficult things to do in comics.

‘Undertale’ is a charming and unique revision of the RPG formula

Undertale made an impression on not only the indie scene but the entire video game world when it released last month. The result of a wildly successful campaign through Kickstarter which began two years ago, this revisionist take on the classic RPG was said to blend elements of Earthbound, Shin Megami Tensei and Touhou into an entirely originally package. The effort of over 2,000 backers and the mind of Toby Fox helped create one of the most unique and charming releases this year.

VIFF’15: ‘Louder Than Bombs’ occupies a unique space by not conforming to its own genre

Grief, depression, and loneliness. Norwegian director Joachim Trier’s first foray into English language film is rife with subject matter suited for a dour art house affair. Yet Louder Than Bombs is infused with a vibrant humanism that cares for its characters and has a firm grasp of cinematic language and exceptional editing which ratchets it up a notch past a typical prestige drama. It’s too subtle, too bold, too willing to reach into a grab bag of visual styles and character set pieces to care about falling into the right Hollywood genre.

Furko Family Grave

VIFF ’15: ‘Frank and the Wondercat’ a beautifully crafted film

This documentary centred around the Frank Furko, an odd octogenerian whose now deceased cat, Pudgie Wudgie, was a local celebrity in their hometown of Pittsburgh, manages to break the mold of imitative, stagnating docs that festivals often attract in droves. Massil and Alvarez-Mesa have found a perfect subject in Frank, and approach him with a natural, easy going camera: no talking heads and barely a shot of stock footage, just a wondering frame following Frank as he tells his stories to whoever will listen, and a sense of time travel via VHS footage Frank himself shot throughout his life.

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