Cinerama Capsule 2020-2021 (reviews) features quick-read film reviews of new and classic releases in theatres and on digital.
Catching a Serial Killer: Bruce McArthur
Mobeen Azhar’s documentary follows in the footsteps of CBC’s Murder in the Village (2017) and Catching a Serial Killer: Bruce McArthur (2021); as a result, it struggles to offer anything new to the evidence base surrounding McArthur’s crimes. Azhar explores the lacklustre Police response to the disappearances while also asking us to reflect on the racial dimension of McArthur’s crimes. But at its heart, Azhar’s documentary explores the cultural barriers of a closed gay community and the fact that any community holds secrets and vulnerabilities that residents would rather not face.
There are clear parallels between the Stephen Port case here in the UK and the Bruce McArthur case in Toronto. While Azhar’s investigation is interesting and informative, it never quite manages to tease out these similarities, resulting in a missed opportunity to explore Police failures and hidden community concerns. The result is a documentary that occasionally feels overly simplistic in its investigative framework.
Cinerama Capsule 2020 – 2021 (reviews)
Give or Take
Martin (Jamie Effros) has just returned to his hometown in Cape Cod following the death of his estranged father. It is immediately apparent that the father and son drifted apart following the death of Martin’s mother, an event that led Martin’s father to finally come out as gay and move in with his life partner, Ted (Norbert Leo Butz). However, as tensions between Ted and Martin rise over the house sale, an unexpected opportunity for healing comes into view. Give or Take is beautifully performed and engaging throughout, with some standout moments of emotion and humour as the ice between Ted and Martin slowly thaws. However, the conflict between Martin and Ted also feels underexplored. Here, Give or Take skirts the broader issues of homophobia, acceptance, and coming out in later life, which could have elevated it to brilliance.
Beyto
Based on the novel Hochzeitsflug by Yusuf Yesilöz, you would be forgiven for thinking Gitta Gsell’s Beyto is a classic coming-of-age gay drama from its opening twenty minutes. However, Gsell’s drama soon takes an interesting turn as we explore immigration, cultural homophobia, and arranged marriage. Here, the experiences of young Beyto are shared with those of his childhood friend and bride, Seher. The result is a film rooted in the expectations, oppression, and cultural baggage that surround young men and women as they attempt to build new lives away from their home country. While it may not always find its voice in exploring intersections and cultural heritage, Beyto is a fascinating mix of themes and discussions that help it transcend the average coming-of-age gay movie.
Cinerama Capsule 2020 – 2021 (reviews)
I Am Syd Stone
Denis Theriault’s 2014 short film was expanded into a six-part web series, I Am Syd Stone, in 2020, and it has now been compiled into a feature-length movie. However, as with many web series converted into feature-length films, I Am Syd Stone struggles to maintain its pace and loses the audience’s interest early on in the narrative. Of course, that’s not to say there aren’t some fascinating themes woven into Theriault’s story of a closeted Hollywood star searching for inner peace and public acceptance. But unfortunately, I Am Syd Stone never rises above the soap-opera-inspired melodrama at its core. The resulting film offers few deep or meaningful performances and lacks an urgently needed backstory. Some may find just enough interest to see the movie through to the end, but others will tune out after the first 35 minutes.
The King’s Man
The third Kingsman outing takes us back to where it all began, as we meet Ralph Fiennes, the Duke of Oxford, and, my god, Fiennes has fun with this action-adventure. After a visit to South Africa that went tragically wrong when his son was a mere boy, the Duke of Oxford promised to keep Conrad (Harris Dickinson) safe at all costs.
However, as World War I looms, this promise becomes increasingly difficult to keep, and the Duke finally allows Conrad to join his secret service. Director Matthew Vaughn delights in playing with British history throughout, creating an action movie that appeals to a wide demographic. Here, the James Bond influence of the first two outings is sprinkled with Indiana Jones, resulting in a delightful mashup of historical fact and fiction that hums with the roar of a Fokker engine.
Plus, if Rhys Ifans’ Grigori Rasputin isn’t one of the best modern-day film villains out there, I’ll eat my hat and his!
PG: Psycho Goreman
To say PG: Psycho Goreman is a delicious 1980s throwback is to understate the brilliance of Steven Kostanski’s physical effects-laden movie. Here, the science fiction worlds collide with the B-movie gore of Troma and the nostalgia of Turbo Kid. The result is a joyous, dark, creative, and brilliant slice of modern fantasy-horror-comedy.
Our gory adventure opens with 10-year-old livewire Mimi (Nita-Josee Hanna) and her timid older brother Luke (Owen Myre) finding a strange gem in their garden. But this is no ordinary glowing gem; it’s an alien artefact that summons a giant evil blue alien (Matthew Ninaber) from the planet Gygax. His appearance spells destruction for every planet he visits, for he is the demon, the destroyer of worlds, and the bringer of pain. However, he is also controlled by the gem in Mimi’s possession. Quickly realising her power, Mimi’s first act is to rename the beast Psycho Goreman or PG for short, before introducing PG to the delights of suburbia as she plays out her deepest fantasies through the giant alien. But trouble lurks just around the perfectly trimmed hedges as an alien warrior arrives to rid the universe of Psycho Goreman’s evil forever.
Much like Turbo Kid, PG: Psycho Goreman is rooted in the creativity, gore and charm of the straight-to-VHS gem. But beyond the nostalgia, Kostanski’s movie is also a love letter to the physical effects work that CGI has slowly replaced. Everything feels comically real in Kostanski’s lusciously imaginative world, from a kid turned into a giant brain to a menagerie of creatures sent to Earth to cut down the all-powerful PG. Each of his creations is embedded in a Jim Henson-inspired world of puppetry and creature effects. However, unlike Henson, this world is full of gore, death and destruction as this delightful B-movie space opera collides with human suburbia.
Great White
Summer is on the way, and our beaches will soon be filled with eager swimmers, sunbathers and kids building sandcastles. So, what better way to celebrate than with a classic shark attack movie that will have you fearing every ripple as you enter the sea? Martin Wilson’s directorial debut is not the worst shark movie ever made, but it’s also far from being the best, as brief moments of tension relieve the boredom. Personally, I found myself cheering on the shark, hoping it would devour the cast as quickly as possible. I have no doubt Great White will find an audience in those seeking simple Saturday night entertainment, but for those seeking a good scare, it will undoubtedly disappoint.
The God Committee
Austin Stark’s adaptation of Mark St. Germain’s play about a group of doctors tasked with deciding who should receive a heart transplant is both striking and deeply frustrating. Its narrative flits between two stories: one is strong, engaging, and urgent, while the other is melodramatic and ultimately unnecessary. The first story explores the politics of the so-called ‘God Committee’, a group of doctors who decide who should live or die when an organ donation arrives at the hospital. Meanwhile, the second focuses on the relationship between Dr Boxer (Kelsey Grammer) and Dr Taylor (Julia Stiles).
In exploring themes of ethics and fairness around the boardroom table, the lives of patients held in the hands of a small group, The God Committee, engaging, fascinating and scary. But in the relationship between Boxer and Taylor, the God Committee is, unfortunately, both messy and conflicted.
A Glitch in the Matrix
Documentary filmmaker Rodney Ascher is no stranger to rabbit-hole explorations of ideas, themes, or beliefs. In recent years, he has taken us into Kubrick’s Room 237 and the horror of sleep paralysis in The Nightmare. But, with his new documentary, Ascher delves even deeper, tackling themes of science, fiction and theology as he asks whether we are all living in a grand computer simulation.
Opening with Philip K. Dick’s 1977 lecture on the possibility that we live in a computer-programmed reality, Ascher’s documentary explores the simulation theory Dick’s talk created. While at the same time asking far-reaching questions on philosophy, mental health, art and fiction. The result is an unsettling, fascinating and thought-provoking exploration of humanity versus technology.
Cinerama Capsule 2020 – 2021 (reviews)
Fast Getaway
Born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1971, Corey Haim earned widespread acclaim for his early acting roles in Firstborn, A Time to Live, Silver Bullet and Lucas before becoming a teen idol following The Lost Boys. But by the early 90s, Haim struggled to find roles that allowed his talent to shine while addiction issues haunted his private life, and Hollywood turned its back. Released on video in 1991, Fast Getaway was just one of many low-budget flicks that played on Haim’s boyish good looks and charm to find an audience.
On paper, Fast Getaway aims to offer a classic father-son road movie with a comedic crime-caper twist, but in reality, it quickly becomes a somewhat confused straight-to-VHS mess. However, while it doesn’t achieve its goals, Fast Getaway is also great fun and a reminder of those straight-to-VHS films that lined the shelves at your local Blockbuster, waiting for the weekend teen rental audience. Is it Haim at his best? No, but is it light-hearted VHS fun? Undoubtedly.
How to Deter a Robber
It’s Christmas Eve, and Madison (Vanessa Marano) and her accident-prone boyfriend, Jimmy (Benjamin Papac), are spending their holiday with family in a lakeside cabin. However, between the family arguments, isolation, and a rather disappointing Christmas meal, the young couple’s stay is hardly going according to plan. But when Madison and Jimmy spot some unusual activity at the neighbour’s house, they decide to investigate. After all, the neighbours are away, right?
Despite its festive potential, Maria Bissell’s feature debut ultimately whittles away its initial promise with an overly convoluted story that leads to a dead end. The comedy is lacklustre, the staging erratic, and the characters bland – its only saving graces are assured cinematography and an engaging score.
Cinerama Capsule: Quick Read Film Reviews
JFK Revisited: Through the Looking Glass
Director Oliver Stone revisits his 1991 film JFK while exploring new evidence and new theories relating to the assassination of John F Kennedy in a four-part series. By attempting to bring new evidence to the table surrounding the president’s death, Stone’s documentary once again hopes to expose the truth behind the Cold War politics of early ’60s America and the fall of a president. Yet, despite its detail, the questions raised remain unanswered and may always do so. Stone’s series certainly leaves no stone unturned, but the outcome of the investigation feels all too hollow.
Peripheral
Writer Dan Schaffer’s trajectory is marked early in proceedings, as technology, Artificial Intelligence and humanity converge. The ever-increasing use of smart tech in managing our daily lives sits front and centre alongside the powers that underpin it. Here, the very freedoms we pride ourselves on are slowly consumed in an online world of information, misinformation, and fantasy. Therefore, the themes at play in Peripheral are both timely and essential. But, unfortunately, also too big for the story at hand. Peripheral has a glaring problem: it fails to take these themes in new and creative directions on-screen, with much of the film’s potential lost at sea through poor characterisation and lazy clichés.
Cinerama Capsule 2020 – 2021 (reviews)
Lost at Christmas
Based on his 2015 short film, Perfect Strangers, director Ryan Hendrick takes us on a festive journey into the Scottish Highlands with his new rom-com. His delightful, yet slightly flawed, will-they-won’t-they romance is full of Scottish charm, with performances that carry the warmth of a rich malt whisky. Meanwhile, the director’s love of Doctor Who also shines through, with Sylvester McCoy, Frazer Hines and Caitlin Blackwood (the young Amelia Pond) all making an appearance. In fact, the snowbound ClacHaig Inn at times resembles a low-key Who convention.
The resulting film is a mixed bag, ranging from sickly sweet Yuletide romance to a more interesting exploration of loneliness, and while it may not offer anything unique, Lost at Christmas does carry a delicate festive charm.
Dead Shack
Based on the classic cabin-in-the-woods premise, Dead Shack laces its zombie gore with gloriously dark humour. Fourteen-year-old Jason (Matthew Nelson-Mahood) is about to escape his volatile home life for a weekend in the woods with his best friend Colin (Gabriel LaBelle), his older sister Summer (Lizzie Boys), their dad, Roger (Donavon Stinson), and his new girlfriend, Lisa (Valerie Tian). The trip is about escape, with their log cabin serving as a sanctuary of relaxation, card games, and teenage hormonal energy. However, not far up the road, a doting mother protects her unique family at all costs as family mealtimes become a sinister cat-and-mouse game.
Dead Shack gloriously unpicks the family unit, openly challenging the notion that adults know best by placing its teen leads in charge. Here, its intelligent screenplay hums with brilliantly timed comedy while the blood and gore flow through creative, practical effects. The result is a genuinely engaging and entertaining zombie horror full of dry humour and Canadian charm.
Cinerama Capsule 2020 – 2021 (reviews)
HAM: A Musical Memoir
Based on his 2014 autobiography HAM: Slices of a Life, Broadway star Sam Harris brings his collection of personal essays to the stage in a delightful, funny and touching one-person show. His journey from Bible Belt Oklahoma to the Broadway stage is full of colour, heartfelt emotion and glitter. Of course, it’s entirely possible that Sam Harris may be largely unknown to British audiences. However, that does not distract from the sheer talent on display in his one-person show. His life story is full of electric energy that brings a smile to your face, and when this is combined with moments of deep emotion, song, dance, and vivid characters, his honey-glazed show shines with sincerity.
Cinerama Capsule 2020 – 2021 (reviews)
Daniel Isn’t Real
What do you get when you take the brooding mystery of Donnie Darko and mix it with the imagery and style of Jacob’s Ladder? The answer is one of the most divisive yet creative horrors of 2019: Daniel Isn’t Real.
Reviews of Adam Egypt Mortimer’s film, starring Miles Robbins and Patrick Schwarzenegger, were mixed upon its release, with many critics calling it more style than substance, while others argued it presented a damaging portrayal of mental health. However, in my view, Mortimer’s horror should be commended for taking significant creative risks by merging psychological terror with supernatural evil.
Daniel Isn’t Real crawls deep under the viewer’s skin, its lasting effect far more potent than the initial viewing. Some may find the content exploitative of mental health and, at times, insensitive. But the absolute terror sits within the supernatural world created by screenwriters Brian DeLeeuw and Adam Egypt Mortimer.
Concrete Plans
Despite a solid cast, Concrete Plans never finds a firm foundation, with its weak plot built on muddy ground: a group of cash-in-hand Welsh builders unexpectedly becomes cold-blooded killers. Their descent into madness and murder is the result of a financial dispute with the ex-military landowner who treats them with disdain, forcing them to live in a dilapidated caravan on-site, while he and his beautiful wife sit in luxury. Concrete Plans excels in its exploration of a building trade where cheap foreign labourers are often treated with contempt. However, while playing with the social issues ranging from racism to illegal employment and class divide, Concrete Plans never manages to find a unique voice.
Cinerama Capsule 2020-2021
The Return
We all love a haunted house movie, right? On first appearance, BJ Vernot’s new film would appear to fall directly into the traditional haunted house genre; after all, here we have a young man, Roger (Richard Harmon), returning to his family home following the sudden death of his father, where he is greeted by a mysterious apparition that emanates from the walls.
However, BJ Vernot’s film is not what it initially appears to be, as it throws us a curveball of epic proportions. Much like Ghosts of War, The Return is a sci-fi thriller in supernatural clothing. I am not about to spoil the twists, but as with many films that attempt to transcend genre boundaries, there are a few problems: from a twist that can be seen coming to a final act that descends into farce. Despite these flaws, there is much to admire and enjoy, and The Return is creative and engaging, if not perfect.
High Ground
Australia’s complex, violent and colonial history has been reflected through several influential films over the years, from The Nightingale to Phillip Noyce’s Rabbit-Proof Fence and Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country.
High Ground never quite matches the power of these films through its exploration of imperialism, genocide, and cultural appropriation in a John Ford Western style. However, that doesn’t mean High Ground does not contain moments of brutal honesty as we follow Gutjuk (Gurwuk Mununggurr), a young Indigenous boy taken into the care of a mission following the slaughter of his family. Through Gutjuk’s journey, High Ground asks us to reflect on the horror of colonialism and its horrific legacy of power imbalance, enslavement and genocide.
Under My Skin
Australian writer-director David O’Donnell’s Under My Skin is a fresh, delicate, captivating exploration of gender that unpicks and rewrites the classic romantic drama. At the same time, it embraces and furthers non-binary representation on screen. The result is a complex yet accessible slice of drama that explores the barriers and challenges of a non-binary ‘coming out’ process within a stable, loving, yet delicate union.
Denny is a musician who travels from bar to bar, earning meagre tips and fees while waiting for a lucky big break. Meanwhile, Ryan (Alex Russell) is a corporate lawyer, slowly working his way up the slippery slope of success while his boss demands attention. But on a work night out, Denny and Ryan’s worlds collide in a local bar when Denny’s music and energetic spirit captivate Ryan. They develop a deep relationship and emotional connection, quickly moving from casual dates to something more serious.
However, as Denny begins to explore their gender, Ryan starts to worry that his life and career may not be able to support a gender-neutral partner.
Vicious Fun
Canada has a long history of horror, from Scanners to Black Christmas. Canadian horrors have long challenged the boundaries of the horror genre, helping to redefine what it offers audiences. Director Cody Calahan’s Vicious Fun continues this trend by mixing classic slasher horror with tongue-in-cheek 80s-inspired humour. The result is a film that delivers exactly what it promises – vicious fun.
Embracing themes last seen in Shudder’s underrated Monster Party while lacing the horror with delightfully timed comedy, Vicious Fun is a neatly wrapped gift of 80s nostalgia, fun and slasher gore; it is a perfect late-night horror/comedy to enjoy with a large Coke and a bucket of popcorn as you count the references to every 80s flick it so lovingly pays homage to.
Tesla
Scientists have had a pretty rough ride in recent biopics, from the bland Radioactive to the dull The Current War. The latter squandered the opportunity to explore the life of the scientific pioneer and genius Nicola Tesla (1856-1943), but Tesla placed Ethan Hawke’s scientist in the driving seat, offering us a performance that was both delicate and mesmerising. Director Michael Almereyda cleverly blends a documentary-like feel with drama, and while this creates a somewhat slow narrative, it also allows for a far more detailed and fascinating portrait of a complex man.
Make Up
Debut feature films don’t come much stronger than Claire Oakley’s haunting and windswept movie. The Cornish ‘out of season’ caravan park where the story unfolds is wrapped in a genre-defying mix of drama, thriller and horror. The coming-of-age journey of young Ruth is immersed in intrigue, sexuality, desire, and isolation. Within a sparse and ghostly environment, the fox’s screech in the night and the wind howl around empty mobile homes. Meanwhile, Oakley’s dynamic use of vivid colour and haunting sound is matched by the accomplished performances of an outstanding cast. So settle back, dim the lights, and let the waves of Make Up engulf you in a unique and intriguing cinematic experience.
The Boy Behind the Door
Any mainstream horror that chooses child abduction and abuse as its main story walks a fine line. After all, how do you couple the true horror of child abuse and kidnapping with classic horror scares without becoming distasteful in the process?
Many films, such as The Girl Next Door, have fallen short of this balance over the years. However, The Boy Behind the Door navigates this fine line skillfully, even if the film’s final act sadly resorts to a more traditional horror template. But aside from the ending, there is much to admire in David Charbonier and Justin Powell’s claustrophobic horror-thriller, including the performances of its young leads.
The opening half of Charbonier and Powell’s film is full of tension, creating a genuinely uncomfortable atmosphere that is only intensified by the lack of information available to us. However, in its final act, The Boy Behind the Door stumbles by adopting a cat-and-mouse slasher aesthetic that avoids the significant issues raised earlier.
Cinerama Capsule 2018 | 2019 | 2022-2025
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