2023

Modern Goose 🪿 

Modern Goose is a short form documentary that follows the interconnected relationships between geese, and the everyday world that surrounds them. 

Most of the time when you get documentaries like this you have some ASMR sounding voice trying to wax poetic about everything that is going on in front of you, this is not that. Instead this lets everything play out naturally, which makes for a much more engaging watch, as these geese try to navigate what seems to be the only constant in their lives - which is change. 

I’m easily fascinated by animal habits, especially the unspoken psychology behind their ability to adapt to change. What we see showcased in this is the inconveniences and hardships that the geese face as the human race continues to pillage their habitats. 

Watching the disruptive nature of their daily lives provided me with a new found respect for these birds.

There was no emotional score to sway you, there’s no narration to guide you to a certain viewpoint, this was just intimate footage that allows you the time to soak in your surroundings, that we don’t normally give the time to. 

We as humans are guilty of having our blinders up while being stuck in the rat race of life, not allowing ourselves the chance to slow down and appreciate all the different types of lives being lived around us. This gives one of those lives the time. 

This is a raw, intimate observation into the not so pretty world these beautiful birds find themselves in. 

At times this will leave you frustrated and disheartened, but by the end you won’t be able to help but feel inspired by the resilient nature of our feathered friends.

Enjoy! 

7.8/10 🍿 🎥 

Runtime: 23mins  

Where: Toronto International Film Festival

Modern Goose Review (2023) The Richmond Reviewer.

#Documentary #ShortFilm #Movie #MovieReview #TIFF2023  #ModernGoose

Mimang 🚗 미망

Mimang follows a man and a woman over fours years of life, and the people they encounter as they walk through the changing streets of Seoul. 

Mimang has many different meanings in Korean:

“Being unable to make sense from ignorance.”

“Being unable to forget what one wants to forget.”

“Searching far and wide.”

The meaning changes depending on the context it’s used in, and I think part of the reason for using Mimang as the title is because this movie is going to mean different things, to different people. 

Depending on your life experience this movie may mean everything to you, remind you of a single memory, or mean absolutely nothing. 

It’s not a traditional narrative story but more of a character study told through conversation, showing how people change over time, and the noticeable differences based on interactions they have with the same person at different points in their life. 

Even though I never felt emotionally invested in what was going on, the growth of characters over the four years is something I feel like I get now, in a way I wouldn’t have understood when I was younger. There’s people we have had in our lives that were nice to have around but time, space, and life are forces that pull in different ways and may not allow for those things to exist passed those certain moments. This reminded me a lot of a Korean movie I watched last year, The Novelists Film (소설가의 영화). In the same vein it uses conversation as a means to convey the human experience, as mundane or blasé as it may be. 

Mimang makes you a fly on the wall, an honest observer to the moments you may forget - but that are never really gone. 

Enjoy! 

7/10 🍿 🎥 

Runtime: 1hr32mins 

Where: Toronto International Film Festival

Mimang Review (2023) The Richmond Reviewer.
미망 Review (2023) The Richmond Reviewer

#MovieReview #Movie #SouthKorea #Korean #TIFF2023  #Mimang

100 Yards 🥋 门前宝地

100 Yards follows the death a highly decorated martial arts master, and the succession of his wushu academy. The two vying to take over the academy are Qi, the masters top apprentice, and his son Shen - who believes he is the rightful heir. 

This was like a bite sized snack of what could’ve been a delicious meal. The ingredients are all there: biter rivals, unrequited love, legacy, honour - there was so much potential.

What kept me invested was the aggressive elegance of martial artistry displayed in the early choreography of the fight scenes, but as I patiently waited for the next fight it would turn into this Rube Goldberg type hijinks, completely transitioning away from the steady combat scenes we started off with. That’s when the story began to fly by the seam of its pants, especially with the way they handled the main characters motivations and how abruptly they would change. At that point, it lost me. 

There was clearly more emphasis put on the choreography of the limited fight scenes instead of the flow of the story, that it ends up becoming a sensationalized take on what should’ve become a classic wushu film. 

 
There’s a good movie within 100 Yards, it just got lost trying to be everything, everywhere - all at once.

Enjoy! 

5.95/10 🍿 🎥

Runtime: 1hr48mins

Where: Toronto International Film Festival

100 Years Review (2023) The Richmond Reviewer

#MovieReview #Movie #MartialArts #TIFF2023 #100Yards

Fair Play 💵

Fair Play follows Luke and Emily, a young couple that are both trying to make it big at a hedge fund but when one gets a promotion over the other, their relationship gets put to the ultimate test. 

Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich deliver two of the most gripping performances of the year, grabbing your attention from the start and not letting go - even when the credits roll.

It’s a masterful exploration of the dynamics in an office romance. 

The story starts off as workplace and romance, but as they begin to bleed into one another you start to notice the fractures of a once budding relationship. 

We have Luke, who seems stuck trying to live up to the expectation of a man in Wall Street and Emily, who manages what it’s like being in a male dominated industry with sheer grit and determination - demanding respect with no remorse. 

The power dynamics of a relationship are on full display, as an insecure man most come to terms with playing second fiddle to his ambitious, hardworking partner - which quietly takes its toll on him.

What I adored most about this movie is how raw and honest the portrayals were. The performances used body language to perfection, showing the subtle signs of exhaustion from pent up frustration, and patterns of abuse that aren’t often seen until one gains hindsight. None of that can be achieved without the incredible performances by Phoebe Dynevor and Alden Ehrenreich. 

There’s something so tragic about the cyclical nature of how this story unfolds. You can’t “unspill blood.” defines the entirety of this spiralling saga of heartbreak. 

Fair Play eclipsed so many movies I’ve watched this year, jumping straight into my Top 5 of 2023. It’s a sexy, daring, tornado of toxicity - in a story about a relentless pursuit for power, and love.

Enjoy! 

8.5/10 🍿 🎥 

Runtime: 1hr53mins

Where: Toronto International Film Festival & Streaming on Netflix October 6th

Fair Play Review (2023) The Richmond Reviewer

#MovieReview #Movie #Netflix #TIFF2023 #FairPlay

Bloom 🪴 

#TIFF2023

Bloom follows Laurel, who has come home from a long days work to the surprise that her partner has packed up all her things and left - without a single reason why. 

She ends up isolating herself in her apartment, wondering what could’ve gone wrong, that’s until her attention shifts to her plant - and it’s odd reaction to her heartbreak. 

This is one those watches that you have to sit with for a while, and can end up interpreting in so many different ways.

Laurel and her plant develop what feels like this symbiotic relationship, as her behaviour changes so does the plants growth cycle - which could be a metaphor for our relationship with Mother Nature and how we care for our environment when it’s convenient, but not when it’s necessary. 

It also could be as simple as depicting a ghosting/breakup, and how when we’ve invested time into someone a part of ourselves leave when they do, so we become a shell of ourself until we find the strength to put the heart broken pieces back together. 

I think it’s reminding us that our problems in the moment may feel life ending but are microscopic in comparison to what the earth is enduring. 

Regardless of what it’s meant to mean, the subtleties of Jodi Balfours performance is what allows this short film to play in the darkness of despair, and then blossom through the peaks of light to a brighter day. 

If you allow yourself the time to dig into the roots of this story you’ll find an exploration of grief and how it affects everything orbiting around you. Worth keeping an eye out for at your local film festival. 

Enjoy!

7.3/10 🍿 🎥 

Runtime: 11mins

Where: Toronto International Film Festival

Bloom Short Film Review (2023) The Richmond Reviewer

#ShortFilm #Movie #MovieReview #TIFF2023 #Bloom

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person 🩸 

Humanist Vampire follows Sasha, a 48 year old teenage vampire who is being pressured by her family to hunt humans, but her inability to grow fangs is holding her back - along with the fact she doesn’t want to kill. 

This is one of the best surprises of the year. 

Not only is it a wonderful coming of age story, it’s probably the most refreshing take on vampires since god knows when. 

It subverts expectations by going against the grain, having a vampire be pro-human and try to ethically source the blood they consume. 

Then there’s the whole being a teenager but getting treated like a child, while being expected to be as responsible as an adult. An obvious culture clash ensues when Sasha is forced into taking part in family tradition, even though it goes against her personal values - so it’s met with understandable pushback. 

Luckily for her she meets someone who is contemplating their own existence, which allows her the opportunity to see things from an entirely different perspective. 

What this does best is it uses the classic coming of age archetype but creatively twists it into this Adams Family-esque horror-comedy, giving us a uniquely stylized take on teen angst. 

It’s going to be a damn shame if people don’t catch this movie. The title doesn’t do it any favours (could definitely shorten it) but my biggest worry is that it’ll go under the radar and become a hidden gem - when it should be seen by the masses. 

Humanist Vampire is an instant cult classic, about a rebellious teenager who is dead set on forging her own path - a path to respectfully paint the town red. 

Enjoy!

7.9/10 🍿 🎥 

Runtime: 1hr31mins

Where: Toronto International Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, & In Theatres October 13th. 

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person Review (2023) The Richmond Reviewer

Vampire Humaniste Cherche Suicidaire Consentant Review (2023) The Richmond Reviewer

#Movie #MovieReview #Vampire #TIFF2023 #HumanistVampire

Seagrass 🌊 

Seagrass follows Judith, a Canadian born - Japanese woman who takes her husband and two daughters to a self-development retreat, to find a way to cope with the passing of her mother, and hopefully receive some guidance for her struggling marriage. 

This story tests the inner workings of this mixed race family in the most subtle of ways, capturing how the micro fractures that develop overtime, can have ripple effects when you least expect it. 

As a child of divorce, I found myself resonating with the different dynamics between the children and their parents, each other as siblings, and the evolving social relationships that played out between the different kids on the island. 

You can see the damage it does having to observe a toxic environment, especially one that steams from a relationship that continues well passed it’s expiration date - and how those observations trickle into other parts of a child’s life. 

A main building block for any family is stability, but when the glue of the family begins to reevaluate their role as a mother, wife, and woman - it becomes tough to hold it all together. 

Judith’s dilemma is one of being cast in a role that she only now realizes has forced her to quietly endure the hurt and pain from being with an ungrateful husband, and now resenting the fact she never gave her Japanese heritage the time she wish had, especially knowing what her parents went through because of it. 

I was a fan of how the movie used dialogue to sway you one way, but the body language and energy would sway you another - it’s as if you’re riding the waves of the high tide that calmly roared throughout the story.  

Admittedly the buildup was a bit too slow for my liking, it lingered and drifted into a worthy ending but by the time I got there I felt checked out of the emotional elements of the film.

Even if it didn’t work for me as a whole, this is still a quality showing for Canadian filmmaking. 

Seagrass is a tragic portrait of a family being held together by a phantom thread, in a story that stresses that the sacrifices our ancestors made were so we live a better life - and not resent the lives we live. 

Enjoy!

6.3/10 🍿 🎥 

Runtime: 1hr55mins

Where: Toronto International Film Festival

Seagrass Review (2023) The Richmond Reviewer

#Movie #MovieReview #TIFF #TIFF2023 #Seagrass

My 10 Most Anticipated Films from the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival 🍿 

From wushu academy rivals, to a love that has been tested by time, and a welcomed return to the magical world of Ghibli - this years Toronto International Film Festival looks to be hosting a dynamic range of stories, that has a little bit for everyone. 

Now time for the list!