Aladdin’s magic remains, but we could always wish for more
Movie Review: Aladdin
Director Guy Ritchie brings the animated classic to life with a greasy edge, some updated songs and a knack for action. He even succeeds at turning the magic carpet into a tightly-knotted character that steals every scene with its manta like moves and sassy tassels. It’s only when the movie stands still long enough that we start to notice a strange lack of dramatic tension.
Booksmart turns the page on teen girl stereotypes
Movie Review: Booksmart
Olivia Wilde’s feature debut looks at coming-of-age formula through a distinctly female lens, where acceptance and affirmation don’t rely on stunts or smashing a beer can into your forehead -- but the enduring loyalty of a best friend.
Kristen Stewart courts a world of vampires in JT Leroy
Movie Review: JT Leroy
Director Justin Kelly stands knee-deep in a stinky literary scandal to sift through worthy bits of narrative, and muck out a good story about a writer who found her voice through a gay, male prostitute -- then convinced her sister-in-law to play along.
The Biggest Little Farm reclaims a barren landscape with love, labour, and loss
Movie Review: The Biggest Little Farm
When a California couple traded in their Santa Monica lifestyle for an abandoned apricot and avocado orchard, they thought Mother Nature might lend a helping hand. Yet every success brought a new pest, until they found a way to resurrect what industrialized farming ploughed under.
The Winnipeg General Strike fought the pejorative optics of “Socialism”
History: The 100 year anniversary of the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919, Part One
Disillusioned workers demanded fair wages and the right to collective bargaining, but their biggest foes throughout the historic, 40-day labour action weren’t just the powerful and privileged -- but the rabid rhetoric surrounding “Bolshevik” forces and "undesirables, socialists, radicals, enemy aliens, Marxists, foreign agitators, revolutionaries, reactionaries, extremists, and (of course) anarchists.”
John Wick 3: Parabellum keeps the puppy love alive
Movie Review: John Wick 3 - Parabellum
John Wick may not wax eloquent, but he can fire up a storm in this continuing action saga that lets Keanu Reeves do what he does best: say little, bring elegance to action sequences and create chemistry with cute canines.
Holy Fuck! I Just Turned 40
Pop Culture Decoder: Turning 40
Though society still tends to value youth and beauty over age and experience, culture writer Misty Harris discovered she was filled with as much optimism as dread at the thought of turning 40. ‘I feel like I’m finally where I need to be – and with the tribe I’m supposed to be with.’
Pet Sematary resurrects the fear of fur
Movie review: Pet Sematary
Stephen King’s classic gets a horror makeover that keeps asking the same unholy question: How far would we go to bring back a dead loved one?
