CINEMA | Searching for Space – Brad Pitt Travels to 'Ad Astra'

"Brad Astra is Sad Astra because of his Dad Astra in [...] Ad Astra." ¹

New York filmmaker James Gray ventures into the vastness of inner and outer space for his latest film, a sci-fi character study about fatherhood. Starring and produced by Brad Pitt, Ad Astra ("to the stars") concerns itself with what dedicated astronauts and galaxy explorers in the near future (in "a time of hope and conflict') are leaving behind or rather who they are running away from.

VIFF 2019 | Class Conflict – Bong Joon-ho Smells A 'Parasite'

"Money is an iron. It smoothes out all the wrinkles."

Vancouver International Film Festival

VIFF 2019—South Korean auteur Bong Joon-ho brings a Hitchcock-esque sense of suspense to his latest domestic thriller, Parasite (aka Gisaengchung). Full of twisty drama and sharply executed satire surrounding class struggle and socioeconomic anxieties, the Palme d'Or winner is a crackling picture about impoverished small-time con artists manipulating an idealized affluent family.

VIFF 2019 | 20 Most Anticipated Films (You Should See)

Image | Georgia Straight

VIFF 2019—(September 4, 2019) Our city's two-week-long arthouse cinema showcase in the 38th annual Vancouver International Film Festival is almost here. Every year, VIFF celebrates expanded forms of multimedia and cinematic storytelling by showing hundreds of local, Canadian, and international films in its dedication to advancing contemporary world cinema.

CINEMA | Constance Wu and Jennifer Lopez Steal 'Hustlers'

"This whole country is a strip club."

Filmmaker Lorene Scafaria dazzlingly dramatizes the notorious real-life events behind the viral New York magazine article "The Hustlers at Scores" first reported by journalist Jessica Pressler. Much like Magic Mike, Hustlers uses sex work and stripper culture to explore friendship and working-class economics, however, using the twist of women taking power by victimizing men financially.

VIFF 2019 | Extreme Suburban Politeness – 'Greener Grass'

Vancouver International Film Festival

VIFF 2019—Veteran UCB Comedy duo Jocelyn DeBoer and Dawn Luebbe write, direct, and star in a demented indie comedy soap opera set in a glossy, timeless suburbia where everything seems very off despite people and things being meticulously coordinated. Greener Grass employs so much absurd surrealist imagery and performances to highlight the simple yet highly flawed ideals of suburban life.

VIFF 2019 | Bill Nighy Spells Out 'Sometimes Always Never'

"I'm [...] the one who didn't run away."

Vancouver International Film Festival

VIFF 2019—Starring Bill Nighy and Sam Riley as estranged father and son, Alan and Peter, reunited after an impromptu trip together, rocker turned filmmaker Carl Hunter's buddy film Sometimes Always Never (aka Triple Word Score) uses a surrealist, artificial aesthetic to tell its whimsical story of grief, mystery, and messy family histories.

VIFF 2019 | 'Babysplitters' Shares A Comedy

Vancouver International Film Festival

VIFF 2019—Sam Friedlander's endearing indie comedy Babysplitters offers a rather deceptively simple premise. Couples are waiting longer to start a family for various reasons including but not limited to time and money. What if the commitment of having a baby and parenting could be split evenly between two couples?

TREAT | Sneak Peek x Fufú Pancake Café x Fairview Slopes

Fairview Slopes—(August 28, 2019) The hotly anticipated Fufú Pancake Café specializes in serving Japanese-style soufflé pancakes and local diners seem excited about its impending opening on West Broadway.

SCREEN | Jillian Bell Outpaces 'Brittany Runs A Marathon'

Breakout comedian Jillian Bell finally gets her own starring vehicle in the fairly straightforward, inspirational indie comedy, Brittany Runs A Marathon. Written and directed by playwright turned first-time filmmaker Paul Downs Colaizzo, the small-scale film keeps it simple and largely avoids the pitfalls of any discourse about body image, fat-shaming, or health debates to focus on the eponymous character's arrested development and personal quest for self-improvement