Author Archives: davetcourt

Film Journal 2024: Civil WarDirected by Alex Garland How should I watch this film as a Canadian?That was the first thought/question that came to mind when asked for my thoughts post-viewing. In truth, I’m not sure. If the film takes some strides to create something with universal application, there is no question the film isContinue reading “Film Journal 2024: Civil War”

Film Journal 2024: Turtles All The Way DownDirected by Hannah Marks I feel seen. Although I differ somewhat in my own experiences and struggles, I found so much overlap in the central character’s journey. She struggles with a mental disorder driven by severe anxiety and OCD. This disorder results in her getting lost inside herContinue reading “Film Journal 2024: Turtles All The Way Down”

Reading Journal 2024: Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory’s Power to Hold on to what Matters Author: Charan Ranganath I’ve been interested in the subject of memory for a while now, having recently begun a deep dive into the subject. Part of this is a desire to understand my own story, and to even learn howContinue reading “Reading Journal 2024: Why We Remember: Unlocking Memory’s Power to Hold on to what Matters”

Film Journal 2024: The Fall Guy Directed by David Leitch As a rom-com it’s very good As a comedy-action it’s good.As a love letter to the art of stunt work and filmmaking its exceptional. There is a lot of film here. Most of this is due to the fact that it spends time building upContinue reading “Film Journal 2024: The Fall Guy”

Film Journal 2024: Freud’s Last SessionDirected by Matt Brown “So much pain in this world, and this is God’s plan?” “We are all cowards in the face of death.” “My idea of God keeps shattering over and over again. And yet I find God everywhere. Impenetrating everything.” “From error to error, none discovers the entireContinue reading “Film Journal 2024: Freud’s Last Session”

Film Journal 2024: Infested Directed by Sébastien Vaniček Back to back horror films about an infestation of dangerous spiders (this and Sting). On a purely objective level, this is probably the stronger of the two, but both have their strengths and are great entries into the creature feature genre. In the case of Infested, theContinue reading “Film Journal 2024: Infested”

Film Journal 2024: UnfrostedDirected by Jerry Seinfeld I mean, it would be a difficult movie to hateBut there’s no question it’s bad. Like shockingly bad. I’m tempted to say it’s all sugar and no substance, which would be true. But it’s worse than that. It’s high fructose corn syrup trying to pass itself off asContinue reading “Film Journal 2024: Unfrosted”

Film Journal 2024: Challengers Directed by Luca Guadagnino This is a bit of an assumption on my part, since I’ve only seen it once, but one of the biggest take aways from my initial viewing of Challengers is it definitely lingers as an experience and grows the more I think about the film, suggesting thatContinue reading “Film Journal 2024: Challengers”

Film Journal 2024: PratfallDirected by Alex Andre I guess the Before series has essentially come to define a whole genre. Another one of those films that easiest to describe as “Before, just with…” Fill in the blanks with an unstable insomniac and a French tourist wandering and reflecting through the streets of New York City.Continue reading “Film Journal 2024: Pratfall”

Film Journal: The Moon and BackDirected by Leah Bleich Lots of wonderful and endearing dynamics at work here. It’s funny, sad quirky, charming, real, adventurous, relatable. Setting it in an era where home movies were a thing and anyone could be a director by picking up that camcorder and getting creative without the aid ofContinue reading “Film Journal: The Moon and Back”