Author Archives: davetcourt

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”

With my recent shift in jobs, I’m still driving a school bus, and still driving for a private school (which, for my American friends, means religious/faith based school here in Manitoba). These things are the same. I have seen a very real shifts though in location and the students. I have shifted from a ruralContinue reading “Students, buses, religion and philosophy: Finding Fresh Context to Consider Finiteness and the Infinite”

Film Journal 2024: Late Night With The Devil Directed by Cameron and Colin Cairnes The irony of the present controversy regarding the filmmaker’s public admission over using AI, which is seen as an issue because of the way the question of AI has shaped the most recent strikes in Hollywood, is that this controversy existsContinue reading “Film Journal 2024: Late Night With The Devil”

Film Journal 2024: ProblemistaDirected by Julio Torres Impressive for the ways it celebrates the simple virtues of authenticity and creativity. It defies categories, telling its story in a way only it can. What makes this work as well as it does though is the ways the filmmaker actively invites us as viewers into the process.Continue reading “Film Journal 2024: Problemista”