FF+ The Creator

Visually stunning with plenty of explosive action and an intriguing premise centered on humans seeking revenge for an A.I. nuclear attack, but unfortunately lacking in exploration of its bigger ideas, largely a reskin of STAR WARS, and only somewhat effective emotionally. Could have been, and should have been, so much more.

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Music: Upbeat Party – Scott Holmes Music

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FF+ NYAD/The King Tide (TIFF Reviews)

I’m doing my best to continue finding a connection for each pair of reviews. This time that link is the water. One is the excellent, inspirational and rousing dramatized story of real life super athlete Diana Nyad, who swam from Cuba to Florida in her 60s, and the other is a fantasy tale about a mysterious child with healing powers who washes up on the shore of a secluded island community and changes their way of life for better and worse.

0:00 – Intro

0:53 – NYAD

10:26 – The King Tide

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Music: Upbeat Party – Scott Holmes Music

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Episode 383: Invincible

The real life story of Philadelphia everyman Vince Papale and his unlikely journey to professional football player is a bit sanitized by the Disney production, but still covers the great success in an enjoyable manner that captures the heart of what he accomplished and what it meant to those who cheered him on.

* Note – full spoilers in effect for entire episode *

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FF+ Hit Man/Knox Goes Away (TIFF Reviews)

Whether you like your assassins fake, sexy, and a bit silly or old, grizzled, and seeking redemption, this episode is for you. Glen Powell oozes movie star charisma in Richard Linklater’s untraditional rom-com and Michael Keaton directs himself to sleep in a dramatic story of dementia.

0:00 – Intro

0:53 – Hit Man

10:03 – Knox Goes Away

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Music: Upbeat Party – Scott Holmes Music

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FF+ The Holdovers/The Boy and the Heron (TIFF Reviews)

Familiar stories can still be emotionally effective and entertaining, as we see in new work from both Alexander Payne and Hayao Miyazaki. THE HOLDOVERS feels like a simple dramedy that we don’t often see, but is charming and touching in equal measure. In Miyazaki’s latest fantastical adventure, a boy travels to a magical world and copes with the loss of his mother, and the director infuses the work with themes of legacy and memory that feel extremely personal.

0:00 – Intro

0:53 – The Holdovers

06:51 – The Boy and the Heron

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Music: Upbeat Party – Scott Holmes Music

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FF+ No One Will Save You

Dever excels in this mostly solo acted and dialogueless film about a loner in a small town who fights against her own anxiety while trying to fend off an alien invasion and protect her home. Strong creepy effects and superb sound design make for taut experience.

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2023 Vancouver International Film Festival Coverage

Links to all 2023 Vancouver International Film Festival coverage can be found below, including written and audio, as well as any guest appearances.

 

Written Review Journal

Vancouver International Film Festival 2023 Ranked – Letterboxd List


Podcast Episodes and Guest Appearances

Vancouver International Film Festival 2023 Review Journal

Feelin’ Film is thrilled to be covering the Vancouver International Film Festival for the first time! This page will serve as a running journal, where you can read my thoughts on the films I see as the festival progresses. These early reactions will later be accompanied by more robust podcast reviews. For now, enjoy following along with my journey, see if anything sparks your interest, and be sure to let me know if it does. Thanks for reading. – Aaron White

  • Note: Reviews published in order of most recently seen on top.

THE MISSION (dir. Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine)

Rating:

This is just fantastic documentary filmmaking, plain and simple. Moss and McBaine take a subject that most people have already completely prejudged based on a headline or meme and take the time to allow an audience to get to know the man behind a fatal decision to illegally attempt a solo mission trip on a remote indigenous island. It uses actors reading journal entries and letters from John and his family as well as a slew of insightful interviews and also features some beautiful animated reenactment sequences throughout.

The film is structured with a couple of major frameworks that I really appreciated – one being John Chau’s love of adventure stories and how those have influenced people through the ages to force themselves and their beliefs onto people who have no desire to welcome the modern world, and the other being the reckoning of John’s father with his son’s religious zealotry and justification and the radical evangelistic culture that encouraged his actions.

The filmmakers do a great job of not taking a side. We get to know John as the passionate person he was through family and friend interviews, but we also learn about the affects of his impending mission and historical context from anthropologists and people who’ve experienced it first hand. They deftly show us that <i>”fine line between madness and faith”</i> in a way that invites reflection, contemplation, and hopefully conversation about the way that people on both sides of this issue feel.

I don’t think their goal was ever to take a side, but rather to help us understand the world we live in and the forces that can motivate people to do seemingly inexplicable things. In my opinion, two things can be true – John’s death was a horrible preventable tragedy and his choice to ignore the clear wishes of the Sentinelese was a dangerous, selfish decision by a man whose faith blinded him to reality.


GREEN BORDER (dir. Agnieszka Holland)

Rating:

Director Agnieszka Holland bravely defies the current political powers in her home country by dramatically showcasing the migrant crisis that exists among the forested border area between Poland and Belarus. The sprawling film follows a refugee group from Syria as they attempt to seek asylum in Poland, having been promised easy passage into the EU and used as geopolitical pawns like so many others by Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko. Along the way their story intertwines with that of an activist who is doing her best to bring attention to the inhumane treatment of the refugees at the risk of her own life and a border guard who questions and is disturbed by the unethical practices of his brainwashed colleagues. Their storylines are easy to latch onto because we want to believe that people like them exist and could eventually turn the tide. This is not an easy watch, but it is an essential one. Holland unflinchingly shows the ping pong border game in its full brutal nature. Human rights atrocities abound on both sides of the razor wire including beatings, starvation, torture, sexual assault, and a general refusal to help which leads to death. Though it does feature fantastic performances and the stark black and white photography looks incredible while accentuating the dour situation, the crisis as we’re shown feels grim and there seems to be no real hope in sight, and that is why this is critical filmmaking that goes beyond entertainment.


 

 

 

FF+ How to Have Sex/Daddio (TIFF Reviews)

This episode’s theme is films about women written and directed by women. HOW TO HAVE SEX follows a trio of teenage girls on a vacation partying in Greece, and one of their goals is to get laid. It’s a high energy coming-of-age story that oozes authenticity and ends up being powerfully challenging. DADDIO is a two-hander about the conversations a woman and her New York cab driver have on her way home from the airport, leading to personal reflection and an unexpected meaningful new relationship.

0:00 – Intro

0:53 – How to Have Sex

10:51 – Daddio

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Music: Upbeat Party – Scott Holmes Music

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FF+ Woman of the Hour/Pain Hustlers (TIFF Reviews)

The Netflix episode! These weren’t the only films at TIFF that will be released on the streaming giant’s platform, but they are two of the highest profile ones. WOMAN OF THE HOUR is beloved actress Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut and she shows incredible command behind the camera in adapting this true crime serial killer story. PAIN HUSTLERS is David Yates (of Wizarding World fame) tackling the opioid crisis in America by way of energetically examining the unethical practices of a pharmaceutical company that contributed to it becoming a thing.

0:00 – Intro

0:53 – Woman of the Hour

11:13 – Pain Hustlers

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If you like the show you can support us through Paypal. Select the link below and make your one-time or recurring contribution.