Set in the 1990s, Lucid, which had its world premiere at Fantasia Festival, follows Mia (Caitlin Acken Taylor, Pistol), a messy and frustrated art student who is struggling to pass a crucial point in the term. Her professor is hard to please and requires her to create “something with heart” in just one week. Feeling…
Reviews
Fantasia 2025 Review: Sweetness
Sweetness, which had its Canadian premiere at Fantasia Festival last night, opens on 16-year-old Rylee (Kate Hallett, Woman Talking), who is sitting on her bed underneath the warm glow of fairy lights. She’s watching a video on how to seduce men and practicing the lines herself. Above her, the walls and ceiling are plastered with…
Book Review: House of Beth by Kerry Cullen
After finding her boss dead in the New York office, Cassie suddenly ghosts her job, breaks up with her girlfriend Lavender, and flees to her hometown in New Jersey. Here, she reconnects with her high school best friend, Eli, who is now a widowed father of two. Their bond reignites and, within a few short…
Book Review: An Ancient Witch’s Guide to Modern Dating
Thorn Scarhart is a 39-year-old witch who’s having trouble finding love in the 17th century. After the disappearance of her sister and the loss of her mother, Thorn was too caught up to focus on dating. Despite the local matchmaker’s efforts and Thorn’s arsenal of powerful love potions, she fears she may have missed her…
Book Review: The Bombshell by Darrow Farr
Darrow Farr’s debut novel, The Bombshell, is unlike anything I’ve ever read. Set in Corsica, 1993, 17-year-old Séverine Guimard—the pampered daughter of a French politician—is counting down the days until graduation. Séverine knows she is destined for bigger things and dreams of becoming a famous actress. One evening, she is kidnapped by Soffiu di Libertà,…
Review: Chosen Family
Heather Graham’s sophomore feature film, Chosen Family, which she both wrote and directed, tells a universal story. Ann (Graham) is a yoga instructor who keeps failing into the same bad patterns in both her familial and romantic relationships. Being around her family is exhausting. Her father (Michael Gross) is a religious zealot who is constantly…
Review: Renner
Computer genius Renner (Frankie Muniz) has developed an artificial intelligence named Salenus (voiced by Marcia Gay Harden). Functioning as a life coach, her number one directive is to increase Renner’s assertiveness so he can talk to his attractive new neighbour, Jamie (Violett Beane). After some initial awkwardness on Renner’s part, the pair agree to have…
Review: Blackwater Lane
Blackwater Lane opens with gorgeous shots of the landscape belongings to Elsing Hall, a medieval mansion in Norfolk. In the film, it’s called Crawford House and is home to teacher Cass (Minka Kelly, The Roommate) and her husband Matthew (Dermot Mulroney, My Best Friend’s Wedding), who is a successful businessman. He’s asleep in one room…
Review: Hot Frosty
When we meet widow Kathy (Lacey Chabert), she is struggling to stay warm in her apartment, switching quickly from blanket to coat on her way to the diner she owns. A note reminding her to call the repairman to fix the heating goes ignored yet again. While taking a stroll outside that evening, Kathy sees…
Review: Our Little Secret
Our Little Secret begins with the backstory of Logan (Ian Harding) and Avery (Lindsay Lohan), childhood best-friends-turned-lovers, told—for some reason—through animation. Then, it’s 2014 and Avery is moving to London for her dream job, which Logan struggles to accept. He thinks she’s running away from her father and childhood home following her mother’s death. After…