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…
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…
Fantasia 2025: My Most Anticipated Films
Fantasia International Film Festival, held in the heart of Montreal, is back for its 29th edition next week, running from 16 July to 3 August, and I’m delighted to be back providing remote coverage for my fourth year. Described as a juxtaposition between pop culture and alternative cinema, the festival showcases a broad range of…
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…
Ginny and Georgia: Max’s Heartbreaking Storyline
Contains major spoilers for Ginny and Georgia season 3. Netflix’s Ginny and Georgia has explored serious and complex themes since the very beginning, but its latest season is the heaviest yet. Season 2 ended with Marcus (Felix Mallard) breaking up with Ginny (Antonia Gentry) due to his worsening depression, which continues to decline during season…
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,…
The Princess Diaries Books and Film Differences
In June 2024, I finished reading the first 11 books in The Princess Diaries series and it got me thinking about the differences between the books and the films. This listicle was written back then and I have no idea why I didn’t end up publishing it, so here it is! And I know this…
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…
Book Review: Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley
Holly Brickley’s debut novel, Deep Cuts, follows Percy Marks, a music lover with no musical talent of her own, as she navigates the 2000s. At a Berkeley campus bar during the fall of 2000, Percy is indulging in one of her most annoying traits: pontificating about music, this time Hall and Oates. Instead of the…