Arrival (2016) – Denis Villeneuve

First contact. The interpretation of words. How we communicate both person to person, and mass media. The very perception of our existence. These are all at work in Canadian director Villeneuve’s latest film. A hard science fiction tale that eschews lasers and space battles for deeper concepts like the way we interact and understand one…

Into the Wild (2007) – Sean Penn

  The final recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my screening of American Beauty is this drama that casts Emile Hirsch in the role of Christopher McCandless. A top student, a promising athlete, Christopher, upon his graduation from Emory University, gives away his money to charity, and begins a…

Jungle Cat World – June 2015

  My first trip to Jungle Cat World was part of my 40th birthday celebrations, and at that time, my hopes had included having the experience of being able to pet a tiger. The specific tiger I’d hoped to meet was Nadine, but she was off-site that day, so even though I was disappointed, I…

Hot Docs 2015: Planetary – Guy Reid

  Yesterday morning, I sat down and watched perhaps the singularly most important film that is screening at Hot Docs this year, and if you’re not in Toronto, you can track down this film online, as it was released internationally on Earth Day. Over the past century, man has advanced and for the first time,…