After months of waiting, it’s finally here—the holiest of weeks for Canadian film buffs—the Toronto International Film Festival (or TIFF, as it’s colloquially known). From September 8th to the 18th, Toronto is transformed into a mecca for moviegoers and celebrity sightings. Out of the many films premiering, here is a[Read More…]
Film and TV
Stranger Things and The Americans: The Cold War on TV
With its 1980s pop culture nostalgia, Netflix’s Stranger Things feels comforting and familiar, yet unlike anything else on television. Stranger Things is based on a simple premise: One night after riding his bike home a kid named Will Byers goes missing from Hawkins, Indiana, a small midwestern town. Strongly influenced[Read More…]
The Apology: More than just a number
Statistics illustrate the gravity of a situation from the scope of its impact—for instance, over 200,000 women and girls, euphemistically termed ‘comfort women,’ were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Imperial Army during the Second World War. Yet, the individuals affected by these circumstances often get lost in the[Read More…]
Pop Rhetoric: Blockbusters may be predicting the 2016 US election
It's been pointed out many times that art imitates life, but sometimes the resemblance can be alarmingly uncanny. With the release of this summer’s highly anticipated Captain America: Civil War, Hollywood has given us yet another superhero movie that seems to perfectly capture the tone of the ongoing American presidential[Read More…]
Pop Rhetoric: John Hughes and ‘80s auteur relevance
In 1984, the world was introduced to a director who would leave a monumental impact on the American film industry. John Hughes made his writer-directorial debut with the underdog comedy Sixteen Candles. Having already written films such as Mr. Mom and National Lampoon’s Vacation, Hughes took his filmmaking one step[Read More…]
Has “How to Get Away with Murder” lost its pizazz?
How to Get Away with Murder just finished its second season, and so far it is not at all impressive. What started as a ground-breaking and provocative television series is rapidly becoming mundane and vapid. This was expected, however, seeing as Shonda Rhimes is the executive producer of the show.[Read More…]
Flashback: Ikiru (1952)
“A man dying of cancer searches for life meaning.” When condensed into this single phrase, the plot of Ikiru seems trite and simple. Yet renowned director Akira Kurosawa is an original storyteller who uses this familiar narrative to create an existential masterpiece. The opening shot of the film is an[Read More…]
Video Games in Education: Turning GPA into EXP
In an era where social media sites are dominated by the likes of Farmville, bars and pubs increasingly entice patrons with the prospect of some drunken Dance Dance Revolution, and even the elderly have been swept by the rush of Candy Crush, video games have successfully expanded beyond their niche[Read More…]
Spotted: McGill in the movies
When you’re trying to make it to your 8:30 a.m. lectures on a freezing cold February morning, it’s hard to imagine that McGill resembles the bowels of the Pentagon or a military base during the zombie apocalypse. Yet in the past, Hollywood has managed to transform locations around campus into[Read More…]
Fokus Film Festival showcases student creativity
Time and time again McGill students prove that the lack of a formal visual arts department is in no way an obstacle to fantastic productions. Fokus Film Festival is just one example of the wealth of creativity at this school, and as the only festival of its kind the submissions[Read More…]
