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When Aaron Poole’s Film Dada is More Than Just Arthouse

There’s no easy way to categorize what Aaron Poole’s movie, Dada, is about. Just watch it for the experience.

Game Theory Films

When actor turned filmmaker Aaron Poole is making his directorial debut in Dada, this is a movie I have to check out. This talent doesn’t limit himself to genre works. When I know him for his work in The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh and The Void, I’m taking a chance at what this film he wrote and directed is going to be about.

In what I read from an interview published in Variety, “The story is a love letter and a suicide note. It was written in response to being a single father and scraping out a living in entertainment while living in a country with a history of violence and resource extraction.”

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More Love Sim than S4U: Citypunk 2011 and Love Punch

Interpersonal relationships drive and define what players must engage in with S4U: CITYPUNK 2011 AND LOVE PUNCH. It’s less about being in front of the computer and more on what smelling the roses must mean in this unique indie video game.

To play through a video game that is more hypertext driven than graphical can be a hard sell these days. Although the graphics are few and far between in S4U: Citypunk 2011 And Love Punch, thankfully there is some when the avatar decides to leave the computer. Just what U0U Games‘ latest product represents is quaint and a test of patience since reading all the dialogue is important.

Technically, you’re interacting in an environment reminiscent of ICQ and those older chat programs before the coming of Facebook. The world is circa 2010, but I don’t remember the graphical user interface that dated. While navigating that old operating system took getting used to, memories of dealing with Windows 98 were once a nightmare! Although the retro elements are rather heartwarming, is it enough to keep me going?

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To Die Alone is a Fear Much Worse Then Facing an Unknown Future

When the future of humanity is uncertain, to Die Alone is much worse since that thought must have crossed the minds of many during the COVID-19 pandemic. When humans are social animals, we can’t just simply isolate ourselves from the world at large.

Die Alone Movie Poster Lowell Dean is really knocking it out of the park with two releases this year. His latest, Die Alone, concerns how to go on with life when that soulmate goes missing. In what Dark Match (movie review) offered was a look at trust amongst teammates in a literal fight against one another to the death in order to summon a demon. Both movies play on what’s most important, relationships, and add in the terror later.

Ultimately, it’s more of a survival drama seen through Ethan (Douglas Smith)’s eyes. He doesn’t know what’s going on because, during part of the narrative, he’s questioning why he can’t leave the farm. As a person who has moments of memory loss, that can be dangerous. He wants to be reunited with his wife, Emma (Kimberly-Sue Murray), but Mae (Carrie-Anne Moss) is keeping him close, and he’s not comfortable with that.

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Zoe Lister-Jones’ Slip is Sweetly Funny than Scary When Hungry Ghosts are Referenced

Despite the dimension hopping going on, trying to lay down evidence Slips through the cracks in this well meaning comedy.

Now Playing on Roku

Mae Cannon (Zoe Lister-Jones) is not happy, and she wishes for change. When her current marriage with Elijah (Whitmer Thomas) is devoid of romance, the world she Slip (without the s) into–which is also the title of this character-driven comedy–is different after each one-night stand.

In each episode, she Quantum Leaps into another version of herself. At first, she tries to figure out what’s going on, and although I disagree with her idea, my theory has better weight so she won’t fall down again. Unlike that NBC series, she has no mission to right a wrong, and the situation gets quirkier as she questions why this latest relationship matters. The story by Lister-Jones gets stranger, and it has to be binge-watched to appreciate the various character arcs going on.

The people Mae meets change each episode, and for the most part, the series considers what makes life worth living for than to stay dragged in the mud. This talent is also great at looking bewildered at the start of her next leap after she has an orgasm. Ultimately, she’ll have to decide if returning to her reality is worthwhile than sticking to the one she’s at.

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How to Ride On into an Epic Sunset with Jackie Chan, and Company

Larry Yang’s film, Ride On, nicely balances a multi genre narrative where it brings The Fall Guy and Free Willy to the fore and still deliver a lot of fantastic Jackie Chan moments.

Well GO USA
Playing at Select Cinemas near you
Mild Spoiler Alert

Jackie Chan‘s best films are often about family rather than the action, and when his latest deals with mending hearts, I was immediately hooked! Ride On is quite the emotional roller coaster. This story written and directed by Larry Yang (who made the very pet friendly Adoring) examines the life of Luo (Chan), an old stuntman and why raising Red Hare, his stunt horse, matters more.

These days, he’s past his prime and barely able to make a living as a busker at the studio he once worked at. His accolades also include two individuals learning how to become stunt persons like him. They all know the rewards and the risks, but alas, to create that movie magic sometimes means being prepared for the worst. The team camaraderie they have is like what I fondly recall from the 80s action program, The Fall Guy.

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Riceboy Sleeps, More than just an Immigrant Song

To watch a film shot in classical format, in 16mm, is a rare treat these days, and it certainly adds an air of authenticity to Anthony Shim’s Riceboy Sleeps.

Playing in select Cineplex theatres across Canada

Anthony Shim’s Riceboy Sleeps is a very sweet and melodramatic movie. It’ll certainly have some Asian youths thinking about their relationship with their parents. That’s because this filmmaker drew heavily upon his own experiences to tell a compelling tale about life, hardship and how to live. It also reflects upon what some immigrants must have faced in the 80s when trying to raise children in a world that’s still relatively foreign to them.

When So-young (Seung-yoon Choi) wants to make a fresh start in Vancouver, BC with her son Dong-Hyun (played by child-actor Dohyun Noel Hwang and teen Ethan Hwang) who’s ready to rebel, trying to connect is tough. He has his problems and she has hers. It’s less about the communication barriers, but more to do with not having a father figure around.

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