CFTCA Digest: April 2024 - Cascadian Film and Television Critics Association

Welcome to CFTCA’s monthly digest for April 2024, a roundup of recent reviews, features, interviews, and more by CTFCA critics.

Film Reviews

Civil War | Reviewed by Christopher Cross | Read the full review

“…Civil War is very much not interested in war itself. Instead, it shines a spotlight on the documentation of atrocities and the role journalism plays in that process. As a result, it is visceral as the vulnerability of a profession and its professionals comes under fire, literally, and conveys the responsibility and pressure placed upon humanity to account for its own destruction.”

Christopher writes for Asynchronous Media.

Silvicola | Reviewed by Taylor Beaumont | Read the full review

“…Silvicola is less a probing and argumentative documentary than it is a visual essay or a tone poem, and it’s as committed to its task of illuminating people’s stories as it is to wandering off to take in the scenery.”

Taylor writes for ForReel.

The Settlers | Reviewed by Eric Zhu | Read the full review

“…Often shooting with pointedly artificial lighting even as the film is shot on location, Galvez shoots grisly scenes of genocide as if they were works from the great masters (think Washington Crossing the Hudson). The method recalls the likes of Zama and especially Jauja, and Galvez builds on this South American cinematic lineage by confronting colonial mythological imagery with the brutality involved in its creation.”

Find more of Eric’s writing on The Insert.

The Fall Guy | Reviewed by Darren Zakus | Read the full review

“The Fall Guy lets off an explosive movie going experience full of breathtaking action sequences and the sensational pairing of Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt, in David Leitch’s ode to the art of filmmaking and the unsung heroes of the stunt department that kicks off this year’s summer movie season with a bang!”

Darren writes for Movie Scene Canada.

The Beast | Reviewed by Taylor Baker | Read the full review

“Bonello’s film is slow, it purposefully simmers, and as it does the cinematography masterfully utilizes repetition. His choice to use of dual language in dialogue scenes between his leads feels as fresh as Hamaguchi’s choice to do something similar with Chekhov’s ‘Uncle Vanya’ in Drive My Car.”

Find more of Taylor’s writing on Drink in the Movies.

Red Rooms | Reviewed by Dakota Arsenault | Read the full review

“Pascal Plante has made a phenomenal film, one that is in the vein of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Zodiac, You Were Never Really Here, Enemy, Wind River and others that are exhilarating to watch, but will crawl into your mind and refuse to leave.”

Find more of Dakota’s writing on the Contra Zoom Pod website.

The Last Year of Darkness | Reviewed by Michael Clawson | Read the full review

“…Swift, lively editing and mobile camerawork throughout this sequence suggests the giddy anticipation of these youth as they await the euphoric thrill of another night dancing in each other’s company. After being swept up in the rush of this intro, I was let down by the documentary’s subsequent lack of focus.”

Find more of Michael’s writing on Drink in the Movies.

Television

Doctor Who | Reviewed by Matthew Simpson | Read the full review

“What stands out about these episodes is something this critic, at least, had been missing: they are very silly. Sure, there are scary monsters, but Davies remembers that Doctor Who is ultimately a show for kids, so Gatwa and Gibson run around yelling science fiction nonsense with nothing but big smiles plastered on their faces.”

Find more of Matthew’s work on Awesome Friday or on That Shelf.

Fallout | Reviewed by Christopher Cross | Read the full review

“Unfortunately, while Fallout is a generally engaging show, and its world is a lot of fun to explore, it also loses some steam due to its underwhelming central narrative.”

Christopher writes for Asynchronous Media.

Retrospectives

Seven Samurai at 70 Years

Dakota was joined by Brian Loomis on an episode of the Contra Zoom podcast for a discussion of Kurosawa’s seminal samurai epic.

Find more episodes of the Contra Zoom podcast on their website, and listen to Brian talk about movies on the What A Picture podcast.

Best Films of 2023

On this two-part installment of the Contra Zoom podcast, Dakota and Rachel count down their favorite films of 2023. Along the way, they get plenty of help from friends of the show who sent in voicemails of their pick for their number one movie. Listen to both parts of the conversation here.

Find more episodes of the Contra Zoom podcast on their website.

Interviews

Filmmaker Jules Koostachin on Indigenous Generational Trauma & Healing With New Film WaaPaKe

Jules Koostachin talks with Thomas Stoneham-Judge about the making of this very personal documentary and the importance of awareness for the stories of survivors of the Canadian Indian residential school system. She discusses what healing looks like for indigenous descendants, and the significance of this film screening in the US as part of CASCADIA.

Find more of Thomas’ work on ForReel.

Actors Mark Prendergast & Taylor Joree Scorse Discuss Open Casting Calls and Comedy Short Main Character Energy

Mark Prendergast & Taylor Joree Scorse talk with Thomas Stoneham-Judge about working together in this comedy short, and the role their great chemistry and on set experience played in bringing the comedy of the film to life. They also discuss their own experiences with open casting calls – how scary and intimidating they can be, but how those experiences helped shape their career and their engagement with acting.

Find more of Thomas’ work on ForReel.