April 28, 2021

WIFF’s Weekend Watch List — 04/29

STRANGE WEATHER (If you want a true hidden gem) Vincent Georgie: There might be about 4 people in all of Canada that have seen…

STRANGE WEATHER

(If you want a true hidden gem)

Vincent Georgie: There might be about 4 people in all of Canada that have seen this film, and that number might be too high. Inexplicably buried and marred in all sorts of distribution issues after it appeared at TIFF 2016, this wonderful, engaging and beautifully acted vehicle starring Holly Hunter is hiding deep in your Netflix account. Dig it up – it’s a touching and enjoyable story about a mother’s endless love for her son.

Synopsis: Darcy is a college administrator whose son Walker committed suicide seven years earlier. Her only constants in life are gardening and her best friend, Byrd. After learning that Walker’s old buddy Mark stole his idea for a restaurant chain, she packs her bag, picks up Byrd and travels to New Orleans to confront him and settle the score.

Watch on iTunes

Watch on Netflix

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MID-AUGUST LUNCH

(If you want an enjoyable escape)

Vincent Georgie: One of our most dedicated WIFF fans, Linda reached out a few weeks ago to remind me of this wonderful film that’s a favourite of hers. She’s got great taste – this is a highly enjoyable, lighthearted film that was a real hit at WIFF 2009. If anyone is craving a taste of Italy (who isn’t?), this will be a new favourite of yours.

Synopsis: In Rome, Gianni leads a lazy life, a glass of wine at hand; his only job is caring for his mother in their condo. The administrator pays Gianni a visit on a hot August day because he hasn’t paid the condo fees in years; the association members want Gianni and his mother evicted. The visitor makes an offer: he wants to leave the city for ferragosto, a mid-August tradition, and asks to leave his mother in Gianni’s care in exchange for writing off some of the debt. Gianni and his mother agree to do it, and the administrator brings his mom – and his aunt. Then, Gianni’s doctor pays a call and asks the same favour. Can Gianni make the best of it, or are real surprises in store?

Watch on iTunes

HEADHUNTERS

(If you want a quality action-thriller)

Vincent Georgie: The same year that “Game of Thrones” premiered, actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau starred in this smart, bloody, and slick cat and mouse game. This is the perfect example of a very high-quality piece of film that is also exciting and entertaining. Highly recommended.

Synopsis: A successful business headhunter who secretly funds his lavish lifestyle with a sideline in art theft learns that one of his contacts has a valuable painting. He resolves to steal it, not realising the deadly world of trouble he is entering.

Watch on iTunes

Watch on YouTube

DOUBLE FEATURE

BRIAN DEPALMA STEAMY MYSTERIES

DePalma is swinging for it with these two dark, twisty and incredibly captivating mysteries. Sexy, often disturbing and very much of the 1980s, they are both done in DePalma’s excessive visual style. Have fun.

DRESSED TO KILL

Synopsis: Fashionable Manhattan therapist Dr. Robert Elliott faces the most terrifying moment of his life when a psychotic killer begins attacking the women in his life with a straight razor stolen from his office. Desperate to find the murderer before anyone else is hurt, Elliott is soon drawn into a dark and disturbing world of chilling desires. And as the doctor edges closer to the terrible truth, he finds himself lost in a provocative and deadly maze of obsession, deviance and deceit where the most harmless erotic fantasies can become the most deadly sexual nightmares!

Watch on Amazon Prime

Watch on iTunes

Watch on YouTube

BODY DOUBLE

Synopsis: Jake Scully, an unemployed actor, is asked to house-sit at a luxurious hillside apartment. As a bonus, the home offers Jake a telescopic peek into the bedroom of Gloria Revelle, who performs an arousing striptease. When Jake discovers another man is also spying on Gloria, he begins an obsessive surveillance of her. Soon a grisly murder leads him into the world of X-rated films where he meets sexy porn queen Holly Body, who is a key to the crime.