May 03, 2024

WIFF’S WEEKEND WATCH LIST — 5/3

Check out our recommendations of what to watch this weekend.

if you WANT A SMART SUMMER COMEDY

THE WAY WAY BACK

Vincent Georgie: As the month of May has arrived, it’s time to get jump into Summer films with this fresh, hip Summer vacation comedy with an absolutely terrific ensemble cast. Toni Collette and Sam Rockwell steal the show here.

Synopsis: Duncan (Liam James) is an awkward teen who must spend the summer at a beach house with his mother (Toni Collette), her boyfriend, Trent (Steve Carell), and Trent’s obnoxious daughter. Trent can’t resist badgering Duncan, so the youth steals away to a water park and gets a job that will help him stay off Trent’s radar. As Duncan tends to the slides and pools of the aging park, he finds a father figure in wisecracking park manager Owen (Sam Rockwell) at a time when he desperately needs one.

Available on Apple TV, Crave, YouTube and Amazon Prime.

if you WANT A TOUCHING ROMANCE

STILL MINE

Vincent Georgie: WIFF 2012’s Closing Film was a tender, sensitive and joyous romantic drama. A beautiful story of endless, ageless love. From Canadian Filmmaker Michael McGowan.

Synopsis: A farmer (James Cromwell) fights back when local authorities hamper his efforts to build a cottage for his dementia-stricken wife (Geneviève Bujold).

Available on Crave and Amazon Prime.

if you want a CHALLENGING drama

THE WHITE RIBBON

Vincent Georgie: Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke won his first Palme d’Or for this austere, menacing and intellectually intriguing World War I film. Nominated for 2 Oscars, this film was shared with our audience at WIFF 2009.

Synopsis: Using their social status and harsh punishments, a baron (Ulrich Tukur), a doctor (Rainer Bock) and a pastor (Burghart Klaussner) rule over a small German village. One day, the doctor falls off his horse after it trips over a wire strung between two trees. More pranks follow, seemingly without reason, all directed at the village’s upper class and growing increasingly more brutal with time. There are no suspects, but a local schoolteacher (Christian Friedel) has his suspicions.

Available on Apple TV, YouTube and Amazon Prime.

DOUBLE FEATURE

ALL HAIL, JIM CARREY

Vincent Georgie: No performer will have 3 monster smash comedy hits released this year or in any other year, in the same way that Jim Carrey exploded onto the scene in 1994. On top of his seminal Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, let’s take a look at his elaborate work opposite Cameron Diaz and Jeff Daniels, respectively. 30 years later, nobody has had a faster rise in global popularity than Carrey.

THE MASK

When timid bank clerk Stanley Ipkiss (Jim Carrey) discovers a magical mask containing the spirit of the Norse god Loki, his entire life changes. While wearing the mask, Ipkiss becomes a supernatural playboy exuding charm and confidence which allows him to catch the eye of local nightclub singer Tina Carlyle (Cameron Diaz). Unfortunately, under the mask’s influence, Ipkiss also robs a bank, which angers junior crime lord Dorian Tyrell (Peter Greene), whose goons get blamed for the heist.

Available on Apple TV, Netflix, Crave, YouTube andAmazon Prime.

DUMB AND DUMBER

Imbecilic best friends Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) and Harry Dunne (Jeff Daniels) stumble across a suitcase full of money left behind in Harry’s car by Mary Swanson (Lauren Holly), who was on her way to the airport. The pair decide to go to Aspen, Colo., to return the money, unaware that it is connected to a kidnapping. As Harry and Lloyd — who has fallen in love with Mary — are pursued across the country by hired killers and police, they find both their friendship and their brains tested.