CFTCA Digest: March 2024 - Cascadia Film & TV Critics Association

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

Film Reviews

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire | Reviewed by Darren Zakus | Read the full review

“Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire is an entertaining return of the iconic ghost hunting team thanks to the rush of nostalgia that guides the film, when combined with the returning cast members of the previous film in the series and the original cast, ensures that there is tons of fun to be had with the film’s comedic moments, perilous danger and the occasional jump scare.”

Darren writes for Movie Scene Canada.

Road House | Reviewed by Matthew Simpson, Simon Best, & Dakota Arsenault | Read the full review

Fellow CFCTA member Dakota Arsenault joins Matthew & Simon to discuss the 1980s classic Road House and the 2024 remake Road House.

Listen to the conversation

Find more episodes of the Awesome Friday podcast on their website.

Find more of Dakota’s work at Contra Zoom.

Dune II | Reviewed by Thomas Stoneham-Judge & Matthew Simpson

Thomas and Matthew joined Nick Rehak and Nicole Ayers on The LAMBCast to discuss the latest from Denis Villeneuve.

Listen to the conversation.

Find more of Matthew’s work on Awesome Friday.

Find more of Thomas’ work on ForReel.

Perfect Days | Reviewed by Taylor Beaumont | Read the full review

“Wim Wenders’ Perfect Days isn’t telling you how to live; the film is showing you how someone else has figured out to live, parsing out in a measured but poetic sequencing scenes from a stabler side of life…”

Taylor writes for ForReel.

Things Will Be Different | Reviewed by Christopher Cross | Read the full review

“Michael Felker’s Things Will Be Different finds the middle ground between both and serves up a heady science fiction delight where the puzzle seems solvable, but the resolution remains at a distance. Grounded and propulsive in its execution, Felker’s feature directorial debut is an exciting and thoughtful handling of loss and the endless pursuit of closure.”

Christopher writes for Asynchronous Media.

The Beast | Reviewed by Marta Djordjevic

Marta offers her take on the new film from Bertrand Bonello.

Listen to the review on Instagram.

Find more of Marta’s work through her website.

Love Lies Bleeding | Reviewed by Bill Harris

Bill discussed Rose Glass’ horror film on episode 315 of the After the Credits Podcast.

Listen to the review.

Find other episodes of the podcast on the After the Credits website.

Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell | Reviewed by Eric Zhu | Read the full review

“Practically everyone who’s written about Pham Thien An’s Camera D’or winning Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell has written about its litany of contemporary East Asian influences. This makes sense not just because the film wears its references on its sleeve, but also because the ways these influences do and don’t mix informs Cocoon Shell’s shortcomings…”

Find more of Eric’s writing on The Insert.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire | Reviewed by Nick Tiffany | Read the full review

“…Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire felt far longer than its advertised two-hour runtime and you can attribute a large portion of that to the uneven pacing that quietly reveals where the priorities are in this film. In a perfect world this story would have been solely focused on Kong and the other Apes, yet Godzilla was practically forced into the storyline if only to bring in fans of the monster…”

Find more of Nick’s work on his website.

The Taste of Things | Reviewed by Michael Clawson | Read the full review

“Food and human connection go hand in hand in The Taste of Things, a sensual period piece that I did not much care for. For all of its resplendent displays of a sunlit kitchen, of steaming, picture-perfect dishes and delighted epicureans, the movie’s wedding of culinary and romantic passion is dull…”

Michael writes for Drink in the Movies.

The Zone of Interest and Spaceman | Reviewed by Matthew Simpson & Simon Best

On the Awesome Friday podcast, Matthew and Simon discussed Jonathan Glazer’s Academy Award-nominated film and Johan Renck’s Adam Sandler starring existential sci-fi drama.

Listen to the conversation.

Find more episodes of the Awesome Friday podcast on their website.

The Oscars 2024 | 96th Academy Awards

2024 Oscar Wrap Up

On the Contra Zoom podcast, Dakokta Arsenault and Todd Pengelly recap the Academy Awards. Hear their takes on the big winners, best dressed, best performances and more.

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

Interviews

David Dastmalchian Talks Lead Role In Horror Hit Late Night with the Devil

David Dastmalchian – actor in mega blockbusters like The Dark Knight, The Suicide Squad, Dune, and Oppenheimer – talks with Thomas Stoneham-Judge about his acting style and overcoming fear in taking on this horror film role. David also addresses AI in entertainment in the wake of controversy surrounding the production and use of AI images.

Find more of Thomas’ work on ForReel.