Film

There is something to be said about our culture being addicted to true stories. Especially when they involve scandals and murders. From Dateline NBC, Nancy Grace and most recently The Jinx: The Life And Deaths of Robert Durst. There are also the made for TV Movies that Lifetime produces. Even though True Story would have been great as a Lifetime movie of the month, it is on the big screen. The film stars Jonah Hill (Superbad, Moneyball, The Wolf of Wall Street) and James Franco (This is The End, 127 Hours, Spring Breakers, Instagram feeds), as well It is the Directorial Debut for Rupert Goold for this true story. 

From magical human-morphing polar bears to blazing indigo-hued birds, scary vines that spontaneously grow on their own, to dismantling a gigantic plate of solar panels, the diverse selection from ANIMAZE’s Nature and Humanity block invites you to sit down and explore your imagination in looking at the fast-changing world of Mother Nature from a different perspective. While all of these selections are captivating in their own right, here are some notable pieces that grabbed our attention:

If you have ever thought ballet dancing is all about young girls and pink frilly tutus, then think again.

This film, directed by Norwegian documentary producer Kenneth Elvebakk, follows the journey of three childhood friends all vying for their collective dream of becoming a successful professional ballet dancer. Originally released in 2014, this film was part of this year’s International Festival of Films on Art.

When Jesus brought Lazarus back to life, everyone called it a miracle. Leave it to the cool, hip, nerdy medical researchers (Mark Duplass and Olivia Wilde) to start playing god and all hell breaks loose, including the fact that they should not be playing god according to the chair board.  Science and religion are the two common motifs used in horror films, so why should The Lazarus Effect not use them to their advantage. This supernatural horror film directed by David Gelb (Jiro Dreams of Sushi) and produced from the team behind The Purge and Paranormal Activities.

Anastasia or Ana (Dakota Johnson) has already met the man of her dreams, Christian Gray (Jamie Dornan), when she awakes in his bed after he “rescued” her from being drunk at a club. Ignoring the red flags of his already insatiable desire to control her actions, her thoughts and her life, on her bedside table instructive notes are arranged as a faint evocation of the vials Alice comes face with in Wonderland. Even on a level of subconscious, we understand the written commands on paper as an invitation into the world of perversion and secrets, and it is a journey that Ana willingly undertakes - or so it seems. This initial moment of accepting fantasy, of diving into the abyss of sexual discovery are very quickly discarded.

"...filled to the brim with a whole bunch of really Drake-y ideologies."

Michael Mann’s Blackhat opens with a heavily computer generated map of the internal workings of a city nuclear power plant. Shifting perspectives, rushing along power lines and electrical circuits we are thrust into a complex interior system. As we rush into the final moments of the sequence, the lines finally run a blood red before exploding: this sets the scene for an international hacker thriller in which technology becomes a mirror for the human body as well as society itself.The incredible digital landscape of the opening sequence soars like the Beyond the Infinite sequence in 2001: A Space Odyssey - but tactile, mechanical and fragile.