Author: Caitlin Abe Gokool

• The Zone of Interest [TIFF 2023]

  

  How do we recognize evil around us? How do we know that what we have been taught and what we believe is not continuing this evil around us? Jonathan Glazer’s latest film, The Zone of Interest, poses these questions in its exploration of the Holocaust and World War II following the life of a Nazi…

  Caitlin Abe Gokool

  September 16, 2023

• The End We Start From [TIFF 2023]

  

  It’s easy for an adaptation of a piece of writing to lose character depth or interiority in the translation between media forms. Especially for stories featuring a single protagonist who is largely on their journey alone, each filmmaker’s different approach to overcoming this obstacle is unique. For Megan Hunter’s novel The End We Start From,…

  Caitlin Abe Gokool

  September 14, 2023

• Lee [TIFF 2023]

  

  In what is continuing to be the year of the biopic comes Lee (2023), a passion project of star Kate Winslet directed by Ellen Kuras. Winslet plays Lee Miller, the model turned World War II photographer known for her historical documentation of Europe after the war. Focussing on some of the most prolific years of…

  Caitlin Abe Gokool

  September 11, 2023

• Quiz Lady [TIFF 2023]

  

  Following her direction of many television shows and documentary films, as well as her 1996 Oscar win for Best Documentary Short Subject, director Jessica Yu next tackles the fairly underrepresented topic of the sister comedy. Her film, Quiz Lady, stars Awkwafina and Sandra Oh as two sisters who could not be more different. After learning…

  Caitlin Abe Gokool

  September 10, 2023

• Bottoms

  

  From director Emma Seligman of Shiva Baby (2020) comes the latest raunchy, horny, and bloody coming-of-age teen film, Bottoms (2023). Compared by many to so many films come before including Easy A (2010), Superbad (2007), and Booksmart (2019), Seligman takes the seeds planted by those before her in the teen comedy, embraces the messy, and…

  Caitlin Abe Gokool

  September 9, 2023

• Woman of the Hour [TIFF 2023]

  

  In her directorial debut, Anna Kendrick tackles the real life story of serial killer Rodney Alcala’s appearance on a 1978 episode of The Dating Game amidst his almost decade-long killing spree. Focussing largely on Cheryl Bradshaw, the bachelorette of the game played by director Kendrick, this main story is intercut with multiple scenes tracking Alcala’s…

  Caitlin Abe Gokool

  September 8, 2023

• You Are So Not Invited To My Bat Mitzvah

  

  Adam Sandler’s dad jokes finally seem to hit that much harder now that he is tackling what seems to be his most personal role yet. The role of a father to his own real life daughters, Sunny and Sadie. Based on the book of the same name by author Fiona Rosenbloom, You Are So Not…

  Caitlin Abe Gokool

  September 6, 2023

• Susie Searches

  

  Being recognized in person is one thing, but in these days, online fame seems to be everyone’s final goal. Sophie Kargman’s newest film, Susie Searches, attempts to dive deeper into this phenomenon, through protagonist Susie, a college student with a passion for true crime and a podcast to share her thoughts. While failing to attract…

  Caitlin Abe Gokool

  September 3, 2023

• Theater Camp

  

  It is refreshing to see films that really seem to “get” the people they are portraying, and Theatre Camp (2023) is one that knows what its doing. Based on the short film from 2020 of the same title directed by Nick Lieberman, the 2023 feature-length film Theater Camp, directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman…

  Caitlin Abe Gokool

  August 31, 2023

• The Super Mario Bros. Movie

  

  Amidst ongoing discussions of ever-growing cinematic universes, fan service, and easter eggs far too often taking precedence over plot and character development, The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023), directed by Michael Jelenic and Aaron Horvath exists in a unique space in between. Following Mario and his Brother Luigi as they are transported to a magical…

  Caitlin Abe Gokool

  August 28, 2023