It’s the weekend again, and that means Film Focus. Here’s Mike Laidman with what’s new in local theaters.
It’s often during the dog days of summer that Hollywood takes a break from the big blockbusters and opens movies that are less than spectacular. But no matter how bad the drivel, there are always a few gems that shine through.

The dog days are well behind us now, but one of today’s movies actually opened months ago overseas, and is finding its way here now. The Gift was a summer surprise, a well-received thriller that is smart and playfully subversive.

With autumn coming on fast, the bigger movies are going to start making a play, and one of the first to come is Everest, a dramatic adventure set 8,800 metres up in the air.

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Mike Laidman

Welcome to another edition of Film Focus. I’m Mike Laidman.

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The Gift (2015, Joel Edgerton)
A man begins leaving strange gifts for a young married couple.

The trailer for The Gift is definitely intriguing, and had me wanting to see the film to find out Simon’s secret. What secret? Check this out:

Simon and Robyn are a young married couple whose life is going just as planned until a chance encounter with an acquaintance from Simon's high school sends their world into a tailspin. Simon doesn't recognize Gordo at first, but after a series of uninvited encounters and mysterious gifts prove troubling, a horrifying secret from the past is uncovered after more than 20 years. Now, Robyn is learning the unsettling truth about what happened between Simon and Gordo all those years ago.

The whole ‘strange man enters nice couple’s life’ thing has been done before. But here, it starts off in familiar ground, and then breaks all the rules. If you’re into thrillers, put this on your must-see list.


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Everest (2015, Baltasar Kormakur)
A Mt. Everest expedition is devastated by a severe snowstorm.

On the morning of May 10, 1996, climbers from two expeditions start their final ascent toward the summit of Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. With little warning, a violent storm strikes the mountain, engulfing the adventurers in one of the fiercest blizzards ever encountered by man. Challenged by the harshest conditions imaginable, the teams must endure blistering winds and freezing temperatures in an epic battle to survive against nearly impossible odds.

This is what you want in a climbing movie: dizzying cinematography and breathtaking vistas, all wrapped up in enough drama and thrills to make you feel like you’re along for the ride, over 8,000 metres, up in thin air.