Category Drama

July 2, 2018, Posted in  Documentary, Drama, Film News, Film Trailers Comments: No comments

Won’t You Be My Neighbor 

Director: Morgan Neville

Starring: Fred Rogers, Joanne Rogers, Betty Aberlin, Francois Clemmons, David Newell

A review by Jon Caron

Won’t You Be My Neighbor affected me far more than any other film I can think of in recent years. It has stirred a lot of memories and feelings inside of me that I have either chosen to put aside or suppress entirely. This review is going to get personal. I never get personal. Some of the closest people to me only know vague details of my upbringing, it’s something that while I acknowledge had a substantial part in forming who I am as a person, I choose not to dwell on or use it as either a crutch or some kind of ‘I overcame’ type story. It’s just my life...

August 22, 2016, Posted in  Action, Animation, Drama Comments: No comments

A Review by Jon Caron

Director: Travis Knight
Writer: Shannon Tindle, Marc Haimes
Starring: Art Parkinson, Charlize Theron, George Takei, Matthew McConaughey, Ralph Fiennes, Rooney Mara

“If you must blink, do it now. Pay careful attention to everything you see no matter how unusual it may seem. If you look away, even for an instant, then our hero will surely perish.“

These days it is so very rare that an animated film crosses the threshold of becoming more than just a kids film, but a film for anyone of any age to enjoy. Kubo and the Two Strings manages to do this with such effortlessness, that one can only hope that relative newcomer Laika Studios (ParaNorman, Coraline, Boxtrolls), sees another success with this film and can continue on creating such beautiful stop motion wonderment...

August 4, 2016, Posted in  Comedy, Drama, Film Trailers Comments: No comments

A Review by Jon Caron

Writer/Director: Matt Ross

Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Frank Langella, Kathryn Hahn, Steve Zahn

To paraphrase a line from the film, “That’s the plot, tell me how it made you FEEL.” So, without regurgitating too deeply on what Captain Fantastic is about, I will attempt to do just that…tell you how it made me feel. This is no easy task mind you, a film this deeply layered with philosophy, beauty and unabashed intellect, could be discussed for days. This is not just one of the best films of 2016, this is one of the best films ever made. Period.

In summation, Viggo Mortensen (Ben) is a super badass, hippy genius, who has been living in the woods for the better part of two decades along with his brood of seven children and up until recently ill wife, who now stays in a hos...

February 22, 2016, Posted in  Drama, Horror, Thriller Comments: No comments

Writer/Director: Robert Eggers

Starring: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Innerson, Katie Dick, Harvey Crimshaw, Lucas Dawson, Ellie Grainger

  “Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?”

First, let’s realign expectations to alleviate misconceptions. The hype machine packaging the 2015 Sundance hit THE WITCH has focused solely on the horror element of this multi-faceted experience. It’s understandable that in order to gain exposure and profit, a tiny production (the budget was around 3.5 million) must latch onto whatever momentum building advertising is exploitable. When horror master and recognizable brand name Stephen King tweets “The Witch scared the hell out of me. And it’s a real movie, tense and thought-provoking as well as visceral...

January 18, 2016, Posted in  Action, Animation, Comedy, Drama, Film Lists, Film News, Film Trailers, Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller Comments: 2 comments

Frakking Favourite 25 Films of 2015

Sicario Poster

The frakker saw 91 films in 2015 and though there were some outright duds (TERMINATOR GENYSIS, SELF-LESS, THE VISIT) and failed to meet expectations disappointments (EVEREST, TALES OF HALLOWEEN, TRAINWRECK) for the most part it was a golden year in cinema. That I had to make a top 25 and then add an additional 20 plus titles to the honorable mentions is proof of the good time that was had in the darkened movie house this past 12 months. Now the preamble is done, there is just one more thing that I need to get out of the way before we can begin….

Stand alone favourite: STAR WARS; THE FORCE AWAKENS

Let’s be honest here, as a lifelong STAR WARS obsessed nut trying to be “objective” about the film franchise that made me a cinephile is as futi...

February 22, 2015, Posted in  Action, Animation, Comedy, Drama, Film Lists, Film News, Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller Comments: No comments

The 87th Academy Awards: The Official Fraker 2015 Oscar Selections

The 87th Academy Awards Predictions

It’s that time again where the Academy Awards buffer up against my obsessive cinematic addiction. It’s a date where my own adoration and love for the medium sees negativity hit its apex. It’s also a night where my own masochistic tendencies are in full view as a misguided sense of obligation to arguably the most meaningless and superficial of all the political awards shows sees me tuning in for inevitable torture.

As hard as I have tried since 1997 (the year I finally realized how little quality had to do with prize winners) I can never make it to the Best Picture announcement as the gossip magazine style approach just reaches unbearable levels...

January 27, 2015, Posted in  Drama, Science Fiction, Short Films Comments: No comments

SHORT FILMS OF THE MOMENT: Often overlooked, short films seldom get the attention they deserve outside of the festival circuit. By design their economic storytelling means that focused exploration of ideas and a connection with the audience needs to be established in a limited running time. At their best they reward the viewer in a way that feature length films often struggle achieving a level of constant engagement through honed pacing. Sometimes used to showcase talent or experiment with conceptual or visual inspirations, hopefully FilmFrak can draw your attention to the artists and their works floating around virtual space with this section.

Banner for the multi-award winning short film HENRi

HENRi (2012)

Proving that good things can eventuate from Kickstarter funded projects, HENRi is ...

January 25, 2015, Posted in  Action, Animation, Comedy, Drama, Film Lists, Film Trailers, Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller Comments: One comment

Top 30 Most Fraking Anticipated Films of 2015

2014 was a banner year in the Bender house in cinema and 2015 shows a James Leer level of promise. After some Lebowski like investigation (read into that what you will) I’ve managed to detect 54 attractions that put a twinkle in my eye of varied brightness. Of those discoveries, 24 could be labeled wild card’s which leaves the magic 30 that I now present to you the reader with the proviso that they stimulate my own sensibilities and I hope yours too.

As the calendar year has already begun note worthy omissions from this list include the magnificence that is Paul Thomas Anderson’s detective yarn INHERENT VICE which I’ve been fortunate enough to already experience. (Subtle subtext I know...

December 31, 2014, Posted in  Action, Animation, Comedy, Drama, Film Lists, Film Trailers, Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller Comments: 2 comments

Fraking Favourite 20 Films of 2014

I’m just going to state it upfront, 2014 has been the best fraking year in cinema in over a decade as far as I’m concerned. Spoilt for choice, the quality enticements have spanned all genres, budgets and distribution methods. That means that in compiling this list I had to make some truly painful, SOPHIE’S CHOICE type sacrifices with many fine achievements omitted.

I managed to see a total of 73 new releases this year, a far cry from the over 100 titles I used to cross off when I was a professional film journalist with all the complimentary VIP perks that entailed. The rub is that a handful of potential highlights have not been screened at the time of publication. (BOYHOOD, WHIPLASH and INTERSTELLAR being the big 3 I have yet to see)...

August 12, 2014, Posted in  Comedy, Drama, From the John Doe Vault Comments: No comments

Before I was the Fraker I was John Doe and like everything else in this universe all cinema itself is interconnected on a molecular level. Slowly over time I plan to import many of my older reviews over to this new site under the banner of FROM THE VAULT. The format is simple, anytime I review a film here and it can be thematically (actor, Director, narrative etc) linked to a previous critique from the old site I will be sharing. When a review or article can coincide with a real world event like a retro-screening, personal curiosity or current event can be reflected, transfers happen.

Farewell Robin Williams

Today Robin Williams died. My heart is broken. Depression often comes with tormented genius and the psychological pain he suffered must have been as immense as his talent...