Stories by Christina Stimpson

Christina Stimpson

Christina Stimpson is a day dreamer slash hipster film snob who lives in Montreal’s Mile-end, and yes, she speaks French. Christina has a B.F.A in Art History and Film Studies which helps her post pretty pictures on tumblr while simultaneously devouring everything independent, urban, feminist, experimental, noir and generally lovely. She is a part-time writer of short (funny/sad) fiction and has a serious crush on Harmony Korine.

Isn’t It Femmantic? – A Film Review of ‘Frances Ha’

Frances Ha poster Noah Baumbach

I have a problem with the word platonic. It defines something that is way more interesting than what it seems to be. Male friendships have now become widely accepted as a ‘Bromances’, yet the bond between females, equally as deep and meaningful, is stuck being defined by the old lifeless descriptor, platonic. A non-sexual love. Snoozer. I’m hoping Greta Gerwig, the lead in Noah Baumbach’s newest film Frances Ha, will be remembered as the femme that helped shed platonic from its drab and stuffy skin. Be it, ‘Femships’ or ‘Bromances’, Frances Ha, actualizes what every woman feels inside for her best friend, love in its lightest form.

Continue reading this post…

On the Fringe of Genre – A Film Review of ‘Upstream Color’

Upstream Color_poster

Thoughtful filmmakers intent on making engaging experimental films in today’s cinematic climate are fearless. Only a handful of filmmakers, able to uncover the balance between formal abstraction and narrative fluff, succeed in making films that are a cut above the rest. Harmony Korine of course rules this utopia, as does David Lynch, Michel Gondry and to a certain extent Terrance Malick, with his rapturous depiction of regeneration. Hopefully, Shane Carruth, the writer, director and star, of his second film Upstream Color, will become the newest, most promising member of this crew.

Continue reading this post…

‘Stranded’ by Sitka

‘Stranded’ by Sitka

‘Stranded’ by Sitka

Life can get hectic, and sometimes I wish being stranded on a desert island was an option… for like, a weekend. I would catch-up on some reading, get a tan, think about life, maybe play some cards. In essence, I would re-group. The one thing I wouldn’t expect to think about would be what I was wearing, and if my clothes were in season. The west coast based surf and skate shop Sitka, has put some serious thought into the desert island dream for the concept of their Fall/Winter 2013 ad campaign with Stranded, a short film directed by Benjamin Schuetze and Ben Gulliver.

The production on Stranded is phenomenal. For at least 6 of the 8 minute film, it had me fashionably duped before I realized I was essentially watching a commercial. Stranded is a novel and a seriously fun way that Sitka’s brand can reach farther than any print campaign possibly could

Film Art: The posters of Akiko Stehrenberger

Funny Games a film by Akiko Stehrenberger

Before any discussion of the poster for Funny Games ensues, I must emphasize that the German turned American film, by Austrian filmmaker Michael Haneke, is without a doubt a terrifying, horror movie. Funny Games is grotesque, actually, with very sinister undertones and a fair bit of gore. In designing a poster for this film, L.A. based creative Akiko Stehrenberger, made a definitive choice. Rather than funnel perception of the film toward a bloody and bone chilling horror mess, Stehrenberger focused the branding toward a clean and minimal approach, one that is rarely seen within the horror genre.

Continue reading this post…

Sociopathic Pop Misfits – A Film Review of ‘Spring Breakers’

Spring Breakers poster by Harmony Korine

Spring Breakers film by Harmony Korine

What do you get when you mix teenage starlets and pop sensations with America’s most enigmatic independent filmmaker? The answer is Spring Breakers, the neon-blazing, experiential, psychedelic pastiche that is Harmony Korine’s most commercially successful film yet. Comprised as a symphony of character, narrative, and social-political layers, Spring Breakers is a maze through an ultra-fun then frenzied trip for four freshmen that will stop at nothing to get to Daytona Beach in time for spring break.

Continue reading this post…