THE VIEW 1 – The Bay
Filmed on location in Maya Bay, Ko Phi Phi Leh, Thailand, the new film, The Bay, follows Emma (Fran- cesca Eastwood) and Lani (Dani Oliveros), who are in this Thai paradise to attend a friend’s desti- nation wedding. With some free time, they accept the offer from a local, and fellow wedding guest, named Mandal (Alexander Wraith) to take an eco-boat tour to a remote tiger shark sanctuary. What could possibly go wrong? Especially after seeing Mandal’s boat. My first reaction was Roy Scheider’s famous line from Jaws: “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” The first part of the tour is stunning, and seeing the sharks up close is, at first, very cool. But when an aggressive tiger shark disables their boat, the fun stops and the terror begins. As the boat slowly begins to sink, with land tantalizingly close, Emma, Lani, Mandal and Ruhan, an edgy young crew member, find themselves in a fight for their lives. What I like about this film is that the primary focus stays on the boat and these four fright- ened people. The sharks are ever-present, but the psychology of that growing fear and panic is what got me. The Bay—available for home viewing July 16—is the kind of ocean survival film that's perfect for summer viewing and, like many films of its kind, owes much to Jaws, the movie that launched the summer blockbuster 51 summers ago. www.brainstormmedia.com & www.vortexpix.com


THE VIEW 2 – Rose of Nevada
Rose of Nevada is one of the most intriguing and unique films we’ve seen this year. It’s a time travel film—or perhaps, more accurately, a time-bending film. It’s also a mystery. Set in a small fishing vil- lage in Cornwall, England, a place that has seen better days, having struggled financially for decades. But when an old fishing boat reappears in the harbour, two young men, Nick and Liam, sign on as crew for a new fishing voyage. They spend a few hard-working days at sea catching fish and earning much-needed money. But when they return to port, Nick and Liam find themselves transported back in time, with the villagers mistaking them for the two original sailors who disappeared at sea 30 years earlier. For Liam, it could be a fresh start as the sailor who had been an absentee husband and father. But for Nick, he wants his wife and young daughter who are still three decades in the future. Rose of Nevada is the kind of film that grows on you. We didn’t know where it was going, but by the end we were completely satisfied after watching a creative and distinctive take on the time travel genre. George MacKay and Callum Turner star. This film is now playing in theatres. www.vortexpix.com


THE VIEW 3 – The Outer Threat
It’s always great when we can spotlight a Canadian film, in this case, The Outer Threat. This sci-fi adventure-thriller introduces us to a family of four living in a rural setting. But hidden beneath the family barn is a subterranean laboratory that serves as a government command centre and, from the looks of it, seems right out of the Cold War era. Its purpose is to monitor what we soon discover is activity in outer space. The couple, Daniel and Michelle, are astrophysicists. When Daniel makes a ground-breaking extraterrestrial discovery, he excitedly sends the data to his father-in-law, and within 24 hours, their home is surrounded by mysterious drones and they are forced to flee while the unknown entity continues the chase. It’s here that the film takes on a post-apocalyptic feel: com- munications are cut, power and gas nearly non-existent, and paranoia is everywhere. They decide to seek out Michelle’s estranged father, Sam, who might be the only person who can help. We’ve said this before in this column and on Our City Tonight: when the budget is small, the story has to be sol- id, and in the case of The Outer Threat, that certainly rings true. It’s a thought-provoking film about family, fear of the unknown, and the decisions that could determine humanity’s future. A great cast includes Constance Wu, Mark O’Brien, and William Fichtner as Sam. The film is available for home viewing now. www.vvsfilms.com