Posts in Movie Review
‘Cry Macho’ Review: An Exhausted Clint Eastwood Says Goodbye to Filmmaking

Watching “Cry Macho”, there’s the painful, almost agonizing, realization that this could very well be Clint Eastwood’s last movie. The 91-year old actor/filmmaker, who shot the film in one month during the COVID-19 pandemic, can still don a Cowboy hat and deliver yet another legendary performance as a leading role.

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'Snakehead' Review: A Stylish, Lurid Crime Story About Illegal Immigration to America [TIFF 21]

Snakehead, the feature film debut of Evan Jackson Leung is a worthwhile watch. The film’s highly stylized cinematography, its thoughtful examination of an under-explored subject, and the two female lead characters are all dynamic enough to carry the film through any shortcomings it might have.

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‘The Survivor’ Review: Barry Levinson Directs Ben Foster to a Career-Best Performance [TIFF 2021]

Ben Foster gives a transformative performance that should garner the actor his first Oscar nomination in Barry Levinson’s ‘The Survivor’, a career highlight for the veteran director that shows the Holocaust from a different perspective while looking to the future.

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‘Earwig’ Review: A Fantastical Horror Story With Nothing To Say [TIFF 2021]

The basis of an interesting short film is there, but not a nearly two-hour film in which characters constantly mope around and do practically nothing to advance the plot or develop its characters and world. As a result, Earwig may very well be the most interminable film of the entire Toronto International Film Festival and one of the most disappointing films of the year.

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'Dashcam' Review: A Found Footage Film Aiming To Troll It's Audience [TIFF 2021]

An all too familiar addition to an already oversaturated subgenre, director Rob Savage follows up his debut feature ‘Host’ with ‘Dashcam’, another pandemic horror film that seems to aim at audience’s patience, rather than their ability to be frightened.

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‘Oscar Peterson: Black + White’ Review: An Ode to Canada’s Most Beloved Musician [TIFF 2021]

Oscar Peterson: Black + White’ is one of the great music documentaries, and an essential release out of TIFF 2021. Guided lovingly by Barry Avrich, this tribute to the extraordinary life and career of Oscar Peterson must be seen by anyone who loves music, and especially if they love Oscar Peterson.

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'Belfast' Review: Kenneth Branagh Tells His Most Personal Story in His Most Poignant Film [TIFF 21]

While Kenneth Branagh may only make a handful of artistic choices as director, every ounce of thoughtfulness went into the script of ‘Belfast’, and that remains enough. The film is shot in an intimate and small manner, the conflict is shrunk down, and eventually it’s all slow cooked into more delicious morsels about morality and love.

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'Wildhood' Review: A Canadian-Made Triumph A Decade In The Making [TIFF 2021]

Canadian cinema has always had an uphill road to climb, but this is especially true of films like ‘Wildhood’. Now being screened for the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, Wildhood draws heavily from Hannam’s own identity and experiences, telling the story of re-defining one’s family, rediscovering love, and recovering one’s sense of self.

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‘Titane’ Review: A Mesmerizing Body Horror That Shows True Heart [TIFF 2021]

‘Titane’ is Julia Ducournau’s second feature length film and just like her last film, this on e isn’t for the faint of heart. A movie that will truly divide audiences with its disturbing imagery but one that will stand the test of time because of the method to it’s madness

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‘The Power of the Dog’ Review: Cumberbatch Shines in Unevenly Paced Melodrama [TIFF 2021]

The Power of the Dog’ is Jane Campion’s first film in 12 years, since the release of 2009’s ‘Bright Star’, and tells the story of Phil Burbank (Cumberbatch), who runs a cattle ranch with his brother George (Jesse Plemons). Cumberbatch and Plemons are a phenomenon on screen, but its uneven script quickly degrades the film into a sappy melodrama.

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‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ Review: A Creative New Addition to the MCU

‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ is the twenty-fifth theatrical instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the second film in the MCU’s Phase Four. With Marvel fatigue high after the epic conclusion of the Infinity Saga, and multiple delays in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, how does ‘Shang-Chi’ fare compared to its predecessors?

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'Candyman' Review: A Disjointed Script Anchors an Unsatisfying Horror Reboot

Audiences finally get to witness the latest horror cult-classic revival, Candyman. All the ingredients are there for this to be the next great film from recently prolific writer/producer Jordan Peele and director Nia DaCosta and bring the iconic character into the modern world. Instead, audiences are given an uneven mess that could have been so much more.

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‘Reminiscence’ Review: A Haphazardly Executed Yet Creative Concept

The entire premise of Lisa Joy’s directorial debut, ‘Reminiscence’, is enough to entice any fans of mind-bending sci-fi films, but in film, execution trumps everything else. An artist can have the greatest idea in the world for a movie, TV show, or book, only for it to be a mediocre experience if the execution of that said idea wasn’t successful.

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'Free Guy' Review: A Timely, Funny, and Heartfelt Original Adventure

In this current, limited, cinematic world full of sequels, franchises, and adaptations, ‘Free Guy’ enters the game as a refreshingly original idea. Guy (played by Ryan Reynolds), a non-player character in the fictional video game, Free City lives a pleasant life as a bank teller, dreams of one day breaking free of his regimented video game existence. In doing so, ‘Free Guy’ crafts what can easily be considered a perfect summer film.

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'The Suicide Squad' Review: A Knee Slappin', Head Explodin', Starfish Slayin' Good Time

With James Gunn at the helm, The Suicide Squad is a self-aware, gore-filled, anti-Superhero comedy that was tasked with resuscitating the franchise and providing a shot in the arm to the DCEU. Being Warner Brothers’ and DC’s second stab at Task Force X, and with viral campaigns targeting the DCEU constantly, there was a lot of pressure for this film to perform and please audiences

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‘The Green Knight’ Review: An Excalibur Caliber Arthurian Adaptation

Adapted from a 14th century poem by an unknown author, The Green Knight is a medieval coming-of-age story that doesn’t center around the usual players, and has only been put on screen a few times (clearly, not often enough).
In doing so, A24 and Director David Lowry convincingly conveys to modern audiences what medieval fantasy films should and can be.

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