Review: SPINSTER, Soup for the Anti-RomCom Soul
You would think in this day and age, we'd have let go of the idea that a woman who isn't married with kids by a 'certain age' is all washed up, or that being married and having children should be...
Review: I USED TO GO HERE, The Lure of Familiar Comfort
I recently read a terrific article from McSweeney's (a satirical website), entitled 'Quiz: Do You Want to Go To Grad School or Do You Just Need a Snack?" While there are days when I wonder why, oh why, did I...
RATCHED Trailer: You Don't Have To Be Crazy To Work Here, But...
I first heard about Nurse Ratched from my mother; whenever I was sick as a child, and being difficult, my mother would threaten to send that iconic character to care for me, which I would not like. I was then...
Review: SHE DIES TOMORROW, The Long, Dark, Last Night of the Soul
The question of what it means to know you're going to die is one often left to stories about those with terminal diseases, where the person is supposed to discover the true meaning of existence before they slip away into...
Review: SUMMERLAND, All Is Bittersweet and Tidy on the Homefront
It never ceases to amaze me, how the British can still find stories to tell that are about, or at least set during, the Second World War. The nostalgia for what was a horrific time continues unabated, with their rose-coloured...
Blu-ray Review: THE OUTSIDER, The Monstrous Manifestation of Grief
Ben Mendelsohn, Cynthia Erivo, and Paddy Considine star in the harrowing horror series.
Review: AMULET, Horrors of War, Off the Battlefield
Directed by Romola Garai, the horror thriller stars Carla Juri, Alec Secareanu, Imelda Staunton, and Angeliki Papoulia.
Review: RADIOACTIVE, The Labour of Scientific Discovery
Biopics are not an easy genre to make, especially if your subject has some reknown. You want/need to show the important moments of their life, without making it look contrite or proverbially hitting the audience over the head with scenes...
Melbourne 2020: Australia-Wide Digital Showcase Infuses Streaming
The impact of Coronavirus left little doubt the annual slate of festivals that kept every type of cinema across metropolitan Melbourne engaged would be severely impacted this year. Thankfully we adapt, and as streaming, and the proliferation of media available,...
SLAXX Trailer: The Deadly Price of Fashion
When you're a programmer and/or film critic, you often hear about films months, if not years, before they are finally unleashed upon the public. In the case of Slaxx, I've been following its progress since early 2018. Needless to say,...
Review: FIRST COW, Isolation Can Bring Both Suffering and Joy
Kelly Reichardt's latest film is a beautiful tale of friendship in 1820s Oregon, with John Magaro, Orion Lee, and Rene Auberjonois.
Trailer for SHE DIES TOMORROW: Deadly Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
It's been far too long since we've had a feature film from writer/director/actor Amy Seimetz; Sun Don't Shine was released in 2012, and its cautionary and creepy tale of a couple's sinister road trip through Florida made Seimetz a filmmaker...
Review: RELIC, The Creeping Uncanny of Dementia
Anyone who has ever had to care for parent or grandparent knows both the pain, and fear, of watching their health deteriorate, knowing that, someday, it will be them in that position. And we've all had those moments wondering which...
Review: THE OLD GUARD, New-School Action That Packs A Dramatic Punch
None of us know how or when we're going to die, just that, one day, something will end our life. Imagine taking that to an extreme: you're going to be young and beautiful for a very long time (good), you'll...
Trailer: KiKi Layne Joins Charlize Theron's Immortal Mercenary Band in THE OLD GUARD
I'll admit it, I'm a bit of a sucker for a couple of things: women at the helm of action films, and stories about supernatural/immortal-type humans or other creatures whose lives revolve around keeping humans and the Earth from harm....
Miskatonic Institute Launches Archival Footage, Plus New Co-Directors in Los Angeles
Just because we have to keep up with social distancing (which we do so please wear a mask when not at home, don't touch your face, wash your hands often, and keep 2 metres away from others), doesn't mean we...
CANDYMAN Animation: Watch Incredible Shadow Puppet Short
If there's one film I'm hoping with all my might that I get to see on big screen this year, it's Nia DaCosta's Candyman. The original is a seminal work of urban horror, and the trailers for the pseudo-sequel thus...
Hot Docs 2020 Review: THE WALRUS AND THE WHISTLEBLOWER, Attachment and Amusement
I doubt there is any Ontarian of a certain age who couldn't sing you the jingle for Marineland. The commercial was in regular rotation when I was growing up in Toronto: images of whales, walrus, deer, and other wildlife and...
Palm Springs ShortFest: A Plethora of Shorts Online, featuring Mandy Moore, Rachel Dratch, Lily Gladstone, and More
As a short film programmer, I have bias toward the form. But shorts are more than just student films or something filmmakers do before they go on to 'bigger things'. Like the short story, it's a mode that has its...
Now Streaming: KNIVES OUT, Twists and Turns Abound in Delightful Whodunit
Daniel Craig and Ana de Armas lead an all-star cast in Rian Johnson's comic murder-mystery.
