Articles — Original Cin

Since 2017: Career film critics continuing the conversation

Roofman: When Truth Is Stranger, and Perhaps Less Chipper, Than Fiction

Roofman: When Truth Is Stranger, and Perhaps Less Chipper, Than Fiction

By Liz Braun

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 10, 2025Roofman, TIFF '25, Derek Cianfrance, Channing Tatum, Kirsten Dunst, Peter Dinklage, Juno Temple, LaKeith Stanfield, Ben MendelsohnComment

Original-Cin Chat: The Partisan's Malcolm McDowell on His Polish Connections

Original-Cin Chat: The Partisan's Malcolm McDowell on His Polish Connections

John Kirk

InterviewJim SlotekOctober 10, 2025Malcolm McDowell, Polish resistance operative Krystyna Skarbek, The Partisan, Ian Fleming's Vesper Lynd, Morgane Polanski, Director James MarquandComment

Your Host: Wheel of Misfortune and No Whammies!

Your Host: Wheel of Misfortune and No Whammies!

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 6, 2025Your Host, Horror, D.W. Medoff, Jackie Earle Haley, Jamie Flatters, Joelle Rae, David Anglund, Ella-Rae Smith, TortureComment

Bone Lake: Carnage Results from an Airbnb Double-Booked with an Oversexed Couple

Bone Lake: Carnage Results from an Airbnb Double-Booked with an Oversexed Couple

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 3, 2025Mismatched couples with secret menace, Bone Lake, Director Mercedes Bryce Morgan, Writer Joshua Friedlander, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Marco Pigossi, Maddie Hasson, Alex Roe, Andra Nechita, Lakeside horrorComment

V/H/S Halloween: A Dead Video Format Turns Deadly

V/H/S Halloween: A Dead Video Format Turns Deadly

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 3, 2025V/H/S found-footage horror anthology, V/H/S Halloween, Short horror films by genre filmmakers, Bryan M. Ferguson, Anna Zlokovic, Coochie, Coochie Coo, Paco Plaza, Casper Kelly, Alex Ross Perry, Micheline Pitt-Norman, R.H. Norman, Shudder streaming serviceComment

The Road Between Us The Ultimate Rescue: Tells A Simple, Horrifying Tale

The Road Between Us The Ultimate Rescue: Tells A Simple, Horrifying Tale

By Chris Knight

Jim SlotekOctober 2, 2025Comment

Killing Faith: Abandon Expectation, This Western Doesn’t Care About Shooting Straight

Killing Faith: Abandon Expectation, This Western Doesn’t Care About Shooting Straight

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 2, 2025Killing Faith, Thriller, western, Ned Crowley, DeWanda Wise, Guy Pearce, Bill Pulman, Jack Alcott Comment

The Partisan: Morgane Polanski is Lost in a Botched Story of a Resistance Heroine

The Partisan: Morgane Polanski is Lost in a Botched Story of a Resistance Heroine

By John Kirk

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 2, 2025Polish resistance operative Krystyna Skarbek, The Partisan, Ian Fleming's Vesper Lynd, Morgane Polanski, Malcolm McDowell, Director James Marquand, Piotr Adamczyk, Ingvar SigurdssonComment

London Calling: Josh Duhamel is a 'Hit-Dad' in a Solid Action-Comedy

London Calling: Josh Duhamel is a 'Hit-Dad' in a Solid Action-Comedy

By Chris Knight

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 2, 2025Hit-man father figure, Action comedy, London Calling, Director Allan Ungar, Josh Duhamel, 2022’s Bandit, Aidan Gillen, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Rick HoffmanComment

Orwell: 2+2=5 - An Experiential Doc About How 1984 Became 2025

Orwell: 2+2=5 - An Experiential Doc About How 1984 Became 2025

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 2, 2025George Orwell, Orwell's thoughts on repressive society, Orwell: 2+2=5, Director Raoul Peck, Damian Lewis, 1984, Animal Farm, Burma, The British Raj, Lies that become truthComment

The Smashing Machine: Dwayne Johnson's Next Move on the Matt is Actual Acting

The Smashing Machine: Dwayne Johnson's Next Move on the Matt is Actual Acting

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 1, 2025Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Mixed martial arts fighter Mark Kerr, The Smashing Machine, Athlete biopics, Writer-director Benny Safdie, Uncut Gems, Emily Blunt, Ryan Bader, Award season acting turnsComment

Anemone: Daniel Day-Lewis Returns to Acting in Son’s Beautiful, Beguiling Directorial Debut

Anemone: Daniel Day-Lewis Returns to Acting in Son’s Beautiful, Beguiling Directorial Debut

By Liz Braun

ReviewJim SlotekSeptember 30, 2025Anemone, Ronan Day-Lewis, Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Bean, Samantha Morton, Samuel Bottomley, The Troubles, Ireland's 'Troubles', Drama, Directorial debut, Feature directorial debutComment

Good Boy: Good Horror. When Your Dog Barks at ‘Nothing,’ Believe It!

Good Boy: Good Horror. When Your Dog Barks at ‘Nothing,’ Believe It!

By John Kirk

ReviewJim SlotekSeptember 29, 2025Movies with canine heroes, Dogs that 'see' things, Haunted houses, Good Boy, Indy the dog, Shane Jensen, Arielle Friedman, Director Ben Leonberg, Larry Fessenden, Stuart RudinComment

Original-Cin Q&A: Director and Star of Bau: Artist at War on Schindler's Famous Rescuee

Original-Cin Q&A: Director and Star of Bau: Artist at War on Schindler's Famous Rescuee

By Bonnie Laufer

InterviewJim SlotekSeptember 26, 2025Personal movies about the Holocaust, Schindler’s List’s "wedding couple", Bau: Artist at War, Director Sean McNamara, Emile Hirsch, Kraków-Placzów concentration camp, Schindler's List, Joseph BauComment

Bau: Artist at War - The True-ish Story of Schindler’s List’s Wedding Couple

Bau: Artist at War - The True-ish Story of Schindler’s List’s Wedding Couple

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekSeptember 26, 2025Personal movies about the Holocaust, Schindler’s List’s "wedding couple", Bau: Artist at War, Director Sean McNamara, Reagan, Emile Hirsch, Kraków-Placzów concentration camp Comments

Peak Everything: It’s The End of the World (and the Fest) As We Know It

Peak Everything: It’s The End of the World (and the Fest) As We Know It

By Chris Knight

ReviewJim SlotekSeptember 26, 2025Peak Everything, Anne Émond, Patrick Hivon, Piper Perabo, TIFF '25, Canadian film, Canadian dramaComment

Eleanor The Great: How We Grieve and the Stories We Tell Propels Gentle Indie Dramedy

Eleanor The Great: How We Grieve and the Stories We Tell Propels Gentle Indie Dramedy

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekSeptember 25, 2025TIFF '25, Eleanor The Great, Scarlett Johansson, June Squibb, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Will Price, Jessica Hecht, Erin Kellyman, Drama, ComedyComment

Original-Cin Q&A: Scarlett Johansson on Wrangling Grief (and Actors) in Eleanor the Great

Original-Cin Q&A: Scarlett Johansson on Wrangling Grief (and Actors) in Eleanor the Great

By Kim Hughes

InterviewJim SlotekSeptember 25, 2025Eleanor the Great, TIFF '25, Scarlett Johansson, June Squibb, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Erin Kellyman, Films about grief, Drama, Comedy, DramedyComment

Marvel Zombies: Where's the Hunger?

Marvel Zombies: Where's the Hunger?

By John Kirk

ReviewJim SlotekSeptember 24, 2025Marvel Animated Series, Marvel series based on comic plots, Marvel Zombies, Writer Zeb Wells, Superheroes turned zombie, Iman Vellani, Dominique Thorne, Hailee Steinfeld, Elizabeth Olsen, Director Bryan Andrews Comment

One Battle After Another: Paul T. Anderson's Least Cryptic Film is a Violent, Tense Carnival Ride

One Battle After Another: Paul T. Anderson's Least Cryptic Film is a Violent, Tense Carnival Ride

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekSeptember 23, 2025Writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another, Tense action, thriller, drama, comedy, Movies about politically motivated violence, Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti, Benicio Del Toro, Cinematographer Michael Bauman, Regina Hall, Music by Jonny Greenwood Comment