Articles — Original Cin

Since 2017: Career film critics continuing the conversation

Posts in Review

The Five Devils: Sniffing for Meaning in an Odd French Multicultural, Bisexual Psychodrama

The Five Devils: Sniffing for Meaning in an Odd French Multicultural, Bisexual Psychodrama

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 22, 2023French psychodrama, The Five Devils, Léa Mysius, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Children with supernatural powers, Ava, Moustapha Mbengue, Paul Guilhaume, Total Eclipse of the HeartComment

John Wick: Chapter 4 - Overcoming the Overkill in Looney Tunes Style

John Wick: Chapter 4 - Overcoming the Overkill in Looney Tunes Style

Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 20, 2023John Wick: Chapter 4, Movies with a high death count, Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Chad Stahelski, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Shamier AndersonComment

Ithaka: Family-Led Portrait of Julian Assange Flies the Flag for Sympathy and Freedom

Ithaka: Family-Led Portrait of Julian Assange Flies the Flag for Sympathy and Freedom

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 20, 2023Julian Assange, WikiLeaks, Docuementary, John ShiptonComment

Riceboy Sleeps: Mother-Son Relations Exalted and Explored in Acclaimed Canuck Drama

Riceboy Sleeps: Mother-Son Relations Exalted and Explored in Acclaimed Canuck Drama

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 16, 2023Riceboy Sleeps, Canadian film, TFCA, Rogers Best Canadian Film Award, TIFF 2022, Anthony Shim, Choi Seung-Yoon, Ethan Hwang, Dohyun Noel Huang, Korean cinemaComment

Boston Strangler: Latest Remake Smartly Follows Female Reporters on the Case

Boston Strangler: Latest Remake Smartly Follows Female Reporters on the Case

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 16, 2023Boston Strangler, Matt Ruskin, Keira Knightly, Carrie Coon, Morgan Spector, Chris Cooper, David Dastmalchian, True crime, Disney+, 1960sComment

Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming, with Dave Letterman - Dave's Yin and Bono's Earnest Yang Mix Well

Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming, with Dave Letterman - Dave's Yin and Bono's Earnest Yang Mix Well

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 16, 2023Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming, with Dave Letterman, Ruminations on Dublin, U2 songs acoustic, Dublin’s Ambassador Theatre, The Troubles, Jimmy Iovine, Glen HansardComment

Tenzin: A Veil of Illusion In Toronto’s Little Tibet

Tenzin: A Veil of Illusion In Toronto’s Little Tibet

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 15, 2023Tenzin, Tibetan film, Tibet, Toronto story, Parkdale, Michael LeBlanc, Josh Reichmann, Tenzin Choekyi, Tenzin KelsangComment

Shazam: Fury of the Gods - Bringing Back the Simplest of Kid-Level Comic Book Pleasures

Shazam: Fury of the Gods - Bringing Back the Simplest of Kid-Level Comic Book Pleasures

By John Kirk

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 15, 2023Shazam: Fury of the Gods, Super hero movies aimed at kids, Billy Batson, Zachary Levi, Dame Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu, Mythological monstersComment

Supercell: Low-Budget Twister Film Has its Moments - None of Which Belong to Anne Heche or Alec Baldwin

Supercell: Low-Budget Twister Film Has its Moments - None of Which Belong to Anne Heche or Alec Baldwin

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 15, 2023Storm-chaser movies, Supercell, Anne Heche, Alec Baldwin, Herbert James Winterstern, Twister, Daniel DiemerComment

Ted Lasso: S3 is Here… But Does it Still Matter?

Ted Lasso: S3 is Here… But Does it Still Matter?

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 15, 2023Ted Lasso, AppleTV+, Jason Sudeikis, Nick Mohammed, Juno Temple, Hannah Waddingham, Television, Comedy, Drama, SportsComment

Champions: The Road to Meh is Paved With Good Intentions

Champions: The Road to Meh is Paved With Good Intentions

By Chris Knight

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 9, 2023Champions, Underdog sports movies, Movies about the mentally challenged, Bobby Farrelly, Woody Harrelson, Cheech Marin, Kevin IannucciComment

Blueback: A Fish Tale That’s Easy on The Eyes

Blueback: A Fish Tale That’s Easy on The Eyes

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 9, 2023Blueback, Family films, Australian, Robert Connelly, Tim Winton, Adaptation, Mia Wasikowska, Eric Bana, Ariel Donaghue, Liz Alexander, Ilsa Fogg, Radha MitchellComment

Human Rights Watch Canada Film Festival: Baichwal and de Pencier Curate the World's Woes

Human Rights Watch Canada Film Festival: Baichwal and de Pencier Curate the World's Woes

By Jim Slotek and Liam Lacey

Review, PreviewJim SlotekMarch 7, 2023Human Rights Canada Film Festival, Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier, Freedom on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for FreedomFreedom on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom, The Grab, Koromousso, Big Sister, No U-Turn, Uyra: The Rising ForestComment

I Like Movies: 90s-Era Coming of Age Comedy Captures Cringeworthy Youth

I Like Movies: 90s-Era Coming of Age Comedy Captures Cringeworthy Youth

By John Kirk

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 6, 2023I Like Movies, Chandler Levack, Canadian feature debut, Comedy, Coming of age stories, Isaiah Lehtinen, Romina D’Ugo, Krista Bridges, Blockbuster, Throwback, 90s eraComment

History of the World, Part II: Historical, If Not Hysterical

History of the World, Part II: Historical, If Not Hysterical

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 6, 2023History of the World: Part II, Disney+, Mel Brooks, Sequel, Comedy, Sketch comedy, Nick Kroll, Wanda Sykes, Ike Barinholtz, Seth Rogen, Jason Alexander, Jack Black, Kumail Nanjiani, Sarah Silverman, Rob Corddry, Johnny KnoxvilleComment

Enter the Drag Dragon: Lowering the Bar for Fun, Zombie Fights and Dildo Nunchucks

Enter the Drag Dragon: Lowering the Bar for Fun, Zombie Fights and Dildo Nunchucks

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 3, 2023High camp indie films, Enter the Drag Dragon, Lee Gordon Demarbre, Films shot in Ottawa, Lloyd Kaufman, Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter, Sam Kellerman, Jade London and Matt Miwa, Beatrice BeresComment

Still The Water: A Typhoon, Grief, Young Love and Less Than Meets the Eye

Still The Water: A Typhoon, Grief, Young Love and Less Than Meets the Eye

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 2, 2023Naomi Kawase, Female Japanese directors, Mono no aware, Still The Water, Nijirô Murakami, Jun Yoshinaga, aka Junko Abe, Ruminations on death, Miyuki MatsudaComment

Return to Seoul: Riveting Journey of Self-Discovery Powers Compelling Performance

Return to Seoul: Riveting Journey of Self-Discovery Powers Compelling Performance

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 2, 2023Return to Seoul, Davy Chou, Park Ji-Min, Guka Han, Oh Kwang-Roc, Cannes films, Un Certain Regard, Korean cinema, Drama, Based on a true storyComment

Creed III: Not All Underdogs Are Nice Guys in this Emotionally Resonant Rocky Spin-Off

Creed III: Not All Underdogs Are Nice Guys in this Emotionally Resonant Rocky Spin-Off

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 2, 2023Rocky franchise, Creed III, Michael B. Jordan, Adonis Creed, Actors directing themselves, Jonathan Majors, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia RashadComment

Daisy Jones & the Six: A 70s Rock ‘n’ Roll Soap Opera

Daisy Jones & the Six: A 70s Rock ‘n’ Roll Soap Opera

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 1, 2023Prime Video, Adaptation, Daisy Jones & The Six, Mini-series, Riley Keough, Sam Clafin, Camila Morrone, Will Harrison, Suki Waterhouse, Rock and roll, 1970s, Music, Mockumentary, Fleetwood MacComment