The Heirloom: When Adopting a Dog Leads to Messes of Many Kinds
ReviewJim SlotekThe Heirloom, Ben Petrie, Grace Glowicki, Cheers, Toronto filmmaker, Toronto story, Canadian film, Drama, Comedy, Films with dogs, Relationship dramas
All The Lost Ones: Yet Another Canadian Post-Apocalyptic Drama? Excellent!
By Chris Knight
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ReviewJim SlotekAll the Lost Ones, Mackenzie Donaldson, Jasmine Mathews, Vinessa Antoine, Douglas Smith, Canadian, post-apocalypse, Environmental issues, Environmental horror, War, Drama, Sci fi
Nutcrackers: A Surprisingly Conventional Christmas Comedy, Given Who Made It
Maria: Lavish Biopic on Opera Star Boosts Angelina Jolie… ‘La Callas’ Not So Much
ReviewJim SlotekMaria, Biopic, Pablo Larraín, Angelina Jolie, Valeria Golino, Alba Rohrwacher, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Haluk Bilginer, Pierfrancesco Favino, Caspar Phillipson, Mubi, Opera, Maria Callas, Aristotle Onassis
Blood in the Snow Film Fest: DIY Dread From Canada's Creepshow Up-and-Comers
Review, PreviewJim SlotekCanadian horror filmmakers, DIY filmmaking, Blood in the Snow Film Festival, Kelly Michael Stewart, Larry Kent’s, She Who Must Burn, James Villeneuve, Pins and Needles, Vivieno Caldinelli’s Scared Shitless, Steven Ogg, Isabel Bader Theatre
Wicked: One Brick (and a One Half) Short of a Road, But Still a Road Paved in Gold
ReviewJim SlotekMovies based on Broadway musicals, Movies released in two parts, Wicked: Part One, Gregory Maguire’s novel, Director Jon M. Chu, Elphaba and Glinda, Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh
Gladiator II: Exciting, But Rome’s Far from The Truth (Gettit?)
By Chris Knight
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Bad Sisters S2: More Trouble for the Guilty Siblings, and a Blast of Fun from Fiona Shaw
ReviewJim SlotekBad Sisters, Bad Sisters Season 2, Disney+, Sharon Horgan, Dave Finkel, Brett Baer, Anne-Marie Duff, Sarah Greene, Eva Birthistle, Eve Hewson, Fiona Shaw, Owen McDonnell, Michael Smiley
Red One: When the Jolly Old Elf has a Private Army and State-of-the-Art Military Tech
Memoir of a Snail: Australian Saga Leaves a Slime Trail of Sweetness and Irreverence
ReviewJim SlotekClaymation, Australian Adam Elliot, Mary and Max, Memoir of a Snail, Sarah Snook, Jacki Weaver, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Lifetime tale of a foster child, Tony Armstrong, Eric Bana, Nick Cave
Say Nothing: A True Crime Mystery Set Against the Nightmare of The Troubles
ReviewJim SlotekSay Nothing, Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland, Patrick Radden Keefe, The Troubles, Northern Ireland, adaptation, Joshua Zetumer, Lola Petticrew, Maxine Peake, Disney+, Hazel Doupe, Anthony Boyle, Josh Finan, Michael Colgan
Starring Jerry as Himself: Docudrama Spotlights Elder Abuse of a Grimly Common Sort
ReviewJim SlotekStarring Jerry as Himself, Drama, Documentary, Docudrama, Law Chen, Jerry Hsu, Kathy Hsu, Joshua Hsu, Jesse Hsu, Jonathan Hsu, Elder abuse, Scams, Fraud
Heretic: A Film Where Hugh Grant Does Everything He Does Best
By Chris Knight
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Small Things Like These: Drama About Morality, Responsibility Soars On Cillian Murphy
By Karen Gordon
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ReviewJim SlotekSmall Things Like These, Tim Mielants, Enda Walsh, Adaptation, Irish films, Cillian Murphy, Emily Watson, Zara Devlin, Eileen Walsh, Drama, Catholic church
Meanwhile on Earth: Dramatizing a Low-key Mystery Alien Invasion
By Chris Knight
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The Piano Lesson: Denzel's Entire Family Also Rises
ReviewJim SlotekNext generation film families, Denzel Washington’s children, The Piano Lesson, Director Malcolm Washington, John David Washington, Plays by August Wilson, Pauletta Pearson Washington, Post-slavery Black stories, Ray Fisher, Danielle Deadwyler, Samuel L. Jackson, Erykah Badu
A Real Pain: Jesse Eisenberg Drills Lightly Through the Psyche of Two Close Cousins
By Karen Gordon
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ReviewJim SlotekActors turned writer-director, Jesse Eisenberg, A Real Pain, Kieran Culkin, Jennifer Grey, Kurt Egyiawan, The Holocaust's effect on later generations, Sundance Film Festival, Waldo Salt Screenwriting award, The Revisionist, When You Finish Saving the World
Blitz: Steve McQueen’s Epic Drama Reveals Human Stories Beneath the Rubble
Bird: Andrea Arnold’s Latest Dip into Hardscrabble Lives Blends Grit and, Oddly, Magic
ReviewJim SlotekEnglish director, Andrea Arnold, Films about working class women's lives, Bird, A young girl's squalid life, Magical realism, Nykiya Adams, Barry Keoghan, Jason Buda, Franz Rogowski, Oddball guardian angel
The Sweet Hereafter: Lauded Canadian Drama Stands the Test of Time
ReviewJim SlotekThe Sweet Hereafter, Atom Egoyan, Russell Banks, Canadian film, Adaptation, TIFF 24, Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, Tom McCamus, Bruce Greenwood, Reissue, 4K remastering of Canadian classics, Arsinee Khanjian, David Hemblen, Alberta Watson, Maury Chaykin, Drama, Based on a true story