Articles — Original Cin

Since 2017: Career film critics continuing the conversation

Gangs of Lagos: A Street Opera From the Mean Streets of Nigeria

Gangs of Lagos: A Street Opera From the Mean Streets of Nigeria

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekApril 5, 2023Nollywood, Nigerian films, Gangs of Lagos, Jadesola Osiberu, Tayo Faniran, Tobi Bakre, Chike-Ezekpeazu Osebuka, Bimbo AdemoyeComment

Beef: New Netflix Series Unearths Dark Comedy from People Acting Very Badly

Beef: New Netflix Series Unearths Dark Comedy from People Acting Very Badly

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekApril 5, 2023Beef, Lee Sung Jin, Steven Yeun, Ali Wong, Netflix, Series, Dark human nature, Drama, Maria BelloComment

The Super Mario Bros. Movie: Let's-A-Go (Somewhere Else)!

The Super Mario Bros. Movie: Let's-A-Go (Somewhere Else)!

By Chris Knight

ReviewJim SlotekApril 4, 2023The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Matthew Fogel, Mario and Luigi, Chris Pratt and Charlie Day, Donkey Kong, Jumpman, Koopas, Goombas, Seth Rogen Comment

Original-Cin Q&A: Simulant Stars, Director Weigh AI Versus Humans

Original-Cin Q&A: Simulant Stars, Director Weigh AI Versus Humans

By Bonnie Laufer

InterviewJim SlotekApril 3, 2023Simulant, Sci fi, April Mullen, Jordana Brewster, Simu Liu, Robbie Amell, Films shot in Toronto, AIComment

Air: An Inspirational Commercial for a Commercial? Shut Up and Take My Money!

Air: An Inspirational Commercial for a Commercial? Shut Up and Take My Money!

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekApril 3, 2023Nike Air Jordans, Air, Ben Affleck, Billion dollar sports merchandising, Michael Jordan, Matt Damon, Viola Davis, Phil Knight, Chris Tucker, Jason BatemanComment

Stranger Things: The Experience - The Ups and Downs of the Interactive Upside Down

Stranger Things: The Experience - The Ups and Downs of the Interactive Upside Down

By John Kirk

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 31, 2023Immersive theme events, Stranger Things: The Experience, Hawkins Lab Sleep Study, Eddie’s metal performance in the Upside-Down, Demogorgan, Cinespace Marine Studios, Mind-Flayer, Theme family outingsComment

Spinning Gold: A Complicated Music Figure, Through a Filmmaker Son's Upbeat Prism

Spinning Gold: A Complicated Music Figure, Through a Filmmaker Son's Upbeat Prism

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 31, 2023Casablanca Records, Movies about the music industry, Neil Bogart, Spinning Gold, Timothy Scott Bogart, Kiss, Donna SummerComment

Original-Cin Q&A: Unstable's Rob Lowe on Simpatico with his Co-Star Son and His All-Ages Fanbase

Original-Cin Q&A: Unstable's Rob Lowe on Simpatico with his Co-Star Son and His All-Ages Fanbase

By Bonnie Laufer

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 30, 2023Father and son acting tandems, Rob Lowe, John Owen Lowe, Unstable, 9-1-1: Lone Star, The West Wing, Parks and Recreation, The Grinder, Netflix series, The OutsidersComment

Dungeons & Dragons: A Player’s Delight and a Gateway Drug for Non-Players

Dungeons & Dragons: A Player’s Delight and a Gateway Drug for Non-Players

By John Kirk

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 30, 2023Dungeons & Dragons, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Fantasy, Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley, Role-play, Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Hugh Grant, Daisy Head, Chloe Coleman, Sophia Lillis, Adaptation, CGIComment

In Viaggio: The Travels of Pope Francis, Lots of Countries, Always Waving

In Viaggio: The Travels of Pope Francis, Lots of Countries, Always Waving

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 30, 2023In Viaggio: The Travels of Pope Francis, Gianfranco Rosi, Docuementary, Catholic church, Hot DocsComment

Nam June Paik: Moon is the Oldest TV - Father of Video Art, Impactful and Enigmatic

Nam June Paik: Moon is the Oldest TV - Father of Video Art, Impactful and Enigmatic

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 29, 2023Influential avant garde artists, Nam June Paik: Moon is the Oldest TV, John Cage, Steven Yuen, Father of video art, Charlotte Moorman, Fluxus, Good Morning Mr. Orwell, Amanda KimComment

A Thousand and One: Intense Sundance-Approved Family Drama Not Exactly as Shown

A Thousand and One: Intense Sundance-Approved Family Drama Not Exactly as Shown

By Kim Hughes

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 29, 2023A Thousand and One, Family drama, Sundance Grand Jury Prize, A.V. Rockwell, Teyana Taylor, Will Catlett, Josiah Cross, Aven Courtney, Aaron Kingsley Adetola, New YorkComment

Canadian Film Fest: Diversity Abounds Amid Lots and Lots (and Lots) to See

Canadian Film Fest: Diversity Abounds Amid Lots and Lots (and Lots) to See

By Liam Lacey

PreviewJim SlotekMarch 28, 2023The Canadian Film Fest, Babysitter, Streams Flow from a River, When Time Got Louder, Bystanders, How To Get My Parents to Divorce, Golden Delicious, Retrograde, Polarized, Super Channel, Wintertide, Bloom (Jouvencelles)Comment

Tetris: Docudrama Reveals Unknown History about Ubiquitous, Fan-Favourite Game

Tetris: Docudrama Reveals Unknown History about Ubiquitous, Fan-Favourite Game

By John Kirk

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 27, 2023Tetris, AppleTV+, Docudrama, John S. Baird, Taron Egerton, Nikita Efremov, Toby Jones, Game Boy, video game moviesComment

A Good Person: Florence Pugh's Pill-Popping Journey is An Ordeal for All

A Good Person: Florence Pugh's Pill-Popping Journey is An Ordeal for All

Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 24, 2023A Good Person, Movies about addiction, Zach Braff, Florence Pugh, Morgan Freeman, Molly Shannon, Celeste O'ConnorComment

88: Would-Be Thriller About Neo-Nazis in U.S. Politics Barely Feels Like Fiction

88: Would-Be Thriller About Neo-Nazis in U.S. Politics Barely Feels Like Fiction

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 23, 202388, Political thriller, U.S. politics, Eromose, Brandon Victor Dixon, Naturi Naughton, Orlando Jones, Thomas Sadoski, William Fichtner, Kenneth Choi, Nazis, Neo-NazismComment

The Lost King: Smart Fact-Based Historical Biopic Rewrites Shakespeare For Better

The Lost King: Smart Fact-Based Historical Biopic Rewrites Shakespeare For Better

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 23, 2023The Lost King, TIFF 2022, Stephen Frears, Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope, Sally Hawkins, Harry Lloyd, British dramas, Historical drama Comment

The Colour of Ink: Blots, Scribbles, and Ink-Stained Happiness

The Colour of Ink: Blots, Scribbles, and Ink-Stained Happiness

By Liam Lacey

PreviewJim SlotekMarch 23, 2023The Colour of Ink, Brian D. Johnson, Documentary, NFB, National Film Board of Canada, Jason Logan, Canadian, Margaret Atwood, Nicholas de PencierComment

You Can Live Forever: Gay Teen Life in a Jehovah's Witness Village Where 'The Truth' is a Tight Fit

You Can Live Forever: Gay Teen Life in a Jehovah's Witness Village Where 'The Truth' is a Tight Fit

By Chris Knight

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 22, 2023Jehovah's Witness, You Can Live Forever, Growing up gay in religious communities, Mark Slutsky, Sarah Watts, Anwen O'Driscoll, June Laporte, Liane Balaban Comments

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