Festivals TIFF 2021: The Gravedigger’s Wife & other highlights in African cinema By: Soham Gadre Three features at the Toronto International Film Festival turn the spotlight on the best and brightest in African filmmaking.
Reviews Best Sellers belongs in the slush pile By: Gena Radcliffe Michael Caine & Aubrey Plaza give far more effort than this saccharine comedy-drama about generation gaps & the publishing industry deserves.
Recap Ted Lasso “Beard After Hours” Recap: The wild night is calling Ted Lasso Season 2 Episode 9 takes viewers on one bizarre night with Coach Beard.
Festivals TIFF 2021: Belfast is a touching, understated historical drama By: Sarah Kurchak Kenneth Branagh directs a moving film about a working class Irish family impacted by the Troubles.
Reviews Lady of the Manor lets its enthusiastic cast down By: Sarah Gorr A lighthearted comedy clumsily attempts to address race, to less than successful results.
Reviews Netflix’s Raimi-inflected Nightbooks fails to cast a spell By: Ashley Lara A talented cast's efforts can't overcome a potion with too many conflicting elements.
Reviews Netflix’s He-Man and the Masters of the Universe is somehow more dated than ever By: Jon Negroni Netflix's latest attempt at the He-Man IP sacrifices interesting innovation for toyetic changes.
Festivals TIFF 2021: Jane Campion’s neo-western The Power of the Dog is a haunting study of masculinity and repressed desire By: Reyzando Nawara The great director Jane Campion and a stupendous cast dig deep into dread and melancholy in one of 2021's finest films.
Reviews “Da Bears” gags are the height of comedy compared to Chicago Party Aunt’s crummy jokes By: Shannon Campe Chicago Party Aunt, Netflix's new animated comedy, undercuts the strengths of its medium and its cast through sloppy, tired craft and writing.
Reviews Clint Eastwood’s Cry Macho is crooked and kind-hearted By: Matt Cipolla Clint Eastwood's latest boasts a strong central performance in a grand step up from his recent works despite its rocky script.
Reviews Ordinary Joe takes a charming spin through alternate timelines By: Tim Stevens NBC's latest drama goes down easy despite some significant flaws.
Festivals TIFF: Unclenching the Fists doesn’t forget its humanity as it delves into its bleak tale By: Soham Gadre Cannes Un Certain Regard winner Unclenching the Fists is heavy, but strong performances and craft keep it from being a wallow in misery.
Festivals TIFF: All My Puny Sorrows clings to its source material to its significant detriment By: Soham Gadre All My Puny Sorrows, adapted from the novel of the same name, undermines strong performances by clinging too tightly to its source material.
Festivals TIFF 2021: Jagged tells you everything you oughta know about Alanis Morrissette By: Peter Sobczynski Alison Klayman's chronicle of the Canadian singer's rise to fame centers around her seminal 1995 album, and the trail it blazed for female artists.
Reviews The Circle’s third season sees its frothing drama flatten far too early By: Ashley Lara The Circle, Netflix's social media reality show, begins its third season with a blast that the rest of the show simply cannot match.
Reviews Kin’s tremendous cast makes a dance out of its familiar steps By: Michael Frank A familiar study of an Irish crime family, Kin gives a host of terrific actors a chance to shine, both individually and together.
Festivals TIFF 2021: Violet is an on-the-nose exploration of Hollywood anxiety By: Soham Gadre Olivia Munn's spirited performance elevates what otherwise feels like a moralistic, obvious self-help treatise on trauma and accountability.
Festivals TIFF 2021: Naomi Watts tries to outrun disaster in the horrendous Lakewood By: Peter Sobczynski Phillip Noyce and Naomi Watts team up for a preposterous, formulaic high-concept thriller that does nothing tasteful with its premise.
Festivals TIFF 2021: Titane is a fever dream best served cold By: Sarah Kurchak Julia Ducourneau's followup to her stunning debut Raw makes for brutal, beautiful, brilliant body horror.
Festivals TIFF: Mothering Sunday’s intimate sensuality and strong character work shine despite some rough structural work. Mothering Sunday sees star Odessa Young give a stupendous performance of a young woman's birth as a writer and passionate love.
Festivals TIFF: The Mad Women’s Ball is sadly far from a blitz The Mad Women's Ball, Melanie Laurent's adaptation of a novel about a young woman's incarceration in a cruel asylum, is disappointingly flat.