I read an email warning me about my mother’s impending death on a Wednesday in May 2021. It was just before I was to drive across town to a screening of “In the Heights.” Someone thought this film might take my mind off of my mother’s mortality, but I’m sure h... More »
Any list of actresses from the classic, golden-era age of Hollywood who fit the term “sultry” would be a long one. But the list of actresses who could be described as cheerful pretty much comes down to just Jane Powell, who died on September 16, 2021 at age 92... More »
The Toronto International Film Festival is well-known for being a layover location for major films that premiered at European fests earlier in the year. For those of us who don’t get to go to Cannes, Berlin, or Venice, it’s wonderful to use TIFF to catch up wi... More »
The following table of contents includes our complete coverage of the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, as written by Brian Tallerico, Robert Daniels, Marya E. Gates, and Tomris Laffly. TIFF 2021 Preview: 20 Films We Can’t Wait to See by Brian Talleri... More »
The Midnight Madness program at the Toronto International Film Festival is always one of the most popular, premiering major films like David Gordon Green’s “Halloween” alongside independent genre flicks from around the world. While the electricity of actually ... More »
The profile doc is a tough form to navigate. They so often come off as little more than hagiography, hitting life highlights of public figures in a manner that does little to humanize them. The truth is that no documentarian is going to dedicate the time to ma... More »
10 NEW TO NETFLIX “Cliffhanger““Cold Mountain““Do the Right Thing““The Golden Child““The Interview““Labyrinth““Mars Attacks!”“Mystery Men““Once Upon a Time in America““School of Rock“ 10 NEW TO HBO MAX “Event Horizon““The Evil Dead”“Final Destination““Friday”“... More »
You know Annie Clark better as St. Vincent, the avant-garde guitar god who’s gradually emerged as her generation’s most daringly chamelonic rock star. But, frankly, you don’t know anything about either of them, at least not with certainty. That’s the basic set... More »
FACETS is excited to announce that the 46-year-old organization has selected the film designated to mark its long-awaited return to in-person programming, following an 18-month hiatus due to the Coronavirus pandemic: “Anne at 13,000 Ft.” by Canadian director K... More »
“Blue Bayou” tells the harrowing story of an American we rarely see in film. Justin Chon’s Antonio LeBlanc, a Korean adoptee living in Louisiana, faces deportation to a country he doesn’t know after an altercation with a police officer. The possibility of bein... More »
Alicia Vikander won an Oscar in 2015 for “The Danish Girl,” but speaks about how “Blue Bayou” came with a certain nervous on-set experience she hasn’t had since her English language debut in 2012’s “Anna Karenina.” In writer/director Justin Chon’s “Blue Bayou,... More »
TIFF is often a home for potential Oscar contenders and celebrities who look great on a red carpet but there’s another thing that’s easy to find every year in Canada: very serious subject matter. A trio of films that premiered there this year work with themes ... More »