The War on Drugs provides the high-stakes setting for Sicario, with the surprise being that it’s taken this long for a thriller to use such a fertile real world milieu. (more…)
Review
TIFF Review: HIGH-RISE Is A Rare Gonzo Beast
When a movie opens with its lead eating a neighbourhood dog amidst the post-apocalyptic ruins of a destroyed apartment building you know you’re in for an unconventional time. When that movie stars mainstream (anti-)hero Tom Hiddleston (best known as Loki from Thor) then it’s also bound to inspire strong reactions from mixed crowds, as it did at TIFF this year when it prompted walkouts during its premiere. (more…)
TIFF Review: THE MARTIAN Strands Matt Damon In Space (Again)
The Martian‘s logline sounds like Castaway in space – a lone hero stranded in a remote location, cut off from civilization and desperate to find a way home. (more…)
TIFF Review: FREEHELD Is Familiar But Stirring
Freeheld handles a true story from the recent past in a respectful manner that occasionally feels rote, but nonetheless achieves some emotional power. (more…)
TIFF Review: Suspenseful GREEN ROOM Pits Punks vs. Skinheads
Green Room is a divisive movie. Members of the audience I saw it with were shouting expletives and walking out in equal parts. (more…)
THE END OF THE TOUR Review: A Road Trip With David Foster Wallace
The End of the Tour is the kind of focused character study that would’ve felt at home in the more freewheeling cinema landscape of the 70’s but feels like an anachronism now. (more…)
Review: MISTRESS AMERICA Resurrects The Screwball Comedy
The movie Mistress America, like its character Brooke, walks a fine line between charming and grating. Director Noah Baumbach’s usual acidic wit is on full display here but it’s tempered by the sentimentality that frequent collaborator Greta Gerwig (who co-wrote with Baumbach) provides. (more…)
THE GIFT Review: Turning Social Awkwardness Into Suspense
It’s all in the eyes. In The Gift, Joel Edgerton’s deeply creepy Gordo has dark ones – “black eyes like a doll’s eyes” as Quint from Jaws would say. (more…)
Review: Explosive STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON Mythologizes The Near Past
The issues facing biopics can be insurmountable: the risk of catering too much to still living subjects, shying away from harsh truths, stuffing the film with too much incident, performances devolving into simple impersonations, and many more. (more…)
TERMINATOR GENISYS Review: Aggressyvely Awfyl
It’s great to see Arnold Schwarzenegger back on the big screen but he continues to be the best thing in bad movies during his rocky comeback. (more…)
Glen On Film 