Takashi Miike’s been one of the biggest shock jockeys of Japanese cinema for eons. Ichi the Killer (2001) was a high-splatter mark for lovers of extreme gore, and Miike’s output has … Continue reading Takashi Miike’s ‘Blade of the Immortal’ slices and dices, but it could use a trim
Mudbound is a fascinating, moving film from director Dee Rees. Set in the deep south during the forties, this adaptation of Hillary Jordan’s 2008 bestseller is deeply affecting but not … Continue reading ‘Mudbound’ is a fascinating, moving film
Just seven. Seven features over twenty-four years. That’s the sum of Andrei Tarkovsky’s output. Each one is a starkly entrancing masterpiece, evidencing a unique metaphysical vision. They’re about as far … Continue reading Tarkovsky’s Trance: TIFF Retro Explores the Work of an Austere Master
Francis Lee’s debut feature God’s Own Country finds its soul in the rugged English countryside, bleak and affecting. Getting raves on the indie circuit, it’s a stark romance about a … Continue reading God’s Own Country
Noah Baumbach knows families. Not feel-good crap or five-hankie manipulated drama. Baumbach families are a lot like the ones we share, with real awkwardness, back-handed affection and incidental trauma wound … Continue reading The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
Next week, Blade Runner 2049 releases to immense hype, sans the original’s helmer Ridley Scott. That this is a good thing is almost undeniable, after Scott’s belaboured Alien sequels Prometheus and Alien: Covenant. Instead, fans … Continue reading TIFF Leans Into Blade Runner 2049 Hype with High Concept: The Films of Denis Villeneuve
It’s incredible to think the real life Battle of the Sexes tennis match happened at all. Putting world number one woman tennis player Billie Jean King up against fifty-five-year-old former … Continue reading ‘Battle of the Sexes’: Game Comedy Can’t Find a Winning Formula
Beast wasn’t in my original TIFF plans. Extremely limited press screenings forced me to blow up my schedule twice, but I saw the main things I wanted. Beast was a pick-up, … Continue reading TIFF 2017: Beast
Martin McDonagh’s likes his comedies like his coffee: black. Actually, I have no idea how McDonagh takes his coffee, if he takes it at all. But boy does he have … Continue reading TIFF 2017: Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
The Shape of Water is, ah, shaping up to be the film of the year. Guillermo del Toro’s latest brilliant film just won the top prize, the Golden Lion, at … Continue reading TIFF 2017: The Shape of Water PLUS Red Band Trailer
This year at TIFF we’re seeing the Trump era’s first real artistic blowback. I started with Darren Aronofsky’s mother! (opening across North America this Friday, September 15th), and holy cow, it … Continue reading TIFF 2017: mother!
Out today exclusive to PlayStation 4 is Knack 2. It’s a fun platformer, a sort of cross between the Lego games and Uncharted via Ratchet and Clank, with goblins and robots to … Continue reading Knack 2: Platformer Sequel Finds Its Footing
