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
He might’ve died forty-four years ago, but Bruce Lee still attracts controversy. Director George Nolfi found that out, with the release of his Lee sort-of biopic, Birth of the Dragon. Centering … Continue reading Birth of the Dragon: The Hero Nobody Wants or Needs
It’s the silly season for Toronto filmgoers, the cine-season, TIFFmas to many devoted local movie buffs. Today the Toronto International Film Festival 2017 edition announced its first swath of upcoming … Continue reading Happy TIFFmas! Toronto’s film fest reveals first 2017 picks
Long before the teen angst pangs of Twilight or the fever heat of True Blood, director Kathryn Bigelow had an inkling of what a southern-fried vampire romance could be. Near Dark delivered on her … Continue reading Near Dark: The Original Hillbilly Vamps
If you like thrillers, genre-bending capers, femmes fatales and shady figures wrapped up in criminal exploits where no one comes out on top, chances are you’re a film noir fan … Continue reading Panique: French Crime Classics
This summer, TIFF’s having a crime wave. French crime to be exact. They’re mounting two programmes, both bursting with criminal intent. I’ll take a look at the second bunch next … Continue reading Hardest Boiled: The Many Noirs of Jean-Pierre Melville
Man. I guess people were so depressed in the seventies they’d try just about anything. As we live through a fast-forward remix of the Watergate scandal, it’s interesting to take a … Continue reading Marriage Under a Microscope Overshadows The World Of ‘The Commune’
Ed Gass-Donnelly’s got style and atmosphere to burn, that’s for sure. In the opening moments of his new elegiac horror-thriller Lavender, we track into a frozen tableau of police investigating a grim … Continue reading The Mixed Sense: Stylish Lavender clings to the familiar with creepy amnesiac tale
High winds took a bite out of the weekend, Hurricane Matthew knocking nearly 10% off the weekend’s box office totals, compared to last year. But The Girl on the Train was the … Continue reading Matthew Slows Her Down, But “The Girl on the Train” Still Wins The Weekend
