TIFF Journal: ‘Trespass Against Us’
Crime movies can be tough. There have been so many that sometimes it feels like there are no themes left to explore. Music video director Adam Smith’s feature debut ‘Trespass Against Us’ attempts...
View ArticleTIFF Journal: ‘The Commune’
Thomas Vinterberg has never gotten the same level of international success or respect as his Dogme 95 co-founder Lars von Trier, which is a shame. Granted, he’s not a genius on the level of von Trier...
View ArticleTIFF Journal: ‘The Age of Shadows’
A mixture of searing historical drama and rip-roaring action adventure, ‘The Age of Shadows’ from director Kim Jee-woon (‘A Tale of Two Sisters’, ‘I Saw the Devil’) bursts off the screen with...
View ArticleTIFF Journal: ‘Raw’
After an award-winning premiere at Cannes, writer/director Julia Ducournau’s debut feature ‘Raw’ apparently made a few audience members faint at the TIFF Midnight Madness screening. (At least, that’s...
View ArticleTIFF Journal: ‘Denial’
‘Denial’ is one of those well-meaning movies about an important subject that isn’t particularly good, but tends to get a free pass in awards season thanks to sincerity and presenting a positive social...
View ArticleTIFF Journal: ‘The Belko Experiment’
While in the midst of delivering another goofball space opera for Marvel’s Cinematic Universe, James Gunn has secretly been crafting a horror comedy that’s truer to his offbeat origins. ‘The Belko...
View ArticleTIFF Journal: ‘The Bleeder’
Hey, you know those movies about boxers whose lives are just as tumultuous outside the ring as they are within? ‘The Bleeder’ is one of those. It’s even based on a true story to theoretically maximize...
View ArticleTIFF Journal: ‘Julieta’
After dipping out of his usual routine for one unexpected horror picture (‘The Skin I Live In’) and a little absurd comedy (‘I’m So Excited’), the colorful Spanish formalist Pedro Almodóvar returns to...
View ArticleTIFF Journal: ‘Personal Shopper’
Ever wondered what it would look like if a French art house specialist decided to make a haunted house picture with the star of ‘Twilight’? Well, now you’ll kind of know. Following their acclaimed...
View ArticleTIFF Journal: ‘The Girl with All the Gifts’
Yes, another zombie movie. They keep making these. Thankfully, ‘The Girl with All the Gifts’ is one of the good ones. Even though most of the movie feels incredibly familiar, it has a handful of...
View ArticleTIFF Journal: ‘The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography’
There are few filmmakers alive who make films so distinctly their own as Errol Morris. He may be best known for his groundbreaking true crime documentary ‘The Thin Blue Line’ or his political projects...
View ArticleTIFF Journal: ‘Sadako vs. Kayako’ (‘The Ring vs. The Grudge’)
Here’s something that no one saw coming: a crossover battle royale between two of the stringy-haired stars of the J-horror movement. That’s right, the millennial trend of slow-burn Japanese horror is...
View ArticleTIFF Journal: ‘Rats’
Morgan Spurlock has made quite a few notable stunt documentaries over his career, but none have come close to capturing attention or imagination quite like ‘Super Size Me’. However, his latest...
View ArticleTIFF Journal: ‘Catfight’
Sometimes a movie that’s actually kind of good is even more irritating to watch than a total failure. ‘Catfight’ is a little indie with some great ideas, a hell of a cast, and even a number of...
View ArticleTIFF Journal: ‘Dog Eat Dog’
When some movies end, the only rational response is to wonder what the hell you just watched. ‘Dog Eat Dog’ is one of those movies. This bizarre romp from Paul Schrader is a dumpster fire of bad taste...
View ArticleTIFF Journal: ‘La La Land’
Even as a crusty cynic, it was remarkably difficult to shake off the charms of ‘La La Land’. A mixture of homage to the oldest and corniest of Hollywood musicals as well as a modern parable about the...
View ArticleTIFF Journal: ‘I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House’
Last TIFF, Osgood Perkins made his directorial debut with the chilly and arty horror yarn ‘February‘ (subsequently retitled ‘The Blackcoat’s Daughter’). The film wasn’t perfect, but it showed that the...
View ArticleTIFF Journal: ‘Prevenge’
When you see a pregnant woman, the first thoughts that come to mind are typically friendly and lovely. That’s exactly what writer/director/star Alice Lowe is hoping for in ‘Prevenge’. It’s not the...
View ArticleTIFF Journal: ‘Voyage of Time’
In many ways ‘Voyage of Time’ is the movie that Terrence Malick has been building toward over the last decade of his career. It’s purely a collection of extraordinary nature imagery chronicling the...
View ArticleTIFF Journal: ‘The Bad Batch’
Ana Lily Amirpour had a striking directorial debut with the black-and-white Iranian vampire Western ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night‘. Clearly a filmmaker of great talent and imagination, she’s...
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