Articles — Original Cin

Since 2017: Career film critics continuing the conversation

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season 4, Ep. 4: The Klingons are Back! In Black (and White)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season 4, Ep. 4: The Klingons are Back! In Black (and White)

By John Kirk

ReviewJim SlotekAugust 13, 2026Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season 4, Ep. 4, The return of the Klingons, Episodes shot in black and white, “A Case of Chiaroscuro”, Rebecca Romijn, Babs Olusanmokum, Celia Rose-Gooding, Anson Mount, Ethan Peck, Director Meera MenonComment

The End of Oak Street: It’s Not the Dinosaurs That Will Surprise You

The End of Oak Street: It’s Not the Dinosaurs That Will Surprise You

By John Kirk

ReviewJim SlotekAugust 13, 2026The End of Oak Street, David Robert Mitchell, Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Christian Convery, Maisy Stella, Horror, Comedy, Thriller, 1980s, SuspenceComment

The Wrong Girls: Dumb and Dumber… and Yet So, So Not

The Wrong Girls: Dumb and Dumber… and Yet So, So Not

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekAugust 13, 2026The Wrong Girls, Dylan Meyer, Kristen Stewart, Alia Shawkat, Kate McKinnon, Geena Davis, LaKeith Stanfield, Seth Rogen, Kuma, Stoner humour, ComedyComment

American Doctor: Treating Broken Bodies in Gaza, Fighting for Hearts and Minds at Home

American Doctor: Treating Broken Bodies in Gaza, Fighting for Hearts and Minds at Home

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekAugust 12, 2026Poh Si Teng, American Doctor, Audience Award, Hot Docs International Film Festival, Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, Dr. Thaer Ahmad, Dr. Mark Perlmutter, Documentary, Israel, Gaza, War in GazaComment

Original-Cin Q&A: PAW Patrol Director Cal Brunker on Dogs, Dinosaurs… and Snoop Dogg

Original-Cin Q&A: PAW Patrol Director Cal Brunker on Dogs, Dinosaurs… and Snoop Dogg

By Bonnie Laufer

InterviewJim SlotekAugust 12, 2026Cal Brunker, Adventure Bay, PAW Patrol, PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie, Bob Barlen, Animation, Children's movies, Franchise, Dinosaurs, DogsComment

Nimrods: Fanboy Wishes and Green Day Dreams

Nimrods: Fanboy Wishes and Green Day Dreams

By John Kirk

ReviewJim SlotekAugust 11, 2026Nimrods, Comedy, Coming of age stories, Lee Kirk, Green Day, Billie Joe Armstrong, Tré Cool, Mike Dirnt, Mason Thames, Mckenna Grace, Sean Gunn, Jenna Fischer, Keen RuffaloComment

The Rivals of Amziah King: The Beauty of Life is Found in Its Balance

The Rivals of Amziah King: The Beauty of Life is Found in Its Balance

By John Kirk

ReviewJim SlotekAugust 11, 2026The Rivals of Amziah King, Andrew Patterson, Matthew McConaughey, Angelina LookingGlass, Kurt Russell, Drama, Beekeeping, Crime drama, Southern U.S., Bluegrass musicComment

Tony: Bourdain's Wet Hot Teen Summer is a Thin Bio, But a Well-Cooked Story

Tony: Bourdain's Wet Hot Teen Summer is a Thin Bio, But a Well-Cooked Story

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekAugust 10, 2026Celebrity biopics, Anthony Bourdain, Tony, Director co-writer Matt Johnson, Dominic Sessa, Antonio Banderas, Emilia Jones, Leo Woodal, Bourdain's teen yearsComment

The Box: A Mexican Boy's Search For His Father's Remains Speaks Volumes in Few Words

The Box: A Mexican Boy's Search For His Father's Remains Speaks Volumes in Few Words

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekAugust 9, 2026Movies told with minimal dialogue, Mexican mass graves, Lorenzo Vigas’ The Box, First-time actors, Hatzín Navarrete, Young boy seeks his father's remains, Hernán Mendoza, Treatment of Mexican factory workersComment

One Night Only: Equal Parts Silly and Stupid Is (Just) Enough

One Night Only: Equal Parts Silly and Stupid Is (Just) Enough

By Chris Knight

ReviewJim SlotekAugust 6, 2026One Night Only, Romantic comedy, Will Gluck, Callum Turner, Monica Barbaro, American, love story, ComedyComment

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season 4, Ep. 3: Tonight the Crew Parties Like It's 2299

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season 4, Ep. 3: Tonight the Crew Parties Like It's 2299

By John Kirk

ReviewJim SlotekAugust 6, 2026Star Trek Strange New Worlds, Season 4 Episode 3, Pleasure Planet episode, Guest star Dave Foley, Klingon power ballads, Writer Kathryn Lyn, Anson Mount, Melissa Navia, Celia Rose-Gooding, Director Yana GorskayaComment

Star Wars Visions: The Ninth Jedi - Anime Meets Star Wars. Don’t Ask Why

Star Wars Visions: The Ninth Jedi - Anime Meets Star Wars. Don’t Ask Why

By John Kirk

ReviewJim SlotekAugust 5, 2026Star Wars Anime, Star Wars Visions: The Ninth Jedi, Kimiko Glenn, Simu Liu, Directed by Shunsuke Tada, Writer Mitsuyasu Sakai Comments

Ice Cream Man: Eli Roth Gorges on Blood and Sprinkles in Endless Psycho-Child Rampage

Ice Cream Man: Eli Roth Gorges on Blood and Sprinkles in Endless Psycho-Child Rampage

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekAugust 5, 2026Splatter horror, Demonic children, Eli Roth, Ice Cream Man, Demonic frozen treats, Decapitations, Ari Millen, Charlie Zeltzer, Carina Battrick, Shiloh O'Reilly, Sarah Abbott, Dylan HawcoComment

The Samurai and the Prisoner: Solving Mysteries Within Mysteries in a Besieged Japanese Castle

The Samurai and the Prisoner: Solving Mysteries Within Mysteries in a Besieged Japanese Castle

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekAugust 4, 2026The Samurai and the Prisoner, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Honobu Yonezawa, Japanese films, Period piece, Masahiro Motoki, Yuriko Yoshitaka, Masaki SudaComment

I Want Your Sex: Gregg Araki Takes a Playful Poke at Gen Z's Sexual Devolution

I Want Your Sex: Gregg Araki Takes a Playful Poke at Gen Z's Sexual Devolution

By Karen Gordon

Jim SlotekJuly 31, 2026Gen Z's lack of sex, I Want Your Sex, Writer-director Gregg Araki, BDSM, Female boss turned dominatrix, Cooper Hoffman, Olivia Wilde, Charli XCX, Chase Sui Wonders, Daveed Diggs, Johnny Knoxville, Margaret ChoComment

Sheep in the Box: Master Director Hirokazu Kore-eda Asks, ‘What is Family?’

Sheep in the Box: Master Director Hirokazu Kore-eda Asks, ‘What is Family?’

By Alice Shih

ReviewJim SlotekJuly 30, 2026Sheep in the Box, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Haruka Ayase, Daigo Yamamoto, Rimu Kuwaki, Drama, Artificial intelligence, Japanese films Comment

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season 4, Ep. 2: An Abandoned Ship and a Standard Evil Mind-Messing Entity (Copy)

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - Season 4, Ep. 2: An Abandoned Ship and a Standard Evil Mind-Messing Entity (Copy)

By John Kirk

ReviewJim SlotekJuly 30, 2026Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Closing the circle on the USS Enterprise, Season 4 Episode 2, Anson Mount, Penultimate season, Abandoned ship plot, Evil entity, Mind control Comments

The Voices of Our Mother: Sheila McCarthy Possesses the Screen in Unprepossessing Demonic Fable

The Voices of Our Mother: Sheila McCarthy Possesses the Screen in Unprepossessing Demonic Fable

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekJuly 30, 2026The Voices of Our Mother, Mark O’Brien, Horror, Canadian, Dysfunctional families, Sheila McCarthy, Shawn Doyle, Alex Ozerov-Meyer, Carolina Bartczak, Georgina ReillyComment

Spider-Man Brand New Day: The Stakes Are Low, Just The Way We Like It

By Chris Knight

ReviewJim SlotekJuly 29, 2026Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Destin Daniel Cretton, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jon Bernthal, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Superheroes, Franchise, Action, DramaComment

Mary Oliver Saved by the Beauty of the World: Brilliant Poet Receives Lyrical Salute

Mary Oliver Saved by the Beauty of the World: Brilliant Poet Receives Lyrical Salute

By Kim Hughes

ReviewJim SlotekJuly 24, 2026Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World, Documentary, Mary Oliver, Poet, American poet, John Waters, Sasha Waters, Stephen Colbert, Oprah Winfrey, Maria Shriver, Steve BuscemiComment