Articles — Original Cin

Since 2017: Career film critics continuing the conversation

Posts in Review

Mary Shelley: Classic Feminist Novel Inspires So-So Feminist(ish) Movie

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJuly 11, 2018Frankenstein, Horror, Elle Fanning, Drama, TIFF 2017, Bel Powley, Percy Bysshe Shelley

American Animals: Fact-Based Heist Drama Blurs Fact and Fiction, Comes Up Short

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJuly 11, 2018Bart Layton, Ann Dowd, Blake Jenner, Jared Abrahamson, fact-based drama, Heist movies

Leave No Trace: Homeless dad-and-daughter tale, an affecting breaking-point metaphor

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekJuly 9, 2018Debra Granik, Winter's Bone, PTSD, Ben Foster, Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie, Homelessness, Father daughter dramas

Always At The Carlyle squanders its Old World saga on modern celeb sizzle

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekJuly 9, 2018Manhattan society, Old World glamour, Legendary hotels, The Carlyle, Anthony Bourdain, Princess Diana, George Clooney, Documentaries, Matthew Miele

22 Chaser: Realist drama about a Toronto tow-truck driver could use a jump-start

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekJuly 6, 2018Canadian movies, Tow truck drivers, Realist drama, Brian J Smith, Rafal Sokolowski, Moral ambivalence, Crooked Cops, Aidan Devine, Raoul Max Trujillo

Boundaries: Starry Road-Trip Movie Has Heaps of Heart but Lacks Thrust

By Kim Hughes

ReviewJuly 4, 2018Comedy-drama, Road trip, Christopher Plummer, Vera Farmiga, Peter Fonda, Christopher Lloyd

The First Purge: Franchise prequel explains it all away as a dubious Trump-era race war

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekJuly 4, 2018The Purge, Trump, Dystopian fiction, Race issues, Crime, Marisa Tomei, Attack The Block, Attack the Block

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Fun sight gags, but the quantum hokum bugs me

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekJuly 3, 2018Marvel, Ant-Man, Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Peyton Reed, Hymenoptera, Michael Douglas, Laurence Fishburne, Shrinking, Quantum mechanics

Westwood Punk, Icon, Activist: Documentary Paints Predictable If Persuasive Portrait

By Kim Hughes

ReviewJune 29, 2018Vivienne Westwood, Documentary, Hot Docs, Fashion

Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts: Rape-Revenge Fable Hits Feminist Bullseye

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJune 29, 2018Mouly Surya, Western, Feminist, Rape, Revenge, Cannes, TIFF 2017

Upgrade: A cyber-future B-movie that elevates its dystopian genre

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekJune 28, 2018Science fiction, Artificial intelligence, Leigh Whannell, Saw, Insidious, Logan Marshall-Green, Cyber-future, Dystopian stories

North Mountain: An indigenous Brokeback distracted by its generic thriller plot

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekJune 28, 2018Canadian films, Indigenous films, Wilderness thrillers, Gay relationships

Sicario: Day of the Soldado loses its immoral soul the second time around

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekJune 28, 2018Sicario, Denis Villeneuve, Drug cartels, human trafficking, refugees, Mexican border, Benicia del Toro, Josh Brolin, Terrorism

Darken: Ambitious Canuck Female Fantasy Thriller Aims High, Lands Low

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJune 27, 2018Audrey Cummings, horror, Female filmmakers, fantasy, Horror films, Canadian

Uncle Drew: NBA stars get some laughs under all that latex

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekJune 27, 2018Basketball movies, Sports movies, Comedies, Athletes turned actor, Uncle Drew, Pepsi Max, TV commercials turned movies, Kyrie Irving, Shaquille O'Neal

The Unseen: Canadian "Invisible Man" story starts slow, finishes gonzo

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekJune 25, 2018Horror, suspense, invisibility, Canadian movies, Deadpool, Geoff Redknap

Paper Year: Canuck Dramedy Aspires to be Rom-Com… and Succeeds

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJune 22, 2018Rebecca Addelman, Eve Hewson, Canadian, rom-com, Avan Jogia

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, a museum tour of past thrills, scary as a bucket of chicken

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekJune 21, 2018Jurassic World, Jurassic Park, Dinosaurs, Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jeff Goldblum, J.A. Bayona

Soon-Yin Lee's Octavio is Dead!: Cross-dressing Lynchian ghost story is less than haunting

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekJune 21, 2018Soon-Yin Lee, Ghost story, LGBT issues, Rosanna Arquette, Raoul Max Trujillo, Sarah Gadon, Lynchian

Hearts Beat Loud: Nick Offerman sweetly dials down as dad, vinyl seller and wannabe rock star

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekJune 20, 2018Nick Offerman, Toni Collette, Ted Danson, Kersey Clemons, Vinyl record stores, Father daughter dramas, Spotify