Mank: A workmanlike retelling of Citizen Kane's apocryphal man-behind-the-masterpiece myth
ReviewJim SlotekMovies about golden age Hollywood, Mank, Quentin Tarantino, Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood, David Fincher, Orson Welles, Citizen Kane, Herman J. Mankiewicz, Gary Oldman, Lily Collins, Tom Burke, Erik Messerschmidt, George S. Kaufman, SJ Perelman, Ben Hecht, Irving Thalberg, William Randolph Hearst, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Donald Graham Burt, Jack Fincher, Upton Sinclair, Amanda Seyfried, Marion Davies, Tuppence Middleton, Pauline Kael
The Twentieth Century: An improbable U.S. release for one of the most bizarre Canadian historical backward glances
ReviewJim SlotekThe Twentieth Century, Surrealist portrayal of Canadian history, Matthew Rankin, William Lyon Mackenzie King, A Very Double Life, Robertson Davies, Dan Beirne, Kee Chan, Guy Maddin, University of Toronto’s Kappa Alpha Society, Arthur Meighen, Brent Skagford, Seán Cullen, Lord Minto, Canadian movies released in the U.S.
The Last Vermeer: Fascinating True-Life Story Underserved by Middling Drama
By Karen Gordon
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Review, PreviewJim SlotekThe Last Vermeer, Guy Pearce, Claes Bang, WWII, Nazis, Dan Friedkin, Drama, Vicky Krieps, Forgery
Donbass: Conspiracies, event actors, antifa, fake news... all mordantly played out in Russian and Ukrainian
ReviewJim SlotekRussian occupation of Eastern Ukraine, Sergey Loznitsa’s Donbass, Novorossiya, “New Russia”, Cannes' Un Certain Regard, Film Movement Plus, Boris Kamorzin, Evgeny Chepurnyak, Lyudmila Smorodina, Alexander Zamuraev, Thorsten Merten, Fake news, Event actors, Propaganda
First We Eat: Doc about a family's challenge to 'eat local' in the Yukon is a fun take on a global reality
ReviewJim SlotekEating locally in the far north, First We Eat, Dawson City, Chinook salmon, Northern sources of salt, Global food supplies, Hot Docs Festival, Tr'ondëk Hwëch'in, Northern Indigenous diets, Virtual theatres
Martin Eden: Italian-ized Jack London novel is equal parts brilliant and exasperating
ReviewJim SlotekMartin Eden, Jack London novel, Foreign film adaptations of American novels, Luca Marinell, Pietro Marcello, Leo Tolstoy, Kunstlerroman, Giustiniano Alpi, Jessica Cressy, Carlo Cecch, Socialism versus fascism
Freaky: Body-Swapping Slasher Flick High on Concept, Meh on Execution
Review, PreviewJim SlotekFreaky, Freaky Friday, Friday the 13th, slasher flick, Kathryn Newton, Vince Vaughn, Christopher Landon, Happy Death Day 2U, Happy Death Day, Teen girl revenge movie, Misha Osherovich, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Horror, Comedy, Michael Kennedy
Ammonite: Atmosphere and a made-up romance amount to a modest nod to the life of an under-appreciated female scientist
By Karen Gordon
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ReviewJim SlotekUnheralded female scientists, Mary Anning, Ammonite, Francis Lee, Lyme Regis Dorset, Kate Winslet, Gemma Jones, Saoirse Ronan, James McArdle, Stéphane Fontaine, Paleontology, Same sex romances, Fiona Shaw
Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey - At last, a yuletide movie that's not pure humbug!
ReviewJim SlotekNetflix Christmas movies, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, Forest Whitaker, Keegan-Michael Key, David E. Talbert, Choreographer Ashley Wallen, The Greatest Showman, John Legend, Philip Lawrence, Phylicia Rashad, Justin Cornwell, Miles Barrow, Ricky Martin, Madalen Mills, Lisa Davina Phillip
Come Away: A grim, grownup fairy tale that mashes up Neverland and Wonderland, but falls short on magic
ReviewJim SlotekCome Away, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Brenda Chapman, Brave, Mashups of children's tales, David Oyelowo, Angelina Jolie, Jordan A. Nash, Keira Chansa, Reece Yates, Anna Chancellor, Francis Drake’s ship Golden Hind, Michael Caine, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Marissa Kate Goodhill
The Climb: Comedic Story of Mad, Enduring Friendship Buoyed by Reality
Review, PreviewJim SlotekThe Climb, Buddy comedy, Michael Angelo Covino, Kyle Marvin, Gayle Rankin, George Wendt, Comedy, Dramedy, TIFF 2019, Toxic Masculinity
Major Arcana: Minimalist Gem Tells Very Human Story with Care and Honesty
Rebellion: CBC's The Nature of Things turns 60 with an overreaching roundup of global youth movements
ReviewJim SlotekCBC’s The Nature of Things, Rebellion, Youth oriented social movements, Mark Starowicz, Caitlin Starowicz, David Suzuki, Severn Cullis-Suzuki, U.N. Conference on Environment and Development, Greta Thunberg, Sir David Attenborough, Gail Bradbrook, Extinction Rebellion, Black Lives Matter, George Floyd, Rev. Lennox Yearwood, Jerome Foster
The Kid Detective: Ace Mystery/Comedy Way More Complex Than its Title Suggests
Let Him Go: Kevin Costner and Diane Lane are believable vigilante grandparents in beautifully shot, gripping rescue/revenge tale
ReviewJim SlotekKevin Costner, Let Him Go, Diane Lane, Novel by Larry Watson, Thomas Bezucha, Ryan Bruce, Kayli Carter, Will Brittain, Elmore Leonard, Justified., Lesley Manville, Booboo Stewart
Watson: Doc of Sea Shepherd Founder and Eco-Warrior Drowning in Deference
Review, PreviewJim SlotekPaul Watson, Lesley Chilcott, Watson, Docuementary, Environmental issues, Activism, Oceans, Climate change, Canadian, Greenpeace, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
The Cuban: Interview/review of a Canadian film that overcame pandemic paralysis by barn-storming the drive-ins
Interview, ReviewJim SlotekSergio Navarretta, The Cuban, Drive-in theatre events, Cuban-Canadian pianist Hilario Duran, Louis Gossett Jr., Ana Golja, Degrassi: Next Class, Pan African Film Festival in L.A, Lavazza Drive-In Film Festival, Glen Campbell, Spirit of the West’s John Mann, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Giacomo Gianniotti, Alzheimer's
Darkness in Tenement 45: Good Premise and Performances Sunk by Weak Execution
Review, PreviewJim SlotekDarkness in Tenement 45, Nicole Groton, Nicole Tompkins, Casey Kramer, Thriller, Lockdown, Cockroaches, Drama, Teen Angst
Picture My Face: The Story of Teenage Head - Canada's best "almost famous" band gets its closeup in the worst timeslot of the year
ReviewJim SlotekPicture My Face: The Story of Teenage Head, TVOntario, Teenage Head, Frankie Venom, “Heat Wave” concert, “Last Pogo” at Toronto’s Horseshoe, Elvis Costello, Talking Heads, The B-52's, Bands that almost made it, Douglas Arrowsmith, Ron Sexsmith doc Love Shines, David Bendeth, The Tragically Hip’s Rob Baker, Gord Lewis, Steve Mahon
Jimmy Carter Rock & Roll President: Music-Themed Doc on 39th President a Star-Gazer’s Delight
Review, PreviewJim SlotekJimmy Carter Rock & Roll President, Mary Wharton, Documentary, U.S. politics, Gregg Allman, The Allman Brothers, Bob Dylan, Bono, Cher, Warren Beatty, Dizzy Gillespie, Willie Nelson, Nile Rodgers, Paul Simon
