Articles — Original Cin

Since 2017: Career film critics continuing the conversation

Posts in Review

Fever Dream: Moms, Kids, And Madness Under the Argentinian Sun

Fever Dream: Moms, Kids, And Madness Under the Argentinian Sun

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 8, 2021Fever Dream, Claudia Llosa, Argentina, Argentinian films, Spanish language, thriller, drama, mystery, Supernatural thriller, María Valverde, Dolores Fonzi, NetflixComment

The Rescue: How a Global Call to Action Made an Impossible Underwater Cave Mission Possible

The Rescue: How a Global Call to Action Made an Impossible Underwater Cave Mission Possible

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 7, 2021Thai underwater cave rescue, Recreational cave diving, The Rescue, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Rich Stanton, John VolanthenComment

Night Raiders: First-Time Director Creates a Dystopian Future as Metaphor for a Horrific Past

Night Raiders: First-Time Director Creates a Dystopian Future as Metaphor for a Horrific Past

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 6, 2021Sci-fi as metaphor for the present, Residential Schools, Danis Goulet, Night Raiders, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Brooklyn Letexier-Hart, Amanda Plummer, Dystopian fictionComment

Slasher: Flesh & Blood Like a Deranged Soap Opera with David Cronenberg to Boot

Slasher: Flesh & Blood Like a Deranged Soap Opera with David Cronenberg to Boot

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 6, 2021Slasher: Flesh & Blood, Hollywood Suite, David Cronenberg, Horror, slasher flick, TVComment

Old Henry: Tim Blake Nelson and Stephen Dorff are note-perfect in an old-school Western reboot

Old Henry: Tim Blake Nelson and Stephen Dorff are note-perfect in an old-school Western reboot

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 6, 2021Old school Westerns, Potsy Ponciroli, Old Henry, Tim Blake Nelson, Gavin Lewis, Stephen Dorff, Fast-guns hanging up their weapons, Trace Adkins Comment

Defining Moments: Check the Dictionary Under 'Cringe'

Defining Moments: Check the Dictionary Under 'Cringe'

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 6, 2021Burt Reynolds' last movie, Mental illness comedy, Defining Moments, Stephen Wallis, Polly Shannon, Eric Peterson, Tanya Blanchard, Canadian filmsComment

Summertime: And the Livin’ is Poesy

Summertime: And the Livin’ is Poesy

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 5, 2021Summertime, Carlos López Estrada, Blindspotting, Get Lit Collective, Los Angeles Comment

No Time to Die: Not your grandfather's Bond, but Craig's action-packed swan-song dials in the memories

No Time to Die: Not your grandfather's Bond, but Craig's action-packed swan-song dials in the memories

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 4, 2021James Bond films, No Time to Die, Daniel Craig's final Bond, Lashana Lynch, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Christoph Waltz, Rami Malek, Naomie Harris Comment

The Many Saints of Newark: Pre-Sopranos Drama Short on Bada-Bing

The Many Saints of Newark: Pre-Sopranos Drama Short on Bada-Bing

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekSeptember 30, 2021The Many Saints of Newark, Sopranos prequel, David Chase, Michael Imperioli, Ray Liotta, Alessandro Nivola, Michael Gandolfini, James GandolfiniComment

Venom: Let There Be Carnage: A Violently Slapstick Domestic Sitcom Punctuated by CGI

Venom: Let There Be Carnage: A Violently Slapstick Domestic Sitcom Punctuated by CGI

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekSeptember 30, 2021Marvel characters, Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage, Tom Hardy, Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Naomie Harris, Michelle Williams, Spider-ManComment

Adventures of a Mathematician: The Birth of the Bomb and the Sum of All Fears

Adventures of a Mathematician: The Birth of the Bomb and the Sum of All Fears

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekSeptember 28, 2021Los Alamos Manhattan Project scientists, Stanislaw Ulam, Adventures of a Mathematician, Thor Klein, Adam Ulam, Philippe Tlokinski, John von Neumann, Edward Teller, Esther GarrelComment

Between Waves: Tragic Romance, Big Theoretical Ideas and Some Problems Keeping It Real

Between Waves: Tragic Romance, Big Theoretical Ideas and Some Problems Keeping It Real

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekSeptember 28, 2021Canadian films, Parallel-universe romance, Between Waves, Virginia Abramovich, São Miguel, Fiona Graham, Luke Robinson, Edwige Jean-Pierre, Stacey Bernstein Comments

Titane: Literal Auto-Erotic Madness Actually Has Things to Say Beneath the Shock

Titane: Literal Auto-Erotic Madness Actually Has Things to Say Beneath the Shock

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekSeptember 28, 2021Titane, Julia Ducournau, Midnight Madness, Palme d’Or at Cannes, Cronenberg-esque, Agathe Rousselle, Vincent LindonComment

Falling for Figaro: Joanna Lumley Fuels This Rom-Com About Competing Talent-Show Dream-Chasers

Falling for Figaro: Joanna Lumley Fuels This Rom-Com About Competing Talent-Show Dream-Chasers

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJim SlotekSeptember 27, 2021Talent show movie plots, Falling for Figaro, Joanna Lumley, Danielle Macdonald, Shazad Latif, Hugh Skinner, Ben Lewin, Underdog comedies Comment

Sankofa: A Second Life for a Canonical African American Film

Sankofa: A Second Life for a Canonical African American Film

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekSeptember 23, 2021Sankofa, Ava Duvernay, Oyafunmike Ogunlano, Mutabaruka, African actors, rerelease, Haile Gerima, SlaveryComment

Maria Chapdelaine: Latest Adaptation of Classic Quebec Novel a Visual Marvel

Maria Chapdelaine: Latest Adaptation of Classic Quebec Novel a Visual Marvel

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekSeptember 23, 2021Maria Chapdelaine, Sebastien Pilote, Sara Montpetit, Sébastien Ricard, Hèléne Florest, Quebec films, Canadian, adaptation, FrenchComment

The Guilty: Hollywood Remake of Danish Thriller Recreates the Original’s Edgy Vibe

The Guilty: Hollywood Remake of Danish Thriller Recreates the Original’s Edgy Vibe

By Kim Hughes

ReviewJim SlotekSeptember 23, 2021The Guilty, Antoine Fuqua, Jake Gyllenhaal, Riley Keough, Thriller, Remake, Cop dramaComment

A.rtificial I.mmortality: Wishful Thoughts on Cheating Death in a Digital Future

A.rtificial I.mmortality: Wishful Thoughts on Cheating Death in a Digital Future

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekSeptember 23, 2021A.rtificial I.mmortality, Digitally preserved, Ann Shin, Avatars and robots, Douglas Rushkoff, Deepak Chopra, AI-based Shoah Foundation projectComment

Dear Evan Hansen: Broadway Hit a Bit of a Miss on Film But Still Poignant

Dear Evan Hansen: Broadway Hit a Bit of a Miss on Film But Still Poignant

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekSeptember 23, 2021Dear Evan Hansen, Ben Platt, Amy Adams, Julianne Moore, Kaitlyn Dever, Amandla Stenberg, Stephen Chbosky, Plays adapted as filmsComment

The Hidden Life of Trees: Hard to See the Forest for the Twee

The Hidden Life of Trees: Hard to See the Forest for the Twee

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekSeptember 22, 2021The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben, Documentary, Jorg Adolph, Jan Haft, Adaptation, Environmental issues, Environmental messages Comment