Articles — Original Cin

Since 2017: Career film critics continuing the conversation

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Hair of the Bear: Trudeau and McLellan's Winter Thriller Pulls Punches But Eventually Lands One

Hair of the Bear: Trudeau and McLellan's Winter Thriller Pulls Punches But Eventually Lands One

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 5, 2026Alexandre Trudeau, James McLellan, Canadian Forces friends turned director, Hair of the Bear, Wilderness revenge story, Malia Baker, Roy Dupuis, Jonathan Lawrence, Robert Naylor Comment

Sweetness: Teen Take on 'Misery' Is a Solid Canadian Thriller

Sweetness: Teen Take on 'Misery' Is a Solid Canadian Thriller

By Chris Knight

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 5, 2026Sweetness, Thriller, Teen drama, Emma Higgins, Kate Hallett, Herman Tommeraas, Aya Furukawa, Filmed in CanadaComment

Original-Cin Chat: Alexandre Trudeau & James McLellan on War, Toughening Up and Hair of the Bear

Original-Cin Chat: Alexandre Trudeau & James McLellan on War, Toughening Up and Hair of the Bear

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 4, 2026Alexandre Trudeau, James McLellan, Canadian Forces friends turned director, Hair of the Bear, Wilderness revenge story, Frontline war documentaries, Malia Baker, Roy Dupuis, Winnipeg Film GroupComment

Everest Dark: Sherpas on a Corpse Hunt Add to the Bittersweet Beauty of Everest

Everest Dark: Sherpas on a Corpse Hunt Add to the Bittersweet Beauty of Everest

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 1, 2026Over-touristing of Mount Everest, Rising climber death tolls, Missing bodies, Everest Dark, Director Jereme Watt, Tenzing Norgay, Mingma Tsiri Sherpa, Sherpas in a search-project for bodies, Narrator Jaswant Dev Shrestha, Pasang Tenzing SherpaComment

In Cold Light: Noir Drama About an Alberta Drug Dealer in Over Her Head is Cold Indeed

In Cold Light: Noir Drama About an Alberta Drug Dealer in Over Her Head is Cold Indeed

By Liz Braun

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 26, 2026Drug plot set in Alberta, In Cold Light, Ponoka Stampede, Director Maxime Giroux, Maika Monroe, Jesse Irving, Contemporary noir, Troy Kotsur, Helen HuntComment

Dreams: Jessica Chastain Plays a Mexican Refugee's Saviour Turned Nightmare

Dreams: Jessica Chastain Plays a Mexican Refugee's Saviour Turned Nightmare

By Liz Braun

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 26, 2026Refugee themed drama, Jessica Chastain, Dark "saviour" relationship, Dreams, Director Michel Franco, Isaac Hernández, American Ballet Theatre, Rupert Friend, Marshall BellComment

The President’s Cake: Iraq Period Piece Is Just a Touch Too Sweet

The President’s Cake: Iraq Period Piece Is Just a Touch Too Sweet

By Chris Knight

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 25, 2026The President’s Cake, TIFF '25, Hasan Hadi, Iranian film, Baneen Ahmad Nayyaf, Sajad Mohamad Qasam, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, DramaComment

The Bluff: In Praise of Women Buccaneers, Especially Priyanka Chopra Jonas

The Bluff: In Praise of Women Buccaneers, Especially Priyanka Chopra Jonas

By John Kirk

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 23, 2026Comment

Midwinter Break: Marital Drama Has Big Potential, Small Payoff

Midwinter Break: Marital Drama Has Big Potential, Small Payoff

By Kim Hughes

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 20, 2026Midwinter Break, Drama, The Troubles, Amsterdam, Polly Findlay, Ciarán Hinds, Lesley Manville, Movies about marriage, AdaptationComment

EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert - Elvis Has Left the Gift Shop, Enjoy the Show

EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert - Elvis Has Left the Gift Shop, Enjoy the Show

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 19, 2026Unearthed footage, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, Director Baz Luhrmann, Elvis Presley's Vegas years, Concert-based documentaries, Austin Butler, Colonel Tom Parker, Tom HanksComment

Kokuho: Brotherly Rivalry in a Powerful Kabuki Epic

Kokuho: Brotherly Rivalry in a Powerful Kabuki Epic

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 18, 2026Kokuho, Japanese movies, Kabuki, Sang-il Lee, Ryô Yoshizawa, Ryûsei Yokohama, Ken Watanabe, Drama, TIFF '25Comment

Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie the Review!

Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie the Review!

By Chris Knight

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 12, 2026Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, TIFF '25, Jay McCarrol, Matt Johnson, Canadian, Comedy, Toronto story, The Rivoli, Back to the FutureComment

"Wuthering Heights:" A Beautiful Brontë Adaptation, Stripped of Character Depth

"Wuthering Heights:" A Beautiful Brontë Adaptation, Stripped of Character Depth

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 12, 2026Emily Brontë, Modern Bronte's adaptations, “Wuthering Heights”, Writer/director Emerald Fennell, Margot Robbie, Hong Chau, Jacob Elordi, Charlotte Mellington, Martin Clunes, Shazad LatifComment

Montreal, My Beautiful: Joan Chen Luminous (As Usual) Is a Hit in Quebecois Film

Montreal, My Beautiful: Joan Chen Luminous (As Usual) Is a Hit in Quebecois Film

By Liz Braun

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 11, 2026Montreal, My Beautiful, Xiaodan He, Joan Chen, Charlotte Aubin, John Xu, Pei Yao Xu, Canadian, Drama, Hong Kong, Chinese, Immigrant storiesComment

Cold Storage: Fungus-Among-Us Starts Strong in Overstretched Disease Horror

Cold Storage: Fungus-Among-Us Starts Strong in Overstretched Disease Horror

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 11, 2026Space-borne infection films, Fungus among us, Cold Storage, Liam Neeson, Writer David Koepp, Georgina Campbell, Joe Keery, Vanessa Redgrave, Director Jonny CampbellComment

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die: Groundhog Day Meets The Terminator by Way of The Dirty Dozen

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die: Groundhog Day Meets The Terminator by Way of The Dirty Dozen

By Chris Knight

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 11, 2026Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, Gore Verbinski, Sam Rockwell, Juno Temple, Haley Lu Richardson, Sci-fi, Comedy, Futuristic, Black comedy, Apocalyptic themesComment

Forlorn at Finch, Middle-Aged at Midland: Hong Kong Immigrants Struggle to Get By

Forlorn at Finch, Middle-Aged at Midland: Hong Kong Immigrants Struggle to Get By

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 11, 2026Finch & Midland, Canadian drama, Hong Kong, Scarborough, Timothy Yeung, Anthony Wong, Patrick Tam, Nina Paw, Harriet Yeung, Theresa Lee, Dmitry Chepovetsky, Jaden Kwan, Immigrant experience, Chinese Comment

Pillion: Aloof Alexander Skarsgärd Meets Puppy-Eyed Harry Melling in Offbeat Dom-Com

Pillion: Aloof Alexander Skarsgärd Meets Puppy-Eyed Harry Melling in Offbeat Dom-Com

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 10, 2026Pillion, Harry Lighton, Adaptation, LGBTQ+, Harry Melling, Alexander Skarsgärd, Lesley Sharp, Douglas Hodge, Queer, Gay culture, Drama, BritishComment

Soul’s Road: Canadian Country Star Dallas Smith as a Hometown Hero Seeking Redemption

Soul’s Road: Canadian Country Star Dallas Smith as a Hometown Hero Seeking Redemption

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 6, 2026Soul’s Road, Drama, Redemption, Canadian film, Joel Stewart, Dallas Smith, Camille Stopps, Allan Hawco, Celeste Desjardins, Geena Meszaros, Josh Collins, Charlie GillespieComment

Scarlet: To See or Not to See an Animated Japanese Hamlet - That is the Question

Scarlet: To See or Not to See an Animated Japanese Hamlet - That is the Question

By Chris Knight

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 5, 2026Japanese animation, Re-imaginings of Hamlet, Writer/director Mamoru Hosoda, Scarlet, Hamlet as a Japanese princess, Mana Ashida, Masaki OkadaComment