Articles — Original Cin

Since 2017: Career film critics continuing the conversation

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, all talk and not enough beasts

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekNovember 15, 2018Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, J.K. Rowling, Eddie Redmayne, Newt Scamander, Harry Potter, Lestrange family, Hogwarts, Jude Law, Dan Fogler, Katherine Waterston, Zoe Kravitz, Père Lachaise Cemetery, Kelpie, Zouwi, GrootComment

Widows: Director McQueen goes popcorn, but social politics still pops up

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekNovember 15, 2018Widows, Steve McQueen, Viola Davis, Liam Neeson, Lynda La Plante, Gillian Flynn, Sharp Objects, Daniel Kaluuya, Elizabeth Debicki, Michelle Rodriguez, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall, Heist movies, Female action moviesComment

Coens go cowboy and straddle the line between stupid and clever in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

By Liam Lacey

Original-Cin Review/Q&A: Canadian psychological thriller Touched, all loose ends and one tightly-wound performance

By Jim Slotek

Review, InterviewJim SlotekNovember 14, 2018Touched, Canadian movies, Karl R. Hearne, Psychological thrillllers, Ghost stories, Hugh Thompson, John Maclaren, Lola Flanery, Narrative ambiguity, Murdoch Mysteries, Black HarbourComment

Green Book: Not a deep dive into racism, but a funny, heartwarming relationship forged in a car

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekNovember 14, 2018Green Book, Jim Crow, Peter Farrelly, Viggo Mortensen, Mahershala Ali, TIFF People's Choice Award, Tony Lip, Don Shirley, The Copa, Racism, Oscar Best Picture favourites, Awards season movies, Linda CardelliniComment

Original-Cin Q&A: Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne on Instant Family and lessons learned from real foster parents

By Bonnie Laufer

InterviewJim SlotekNovember 12, 2018Instant Family, Foster families, Sean Anders, Mark Wahlberg, Daddy's Home, Rose Byrne, Isabella Moner, Tig Notaro, Julie Hagerty, Julianna Gamiz, Gustavo Quiroz, Transformer: The Last Knight, Family comediesComment

Your Weekend Film Round-Up: What to See (And Skip) In the Theatres

By Original-Cin Staff

PreviewNovember 9, 2018Dolphin Man, Boy Erased, Overlord, Transit, The Grinch, Weekly Roundup, The European Film FestivalComment

The Grinch: Reboot of Beloved Classic Isn’t Ho-Ho-Horrible But Definitely Pointless

By Liam Lacey

Overlord: Zombie Nazi Film (Yeah We Said It) Disturbs on Unintended Levels

By Liam Lacey

ReviewNovember 9, 2018Overlord, JJ Abrams, Mark L. Smith, Billy Ray, Nazi, Horror, Historical film, Jovan Adepo, Dominic Applewhite, John Magaro, Wyatt Russell, Mathilde Ollivier, Julius Avery, Gianny Taufer, Pilou AsbaekComment

Boy Erased: Lucas Hedges shines, Joel Edgerton's direction pulls punches in true story of abusive Christian gay conversion

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekNovember 9, 2018Boy Erased, Gerald Conley, Lucas Hedges, Joel Edgerton, Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman, Christian Gay Conversion Therapy, Love In Action, Manchester By The SeaComment

Traveling To Europe on 28 Films (And No Dollars!) A Day: Spotlight on the EUFF

By Liam Lacey

Preview, ReviewNovember 9, 2018The Eighth Commissioner, Tonio, Omnipresent, The European Film Festival, The Chronicles of Melanie, I Am Not A Witch, Titanium White, Une Vie Ailleurs, Little Tito and the Aliens, Welcome to Germany, The Line, Rungano Nyoni, Hiam AbbassComment

The Girl in the Spider's Web: Is a less punk, more pumped Lisbeth Salander just another action hero?

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekNovember 8, 2018The Girl in the Spider's Web, Lisbeth Salander, Claire Foy, Sylvia Hoeks, Stephen Merchant, Lakeith Stanfield, Mikael Blomkvist, Sverrir Gudnason, Fede Alvarez, The Girl with the Dragon TattooComment

Original-Cin Q&A: Doc Producer Ed Barreveld Discusses Freediving Legend Jacques Mayol

By Liam Lacey

InterviewNovember 7, 2018The Big Blue, Jean-Marc Barr, Ed Barreveld, Lure of the Triangle, Luc Besson, Dolphin Man, documentary, Jacques Mayol, freediving, Canadian co-productionsComment

Transit: Fascist Europe Past and Present Explored in Twisty Thriller

By Liam Lacey

ReviewNovember 7, 2018Transt, TIFF 2018, Casablanca, Hitchcockian, German, Paula Beer, Christian Petzold, Franz Rogowski, 21st Century fascism, Godehard Giese, Matthias Brandt, Anna Seghers, Adaptation, Franz KafkaComment

Your Weekend Film Roundup: What to See (and Skip) In The Theatres

By Original-Cin Staff

Review, ViewsNovember 2, 2018The Nutcracker and the Four Realms, Bohemian Rhapsody, Burning, Weekly Roundup, Suspiria, Critics Picks, You're All Wrong, Mark Breslin, TIFF 2018Comment

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms: A Pretty Mess and a Mouse Monster

By Liam Lacey

Suspiria: Dancing Witches, Nazis, And Fifty Shades Of Pretension

By Liam Lacey

ReviewNovember 1, 2018Luca Guadagnino, Suspiria, Dario Argento, remake, Tilda Swinton, Thom Yorke, Dakota Johnson, Mia Goth, Chloe Grace Moretz, Thomas De Quincey, Horror, Thriller, Call Me By Your Name, Chloë Grace MoretzComment

Burning: Near-Perfect Korean Thriller Unpacks Suspense with Social Critique

By Liam Lacey

ReviewNovember 1, 2018Jun Jong-seo, Steven Yuen, Haruki Murakami, Lee Chang-dong, South Korean filmmakers, TIFF 2018, Thriller, The Walking Dead, Poetry, Secret Sunshine, Yoo Ah-in, William FaulknerComment

Bohemian Rhapsody: Freddie Mercury Resurrected in Flawed but Gripping Biopic

By Kim Hughes

ReviewOctober 30, 2018Queen, Freddie Mercury, Biopic, Brian May, Roger Taylor, Wayne's World, Rami Malek, Mike Myers, Jamie Foxx, Ray Charles, Drama Comments

'You're all wrong!': Mark Breslin & Thom Ernst revisit recent films and reaction

By Mark Breslin and Thom Ernst

Jim SlotekOctober 29, 2018Contrarianism, A Star Is Born, Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Fredric March, Janet Gaynor, Barbra Streisand, Life Itself, Samuel L. Jackson, Richard Brody, Mandy Patinkin, This Is Us, Dan Fogelman, First Man, Damien Chazelle, Bad Times at the El Royale, Rex ReedComment