Your weekend film round-up: What to see (and what to skip) in the theatres
ReviewJim SlotekRalph Breaks The Internet, John C Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Robin Hood, Aaron Egerton, The Wild Pear Tree, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Julian Schnabel, Willem Dafoe, At Eternity's Gate, Border, Swedish films, Let the Right One In, The Drawer Boy, Michael Healey
Border: Part art-film, part-creature feature from author of Let the Right One In
By Karen Gordon
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The Drawer Boy: Celluloid Take on Acclaimed Stage Play Registers Hits and Misses
The Wild Pear Tree: Portrait of the Artist as a Delusional Young Turk
At Eternity's Gate: Willem Dafoe's Van Gogh helps bring an artist's eye to an artists's life
ReviewJim SlotekFilms about artists, Van Gogh, Julian Schnabel, Paul Gauguin, At Eternity's Gate, Vincent and Theo, Tatiana Lisovkaia, Oscar Isaac, The Starry Night, Arles, Jim Slotek
Creed II: Rocky Retread Revisits Boxing Clichés, Inspires Awe for Abs
ReviewBoxing, Creed II, sequel, Michael B. Jordan, Sylvester Stallone, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Dolph Lundgren, Franchise, Brigitte Nielsen
Robin Hood: Slick Reboot of Folk Hero Tale Long on Sizzle, Short on Steak
ReviewTaron Egerton, Jamie Foxx, Robin Hood, remake, action-adventure, Ben Mendelsohn, Eve Hewson, Jamie Dornan, F. Murray Abraham, Period piece, Matrix-inspired, Game of Thrones
Ralph Breaks the Internet: A barrage of CG action and witty Worldwide Web gags
ReviewJim SlotekRalph Breaks The Internet, Wreck-It-Ralph, John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Disney Animation, Depictions of the Internet, eBay, Gal Gadot, Disney Princesses, Merida from Brave, Alan Tudyk, Silicon Valley, Jack McBrayer, Phil Johnston, Rich Moore
Your Weekend Film Round-up: What to See (And Skip) In The Theatres
ReviewJim SlotekWidows, Steve McQueen, Viola Davis, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Coen Brothers, Peter Farrelly, Green Book, Mahershala Ali, Viggo Mortensen, The Front Runner, Hugh Jackman, Jason Reitman, Private War, Marie Colvin, Rosamund Pike, Touched, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Mark Wahlberg, Rose Byrne, Instant Family
A Private War: A danger-junkie's story with a mixed-message about war coverage
ReviewJim SlotekA Private War, Marie Colvin, Sunday Times, War coverage, Deaths of journalists, Rosamund Pike, Vanity Fair, Matthew Heineman, Arash Amal, Syrian Civil War, Paul Conroy, Stanley Tucci, Tom Hollander
The Front Runner: An awkwardly 'woke' perspective on a game-changing '80s political sex scandal
ReviewJim SlotekJason Reitman, Gary Hart, The Front Runner, 1980s, Political sex scandals, Donna Rice, Monkey Business, Alfred Molina, Matt Bai, Bob Woodward, Lee Atwater, Vera Farmiga, Hugh Jackman
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, all talk and not enough beasts
ReviewJim SlotekFantastic 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, Groot
Widows: Director McQueen goes popcorn, but social politics still pops up
By Karen Gordon
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ReviewJim SlotekWidows, 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 movies
Coens go cowboy and straddle the line between stupid and clever in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
ReviewJim SlotekThe Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Coen Brothers, Bruno Delonnel, Carter Burwell, Tim Blake Nelson, James Franco, Liam Neeson, Harry Melling, Singing cowboys, Tom Waits, Zoe Kazan, Tyne Daly, Saul Rubinek, Brendan Gleeson, Jonjo O'Neill, Anthology, Netflix
Original-Cin Review/Q&A: Canadian psychological thriller Touched, all loose ends and one tightly-wound performance
Review, InterviewJim SlotekTouched, Canadian movies, Karl R. Hearne, Psychological thrillllers, Ghost stories, Hugh Thompson, John Maclaren, Lola Flanery, Narrative ambiguity, Murdoch Mysteries, Black Harbour
Green Book: Not a deep dive into racism, but a funny, heartwarming relationship forged in a car
ReviewJim SlotekGreen 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 Cardellini
The Grinch: Reboot of Beloved Classic Isn’t Ho-Ho-Horrible But Definitely Pointless
ReviewThe Grinch, Animated, Reboot, Remake, Christmas, Children's films, Dr Seuss, Scott Mosier, Yarrow Cheney, Benedict Cumberbatch, Keenan Thompson, Angela Lansbury, Rashida Jones, Cameron Seely, Pharrell Williams, Tyler the Creator, Illumination Entertainment
Overlord: Zombie Nazi Film (Yeah We Said It) Disturbs on Unintended Levels
ReviewOverlord, 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 Asbaek
Boy Erased: Lucas Hedges shines, Joel Edgerton's direction pulls punches in true story of abusive Christian gay conversion
By Karen Gordon
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Traveling To Europe on 28 Films (And No Dollars!) A Day: Spotlight on the EUFF
Preview, ReviewThe 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 Abbass