Articles — Original Cin

Since 2017: Career film critics continuing the conversation

Miss Bala: Female-Led Action/Thriller Needs More Clarity... and Maybe Shorter Heels

By Kim Hughes

ReviewJanuary 31, 2019Catherine Hardwicke, Miss Bala, Remake, Gina Rodriguez, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Anthony MackieComment

Miniature: A very tiny documentary with big ideas

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekJanuary 31, 2019Miniature, Documentary, Dioramas, Dollhouses, Outsider art, Willard Wigan, Jimmy Cauty, The KLF, Tony Coleman, Margaret Meagher, Mighty Uke, Aftermath Dislocation Principle, Hypotopia, Miniatur Wunderland HamburgComment

Into Invisible Light: The unbearable lack-of-lightness of being a rich widow

ReviewJim SlotekJanuary 30, 2019Into Invisible Light, Shelagh Carter, Jennifer Dale, Peter Keleghan, Stuart Hughes, Thomas Grey, Canadian movies, Middle-aged romances, Ousama Rawi, Martha HenryComment

Wonders of the Sea 3D: Eco-eye candy for kids from the Cousteaus and Schwarzenegger with lots to see and banalities to say

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekJanuary 30, 2019Wonders of the Sea 3D, Jacques Cousteau, Jean-Michel Cousteau, Celine Cousteau, Fabien Cousteau, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ocean activism, Endangered marine life, Children's documenaries, The Sea of Cortez, The Bahamas, Maisy KayComment

This Mountain Life: Doc Goes Very High But Not Very Deep

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJanuary 24, 2019This Mountain Life., documentary, Grant Baldwin Comments

The Image Book: Oh So Meaningful But… Um… So Long… And… Um…

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJanuary 24, 2019The Image Book, Jean-Luc Godard, TIFF 2018, Jean Vigo, FW Murnau, Todd BrowningComment

Original-Cin Q&A: Doc on Boy Wonder Chef Charts Highs and Lows of Pro Cooking

By Bonnie Laufer

InterviewJanuary 24, 2019Chef Flynn, Hot docs, Cooking, KIds, Gem, Restaurant cultureComment

Racetime (La Course des Tuques): Quebec Animated Kids’ Film a Bumpy Ride

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJanuary 24, 2019Racetime, Quebec films, Animation, Kids flicks, The Dog Who Stopped the War, Cyndi Lauper, Simple Plan, Benoît GodboutComment

Serenity: Star-Laden Thriller Tanks Despite High-Minded Concept

By Kim Hughes

ReviewJanuary 24, 2019Serenit, thriller, Steven Knight, Matthew McConaughey, Djimon Hounsou, Anne Hathaway, Diane Lane, Jason ClarkeComment

The Kid Who Would Be King: Kiddo Spin on King Arthur Tale Sweet, Sassy but So-So

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJanuary 23, 2019Joe Cornish, The Kid Who Would Be King, Louis Ashbourne Serkis, Dean Chaumoo, Rebecca Ferguson, Angus Imrie, Kid flicks, King Arthur, Tom Taylor, Rhianna DorrisComment

PODCAST! Ep. 9: Deep dives and hot takes on the Oscar noms, and a few words from Toronto's Oscar nominated Domee Shi

By Jim Slotek, Kim Hughes, Karen Gordon, Liam Lacey and Bonnie Laufer

Cold War: Oscar-Nominated Polish Period Romance Recalls Hollywood of Yesteryear

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekJanuary 22, 2019Cold War, Ida, Pawel Pawlikowski., Janusz Glowacki, Lukasz Zal, Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, Soviet era Poland, Polish films, Classic Hollywood romances, Roma, Black and white art films, 2019 Oscar nominated filmsComment

Hale County This Morning, This Evening: Everyday black lives combine to form art that matters

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekJanuary 18, 2019African-American documentaries, RaMell Ross, Hale County This Morning, Hale County, Black Panther, BlacKkKlansman, Terrence Malick, Brown University, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, Bert Williams, Lime Kiln Club Field DayComment

Glass: M. Night Shyamalan has a LOT to say about super-heroes, though it seems like it's all been said

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekJanuary 17, 2019Glass, M. Night Shyamalan, Unbreakable, Split, James McAvoy, Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Multiple personality disorder, Comic books, superheroes, Super powers, Sarah Paulson, Spencer Treat Clark, Anya Taylor-JoyComment

PODCAST! EP. 8: Bonnie's adventures at the Critics Choice Awards and Green Book's backlash to the backlash to the backlash

By Jim Slotek, Bonnie Laufer, Liam Lacey and Kim Hughes

PodcastJim SlotekJanuary 16, 2019Critics Choice Awards, Movie podcasts, Paul Schrader, Bo Burnham, Elsie Fisher, Green Book, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Glass, M. Night Shyamalan, Split, mental illness, Problematic, Awards seasonComment

Stan & Ollie: A touching portrait of a professional "marriage" buoyed by talent and chemistry

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekJanuary 16, 2019Stan & Ollie, Famous duos, Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy, Jon S. Baird, Frenemies, Hal Roach, Steve Coogan, John C. Reilly, Shirley Henderson, Nina Arianda Comments

Replicas: Silly Sci-Fi Thriller a Lesson in How Not to Spin A Tale

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJanuary 13, 2019Replicas, Thriller, Sci-fi, Keanu Reeves, Alice Eve, Thomas Middleditch, John Ortiz, Jeffrey Nachmanoff, Marie Kondo, January opening Comment

The Upside: Starry Dramedy A Textbook Case of the Trouble With Remakes

By Kim Hughes

ReviewJanuary 10, 2019(Julianna Margulies, Bryan Cranston, Kevin Hart, Nicole Kidman, The Upside, remakes, French, TIFF 2017, Neil Burger, Éric Toledano, Olivier Nakache Comment

Destroyer: Nicole Kidman Vehicle Recasts Revenge as Good for the Gander

By Kim Hughes

ReviewJanuary 10, 2019Nicole Kidman, Karyn Kusama, Destroyer, TIFF 2018, Tatiana Maslany, Sebastian StanComment

Capernaum: An Arabic-language Oliver Twist, but even more depressingly set in Beirut

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekJanuary 10, 2019Capernaum, Nadine Labaki, Cannes Jury Prize, Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, Zain Al Rafeea, child marriage, Syrian refugees, Beirut, human trafficking, Undocumented workersComment