Articles — Original Cin

Since 2017: Career film critics continuing the conversation

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World - a series finale with so many dragons, you'll plotz

By Thom Ernst

ReviewFebruary 22, 2019How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Jay Baruchel, Movie trilogies, Franchise finales, America Ferrera, F. Murray Abraham, Dean DeBloisComment

Fighting with My Family: A good-natured Brit-romp over the ropes of the WWE

By Liam Lacey

Never Look Away: The Oscar Foreign-Film nom no one is talking about (with good reason)

By Liam Lacey

PODCAST! Ep. 13: Who'll take trophies Sunday at the Oscars? We've got five expert opinions, no charge

By Jim Slotek, Bonnie Laufer, Karen Gordon, Thom Ernst and Liam Lacey

PodcastFebruary 20, 2019Movie podcasts, Oscars, Roma, Netflix, Green Book, Jim Slotek, Karen Gordon, Bonnie Laufer, Thom Ernst, Glenn Close, Rami Malek, Mahershala Ali, Viggo Mortensen, Bao, Bohemian Rhapsody, Queen, Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, ShallowComment

Trouble in the Garden: Family Discord Drama Is Timely but By-the-Numbers

By Liam Lacey

ReviewFebruary 15, 2019Trouble in the Garden, Canadian movies, indigenous films, Cara Gee, Roz Owen, Jon Cor\, Fiona Reid, Frank MooreComment

Happy Death Day 2U: Sequel to mash-up of Scream and Groundhog day makes for smart horror - maybe too smart

By Liam Lacey

ReviewFebruary 15, 2019Happy Death Day 2U, Horror sequels, Blumhouse, Christopher Landon, Time loops, Jessica Rothe, Phi Vu, Suraj Sharma, Sarah YarkinComment

Everybody Knows: Iranian Oscar winner directs Cruz and Bardem in richly-drawn Spanish missing child/village-with-secrets drama

By Karen Gordon

ReviewFebruary 15, 2019Asghar Farhadi, Everybody Knows, A Separation, The Salesman, Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Missing child drama, Toronto International Film Festival, Spanish Films, Spouses acting togetherComment

PODCAST! EP. 12: A Valentine to our fave rom-coms, Oscar incompetence redux, and an impassioned defence of cinematography

By Jim Slotek, Liam Lacey, Karen Gordon and Thom Ernst

Original-Cin Q&A: Trouble in the Garden director Roz Owen on the 'Sixties Scoop' and white filmmakers telling Aboriginal stories

InterviewFebruary 14, 2019Trouble in the Garden, Roz Owen, Cinefest Sudbury, Canadian Aboriginal history, The "Sixties Scoop", Residential Schools, Cara Gee, Carole Conde and Karl Beveridge, Frank Moore, Fiona Reid, Cultural appropriation, White filmmakers telling aboriginal storiesComment

Alita: Battle Angel , Rodriguez/Cameron make a messy manga movie out of spare parts

By Karen Gordon

ReviewFebruary 12, 2019Alita: Battle Angel, Yukito Kishiro, Gunnm, Robert Rodriguez, James Cameron, Manga, post-apocalypse, Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Mahershala Ali, Keean Johnson, AvatarComment

Isn’t It Romantic: Rom-Com Skewers Rom-Coms While Impersonating Rom-Com

By Kim Hughes

ReviewFebruary 12, 2019rom-com, Rebel Wilson, Liam Hemsworth, Adam Devine, Priyanka Chopra, Pretty Woman, Valentine's Day, ComedyComment

PODCAST! EP. 11: Liam Neeson's words put in so much context, you'll be tired of context

PodcastFebruary 11, 2019Liam Neeson, Cold Pursuit, Liam Neeson revenge story, "Black bastard", Taraji P. Henson, What Men Want, Movie podcasts, Jim Slotek, Kim Hughes, Karen Gordon, Arctic, Mads Mikkelsen, Awards seasonComment

The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part: Considerably less awesome the second time around

By Jim Slotek

ReviewFebruary 7, 2019The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, Duplo, Chris Pratt, The Lego Movie, Elizabeth Banks, Everything Is Awesome, This Song is Gonna Get Stuck Inside Your Head, Bricksburg, Lego Batman, Will Arnett, Guardians of the Galaxy, Corporate tie-ins, Pop culture referencesComment

Original-Cin Q&A/Review: Is The Prodigy's Jackson Robert Scott the scariest 10-year-old actor ever?

By Jim Slotek

Interview, ReviewFebruary 7, 2019The Entity, It, Jackson Robert Scott, Colm Feore, Nicholas McCarthy, Horror movies with evil children, Child actors, Taylor Schilling, Stephen King, Locke & KeyComment

What Men Want: Gender-Bending Reboot a Garish Gumbo of Clichés

By Kim Hughes

ReviewFebruary 7, 2019Taraji P. Henson, Tracy Morgan, rom-com, Reboot, Sports films, Erykah Badu, SNL, Pete Davidson Comment

Arctic: Sublime Survival Story Pits Mads Mikkelsen Against a Blustery World

By Liam Lacey

Preview, ReviewFebruary 6, 2019Maria Thelma Smáradóttir, Joseph Trapanese, Tómas Örn Tómasson, Mads Mikkelsen, Joe Penna\, Survival Story, Arctic, Feature debut, Cannes Comment

The quirky Cold Pursuit: Liam Neeson takes revenge (what else is new?) in REALLY cold blood

By Jim Slotek

ReviewFebruary 5, 2019Cold Pursuit, Liam Neeson, Northern Ireland, Colorado, Hans Petter Moland, In Order of Disappearance, Hollywood remakes, Taken, Micheal Richardson, Tom Bateman, Tom Jackson, Quirky crime comedyComment

PODCAST! EP. 10: We talk RAZZIES - and are these Oscars the most incompetently run awards in history?

PodcastJim SlotekFebruary 4, 2019Movie podcasts, Jim Slotek, Kim Hughes, Karen Gordon, Bonnie Laufer, Razzie Awards, Screen Actor Guild Awards, Oscar best song, Rami Malek, Glenn Close, Mahershala AliComment

'YOU'RE ALL WRONG!': MARK BRESLIN & THOM ERNST REVISIT RECENT FILMS AND REACTION

ViewsJim SlotekFebruary 4, 2019Mark Breslin, Thom Ernst, 'You're All Wrong!', Contrarianism, Roma, Bohemian Rhapsody, Escape Room, Stan & Ollie, Aquaman, Reviewing the critics, Vox LuxComment

The Last Resort: A moment in time when a kosher Miami exploded in colour and life

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 1, 2019The Last Resort, Miami Beach, Jewish American history, The Fountainbleu Hotel, The Rat Pack, Jackie Gleason, Andy Sweet, Gary Monroe, Dennis Scholl, Kareem Tabsch, Edna Buchanan, Cuban "boat people", CocaineComment