Articles — Original Cin

Since 2017: Career film critics continuing the conversation

Giant Little Ones: Teen Sexuality Gets Smart Twist in Canuck Coming-of-Age Story

By Liam Lacey

ReviewMarch 29, 2019Giant Little Ones, TIFF 2018, Keith Behrman, Josh Wiggins, coming of age, Canadian movies, Maria Bello, Olivia Scriven, Darren Mann, Hailey Kittle, Kyle MacLachlan, Niamh Wilson, Taylor Hickson Comment

Lost & Found: Anthology is a pleasant meander through small-town Irish lives, connected by a train station

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 29, 2019Irish films, Independent films, Liam O Mochain, Donncha Crowley, Olga Wehrly, Seamus Hughes, Liam Carney, Aoibhinn Garrihy, Anthology films, Small town Irish livesComment

Through Black Spruce: An Indigenous-themed thriller that just can't commit

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 28, 2019Through Black Spruce, Don McKellar, Joseph Boyden, Tanaya Beatty, Indigenous films, Thriller, Barbara Samuels, Brandon Oakes, Tina Keeper, Tantoo Cardina, Jeff Barnaby, Missing or murdered Native WomenComment

Firecrackers: Canadian girls' coming-of-age story pops with teenage angst, naive confidence and betrayal

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 28, 2019Canadian coming of age movies, Jasmin Mozaffari, Firecrackers, Teenage friendship films, Michaela Kurimsky, Karena Evans, Andrew Cividino, Sleeping Giant, Independent filmsComment

Hotel Mumbai: Intense Docudrama Delivers Horror of Terrorism, Tropes of Disaster Pics

By Liam Lacey

ReviewMarch 28, 2019Hotel Mumbai, Anthony Maras, Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, TIFF 2018, Terrorism, disaster movie, fact-based drama, Jason Isaacs, Nazanin BoniadiComment

Original-Cin Q&A: Hotel Mumbai Director on the Dilemma of Dramatizing Mass Murder

By Liam Lacey

InterviewMarch 28, 2019Anthony Maras, Dev Patel, Hotel Mumbai, TIFF 2018, Armie Hammer, fact based drama, Terrorism, Interview, Q&AComment

Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes - A rich archival and anecdotal musical doc, cleverly assembled

By Jim Slotek

The Beach Bum: A great cast of colourful Floridian characters, but McConaughey's just aw-right

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 27, 2019The Beach Bum, Harmony Korine, Hunter Thompson, The Big Lebowski, Matthew McConaughey, Bertie Higgins, Key Largo, Jimmy Buffett, Snoop Dogg, Isla Fisher, Zac Efron, Martin Lawrence, Jonah Hill, Movies about drunks, Movies about poetsComment

Original-Cin Interview: Highwaymen Director John Lee Hancock on Gangsters, Netflix and How to Sell a Movie

By Liam Lacey

InterviewMarch 27, 2019The Highwaymen, Q&A, Woody Harrelson, Kevin Costner, John Lee Hancock, John Fusco, Emily Brobst, Edward BossertComment

Dumbo: Tim Burton’s Gorgeous, Treacly Live-Action Reboot Subtle as a Stampede

By Kim Hughes

ReviewMarch 26, 2019Dumbo, Disney, Tim Burton, Danny DeVito, Michael Keaton, Eva Green, Colin Farrell, Live-action, Fable, Children's films, ElephantsComment

Original-Cin Q&A: Darlene Naponse Boldly Busts Rules with Woman-Centric Falls Around Her

By Kim Hughes

InterviewMarch 26, 2019TIFF 2018, Darlene Naponse, Tantoo Cardinal, Canadian movies, indigenous films, Tina Keeper, Women's issues, Far north, Ontario, SistersComment

Original-Cin Q&A: Danny DeVito on Dumbo, Tim Burton and a post-Batman reunion with Michael Keaton

By Bonnie Laufer

InterviewJim SlotekMarch 25, 2019Dumbo, Tim Burton, Danny DeVito, Mars Attacks!, Big Fish, Batman Returns, The Penguin, Ringmaster, Disney, Arthur Miller, The Price, Mark Ruffalo, Johnny Dangerously, Taxi, Matilda, It's Always Sunny In PhiladelphiaComment

Stratford's Coriolanus onscreen: Lepage's vision is blurred by the camera, but the message stays clear

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 22, 2019Stratford's Shakespeare on screen, Robert LePage, Barry Avrich, Coriolanus, Andre Sills, John Hirsch, Multimedia theatrical productions, Lucy Peacock, Graham Abbey, Tom McCamus, Stephen Ouimette, Tom Rooney, Militarism, DictatorshipComment

The Highwaymen: Starry Bonnie & Clyde Redux Glorifies the Real (If Less Sexy) Heroes

By Liam Lacey

ReviewMarch 21, 2019John Lee Hancock, Kevin Costner, Woody Harrelson, Kathy Bates, Netflix, Drama, The Highwaymen, Emily Brobst, Edward Bossert, John Carroll Lynch, Kim Dickens, Thomas Newman' Comment

The Mustang: Gripping, Well-Told Story Persuasively Ponders Themes of Redemption, Love

By Kim Hughes

ReviewMarch 21, 2019The Mustang, Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, Matthias Schoenaerts, Connie Britton, Bruce Dern, Drama, Prison drama, Gideon AdlonComment

Ash Is Purest White: Drama a Smart Rumination on Love and China’s Explosive Growth

By Liam Lacey

ReviewMarch 21, 2019Jia Zhang-ke, TIFF 2018, Ash Is Purest White, Zhao Tao, Liao Fan, Mountains May Depart, Unknown Pleasures, Still Life, Eric GautierComment

The Aftermath: A Kind of Sexy Time (OK, Not Really) in Post-war Germany

By Liam Lacey

ReviewMarch 21, 2019The Aftermath, Nazi, 1940s, Historical drama, Jason Clarke, Keira Knightley, Alexander Skarsgård, Flora Thiemann, James Kent, Ridley ScottComment

PODCAST! EP. 16: We like Us, we really, really like Us

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

Us: Jordan Peele's crazy horror fever-dream is ambitious, ambiguous, smart and maybe even commercial

By Jim Slotek

An Audience of Chairs: Portrait of Mental Illness Half Succeeds in Penetrating the Mind

By Liam Lacey

ReviewMarch 20, 2019An Audience of Chairs, Canadian movies, Deanne Foley, Carolina Bartczak, adaptation, Christopher Jacot, Rosemary House, Edie Inksetter, Peter McNeill, Gordon RandComment