Articles — Original Cin

Since 2017: Career film critics continuing the conversation

PODCAST! Ep. 19: 'Avengers junketeers assemble!' We talk movie junkets

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

PodcastJim SlotekApril 10, 2019Avengers: Endgame, Movie junkets, Robert Downey Jr., Movie podcasts, Hellboy, Little, Far. The Story of a Journey Around the World, Missing Link, The Best of Enemies, Mary Magdalene, Stockholm, The Brink, Mia and the White LionComment

Far. The Story of a Journey Around the World: An incredible, feel-good hitchhiking achievement

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekApril 10, 2019Far. The Story of a Journey Around the World, Patrick Allgaier, Gwendolin Weisser, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Irkutsk, Mexico, German documentary, Central America Comment

The Best of Enemies: TV movie-ish tale of how a Klan leader's heart grew three sizes one day

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekApril 10, 2019The Best of Enemies, Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Taraji P. Henson, Durham, North Carolina, School segregation, Ku Klux Klan, Wes Bentley, Babou Ceesay, Anne Heche, Robin BissellComment

Mary Magdalene: Female-Led Bible Story Beats the Odds, Brings the Goods

By Kim Hughes

ReviewApril 10, 2019Rooney Mara, Joaquin Phoenix, Bible stories, Mary Magdalene, Jesus Christ, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Easter, Garth Davis, Tahar RahimComment

Mia and the White Lion: Real-Time Coming of Age Tale Has Big Cats, Meerkats… and Deep Messages

By Kim Hughes

ReviewApril 10, 2019Mia and the White Lion, Daniah De Villiers, Melanie Laurent, Langley Kirkwood, Ryan Mac Lennan, Coming-of-age stories, Family films, Lions, Animals, Gilles de Maistre Comments

Stockholm: Ethan Hawke Comic Thriller Is a (Ahem) Slog Day Afternoon

By Liam Lacey

ReviewApril 9, 2019Christopher Heyerdahl, Shanti Roney, Thorbjørn Harr, Bea Santos, Mark Elov, Robert Budreau, Ethan Hawke, Noomi Rapace, fact-based drama, Canadian, Born to Be Blue, Dog Day Afternoon, DerivitiveComment

The Brink: The Banality of Steve Bannon on Full Display in New Documentary

By Liam Lacey

ReviewApril 9, 2019The Brink, Steve Bannon, Alison Klayman, documentary, Donld Trump, U.S. politics, Duck Dynasty, New York TImes, BBC, The GuardianComment

Original-Cin Q&A: The stars and author of After, a Young Adult phenom that was born online

By Bonnie Laufer

InterviewJim SlotekApril 9, 2019Community writing apps, Wattpad, After, Anna Todd, Jenny Gage, young adult novels, Josephine Langford, Hero Fiennes-Tiffin, Katherine Langford, 13 Reasons Why, Ralph Riennes, Joseph FiennesComment

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote: Terry Gilliam’s Latest a Tall Tale That Stumbles… And Face Plants

By Liam Lacey

ReviewApril 9, 2019The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, Adam Driver, Jonathan Pryce, Terry Gilliam, Fantasy, Years in the Making, Cannes, Stellan Skarsgård, Olga Kurylenko, Jordi Mollà, Sancho Panza, Spain, Films set in SpainComment

Your Weekend Roundup: What To See (And Miss) In The Theatres

By Original-Cin Staff

Review, Preview, PodcastApril 5, 2019The Invisibles, Carmine Street Guitars, Pet Sematary, Shazam, Edge of the Knife, Sunset, Acquainted, Weekly Roundup, Movie podcasts, Zachary Levi, Ron MannComment

Shazam!: A crowd-pleaser that both mocks superhero cliches and succumbs to them

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJim SlotekApril 5, 2019Shazam, Captain Marvel, David F. Sandberg, Billy Batson, Asher Angel, Zachary Levi, Chuck sitcom, Mark Strong, Annabelle: CreationComment

Sunset: One woman's confoundingly ambiguous journey through a fraying, pre-WWI Central Europe

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekApril 4, 2019Sunset, László Nemes, Austro-Hungarian Empire, Son of Saul, Juli Jakab, Vlad Ivanov, Mátyás Erdély, Julia Jakubowska, Marcin Czarnik, Pre-WWI European politics Comment

PODCAST! EP. 18: Pet Sematary, Shazam, The Joker, and are the studios conspiring against Netflix?

PodcastJim SlotekApril 4, 2019Pet Sematary, Stephen King, The Joker, Batman, Adam West, Captain Marvel, Shazam, Netflix, Acquainted, Movie podcasts, Jim Slotek, Liam Lacey, Thom ErnstComment

The Invisibles: True-Life Story Propelled By Doc Aspect but Hobbled by Re-enactments

By Liam Lacey

ReviewApril 4, 2019Ruby O. Fee, Alice Dwyer, Laila Marie Witt, Claus Räfle, The Invisibles, Aaron Altaras, Nazi, World War II, Period films, docudramasComment

Pet Sematary: Sometimes un-resurrected is better

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekApril 4, 2019Pet Sematary, Stephen King, Jason Clarke, Resurrection horror, Amy Seimetz, Jeté Laurence, Hugo Lavoie, Chance the Cat, John Lithgow, Kevin Kölsch, Dennis Widmyer, Derry, Maine, Fred GwynneComment

Carmine Street Guitars: Plucky re-constructionists and string lovers tell a tale that resonates

By Liam Lacey

Acquainted: In this jaundiced romance, it's not you, and it's not me - it's them!

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekApril 3, 2019Romances, Millennials, Acquainted, Natty Zavitz, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Giacomo Gianniotti, Laysia De Oliveira, Rachel Skarsten, Long distance relationships, Breakups, Films shot in Toronto, Films that acknowledge they were shot in Toronto Comment

Edge of the Knife: Beguiling Film Charts Area Where the Natural and Supernatural Mix

By Liam Lacey

Review, PreviewApril 2, 2019Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner, Edge of the Knife, Zacharias Kunuk, TIFF 2018, Helen Haig-Brown, Gwaai Edenshaw, Jonathan FrantzComment

Your Weekend Round-Up: What To See (And Skip) In The Theatres

By Original-Cin Staff

PODCAST! EP. 17: Why Dumbo doesn't fly, Apple bites back, and what we'd do with the Canadian Screen Awards

PodcastJim SlotekMarch 29, 2019Movie podcasts, Original-Cin, Jim Slotek, Karen Gordon, Liam Lacey, Kim Hughes, Dumbo, Apple streaming, Danny DeVito, The Canadian Screen Awards, Aladdin, Will Smith as the GenieComment