Articles — Original Cin

Since 2017: Career film critics continuing the conversation

PODCAST! Ep. 30: How Mad affected movie criticism, the half-year's best, The Last Black Man in San Francisco and more

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

PodcastJim SlotekJuly 5, 2019Movie podcasts, Mad magazine, Mad movie spoofs, Maiden, Apollo 11, Level 16, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, San Francisco gentrification, The half-year's best movies, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am, JIm Slotek, Liam Lacey, Bonnie Laufer, Thom ErnstComment

Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am Is Tender, Insightful Doc… But Not Quite Satisfying

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJuly 4, 2019Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, documentary, Toni Morrison, Oprah Winfrey, Angela Davis, Black experienceComment

The Last Black Man in San Francisco: The scorched aftershock of gentrification played out as serio-comedy

By Liam Lacey

Midsommar: Indulgent psychodrama from the director of Hereditary drags, wobbles amid brightness and beauty

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekJuly 1, 2019Ari Aster, Hereditary, Toni Collette, Midsommar, Rosemary's Baby, Florence Pugh, The Wicker Man, Children of the Corn, Jack Reynor, Vilhelm Blomgren, William Jackson Harper, Will Poulter, Pagan ritual horror movies, Isabelle Grill, Fighting with My FamilyComment

Spider-Man: Far From Home: Come for the teen comedy, endure the sound and Fury

By Jim Slotek

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

By Original-Cin Staff

Review, Preview, ViewsJune 28, 2019Isabelle, Yesterday, Annabelle Comes Home, Weekly Roundup, PodcastComment

PODCAST! Ep. 29.: Yeas and nays on Yesterday, Midsomar and Spider-Man, horror-bly disappointed in Annabelle and Isabelle

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

PodcastJim SlotekJune 27, 2019Spider-Man: Far From Home, Midsomar, Eli Aster, Annabelle Comes Home, Isabelle, Tom Holland, Jake Gyllenhaal, Yesterday, Movie podcasts, Jim Slotek, Karen Gordon, Bonnie Laufer, Thom Ernst, Liam LaceyComment

Yesterday: Novel Premise Elevates Director Danny Boyle’s Beatles-Loving Dramedy

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJune 27, 2019Yesterday, Danny Boyle, The Beatles, Kate McKinnon, Lily James, Ed Sheeran\, Himesh Patel, Music, Dramedy, ComedyComment

Ferrante Fever: Doc on modern lit's most successful recluse unsurprisingly devoid of substance

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekJune 27, 2019Ferrante Fever, Elena Ferrante, Neapolitan Quartet, Hillary Clinton, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jonathan Franzen, Giacomo Durzi, Elizabeth Strout, Ann Goldstein, Nasty Love, The Days of Abandonment, My Brilliant FriendComment

Isabelle: Cliché-Strewn Horror a Lesson in How Not to Make a Genre Film

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJune 26, 2019Isabelle, horror, Canada, Amanda Crew, Adam Brody, Sheila McCarthyComment

Annabelle Comes Home: A Night at the Warrens' Evil Museum is an assembly-line of jump-scares

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekJune 25, 2019Annabelle Comes Home, The Conjuring, James Wan, Peter Safran, Amityville Horror, Ed Warren, Madison Iseman, Mckenna Grace, Katie Sarife, Michael Cimino, Joseph BisharaComment

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

By Original-Cin Staff

Review, Preview, PodcastJune 21, 2019Toy Story 4, Wild Rose, Dogman, Buddy, Anna, Child's Play, The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir, Tony Hale, Weekly RoundupComment

Buddy: Touching Doc on Service Dogs Traces Human-Canine Relationships

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJune 21, 2019Heddy Honigmann, documentary, Hot Docs 2019, Dogs, Service DogsComment

Child’s Play: Ultra-Gory Reboot of Horror Classic Is Stupidly Fun (Did We Mention Gory?)

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJune 20, 2019Child’s Play, Horror films, Reboot, Aubrey Plaza, Mark Hamill, Lars Klevberg, Gabriel BatemanComment

Anna: Luc Besson Thriller Not Quite A Feminist Fiesta But It Gives Good Action (Sorry)

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJune 20, 2019Anna, Luc Besson, Thriller, Cillian Murphy, Helen Mirren, Luke Evans, Sasha Luss, Drama, La Femme NikitaComment

PODCAST! Ep. 28.: Two weeks of devil dolls, tear-jerking toys, dogs and what a Chinese trade war could mean to the movies

PodcastJim SlotekJune 20, 2019Movie podcasts, Original-Cin, Toy Story 4, Chucky Annabelle, Dogman, Buddy, Trump's trade war with China, Chinese box office, Jim Slotek, Karen Gordon, Liam Lacey, Kim Hughes, Thom ErnstComment

Toy Story 4: Latest Chapter in Winning Franchise a Bracing Look at Childhood Lost

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJune 19, 2019Keegan-Michael Key, Keanu Reeves, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Christina Hendricks, Annie Potts, Jordan Peele, Toy Story 4, Sequel, Franchise, Disney PixarComment

Dogman: Dark Italian Drama Raised by Great Performance, Uncanny Setting

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJune 19, 2019Marcello Fonte, Matteo Garone, Dogman, TIFF 2018, italian movies, Cannes, Award winnerComment

Wild Rose: Heartwarming Tale Persuasively Tallies the Price of Chasing Dreams

By Kim Hughes

ReviewJune 19, 2019Sophie Okonedo, Julie Walters, Jessie Buckley, TIFF 2018, Country music, Dramedy, BritishComment

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir: Multinational co-production has a bit of everything but not enough of anything

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekJune 18, 2019The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir, Ken Scott, Seducing Doctor Lewis, The Grand Seduction, Starbuck, Bollywood stars, International co-productions, Romain Puértolas, Dhanush, Amruta Sant, Erin Moriarty, Bérénice Bejo, The ArtistComment