Articles — Original Cin

Since 2017: Career film critics continuing the conversation

Bullets of Justice: Lurid, Crass, Vulgar Horror Lowers the Bar on Bar-Lowering

Bullets of Justice: Lurid, Crass, Vulgar Horror Lowers the Bar on Bar-Lowering

By Thom Ernst

Review, PreviewJim SlotekOctober 22, 2020Bullets of Justice, Valeri Milev, Danny Trejo, Timur Turisbekov, Doroteya Toleva, horror, Sci fi, Dystopian stories Comment

Over the Moon: Charming Animation Puts Science-Loving Girl in the Spotlight (and on the Moon!)

Over the Moon: Charming Animation Puts Science-Loving Girl in the Spotlight (and on the Moon!)

By Thom Ernst

Review, PreviewJim SlotekOctober 21, 2020Over the Moon, Animated film, Sandra Oh, Ken Jeong, Cathy Ang, Glen Keane, Asian Americans, Kid flicks, Kid's MoviesComment

Original-Cin Q&A: Star Cathy Ang on Playing Smart, Cool, Inspirational Girl in Over the Moon

Original-Cin Q&A: Star Cathy Ang on Playing Smart, Cool, Inspirational Girl in Over the Moon

By Bonnie Laufer

Interview, PreviewJim SlotekOctober 21, 2020Animation, Netflix, Over the Moon, Ken Jeong, Sandra Oh, Cathy Ang, Glen Keane, Children's movies, Asian Americans, Fantasy, Margaret ChoComment

Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm - Borat gets (slightly) 'woke,' in what amounts to Baron Cohen's comedic 'Trump bomb'

Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm - Borat gets (slightly) 'woke,' in what amounts to Baron Cohen's comedic 'Trump bomb'

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 21, 2020Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm, Sacha Baron Cohen, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan., Anti-Trump piece in Time magazine, COVID-19, Irina Novak, Mike Pence, Jason WolinerComment

Memories of Murder: Parasite Director’s 2nd Feature Offers Insight Into His Craft… and is Awesome

Memories of Murder: Parasite Director’s 2nd Feature Offers Insight Into His Craft… and is Awesome

By Linda Barnard

Review, PreviewJim SlotekOctober 20, 2020Boon Joon-ho, Parasite, Memories of Murder, South Korean filmmakers, Sung-bo Shim, Kwang-rim Kim, Crime thriller, crime drama, Memories of Murder.Comment

Toronto Jewish Film Festival: Gone Digital, Yes, But Still Exploring the Human Experience

Toronto Jewish Film Festival: Gone Digital, Yes, But Still Exploring the Human Experience

By Linda Barnard

Preview, ReviewJim SlotekOctober 20, 2020Toronto Jewish film festival, TJFF, Shiva Baby, The Crossing, Digital FestivalComment

Rebecca: New Take on Classic Daphne du Maurier Tale Haunted by Hitchcock Original

Rebecca: New Take on Classic Daphne du Maurier Tale Haunted by Hitchcock Original

By Liam Lacey

Review, PreviewJim SlotekOctober 20, 2020Daphne Du Maurier, Gothic Romance, Thriller, Armie Hammer, Lily James, Kirstin Scott Thomas, Ben Wheatley, Rebecca, Netflix movies, Ann Dowd, Alfred Hitchcock, RemakeComment

Making Monsters: Jumbled Horror Raids the Oeuvre for Bits and Pieces, Frankenstein-Style

Making Monsters: Jumbled Horror Raids the Oeuvre for Bits and Pieces, Frankenstein-Style

By Thom Ernst

Review, PreviewJim SlotekOctober 16, 2020Making Monsters, Horror, Tim Loden, Alana Almer, Halloween, Jonathan CraigComment

I Am Greta: Up Close, Extremely Personal Doc on Teen Follows Global Crusade for Future

I Am Greta: Up Close, Extremely Personal Doc on Teen Follows Global Crusade for Future

By Karen Gordon

Review, PreviewJim SlotekOctober 15, 2020I Am Greta, TIFF 2020, Documentary, Greta Thunberg, Nathan Grossman, Climate changeComment

Soul-Baring Doc on Judy Rebick Kicks Off Virtual Rendezvous with Madness Festival

Soul-Baring Doc on Judy Rebick Kicks Off Virtual Rendezvous with Madness Festival

By Liam Lacey

Review, PreviewJim SlotekOctober 15, 2020Rendezvous With Madness, Film Festival, Judy Rebick, Workman ArtsComment

Body & Bones: Smitten Young Woman Making Bad Man Choices Remains Ripe Dramatic Terrain

Body & Bones: Smitten Young Woman Making Bad Man Choices Remains Ripe Dramatic Terrain

By Liam Lacey

Review, PreviewJim SlotekOctober 15, 2020Body & Bones, Newfoundland, Melanie Oates, Kelly Van der Burg, Joel Thomas Hynes, Lawrence Barry, Jo Burg, Drama, CanadianComment

The Secrets We Keep: Post-War Thriller Entertaining Enough… If You Don’t Look Too Closely

The Secrets We Keep: Post-War Thriller Entertaining Enough… If You Don’t Look Too Closely

By Kim Hughes

Review, PreviewJim SlotekOctober 15, 2020The Secrets We Keep, Thriller, Nazis, Yuval Adler, Noomi Rapace, Chris Messina, Amy Seimetz, Joel Kinnaman, Hitchcockian, Drama, WWII Comment

Totally Under Control: Trump’s Bungling of COVID-19 Pandemic Laid Bare in Timely Doc

Totally Under Control: Trump’s Bungling of COVID-19 Pandemic Laid Bare in Timely Doc

By Liam Lacey

Review, PreviewJim SlotekOctober 13, 2020Alex Gibney, Totally Under Control, Documentary, Donald Trump, COVID-19, Ophelia Haurtyunyan, Suzanne HillingerComment

Original-Cin Q&A: I Am Greta director recalls pointing his camera at a lone activist and following the family through a media storm

Original-Cin Q&A: I Am Greta director recalls pointing his camera at a lone activist and following the family through a media storm

By Bonnie Laufer

InterviewJim SlotekOctober 13, 2020Greta Thunberg, Youth movements fighting climate change, I Am Greta documentary, Nathan Grossman, One-person school strike for climate action, Wind powered boat, UN Climate Action Summit in New York City., Nobel Peace Prize nominationComment

When the Storm Fades: Curious Quasi-Documentary Highlights the Fallout from Deeds Gone Awry

When the Storm Fades: Curious Quasi-Documentary Highlights the Fallout from Deeds Gone Awry

By Liam Lacey

Review, PreviewJim SlotekOctober 13, 2020Canadian movies, Docuementary, Drama, When the Storm Fades, Kayla Lorette, Sean Devlin, Aaron Read, disaster movieComment

Original-Cin Q&A: Colin O'Donoghue on playing 'Gordo' Cooper in Disney's series version of The Right Stuff

Original-Cin Q&A: Colin O'Donoghue on playing 'Gordo' Cooper in Disney's series version of The Right Stuff

By Bonnie Laufer

InterviewJim SlotekOctober 9, 2020The Right Stuff, Tom Wolfe, 1983 movie, Disney Plus series remake, Mercury 7 astronauts, Colin O'Donoghue, Gordon “Gordo” Cooper, Dennis Quaid, Once Upon A Time, Space Camp, Jake McDorman, Alan Shepard, John Glenn, Patrick J. Adams, Leonardo DiCaprio, Moon landing 50th anniversaryComment

The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw: Odd indie Canadian witch movie has plenty of dark atmosphere

The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw: Odd indie Canadian witch movie has plenty of dark atmosphere

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 9, 2020Witchcraft movies, Canadian movies, The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw, Thomas Robert Lee, Jessica Reynolds, Isolated religious communities, Robert Eggers, The Witch, Catherine Walker, Sean McGinley, Jared Abrahamson, Don McKellar, The Craft., Nick ThomasComment

The War with Grandpa: Shaky Kids-Versus-Codgers Comedy Too Blunt to Punt

The War with Grandpa: Shaky Kids-Versus-Codgers Comedy Too Blunt to Punt

By Liam Lacey

Review, PreviewJim SlotekOctober 8, 2020The War with Grandpa, Robert De Niro, Uma Thurman, Rob Riggle, Tim Hill, Oakes Fegley, Cheech Marin, Christopher Walken, Jane Seymour, Comedy, Family film, Holiday, Mad Dog and GloryComment

Percy: Simply told, reality-based Canuck drama gives the Davids of the world the Goliath-fighter they want

Percy: Simply told, reality-based Canuck drama gives the Davids of the world the Goliath-fighter they want

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 8, 2020Farmers fighting Monsanto in court, Percy, Clark Johnson, Saskatchewan farmer Percy Schmeiser, Christopher Walken, Martin Donovan, Zach Braff, Christina Ricci, Corporate David versus Goliath storiesComment

The Cleansing Hour: The Devil finds an online audience, with mixed emojis as a result

The Cleansing Hour: The Devil finds an online audience, with mixed emojis as a result

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 8, 2020Horror films, Exorcism movies, Shudder, The Cleansing Hour, Ryan Guzman, Internet horror, Kyle Gallner, Alix AngelisComment