Articles — Original Cin

Since 2017: Career film critics continuing the conversation

King Richard: The Ultimate Real-Life Sports-Dad Story, Doubts and All

King Richard: The Ultimate Real-Life Sports-Dad Story, Doubts and All

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekNovember 18, 2021Malcolm Gladwell’s “10, 000 hours” theory, King Richard, Will Smith, Richard Williams, Venus and Serena Williams, Sports dads, Reinaldo Marcus Green, Jennifer Capriati, Aunjanue EllisComment

Blood in the Snow Film Fest: 9th Annual Edition of Horror... for Fans Who Can Hack It

Blood in the Snow Film Fest: 9th Annual Edition of Horror... for Fans Who Can Hack It

By Thom Ernst

PreviewJim SlotekNovember 17, 2021Blood in The Snow Film Festival, Blood In The Snow, Canadian movies, Canadian horror movies, HorrorComment

Original-Cin Q&A: Benedict Cumberbatch on Accessing His 'Inner A--hole' in The Power of the Dog

Original-Cin Q&A: Benedict Cumberbatch on Accessing His 'Inner A--hole' in The Power of the Dog

By Bonnie Laufer

InterviewJim SlotekNovember 16, 2021The Power of the Dog, Benedict Cumberbatch playing a rancher, Jane Campion, Jesse Plemons, Kirsten Dunst, Kodi Smit-McPhee Comments

The Power of the Dog: Jane Campion’s Western Masterpiece

The Power of the Dog: Jane Campion’s Western Masterpiece

By Linda Barnard

ReviewJim SlotekNovember 15, 2021The Power of the Dog, Jane Campion, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Plemons, Kirsten Dunst, TIFF 2021, Western, drama, Kodi Smit-McPheeComment

Original-Cin Q&A: Andrew Garfield on channeling Jonathan Larson's spirit in Tick, Tick... Boom

Original-Cin Q&A: Andrew Garfield on channeling Jonathan Larson's spirit in Tick, Tick... Boom

By Bonnie Laufer

InterviewJim SlotekNovember 14, 2021Tick, Tick.. Boom, Movie musicals about musicals, Andrew Garfield, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jonathan Larson, Rent, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexandra Shipp, Robin De JesusComment

Tick, Tick...Boom!: Lin Manuel Miranda Honours the Late 'Rent' Author, Breathing Life into Earlier Work

Tick, Tick...Boom!: Lin Manuel Miranda Honours the Late 'Rent' Author, Breathing Life into Earlier Work

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJim SlotekNovember 12, 2021Movie musicals return, Tick, Tick…Boom!, Jonathan Larson, Rent, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp Comment

Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast 'Troubles': A Movie Seeking Means of Escape

Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast 'Troubles': A Movie Seeking Means of Escape

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekNovember 11, 2021Belfast, Kenneth Branagh, Van Morrison, TIFF People’s Choice Award, Roma, The 1969 Northern Irish Riots, Jude Hill, Ciarån Hinds, Judi DenchComment

Double Walker: The Rape-Revenge Genre Takes a Ghostly Turn

Double Walker: The Rape-Revenge Genre Takes a Ghostly Turn

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekNovember 11, 2021Rape revenge stories, Promising Young Woman, Colin West’s Double Walker, Sylvie Mix, Murderous ghost story, Maika Carter, Darryl A Wright, Jacob RiceComment

They Say Nothing Stays the Same: Meditative Character Study Both Elusive and Affecting

They Say Nothing Stays the Same: Meditative Character Study Both Elusive and Affecting

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekNovember 11, 2021They Say Nothing Stays the Same, Japanese movies, Drama, Joe Odagiri, Akira Emoto, Ririka Kawanshima, Nijiro Murakami, Character studyComment

Portraits From a Fire: A Teen Rez Film Auteur Finds His Focus in a Sweet, Subtle, Imaginative Tale

Portraits From a Fire: A Teen Rez Film Auteur Finds His Focus in a Sweet, Subtle, Imaginative Tale

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekNovember 8, 2021Teens with moviemaking dreams, Life on reserves, Portraits From a Fire, Trevor Mack, William Lulua, Sammy Stump Comment

Reel Asian Festival turns 25: Best title! Best time travel story! And much, much more!

Reel Asian Festival turns 25: Best title! Best time travel story! And much, much more!

By Liam Lacey

Review, PreviewJim SlotekNovember 7, 2021The Reel Asian Film International Film Festival, Films by Asians and Asian diaspora, Beyond The Infinite Two Minutes, Inbetween Girl, I Was a Simple Man, Christopher Makoto Yog, Documentary on overachieving Asian student cultureComment

Finch: Tom Hanks, a dog and some robots in a post-apocalyptic road movie with heart

Finch: Tom Hanks, a dog and some robots in a post-apocalyptic road movie with heart

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekNovember 5, 2021Tom Hanks movies, post-apocalypse, Movies with robot characters, Finch, Caleb Landry Jones, Miguel Sapochnik Comments

Spencer: Christmas at the In-Laws is a 'Royal' Pain in this Dark Immersive Princess Di Fable

Spencer: Christmas at the In-Laws is a 'Royal' Pain in this Dark Immersive Princess Di Fable

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekNovember 3, 2021Films about Princess Diana, Spencer, Pablo Larraín, Jackie, Jacqueline Kennedy, Peter Morgan, The Crown, Kristen Stewart, Anne Boleyn, Sally HawkinsComment

Eternals: Marvel's New Wannabe-Avengers Franchise is Too Busy to Be Fun

Eternals: Marvel's New Wannabe-Avengers Franchise is Too Busy to Be Fun

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekNovember 3, 2021Marvel Cinematic Universe, Eternals, Chloé Zhao, Angelina Jolie, Kumail Nanjiani, Salma Hayek, Kit Harington, Indie filmmakers gone Marvel Comments

Mondo Hollywoodland: ‘Shrooming in the Dream Factory

Mondo Hollywoodland: ‘Shrooming in the Dream Factory

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekNovember 3, 2021Mondo Hollywoodland, Janek Ambros, Chris Bim, Marcus Hart, Comedy, Shot of iPhone, Mondo, Genre films, comedyComment

Original-Cin Q&A: Pablo Larrain Talks About His 'Upside Down Fairy Tale' Diana movie Spencer

Original-Cin Q&A: Pablo Larrain Talks About His 'Upside Down Fairy Tale' Diana movie Spencer

By Bonnie Laufer

InterviewJim SlotekNovember 2, 2021Pablo Larraín, Spencer, Jackie, Experiential movies about tragic iconic women, Princess Diana, Kristen Stewart, The Royal FamilyComment

Gaza mon amour: Sweet Tale About Late-Life Romance Leverages Rarely Seen Setting

Gaza mon amour: Sweet Tale About Late-Life Romance Leverages Rarely Seen Setting

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekNovember 2, 2021Gaza mon amour, Arab Nasser, Tarzan Nasser, Hiam Abbass, Salim Daw, Middle East, rom-comComment

29th Rendezvous with Madness Revisits Todd Haynes’ Safe, a '90s Drama Capturing the Anxiety of the Moment

29th Rendezvous with Madness Revisits Todd Haynes’ Safe, a '90s Drama Capturing the Anxiety of the Moment

By Liam Lacey

Review, PreviewJim SlotekOctober 29, 2021Film festivals, Mental health issues, Rendezvous with Madness film and arts festival, Todd Haynes’ masterpiece, Safe, Julianne Moore, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers’s Kimmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy, Anny, Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché, The Last ShelterComment

Snakehead: Sympathy for a Human Trafficker. So, There’s That…

Snakehead: Sympathy for a Human Trafficker. So, There’s That…

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 28, 2021Snakehead, Evan Jackson Leong, Shuya Chang, Jade Wu, Sung Kang, Richie Eng, Immigrant experience, Drama, New York, TIFF 2021Comment

Antlers: Gory, Creepy Horror Conjures Scares Both Literal and Figurative

Antlers: Gory, Creepy Horror Conjures Scares Both Literal and Figurative

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 28, 2021Horror, Guillermo del Toro, Antlers, Scott Cooper, Keri Russell, Jesse Plemons, Graeme Greene, Jeremy T. Thomas, Sawyer Jones, Scott HazeComment