Articles — Original Cin

Since 2017: Career film critics continuing the conversation

Toronto After Dark Film Festival: Geeking Out With the City's Most Dedicated Genre Fans

Toronto After Dark Film Festival: Geeking Out With the City's Most Dedicated Genre Fans

By Thom Ernst

PreviewJim SlotekOctober 20, 2022Toronto After Dark Film Festival, Genre films, Adam Lopez, Scotia Theatre Toronto, Prey for the Devil, Daniel Stamm, Jacqueline Byers, H4Z4RDComment

Black Adam: D.C.'s New/Old Action Anti-Hero Brings Nothing New to a Noisy Party

Black Adam: D.C.'s New/Old Action Anti-Hero Brings Nothing New to a Noisy Party

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 20, 2022Super hero movies, Vintage DC characters, Black Adam, Dwayne Johnson, The Justice Society of America, Doctor Fate, HawkmanComment

And Still I Sing: A Victory for an Afghan Woman Singer, A Tragedy for a Country

And Still I Sing: A Victory for an Afghan Woman Singer, A Tragedy for a Country

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 20, 2022And Still I Sing, Documentary, Afghanistan, Singing competition, Fazila Amiri, Aryana Sayeed, Sadiq Madadgar, Zarah Elham, Hot Docs Comment

Ticket to Paradise: Starry Comedy is Sweet but Requires Substantial Suspension of Disbelief

Ticket to Paradise: Starry Comedy is Sweet but Requires Substantial Suspension of Disbelief

By Kim Hughes

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 20, 2022Ticket to Paradise, Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Kaitlyn Dever, Bali, Comedy, Drama, Romance Comment

Original-Cin Q&A: The Good Nurse’s Redmayne and Chastain on Art Imitating Life

Original-Cin Q&A: The Good Nurse’s Redmayne and Chastain on Art Imitating Life

By Bonnie Laufer

InterviewJim SlotekOctober 19, 2022The Good Nurse, Tobias Lindholm, Eddie Redmayne, Jessica Chastain, Q&A interviews, True crime, TIFF 2022Comment

The Good Nurse: Quietly Brilliant True-Crime Saga Hinges on Ace Performances

The Good Nurse: Quietly Brilliant True-Crime Saga Hinges on Ace Performances

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 18, 2022The Good Nurse, TIFF 2022, Tobias Lindholm, Jessica Chastain, Eddie Redmayne, Drama, Netflix, True crimeComment

ImagineNATIVE Film Fest Turns 23 With Mysticism, Mascot-Busting and Makeshift Families

ImagineNATIVE Film Fest Turns 23 With Mysticism, Mascot-Busting and Makeshift Families

By Jim Slotek

Review, PreviewJim SlotekOctober 17, 2022The ImagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, Darlene Naponse, Indigenous films and filmmakers, Shelley Niro, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Braeden Clarke, Imagining the Indian: The Fight Against Native American Mascoting, Aviva Kempner and Cheyenne filmmaker Ben West, Rosie, Gail Maurice, Keris Hope HillComment

We're All In This Together: Katie Boland Soars in Deft Acting-Directing Dysfunctional Dramedy

We're All In This Together: Katie Boland Soars in Deft Acting-Directing Dysfunctional Dramedy

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 13, 2022Canadian feature debut, Canadian drama, We’re All In This Together, Katie Boland, Amy Jones, adaptation, Martha Burns, Adam Butcher, Alisha NewtonComment

Halloween Ends: 'Finale' Boasts Some of the Franchise's Best Kills

Halloween Ends: 'Finale' Boasts Some of the Franchise's Best Kills

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 13, 2022Horror franchise "finales", Halloween Ends, Michael Myers, David Gordon Green, John Carpenter, Jamie Lee Curtis Comment

Rosaline: Revisionist Rom-Com Take on Romeo & Juliet is Smart, Snappy, Fun

Rosaline: Revisionist Rom-Com Take on Romeo & Juliet is Smart, Snappy, Fun

By Kim Hughes

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 13, 2022Romantic comedy, Romeo and Juliet, Shakespeare, Rosaline, Karen Maine, Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, Sean Teale, Hulu, Minnie Driver, Kyle Allen, Period pieceComment

Stars at Noon: Claire Denis’ Ideals-Free Thriller About Lovers in a Dangerous Place

Stars at Noon: Claire Denis’ Ideals-Free Thriller About Lovers in a Dangerous Place

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 12, 2022Claire Denis, Stars at Noon, Cannes Grand Prize runner-up, Margaret Qualley, Nicaragua, Joe Alwyn, Benny Safdie, Themes of capitalism and colonialismComment

TÁR: Complicated Character Study Considers Cancel Culture

TÁR: Complicated Character Study Considers Cancel Culture

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 12, 2022Tár, Todd Field, Cate Blanchett, Nina Hoss, Noémi Merlant, Venice Film Festival, Drama, Cancel cultureComment

Falcon Lake: Coming-of-Age in the Woods Tale Wraps a Relationship in a Horror Movie Mood

Falcon Lake: Coming-of-Age in the Woods Tale Wraps a Relationship in a Horror Movie Mood

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 12, 2022Falcon Lake, Canadian feature debuts, Coming of age movies, Charlotte Le Bon, Sara Montpetit, Joseph Engel, Graphic novel by Bastien VivèsComment

All Quiet on the Western Front: War, More Hellish Than Ever

All Quiet on the Western Front: War, More Hellish Than Ever

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 11, 2022Anti-war movies, All Quiet on the Western Front, Edward Berger, WWI from the German point of view, Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch, Germany’s submission to the Academy Awards, Daniel Brühl, Devid Striesow)Comment

Catherine Called Birdy: Smells Like Teen Spirit, Circa 14th Century (with a Female-Centric View)

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 7, 2022TIFF 2022, Catherine Called Birdy, Lena Dunham, Bella Ramsey, Andrew Scott, Russell Brand, Michael Woolfitt, Paul Kaye, Jamie Demetriou, Comedy, Period filmsComment

Triangle of Sadness: Ruben Östlund’s Divisive Palme d’Or Winner A Note-Perfect Satire

Triangle of Sadness: Ruben Östlund’s Divisive Palme d’Or Winner A Note-Perfect Satire

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 7, 2022Triangle of Sadness, Palme d’Or at Cannes, Ruben Östlund, Harris Dickinson, Charbli Dean, Woody Harrelson, Dolly De Leon, Vicki Berlin, TIFF 2022Comment

Original-Cin Q&A: Big Bang Theory's Kunal Nayyar & The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry Co-Star Lucy Hale Talk Books

Original-Cin Q&A: Big Bang Theory's Kunal Nayyar & The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry Co-Star Lucy Hale Talk Books

By Bonnie Laufer

Jim SlotekOctober 5, 2022The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, Best-selling novel by Gabrielle Zevin, The Big Bang Theory’s Kunal Nayyar, Lucy Hale, Christina Hendricks, David ArquetteComment

Blind Ambition: Underdog African Sommelier Story Adds Geniality to the Wine-Film Genre

Blind Ambition: Underdog African Sommelier Story Adds Geniality to the Wine-Film Genre

By Kim Hughes

ReviewJim SlotekOctober 5, 2022Documentary, Wine, Wine connoisseurs, Blind Ambition, Robert Coe, Warwick Ross, Hot Docs, Drama, South Africa, ZimbabweComment

Amsterdam: Director David O. Russell’s Anticipated Return as Sloppy as It Is Starry

Amsterdam: Director David O. Russell’s Anticipated Return as Sloppy as It Is Starry

By Thom Ernst

Original-Cin Q&A: Cast of Lena Dunham's Catherine Called Birdy on Medieval Marriage and Bella Ramsey

Original-Cin Q&A: Cast of Lena Dunham's Catherine Called Birdy on Medieval Marriage and Bella Ramsey

By Bonnie Laufer

InterviewJim SlotekOctober 4, 2022Medieval movies, Arranged marriage, Children's novels, Catherine Called Birdy, Lena Dunham, Bella Ramsey, Andrew Scott, Billie Piper, Joe AlwynComment