Articles — Original Cin

Since 2017: Career film critics continuing the conversation

Human Rights Watch Canada Film Festival: Baichwal and de Pencier Curate the World's Woes

Human Rights Watch Canada Film Festival: Baichwal and de Pencier Curate the World's Woes

By Jim Slotek and Liam Lacey

Review, PreviewJim SlotekMarch 7, 2023Human Rights Canada Film Festival, Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier, Freedom on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for FreedomFreedom on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom, The Grab, Koromousso, Big Sister, No U-Turn, Uyra: The Rising ForestComment

Original-Cin Q&A: I Like Movies Director, Stars on Recreating the Video Store Experience

Original-Cin Q&A: I Like Movies Director, Stars on Recreating the Video Store Experience

By Bonnie Laufer

InterviewJim SlotekMarch 6, 2023I Like Movies, Chandler Levack, Isaiah Lehtinen, Krista Bridges, Romina D’Ugo, Canadian film, Coming-of-age stories, Blockbuster, NostalgiaComment

I Like Movies: 90s-Era Coming of Age Comedy Captures Cringeworthy Youth

I Like Movies: 90s-Era Coming of Age Comedy Captures Cringeworthy Youth

By John Kirk

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 6, 2023I Like Movies, Chandler Levack, Canadian feature debut, Comedy, Coming of age stories, Isaiah Lehtinen, Romina D’Ugo, Krista Bridges, Blockbuster, Throwback, 90s eraComment

History of the World, Part II: Historical, If Not Hysterical

History of the World, Part II: Historical, If Not Hysterical

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 6, 2023History of the World: Part II, Disney+, Mel Brooks, Sequel, Comedy, Sketch comedy, Nick Kroll, Wanda Sykes, Ike Barinholtz, Seth Rogen, Jason Alexander, Jack Black, Kumail Nanjiani, Sarah Silverman, Rob Corddry, Johnny KnoxvilleComment

Enter the Drag Dragon: Lowering the Bar for Fun, Zombie Fights and Dildo Nunchucks

Enter the Drag Dragon: Lowering the Bar for Fun, Zombie Fights and Dildo Nunchucks

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 3, 2023High camp indie films, Enter the Drag Dragon, Lee Gordon Demarbre, Films shot in Ottawa, Lloyd Kaufman, Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter, Sam Kellerman, Jade London and Matt Miwa, Beatrice BeresComment

Still The Water: A Typhoon, Grief, Young Love and Less Than Meets the Eye

Still The Water: A Typhoon, Grief, Young Love and Less Than Meets the Eye

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 2, 2023Naomi Kawase, Female Japanese directors, Mono no aware, Still The Water, Nijirô Murakami, Jun Yoshinaga, aka Junko Abe, Ruminations on death, Miyuki MatsudaComment

Return to Seoul: Riveting Journey of Self-Discovery Powers Compelling Performance

Return to Seoul: Riveting Journey of Self-Discovery Powers Compelling Performance

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 2, 2023Return to Seoul, Davy Chou, Park Ji-Min, Guka Han, Oh Kwang-Roc, Cannes films, Un Certain Regard, Korean cinema, Drama, Based on a true storyComment

Creed III: Not All Underdogs Are Nice Guys in this Emotionally Resonant Rocky Spin-Off

Creed III: Not All Underdogs Are Nice Guys in this Emotionally Resonant Rocky Spin-Off

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 2, 2023Rocky franchise, Creed III, Michael B. Jordan, Adonis Creed, Actors directing themselves, Jonathan Majors, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia RashadComment

Daisy Jones & the Six: A 70s Rock ‘n’ Roll Soap Opera

Daisy Jones & the Six: A 70s Rock ‘n’ Roll Soap Opera

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 1, 2023Prime Video, Adaptation, Daisy Jones & The Six, Mini-series, Riley Keough, Sam Clafin, Camila Morrone, Will Harrison, Suki Waterhouse, Rock and roll, 1970s, Music, Mockumentary, Fleetwood MacComment

To Leslie: Andrea Riseborough's Left-Field Oscar Nom Turns Out To Be Well-Earned

To Leslie: Andrea Riseborough's Left-Field Oscar Nom Turns Out To Be Well-Earned

By Thom Ernst

Jim SlotekFebruary 28, 2023To Leslie, Surprise Oscar nominations, Andrea Riseborough, Michael Morris, Awards campaign controversies, Gwyneth Paltrow, Allison Janney, Stephen Root, Owen Teague, Marc Maron Comment

Joyride: Olivia Colman’s Irish Road Movie Offers Outsize Charm

Joyride: Olivia Colman’s Irish Road Movie Offers Outsize Charm

By Kim Hughes

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 27, 2023Joyride, Irish films, Emer Reynolds, Olivia Colman, Charlie Reid, Lochlann Ó Mearáin, Drama, Comedy, DramedyComment

There's Always Hope: A Marriage Tale That Isn't Worth Saving

There's Always Hope: A Marriage Tale That Isn't Worth Saving

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 27, 2023There’s Always Hope, Movies about saving marriages, Tim Lewiston, Colm Meaney, Kate Ashfield, Hannah Chinn, Brenda Meaney, John Light, Movies set in Portugal Comments

The Reluctant Traveler: Eugene Levy Leaves His Comfort Zone

The Reluctant Traveler: Eugene Levy Leaves His Comfort Zone

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 25, 2023The Reluctant Traveler, Eugene Levy, Travel series, AppleTV+, SCTV, Schitt's CreekComment

Cocaine Bear: Definitely Don't Go Out in the Woods Today

Cocaine Bear: Definitely Don't Go Out in the Woods Today

By John Kirk

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 24, 2023Cocaine Bear, When animals attack, Elizabeth Banks, Ray Liotta, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, Keri Russell, Margo MartindaleComment

We Have a Ghost: Fun Family Film Aces Its Tone and Feel

We Have a Ghost: Fun Family Film Aces Its Tone and Feel

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 23, 2023Netflix films, We Have a Ghost, Christopher Landon, David Harbour, Jahi Di’Allo Winston, Anthony Mackie, Tig Notaro, Jennifer Coolidge, Erica Ash, Niles Fitch, Isabella Russo, Family filmComment

Guitar Lessons: Predictable Canuck Dramedy Aims High but Flounders

Guitar Lessons: Predictable Canuck Dramedy Aims High but Flounders

By Kim Hughes

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 23, 2023Guitar Lessons, Canadian drama, First Nations, Aaron James, Corb Lund, Kaden Noskiye, Conway Kootenay, Lianna Makuch, coming of age, Alberta Comment

Pacifiction: Warning, Three Hours of Vague Polynesian Intrigue May Cause Exasperation

Pacifiction: Warning, Three Hours of Vague Polynesian Intrigue May Cause Exasperation

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 23, 2023Pacifiction, Political intrigue in Polynesia, Albert Serra, Benoît Magimel, Alexandre Melo, Pahoa Mahagafanau, French nuclear testsComment

Emily: Reconsidered Brontë Posits… Wuthering Heights, Drawn from Life?

Emily: Reconsidered Brontë Posits… Wuthering Heights, Drawn from Life?

By Liam Lacey

Jim SlotekFebruary 22, 2023Emily, Period piece, Revisionist drama, Frances O’Connor, Emma Mackey, Fionn Whitehead, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Alexandra Dowling, Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë, Victorian England, Costume dramaComment

Metronom: For Those About To Rock, We Arrest You

Metronom: For Those About To Rock, We Arrest You

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 21, 2023Life in Soviet era Romania, Metronom, Alexandru Belc, Nicolae Ceaușescu, Mara Bugari, Serban Lazarovic, Criminalizing rock music, Radio Free EuropeComment

Juniper: Learning to Live and Die in Life’s Last Moments

Juniper: Learning to Live and Die in Life’s Last Moments

By John Kirk

ReviewJim SlotekFebruary 21, 2023Juniper, Drama, Family drama, New Zealand, Matthew J. Saville, Charlotte Rampling, Marton Csokas, George Ferrier, Edith PoorComment