Articles — Original Cin

Since 2017: Career film critics continuing the conversation

Canadian Film Fest: Diversity Abounds Amid Lots and Lots (and Lots) to See

Canadian Film Fest: Diversity Abounds Amid Lots and Lots (and Lots) to See

By Liam Lacey

PreviewJim SlotekMarch 28, 2023The Canadian Film Fest, Babysitter, Streams Flow from a River, When Time Got Louder, Bystanders, How To Get My Parents to Divorce, Golden Delicious, Retrograde, Polarized, Super Channel, Wintertide, Bloom (Jouvencelles)Comment

Tetris: Docudrama Reveals Unknown History about Ubiquitous, Fan-Favourite Game

Tetris: Docudrama Reveals Unknown History about Ubiquitous, Fan-Favourite Game

By John Kirk

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 27, 2023Tetris, AppleTV+, Docudrama, John S. Baird, Taron Egerton, Nikita Efremov, Toby Jones, Game Boy, video game moviesComment

A Good Person: Florence Pugh's Pill-Popping Journey is An Ordeal for All

A Good Person: Florence Pugh's Pill-Popping Journey is An Ordeal for All

Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 24, 2023A Good Person, Movies about addiction, Zach Braff, Florence Pugh, Morgan Freeman, Molly Shannon, Celeste O'ConnorComment

88: Would-Be Thriller About Neo-Nazis in U.S. Politics Barely Feels Like Fiction

88: Would-Be Thriller About Neo-Nazis in U.S. Politics Barely Feels Like Fiction

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 23, 202388, Political thriller, U.S. politics, Eromose, Brandon Victor Dixon, Naturi Naughton, Orlando Jones, Thomas Sadoski, William Fichtner, Kenneth Choi, Nazis, Neo-NazismComment

The Lost King: Smart Fact-Based Historical Biopic Rewrites Shakespeare For Better

The Lost King: Smart Fact-Based Historical Biopic Rewrites Shakespeare For Better

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 23, 2023The Lost King, TIFF 2022, Stephen Frears, Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope, Sally Hawkins, Harry Lloyd, British dramas, Historical drama Comment

The Colour of Ink: Blots, Scribbles, and Ink-Stained Happiness

The Colour of Ink: Blots, Scribbles, and Ink-Stained Happiness

By Liam Lacey

PreviewJim SlotekMarch 23, 2023The Colour of Ink, Brian D. Johnson, Documentary, NFB, National Film Board of Canada, Jason Logan, Canadian, Margaret Atwood, Nicholas de PencierComment

You Can Live Forever: Gay Teen Life in a Jehovah's Witness Village Where 'The Truth' is a Tight Fit

You Can Live Forever: Gay Teen Life in a Jehovah's Witness Village Where 'The Truth' is a Tight Fit

By Chris Knight

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 22, 2023Jehovah's Witness, You Can Live Forever, Growing up gay in religious communities, Mark Slutsky, Sarah Watts, Anwen O'Driscoll, June Laporte, Liane Balaban Comments

The Five Devils: Sniffing for Meaning in an Odd French Multicultural, Bisexual Psychodrama

The Five Devils: Sniffing for Meaning in an Odd French Multicultural, Bisexual Psychodrama

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 22, 2023French psychodrama, The Five Devils, Léa Mysius, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Children with supernatural powers, Ava, Moustapha Mbengue, Paul Guilhaume, Total Eclipse of the HeartComment

Original-Cin Q&A: You Can Live Forever Filmmakers Locate the Humanity in Misunderstood Religion

Original-Cin Q&A: You Can Live Forever Filmmakers Locate the Humanity in Misunderstood Religion

By Bonnie Laufer

InterviewJim SlotekMarch 22, 2023Anwen O'Driscoll, Liane Balaban, Antoine Yared, June Laporte, You Can Live Forever, Sarah Watts, Mark Slutsky, Canadian, Drama, Gay, Jehovah's WitnessComment

John Wick: Chapter 4 - Overcoming the Overkill in Looney Tunes Style

John Wick: Chapter 4 - Overcoming the Overkill in Looney Tunes Style

Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 20, 2023John Wick: Chapter 4, Movies with a high death count, Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Chad Stahelski, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Shamier AndersonComment

Ithaka: Family-Led Portrait of Julian Assange Flies the Flag for Sympathy and Freedom

Ithaka: Family-Led Portrait of Julian Assange Flies the Flag for Sympathy and Freedom

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 20, 2023Julian Assange, WikiLeaks, Docuementary, John ShiptonComment

Riceboy Sleeps: Mother-Son Relations Exalted and Explored in Acclaimed Canuck Drama

Riceboy Sleeps: Mother-Son Relations Exalted and Explored in Acclaimed Canuck Drama

By Karen Gordon

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 16, 2023Riceboy Sleeps, Canadian film, TFCA, Rogers Best Canadian Film Award, TIFF 2022, Anthony Shim, Choi Seung-Yoon, Ethan Hwang, Dohyun Noel Huang, Korean cinemaComment

Boston Strangler: Latest Remake Smartly Follows Female Reporters on the Case

Boston Strangler: Latest Remake Smartly Follows Female Reporters on the Case

By Thom Ernst

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 16, 2023Boston Strangler, Matt Ruskin, Keira Knightly, Carrie Coon, Morgan Spector, Chris Cooper, David Dastmalchian, True crime, Disney+, 1960sComment

Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming, with Dave Letterman - Dave's Yin and Bono's Earnest Yang Mix Well

Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming, with Dave Letterman - Dave's Yin and Bono's Earnest Yang Mix Well

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 16, 2023Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming, with Dave Letterman, Ruminations on Dublin, U2 songs acoustic, Dublin’s Ambassador Theatre, The Troubles, Jimmy Iovine, Glen HansardComment

Tenzin: A Veil of Illusion In Toronto’s Little Tibet

Tenzin: A Veil of Illusion In Toronto’s Little Tibet

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 15, 2023Tenzin, Tibetan film, Tibet, Toronto story, Parkdale, Michael LeBlanc, Josh Reichmann, Tenzin Choekyi, Tenzin KelsangComment

Shazam: Fury of the Gods - Bringing Back the Simplest of Kid-Level Comic Book Pleasures

Shazam: Fury of the Gods - Bringing Back the Simplest of Kid-Level Comic Book Pleasures

By John Kirk

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 15, 2023Shazam: Fury of the Gods, Super hero movies aimed at kids, Billy Batson, Zachary Levi, Dame Helen Mirren, Lucy Liu, Mythological monstersComment

Supercell: Low-Budget Twister Film Has its Moments - None of Which Belong to Anne Heche or Alec Baldwin

Supercell: Low-Budget Twister Film Has its Moments - None of Which Belong to Anne Heche or Alec Baldwin

By Jim Slotek

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 15, 2023Storm-chaser movies, Supercell, Anne Heche, Alec Baldwin, Herbert James Winterstern, Twister, Daniel DiemerComment

Ted Lasso: S3 is Here… But Does it Still Matter?

Ted Lasso: S3 is Here… But Does it Still Matter?

By Liam Lacey

ReviewJim SlotekMarch 15, 2023Ted Lasso, AppleTV+, Jason Sudeikis, Nick Mohammed, Juno Temple, Hannah Waddingham, Television, Comedy, Drama, SportsComment

Original-Cin Q&A: Riceboy Sleeps Director, Star on Capturing the Immigrant Experience

Original-Cin Q&A: Riceboy Sleeps Director, Star on Capturing the Immigrant Experience

By Bonnie Laufer

InterviewJim SlotekMarch 15, 2023Riceboy Sleeps, Anthony Shim, TIFF 2022, TFCA, Rogers Best Canadian Film Award, Choi Seung-yoon, Ethan Hwang, Dohyun Noel Hwang, Korean cinema, Immigrant experienceComment

Original-Cin Q&A: Guy Pearce and Damian Lewis Talk Spies, Lies and A Spy Among Friends

Original-Cin Q&A: Guy Pearce and Damian Lewis Talk Spies, Lies and A Spy Among Friends

By Bonnie Laufer

InterviewJim SlotekMarch 10, 2023Prime Video, Mini-series, Damian Lewis, Guy Pearce, A Spy Among Friends, British, espionage, Thriller, 1960s, adaptation, Ben Macintyre, Q&AComment