Ripped from the headlines, it is not as good as “Capote,” but close enough. Debut feature director Rupert Goold pulled one out of the hat with this amazingly entertaining dual of wits, and lies, between two men who are world class in the art of deception. At the heart of the film is the weakness
This pot-boiler takes the viewer by surprise after a slow start, but the start is too long and the surprise too short. In the midst of a jocular college reunion, the young, beautiful and mysterious guest Elly (Taraneh Alidousti) disappears without a trace. In the wake of her disappearance, her true story emerges to the
Writer director Andrew Cividino’s coming-of-age film Sleeping Giant has just been announced as Canada’s first feature film entry in competition at the Cannes Film Festival next month. It is part of Semaine de la Critique, the Directors’ Fortnight, competing for the prestigious Camera D’Or award. Sleeping Giant, made for just $60,000 was inspired by Cividino’s’
A B-movie that tried to be something better but stayed a B-movie. Writer/director Alex Garland’s sci-fi flick is the latest in a long line of slipshod Hollywood treatments of artificial intelligence. This tale starts with a pseudo “imitation game” in which Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) has been chosen to determine which is the real person and
Although it is very light on action and violence, A Most Violent Year features powerful performances in a slow-burning drama about a good man trying to make an honest living while everyone around him seems to be happy to cut corners anyway they can. Written and directed by J. C. Chandor (Margin Call and All
The werewolves you can accept, the humans you can tolerate, but the Christians? Directed and written by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, “Shadows” is a marvelous mash-up of every vampire trope invented in the last century with a few new ones thrown in. The four flat mates are the best of friends, and have been
A real life interpretation of the “Godfather” series that strips away the glamour and leaves only despair. Nominated for the Golden Lion, the highest award of the Venice Film Festival, writer/director Francesco Munzi’s familial crime drama looks deep into the heart of darkness. Based on the novel by Gioacchino Criaco with a screenplay co-written by
A great performance by Ben Stiller makes this an easygoing Sunday afternoon movie, if not one of Baumbach’s best pieces of self-examination. Noah Baumbach’s latest dramedy takes on a decidedly Woody Allen feeling that gives Ben Stiller a chance to show his stuff. Supporting leads Naomi Watts and Adam Driver fall victim to the curse
Filmmaker Matt Sadowski and his leading man Dov Tiefenbach took on the conventional romantic comedy and all its artifice and won with the independent Canadian feature Pretend We’re Kissing. Set proudly in Toronto, Tiefenbach brilliantly takes on the role of a reserved and socially phobic man who hopes to finally make a match with a
John Boorman’s beloved 1987 World War II film Hope and Glory was based on his own experiences as a young boy in London. His alter ego Bill Rohan’s most memorable scene was shouting for joy when Hitler bombs his school, ensuring time off. Now flash forward to 1952 where Boorman picks up Bill’s life as