AwardsWatch - Film Reviews

TIFF Review: Despite strong performances from its leads, ‘Wildfire’ is doused by lackluster storytelling

Mina Takla September 17, 2020

Plot: After having suddenly and mysteriously disappeared for almost a year, a women returns to her hometown in Ireland and tries to blend in despite... Read More

TIFF Review: ‘The Truffle Hunters’ digs up one of the year’s most moving films

Mina Takla September 17, 2020

Plot: In Italy, where truffle hunting is a culinary obsession, a number of elderly hunters continue to practice what they believe is a true passion... Read More

TIFF Review: Rosamund Pike is a standout in J Blakeson’s sharp and clever ‘I Care A Lot’

Diego Andaluz September 16, 2020

After the disappointment that was The 5th Wave, director J Blakeson makes his return to a smaller budget film that must rely more on its... Read More

TIFF Review: The deeply earnest ‘Good Joe Bell’ is a story of self-redemption

Mina Takla September 16, 2020

Plot: The true story of an Oregon father, Joe Bell, who sets out on a walk across America in honor of his son. Review: Reinaldo... Read More

TIFF Review: ‘Notturno’ doc highlights the aftermath of war told through the eyes of those who lived it

Mina Takla September 16, 2020

Plot: Filmed in several parts of the war-torn Middle East, NOTTURNO documents the aftermath of war through the eyes of civilians whose lives have been... Read More

TIFF Review: Sam Pollard’s riveting ‘MLK/FBI’ looks at Hoover’s attempt to destroy an American hero

Meghan White September 15, 2020

In my June op-ed, about America’s growing moral dissonance systemically reinforced by the entertainment content we consume, I describe the normalization of the military industrial complex... Read More

TIFF Review: Shortcuts and misdirected focus don’t ring true in ‘Good Joe Bell’

Rubin Safaya September 15, 2020

A road paved with good intentions, GOOD JOE BELL begins as a story about the shared physical and emotional journey of Joe Bell and his... Read More

TIFF Review: ‘New Order’ is a harrowing, edge-of-your-seat experience

Mina Takla September 15, 2020

Plot: In one of Mexico’s richest neighborhoods, high-society guests flock to a lavish mansion to celebrate a wedding. But things soon take a tragic turn,... Read More

TIFF Review: ‘180 Degree Rule’ speaks for countless women whose only language is silence

Mina Takla September 15, 2020

Plot: Tehran, present day. A school teacher and a mother to a 5-year old daughter is preparing to attend a family wedding in northern Iran.... Read More