TIFF Review : Zhang Yimou’s ‘One Second’ offers a charming, if compromised, love letter to cinema [Grade: B]
Even before it reached Western shores for its premiere as the closing night film of the Toronto International Film Festival, Zhang Yimou’s One Second was... Read More
TIFF21
TIFF 2021: ‘Belfast’ is the People’s Choice Award winner, boosting its Oscar hopes
Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical story Belfast has been chosen by TIFF audiences as the People’s Choice Award winner of the 46th Toronto International Film Festival. Branagh’s... Read More
TIFF Review: With ‘Julia,’ Julie Cohen and Betsy West whip up a charming confit of cooking’s most fearless and unlikely personality [Grade: A]
Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s Julia opens with a clip of Julia Child introducing her TV audience to “the chicken sisters,” the six headless fowl... Read More
TIFF Review: ‘The Falls’ (瀑布) is a tense, touching portrait of love and empathy [Grade: A]
At the center of our story stands an apartment building, fully wrapped in blue tarp. We see many buildings of identical structure, but only this... Read More
TIFF Review: Alexandre Moratto’s ‘7 Prisoners’ is a compelling and harrowing look at modern-day slave trade [Grade: B+]
Brazilian filmmaker Alexandre Moratto creates a highly effective, if uneven, picture on the devastating working conditions in his homeland, capturing both the dreams crushed by... Read More
TIFF Review: Pablo Larraín’s ‘Spencer’ is a riveting tale of isolation and loneliness with a stellar performance by Kristen Stewart [Grade: A]
One of the best films of the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, Pablo Larraín’s Spencer is a perfect example of how imagined fables within the... Read More
TIFF Review: Darin J. Sallam’s debut feature ‘Farha’ is an effective socio-political thriller of the horrors of displacement in the Middle East [Grade: B]
Despite glaring pacing issues, Darin J. Sallam’s debut feature, Farha, manages to leave a strong impression. After a clunky first 30 minutes, the film finds... Read More
TIFF Review: ‘The Survivor’ has a knockout performance from Ben Foster, even as it pulls its punches elsewhere [Grade: C+]
Weepy prestige biopics set during the Holocaust are nothing new; they’re the backbone of a robust subcategory of Oscar-hungry films eager for the audience’s attention... Read More
TIFF Review: A career-best Jack Lowden carries Terence Davies’ somber yet lyrical ‘Benediction’ [Grade: A]
Within his short filmography, rising Scottish actor Jack Lowden has shown immense acting range in films like Mary Queen of Scots, Kindred, and the overlooked... Read More
Undoubtedly his most personal film to date, Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast is a quietly moving and universally resonating film about the roots that connect us, the... Read More
2025 BAFTA TV Nominations: ‘Baby Reindeer’ Leads, Followed by ‘Slow Horses’ 
Sundance Film Festival Announces Move to Boulder, Colorado Beginning in 2027 
Director Watch Podcast Ep. 92 – ‘A New Leaf’ (Elaine May, 1971) 
‘Dying for Sex’ TV Review: Michelle Williams Comes Into Her Own in Devastating, and Devastatingly Funny Rumination on Death and Desire [A]