Courtney Small
Senior Critic
Courtney is a Rotten Tomatoes approved film critic and co-host of the radio show Frameline. He has written for several publications including POV Magazine, CBC Arts, Exclaim!, Cinema Axis, Leonard Maltin, In the Seats, Black Girl Nerds, and Comix Asylum. He also discusses diversity in cinema as host of the Changing Reels podcast and is a member of the Online Film Critics Society, GALECA, the African American Film Critics Association and is a Golden Globes international voter.Articles by Courtney Small:
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April 1, 2025
The LEGO Shelf: Hobbits, Minecraft, Oh My!April is a good time to crack open some LEGO with the release of a new Lord of the Rings inspired set and set for Minecraft lovers.
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February 1, 2025
Sundance 2025: Brides ReviewBrides explores the nature of radicalization through the eyes of U.K. teens who run away from home to join a militant group in Syria.
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January 28, 2025
The LEGO Shelf: More Not Always MerrierThe LEGO Shelf ponders whether 8 Batmen are truly better than 1 when building the LEGO BrickHeadz Batman 8 in 1 Figure.
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January 27, 2025
Sundance 2025: Sweet Talkin’ Guy, Somebody Cares, We’re Not Done YetThere are plenty of wonderful short films playing #Sundance this year! We briefly look at Sweet Talkin’ Guy, Somebody Cares, and We’re Not Done Yet.
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January 27, 2025
Sundance 2025: Hold Me CloseHold Me Close is a wonderful documentary short that follows a Black queer couple living life on their own terms.
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December 23, 2024
The Fire Inside Review: T-Rex Goes for GoldExcellent performances by Ryan Destiny and Bryan Tyree Henry fuel Rachel Morrison’s directorial debutThe Fire Inside.
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December 12, 2024
The LEGO Shelf: 2024 Holiday Gift GuideThis month’s LEGO Shelf has the last-minute shoppers covered with five gift ideas for the 2024 holiday season.
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November 19, 2024
The Lego Shelf: Over the Moon with Pharrell Williams ReviewThis month, The Lego Shelf takes a look at the Over the Moon with Pharrell Williams set which was inspired by the film Piece by Piece.
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October 8, 2024
The Lego Shelf: Building a Spooky Season Brick by BrickJump in to our new monthly column, The LEGO Shelf, with some sets you might want to add to your collection this Halloween season.
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September 13, 2024
Mother Mother: TIFF 2024 ReviewOne of the pleasant surprises of the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, Mother Mother offers a riveting and intimate portrait of motherhood, grief, and forgiveness.
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September 13, 2024
40 Acres: TIFF 2024 ReviewA plague has wiped out 98% of the world’s animal population, leading to death and civil war. With food scarce and capitalist institutions collapsed, farmland has become the most valuable resource. Something a select few have and many would kill to obtain. It is in this post-apocalyptic setting that director R.T. Thorne’s thrilling feature debut 40 Acres takes place.
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September 12, 2024
On a Sunday at Eleven: TIFF 2024 ReviewThe TIFF short follows a young ballerina as she faces the pressures to conform to a Eurocentric standard of beauty.
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September 9, 2024
On Becoming a Guinea Fowl: TIFF 2024 ReviewA masterful exploration of the secrets that eat away at a family like termites devouring wood, Nyoni creates a mosaic of emotions that is at times amusing, claustrophobic, and utterly heartbreaking. A brilliant work on every level, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl is one of the year’s best works.
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film
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TV
Primetime Review: It Takes One to Know One
Robert Pattinson gives a tour-de-force performance in Primetime as sicko journalist and To Catch a Predator host Chris Hansen.
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music
La Bola Negra Review: TIFF 2026
La Bola Negra is a sweeping epic pays tribute to lost lives and loves by connecting the stories of gay men across generations.
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podcasts
Contra Zoom Pod Episode 344: Interview With Matthew Rankin of Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney
On the latest Contra Zoom Pod they interview Matthew Rankin about his film Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney, which had its world premiere at TIFF.
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