Revolution Review
As an environmental advocacy documentary, Rob Stewart's Revolution is pretty standard and simplistic, but it comes with a layer of personal emotion that's rare for this kind of material.
Bit.Trip Presents Runner 2 Review
While the simple elements remain faithful, do mysterious alterations to the Bit.Trip formula betray its uncanny predecessor?
42 Review
Some may scoff at the total lack of irony and unapologetic sentimentality in the Jackie Robinson biopic 42, but there’s something so inherently romantic about this story and sport that anything else would feel inappropriate. They don’t make movies like this anymore and haven’t for decades. Yet, 42 suggests that it might not be a terrible idea to dust off those old naïve Hollywood filmmaking techniques every now and then if the material suits that style.
The Place Beyond the Pines Review
From moment to moment, The Place Beyond the Pines is a strong piece of work comprised of terse dialogue, pain-eyed performances, sudden bursts of violence, and heavy thematic resonance. Unfortunately, it never quite holds together to deliver anything as profound as the somberly existential tone seems to promise.
Trance Review
Trance is more of a return to basics and the beginning of his career for director Danny Boyle, but it's in service of far lesser material than he should be taking on at this point.
Upstream Color Review
Buried deep within layers of overly analyzed obfuscation and mixed metaphors, there's a genuinely sweet story inside of Primer director Shane Carruth's Upstream Color that he just can't quite get a handle on. And yet, that's part of what makes it so interesting in the first place.
TJFF at 21
As it enters it's 21st year, the Toronto Jewish Film Festival kicks off today (running through Sunday, April 21st) and bringing with it some of the best Jewish made and Jewish themed films from around the globe. Here's a look at some of the year's biggest titles.
Like Someone in Love Review
Like Someone in Love, the latest film from master filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami, is an undeniably poignant look at the yearning for human connection between two people who seemingly have their lives run by everyone around them.
Paris-Manhattan Review
Paris-Manhattan is a charming romantic comedy and ode to cinephilia that would make Woody Allen proud.
Guacamelee! Review
These days, most games billed as Metroidvania don’t live up to the moniker. Enter Guacamelee!, an excellent Mexican-themed brawler that oozes 2D authenticity. The latest offering from Toronto’s DrinkBox Studios maximizes the Metroidvania concept with tight combat, intricate level design, and a colourful aesthetic that reminds players that more is not necessarily better.
Game of Thrones Episode 3.2 Recap
In “Dark Winds, Dark Words”, the action is mercifully contained in Westeros. I’ve been critical of the show so far this season for struggling to juggle the myriad plots, characters and locales, but this episode did a relatively strong job of weaving everything together.
CineFranco At a Glance: Part 2
Last week we looked at film from the first half of this year's CineFranco French language film festival (continuing at The Royal in Toronto through Sunday, April 14th). Here is a look at several films from the back half including a great documentary, films with appearances from Marc Andre Grondin and Jean Reno, and closing night feature Tango Libre.
TIFF Kids Around
We take a look inside this years TIFF Kids showcase, including several of the films being screened and a look at some of the other great events for the whole family (and especially, you know, the kids) going down at the TIFF Bell Lightbox from April 9th to the 21st.
Jurassic Park 3D Review
As a film, Jurassic Park is just as thrilling as ever, having not aged a day, and thankfully an upgrade and re-release in 3-D for its 20th anniversary does the film a considerable amount of justice.
The Sapphires Review
The Sapphires is the kind of project that gives “the feel good movie” a good name. It’s a little sappy and manipulative, but if you can walk out of the theater with anything less than a big dopey grin on your face then there’s probably something wrong with you.
