Promised Land Review
Despite a solid set up, great performances, and a surprisingly unsentimental script from actors Matt Damon and John Krasinski, the Midwest set drama Promised Land comes up short thanks to a pretty dire final third.
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Interview: Alexandra Daddario
Kick off 2013 with our interview of the star of the first official 2013 film, as we talk to actress Alexandra Daddario about her role as the heroine in Texas Chainsaw 3D and we talk about the physical demands of horror, getting into character, talking with fans, and a little bit about returning to the Percy Jackson franchise later this summer!
Parental Guidance Review
A handy checklist to determine if you are part of the absolute lowest common denominator that Parental Guidance is catering to.
The Central Park Five Review
The Central Park Five looks back at an extraordinary miscarriage of justice at a time when we should all be questioning just how aggrandizing the media can be during times of tragedy.
The 25 Best Films of 2012
Our Film and Arts Editor counts down his top 25 films of the year.
Django Unchained Review
It's not Quentin Tarantino's most accomplished film, but Django Unchained benefits from a slew of excellent performances and a playful looseness that his films often forego in favour of more elaborate plot structuring.
Not Fade Away Review
While admirably personal to a small degree and brimming with appropriate 1960s period detail, Sopranos creator David Chase's first feature film Not Fade Away cloyingly drones on about how hard the late sixties were, how great the Stones are, and is designed to appeal to no one other than Chase's closest friends.
Rust and Bone Review
There are moments and certainly performances within Rust and Bone that flat out demand attention and praise. Yet somehow, those little pieces never add up to anything more than very well made melodramatic twaddle.
Defending the Indefensible: The Great White Hype
Those looking for a funnier way to get ready for the racial themes at work in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained who don't want to watch a bunch of Corbucci Westerns, should take a look at one of the most underrated sports comedies of all time: The Great White Hype, which comes courtesy of Unchained producer Reginald Hudlin and Samuel L. Jackson essentially playing Leonardo DiCaprio's role from QT's latest flick.
Les Miserables Review
Some excellent performances, great music, and fast pacing make Les Misérables worth seeing, despite director Tom Hooper directing with an unsteady hand.
Jack Reacher Review
In one of the most bizarre studio and ego driven productions to be released from a major studio this year, Jack Reacher manages to be too surreal to appeal to action fans and it’s too lunkheaded to appeal to proper cineastes. It’s simultaneously a better version of Alex Cross and a worse reimagining of MacGruber. It’s equally as awesome and awful as that sounds.
The Impossible Review
Combining top notch and genuinely emotional disaster filmmaking with sadly standard melodrama, The Impossible feels awkward, but there's still a lot to love about it.
Barbara Review
Christian Petzold's Barbara features a lead character with a redemptive arc that feels realer than any similar arc on screen because it eschews grandstanding epiphanies.
The Original Django
In honour of the release of Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained, the TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto begins a run of the original 1966 Sergio Corbucci directed and Franco Nero starring film that gave the world one of the most iconic figures in the Western genre. Here's a look back at a bleak and bloody masterwork that inspired countless knock off and homages, including Tarantino's
This is 40 Review
Despite not being able to fully balance the autobiographical elements of This is 40 within his top heavy screenplay, Judd Apatow still delivers a loose, but satisfying slice of life comedy.
