The Northman Cometh, and he’s got an axe to grind
Movie Review: The Northman
There’s not a lot of room for subtlety when most problems are solved by bludgeoning and dismemberment, but you can tell Nicole Kidman, Ethan Hawke and Alexander Skarsgard are desperate to bring every nuance possible to this broad-strokes study of our stubborn primitivism.
Kidman falls prey to bad hair daze in Destroyer
Movie review: Destroyer
By tugging at the fake-looking locks sported by Nicole Kidman in Karyn Kusama’s ode to L.A. Noir, our critic coughs up a tangled knot of endemic sexism, and a latent desire for a little more destruction from downer Destroyer.
Boy Erased etches sketch of family versus faith into film history
Movie Review: Boy Erased
Director-actor Joel Edgerton brings Garrard Conley’s memoir of his time in conversion-therapy to the big screen with a cast of powerful voices. Veterans, and fellow Aussies, Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman form the harmony and chorus, while Lucas Hedges performs a heartbreaking solo as the son of a Baptist minister struggling with sexual identity. The combination of all three is close to a religious experience, writes critic Katherine Monk.
#VIFF2018: A big fattie of a film festival that will alter perception
Movies: Vancouver International Film Festival, #VIFF2018
Boasting more than 216 feature films from 55 countries, The Vancouver International Film Festival is one of the beefiest film smorgasbords on the circuit. It can all be a little overwhelming, but veteran critic Katherine Monk offers five vetted bets to get your cinema season started.
Killing of a Sacred Deer Roasts Sacrificial Lamb
Movie Review: The Killing of a Sacred Deer
Yorgos Lanthimos rewrites Greek tragedy for a modern fit by forcing the audience to ponder the bargains we strike to separate heart and mind in a movie that mercifully screams "metaphor!"
Little Lion has a big roar
Movie review: Lion
Dev Patel and Sunny Pawar bring the true story of Saroo Brierley's quest for home to the big screen with empathy and intimate emotional truth
Jay Stone picks his TIFF16 ponies
Movies: #TIFF16
The Toronto International Film Festival offers 400 film titles, two Ryan Gosling movies, a Denis Villeneuve Arrival and if you're lucky, free chips
By Jay Stone
There are many things to look forward to at the Toronto International Film Festival, including that party they have every year to celebrate Canadian cinema where they hand out bags of potato chips and chocolate bars, although this year I hear they’re not having the chocolate bars. But we soldier on. Getting through a film festival requires a certain amount of self-sacrifice. And oh yes: the films. There are about 400 of them here, and if you play your cards right, you can see a couple of dozen and still have time to pick up enough bags of complimentary potato chips to get you through to lunch, although some chocolate bars would have been a nice addition. You know. For dessert. Where was I? Right: the films. Here, in no particular order, are some that I’m looking forward to.
Arrival
A sci-fi film ...
Genius strikes generic notes
Movie review: Genius
Despite perfecting his gift for blending dour disdain and puppy-eyed sympathy in a single glance, Colin Firth's performance as Thomas Wolfe's editor feels cut-out
