'Boys vs. Girls' Is an Outdated Battle-of-the-Sexes Comedy, and Not in a Fun Way Directed by Michael Stasko

Published Dec 21, 2020

Can you remember the last time when the "battle of the sexes" formula for a comedy felt in vogue or even felt relatively fresh? One's mind d...

TIFF Review: 'Violation' Is Unflinching in Its Complex Portrayal of Revenge Directed by Dusty Mancinelli and Madeleine Sims-Fewer

Published Sep 16, 2020

Like Gaspar Noé's Irréversible before it, Violation masterfully plays with the promise of catharsis supposedly ingrained in the "rape and re...

'My Days of Mercy' Is a Tragic Romance About Reaching Across the Aisle Directed by Tali Shalom Ezer

Published Aug 24, 2020

Putting the personal over the political is at the heart of Tali Shalom Ezer's moving tale of a star-crossed romance bridging the two sides o...

'Judy & Punch' Has as Little Depth as the Puppet Show That Inspired It Directed by Mirrah Foulkes

Published Jun 05, 2020

Mirrah Foulkes's black dramedy Judy & Punch takes the crude oral tradition of Punch and Judy's crass slapstick puppet shows and subverts the...

CFF Review: 'Clapboard Jungle' Is a Collective Sigh Aimed at the Independent Film Industry Directed by Justin McConnell

Published Jun 04, 2020

Shot over a turbulent five years of trying to get a project of the ground and into a theatre, Justin McConnell's Clapboard Jungle is an eye-...

Hot Docs Review: 'The Forbidden Reel' Is an Essential Crash Course in Afghani History as Told Through Its Cinema Directed by Ariel Nasr

Published Jun 03, 2020

The Afghan Film Organization was, at one point in time, the last respite for the preservation of Afghanistan's rich yet underexposed cinemat...

Hot Docs Review: 'The Earth Is Blue as an Orange' Is a Powerful Account of Art During Wartime Directed by Iryna Tsylik

Published Jun 03, 2020

It is the height of the Russian-Ukranian conflict in 2015, and in the small town of Krasnohorivka, the Trofymchuk family are huddled in thei...

Hot Docs Review: 'The Dakota Entrapment Tapes' Approaches the True Crime Genre with Empathy Directed by Trevor Birney

Published Jun 03, 2020

The discovery of the body of college student Andrew Sadek in the Red River of sleepy North Dakotan town Wahpeton rightfully shocked the popu...

'Tigertail' Is a Lonely, Unflinching Account of the Immigrant Experience Directed by Alan Yang

Published Apr 14, 2020

If it wasn't clear from his incredible turn in Lulu Wang's The Farewell, Tigertail confirms that we are indeed living through the unexpected...

​'Resistance' Doesn't Have Much to Say About Marcel Marceau Directed by Jonathan Jakubowicz

Published Mar 30, 2020

It is safe to assume the average viewer of Jonathan Jakubowicz's Resistance would not be readily aware of famed mime artist Marcel Marceau's...

'Run This Town' Is a Frantic Telling of Toronto's Rob Ford Era That Kinda Misses the Point Directed by Ricky Tollman

Published Mar 03, 2020

It takes no acumen in political analysis to conclude that Rob Ford's tenure as Toronto's 64th mayor was an embarrassment of riches if you ha...

'The Two Popes' Almost Gets in the Way of Its Stunning Leads Directed by Fernando Meirelles

Published Nov 22, 2019

It does not take any intuition to realize the main draw for a film like The Two Popes is folded neatly into its premise. The resignation of...

'Dolemite Is My Name' Is a Flagrant and Outrageous Biopic Directed by Craig Brewer

Published Oct 09, 2019

Charting the unconventional real-life rise to stardom of one idealistic dreamer who, despite being an acquired taste, refused the world tell...

'Promare' Offers Frenetic Eye Candy and Style to Burn Directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi

Published Oct 02, 2019

Studio Trigger announcing their development of a standalone feature film put many an anime fan familiar with their "Style is the Substance"...