Movie Reviews
Seen a lot of movies, got a lot of opinions.
Let’s get Lily Gladstone her Oscar.

“Eleanor the Great” Needs to Live in its Discomfort
Eleanor the Great is a film about connection, but one whose wires get a little too crossed.

Fantastic Fest 25: “CAMP” is Low-Fi Witchiness
CAMP, like the summer sleepaway activity the film is named after, is a means of connection, both among the characters in the film and between Fast and the viewer. Trauma is not healed in silence, but in moonlight dances, incantations, and laughter shared with friends.

Fantastic Fest 25: “Dolly” is Throwback ’70s Horror
Dolly amps up the guts and gore of yesteryear to make a throwback isolationist horror sure to delight the bloodthirsty.

Fantastic Fest 25: “The Curse” is Aughts Throwback Horror
While The Curse is a little too silly to reach the peak of the Japanese horror of the aughts, there’s still something to love here. By the end of the film, there’s not a sliver of the screen untouched by blood.

Fantastic Fest 25: “APPOFENIACS” is a Deepfake Nightmare
With strong, funny performances by genre favorites like Sean Gunn and Jermaine Fowler, APPOFENIACS comes from a place of loving Tarantino, but with a new, fun dimensionality.

Fantastic Fest 25: “Bad Haircut” is John Hughes by Way of James Wan
Bad Haircut is a John Hughes movie that’s been hacked away at by James Wan, and the result is the sort of haircut people can’t stop asking you about.

Fantastic Fest 25: “The Cramps: A Period Piece” Finds Humor in Period Pain
With the heart of Cellars translated through the weirdness of Waters, The Cramps: A Period Piece is a cult classic in the making.

Fantastic Fest 25: “Silver Screamers” Brings Horror to the Nursing Home
Silver Screamers is endearingly heartfelt in its pursuit of making something frightening, a mirror of sorts to life itself.

“The Long Walk” is One of the Best Stephen King Adaptations
The Long Walk is no walk in the park. It’s a brutal exercise of putting one foot in front of the other in the pursuit of an unknown finish line.

“Sunfish (& Other Stories from Green Lake)” Captures Dreamy, Lakeside Slices of Life
Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake) is a love letter to a place and a season, and how they affect us all in different, beautiful ways.

Tim Blake Nelson Lands a Massive Punch in “Bang Bang”
Bang Bang is not about the moments in the ring, but the tougher moments that come after. When the spotlight’s off and the blood has dried, what kind of person will you be?

TIFF25: “Hedda” Sees Tessa Thompson Reveling in Chaos
Led by Thompson’s truly magnetic performance, Hedda provides an inspired, updated, and freshly twisted take on the classic play.

TIFF25: “Train Dreams” Finds Deep Purpose in Simplicity
Train Dreams is a miraculous wonder. The kind of movie that forces you to stop and take stock of this planet.

TIFF25: “Retreat” is a White Knuckle Deaf Thriller
Evans’ Retreat is the sort of identity-driven genre filmmaking that people have been begging for.

TIFF25: “Ghost School” Looks at Corruption Through a Child’s Eyes
Ghost School isn’t entirely about comprehending the depths of the corruption in her town. At the very least, it’s about recognizing how she can rebel in her own way.

TIFF25: “Dust Bunny” is a Goofy, Monster-Killing Romp
Dust Bunny is meant to entertain as much as it’s meant to frighten. Where snappy dialogue provides as much of a thrill as every creak of the floorboards.

TIFF25: “Renoir” Captures Loss and Growing Up
Renoir creates nostalgia for the moments Fuki is living through in a way that asks the audience to remember their own thorny adolescence as it is unperceptively shifting toward adulthood.

TIFF25: “Mile Ends Kicks” is “Almost Famous” for the Aughts
Levack is still one of the Canadian filmmakers to watch and Mile End Kicks will stir up a lot of positive nostalgia for many viewers, but for others it’ll feel more like a cover than an original.

TIFF25: Guillermo de Toro’s “Frankenstein” Needs More Life
Frankenstein is missing the intimacy of Shelley’s novel which makes the film feel as though it is a mere recreation of life instead of life itself.

TIFF25: “Obsession” Will Make You Careful What You Wish For
Most people grow out of the need to be the center of someone’s world. If not, Obsession warns, it might just be the death of you.