A Las Vegas showgirl has to deal with the imminent closure of her show in The Last Showgirl. Shelly Gardner (Pamela Anderson) is a 57-year-old Las Vegas showgirl, who has performed in the revue Le Razzle Dazzle for the past three decades and acts as a mother figure for the younger dancers Jodie (Kiernan Shipka) …
Friends
A budding friendship develops between a dog and a robot in 1980s New York City in Robot Dreams. Living an isolated existence in his New York City apartment, Dog orders for himself an Amica 2000 robot. Dog and Robot become fast friends, exploring the city to the sounds of Earth, Wind, & Fire’s “September.” However, …
The story of the rise and fall of the world’s first smartphone is told in BlackBerry. Mike Lazaridis (Jay Baruchel) and Douglas Fregin (Matt Johnson) are business partners in the upstart Waterloo, Ontario, technology company Research In Motion. The two make a pitch to Harvard-educated businessman Jim Balsillie (Glenn Howerton) of Sutherland-Schultz Ltd for their …
A man hoping to cure himself of his sexist mindset hires a nanny eager to please in Babysitter. While at an MMA fight with friends, a drunken Cédric (Patrick Hivon) goes viral after he embraces reporter Chantal Tremblay (Eve Duranceau) on live television. After a scandalous newspaper article written by Cédric’s brother Jean-Michel (Steve Laplante), …
A platoon of German soldiers fights to survive in the trenches during the First World War in All Quiet on the Western Front. Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer) enlists in the Imperial German Army in 1917, along with his friends Albert Kropp (Aaron Hilmer), Franz Müller (Moritz Klaus) and Ludwig Behm (Adrian Grünewald). The friends are …
The legendary hero loses confidence when he finds himself down to his last life in Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. After his latest adventure, Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) finds himself on the wrong side of a falling bell. Informed that he is now down to his last life, Puss decides it is time …
A recently orphaned teenager creates a replacement family consisting of recently deceased corpses in The Loneliest Boy in the World. Oliver (Max Harwood) grew up under the incredibly sheltered care of his mother (Carol Anne Watts), who died in a freak accident the previous year. While psychiatrist Julius (Evan Ross) wants to commit Oliver to …
We return to the world of Pandora in Avatar: The Way of Water. It has been 13 years since Jake Sulley (Sam Worthington) was permanently transferred into his Navi Avatar and became the leader of the Omaticaya along with his mate Neytiri (Zoe Saldana). Together they have three biological children, Neteyam (Jamie Flatters), Lo’ak (Britain …
We have five Blu-ray copies of the zombie horror-comedy The Loneliest Boy in the World to give away, courtesy of our friends at Well Go USA Entertainment! The Loneliest Boy in the World Giveaway Rules
The review was originally published as part of my coverage of Fantasia 2022 A time traveller from the future tries to make the world a better place in Relax, I’m From the Future. Casper (Rhys Darby) is a man from an unspecified time in the future who arrives in the present day and sets forth …
A New Yorker sneaks into the Vietnam War to deliver beers to his friends in The Greatest Beer Run Ever. John “Chickie” Donohue (Zac Efron) is a Marine Corps veteran and merchant seaman in 1967 Inwood, New York. While Chickie’s out drinking with friends, barkeep The Colonel (Bill Murray) expresses disgust at anti-Vietnam demonstrations in …
Two lifelong friends inexplicably begin feuding in The Banshees of Inisherin. In 1923, on the island of Inisherin, just off Ireland’s west coast, Pádraic (Collin Farrell) visits the home of his best friend Colm (Brendan Gleeson) for their daily trip to the pub. However, Pádraic is shocked to find Colm ignoring him and is later …
Full Disclosure: I’m friends with director Ry Levey and contributed to this film’s crowdfunding campaign The history of LGBTQIA+ representation in pro wrestling is explored in Out in the Ring. It can be argued that there has always been a homoerotic element to the world of professional wrestling. However, queer representation in sports entertainment has …
Lin-Manuel Miranda directs this film adaptation of the autobiographical musical by Jonathan Larson with tick, tick…BOOM! Jonathan Larson (Andrew Garfield) is a struggling musical theatre writer on the cusp on his 30th birthday, who has been developing the dystopian sci-fi rock musical Superbia for the past eight years. Jon has finally been given the chance …
A woman begins living out of her van after the loss of her job and husband in Nomadland. Following the 2011 closure of the US Gypsum plant in Empire, Nevada, along with the death of her husband, Fern (Frances McDormand) decides to adopt the nomad lifestyle, which includes living out of her van and driving cross-country …
A couple’s romantic getaway is disrupted the arrival of an older couple in The Beach House. Randal (Noah Le Gros) arrives with his girlfriend Emily (Liana Liberato) at his family’s beachfront property to reconnect with each other. However, it isn’t long until they discover that the house is also being occupied by Mitch (Jake Weber) …
This month I delve into the Canadian tax shelter era with the 1977 wilderness survival/horror film Rituals. Harry (Hal Holbrook), Mitzi (Lawrence Dane), Martin (Robin Gammell), Abel (Ken James), and D.J. (Gary Reineke) are five doctor friends, who go for a camping trip in an isolated stretch of wilderness. After the first night, the the men’s …
A 90 year old atheist navy veteran contemplates his mortality in Lucky. Living in a small town in the California desert, Lucky (Harry Dean Stanton) has a very specific daily routine, which includes doing the crossword at the local diner run or conversing with his friends at the bar. However, one day Lucky’s routine is …
This review was originally published as part of my coverage of Fantasia Fest 2015 A young women undergoes a horrifying transformation in the body horror film Bite. Shortly before her wedding to her fiance Jared (Jordan Gray), Casey (Elma Begovic) goes on a bachelorette holiday to Costa Rica with her friends Jill (Annette Wozniak) and Kirsten (Denise Yuen). …
A young women undergoes a horrifying transformation in the body horror film Bite. Shortly before her wedding to her fiance Jared (Jordan Gray), Casey (Elma Begovic) goes on a bachelorette holiday to Costa Rica with her friends Jill (Annette Wozniak) and Kirsten (Denise Yuen). While swimming in an off-path spring, Casey gets bitten by something under …
My last post, in which I reminisced on the many different Toronto-area cinemas I frequented, was quite well-received so I decided that I would write a follow-up post, listing more of the theatres that I have been to. Like I’ve said in the last post, I’ve probably been to most Toronto cinemas at least once (though there’s …
I’m started to head into the cream of the crop of the Canada’s Top Ten selection. A Dangerous Method is of course the latest film by David Cronenberg. The very fact that the film is directed Cronenberg might affect the opinions of some from an auteuristic point of view. On it’s the own, I thought that …
This week I am going to look at the trailer for the first mainstream North American staring role for British comedian Simon Pegg. How to Lose Friends & Alienate People When I first heard of this film, I was willing to see it based solely on Pegg’s involvement, as well as its title. Looking at …
Better late than never, this week I look at the latest film by the “Frat Pack” (i.e. Ben Stiller and friends). Tropic Thunder The latest directorial effort by Ben Stiller sees a group of actors filming a war movie that end up being involved in actual combat. This film looks to be a funny satire …
Bold ones you have seen, bold italic ones you have, then choose one you didnt italic or bold (not counting the Oscar list) and change it to a movie not on the list, and underline it. 1. X-Men 2. Donnie Darko 3. X2 4. Swimfan 5. Fellowship of the Ring 6. Finding Nemo 7. Peter …