#TIFF21: “ENCOUNTER” REVIEW
Review by David Baldwin
Decorated Marine Malik Khan (Riz Ahmed) has been living off the grid, studying a parasitic threat that could put all of humanity in danger. Fearing for their safety, Khan kidnaps his two children from the home of his ex-wife and takes them on a road trip to find the cure. With the authorities in hot pursuit and general skepticism abounding, Khan must stay a step ahead in order to save his children’s lives.
ENCOUNTER is emotionally resonant and poignant in its ...
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#TIFF21: “FLEE” REVIEW
Review by David Baldwin
FLEE is one of the most celebrated and talked about films of the year. It won the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema – Documentary at Sundance this past January and has been on the tip of nearly every Oscar Blogger’s tongue ever since. The Film is a mostly animated tale telling the “true story” of Amin, who fled Afghanistan with his family during the 1980s in search of a better life and ended up being separated from just about everyone.
To say that FLEE is ...
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#TIFF21: “SCARBOROUGH” REVIEW
By Mr. Will Wong
Catherine Hernandez adapts her award-winning Novel SCARBOROUGH to the big screen with Co-Directors Shasha Nakhai and Rich Williamson. What we get is a Film that feels very "now" addressing with a fly-on-the-wall's authenticism the issues facing under-heard and under-seen voices in a low-income part of the story's titular town.
The Film centers on three children: Bing (Liam Diaz) who is gay and struggling with bullying and racism at school, living with his ...
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#TIFF21: “TRUE THINGS” REVIEW
By Mr. Will Wong
Kate (Ruth Wilson) lives a mundane life as a Benefits claims worker. She encounters a former convict claimant (Tom Burke), whom she is seduced by into an all-consuming affair. Her world quickly unravels, finding herself obsessed with him completely. Unsure where she stands, we ride Kate's highs and lows waiting on his unpredictability. And through this affair, we see her really come to life as those around her discourage her from moving ahead with this mysterious ...
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#TIFF21: “SPENCER” REVIEW
By Amanda Gilmore
Kristen Stewart and Director Pablo Larraín do Princess Diana justice with Spencer.
It follows Diana over her final Christmas with the royal family. She arrives at the mansion willing to comply with the strenuous rules the family demand over the holidays. But as the long days and night tread on, Diana begins suffocating in the life she lives. Over the three days of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day, Diana decides to break free. The Filmmakers have stated this ...
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TIFF21: “SUNDOWN” REVIEW
Review by David Baldwin
Neil Bennett (Tim Roth) is vacationing with his family at a luxury resort in Acapulco. The wealthy travelers are thrown for a loop when they find out Neil’s Mother has passed away suddenly and need to return to London immediately. When they get to the airport however, Neil discovers that he has forgotten his passport at the hotel. He tells them to go on while he stays to look for it, but instead of heading back to the resort, he decides to check into a different ...
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#TIFF21: “THE GUILTY” REVIEW
Review by David Baldwin
A wildfire is raging through Los Angeles and police officer Joe Bayler (Jake Gyllenhaal) is winding down the clock on his shift at the 911-dispatch centre. He has a court date in the morning for something that happened while he is on the job and is ducking calls from a persistent LA Times Reporter. While the shift has been hectic and trying for his Asthma, it gets a whole lot worse when Joe gets a call from Emily (Riley Keough). She pretends to be talking to her ...
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#TIFF21: “MONTANA STORY” REVIEW
By Amanda Gilmore
Montana Story follows Cal Thorne (Owen Teague) who is drawn back to the family ranch to be with his ailing father, Wade. He joins nurse, Ace (Gilbert Owuor) and longtime employee Valentina (Kimberly Guerrero) as Ace cares for Wade and Valentina manages the vast property. To Cal’s surprise, he also becomes reunited with his estranged sister Erin (Haley Lu Richardson) who ...
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#TIFF21: DAY FIVE SIGHTINGS – BEN FOSTER, VICKY KRIEPS AND BARRY LEVINSON
We're officially into the calm of TIFF '21 and we're thrilled to still be alive! Yes! We admit that while this year's Festival has been scaled back a bit, it still is equally tiring as we are putting in the same hours we normally would.
There was one major Gala tonight, for Barry Levinson's (Rain Man, Good Morning, Vietnam) latest, THE SURVIVOR. The Drama starring Ben Foster as a Boxer fighting to survive in WWII Concentration Camps, premiered at Roy Thomson Hall. Joining Foster at the ...
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#TIFF21: “CHARLOTTE” REVIEW
Review by Amanda Gilmore
This heartbreaking animated feature tells the remarkable true story of Charlotte Salomon (voiced by Keira Knightley), a young German-Jewish artist who painted a masterpiece she titled Life? or Theatre? during World War II.
What makes Charlotte stand out is it's a World War II story centred on the life of an individual and her artistic work. Screenwriters Erik Rutherford and David Bezmozgis follow Charlotte over the course of 10 years, from the time she was 16, ...
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