1917
Based on what is believed to be a true story, the latest film from director…
Just Mercy
Based on the true story (and memoir) of Bryan Stevenson (played with quiet passion by…
The Laundromat
(Now streaming on Netflix) Director Steven Soderbergh – with the help of some big-name actors…
Bombshell
Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, Margo Robbie, John Lithgow and other high-wattage stars tell the story…
Queen and Slim
In one the worst cinematic first-dates ever (courtesy of Tinder), an African-American couple (Daniel Kaluuya…
Knives Out
A throwback, American-style, to the Agatha Christie murder mysteries, packed with some terrific actors. Daniel…
Frankie
The wonderful Isabelle Huppert plays the titular character, a famous and well-to-do actor who gathers…
The Report
The title refers to the so-called Torture Report that was the result of a U.S.…
The Good Liar
Watching superb actors such as Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren play opposite each other is…
21 Bridges
If you suspend your disbelief before settling back for this tale of cops and robbers…
The Lighthouse
A black-and-white film about two men sent to maintain a remote island lighthouse, somewhere in…
Terminator: Dark Fate
The Terminator robots have evolved over the years since the first movie in this series,…
JoJo Rabbit
While the reactions of critics and audiences have been decidedly mixed, folks who like the…
Joker
Joaquin Phoenix seems to fully inhabit the character of Arthur Fleck, a none-too-successful professional clown…
Dolce Fine Giornata
An intriguing but relatively superficial – and very unsubtle – look at what happens when…
Gemini Man
I’m a fan of Will Smith, but neither he nor his computer-generated younger self can…
Zombieland 2: Double Tap
Who doesn’t love a story about the living fighting the undead to the, um, death?…
Judy
Renee Zellweger is tremendous as the extremely talented and fascinating Judy Garland, a woman who…
Ad Astra
This story, set in the “near future,” of an astronaut (Brad Pitt, staying very cool,…
Brittany Runs a Marathon
In her later 20s, Brittany, proud resident of NYC, played by the always funny and…
Blinded By The Light
Based on true events (in a co-screenwriter’s life), this story, in broad strokes, is a…
The Moneychanger
(Seen at TIFF) Director Federico Veiroj’s tale of the rise and fall of, yes, a…
The Sleepwalkers
(Seen at TIFF) A very intense, in-your-face portrayal of what happens when several generations of…
Red Fields
(Seen at TIFF) A bizarre, wild, and occasionally poignant drama/musical from Israel, based on a…
Tigers Are Not Afraid
It’s an effective fable, fantasy, horror story and a very gritty reminder of the toll…
Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw
I hadn’t seen any of the four-dozen or so (J) previous instalments of the Fast…
David Crosby: Remember My Name
Singer and songwriter, part of Crosby, Stills and Nash, as well Crosby, Stills, Nash and…
Luce
This film, about a star high-school student and athlete, Luce, an example to his (especially…
Angel Has Fallen
Gerard Butler returns for another go as a Secret Service agent with personal problems, this…
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Quentin Tarantino’s latest is a star-studded affair – Leonardo DiCaprio (who is quite good here)…
Spider Man: Far From Home
A nicely executed popcorn movie – family-friendly story, good acting, decent special effects (especially on…
The Art of Self-Defense
A very black comedy/satire with Jesse Eisenberg once again playing a fish-out-of-water, socially awkward man…
Sword of Trust
This very droll and very low-key comedy (with a bit of drama and a dash…
Midsommar
I went to see this bizarre, challenging, disturbing and head-scratching film primarily because it stars…
Yesterday
I love the premise: what if (due to some kind of freak electrical storm) everyone…
Late Night
Another film with a premise with great promise: The always terrific Emma Thompson plays the…
The Fall of the American Empire
Acclaimed director/writer Denys Arcand (responsible for film gems such as The Decline of the American Empire in…
Toy Story 4
I missed the second and third Toy Story installments, but even so I found this…
All Is True
The always impressive Kenneth Branagh plays Shakespeare in his later years, returning to his estranged…
John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum
Keanu Reeves does what he needs to do, a third time out, as a black-suited…
Booksmart
Two high school freshman (engagingly played by Beanie Feldstein and Kaitly Dever) discover that while…
Non-Fiction
Perhaps this French film, set in the publishing world of Paris (at a time when…
Long Shot
Seth Rogan, as an out-of-work self-righteous journalist (playing the usual tiresome Seth Rogan type of…
White Crow
The life and art of Rudolph Nureyev, as presented in this fictionalized story by writer…
Leona
In Mexico City, a young, Jewish female artist falls for a non-Jewish guy. However, her…
Hotel Mumbai
An effective dramatization – with plenty of dramatic license, I’m sure, but with a disturbingly…
High Life
This is the great French director Claire Denis’s first English-language film, starring the always impressive…
The Hummingbird Project
Who would have thought that watching Jesse Eisenberg and Alexander Skarsgard play two cousins out…
Firecrackers
A low budget (and impressive first film for writer/director Jasmin Mozaffari), emotional slice of small…
Acquainted
Man meets beautiful and friendly woman at a bar (they attended the same high school),…
Stockholm
Inspired by the crazy but true story of a bank robbery in Stockholm in the…
Captain Marvel
You’ve got your Kree warriors and your Skrolls (a shape-shifting community) plus other intergalactic things,…
Us
Director/writer/producer Jordan Peele’s latest is not as sharp or as entertaining as his last (as…
3 Faces
Iranian director Jafar Panahi, one of Iran’s most prominent filmmakers (his last one was Jafar Panahi’s…
Ash is the Purest White
Set in China’s north, this is a slow-paced and small scale (but told on a…
To Dust
It’s hard to believe that this story of an ultra-orthodox Jewish man in upstate New…
Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel
A light, breezy and charming documentary about Team Israel making it, for the first time,…
Greta
The talented and always delightful French actress Isabelle Huppert appears to have great fun as…
Birds of Passage
This rise and fall story of families and the drug business, from the late 1960s…
What Walaa Wants
Walaa, a teenager (when we first meet her) living in a West Bank refugee camp,…
Furie
This decent action/revenge flick comes to us from Vietnam, where a young girl is kidnapped…
Level 16
Take a very basic, forbidding girls-only boarding school, where the outside world does not seem…
7 Days in Entebbe
I did not think it would be possible to make a boring film of some…
Triple Frontier
Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac and Charlie Hunnam are among the half dozen or so ex-US…
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
The director sets out to paint a picture of African American life (focussed on two…
The World Before Your Feet
Great idea for a documentary: have a camera follow an entertaining person as he walks,…
Miss Bala
I did see the original Mexican film of the same name (from 2012) about a…
Extreme Job
An intriguing concept – hapless team of narcotics detectives in Seoul park themselves for a…
Cold Pursuit
Another American remake, this time of a Norwegian film (In Order of Disappearance, which had…
On the Basis of Sex
RBG, as US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is now known, is all the…
Stan & Ollie
John C. Reily and Steve Coogan work well together to capture a difficult time during…
Wildlife
Carey Mulligan steals the show in this low-budget story, set in the small town Montana…
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
The newest of the Coen brothers’ creations, this Western anthology, in six segments, starts strong…
Destroyer
Nicole Kidman is captivating in the role of a burned out (although she does have…
Springsteen on Broadway
As a Springsteen fan I was surprised to be a bit underwhelmed by this recording…
The Mule
For Clint Eastwood fans only, I think. This tale of an elderly man, broke and…
Night School
Kevin Hart (as one of number of eccentric folks attending night school to obtain their…
Vice
Director Adam McKay (The Big Short) wastes an opportunity to seriously explore how Dick Cheney…
Nothing Like a Dame
This charming and light doc also goes by the name “Tea with the Dames,“ which…
Bohemian Rhapsody
Rami Malek is superb as Freddy Mercury, the leader of the classic rock band Queen,…
The Favourite
Delicious 18th century fun with Queen Anne (a laugh-out-loud Olivia Coleman doing her best as incompetent…
Border
I can honestly tell you that I did not understand this Swedish film about too…
Mid90s
An impressive directorial debut for actor Jonah Hill’s with a story set in, yes, the…
Transit
Transit in this film refers to the lives of emigrants and refugees in an imagined…
At Eternity’s Gate
Director Julian Schnabel combines facts with fiction to present us with an up-close-and-very personal vision…
Widows
I’m not sure what all the hype – mostly from critics than the public –…
Burning
There is literal burning in this film, but for the most part this is a…
First Man
Ryan Gosling, good as ever, plays the strong-but-silent astronaut Neil Armstrong in this story of…
The Sisters Brothers
Wonderful actors John C. Reilly, Joaquin Phoenix and Jake Gyllenhaal team up in this film…
Operation Finale
A dramatization of the Israeli operation to track down, capture and bring to trial in…
The Oath
An “A” for effort and creativity, but a lesser mark for the impact of this…
Searching
In the Silicon Valley area a 16-year old girl goes missing and her widowed father…
A Simple Favor
Anna Kendrick (entertaining as always) and Blake Lively (terrific in this role) are the two…
White Boy Rick
Star Matthew McConaughey and the true story of a teenage boy who, in 1980s Detroit…
A Quiet Place
John Krasinski directed (and co-wrote) this thriller/horror story about a family (actual husband and wife…
Support the Girls
An American indie film set in a highway sports bar/restaurant (think roadside Hooters, if you…
Teen Spirit
It’s a familiar story – a young lady who is a talented singer (or dancer…
The Land of Steady Habits
Director/writer Nicole Holofcener usually has very interesting (and funny) things to say about (mostly female) people…
The Spy Gone North
A quite complicated Cold War story – based on true events -- set in South…
Juliet, Naked
Even the talented actors – Rose Byrne (always delightful), Chris O’Dowd, and Ethan Hawke –…
Crazy Rich Asians
Audiences and critics have been quite enthusiastic about this rom-com starring an all-Asian cast, set…
Generation Wealth
Director Lauren Greenfield (who made the documentary Queen of Versailles several years ago) returns with a broader…
McQueen
Alexander McQueen, fashion designer extraordinaire, was acknowledged as a genius by pretty much everyone familiar…
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
Actress Chloe Grace Moretz gives a strong performance (with good supporting acting, particularly by John…
Mile 22
A blatant rip-off of the Jason Bourne movie franchise, although significantly less impressive (more clichés,…
Ballet Now
New York Ballet principal ballerina Tiler Peck was, in 2017, the first female to be…
Madeline’s Madeline
This very indie film is set in the world of experimental physical theatre and is…
The Oslo Diaries
A straight forward documentary about the secret negotiations – in Oslo – between Israel (represented…
Upgrade
Set a few years in the future, the “upgrade” of the title refers to the…
The King
Celebrity (e.g. Alec Baldwin, Ethan Hawke, Mike Myers) and other talking heads – who talk…
Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts
A very slow paced feminist “western” set deep in rural Indonesia, the story concerns a…
The Third Murder
A slow-burning Japanese film about what we first believe to be an open-and-shut murder case…
Equalizer 2
If you enjoyed the original Equalizer (also starring Denzel Washington) – and I did, not…
Incredibles 2
I did miss the original Incredibles movie about a family of animated superheroes, so of…
Sicario: Day of the Soldado
Benicio Del Toro and Josh Brolin are back as a team in this sequel to Sicario (2015),…
Paper Year
There is a grave risk that a tale of very young couple who, on the…
American Animals
Based on the true story of four young American men who carried out the heist…
Hereditary
A generally scary and effective (although overly long) psychological horror story centred around a family…
Bye, Bye, Germany
This German film tries for a tough mix of themes and emotions -- Holocaust-inspired drama…
Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami
I didn’t know much about singer (formerly a model) and pop icon, Grace Jones, and…
Ocean’s 8
From a snappy, sharp and impressive opening scene, this story of a team of talented…
Tag
Hard to believe this tale is inspired by the true story of five American dudes…
The Fourth Estate (Part 1)
Part one of a four-part series taking the viewer behind the scenes at the (failing!)…
Deadpool 2
Ryan Reynolds is back as our most wise-cracking anti-hero (with some superhero powers) for more…
Avengers: Infinity War
Perhaps I’m jaded, but when a flick takes 1.5 hours or so – it felt…
The Rider
When an up-and-coming US rodeo star – whose life, and the life of his family…
RBG
An uplifting, enjoyable and informative documentary about the life of US Supreme Court Justice Ruth…
Itzhak
Itzhak Perlman, a survivor of polio, and as a result, an underestimated child, is one…
Disobedience
While an interesting peek into an ultra-orthodox Jewish community in London, England, I found this…
Bad Samaritan
An fun and clever story of two young restaurant valets whose business model is to…
The Gospel According to Andre
Before reading about this documentary, I was unfamiliar with African American Andre Leon Talley –…
Revenge
I wasn’t planning to watch this film until I read a few positive reviews from…
Beirut
I quite enjoy tales of political intrigue, especially ones set in the Middle East, but…
I Feel Pretty
I think Amy Schumer is a great comedian and a talented actress, but even she…
Borg vs. McEnroe
Set in 1980, when the threat of a brash, foul-mouthed, young John McEnroe to Bjorn…
You Were Never Really Here
A very dark and disturbing story of a very traumatized (although I’m not exactly sure…
Take Light
A HotDocs festival presentation – which will hopefully find a distributor – this is a…
Game Night
Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams are two of the talented and funny actors – and…
Blue Jay
A sweet and sentimental tale of two former high-school lovers who run into each other…
Wonder
Young Jacob Tremblay (you may remember his amazing performance in the 2015 film Room) is charming…
The Party
Watching this film will make you feel you are present at an intimate theatrical experience…
West of the Jordan
Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai captured the challenges of life in the occupied West Bank in…
Brad’s Status
Running a successful non-profit has Brad (Ben Stiller) feeling good until he thinks about the…
Annihilation
A truly mind-bending and cool sci-fi story powered by women (including Natalie Portman) as a…
Black Panther
Don’t ask me about the backstory to this tale from the good people at Marvel…
Ava
A sad but well-acted (fictional) tale set in Tehran of a teenage girl who, because…
Loveless
Films from Russia have a tendency to be bleak, and this one from the director…
In Between
A very charming, female-centric tale of intersecting lives, over several months, of three Palestinian women…
Machines
Fascinating, gripping and almost wordless documentary of a huge textile factory in India. The camera…
The 15:17 To Paris
A surprisingly drama-free film (except for the last 20 minutes or so), based on the…
Oscar Shorts: Live Action
Each year the five nominees for best live action short films at the Oscars are…
A Fantastic Woman
Chile’s entry for best foreign film at the Oscars stars newcomer Daniela Vega as a…
Fifty Shades Free
First things first: I went to this movie as a favour to someone (whose identity…
The Greatest Showman
Hugh Jackman does double duty – singing and dancing – in this entertaining take on…
Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool
Based on a slice of the life of real-world American Oscar-winning (in 1952) actress Gloria…
All the Money in the World
We’ll never know how well (the now disgraced) Kevin Spacey was in the role of…
Call Me By Your Name
Lovely to look at – set in an idyllic-looking village in norther Italy, circa early…
The Post
It’s a Steven Spielberg film, so you can assume it: looks great on the screen;…
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Do I really need to talk about this film – it’s the newest installment in…
The Commuter
Liam Neeson is a captivating screen presence, but OMG, this is one wasted production, filled…
Happy End
If you want to bring to life on the screen the most dysfunctional family, I’m…
12 Strong
The book upon which this film is based tells the incredible story of the first…
The Final Year
There would probably be a bit less interest in this documentary about the last year…
Hostiles
Christian Bale, doing a very fine job as a taciturn, battle-hardened US army captain in…
The Disaster Artist
The movie “The Room” was released in 2003 (starring and written and directed by a…
Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story
Fascinating documentary about the 1930s/1940s movie star, Hedy Lamarr (the bombshell of the film’s title,…
The Other Side of Hope
Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki is at it again, another film with absurdist and deadpan humour,…
Ingrid Goes West
Aubrey Plaza plays a deeply disturbed woman who relies on social media for any self-worth…
I, Tonya
Terrific performances by Margot Robbieas the once top American competitive figure skater Tonya Harding, and…
War for the Planet of the Apes
Enough with the apes, already! Yes, we know about man’s inhumanity to his fellow man,…
Faces, Places
A charming and contemplative documentary about an aging French film legend (approaching 90 years of…
Suburbicon
I guess that when the critics’ reviews are so bad, expectations can be set a…
LBJ
An interesting subject – Lyndon Baines Johnson in the days before (as US Senate majority…
Bill Nye: Science Guy
Years on from his very popular science show in the 1990s for children, Bill Nye…
The Square
The square refers to an art installation – basically just some boundaries for that shape…
Thor: Ragnarok
Another successful outing for the creative folks at Marvel Studios. This time Chris Hemsworth plants…
The Outlaws
Set in Seoul a decade ago, and inspired by real-life events, this is a violent,…
Thelma
A cool – but sometimes chilling -- quiet, moody Norwegian film (that country’s entry for…
Murder On the Orient Express
I’m sure everyone reading this knows the plot of Agatha Christie’s book of the same…
Battle of the Sexes
In 1973, the chauvinist and ex-tennis champion, Bobby Riggs, challenged top women’s tennis star, Billie…
Good Time
Set for the most part over the course of one night, this high-energy film involves…
Logan Lucky
A Steven Soderbergh film with one of the most complicated plots I’ve seen in a…
It
Based on Stephen King’s movie of the same name, this film would definitely not be…
Wonderstruck
A charming and sweet, but relatively complicated fictional story (based on a book of the…
The Foreigner
Yes, Jackie Chan is still making movies, and doing most of his own stunts. He’s…
Happy Death Day
A creative take on the groundhog day theme – where our hero experiences the same…
Mother!
Trying to explain this story in a few sentences would be, in my estimation, a…
Marshall
A slick, over-simplified but enjoyable tale of a time in the life of the great…
Let There Be Light
Intriguing, educational and entertaining documentary about the global effort to develop nuclear fusion (which could…
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
A sequel to the Kingsman (about a group of British non-governmental spies – international intelligence…
I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore
A low budget, very indie black comedy (which happened to win the Jury Prize at…
Lucky
A small, quiet (fictional) story of a 90-year-old (well played by 91-year-old Harry Dean Stanton…
An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power
This documentary is the sequel (after 10 years) to Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, a film which…
The Jazz Loft According to W. Eugene Smith
Eugene Smith was a renowned photojournalist for LIFE magazine the 1950s who had a NYC…
American Made
“Inspired” by a true story, Tom Cruise has fun as a swaggering airline pilot who…
Atomic Blonde
Undoubtedly stylish, with a number of well-choreographed action scenes, but this story of an MI-6…
Manifesto
“A+” for creativity, but I found these 13 vignettes, each one starring the great Cate…
Integral Man
The mathematician (and musician, philanthropist, champion of gay rights….) Jim Stewart seems to have made…
Hounds of Love
A tense and frightening tale set in suburban Down Under abut a couple who abduct,…
Tickling Giants
Baseem Youseff has been called Egypt’s Jon Stewart for his biting political commentary and humour,…
Spider-man: Homecoming
Enjoyable popcorn flick, better than most of the previous entries in this franchise, that sees…
The Women’s Balcony
The balcony is where women are seated in many orthodox Jewish synagogues. In this film,…
A Ghost Story
I don't see much opportunity for ambivalent reactions to this story of a man (quietly…
The Wizard of Lies
The story focuses not on the details of one of the world’s largest Ponzi schemes,…
The Beguiled
I’m not sure why director Sofia Coppola decided to remake a 1971 film (starring Clint…
Maudie
It’s got a bleak Canadian setting (mid-20th century rural Nova Scotia), a true story as inspiration…
Baby Driver
Ridiculous plot – a baby-faced expert driver for a criminal gang who must listen to…
The Wall
Two American soldiers in Iraq, pinned down in the desert by an unseen expert Iraqi…
Chuck
An enjoyable fictionalized version of the life of Chuck Wepner (nicely portrayed by Liev Schreiber),…
The Belko Experiment
The theme was more interesting to me than how it played out in this film…
Chasing Trane
An interesting documentary about the legendary and brilliant saxophonist, John Coltrane, whose musical influence is…
Risk
A new documentary by the director (Laura Poitras) of the impressive Citizen Four (the 2014 doc about…
Wonder Woman
A female superhero who really doesn’t need a man to save the world – what…
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail
In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the US government brought criminal charges against…
It Comes at Night
My reaction at the end of this psychological horror story was: WTF. (Please excuse my…
Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer
Richard Gere is very good as a sad-sack, almost Willy Loman-ish, NYC fixer, who seems…
Blurred Lines: Inside the Art World
I don’t pretend to know much about the contemporary art scene, but director Barry Avrich’s…
Their Finest
An old-fashioned – in a good way – and charming story, set in England in…
I Called Him Morgan
An incredible jazz trumpeter, Lee Morgan was killed by his wife, Helen Morgan in 1972,…
The Prison
Korean action flick set in, yes, a prison, where a former cop is sent as…
Gifted
This story of a young girl math prodigy whose uncle is trying to ensure she…
Black Code
This documentary about how governments use the internet, particularly social media, against their own citizens…
The Lost City of Z
Based on a true story (based on a book of the same name), set on…
Citizen Jane: Battle for the City
An interesting and entertaining documentary (which at 90 minutes doesn’t overstay its welcome) on what…
Logan
I can’t say I know too much about the X-men franchise and, in particular, Wolverine…
Paterson
Adam Driver does a good job of being a public bus driver and poet named…
Window Horses (The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming )
I give this sweet animated story of a young Canadian aspiring poet (voiced by Sandra…
The Last Laugh
When does humour cross over the line of good (or acceptable) taste and become offensive? …
Kong: Skull Island
The acting (Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman,…) and dialogue were, for the most…
Oscar Shorts (Live Action)
Always an entertaining package of the five Oscar nominated short live-action films. This year’s winner, Sing (from…
John Wick 2
If you liked the original John Wick, you’ll enjoy this ramped up sequel. Keanu Reeves…
A Man Called Ove
A foreign film Oscar nominee from Sweden, this is the tale of curmudgeonly widower whose…
The Boss
A movie I really didn’t enjoy, but you may. I think Melissa McCarthy is tremendously…
20th Century Women
Annette Bening and Elle Fanning make this film, about a single mother in 1979 California…
Fences
This movie feels very much like a play for the reason that it was a…
Toni Erdman
This German entry for a best foreign Oscar pic has been very highly praised by…
Cop Car
This is a fun, quick (less than 90 minutes), darkly humorous and tense ride as…
Maliglutit (Searchers)
Intriguing and surprising (for me, anyway, given the starkness of the Artic setting for this…
Patriot’s Day
Based on the events surrounding the terrorist attack on the Boston Marathon, this story is…
The Founder
Michael Keaton, as Ray Kroc, keeps this film from being just another run of the…
Live By Night
Ben Affleck stars and directs a based-on-a-book tale of a Prohibition era gangster who fights,…
Silence
I give director (and co-screenwriter) Martin Scorsese a lot of credit for adapting this story…
Things to Come
I think I would enjoy watching the great French actress Isabelle Huppert in any film,…
Miss Sloane
I enjoy Jessica Chastain’s work and I am quite fond of political dramas, but this…
Jackie
Natalie Portman is in top form with her portrayal of Jackie Kennedy in the aftermath…
The Other Half
This is one close-up and intense look at mental illness in the troubled relationship of…
Rogue One
Do I really need to tell you about the plot of this new installment of…
Neruda
Everything in this Chilean movie is open for interpretation as a fictional police detective chases…
Doctor Strange
This one needs to be seen – if you plan on seeing it – on…
Nocturnal Animals
Stylish (what else would one expect from director Tom Ford), engaging, noirish, and enjoyable, but…
Allied
Slow and too showy first half, picks up in the 2nd half with the viewer…
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years
Ron Howard directed this fun documentary of the Beatles introduction to America (and the wider…
Loving
An important and inspiring story – the real-life fight by an American interracial couple Virginia…
Elle
The great actress, Isabelle Huppert, is the only real reason to see this new (French)…
Do Not Resist
A decent documentary on the militarization of US police forces and how that plays out…
London Road
One of the most bizarre films I’ve seen (it’s both a docudrama and a musical),…
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
The original film, also starring Tom Cruise, was silly but enjoyable. This sequel is silly…
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
Based on the exploits of six contractors who served as security for US diplomats and…
The Birth of a Nation
A fictionalized account of a U.S. slave revolt in 1831, led by the slave and…
The Accountant
How can a film about an autistic (but high functioning) accountant who, in his spare…
Operation Mekong
A 2-hour fun adventure ride in the Golden Triangle involving Chinese narcotics officers, Thai police,…
Christine
The acting (lead Rebecca Hall, ably supported by Michael C. Hall) is quite good, and…
Unlocking the Cage
Who says that the more intelligent animals should not be treated as (sort of) persons…
Snowden
I don’t watch Oliver Stone movies to learn “the truth,” but I do expect to…
Transpecos
First time director, little known actors playing US border agents manning a quiet highway checkpoint,…
Queen of Katwe
Given the inspirational true story behind this film – an illiterate girl from the slums…
Sully
Tom Hanks shines, as usual, in his portrayal of the pilot “Sully” Sullenberger who, in…
It’s Only the End of the World
The most recent film by Xavier Dolan – and a major prize winner at Cannes…
Our Little Sister
A quiet tale of three plus one sisters in contemporary Japan, where the plus one…
In Order of Disappearance
A very black comedy from Norway in which the droll Stellan Skarsgård plays, and I’m…
Morgan
A low key and just ok sci-fi story about a mysterious corporation, an experiment involving…
Captain Fantastic
Fun idea – father raising his large brood somewhere in the forests of the US…
Indignation
I think the critics, generally, have been a little too tough on this adaptation of…
150 Milligrams
Set in France in the last years, this film is based on the true story…
The Animal’s Wife
Set in the slums of Medellín, Colombia, where the police try not to go, this…
Oko Ashewo (Taxi Driver)
Apparently this film was the 10th highest grossing film coming out of Nollywood (a.k.a. the Nigerian…
Ma’ Rosa
Set in the poor areas of big city Philippine, we follow the eponymous character as…
Old Stone
A taxi driver in some big and busy city in China, struggling to make a…
Equity
Amanda Gunn (of Breaking Bad fame) is very good as a strong and ambitious –…
Florence Foster Jenkins
What a struggle it must have been for Meryl Streep, trained in real life to…
A Tale of Love and Darkness
The talented Natalie Portman is the star, screenplay writer, and director of this time-shifting Hebrew…
Hooligan Sparrow
A powerful and frightening documentary look at how an advocate for women’s rights – nicknamed…
Anthropoid
Fascinating true story – of an operation by Czech exiled resistance fighters to assassinate a…
Don’t Breathe
Three teens break into the home of blind ex-military man in the hopes of a…
Suicide Squad
I went into this film with an open mind (as usual!), but after an intriguing…
Free State of Jones
Matthew McConaughey, playing a farmer and soldier in 1860s Mississippi (during the Civil War), keeps…
Jason Bourne
I am a fan of some of the earlier Bourne films, but this one doesn’t…
Bad Moms
Better than the average for this genre, the three leading ladies ( Kristen Bell, Kathryn…
The Daughter
A dark story, from Down Under, involving a son returning to his family home after…
Chevalier
I appreciated the theme – the competitive nature of man (men in particular here) –…
Miles Ahead
Don Cheadle plays jazz trumpeter Miles Davis during some of more rough years. The story…
Cold War 2
I saw this Hong Kong made sequel – the original, which I have not seen,…
Ghostbusters
I’m not sure why a remake of the original Ghostbusters was needed (aside from money,…
Wiener-Dog
I would recommend this film only to hard core fans of writer/director Todd Solondz (Welcome…
I Am the Blues
An interesting and enjoyable documentary ride back to Louisiana and Mississippi with some of the…
Popstar: Never Stop Stopping
Crude and rude, yes, but also many flashes of intelligence and creativity (and humour) in…
Love & Friendship
Based on a Jane Austen novella, this is the type of film I feel I…
Into the Forest
Beautiful rural and isolated west coast setting, a nation (or perhaps world)-wide power failure, two…
The Meddler
Susan Sarandon is a joy to watch as she plays, yes, a meddling mom who…
Three
I’m not that familiar with the work of director Johnni To, but this Hong Kong…
The Man Who Knew Infinity
Although the film is riddled with clichés, this based-on-true events story of Srinivasa Ramanujan (played…
Now You See Me 2
Just as preposterous as the original, the 5 “horsemen” (including one new character and the…
Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt
Very interesting documentary on the life and controversial work of moral philosopher, writer and journalist…
Maggie’s Plan
Greta Gerwig has seemed to slot herself into one kind of role recently – bumbler…
Midnight Special
Fun, intelligent and low-key sci-fi tale about a young boy with special powers who is…
The Nice Guys
I was looking forward to some fun with Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe and what…
City of Gold
Entertaining documentary about the award-winning L.A. food critic, Jonathan Gold. We travel with him as…
Demolition
Jake Gyllenhaal is impressive as a man losing his grip in the aftermath of a…
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Ben Affleck vs. Henry Cavill. Going into (and leaving) the theatre I didn’t really care…
Everybody Wants Some!!
I had high hopes for the latest of Richard Linklater’s films (he of “Boyhood” fame,…
Hello, My Name is Doris
Sally Field is entertaining as an older woman (Sally is 69) falling for her company’s…
The Danish Girl
Inspired by the story of a 1920s artist whose husband (played by Eddie Redmayne) underwent…
Concussion
Another film inspired by real life, Will Smith plays an earnest doc – a pathologist…
Disorder
Matthias Schoenaerts (also starring in A Bigger Splash – see below) kept my attention as…
A Bigger Splash
The impressive acting of Tilda Swinton and Ralph Fiennes keep this melodramatic tale of an…
Green Room
A nifty little thriller that follows a struggling and broke punk band as they take…
Natasha
A low-key but effective and disturbing tale of new additions (from the homeland) to a…
High-Rise
No subtlety in this story from England of life in a very modern skyscraper where…
Chi-Raq
This is what happens when Spike Lee brings ancient Greek theatre (in this case, Lysistrata,…
The Lobster
An absurdist story of a time in the not so distant future where single people…
Born to Be Blue
Ethan Hawke does very well as the drug addicted and pained soul of Chet Baker,…
London Has Fallen
What do you have to know about this film: things are going to be blown…
Deadpool
I had not read much about this superhero movie before seeing it, and I was…
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot
The only reason I didn’t put this disappointing film in the “not recommended” category is…
Triple 9
The storyline is familiar: dirty cops up to no good whose plans are foiled by…
Embrace of the Serpent
This Colombian film that was nominated for a foreign language Academy. The themes of colonization…
10 Cloverfield Lane
John Goodman is good in everything, in my humble opinion, and he doesn’t disappoint in…
Where to Invade Next
As is typical for aMichael Moore movie, Mr. Moore is front and centre in almost…
River
If you see this film it should be for the journey, not the destination. What…
Knight of Cups
When director Terrence Malick is at his best (e.g. the non-dreamy sequences in Tree of…
A Perfect Day
Set somewhere in Bosnia, this film follows a day in the life of fictional international…
The Lady in the Van
Based on the true tale of the strange relationship between a homeless elderly woman (marvellously…
Hail, Caesar!
Stars George Clooney, Josh Brolin, Ralph Fiennes and Tilda Swinton look to be having a…
The Witch
Are the visions and disappearances real or the imaginings of a family, banished from their…
Star Men
A simple documentary story – four world renowned astronomers, to celebrate their 50th anniversary of their…
Star Wars
Enjoyable viewing for 2+ hours, whether you recall (or have seen) any or all of…
The Revenant
Leonardo DiCaprio is excellent as an explorer and fur trapper of the American wilderness (in…
Joy
Jennifer Lawrence (and supporting actor Bradley Cooper) makes this film better than it deserves to…
One Floor Below
An intriguing, tense, slow but effective film from Romania that follows a middle-aged family man…
Noma: My Perfect Storm
An interesting but, in my opinion, a not too exciting behind the scenes look at…
The Intern
Fine for watching on a plane, where I saw this slight, sappy but reasonably enjoyable…
Copenhagen
An annoying, immature and self-absorbed American man makes his way to Copenhagen to try and…
The Hateful Eight
I wouldn’t say this film isn’t at least decent, but I was disappointed with a…
Brooklyn
Based on the book of the same name (which I have not read), this charming,…
Kilo Two Bravo
Based on a true story, this British film, set in 2006 Afghanistan, follows a British…
Trumbo
Bryan Cranston is terrific as Dalton Trumbo, a very successful Hollywood screenwriter in the 1940s,…
James White
A very indie feel to this story of an emotionally troubled but for the most…
I Smile Back
Comedian and actress Sarah Silverman is, for the most part, the only reason to see…
Hitchcock/
Truffaut
An entertaining and very interesting look at the work of Alfred Hitchcock primarily through the…
Youth
I wasn’t a big fan of director Paolo Sorrentino’s last film, the Oscar (best foreign…
Carol
I wanted to like this film more than I did since Cate Blanchett is a great…
The Night Before
I enjoy – some to most of the time – Seth Rogen’s brand of humour,…
Creed
The young, cocky son of one of the best – and deceased – boxers of…
Grandma
Lily Tomlin is delightful as a curmudgeonly grandma doing her best to help her granddaughter…
Black Mass
Johnny Depp, while unrecognizable in wig and makeup, is terrific (and scary) as the Boston…
Pawn Sacrifice
Topher Grace gives an impressive performance as chess master Bobby Fischer in this docudrama highlighting…
Labyrinth of Lies
Based on actual events, this German film is set in post-war Germany (circa late 1950s…
Bridge of Spies
When Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg work together, you know the outcome will be good. This…
Mavis!
How can anyone not appreciate the incredible voice and good cheer of gospel and blues…
99 Homes
An underrated and not widely distributed film set amidst the 2008 US housing crash. Andrew Garfield (known…
Hyena Road
Paul Gross does some good work as he stars in this so-so tale of intertwined…
Room
Brie Larson and her young co-star (Jacob Tremblay playing a 5-year-old boy) are wonderful as…
Steve Jobs
I have no idea what in this movie is based on fact and what is…
Beeba Boys
Director Deepa Mehta's perhaps weakest film to date (that I’ve seen, anyway), but I give…
Remember
I liked this film more for its subject matter, the ending and stars (Christopher Plummer…
Suffragette
I enjoy and appreciate Carey Mulligan in pretty much everything she does, and she is…
My Internship in Canada
A sweet, funny, sometimes silly film from Quebec that is intended – only somewhat successfully…
Spectre
Like all Bond films, this one deserves to be seen on the big (or biggest)…
Burnt
If you like Bradley Cooper, you'll probably be ok (or more than ok for some…
Spotlight
One of my favourites of the last while, this is the true story of the…
The Martian
Matt Damon is, once again (of course), heroic, this time as a science geek (literally)…
I Am Chris Farley
A loving documentary about the late comedian Chris Farley (of Second City, SNL and movie…
No Escape
Owen Wilson was, to my surprise, effective in a non-comedic role as a businessman who…
Everest
Based on the true and tragic story of eight mountain climbers who perished on a…
Hitman: Agent 47
Entirely ridiculous, implausible, silly, etc., yes, but I thoroughly enjoyed this story of a genetically…
The Kindergarten Teacher
A disturbing but engrossing story of a kindergarten teacher in Israel obsessed with protecting one…
Court
A hit on the film festival circuit, this is a slow- paced but fascinating and…
Assassination
An enjoyable, if confusing, South Korean film that involves double agents, prison breakouts, deadly politics,…
Truth
Yes, there is a top-notch cast --- Robert Redford, Cate Blanchett, Topher Grace, Bruce Greenwood…
Miss Sharon Jones!
A moving documentary tribute to the musicality and humanity of Sharon Jones, an American R&B…
American Ultra
Whoever thought up this comedy (with a bit of drama) about a couple of stoners…
The Stanford Prison Experiment
Billy Crudup stars as a real-life professor of psychology at Stanford who, in the early…
Stranger
A weird but interesting tale from (and set in) Kazakhstan during the time of Stalin’s…
Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation
What is there to complain about: Tom Cruise looking like he is having the time of…
Infinitely Polar Bear
Mark Ruffalo makes this film work as he plays a bi-polar dad struggling to keep…
Terminator Genisys
Does it really matter what I say? If you’ve seen, at the least, the original…
Irrational Man
For me, Woody Allen’s films in the last number of years have been much more…
The Tribe
One of the bleakest but most unique films I’ve ever seen, this story of power…
Big Game
Yes, the plot is absolutely far-fetched. – Samuel L. Jackson, playing the president of the…
A Hard Day
A decent cops-on-the-take story from South Korea that has no heroes, lots of villains, plenty…
The Gift
An effective story of suspense that builds slowly but effectively to reveal the real selves…
Ricki and the Flash
Meryl Streep can do just about everything, so if the film had stuck mostly to…
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
Part of Swedish director Roy Andersson’ trilogy on the theme of being a human being,…
Guidance
Great premise – out of work actor pretends to be a guidance counsellor, gets a…
Diamond Tongues
A low-budget darkly humorous tale of a young Toronto actress whose bitterness towards those who…
Love & Mercy
The (fictionalized) story is based on the difficult life of the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson,…
The Overnight
If an edgy film includes one that can make you cringe (a bit or a…
The Wolfpack
Quite the true story: the childhoods of a number of brothers and sister are spent…
Eden
A French film less about plot than about an era – the one of electronic…
Deli Man
What can you say about this documentary about Jewish Delis in America (and Canada) other…
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
A charmingly quirky tale of an awkward high school student who is pushed, by his…
Deep Web
A fascinating story – covering the U.S. government’s (allegedly illegal) hunt for the mastermind behind…
Spy
I think the critics (generally) thought more of this film than I did, but if…
Suicide
A decent action flick and psychological thriller from Israel that includes a person with big…
Danny Collins
I didn’t expect to enjoy this movie as much as I did, but this schmaltzy tale of…
Woman in Gold
Based on a true story of an Austrian-American woman fighting to retrieve from the Austrian…
While We’re Young
A childless, self-absorbed 40-something couple (Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts), surrounded by, and growing apart…
On the Rim of the Sky
Part of the 2015 Hot Docs documentary film festival, this is lovely (scenically and subject…
White God
Yes, if you treat our animal friends – in this case, dogs – with disrespect,…
Kumiko, Treasure Hunter
Lowly office worker with a boring life in Japan is obsessed with her videotape copy…
The Gunman
Billed as an action thriller, Sean Pean, playing an aging hitman trying, not very successfully,…
The Salt of the Earth
This documentary is part focus on internationally renowned photographer Sebastio Salgada, part travelogue, but an…
Going Clear: Scientology and Prison of Belief
Fascinating documentary about the Church (!) of Scientology, including the lengths to which it will…
Mad Max: Fury Road
No, Mad Max (in the form of Tom Hardy) is not the real star of…
This is Where I Leave You
When their father passes away, sons and daughters are called to the family home for…
Dancing Arabs (A Borrowed Identity)
A charming (fictional) and heart-breaking tale of a Palestinian teenager who earns the opportunity study…
Welcome to Me
The always impressive Kristen Wiig takes on a dark role in this tale of a…
Wet Bum
Very low key, small town coming of age tale about a painfully shy teen girl…
Frame by Frame
Another Hot Docs picture, this one about the very dangerous lives of Afghan photojournalists plying…
Good Kill
I was looking forward to this story – seen mainly from the perspective of a…
Clouds of Sils Maria
The impressive Juliette Binoche plays an older actress convinced to take a role in a…
Filth
I saw this film on Netflix, so I’m glad I didn’t shell out the dough…
Preggoland
I liked the theme – a woman’s world changes (including how others look at her)…
Still Alice
Julianne Moore’s terrific performance as a middle age woman confronting early onset Alzheimer’s disease makes…
Two Days, One Night
Marion Cotillard is superb as a woman put in a terrible bind – either her…
Mr. Turner
A grunting painter/artist (J.M.W. Turner, wonderfully played by Timothy Spall) who takes advantage of his…
Blackhat
I generally look forward to Michael Mann’s films (Thief, Collateral, The Insider, Heat, etc.), so…
A Most Violent Year
A good, but not great, tale of an ambitious businessman (played by Oscar Isaac) NYC…
Oscar Shorts – Live Action
Always a great package. This year’s lot includes stories about an Afghan teen finding her…
Cake
Jennifer Anniston is compelling in the role of woman suffering from chronic pain and her…
Siddharth
What would you do if you lived in a poor country (India, in this case)…
What We Do In the Shadows
This mockumentary follows a collection of modern day vampires as they room together and search…
The Duff
While the performers are ok, and I generally appreciate tales of outsiders, this film didn’t…
Seymour: An Introduction
Ethan Hawke directed this quiet documentary about Seymour Bernstein, a NYC-based and much respected pianist…
The Babadook
Without any (or much) violence, this story of an Australian boy’s fear of a monster…
Wild Tales
From Argentina, this a package of six films sharing the theme of vengeance (only sometimes…
’71
Jack O’Connell plays a British soldier (of few words) sent to Belfast in 1971 who…
Monsoon
I’m not sure I learned much about India from this documentary – other than how…
The Interview
I admit that I fell asleep during large portions of this movie, but what I…
Focus
I like Will Smith’s work, and I like that that film looks gorgeous on the…
Merchants of Doubt
A decent documentary about how the p.r. industry creates, on behalf of their clients, public…
Run All Night
A familiar story for Liam Neeson: man troubled by his past, on the run from…
American Sniper
Based on a true story, Bradley Cooper is fine (both as an actor and, I’m…
Selma
An important story, well-told and filmed, about Rev Martin Luther King’s (very well acted by…
Big Eyes
Based on the true story of the American painter Margaret Keane who, in the 1950s,…
Wild
Reese Witherspoon is believable and very good as a woman who takes on a solo…
Interstellar
Ok, so I’m not so clear on just how certain cosmological concepts – such as…
Fury
Brad Pitt is, of course, well suited to play the heroic type and he performs…
Winter Sleep
Yes, I know this film won the Palm D’Or at Cannes last year, and yes,…
Zero Motivation
Some good laughs and knowing moments in this story of female Israeli soldiers serving at…
The Calling
Susan Sarandon is impressive as a detective in small town Ontario who is faced with…
Life of Crime
Jennifer Aniston, Tim Robbins and Isla Fisher are all entertaining in this story of a…
Dear White People
A very cleverly written story about race (and gender and sexual orientation) battles – both…
The Theory of Everything
Based on a book by the first wife of famous physicist Stephen Hawking of their…
Rosewater
Jon Stewart (of The Daily Show fame) directorial (and screenwriter) debut, this is an important…
Inherent Vice
Having not read any of Thomas Pynchon’s novels, I cannot compare this film version to…
Maps to the Stars
By about the half-way mark in David Cronenberg’s new film I was fed up with…
Jersey Boys
A big disappointment for me as I am a fan of Clint Eastwood’s other directorial…
Gone Girl
Given that the plot of this movie very closely follows that of the book upon…
St. Vincent
I think that if you like Bill Murray, you’ll like this film even though the…
Force Majeure
I missed this one when it was at the 2014 TIFF, but Sweden’s official Oscar…
The Obvious Child
I thought the concept – a comedienne, played by Jenny Slate, accidentally becomes pregnant as the…
22 Jump Street
Better than the first movie (in what is surely to be a lengthy series) –…
The Judge
I agree with a number of movie critics who complained that the story is weak,…
Borgman
The Netherlands submission for best foreign film Oscar in 2014, this is an intriguing story…
Snowpiercer
The title of this Korean film (with the characters speaking mainly in English) is the…
Citizen Koch
I didn’t know much about the U.S. billionaire Koch brothers (of Koch Industries fame), so…
A Most Wanted Man
Based on John le Carre novel of the same name, this film, set in Germany,…
The Best Offer
If you enjoy watching Geoffrey Rush in full acting action, you will likely find this…
Mitt
This documentary follows US presidential candidate Mitt Romney, his family and advisors in his 2008…
Night Moves
Although Jesse Eisenberg and Dakota Fanning play their parts well, I didn’t find this tale…
An Honest Liar
A very entertaining documentary about the globally famous magician-turned-paranormal debunker James Randi. From Randi’s start…
The Trip to Italy
I really liked the first in this (so-far) two part series – The Trip –…
Welcome to New York
A melodramatic imagining of a slice of the life of a very powerful international finance…
It Follows
A nifty horror (kind of sci-fi) story that is hard to describe – something about…
This is My Land
Interesting documentary about how the Israeli and Palestinian school systems teach the histories of their…
The Equalizer
I can watch Denzel Washington do pretty much anything on the big screen. This is…
Love is Strange
The story can be predicted in advance – gay men tie the knot, resulting in…
Mommy
This French Canadian film by Xavier Dolan was Canada’s official entry for a foreign film…
The Good Lie
Another film where you can see what’s coming, but Reese Witherspoon is enjoyable as an…
The Guest
A enjoyable popcorn tale of a discharged soldier, obviously hiding something, who insinuates himself into…
Code Black
An interesting and entertaining documentary about the busiest public E.R. in the US – at…
Tu Dors Nicole
The critics seem to have been a lot more impressed than I was with this…
John Wick
What more needs to be said: Keanu Reeves is a retired hitman pulled back into…
Listen Up Philip
Jason Schwartzman is quite good as a bitter and self-absorbed writer who is taken under…
Lucy
I like watching Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman in most things, but I lost interest…
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Yes, the cinematography is very impressive, dazzling in places, but there is not one mm…
The Skeleton Twins
Estranged bro and sis, the twins of the title, each very deep into depression (for…
The Rover
Set in a particularly bleak looking part of the Australian Outback, our hero, played by…
Laggies
Who doesn’t like Keira Knightley? Very few, I believe. So why did I lose interest…
Aire Libre
This film from Argentina focuses on a young couple dealing with number of challenges: careers,…
Ida
Set in 1960s Poland, this is a story of nun in training who is sent…
Edge of Tomorrow
What can you say, other than: it’s Tom Cruise suffering from a serious case of…
Empire of Dirt
An impressively acted Canadian film, it tells the tale of a young First Nations woman,…
Aftermath
Terrific and controversial (in Poland) Polish film, inspired by a pogrom during WW II, but…
Alan Partridge
I enjoy the English actor, Steve Coogan, in pretty much anything he does, so perhaps,…
The Raid 2: Berendal
Following up on the very violent original film, our hero cop this time goes deep…
Point and Shoot
This documentary tells of an unlikely young man from Baltimore who travels through northern Africa…
Blue Ruin
A grim but fascinating story of revenge as a quiet man, living on the edge…
We Are the Giant
Another fascinating documentary, this one telling tales of six people fighting several brutal Arab governments…
Under the Skin
I’ll admit that I understood very little of this very odd film which has Scarlett…
Locke
If a movie consisting solely of one (British) man driving (on Britain’s highways) and talking…
Maleficent
Angelina Jolie is well suited to this role of good and bad fairy and keeps…
We Are the Best!
Cute but nothing really new in this story of three young Swedish teenagers, two of…
The Immigrant
Joaquin Phoenix is terrific as man of many parts (some good, some not so good)…
The Grand Seduction
An English Canadian spin on a French Canadian story about a small east coast town…
Neighbors
Perhaps I laughed a half-dozen times during the entire film. I can’t for the life…
The Double
Based on a short story by Dostoyevsky, Jesse Eisenberg plays a shell of a man…
Omar
This Palestinian entry for the foreign film Oscar – about a young Palestinian informant forced…
Lone Survivor
Based on a true story of a US special forces hunt for a notorious Taliban…
The Square
A behind-the-scenes documentary about the people and events in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in 2011. The…
Big Bad Wolves
An Israeli tale of the intersecting lives of a father out to avenge his daughter’s…
August: Osage County
I saw the Broadway play some years back and loved it, but I was disappointed…
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Unlike the first Captain America movie, which I found to be snooze-worthy, this one is…
The Past
From the director (Iranian Asghar Farhadi) of one of my favourite films of the last…
The Great Beauty
This Italian film – set among the lavish lifestyle of Rome’s literary and social elite…
Gloria
An impressively acted film from Chile, it tells the story of an almost 60-year-old divorcee,…
Gore Vidal: United States of Amnesia
I didn’t know very much about the life of public intellectual and writer Gore Vidal,…
The Monuments Men
Even George Clooney, Matt Damon, John Goodman, etc. can’t take this film to a level…
Particle Fever
Enjoyable and informative/educational documentary about the international large hadron collider project – scientists from around…
The Husband
A very off-beat Canadian film about a sad-sack kind of guy, raising his son alone…
Enemy
Jake Gyllenhaal, good as usual, plays a double role as an emotionally tired Toronto man…
Like Father, Like Son
Very slowly paced tale from Japan of two unrelated and unfamiliar to each other families…
The Book Thief
One could think that a tale of young girl in Nazi Germany, abandoned by her…
Bad Words
The premise is, of course, ridiculous: a 40 or so-old man enters, through a legal…
Tom at the Farm
This Quebec film -- about a gay man trying to cope after his lover dies…
Nymphomaniac: Volume I
Well, I definitely won’t be seeing part 2. I look forward to Lars Von Trier’s…
RoboCop
I enjoyed the original movie from years ago, but this remake left me flat. Uninteresting…
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
An updating of the Jack Ryan, CIA analyst, franchise, that manages to be boring while…
Inside Llewyn Davis
A quiet slice of life, circa 1961 in Greenwich Village, from the Coen brothers about…
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
A decent take on the Walter Mitty story, with fantastic travel scenery (I very much…
Nebraska
A quiet, sad but sometimes hopeful tale that connects the dying of small town America,…
The Crash Reel
Very interesting and entertaining documentary about the increasingly dangerous competitive sports of snowboarding and trick…
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Important and inspiring story in a decent film. My main criticism is that the story…
Homefront
If you enjoy the silliness of a Jason Statham tale (he of Transporter (and other)…
Out of the Furnace
A grim and gritty tale set in dying small-town America. Christian Bale is, as usual,…
Saving Mr. Banks
If you like the acting of Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson, you’ll most likely find…
Anchorman 2
Totally ridiculous, of course, but if you are in the right frame of mind, it’s…
Vic + Flo Saw a Bear
A tale of two female ex-cons trying to make a new life for themselves in…
Oldboy
I’ve heard that the original Korean film (of the same name) was impressive, but I…
Her
The critics generally seem to love this story of a man (Joaquin Phoenix) who falls…
The Unknown Known
I expected more from this new documentary/interview (by Errol Morris) on/of Donald Rumsfeld. The discussion…
The Major
A bleak, gritty but interesting tale of police and political corruption set in modern-day Russia. …
A Wolf at the Door
Set in Brazil, this is a well-executed and suspenseful tale (based on a true story…
Lee Daniels’ The Butler
Based on the true story of a black man who becomes a White House butler…
In a World…
A mildly entertaining film about a female voice coach (Lake Bell, who also directed) who…
Hotell
What happens when you come to believe you can control most aspects of your life…
The Kings of Summer
A charming tale of three teenage boys who escape their daily lives by building their…
On the Job
From the Philippines, this a story of corruption, revenge, and crime. Done well, with believable…
Rush
I don’t have much interest in Formula I racing, but I found this story of…
Gravity
I saw this one on the IMAX screen in 3D so it looked quite impressive. …
Watermark
If you are a fan of the movie Manufactured Landscapes, you’ll enjoy this one by…
Bastards
The story appears relatively simple – a husband commits suicide and the brother-in-law plans revenge…
The Broken Circle Breakdown
Melodramatic, yes, but a well-told story of a Belgian couple from first love to family…
Palestine Stereo
Filmed in the West Bank by a Palestinian director, this is a fictional, and a…
Don Jon
What a waste of talent (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Julianne Moore, Scarlet Johansson) in this tiresome and…
Ladder to Damascus
I was disappointed with this tale (fable?) of Syrian woman, possessed of the soul of…
The Venice Syndrome
An interesting documentary highlighting the dwindling number or residents in Venice – who are being…
The Wolverine
A ridiculous plot with Hugh Jackman making his way back to Japan at the request…
2 Guns
I always enjoy watching Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington on the screen and together they…
Our Children
This Belgian film (sub-titled) blew me away with the amazing acting and the slow burn…
The Attack
Filmed in Israel by a Lebanese-born (Paris based) director, this is the tale of a…
Blue Jasmine
Finally a Woody Allen movie that I enjoyed. Cate Blanchett does a very good job…
Elysium
Mostly unbelievable and silly, this story tries a bit too hard to provide social commentary,…
Drug War
Fast paced and entertaining cops and robbers tale, filmed in China by a Hong-Kong director,…
Computer Chess
An interesting premise – early 1980s gathering of computer geeks and chess fanatics for a…
Now You See Me
A mostly unbelievable tale of illusionists committing crimes during their performances while being chased by…
Lore
One of the bleakest and grittiest films I’ve seen in while, but a powerful story…
The East
I liked the premise for this film – undercover private detective/corporate intelligence person infiltrates an…
Hannah Arendt
A slice of life (but not a documentary) of the eponymous philosopher/writer, around the time…
The Bling Ring
Based on a true story of bored and celebrity conscious L.A. teens who decide it…
World War Z
In the spirit of the movie Contagion, this is a tale of investigators searching the…
How to Make Money Selling Drugs
This documentary has its figurative tongue firmly in cheek most of the time, but an…
The Heat
After seeing the trailers for this film, I never wanted to see it. But I…
Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay
An enjoyable documentary about the renowned sleight-of-hand magician and actor (and historian), who you may…
White House Down
Pure popcorn fluff, but better, in my estimation, than the other taking-over-the-White House flick, Olympus…
Fill the Void
Fascinating fictional tale set within a very insular ultra-orthodox Jewish community in Israel about a…
The Way, Way Back
A slight but charming coming-of-age story, with Steve Carell playing against type as a jerk…
Storm Surfers 3D
Visually delightful in 3D– cameras were attached to surfboards, carried by the surfers, on helicopters…
Museum Hours
A very slowly paced tale of a North American visitor to Vienna who befriends a…
Man of Steel
I never thought that a Superman flick on the IMAX screen, viewed in 3D, could…
The Internship
Although I like Vince Vaughan and Owen Wilson together (along with a cameo by Will…
This is the End
Some good lines (and good sight gags) with Seth Rogen, James Franco, etc. (playing a…
Frances Ha
The critics have been (mainly) raving about Greta Gerwig’s performance, but I lost interest in…
Only God Forgives
Ryan Gosling is a great screen presence, but this film is mostly style and incomprehensible…
Pain & Gain
If this story was not based on real life, I would dismiss it out of…
Mud
Matthew McConaughey is enjoyable as a man on the run from the law (and running…
Quality Balls
The story of how a funny Jewish kid, David Steinberg, travelled from a humble beginning…
The Company You Keep
Although I was disappointed with the ending, the rest of the film was a pleasure…
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
Adapted from a book of the same name (which I have not yet read), this…
Amour
Definitely not a crowd pleaser, this is an up-close and personal portrayal of an elderly…
Zero Dark Thirty
This is only partially an action flick as the majority of the story deals with…
Broken City
Just an average movie about political corruption and revenge, with not much of a role…
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
A very charming tale (fable?) that lands a couple of Brits in Yemen where the…
The Waiting Room
Fascinating documentary of the patients and staff at a very busy public hospital in Oakland. …
Picture Day
An enjoyable indie style Canadian picture, filmed in T.O., about a teenage girl who has no…
The Berlin File
A well-executed political thriller (from South Korea; subtitled) with secret agents from North Korea, South…
Parker
You’ll most likely forget what you saw on screen within days or weeks, but this…
Stoker
A creepy tale that is part bizarre domestic drama and part quiet horror tale, this…
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
For a film that follows a couple of folks as the end of the world…
Caesar Must Die
Just a documentary or a film within a documentary? A film maker travels to a…
No
Based on a true story of an advertising exec recruited to bring his marketing talents…
The Call
Halle Berry puts on a good show as a 9-1-1 operator who is called on…
New World
Set in the world of South Korean organized crime, an undercover cop must, as they…
Trance
A somewhat psychedelic film with plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing, this…
The Place Beyond the Pines
If you enjoy watching Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling, you should enjoy the two stories…
Oblivion
It’s a sci-fi movie, but contrary to what you may believe from the marketing campaign,…
Graceland
A nifty thriller from the Philippines (subtitled) which deals with themes such as political corruption,…
Barbara
A German film (yes, subtitled) set in East Germany in the 1980’s, it does a…
Upstream Color
Start with a character who is forced to ingest some kind of larva that changes…
Gangster Squad
With stars such as Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, how can a movie be…
Identity Thief
I find Melissa McCarthy (of Bridesmaid’s fame) a very funny screen presence, but what a…
Olympus Has Fallen
Silly tale of North Korean terrorists taking over the US White House. You know how’s…
Ginger & Rosa
It’s a coming of age tale of two teenage girls in London in the 60s,…
The Iceman
I enjoy Michael Shannon (Take Shelter) in everything he does, but even his performance as…
Iron Man 3
I quite enjoyed Iron Man #1, disliked #2 and now was disappointed with #3. Whatever…
Django Unchained
Although set in pre-Civil War south America, this Quentin Tarantino film may remind you of…
The Sessions
Terrific acting and charming tale (inspired by a true story) of a severely disabled journalist/poet,…
Stories We Tell
A delightful documentary from director/actress Sarah Polley, this film has her parents’ family and friends…
A Late Quartet
The great actors Christopher Walken (playing a normal person!), Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener,…
Midnight’s Children
I haven’t read Salman Rushdie’s Booker Prize-winning novel upon which this movie is based (he…
How to Survive a Plague
A fascinating, behind the scenes documentary (with much archival footage from the 80s and 90s)…
Samsara
A visual feast (in 70mm), accompanied by music but no words, the scenes in this…
Skyfall
I seem to be in the minority of folks who thinks this is not one…
Flight
The always captivating screen presence of Denzel Washington makes this a terrific film about alcohol…
The World Before Her
A very interesting documentary juxtaposing two groups of young ladies (between the ages of 15…
Lincoln
I had mixed feelings about this one: too stagey in many scenes – that is,…
Silver Linings Playbook
Terrific performances by Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence make this a very enjoyable film. Cooper’s…
Killing Them Softly
Even Brad Pitt and Ray Liotta can’t raise this film -- about a heist from…
Deadfall
Eric Bana plays one scary dude, as a brother and sister (with, how shall I…
The Kid With a Bike
A decent Belgian/France/Italy production (French subtitles) of a young boy who is foster-parented (part-time) by…
The Impossible
Well-made (and terrific CGI effects) movie, based on a true story, of a European family…
Rust and Bone
The plot sounds crazy – Killer whale trainer loses legs in a work-related accident and…
Jack Reacher
Nice “popcorn” movie – don’t focus on the plot holes or silly dialogue; just go…
This is 40
Laugh-out-loud funny, crude, spot-on humour about marriage, kids – more fun than I expected. (And…
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Although I always enjoy the work of actress Tilda Swinton, the style of this movie…
Anna Karenina
I haven’t read the book, but this film bored me silly. I lost interest in…
Entre les Bras
I wanted to be more impressed with this quiet documentary about a Michelin-starred chef who…
The Master
Although the director says it not a story about Scientology, it doesn’t matter. Phillip Seymour…
In The Family
A very slow moving but engrossing/captivating tale of a young boy left without one of…
Prometheus
Prequel to the Alien(s) series, I enjoyed this sci-fi tale of scientists stranded in an…
The Help
Charming, sweet and well-acted tale of the lives of black maids in Jackson Mississippi, circa…
Premium Rush
Nothing deep, but a relatively enjoyable and silly romp of killers chasing bicycle couriers who…
Edwin Boyd (Citizen Gangster)
Inspired by true events (in Canada), a WWII vet turns to crime to assist his…
Bernie
Jack Black has a thoroughly enjoyable turn as a Texas undertaker/mortician who is beloved by…
Show Stopper: The Theatrical Life of Garth Drabinsky
An entertaining and informative look at what Garth Drabinsky, he of Livent fame and infamy,…
The Bourne Legacy
Not nearly as good (story, acting) as the other Bourne movies, but a summertime popcorn…
First Position
Super documentary that follows a number of child dancers from different countries, all competing for…
Compliance
Inspired by real life, this is an emotionally tense film about a caller to a…
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
Documentary about Chinese artist and social activist Ai Weiwei, pursued by the Chinese authorities, but…
The Amazing Spider-Man
Another summertime popcorn kind of flick, better than Spiderman 2, and enjoyable for as long…
The Queen of Versailles
Captivating documentary following the ups but primarily downs) of an American timeshare billionaire, his younger…
Neil Young Journeys
Quiet documentary chronicling a day long journey from Neil’s hometown in Ontario to Massey Hall…
Last Call at the Oasis
Documentary about the declining global availability of fresh water. Pretty scary stuff. You’ll learn something…
Where Do We Go Now?
A charming tale of a group of Lebanese women who try whatever they can to…
Boy A
Andrew Garfield, before his pre-Social Network fame, is excellent as a young ex-con trying valiantly…
Moonrise Kingdom
A typically bizarre Wes Anderson film about a young boy scout and the girl he…
Collaborator
A very intense, claustrophobic story of a down on his luck ex-con who holds hostage…
Looper
Many critics raved about this film, but I thought it was just a decent sci-fi…
Argo
Effective dramatization of the successful extraction of six US embassy employees from Tehran in the…
End of Watch
A very violent ride with two cops in LA’s south central district. You watch these…
Arbitrage
An average story of a hedge fund million/billionaire, Richard Gere, who is facing financial and…
The Paperboy
A southern (Florida) gothic tale a newspapermen and a women fighting for the release from…
Zaytoun
Moving but predictable tale of a young Palestinian boy who helps an Israeli soldier, captured…
The Sapphires
A delightful and amusing inspired by true life tale of four young aboriginal ladies, circa…
Batman: The Dark Knight Rises
I was a big fan of the second film in Chris Nolan’s trilogy, The Dark…
To Rome With Love
I really can’t see what the critics are raving about with Woody Allen’s most recent…
Take This Waltz
I had high hopes for this story by Sarah Polley about possible consequences of following…
Killer Joe
Matthew McConaughey can sure play the role of a dangerous man, but this story of…
Cosmopolis
Truly bizarre tale from David Cronenberg about a youngish tycoon riding across NYC in a…
Alps
Greek film about a business that employees staff who can impersonate the recently deceased as…
Savages
A waste of time thriller about California pot growers trying to resist the invitations of…
Dark Horse
A man and woman, both emotionally stunted and/or depressed come together for what I think…
Seven Psychopaths
Some pretty good critical buzz about, yes, seven psychopaths. It’s done with humour by talented…
The Avengers
Other than Robert Downey Jr.’s performance, I got tired of the story after a while. …
21 Jump Street
I found the laughs – and there were some very good ones – too few…
The Hunger Games
Not badly done (I haven’t read the books) but I was surprised at how easy…
The Deep Blue Sea
The critics loved this film – originally a play – about the affair and depression…
The Company Men
Not a great film, but a better than decent film about the emotional impact (on…