Category: Mini Review
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Mini Review: Young Werther
It’s great seeing #Toronto on screen in #YoungWerther, a CanCon romcom about the pitfalls of unrequited love. A lot hinges on whether or not you like Douglas Booth’s Werther, who’s fantastic at capturing both the emotional highs & lows. But it’s a sleek, fun film nonetheless.
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Mini Review: Better Man
Michael Gracey is a real expert at capturing the energy & emotion needed to make a solid movie musical – and #BetterMan is a truly solid one. Robbie Williams feels fully vulnerable, which elevates an otherwise familiar biopic. And the monkey bit actually works! A surprise hit.
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Mini Review: Nickel Boys
RaMell Ross’ #NickelBoys is so artistically interesting in its depiction of Colson Whitehead’s novel. But while definitely impressed, I’m mixed on the first-person approach which left me feeling both hauntingly captivated but also emotionally distant. A stellar watch nonetheless.
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Mini Review: Harbin
#Harbin is a tense war drama that delivers on its premise with a strong ensemble & effective score. While the middle gets a bit bogged down with heavy dialogue & gravitas, it’s the back half, when the espionage is the focus, where the film really shines. In theatres now!
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Mini Review: Carry On
Netflix’s #CarryOn is a real throwback action flick that successfully takes the viewer on a purely entertaining & wild ride. There’s a world where a better, more nuanced, script would’ve taken it to the next level, but that’s not what we were going for here. Sit back and enjoy!
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Mini Review: A Complete Unknown
Mangold’s #ACompleteUnknown works well as an ode to folk music & Bob Dylan’s career in general, & certainly shines in its music performances. But as a biopic it’s pretty conventional, and as someone who knew nothing about the man, my main takeaway was that he’s just unlikeable.
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Mini Review: Red One
The #RedOneMovie is a bit of a mess, jam-packing its paint-by-numbers plot with almost every piece of Christmas lore possible. But it’s the holidays so who cares, really! Just enjoy the entertainment, and don’t question where the $250 million budget went. Streaming on Prime.
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Mini Review: Nosferatu
Director Robert Eggers and #Nosferatu are a perfect match, with the film excelling in its eerily stunning visuals & consistently atmospheric and haunting tone. But its narrative & characters, while still captivating, feel oddly simple, particularly given its rich source material.
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Mini Review: The Brutalist
#TheBrutalist is masterful in its filmmaking, with incredible vision, style, score & performances, especially from lead Adrien Brody. It’s divisive 2nd half is where it loses me, but there are moments of true magic that unfold that are truly breathtaking. In theatres now!
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Mini Review: Babygirl
#BabygirlMovie is not going to be for everyone, as an erotic thriller following a woman with a unique sexual disposition. But you can’t deny how impressive both Nicole Kidman & Harris Dickinson are in this well paced, tense & unafraid feature from Halina Reijn. In theatres Dec 25
