Sieranevada
Sieranevada is an often charming, occasionally tedious, and relentlessly honest family drama written and directed by Romanian filmmaker Cristi Puiu (The Death of Mr. Lazarescu).
Articles by Shannon Page
Mr. Church
With on-the-nose dialogue and underwhelming characterization, Mr. Church manages to be as boring to watch as it is uninspired.
Miss Sloane
Solid pacing and a talented cast make up for a struggling script in Miss Sloane, director John Madden’s political thriller that has been generating Oscar buzz in recent weeks.
Staying Classy at The Movie Experience
Have you ever felt like just watching a film wasn’t enough? For movie lovers desiring to get a bit more out of a night at the cinema, The Movie Experience is an immersive film event presented by The Secret Sessions designed to bring audiences into their favorite cult classic films. Though the first event of its kind hosted by this organization, similar fusions of film and theatre having been popping up in the Toronto social…
Denial
Sometimes all talk and no action can be for the best. Such is the case with Denial, the star-studded British/American drama based on historian Deborah E. Lipstadt’s memoir History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier (2005) that recounts her experiences with the British legal system following a libel suit that was raised against her and the publishers of her first book, Denying the Holocaust (1993), by David Irving.
Two Lovers and a Bear
Though magic realism isn’t anything new in cinema, there are few original scripts that get the genre right as deftly as Two Lovers and a Bear, the indie romance/drama that premiered earlier this year at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Command and Control
Based on the book of the same name by acclaimed non-fiction author Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation), Command and Control delves deep into the how and why of the 1980 Damascus Titan missile explosion.
TIFF 2016: ‘Le Ciel Flamand’
Written and directed by award-winning Belgian filmmaker Peter Monsaert, Le Ciel Flamand – which translates to “Flemish Heaven” in English – centers around a seasoned brothel owner, Sylvie (Sara Vertongen), as she attempts to protect her six-year-old daughter, Eline (Esra Vandenbussche), from the often violent reality of the family business. The film also stars Wim Willaert (Offline, Cafard) as Eline’s uncle Dirk, a bus driver with whom she spends the afternoons while her mother is at…
Manhattan Night
Despite a talented cast, writer/director Brian DeCubellis’ weak script falters Manhattan Night from becoming the dark and twisted noir it is so desperately wants to be.
Hell or High Water
Top-notch performances from a talented cast form the back bone of director David Mackenzie’s contemporary take on the western heist genre, but Hell or High Water is more than a well-executed thriller. It is a carefully crafted film that isn’t afraid to cast a bold light on modern issues.