(***1/2) It’s crazy! One hour and 40 minutes of controlled chaos displays the 90 crazy minutes before air time in the hectic buildup to the first Saturday Night Live show. Wow. Hold on to your coffee cup! You don’t have to know much about SNL to appreciate the artistry and insanity that went into this fine-tuned reenactment. A funny […]
The Order – 2024 Toronto International Film Festival Review
(***1/2) The underground white supremacy movement didn’t start yesterday. More like yesteryear. It’s stunning to learn that what’s new is old as this gripping crime/thriller recounts the 1980s, when the FBI hunted a subversive, racist group bent on violent domination. That The Turner Diaries, a 1978 novel by neo-Nazi William Luther Pierce that was a handbook […]
Babygirl – 2024 Toronto International Film Festival Review
(**1/2) She beds him but thinks of someone else. Someone who’ll fulfill her sexual fantasies. What she can’t get at home, she’ll get elsewhere. Must be easy for female viewers to plug into this desire. A longing that’s been the basis for countless romance novels. The kind with Fabio airbrushed on the front and […]
Nickel Boys Premiered Opening Night at the 2024 New York Film Festival
(**1/2) It’s a story that needs to be told. But maybe not quite like this. Not in a grandiose flurry of images that overshadow a narrative that is as touching as it is important. Dozier School, a reform school in Marianna, Florida, on the Panhandle was real. It was founded January 1st, 1900, and closed […]
The Wild Robot
(***1/2) All hail single moms raising kids they didn’t birth. Dedicated parents who shepherd children into adulthood. They’re saints. It’s almost as if this family film’s theme was ripped from the headlines in this twisted era of demeaning mothers who raise youngsters that didn’t come from their bodies. Or people who pour their love and […]
Unstoppable – 2024 Toronto International Film Festival Review
(***) What others do with two legs, he does with one. That’s what a champion would do. Even as a kid, nothing ever stopped him. Anthony Robles (Jharrel Jerome), an Arizona State University wrestler, grew up tough. He lives with his mom Judy (Jennifer Lopez), his siblings and her abusive boyfriend Ricky (Bobby Cannavale, The Watcher). Robles […]
Hard Truths – 2024 Toronto International Film Festival Review
(***) She speaks her mind. Unfortunately for family, friends and strangers, most of her rants are aggressive, accusatory, abusive and petty. Hard to believe anyone could be so irascible. Hard to believe she can change. Can she? Pansy (Marianne Jean-Baptiste) has a bug her up her crawl. She belittles her twentysomething-year-old, overweight and aimless son […]
Bird – 2024 Toronto International Film Festival Review
(**1/2) She’s got a thing for birds. They’re like the guardian angels she needs to watch over her. Bailey (Nykiya Adams) has it rough. As the 12-year-old daughter of a wacky rocked out dad named Bug (Barry Keogan, The Banashees of Inisherin) and sister to a teen half-brother named Hunter (Jason Buda) who’s an amateur vigilante, […]
Ernest Cole: Lost and Found – 2024 Toronto International Film Festival Review
(***) So many artists struggle. Often never recognized for their contributions until after their death. Ernest Cole is one. An archetype. In one way, this humble, enlightening documentary is an ode to a brave South African photojournalist. In another, it’s a salute to those who create works of art and never get the flowers they […]
The Fire Inside – 2024 Toronto International Film Festival Review
(***) “What do you think about girls boxing,” says coach Jason Crutchfield (Brian Tyree Henry). His wife Mickey (De’Adre Aziza) calmly replies, “Don’t see no reason why she can’t. She got hands.” As a young girl in Flint, Michigan, Claressa Shields keeps stopping by Crutchfield’s boxing gym. Since female pugilists are frowned upon, she can […]
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