Perhaps the most admirable thing about live action origin story Cruella is that it takes big swings. Even more impressive is that more often than not, it hits its plot beats, costumes, and character interpretations out of the park. Cruella is not an easy film – it’s a different shade of Disney that we don’t…

This social justice horror flick has a lot going for it, and The Retreat is an interesting foray into horror social commentary. But this story of a lesbian couple who are terrorized by serial killers at a gayBnB cabin just doesn’t ever seem to go far enough. I think of films like I Spit On…

Barry Pepper smoulders and scowls in a film that starts as an interesting little shoot-em-up and quickly devolves into the same old plot threads we’ve seen 1,000 times, done better. As a critic, it pains me to pan the films of actors I truly adore. Barry Pepper, known for Saving Private Ryan, The 25th Hour,…

This slam-bang actioner from genre maestro Guy Ritchie represents one of the best efforts of the latter part of his career. It’s a Ritchie movie less about gangs and more revolving around heists. Wrath Of Man is soaked in vengeance and revenge, and represents a departure, albeit slight, from regular fare the director does. A…

Race relations and colonization are central to High Ground, an Australian feature set in the 1930’s, but the only major problem is that it doesn’t tackle these issues with any real depth. High Ground follows a young Aboriginal man, Gutjuk, who was brought to a white settlers’ camp years prior after a peaceful mission turned…

In what is the most evocative, heart-wrenching film to come out in the first half of 2021, this deep exploration of a trial separation stripped me to my core. Focusing on the disintegrating marriage between David and Nikki, it’s a no-holds-barred take on what losing everything can do to a man. Clayne Crawford is brooding…

I have absolutely loved Ed Helms for a decade, and to see him branch out in indies is always a good time for me. Movies like Cedar Rapids show him off more than another Hangover sequel ever could, and I always appreciate seeing him doing something other than gross-out gags. That’s why, when I watched…

This British comedy take a harsh situation and finds the comedy and light in the circumstance. Director Shelly Love sensitively tells the story of a hard-drinking, hard-living 44-year-old single woman who becomes pregnant after a one-night stand in a man’s work van. With no help from the father – a man half her age –…

One of the most influential TV shows to ever grace our screens is examined from the inside out in the honest, deep documentary Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street. The 1969 show still runs today, and it was a labour of love for all involved. This chronicles the opinions and recounts the stories…

In a pandemic world where humans are struggling to connect – and many have retreated – this film will resonate more than expected. It’s about an isolated, homebody eulogy editor who falls into a funk after a break-up with his girlfriend. He orders in, he works from home and he hides away. He finds happiness…