It becomes clear less than five minutes into The Art of Self-Defense that it won’t be taking itself seriously at all. It also becomes clear that they need your suspension of disbelief before you can truly enjoy the film’s comic brilliance. This offbeat, dark comedy is possibly the best ‘silly’ comedy since Napoleon Dynamite, and…

Few actors have such a penetrating, formidable screen presence as Richard Dreyfuss. The 71-year-old thespian and Oscar-winner has given us such enduring hits as Jaws, Close Encounter of the Third Kind, and American Graffiti. While his new film, Astronaut, never reaches the heights of his classics, it proves to be a genuine showcase for his…

The thing about the adaptation After, from Anna Todd’s bestselling novel, is it never dips to low enough standards to be categorically bad. If anything, save for a rather bland final twist, it’s a film that will neither anger you or fill you with joy. It ends with a shoulder-shrug and a sigh. Perhaps I’m…

It’s been seven years since Men In Black 3 reinvigorated the franchise, but this long-gestating reboot was a big leap backward for all involved. It takes two of the most likable stars in Hollywood in Thor: Ragnarok co-stars Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, and throws them a lazy script and Phantom Menace-level special effects. Hemsworth…

After four Insidious films, two Conjuring incarnations, The Nun & La Llorona spin-offs, and three Annabelle flicks, it appears this once-terrifying universe has run out of ways to surprise us. This haunted universe created by James Wan, the writer of the original Saw, began with Insidious in 2010, but nine years on, the scripts and…

Imagine if suddenly, your favourite band of all time just disappeared. If their music, legacy and impact on the world just vanished into thin air. What would you do, if you had a decent singing voice and the means to record those tunes all over? Would you do it? More importantly, would you try to…

This remake to the enduring cult classic Chucky films breathes new life into the maniacal doll. The last few Child’s Play incarnations have been campy and less and less scary. While the remake is decidedly more terrifying and gorier than many of those before it, it certainly doesn’t add anything new to the Chucky canon.…

The level to which I cherish the original three Toy Story films is unrivaled. I would beg my parents as a five-year-old to take me to the original during its long 1995 theatrical tenure, and I recall them obliging more than a few times. For me, this Pixar classic taught me about love, life, and…

This flick about a late night talk show host, aging and cynical, who brings in fresh talent to backstop the show’s decline is good, but not as good as it could have been. With all the right ingredients, including Emma Thompson as the cantankerous host, Mindy Kaling as her young “diversity hire” protege, and an…