There’s something to be said for a film that will keep me up — restlessly checking after every creak in my old apartment — even days after I’ve seen the fright flick. The Nun is a film that scared me to my core. It operates much in the way its universe predecessors The Conjuring and…

This Canadian film about an ex-con who learns serving time doesn’t mean all is forgiven is an intimate portrayal into what happens after release. Sheila McCarthy is a revelation as Valerie Walker, a mother and wife who goes to prison after hitting and killing her neighbour in a drunk driving accident. As her children adjust…

The real-life lore of the Slender Man — a mysterious figure who haunts and kidnaps kids who call him to life — is turned into a ho-hum film here. After years of stories, legends and sightings, the film doesn’t manage to live up to its spooky source material, but it’s definitely not as bad as…

To say The Happytime Murders is a bad movie is offensive to all the filmmakers who actually put effort into making films before this. Whether we’re talking Gigli or Glitter, the directors and actors in those films had more talent in their left pinkies than this whole cast — puppet or otherwise — cares to…

This remake to the well-regarded 1973 gem doesn’t live up to high expectations, but it’s a worthwhile endeavour for genre fans. The original stars are Steve McQueen and Dustin Hoffman, and here we substitute the highly capable Charlie Hunnam and Rami Malek. The results are interesting, but never quite mesh. The star performances — on…

Mark Wahlberg and director Peter Berg have been making spectacular films together since 2013. Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon and Patriots Day have all been fantastic portraits of hero Americans, and have captured audiences. So if I had to pick a current actor-director duo to start an action franchise, they would be at the top of…

There are very few occasions during which someone will encounter a below-par piece of pizza pie. Like your run-of-the-mill slice, this romantic-comedy is average genre fare with a few decent bits of flair and flavour thrown in. The best thing Little Italy has going for it is two leads who share some amiable, good-natured chemistry,…

Spike Lee’s first major studio film in five years, BlacKkKlansman, also happens to be his best since 1980’s breakout Do The Right Thing. The film, based on a wild true story, follows Ron Stallworth, a black officer from Colorado who partners with a white cop to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan branch. Lee’s film…