Every once in a while, you really just need a movie that will succeed at just one thing: Entertaining you. No Exit may not be one critics will rave about for years to come, but the Disney+/Hulu thriller also delivers the goods. Nothing more, nothing less. When a young woman seeks refuge in a highway rest stop during a blackout blizzard, she’s introduced to an … Continue reading STREAMING REVIEW: No Exit a competent single-locale thriller

All of us have been feeling the pressures and anxieties of being stuck inside lately, and if nothing else, musician Charli XCX’s documentary explores this well. Not being a fan of her music, I may not be the target demographic for this. But Charli XCX: Alone Together does an adequate job of capturing the difficulties we’ve all been facing across the globe. When the pop … Continue reading STREAMING REVIEW: Charli XCX doc highlights pandemic loneliness

This review originally premiered during FIN in 2020, and has been repurposed and republished for the film’s VOD release There’s something so intensely charming about director Jason Arsenault’s debut, Wharf Rats, that part of the hilarity is the fact foul-mouthed content like this will make you smile so wide. With Wharf Rats, we all see our worst friends — donned in flannels, chew in their … Continue reading VOD REVIEW: Wharf Rats a raucous, hilarious send-up of Maritime stereotypes

Ted K is a searing, terrifying exploration into the early days and radicalization of The Unabomber. Based on the incredible true case that kept America in fear for weeks, Ted Kaczynski’s life in Lincoln, Montana is put under a microscope. As he lives in the wilderness, feeding off the land and relying on his own resources, he becomes more and more jaded at civilization and … Continue reading VOD REVIEW: Pitch-perfect Sharlto Copley excels as Unabomber

A documentary with considerable weight, President explores the intricacies of politics in Zimbabwe. In particular, it looks at the 2018 presidential election there, and the results that come from going against a corrupt government. Camilla Nielsson’s documentary is immensely difficult to watch. There’s something about seeing injustice that just burns a fire in the belly. For 38 years, the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front has … Continue reading VOD REVIEW: President a deep exploration of corrupt politics

There’s been an intense recent debate around free labour, unpaid internships and the like. So it makes sense that discussing compensation for collegial athletes be a part of the conversation. National Champions follows a star quarterback who – dismayed with the wealth distribution in college sports – boycotts the championship game until equal pay and benefits are given to his teammates. LeMarcus James is the … Continue reading VOD REVIEW: National Champions gets sidelined by subplots

Writer-director Tyson Wade Johnston isn’t reinventing the wheel with Streamline, but it’s one hell of a ride. Ben is on the cusp of the Olympics. The 15-year-old is an elite swimmer at the top of his game. But as he enters the defining time of his life, the return of his ex-convict father threatens everything. A film about holding your own through adversity and finding … Continue reading VOD REVIEW: Streamline a taut coming-of-age drama

Malin Akerman made a difficult decision when she left Showtime drama Billions in 2019. But if her recent output is any indication of what’s to come, she made a career-ending mistake. Akerman stars in this Hallmark-style rom-com about a woman who goes on vacation after she catches her boyfriend cheating. In the process, she finds a new lust for life and realizes what’s important to … Continue reading VOD REVIEW: A Week In Paradise is 90 minutes of cliches

When a romantic comedy movie can manage to excite, entertain and endear itself to you all in the span of 120 minutes, it’s something to be admired. I don’t think a movie has spoken to me like this one in a long time, and it managed to be entirely adorable all the while. This Amazon Original follows two jilted 30-somethings, Emma and Peter, as they … Continue reading STREAMING REVIEW: I want more of I Want You Back

Since Liam Neeson started an unlikely career resurgence as a gruff-voiced action star in 2008’s Taken, it seems he’s impossible to slow down. It was novel at first, but watching an elderly man beat up stuntmen has officially grown tired. A one-time Oscar nominee, Neeson a splendid performer – as evidenced in Martin Scorcese’s under-appreciated Silence. But as grandfather and FBI fixer Travis Block, it’s … Continue reading THEATRICAL REVIEW: Blacklight is more ass-kicking Liam Neeson we didn’t ask for