Though director-writer Scott Abramovitch injects this intensely awkward comedy with huge energy and hard work, this is an unfortunate case where good intentions just don’t translate to a victory. The main issue with this work is its story. It’s about a man who desperately falls into a difficult headspace after he tries to prove he…

This Russian-language sci-fi film is one of the most uninspired, lazy excuses for filmmaking I’ve seen in years. Writer-director Dzhanik Fayziev creates an intensely boring action film that I couldn’t even begin to become interested in. It’s about a spaceship above Earth. It’s a stadium that hosts Cosmoball, and event like soccer, where earthlings and…

The very idea of a film being centered around a 77-minute, one-take action sequence was immediately interesting to me. I love the craft of filmmaking, and seeing directors tinker and challenge themselves is an amazing thing. Yûji Shimomura may want to make waves with his idea, but it just doesn’t make an entertaining film. It…

It’s not that director Maureen Bharoocha’s film is bad. It isn’t by any means. But there’s only so far you can stretch a concept about a cross-country trek for a female arm-wrestling tournament. What could be a hilarious late-night skit – this helmer did direct Jimmy Kimmel Live! after all – is stretched into 90…

I remember the SpiderMable saga fondly. Learning about this little girl, aged six at the time, and her wish to be SpiderMan for a day was absolutely splended. Mable was fighting cancer, and through the work of Edmonton and good samaritans, an elaborate day was planned for the pint-sized superhero who inspired us all. It…

Amazon Prime Video’s latest original, a Tom Clancy spin-off, may have the exciting, charismatic screen presence Michael B. Jordan brings to the screen, but it doesn’t boast much else worth talking about. Director Stefano Sollima takes on his largest project yet after the success of Sicario 2, and while he injects some intrigue and awesome…

Currently screening for HotDocs, this incredible documentary looks at the difficulties with mental health through the lives of three Chicago residents. Director Margaret Byrne shows the highs and the lows of dealing with emotional issues, and doesn’t shy away from the ugly spots. Three participants in the Mental Health Court in Cook County try to…

A troubling feature about machismo, mental anguish and toxic masculinity, Here Are The Young Men squanders its incredibly talented cast. Following the final day of high school, three teenaged boys in Dublin witness a fatal car crash that leaves a young girl dead. It affects the boys on the cusp of adulthood in different ways,…

Have you ever watched Nicolas Cage on-screen and just wished he’d shut his face? Congratulations folks, dreams do come true. In Willy’s Wonderland, an absolutely bonkers horror-comedy, Cage manages to emote and kick ass through the entire 90-minute runtime without uttering a single syllable. It’s a committed performance, and proves the Oscar winner still has…

In most other years. Chinese drama-thriller Better Days would have taken the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. This social commentary on bullying and the pressures of exams and schooling in China is a heartbreaking triumph of an endeavour that will pull you in completely. When teenage girl Chen Nian witnesses her classmate’s suicide, she becomes…