Imagine if you took the beginnings of bawdy, foul-mouthed endeavours like Trailer Park Boys and Letterkenny, and turned the self-aware attitude up to 20. That, my friends, will be what you get from Pogey Beach. The film, from director-writer Jeremy Larter, is a no-holds-barred, mile-a-minute farce that would play perfectly to a drunk crowd that…

I could tell from the fact the audience was given kleenex on the way in that we were in for a rocky road. Life Itself is a new work from Dan Fogelman, the creator of This Is Us and writer of Crazy Stupid Love. I knew the melodramatics I was getting myself into, but I…

As journalists and objective media, we’re always told not to get too close to our subjects. But in the case of documentary filmmaker Hesam Eslami and the outlaw teenagers he chronicles for six years, the regular rules don’t apply. The group of boys, fearless leader Ehsan ahead of them, rob stereo systems out of cars…

At First Light is one of those Goldilocks style of films: not bad, not great, but just good enough. This throwback to the E.T. and Close Encounters — as FIN program manager Alex Brundige aptly sold it — is a whole lot of Stranger Things with a lot of style, but little substance. The special…

With true grace and elegance, An Audience of Chairs mesmerizes even as it breaks your beating heart. This portrait of mental illness — adapted from the Joan Clark novel — is a testament to the vision and strength of director Deanne Foley. It follows Maura Mackenzie, a talented concert pianist and devoted mother who begins…

You won’t see another film like Searching this fall, this year or in the last decade. Shot guerilla-style from Smartphones, computer screen perspectives and more, it is one of the most immersive film experiences I’ve ever witnessed. The film follows a father, David, and his daughter Margot as they deal with the fractured relationship they…

Jennifer Garner has reigned supreme as the bad-ass female action star since her time on Alias. Even her turn as Marvel heroine Elektra was hailed, despite a solo film that was underwhelming overall. She’s been largely absent from the big screen for a bit, but to see gun-toting Garner go after gang members was reason…

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…