[TIFF 2022] REVIEW: ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ gets snippy in a small town

It’s a simple premise, but in the hands of a talented cast and writer/director Martin McDonagh, it becomes a lot more entertaining and tragic than you’d expect. The Banshees of Inisherin might be set in an unfamiliar time and place - April 1923 on a tiny agrarian island off the coast of Ireland - but McDonagh’s script packs in so many delightful observations that it could almost take place here and now.

[TIFF 2022] REVIEW: ‘Nanny’ is an immigration survival story

The first thing I noticed about Nanny is how confident it feels. Jusu has evidently been building up to this project with the work she’s done on short films over the past 15 years. The story is tidy, and the screenplay doesn’t hold our hands too often.

Film, New ReleasesRobert SnowSeptember 14, 2022nanny, anna diop, tiff, tiff 2022, 2022, horror, thriller, michelle monaghan, morgan spector, reviewComment

[TIFF 2022] REVIEW: 'Butcher's Crossing' leaves meat on the bone

Polsky’s film makes the mistake of not understanding how to use an actor like Cage. He’s either your expressionist, bombastic star, or he works in an ensemble of equally strong (yet obviously different) castmates. Here, Cage - sporting a thick beard and a bald head that he shaves with a straight razor - is frequently absent due to his quasi-supporting role.

New Releases, FilmRobert SnowSeptember 13, 2022tiff, 2022, butcher's crossing, nicolas cage, fred hechinger, xander berkeley, gabe polskyComment

[TIFF 2021] REVIEW: ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’ is missing its sparkle

The new film, despite featuring a higher budget, a recognizable cast, and the buzz of the 2021 festival circuit, fails to add meaningful value to the original telling of the story. Chastain and her co-star Andrew Garfield (as Jim Bakker) put in awards-calibre performances, but the screenplay and direction feel sloppy and overburdened by biopic clichés.

Film, New ReleasesRobert SnowSeptember 14, 2021the eyes of tammy faye, tammy faye bakker, jim bakker, televangelism, biopic, jessica chastain, andrew garfield, 2021, tiffComment

[TIFF 2020] REVIEW: ‘Shiva Baby’ unleashes charming but brutal cringe comedy

We’re treated (or perhaps subjected) to 60 minutes of non-stop social tension; think of the most intense moments of cringe comedy from a season or two of The Office, lined up into one wince-inducing package. No matter where Danielle goes at the gathering, she struggles to stay a step ahead of every fib she needs to tell - about her whereabouts that morning, her fake job as a babysitter, her program at school. The deeper the hole Danielle digs for herself, the more embarrassed we feel for her.

Film, New ReleasesRobert SnowSeptember 19, 2020shiva baby, emma seligman, rachel sennott, fred melamed, danny deferrari, molly gordon, polly draper, comedy, 2020, movies, tiff, tiff 2020Comment

[TIFF 2020] REVIEW: ‘Shadow in the Cloud’ is a wartime horror with a troubled origin

Garrett’s troubles increase with the arrival of two enemies: the Japanese air force, and a thoroughly supernatural addition, a gremlin. Yes, perhaps I forgot to mention: Shadow in the Cloud is also a creature feature. In an homage to the 1963 Twilight Zone episode “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet”, starring William Shatner, Garrett is plagued by a bat/monkey-like creature that’s trying to tear the plane apart in mid-air.

Film, New ReleasesRobert SnowSeptember 17, 2020shadow in the cloud, chloe grace moretz, roseanne liang, max landis, action, horror, movie, film, review, tiff, tiff 2020Comment

[TIFF 2020] REVIEW: ‘Nomadland’ offers unexpected shelter

Many of the people in the nomad community couldn’t be happier. They are free to travel as they please, without the responsibilities that come with keeping up a piece of real estate. It’s a lot grittier than the manicured illusion of #vanlife on Instagram - a quick scene lays out the benefits of different sizes of toilet buckets - but it’s the most free you can be without becoming a totally off-the-grid hermit.

Film, New ReleasesRobert SnowSeptember 15, 2020nomadland, frances mcdormand, chloé zhao, david strathairn, drama, tiff, tiff 2020, movies, reviewComment

[TIFF 2019] REVIEW: ‘Lucy in the Sky’ blows up on the launch pad

But in Hawley’s hands, the proceedings are a little bit too experimental to help us develop compassion for Lucy (Natalie Portman). By the time the movie wraps up, Lucy has fallen incredibly far - blasting her former lover in the eyes with insect spray and fleeing the cops in an airport parking garage - but her story is only unintentionally funny, instead of moving.

FilmRobert SnowSeptember 29, 2019lucy in the sky, 2019, natalie portman, noah hawley, jon hamm, zazie beetz, dan stevens, space, sci-fi, movies, film, review, tiffComment

[TIFF 2019] REVIEW: 'A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood', or Episode 913 of the beloved show

It's charming, but at the end of it all we know nothing more about Pittsburgh, Mr. Rogers or his show that we don't already know. (I had a similar critique of Won't You Be My Neighbor?). In this regard the film feels disappointing, because it's only after the credits roll that we realize we sat through a 107-minute episode of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

[TIFF 2019] REVIEW: No real feeling to 'Saturday Fiction'

Exposition is generally frowned upon, but in a film featuring double agents, double crosses and a multitude of characters and languages, it lacks a scene that explains everything to the viewer. Perhaps we've been dumbed down by clear struggles between good vs. bad in the superhero genre, but Lou Ye's black-and-white film noir fails to really tie a neat ribbon around its convoluted plot and too-mysterious femme fatale

FilmJason ChenSeptember 18, 2019chinese, shanghai, gong li, li gong, lou ye, spy, espionage, film, movies, review, tiff, 2019Comment

[TIFF 2019] REVIEW: ‘Uncut Gems’ unleashes cosmic chaos in the Diamond District

Everywhere Howard goes is a riot of emotion and crosstalk: boasts and deals are made, and (less frequently) apologies are offered. Just as you need a lot of pressure and energy to ignite a star, or to form a gemstone, it’s clear that you need something similar (albeit on a more human scale) to survive in Howard’s world.

FilmRobert SnowSeptember 14, 2019uncut gems, adam sandler, 2019, josh safdie, benny safdie, safdie brothers, crime, judd hirsch, lakeith stanfield, the weeknd, kevin garnett, movies, film, review, tiffComment

[TIFF 2019] REVIEW: ‘Black Conflux’ zooms in on loneliness

Few emerging filmmakers are quite as confident as Dorsey with how she isolates visuals and sounds, like an insect crawling along the ground while high-school-aged girls chat about boys, or the almost unsettling amplification of the sounds of people chewing or drinking. It’s a technique that suggests the film wants to take a detailed, magnified look at hard-to-spot details in everyday life; a method that echoes the feeling that drives the two main characters: pervasive, almost crippling loneliness.

FilmRobert SnowSeptember 11, 2019newfoundland, black conflux, tiff, tiff 2019, ella ballantine, nicole dorsey, ryan mcdonald, 2019, movies, review, dramaComment

[TIFF 2018] REVIEW: ‘The Old Man and the Gun’ is a simple, energetic farewell to Robert Redford

Whatever the motivation, there’s no doubt that the new movie, from David Lowery (Pete’s Dragon, A Ghost Story) is a fine way for Redford to make his exit (if that is indeed the case). The Old Man and the Gun is a smooth, lively, and warm experience; it doesn’t break new ground, but proves that even in 2018, you don’t need a lot of flash or a lame gimmick to hold an audience’s attention. All it takes is some confident filmmaking, some chemistry between the stars, and a “so crazy it must be true” story.

[TIFF 2018] REVIEW: ‘Border’ unlocks emotion and cultural commentary in a bonkers movie about trolls

The noteworthy detail about Border, however, is that it transcends the high-level logline and manages to be about more than a misunderstood female troll living in modern-day Sweden. It folds in commentary about forced cultural assimilation, racism, romantic relationships, and even child abuse. And while some of the imagery can make the work difficult to take completely seriously, there’s no denying that the film was made with a lot of commitment and heart, which is more than you can say for some fantasy/monster movies.

Film, New ReleasesRobert SnowSeptember 13, 2018tiff, tiff 2018, 2018, border, grans, sweden, ali abbasi, eva melander, eero milonoff, romance, drama, movies, film, cinemaComment

[TIFF 2018] REVIEW: ‘Burning’ invites you to choose the genre – quiet drama or simmering thriller?

To be sure, the pace of Burning is slow, and those expecting a Hitchcockian everyman wrapping up a citizen-justice murder case in the space of 100 minutes will be disappointed. Lee lays out enough material that up until that final scene (and perhaps even beyond it), the door is still open for the tables to turn and Jong-su to be revealed as the one who kidnapped Ha-emi.

Film, New ReleasesRobert SnowSeptember 9, 2018burning, 2018, korean, thriller, drama, relationship, haruki murakami, lee chang-dong, steven yeun, yoo ah-in, jeon jong-seo, movies, cinema, film, tiff, tiff 2018Comment

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