The 2019 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) felt unusually heavy with films concerning religion and its followers. Of the more than 30 films I screened, nearly a third grappled with what it means to be a person of faith or live in a world where religious institutions structure daily life. And within these, a subset […]
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In the year since it was unleashed on the public, two schools of thought have formed around Crazy Rich Asians. Hailed for its inclusion of Asian and Asian-American actors in an industry where said actors are often sidelined, the Golden Globe-nominated romantic-comedy has been recognized as a progressive move forward. Representation matters. And it does […]
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I have a complicated relationship with the Telluride Film Festival. It’s a world-class fest, usually playing some of the year’s best movies, many of them world premieres introduced in person by their directors and stars, who are always humble and gracious. The venues, despite being commandeered school gyms and such, have state-of-the-art sound and projection. […]
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Before I get into grading It: Chapter Two, I’ll admit to being a bit baffled by the runaway success (commercially, but also critically) of its predecessor. At this point, 2017’s It (not to be confused with the 1990 miniseries adaptation of Stephen King’s 1986 horror novel) has become the highest-grossing horror film of all time, […]
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David Oyelowo, the soulful actor who played Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma a few years ago, deserves mainstream success if he wants it, and tossing off a few crowd-pleasing potboilers might seem like the way to get it. But while Don’t Let Go (called Relive at its Sundance premiere) starts with a perfectly good premise, […]
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A tough, beautiful urban fairy tale by Mexican writer-director Issa López, Tigers Are Not Afraid is a perfect example of how genre films can help us engage with real-world crises without being overwhelmed or discouraged by them. It’s set in an unnamed Mexican metropolis from which thousands of men, women, and children have disappeared since the […]
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When the forces of the universe collide and you have the good fortune to approach the right piece of art at the right age, something magical happens. For some of us, that means getting handed a well-worn copy of The Clash’s self-titled album from a cool older cousin; for others, it means stumbling across a […]
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Gerard Butler is not good at anything, and it’s time we stopped trying to make him be. He uses an American accent in almost every movie, yet is no better at it than he was 20 years ago. He is not convincing as a romantic lead, a villain, a hero, or any other type of […]
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A movie about grown-ups playing hide and seek is out now, hot on the heels of last year’s movies about people people playing tag and truth or dare. Naturally, one wonders: What other childhood games could be turned into movies? I took a trip down memory lane and came up with these beloved pastimes that […]
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The rich sure do love their rituals, huh? That’s something that Ready or Not heroine Grace (Samara Weaving) finds out incredibly early on in her marriage to gaming heir Alex Le Domas (Mark O’Brien) in Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s intricately crafted, gory-as-all-get-out haunted hunted house thriller. It’s all fun and, uh, games until someone […]
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The idea of people pushed to their limits serves as the bedrock for countless works of art, from revenge tragedies to superhero blockbusters. But the idea that someone can learn the most about themselves in extreme circumstances is itself pushed to the limits in two films celebrating their 40th anniversaries this year. Francis Ford Coppola’s […]
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