Cameron Diaz Is 'Back in Action' with Dodgy CGI and Electric Chemistry
For all the action films Netflix churns out, their CGI remains the biggest letdown — and the studio's latest, 'Back in Action,' fails to be
Rachel Ho•Jan 17, 2025
film reviews Archive
"Bologna" Already Sounds Like Classic Destroyer
Destroyer's latest single, "Bologna," just autoplayed on Spotify, and even though the song is barely a week old, I was instantly struck by
Alex Hudson•Jan 16, 2025'The Last Showgirl' Ushers In the Pamassaince
The Pamaissance is here. After 2022's 'Pam & Tommy' reappraised Pamela Anderson as a sympathetic hero, the 2023 doc 'Pamela, a love story'
Alex Hudson•Jan 15, 2025Though 'Grand Theft Hamlet' Be Madness, Yet There Is Method In't
English teachers absolutely love anything that makes classic literature seem cool to young people. Someone rapping 'The Canterbury Tales'?
Alex Hudson•Jan 15, 2025CJ Wiley's "Don't Die Charlie" Is a Matter of Life or Death
I remember hearing an early iteration of "Don't Die Charlie" at Lee's Palace when CJ Wiley played the 2022 edition of our annual Class Of
Megan LaPierre•Jan 14, 2025'Severance' Presents More Questions Than Answers in Creepy Season 2
As 'Lost' viewers will surely remember, thrillers that rely on ambiguity tend to be all setup and no payoff. The mystery is so gripping that
Alex Hudson•Jan 14, 2025Lambrini Girls Have Big Cunt Energy on 'Who Let the Dogs Out'
It's pretty prophetic of Brighton's Lambrini Girls to drop 'Who Let the Dogs Out' on the day that man south of the border conclusively
Allie Gregory•Jan 10, 2025'Young Werther' Puts a Fresh Toronto Twist on a Classic
Based on the 1774 novel 'The Sorrows of Young Werther' by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 'Young Werther' follows the time-honoured tradition of
Rachel Ho•Jan 10, 2025'Den of Thieves 2: Pantera' Borders on Parody
'Den of Thieves,' the first entry in the heist thriller series from 2018, was a quiet financial hit earning a worldwide box office return of
Nathan Abraha•Jan 10, 2025Morgan Nagler Is Resolute on Solo Debut "Cradle the Pain"
Sometimes, I know there's a strong chance I'm going to like a song based on its title alone. "Cradle the Pain" is one such title that
Megan LaPierre•Jan 9, 2025'The Room Next Door' Is Cathartic but Clumsy
How much would you be willing to show up for an old estranged friend? In 'The Room Next Door,' Ingrid (Julianne Moore) and Martha
Jordan Currie•Jan 8, 2025Ethel Cain Steps Further from the Light on 'Perverts'
There was a moment when Hayden Anhedönia was poised to break big. 'Preacher's Daughter,' her sprawling 2022 debut full-length
Ian Gormely•Jan 7, 2025'Squid Game' Loses Its Own Deathmatch in Season 2
Season 1 of Hwang Dong-hyuk's anti-capitalist thriller 'Squid Game' sits atop the Netflix throne. The cultural phenomenon debuted in 2021
Sarah Jessica Rintjema •Jan 6, 2025'Music from the Merch Desk (2016 - 2023)' Has Perfect Playlist Fodder for All Types of Aphex Twin Fan
I tend to prefer fairly nice-sounding electronic music over punishing beats, so even though Aphex Twin's recent two-and-a-half-hour
Alex Hudson•Jan 6, 2025'Omar and Cedric: If This Ever Gets Weird' Humanizes Two of the Era's Greatest Rock Outsiders
Relationships are hard. Friends, family, lovers, acquaintances — none of it comes without effort on both sides. "People think that love is
Ian Gormely•Jan 6, 2025'Wallace & Gromit' Inventively Tackles the Digital Age in 'Vengeance Most Fowl'
After three shorts, a full feature and the greatest novelty mug to ever exist, 'Wallace & Gromit' returns to screens, and it's going post
Nathan Chizen•Jan 3, 2025"Windows" Could Be girlpuppy's "Silver Springs"
"Glass houses cliché," I type into the Google search bar, amazingly unable to remember the exact verbiage of a phrase that has always
Megan LaPierre•Jan 2, 2025'Vermiglio' Paints a Pensive Family Portrait with Secrets and Snow
'Vermiglio' might take place in a remote village in the snowy mountaintops of the Italian Alps during World War II, where isolation and
Jericho Tadeo•Jan 2, 2025'A Complete Unknown' Offers the Same Old Side of Bob Dylan
Biopics, particularly music biopics, often follow a hollow recipe that, in recent years, has begun to sour, with a slew of derivative
Marko Djurdjić•Jan 2, 2025Take That, Biopics! 'Better Man' Bests the Formula
What makes 'Better Man' a distinctive music biopic among the seemingly endless sea of the subgenre is not the fact that director Michael
Rachel Ho•Dec 25, 2024Martin Short Brought a Parade of Celebrity Cameos to 'Saturday Night Live'
With a little help from many celebrity friends, the brilliant Martin Short finally joined the Five-Timers Club and appeared in most of the
Vish Khanna•Dec 22, 2024'Nosferatu' Feeds Off of Its Predecessors
In singing the praises of F.W. Murnau's 1922 silent odyssey Nosferatu, Roger Ebert described the film as, "in awe of its material. It seems
Alisha Mughal•Dec 20, 2024Be Prepared, 'Mufasa: The Lion King' Circles Back to Its Classic Origins
From its opening tribute to the late James Earl Jones, Barry Jenkins's 'Mufasa: The Lion King' makes certain to pay care and respect to the
Nathan Abraha•Dec 20, 2024The Weather Station Is Shadowboxing Herself on "Body Moves"
On "Body Moves," Tamara Lindeman is shadowboxing, dodging the swings and fakeouts of a form in rebellion. The latest taste of the luminous
Kaelen Bell•Dec 16, 2024'The Brutalist' Builds Up and Tears Down the American Dream
The first thing that Hungarian-Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor László Tóth (Adrien Brody) sees upon emerging from the dark, cramped
Courtney Small•Dec 16, 2024Chris Rock Relived the Good Old Days on 'SNL' with Help from Adam Sandler
Chris Rock returned for a strong episode of Saturday Night Live, joined at one point by his 'SNL' castmate Adam Sandler, and Gracie Abrams
Vish Khanna•Dec 15, 2024The Tragically Hip and Feist's "'It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken'" Carries the Spirit — If Not the Sound — of Gord Downie
The Tragically Hip have wisely not reunited since singer Gord Downie's tragic death in 2017, but they closest they came was doing a
Alex Hudson•Dec 13, 2024Montreal's Graham Steinman Communes with the Sublime on 'migration's only natural'
Being from the middle of nowhere doesn't necessarily mean you feel connected to nature in a way others don't. On the contrary, people like
Megan LaPierre•Dec 13, 2024Julien Baker & TORRES Refresh the Country Pivot on "Sugar in the Tank"
I don't know about you, but I'm a bit fatigued by the pivot to country. Country music's sounds and aesthetics have been infiltrating
Kaelen Bell•Dec 13, 2024'Kraven the Hunter' Is Cravin' to Be Put Out of Its Misery
Sony's Spider-Man Villain Spin-Off Universe (or as Sony likes to call it, "Sony's Spider-Man Universe") has been a disaster, a series of ba
Marko Djurdjić•Dec 13, 2024'Queer' Burrows into Carnal and Cerebral Pleasures
In the opening shots of Luca Guadagnino's 'Queer,' the camera observes numerous artifacts of the film's ensuing romance; two pairs of
Alexander Mooney•Dec 13, 2024Apocalyptic Musical 'The End' Should Start Important Conversations
Joshua Oppenheimer wanted to make a third film about the Indonesian genocide. In the first two, 'The Act of Killing' and 'The Look of
Nathan Chizen•Dec 12, 2024Angelina Jolie Brings Compassion and Profound Understanding to 'Maria'
'Maria' begins at the end, with the death of Maria Callas in her Paris apartment. The great soprano passed away in 1977, less than three
Rachel Ho•Dec 11, 2024Netflix's 'A Nonsense Christmas with Sabrina Carpenter' Offers Barely Enough Merriment
Sabrina Carpenter spent 2024 exceeding expectations in every way. At the beginning of the year, she was just another ex-Disney kid trying
Alex Hudson•Dec 11, 2024Menno Versteeg Has Plenty of Life to Live on 'Why We Run'
There's a play by Tom Stoppard called 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.' It's been described variously as tragicomedy, surreal humour
Alisha Mughal•Dec 11, 2024'Somebody Somewhere' Season 3 Gives Hope for the Future
It's easily to fall into despair about the state of the world today, especially if you watch the news or, even worse, go on social media
Alex Hudson•Dec 10, 2024'Oh, Canada' Won't Make Hearts Glow, but Its Complexity Stretches Far and Wide
In Oh, Canada, Leonard Fife (Richard Gere) teaches a photography class to a small group of students. He writes "Reality vs. Fiction" across
Jordan Currie•Dec 10, 2024Paul Mescal Showed His Comedic Chops on 'SNL' — Isn't That Special?
Back from a few weeks off, Saturday Night Live' continued its strong season of writing, though some of the sketches prepared for Paul Mescal
Vish Khanna•Dec 8, 2024Sunshine Makers Ward Off the Cold with "There's a Light"
In early August, my partner and I were in Halifax, trying to find something to do on our final night there. After conceding to go back to
Sydney Brasil•Dec 6, 2024'The Sticky' Finds 'Fargo' in Small-Town Quebec
Among the many festive releases this holiday season, Prime Video has debuted its contender for viewership with 'The Sticky.' Created by
Holly Hunt•Dec 6, 2024'Unstoppable' Impeccably Follows the Sports Movie Playbook
Most sports dramas follow the same formula: an underdog to root for, setbacks, perseverance and triumphs. 'Unstoppable' falls in this tried
Marriska Fernandes•Dec 6, 2024Keira Knightley's Visceral Complexity Makes 'Black Doves' a Spy Classic
Keira Knightley knows her voice, the beasts unleashed and restrained by its pits and zeniths. This knowledge is nowhere more cunningly on
Alisha Mughal•Dec 5, 2024Yves Jarvis Makes the Moment Precious on "Gold Filigree"
Back in October, Yves Jarvis — the moniker of Montreal-by-way-of-Calgary musician Jean-Sébastien Yves Audet — made his debut release for
Megan LaPierre•Dec 4, 2024Yesterday’s Man Make Indie Rock Sound Classic on "Fleetwood mac"
Yesterday's Man describe their sound as "classic indie rock" — and Gal Av-Gay and Alie Lynch surely know a thing or two about classic indie
Alex Hudson•Dec 3, 2024'Get Away' Is a Bonkers Bloodbath
Throughout horror history characters make mistakes and pay dearly for them, like traveling and staying on a remote island or rural areas
Vanessa Maki•Dec 3, 2024'Play It Loud: How Toronto Got Soul' Traces the Roots of the Iconic Toronto Sound
Collecting tales of the impact and influence Jamaican musicians have had on the Toronto music scene like Thanos collects Infinity Stones
Courtney Small•Dec 2, 2024The Thrilling 'The Girl with the Needle' Jabs Holes in Expectations
Magnus von Horn's Palme d'Or-nominated 'The Girl with the Needle' is the darkly compelling tale of Karoline (Vic Carmen Sonne), a young
Lindsay Clarke•Dec 2, 2024'Gladiator II' Walks in the Same Sandals as the Original
I count myself among the defenders of Ridley Scott's 'Napoleon.' I respected the hell out of Scott's don't-give-a-fuck attitude — he made an
Rachel Ho•Dec 2, 2024Goodbye Never Felt So Good at Tokyo Police Club's Joyous Farewell to Toronto
In June, Exclaim! posted a feature with Tokyo Police Club. In that interview, bass player and lead vocalist Dave Monks and keyboardist
Marko Djurdjić•Nov 29, 2024'Flow' Ushers in the Next Wave of Animation
Northern Europe has been the spot for innovation in cinematic animation for some time. Estonia's Sander Joon delivered the dopest short
Nathan Chizen•Nov 29, 2024