Maika Monroe deserves to be a massive star. She first came on to my, and many folks’, radar with her tremendous turn in It Follows. More than just a scream queen in the making, Monroe had an X factor about her that suggested greatness. She again shows that in the new comedic thriller Villains, which teams her up with three other mas ... READ MORE
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James Gray never gets the acclaim that he deserves. For years, the filmmaker has been doing high quality work that repeatedly gets the short shrift. Especially with Two Lovers, the lack of love is just absurd. This week, however, he’s finally going to be on the radar of the masses, as his largest movie to date is opening in Ad Astra ... READ MORE
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Yesterday, the Toronto International Film Festival handed out their awards. Notably, the Audience Award, which is the top prize at TIFF, went to Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit. The runner ups were, rather unsurprisingly, Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story, as well as Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite. The win for Jojo Rabbit may surprise som ... READ MORE
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Welcome back to the weekly box office report! As is always the case, each and every Sunday you can expect a look at what made the most money in theaters, as well as just how all of the new releases fared. This week, the hit horror sequel It: Chapter Two attempts to hold off Jennifer Lopez and the true life crime dramedy Hustlers. Who emer ... READ MORE
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The round-up returns once again! With so many independent releases hitting theaters here in early September, it’s almost impossible not to have to play catch-up like this. Today, we’ve got five new films to give a quick take on, including one in Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! that I admittedly forget to discuss last week. Join ... READ MORE
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It’s hard to find the right tone when telling a terminal illness tale. Over at the Toronto International Film Festival, The Friend was one of the world premieres and offers up a different way of telling a cancer drama. In part, by not focusing as largely on the patient, this is more about the human toll on family members. Moreover, ... READ MORE
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When is a concert film not just a concert film? Why, when it’s co-directed by Bruce Springsteen, of course! Having just debuted this evening at the Toronto International Film Festival, I’m no longer under embargo and can report that Western Stars is a profound and wonderful musical experience that will delight any Springsteen ... READ MORE
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New York City has a musical quality to all of its chaos. Stand in the right spot in Manhattan and you can hear it. The Sound of Silence knows and embraces this. An independent drama that contains a wholly lived in feel, there’s a vibe her that gets under your skin in the best way possible. Rather hypnotic in its soundscape and overa ... READ MORE
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For years, strippers have been depicted cinematically as damsels needing to be saved. In fact, movies have almost exclusively looked at sex workers as damaged individuals. Awards wise, it’s catnip for voters, by and large. The features themselves have been mostly heavy affairs, give or take something like Woody Allen’s Mighty ... READ MORE
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Over the weekend, something rather shocking happened at the Venice Film Festival. Yes, more shocking than a Grand Jury Prize going to Roman Polanski and his largely panned movie An Officer and a Spy (and even more surprising than another special prize going to the largely shrugged about American Skin from Nate Parker.) The coveted Golden ... READ MORE
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