Toronto 2018: Endzeit review
★★★☆☆ With the saturation of the zombie as modern cinema’s de facto monster, it’s difficult to imagine in what new direction the shuffling dead...
Film Reviews & More
Most Recent. In Christopher Machell.
3 May 2024
Film Review: Challengers
★★★★☆ With Luca Guadagnino’s terrific Challengers, the acclaimed director of Call Me By Your Name brings us the sub-genre we never knew we needed: the erotic tennis thriller.
24 April 2024
Film Review: Abigail
★★☆☆☆ Directors Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett’s “Abigail” mashes up crime caper and monster movie, but fails to deliver fear or humor. Spoilery trailers and unoriginal characters overshadow promising elements, resulting in a dull, lifeless experience lacking creativity and wit.
17 April 2024
Film Review: Civil War
★★★★☆ In Alex Garland’s Civil War, a group of journalists embark on a road trip to interview the US President amidst a second American Civil War, while exploring media’s dehumanizing relationship with violence.
Christopher Machell
Toronto 2018: Our picks of the festival
As the Toronto International Film Festival gears up for its 2018 edition (6-16 September), awards contenders, experimental filmmakers and indie hopefuls come together for...
Criterion Review: Smithereens
★★★★☆ The grimy, crime-ridden cesspool of New York in the 1970s and early 1980s is a well-worn cinematic setting, but in her debut 1982...
DVD Review: Death Line
★★★★☆ Released as Raw Meat in the US, Gary Sherman’s cult debut feature Death Line works as both a gruesome exploitation horror set in the...
DVD Review: Assault
★★★☆☆ Also known as In the Devil’s Garden, British director Sidney Hayers’ 1971 film Assault is cast very much in the mode of contemporary Italian...
DVD Review: Jackie Chan’s Police Story & Police Story 2
★★★★☆ The film that made Jackie Chan an international star, Police Story fully embodies the martial artist’s spirit of entertainment – equal parts endearing, goofy and packed...
Film Review: Sicilian Ghost Story
★★★☆☆ Based on the real-life abduction of Giuseppe di Matteo, Sicilian Ghost Story combines teen romance, realist crime drama and gothic fable. Writer-directors Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio...
DVD Review: Birdman of Alcatraz
★★★★☆ While serving a life sentence and in indefinite solitary confinement, convicted murderer Robert Stroud began raising birds. In so doing, he educated himself...
