MARTY SUPREME: When Mastery Becomes Formula
Josh Safdie’s first solo outing delivers the familiar Safdie rush, but two weeks later I’m wondering if I’ve seen this serve too many times; a good film that makes Uncut Gems look tight by comparison.
Category: Film
How HAMNET sticks the landing
I went into Hamnet cold, aware from the awards-circuit rumors that I could expect a lot of crying, but knowing little else. When I showed up for a screening at the Toronto International Film Festival at 8 in the morning, surrounded by exhausted festival-goers who were running on caffeine fumes and a steady diet of 5 films a day, I half expected I’d struggle to stay awake.
Bradley Cooper’s IS THIS THING ON? Can’t Commit to the Bit
Will Arnett delivers an excellent worn-down performance in some of the rawest, most thrilling minutes I’ve seen this year—before the film topples its own belief in the story
SPRINGSTEEN: DELIVER ME FROM NOWHERE – Nebraska State of Mind
Jeremy Allen White disappears into Springsteen with a performance that transcends impersonation, even if the film around him can’t quite find its rhythm.
Guillermo del Toro’s FRANKENSTEIN Can’t Escape Its Creator
An absorbing, richly Gothic portrayal of one of literature’s great tragedies, beaten and bloodied by del Toro’s lapse into familiar territory.
TIFF 2025 Review: IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT
Panahi delivers festival gold with this gripping thriller that transforms a simple car accident into a moral reckoning about revenge versus grace.
TIFF 2025 Review: EXIT 8
Exit 8 traps viewers in the same repetitive Tokyo subway loop as its protagonist, turning a video game speedrun concept into tedious pro-life propaganda with terrible CGI.
TIFF 2025 Review: SIRAT
A father and son search Moroccan raves for their missing daughter/sister in Laxe’s Sirat, following a found family of desert wanderers in what becomes a desolate, biblical thriller.
TIFF 2025 Review: SENTIMENTAL VALUE
Trier’s latest is a tender but uneven exploration of artistic ambition versus family bonds.
Fathers, Finance, and Failure: Themes from TIFF 2025
Film festivals are an unpredictable, choose-your-own adventure journey; the Toronto International Film Festival’s 2025 lineup includes 291 unique titles to choose from. Which is to say that no two people will have the same journey.
TIFF 2025 Review: Rose of Nevada
Slice-of-life with a dash of sci-fi is basically film catnip for me, so when perusing the hundreds of films on offer at the Toronto Film Festival 2025, I was immediately drawn to the description of Rose of Nevada.
WEAPONS, Zach Cregger’s Masterpiece Devours the Suburban Soul
Zach Cregger’s Weapons elevates a simple missing children premise into the year’s best horror film through masterful ensemble storytelling and world-building that rivals Stephen King at his peak.
THE NAKED GUN is proof that parody isn’t dead
In a cinematic landscape increasingly dominated by big-budget algorithm-driven content, The Naked Gun (2025) arrives as both throwback and revelation—a clever spoof that understands the sacred geometry of the perfect gag while expanding its scope beyond police procedurals.
THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS – Fantastic Bore
This Marvel outing commits the cardinal sin of being not only predictable but, even worse, boring.
With EDDINGTON, Ari Aster makes the strongest Coen Brothers film in a decade
Aster’s latest marks a nice bounce-back