Year: 2022 Runtime: 85 minutes Director: Amy Redford Writer: Scott Organ (screenplay based upon his play of the same title) Actors: Summer Phoenix, Grace Van Dien, Kyle Gallner, Jesse Garcia, Reina Hardesty, Sierra Nicole Rose, Indiana Affleck By Special Guest Reviewer: Sarah Manvel “Roost”, which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, focuses on one beautiful suburban home which has taken its … Continue reading Review: Roost
Year: 2020 Runtime: 129 minutes Director: Halle Berry Writer: Michelle Rosenfarb Actors: Halle Berry, Sheila Atim, Adriane Lenox, Adan Canto, Danny Boyd Jr. By Valerie Kalfrin Halle Berry has often been a fighter. She leaped from TV shows to feature films after she persuaded director Spike Lee that she had the grit to play a crack addict in 1991’s “Jungle Fever.” As an executive producer … Continue reading Review: “Bruised”
Year: 2021 Runtime: 90 Minutes Director: Camille Griffin Writer(s): Camille Griffin Stars: Kiera Knightley, Matthew Goode, Roman Griffin Davis, Annabelle Wallis, Lucy Punch, Sope Dirisu By Tom Moore Writer/director Camille Griffin returns with a Christmas film that removes the warm, glitzy holiday cheer for a dark comedy that dives into the human psyche surrounding impending death. “Silent Night”(2021) opens in a way that feels pretty … Continue reading Silent Night: TIFF21 Review
Year: 2021 Runtime: 129 Minutes Director: Barry Levinson Writer(s): Justine Juel Gillmer Stars: Ben Foster, Billy Magnussen, Danny Devito, John Leguizamo, Vicky Krieps “Rain Man” (1988) director Barry Levinson returns to delve into the dark story of an Auschwitz survivor fighting his past and wrestling with survivor’s guilt. “The Survivor”(2021) is a biographical depiction of Harry Haft’s (Ben Foster) struggles after surviving Auschwitz by fighting … Continue reading The Survivor: TIFF 2021 Review
Year: 2021 Runtime: 108 Minutes Director: Michael Pearce Writer(s): Michael Pearce, Joe Barton Stars: Riz Ahmed, Octavia Spencer, Lucian-River Chauhan, Janina Gavankar Director Michael Pearce’s sophomore effort, “Encounter” (2021), creates an initially engaging sci-fi story that eventually takes a more personal turn that showcases lasting scars of trauma. The film follows a pair of young brothers who end up going on a journey with their … Continue reading Encounter: TIFF 2021 Review
Year: 2021 Runtime: 90 Minutes Director: Antoine Fuqua Writer(s): Nic Pizzolatto (screenplay), Gustav Moller (based on original by), Emil Nygaard Albertsen (based on original by) Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Riley Keough, Eli Goree, Ethan Hawke, Peter Sarsgaard Antoine Fuqua is quickly becoming a writer/director that needs no introduction with the high-level thrills he delivers with films like “Training Day,” “Southpaw”, and both “Equalizer” films, but his … Continue reading TIFF 2021 Review: The Guilty
Year: 2021 Runtime: 77 Minutes Director: Rob Savage Writer: Rob Savage, Gemma Hurley, Jed Shepherd Stars: Annie Hardy, Amar Chadha-Patel Rob Savage’s “Host”(2020) was one of the biggest breakout films of 2020 as it showcased a strong horror story and execution perfectly fitting for the pandemic. Now, Savage returns with another film shot during the pandemic that blends social media monsters with a more mysterious, … Continue reading Dashcam: TIFF 2021 Review
“These are strange and important times,” she said this month at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). “Because truly, you can feel in the very vibration of the day, one day after the next, that we are in the midst of history. That 2020 will be long remembered. That we will be talking about this year and this time and remembering how we felt and what we thought and where we were and who we were engaged with for the rest of our lives. Continue reading Ava DuVernay @TIFF: “We are in the midst of history”
Year: 2020 Runtime: 77 minutes Writer: Emma Seligman Directed by: Emma Seligman Stars: Rachel Sennott, Molly Gordon, Polly Draper, Danny Deferrari, Fred Melamed, and Dianna Agron By Rosa Parra Shiva is a seven-day mourning period following the death of a family member in the Jewish religion. In “Shiva Baby,” written and directed by Emma Seligman, a young bisexual Jewish woman (Rachel Sennott) finds herself in … Continue reading TIFF Movie Review: “Shiva Baby”
By Valerie Kalfrin Halle Berry knows how to be a fighter. The Oscar-winner and action star plays an MMA fighter in “Bruised,” her upcoming directing debut. But she’s also battled throughout her career to showcase her talents instead of her appearance. “I have always known that I’m more than the shell that I walk around in,” Berry said at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) … Continue reading Halle Berry @TIFF: “Write. Direct. Produce. That is the power”
In Their Own League 