Movies 696 results

Jay Stone and Katherine Monk movie reviews and profiles. Movies new to streaming / DVD.
Reviews of Canadian movies and filmmaker profiles by Katherine Monk and Jay Stone.

3Score

Free State of Jones shackled by good intentions

Movie Review: Free State of Jones Matthew McConaughey raises a slave army and an earnest eyebrow as little-known rebel Newt Knight in director Gary Ross's well-intended Civil War drama that feels stiff in its Sunday best

Hot Docs gets million-dollar boost from Rogers

News: Hot Docs Ted Rogers Fund Rogers Foundation partners with Hot Docs, Canada's leading documentary festival, to create new production fund named after late Canadian communications mogul Ted Rogers By The Ex-Press The cash-strapped world of documentary film just got a million dollars richer: Hot Docs and The Rogers Foundation announced the creation of a new fund to help filmmakers realize their non-fiction visions through production grants worth up to $35,000 Thursday. Part of a $5-million dollar endowment from The Rogers Foundation that also includes a $4 million gift to buy the Hot Docs theatre on Toronto’s Bloor Street, the new Hot Docs Ted Rogers Fund will be administered by Hot Docs and support up to three or four projects each year. “Hot Docs has a remarkable history of strengthening the documentary industry and supporting documentary filmmakers,” said Martha Rogers, chair of the Rogers Foundation. “We are proud to join their tradition with the establishm...
3Score

Genius strikes generic notes

Movie review: Genius Despite perfecting his gift for blending dour disdain and puppy-eyed sympathy in a single glance, Colin Firth's performance as Thomas Wolfe's editor feels cut-out  
3Score

Finding Dory, losing story

Movie Review: Finding Dory Ellen DeGeneres returns as a fish with short-term memory loss in a largely forgettable sequel to Finding Nemo -30-

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau shuns royal treatment

Interview: Susanne Bier and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau get A Second Chance He sports prosthetic golden fingers to play the role of Jaime Lannister on Game of Thrones, but Nikolaj Coster-Waldau hates getting a fake hand for any performance, which is why he's grateful for the firm grip of fellow Dane Susanne Bier By Katherine Monk TORONTO—In the opening episode of Game of Thrones, his character pushed a young boy from a window without a hint of remorse. But put a fussy newborn in Nikolaj Coster-Waldau’s arms, and the handsome Dane turns into a human pacifier. “It didn’t matter what the babies were doing… if Nikolaj picked them up, they would almost immediately fall asleep,” says director Susanne Bier, referring to the off-camera vibe on her latest film, A Second Chance (En chance til). A relatively small Danish-language drama about a police officer who makes a life-altering decision with good intentions, A Second Chance has been making a slow pass through North American ...
3Score

Movie review: Maggie’s Plan is a loopy rom-com

Indie darling Greta Gerwig plays a single woman who longs for a baby in a Rebecca Miller film that comes from the Woody Allen school of New York City angst  
3Score

Now You See Me 2 spells deja-vu

Movie review: Now You See Me 2 The sequel to a sleeper hit about illusionists who use their skills to steal from the rich and give to the poor doesn't conjure a sense of magic, but its A-list cast ensures it's entertaining

Tempest in a D-Cup

Interview: Tempest Storm, Icon of Burlesque Valued for her physical appearance in a world where women were denied a voice, Tempest Storm found safe harbour and social power with a little jiggle and a lot of courage By Jay Stone Annie Banks was born on Leap Year Day 88 years ago in rural Georgia, a beautiful young girl destined to have an unhappy childhood. Her stepfather tried to sexually abuse her. Her classmates teased her because she had a womanly figure even as a young teenager. She ran away from home at 14 to get married to her first of four husbands (the marriages variously lasted one night, two weeks, two years and 10 years.) She moved to Las Vegas to be a showgirl and got hired as an exotic dancer: she asked her first agent, “Do you think my busts are too big for this business?” It turns out that there was no such thing. After a while, the agent decided to give her a new, more exotic name, Sunny Day. “I’m not a Sunny Day,” she said, so the agent came up with ...

TIFF announces STUDIO slate

News: TIFF talent development A lucky dozen writer-directors get their hands metaphorically dirty with development sessions and skills workshops at this year's TIFF STUDIO programme By Katherine Monk “Writer-director” sounds good, but in the world of Canadian Film, it often means a hand-to-mouth existence without external support. The Toronto International Film Festival wants to change that, and this year, it refocused its STUDIO programme to assist writer-directors with a series of professional workshops designed to empower the nation’s storytellers. The monthly modules began Friday with sessions that include peer review, project development, packaging and talent, working with actors and casting agents as well as the requisite art of the pitch pep talk. “Since its launch in 2013, STUDIO has boasted immense success in readying Canadian producers for the global film industry,” said TIFF artistic director Cameron Bailey in an announcement released Monday. ...

Popstar: Never Stops Stopping Sucking

Movie Review: Popstar - Never Stop Stopping The team that brought your their Dick in a Box reunites for another round of thigh-slapping comedy dependent on short attention spans and Justin Timberlake in a bird suit