vanessa kirby

Film Review: Napoleon; Ridley Scott’s ambition fails to match the execution of disjointed epic

Despite the grandeur of some of its large scale battle sequences and reliable talent across the board, there’s a disjointedness to Ridley Scott‘s Napoleon that renders it shockingly inept at times and, overall, rather underwhelming. Hailed as one of the greatest military leaders and strategists in history, the Napoleon depicted here (as portrayed by Joaquin…

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Film Review: Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is action executed to perfection.

When it’s said that Tom Cruise saved cinema in 2022, it isn’t a statement made lightly or with any false sincerity.  Top Gun: Maverick was the invitation needed to truly bring audiences out of the comfort of their home after almost 2 years of enforced hibernation and the ease of the streaming services. Had the…

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Film Review: The Son fails to interrogate its worthy subject matter in an honest fashion

The claustrophobic and emotional resonance Florian Zeller created with 2020’s The Father is unfortunately nowhere to be found in The Son, a prequel of sorts based off another of Zeller’s stage plays. A chamber piece on the subject of dementia that rightfully won Anthony Hopkins his second Best Actor Academy Award, The Father expressed subtlety…

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The Son is emotionally manipulative in its interrogation of teenage depression: TIFF 2022 Review

The claustrophobic and emotional resonance Florian Zeller created with 2020’s The Father is unfortunately nowhere to be found in The Son, a prequel of sorts based off another of Zeller’s stage plays. A chamber piece on the subject of dementia that rightfully won Anthony Hopkins his second Best Actor Academy Award, The Father expressed subtlety…

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TIFF Review: Pieces of a Woman is a moving drama and stellar acting showcase for Vanessa Kirby and Ellen Burstyn

The filmography of playwright/director Kornel Mundruczo is quite interesting from a first glimpse. The standout feature is the fact that his works are usually political parables disguised as genre fare. His last two films White God and Jupiter’s Moon delved into the horror/sci-fi genre but were more about the examination of the inner workings of…

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Film Review: Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw crackles with energy

It’s hard to believe that a franchise that started out as little more than a soft remake of Point Break, pinning Vin Diesel and his disposable crew against low-rent law enforcement with the street racing scene as its background, has transformed itself into a billion dollar commodity where secret agents take on international terrorists.  And…

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Film Review: Mission: Impossible – Fallout (USA, 2018) toys with the expected and presents itself as a fresh product

Up to this point each Mission: Impossible film has operated on their own mechanisms.  The 1996 Brian De Palma-directed original felt like an organic extension of the 1960’s television series it drew its inspiration from; the 2000-released sequel was an orgy of unsubtle combat buoyed by the favoured-slow motion of Hong Kong filmmaker Jon Woo;…

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