By John H. Foote Never did I appreciate Rex Harrison for his talent. He talked his songs, could not dance and barely got by as an actor. That Oscar for My Fair Lady (1964) was brought to him given the tide of goodwill that came to George Cukors film. Harrison did nothing for me, and…
By John H. Foote This film, which I saw at TIFF really does deserve a big screen release, which Netflix backed out of. It seems they are also second guessing the promised big screen release of Roma, expected to be a major Oscar player. Needless to say without big screenplay, the Oscars will evaporate. What…
By John H. Foote THE HATE U GIVE (***) Before I get into the body of this review I must acknowledge and thank Tricia Williams, an old friend from college, where we both studied acting. Trish was good, making a career or it, while I followed my heart to film criticism, always addicted to movies.…
By John H. Foote After TIFF ended last year, there was no question Gary Oldman was on the path to the Oscar for Best Actor for his acclaimed performance as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour (2017). Frankly, I was not impressed with the performance, I could not decide if it was Oldman doing the work…
By Nick Maylor This year’s Toronto International Film Festival saw a slew of great films and welcome surprises. I did not get to see everything I was interested in but with an impressive selection of screenings, I walked away in awe of two major films that are guaranteed to be a massive presence come awards…
By John H. Foote In a huge swelling of love, Green Book has been named the People’s Choice Award Winner at TIFF. The surprise winning film was adored by all who saw it, a beautiful, compassionate, warm often very funny film about the unlikely friendship between a tough bouncer and a gifted musician. Hired to…
By John H. Foote By day eight the normally jam packed concourse area of the huge Scotiabank Cinemas looks empty, only a few press remain, catching the films we have not yet seen. The screenings, previously at capacity are now half or less filled as the festival winds down. Always top heavy, that first weekend…
(**) By John H. Foote Again a performance is the driving force of this biopic dealing with hellion war correspondent Marie Colvin. Famously killed in action in Syria, Colvin was a fearless woman, one of a kind. More and more we are seeing great female performances, they are dominating the Oscar race at the moment,…
(**) By John H. Foote Michael Moore’s style, I find abrasive, exploitive and sometimes cruel. What he did to poor Charlton Heston in Bowling for Columbine (2003) was nasty. He blindsided a clearly confused actor suffering with Alzheimer’s and did nothing to endear himself to audiences in doing so. Still his film won an Oscar…
By John H. Foote THE HATE U GIVE (***) Imagine you are a beautiful, soulful 15 year old girl. Imagine going out for a drive with a friend you have known all your life. Clearly he loves you and you have deep feelings for him. He kisses you, and you pull away telling him you…