By John H. Foote When Will Smith famously slapped Chris Rock in the face at the Academy Awards last year, he did more damage to his career than he realized at the time. Banned from attending the Oscars for ten years, banned from Academy events, and the object of public ridicule, Smith did publicly apologize…
By John H. Foote (****) Is Cate Blanchett our greatest film actress (after Meryl Streep of course)? There is, in my opinion, no one greater than Streep, but if anyone is, and could one day challenge Streep’s body of work, it is Cate Blanchett. Her latest performance in Tar promises her an Academy Award nomination…
By John H. Foote With the postponement of Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, taking Leonardo Di Caprio out of contention for Best Actor, and Will Smith having no chance for Emancipation given the infamous slap, it is looking like the leanest field of Best Actor nominees since 2001. The performances to be considered…
By John H. Foote (***) On Netflix The tragic life of Marilyn Monroe has been told in books, TV films, documentaries, plays and film. I am not sure any one of them captures her naked vulnerability with as much visceral power as this new film, Blonde. It is a difficult watch, but the extraordinary lead…
By John H. Foote The race for the Academy Award for Best Actress will be hotly contested with many worthy performances being left out. Indeed, it is a year in which they could easily expand the category to 10 nominees, and it would still not be enough. With a mixture of previous winners, nominees, and…
By John H. Foote Louise Fletcher, aka Nurse Ratched, has died. Though she made just a single great film, her performance in it won her one of five Academy Awards won by the film – Best Actress in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975). Filming was more than halfway finished when Fletcher learned a…
By John H. Foote While the death of Queen Elizabeth cast a shadowy pall over TIFF, the arrival of one man lit the dimmed lights with his mere presence. Hollywood royalty arrived at TIFF this past week and stole the show, the entire festival revolved around Steven Spielberg. After the screening of his film The…
By John H. Foote In a prolific career that has seen basically a film a year, sometimes two since 1977, Woody Allen’s next film, the 50th of his career, will be his last. The 87-year-old director has stated he plans to write a novel or two in retirement, and we hope a second autobiography. Allen,…
By John H. Foote (**) In theatres I have struggled with writing this review for more than a week, not because I did not know what to say, but I wanted it to be as honest as I could be without being cruel. Nope did not work for me, at all, I found it trite,…
By John H. Foote For the first time in his 50 year career, Steven Spielberg will bring a film to TIFF. The Fablemans, his autobiographical account of his childhood and how he became a film obsessed director will screen here at TIFF. This marks the first time the director has been to the world class…