By John H. Foote (**) Despite beautiful, lavish visual effects, the very presence of the sanctimonious #MeToo zealot Brie Larson made this a very difficult film to like. The hypocrisy of Larson taking on a super hero film, then making clear her disdain for the fanboys who will make her film a hit, was hard…
By John H. Foote (****) Watching this film filled me with revulsion, it disgusted and sickened me to the extent I thought I was going to be physically ill. It is an exceptional film, but one I will see just once. It explores the darkest side of one of the most gifted pop stars of…
By Alan Hurst Women directors in Hollywood are increasing in number, power and acclaim but that wasn’t always the case. If you take the Academy Awards as a bellwether, only five women have made the final five list of nominees over the last 90+ years – and only one of those women has won (Kathryn…
By Clarisse Tenreiro Twenty two years ago, the world saw director Anthony Minghella release what would become a monumental piece of cinematic artistry : the romantic war drama The English Patient (1996). Adapted from Michael Ondaatje’s novel, the film starring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Binoche and Kristin Scott Thomas, amongst other exceptional actors, experienced an incredibly…
By John H. Foote (**) Let me be clear, this film does not, in my world, exist. I am writing this at the request of a few loyal readers curious as to why I loathe the film entirely and have chosen to erase it from existence in my world. Michael Corelone’s fate is what we…
By John H. Foote (**) Isabelle Huppert is to French cinema what Meryl Streep is to North American film, a god of acting. Oddly, she might be best known to some of us for her work in Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate (1980), but to others she is known for her array of truly brilliant performances through…
By Alan Hurst It’s never listed near the top of Bette Davis’ film achievements but The Star (1952) is nonetheless one of the unsung (albeit campy) gems from a period when Hollywood was really starting to turn the focus on itself with a series of films showing the highs and lows of the movie business.…
By John H. Foote (****) On film, by 1986 Vietnam had become a comic book war won single-handedly by action heroes John Rambo or Chuck Norris. The searing truth seen in Coming Home (1978) and Apocalypse Now (1979) had given way to the macho swaggering of Rambo: First Blood II (1985), Missing in Action – Part 1and 2 (1986-87) and…
By John H. Foote Am I intentionally a contrarian? I have never believed so, but I do have my own mind and I have chosen to use it rather than follow behind like a lemming. When my friends at school were rabid Maple Leafs fans I was a Boston Bruins fan, my favourite goalies was…
By John H. Foote (****) Tootsie is, to me, the greatest American comedy ever made, a farce brimming with intelligence and sharp writing, brilliant direction and performances as well as insight into one of the most mysterious art forms known to man. Directed by Sydney Pollack, so much more gifted than he was ever given credit…