By John H. Foote (****) In theatres In 2006, at TIFF I made my way to the screening of Sarah Polley’s Away From Her, because I admired Polley’s work as an actress, had seen one of her short films and liked it, and I adored Gordon Pinsent and Julie Christie. I came out of the…
By John H. Foote Has 2022 been a great year at the movies? Like most years, we saw a handful of good films, some really great ones, but more bad films than good. Choosing the year’s best films is always a pleasure, but a job I agonize over. My first shortlist included 31 films; paring…
By John H. Foote (***) In theatres Damien Chazelle is a massively talented young director, already an Oscar winner for Best Director for La La Land (2016), and had the Academy been thinking he might have won a second for his space epic First Man (2017), a well reviewed film that never found an audience…
By John H. Foote (**) In theatres An awkward film to review because, despite excellent performances, it is about the marginalized in society, not terribly pleasant fare. But the super performances elevate the work in every way. In a society so obsessed with appearance, it must be a terrible thing to be obese and endure…
By John H. Foote (*****) Now in theatres Couple quick reminders. Given it has been more than a decade since Avatar (2009), here is a very brief refresher. Pandora is a planet of great exotic beauty inhabited by nine-foot tall, blue creatures called the Na’vi who do not appreciate man on their home. Man is…
By John H. Foote (****) Streaming on Apple TV Despite the slap heard around the globe, despite the absolute humiliation he brought to Chris Rock, the Academy, the family of Richard Williams, and himself, Will Smith has always been a fine actor, and it was ridiculous to assume he would never be back in the…
By John H. Foote (***) on Apple Streaming The reasons to see Causeway are the performances which are remarkable. Academy Award winner Jennifer Lawrence, who won her Oscar 10 years ago now (seems like a century), gives the finest screen performance of her career, no mean feat because the lady has been damned fine in…
By John H. Foote (****) In theatres All the President’s Men (1976) might still reign as the preeminent film about investigative reporting ever made, possessed of an urgency in exploring what would lead to the unseating of a President. The film remains an extraordinary study of reporting before the internet, when research happened in libraries…
By John H. Foote (***) On Netflix It has been nearly 100 years since the first feature film version of All Quiet on the Western Front came to cinema and won the Academy Award as Best Picture. A superb early piece of filmmaking, before directors had really mastered sound and score, it remains filled with…
By John H. Foote Frankly I cannot remember when the field of nominees for Best Actor was so slim. 1964? It might be that long ago that the Academy struggled to find five worthy performances to be nominated for an Oscar. Usually, the Best Actor category is filled to the brim and could easily have…