Fresh from getting himself killed off of “Downton Abbey” so he could explore other acting opportunities, Dan Stevens plays a soldier with a penchant for killing in “The Guest.” Fueled entirely on Stevens’s charisma and its synthpop score, “The Guest” starts out intriguing until you realise the film and its protagonist are utterly vacant.
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Gone Girl: a feminist book gets watered down to a thrilling piece of pulp fiction
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more faithful screen adaptation of a novel than David Fincher’s film Gone Girl, which was also written by the book’s author, Gillian Flynn. From its pitch-perfect casting – Rosamund Pike as the icily sophisticated and gorgeous Amy, and Ben Affleck as her husband Nick, a man with frat boy […]
Review: In Matthew Warchus’ Pride, a beating heart can change the world
Sentimental without being drippy, rollicking and rousing without being over-the-top, Pride (directed by Matthew Warchus) is the epitome of a feel good movie. With its bopping soundtrack of 1980s pop hits, sweeping camera, and bright colours – there’s even a fabulous dance number – the film remains buoyant throughout even as it tackles tough issues and […]
Best of TIFF14: The Tribe is beyond words
Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy’s Ukrainian crime film The Tribe is told entirely in sign language, no translation, no subtitles.
Best of TIFF14: Lone Scherfig’s The Riot Club explores the darker side of privilege
The lads of The Riot Club – an exclusive club for 10 of Oxford University’s richest and brightest young men – make “Gossip Girl”’s Chuck Bass, at his rapiest, look like a prince. And this is a guy who traded the love of his life for a hotel before sleeping with his barely consenting step-sister. Like Chuck Bass, these boys were raised in the lap of luxury and privilege. As they say in Britain, they’re posh, which comes with special customs, accents, and terminology.
Best of TIFF 2014: Dome Karukoski’s The Grump is a hilarious delight
Writer-Director Dome Karukoski’s new comedy, The Grump, about an aging parent feeling out of step with the modern age, is sweet, funny, and emotional.