Tag: top-stories
Victoria | Review
Sleepless Night: Schipper’s Audacious, Single Take Heist Thriller
Actor turned director Sebastian Schipper makes major headway with his fourth effort behind the camera, Victoria. Premiering...
Trash | Review
Another Man’s Treasure: Daldry Revisits Themes of Childhood Lost
The muted reception behind the latest film from thrice Oscar nominated director Stephen Daldry seems curious,...
The Forbidden Room | Review
Dreams! Visions! Madness!: Maddin & Johnson’s Extravagant Symphony of Silent Cinema Fantasia
Those familiar with the works of auteur Guy Maddin, sometimes referred to as...
IONCINEPHILE of the Month: Reed Morano (Meadowland)
IONCINEMA.com’s IONCINEPHILE of the Month feature focuses on an emerging filmmaker from the world of cinema....but we would be disingenuous in categorizing this month's...
Knock Knock | Review
While We’re Young: Roth’s Revisits Grindhouse Home Invasion
Genre director Eli Roth presents his first remake, Knock Knock, a rehash of a 1977 grindhouse thriller,...
Dukhtar | Review
Not Without My Dukhtar: Nathaniel’s Debut a Sobering Drama
On paper, the premise of director Afia Nathaniel’s debut, Dukhtar (Daughter), sounds like it has the...
Five Films by Patricio Guzmán | DVD Review
As Patricio Guzman’s latest documentary The Pearl Button, which premiered at the 2015 Berlin Film Festival, completes its festival circuit rounds, a comprehensive box...
The Walk | Review
Large Spectacle: Hollywood’s Answer to Petit’s Infamous Le Coup
A singular man with an impossible goal dealing with the ultimate stakes of life or death....
Sky | 2015 TIFF Review
It’s the Limit: Berthaud Escapes into the Great Well Known
Actress turned director Fabienne Berthaud reunites with her favored on-screen counterpart Diane Kruger for her...
Pay the Ghost | Review
All Sallow’s Eve: Edel Gets Stuck in the Cage
For those who had a modicum of hope that German director’s Uli Edel's Canadian production of...
Jafar Panahi’s Taxi | Review
Riding in Cars with Directors: Panahi’s Continued Cinema of Resistance
Sanctioned Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi’s Taxi took home the 2015 Berlin Film Festival’s top prize,...
Addicted to Fresno | Review
But I’m a Sex Addict: Babbitt Returns to Dark Comedy with Mixed Results
Though the film rests rather comfortably on the shoulders of its talented...
Top 3 Critics’ Picks: Guy Maddin/Evan Johnson, Sebastián Silva, Hou Hsiao-Hsien in Theatres This October
IONCINEMA.com’s Top 3 Critics’ Picks offers a curated approach to the movie-going theatre dilemma: what would you recommend I see in theaters this month?...
In the Room | 2015 TIFF Review
If These Walls Could Catcall: Khoo’s Sex Omnibus Fails to Tantalize
Singaporean auteur Eric Khoo returns with his latest feature, In the Room, a decades...
Partisan | Review
Pledge Allegiance: Kleiman’s Intriguing Debut a Fascist Allegory
Sure to draw superficial comparisons to other famed pre-teen assassin films like The Professional (1994) or Hanna...
Freeheld | Review
The Equality in Dying: Sollett’s Topical Gay Rights Issue Explores Yesterday’s Nightmares
Had a film like Freeheld been released in the late 2000s, shortly after...
Ashby | Review
Three Months to Kill: McNamara’s Derivative Hodge-Podge
You’ll neither laugh nor cry, but hover somewhere in an emotionally dysthymic plateau watching Tony McNamara’s sophomore debut,...
Maurice Pialat Retrospective: Under the Sun of Satan | Review
Soak up the Sun: Pialat’s Palme d’Or Winning Spiritual Anguish
As part of Cohen Media Group’s Maurice Pialat retrospective, perhaps the most significant title showcased...
The Conversation: The Totality of Toronto (Plus 2015 TIFF Top Ten)
In the nine consecutive years I’ve attended the Toronto International Film Festival, it remains an elusive monstrosity of an event. With its hundreds of...
Les êtres chers | 2015 TIFF Review
Sowing the Seed of Love: Émond Prescribes Depression Medicine for Two
In Zizekian logic, there are the unknown knowns, that is to say, there are...
Maurice Pialat Retrospective: The Mouth Agape | Review
A Death in the Family: Pialat’s Subtle Masterpiece of Familial Anguish
French auteur Maurice Pialat, the famed Palme d’Or winner who resisted being defined by...
Video Interview: Daniel Barber (The Keeping Room)
Five years after the Michael Caine vehicle Harry Brown hit theaters, director Daniel Barber has returned to the director's seat with a revisitation to period drama,...
The Keeping Room | Review
Ruminations: Barber’s Sophomore Effort Brings the War Home
Director Daniel Barber returns with sophomore effort The Keeping Room, his first film since the Death Wish...
Parisienne (Peur de rien) | 2015 TIFF Review
A Girl in the World: Arbid’s Coming of Age Portrait Enhanced by Generous Lead
French director Danielle Arbid returns with Parisienne, her first feature since...
Stonewall | Review
Hole in the Wall: Emmerich Butchers Historical Moment with Whitewashed Overcoat
On June 28, 1969, a group of gay men and women took a stand...
Western | Review
Fractured Frontier: Ross Bros. Witness Bordertowns Running Afoul Under Threat of Storm Clouds & Cartels
The brothers Ross, Bill and Turner, have been rightly hailed...
99 Homes | Review
Housing Complex: Bahrani Extends Capitalism Criticism to Housing Market
Though his 2012 farming melodrama At Any Price found director Ramin Bahrani gaining wider visibility with...
Mississippi Grind | Review
Let the River Run: Boden & Fleck’s Melancholy, Character Driven Road-Trip
Filmmaking duo Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck return with their best collaboration since the...
High-Rise | 2015 TIFF Review
Closer to the Gods: Cult Author Meets Cult Director in Wheatley’s Latest Dish
Destined to be overlooked as a visually impressive but significant creative failure,...
The New Girlfriend | Review
The Skin I Live In: Ozon’s Exquisite New Exploration of Gender Subversion
For his most playful and delightfully creepy film in years, Francois Ozon adapts...
Sicario | Review
The Company of Wolves: Villeneuve’s Superb Packaging Enhances Customary Cartel Themes
There’s much to be excited about with Sicario, the latest film from Quebecois director...
Der Nachtmahr | 2015 TIFF Review
Angst von der Angst: Concept Overrides Construction in Weak Psychological Metaphor
It’s evident a majority of the artistry that went into the conceptualization of Der Nachtmahr...
Hellions | 2015 TIFF Review
Invasion of the Baby Snatchers: McDonald’s Stillborn Halloween Horror
Starting off with a customary flourish of genre staples to set the mood, we gloss over...
The Hard Stop | 2015 TIFF Review
Prior to the outrage manifested within the 'I Can't Breathe' movement in the wake of several high profile murders of unarmed black men by...
Magallanes | 2015 TIFF Review
On the Horizon of Redemption: Del Solar’s Impressive Debut a Historically Relevant Neo-Noir
The sins of the recent past infect Peruvian actor Salvador del Solar’s...
The Cut | Review
Third Cut is the Deepest: Akin’s Barren Examination of Armenian Genocide
Turkish-German director Fatih Akin concludes his decade in the making ‘Love, Death, and the...
The Ones Below | 2015 TIFF Review
Changeling Chronicles: Farr’s Eerie Debut a Duel of Deserving Motherhood
Screenwriter and playwright David Farr makes his directorial debut with The Ones Below, a psychological...
Closet Monster | 2015 TIFF Review
Epistemology of the Closet: Dunn’s Impressive Debut a Pronounced Portrait of Agitated Angst
Notable short filmmaker Stephen Dunn (Pop-up Porno, 2015) makes an impressive feature...
3000 Nights | 2015 TIFF Review
Samaritan Subterfuge: Masri’s Aggrandized Portrait of Political Metaphor
Portraits of women-in-prison have a long winding history in the annals of grindhouse and various exploitation cinema,...
The Danish Girl | 2015 TIFF Review
Danish Modern: Hooper’s Painterly Costume Drama Mounted on a Glossy Stage
Much as last year’s The Imitation Game served to honor the memory and legacy...
Urban Hymn | 2015 TIFF Review
Can a Song Save Your Life?: Caton-Jones’ Modest Return to Filmmaking
Scottish film director Michael Caton-Jones had a very prolific filmography in the 1990s thanks...
Un plus Une | 2015 TIFF Review
Passage Over India: Lelouch’s Romantic Dramedy an Overstuffed Pilgrimage
French auteur Claude Lelouch, now well into his seventies, maintains a prolific career, striding through a...
Time Out of Mind | Review
Time to Time: Moverman’s Austere Portrait of Homelessness
There’s a deliberate soul-crushing methodology to Oren Moverman’s third feature Time Out of Mind (taking its title from...
Sleeping with Other People | Review
Other People’s Mousetraps: Headland Heads to Romcom
One of the most acerbically hilarious new voices in the American indie world is writer/director Leslye Headland, whose...
Goodnight Mommy | Review
Mom Without a Face: Fiala/Franz’s Fiction Debut a Mesmerizing Slice of Psychological Horror
Once you’re made aware that Goodnight Mommy is the fictional directorial debut...
Blood Punch | Review
Blood of Your Blood: Paxson’s Comedy Horror Debut Lacks Bite
Unspooling with all the finesse of a drunken yet trenchant teenager’s expletive laden ranting at...
Exclusive: Poster Premiere for Claire Carré’s “Embers”
We've been tracking the development of Claire Carré's directorial debut since it successfully launched its Kickstarter campaign in late 2013 (it was subsequently selected as...
Dirty Weekend | Review
Afternoon Delight: Enjoyable, Downplayed Provocation from Labute
Walking into a film called Dirty Weekend knowing it’s directed by Neil Labute, an author known for his...
Coming Home | Review
Things Not Forgotten: Zhimou Returns to Period Tragedy with Middling Results
Chinese auteur Zhang Yimou, known recently for elaborate adventure films like House of Flying Daggers...
Before We Go | Review
Here We Go Again: Evans’ Nondescript Venture a Familiar Recipe of Whirlwind Romance
Love is not a many splendored thing in actor Chris Evans’ directorial...
