Widows is the Most Captivating Heist Film in Years and Stretches Beyond Genre Conventions: TIFF Review

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Steve McQueen’s fourth feature film marks the British filmmaker’s first foray into genre filmmaking fresh off his Best Picture win for 12 Years a Slave, and arguably a case for what may also be his best film yet. Based on the ITV miniseries of the same name created by Lynda La Plante, what McQueen and Gone Girl writer Gillian Flynn have created is not just any other thriller but a very special one indeed – one where it feels every position carries a sense of power over one another. It’s a thriller that carries all the best elements of the genre, but also something so much more thoughtful in its presentation it feels outright irresistible. Yet this is only a fraction of where Widows’s greatness comes by, if more needed to be said about why Steve McQueen is one of this generation’s best working filmmakers. But knowing that a filmmaker like Steve McQueen and a writer like Gillian Flynn can join forces in creating what also happens to be one of the most emotionally visceral thriller films to be released in recent memory.

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The Disaster Artist – Review

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James Franco goes behind and in front of the camera to tell the story of the making of the infamous 2003 cult film The Room, often regarded as one of the worst movies ever made. But Tommy Wiseau’s The Room has enjoyed another reputation of its own because it’s already an enigma, it’s difficult to truly put together how it was even made because even the most skilled filmmaker couldn’t have been able to replicate its wonder. It was easy enough to be skeptical that a film about something of the sort would only be none other than a vanity project showing how well can Franco perform an imitation of such a unique entity, but through The Disaster Artist he also created a more empathetic and even cynical picture that goes beyond my expectations.

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Picnic at Hanging Rock – Review

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Watching Picnic at Hanging Rock gives off the same experience as living through a dream, but not so much a pleasant one. Peter Weir’s film isn’t so much a fully cohesive one, but that’s what helps in creating the very dreamlike atmosphere which it establishes and that’s why it’s so haunting from beginning to end. It’s almost as if in a way, you can see something almost David Lynch-esque emerging from the very vibe it gives away despite it coming out before Lynch even started out his career as a filmmaker. The experience always feels new within each watch and it continues lingering in my head, and I only grow to love it more. It’s the sort of nightmare that carries a great sense of beauty to it, captivating at every frame. Continue reading →