reviews

A review of Ancestral Beasts, a Métis psychological horror film shot in Manitoba and seen at the Vancouver Horror Show. Disclosure: I know the director, Tim Riedel.

A spoiler-free review of Ithaqua, the fur-trade horror film that swept the Vancouver Horror Show, from its starving fort to its real winter shoot in Thunder Bay.

Everest: The Other Side follows two elite ski mountaineers trying to climb and ski the direct North Face, and it's a technical marvel in IMAX. What stuck with me, though, wasn't the thrill. It was what the mountain means to them.

Martin McDonagh's new CIA dark comedy sends two agents to Easter Island weeks before the 1973 Chilean coup. Malkovich is the best I've seen him, the script is full of lines that could become classics, and yes, it echoes Banshees. Spoilers are clearly marked.

A Lagos cab driver, a returning childhood friend, and a radio voice calling for revolution. A quick take on Olive Nwosu's Lady at VIFF 2026.

James Gray's Paper Tiger is a 1980s New York crime drama about two brothers caught as the mafia hands the waterfront to the Russians. Adam Driver is the reason to see it, but the film is really about being a father and a brother.

Seen at VIFF 2026: Carol Nguyen's feature debut follows her family to Vietnam to make peace with an uncle's death years after the fact. It's quiet, beautifully shot, and more about healing than grief.

Asia Argento inherits a jungle estate and finds it already occupied. Our first take on Death Has No Master from VIFF 2026: a slow burn with a fantastic soundtrack and a hard left turn.

Pedro Pascal plays a cellist who can't commit to anyone or anything, and Tony Gilroy turns that into a celebration of art and what it costs. A festival capsule review of the best Pascal performance yet and a surprising detour from the Michael Clayton director.

Thomas Mann comes home to a divided Germany, caught between two ideologies and unable to show vulnerability to either. Paweł Pawlikowski's Cannes-winning drama is lean, stark, and possibly the most beautiful black-and-white photography you'll see this year.

A man returns to a German fishing island after fifteen years, and the village puts him on trial to prove he's really Hein. Our VIFF 2026 capsule review: a roofless, half-built set, a first-time director ten years in the making

A lonely retail worker becomes convinced her cat has been replaced in Adrian Murray's quiet Canadian drama, a world premiere at VIFF 2026.

A Zamboni driver says he was drafted by the Rangers, but nobody can say who he is. Cody Lightning's second feature, a TIFF award winner now at VIFF, is a funny, heartfelt hockey drama where no one winks at the camera. Here's my capsule review.

John Turturro plays a pickpocket past his prime in a city that no longer runs on cash. A quick capsule take from VIFF 2026, with a full review to follow at release.

Joel Potrykus's Buzzard follows a small-time scammer whose anti-corporate rage only ever expresses itself as more scamming. Streaming on the Criterion Channel, this micro-budget character study turns its rough edges into part of the point.

Companion just hit Netflix with a strong premise about a robot reclaiming her autonomy, and a lead performance from Sophie Thatcher that deserves a more confident movie around it. Here's why the tonal whiplash keeps it from landing, and how it stacks up against the one film in this current wave that actually commits.

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is a gorgeous, uneven swing at practical-effects filmmaking, one that buries a genuinely sharp war-guilt story under a rocky opening act. Here's what works, what doesn't, and why the pre-release casting controversy might be part of the point.

A gripping vampire horror set in the Jim Crow South, Sinners (2025) blends stunning cinematography, powerful performances, and profound themes of survival and temptation. Discover why this film is a modern genre classic.

PT Anderson’s One Battle After Another is a stunning meditation on revolution, family, and the fractured state of modern America. With Leonardo DiCaprio delivering a career-defining performance, this smart, satirical drama balances heartfelt storytelling with cutting cultural critique — and might just be 2025’s best film.