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Nika & Madison Review: TIFF 2025
In Canada, we have an ongoing crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women. According to research done by Statistics Canada, women of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit descent are six times more likely to be murdered than their non-Indigenous counterparts. They also face assault, both physical and sexual, at disproportionately higher rates, and the perpetrators are caught […]
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“Modern Whore” Is an Entertaining and Necessary Doc on Sex Work | ForReel
Sex work is work. Let’s get that out of the way right off the bat. Society has traditionally looked down on sex work, and in particular sex workers, for various reasons rooted in dubious morality (and religion), but the fact remains that sex work is work, and sex workers are deserving of respect and dignity. […]
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Before The Naked Gun, ‘Police Squad!’ Was on the Case (Review) | Movies We Texted About
The filmmaking trio of David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker (better known as Zucker, Abrahams, and Zucker or ZAZ) made their mark on cinema early in their careers. They began with The Kentucky Fried Movie, an anthology film of sketch comedy that did quite well critically and commercially, and then with their sophomore effort, they all but created a genre of film. Airplane!, released in […]
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“Noviembre” Is a Gripping Tour De Force That Turns History Into Harrowing Theatrical Experience | ForReel
On November 6th, 1985, a left-wing guerrilla group called Movimiento 19 de Abril (M-19, for short) stormed the Palace of Justice in Bogotá, Colombia. The intent was to hold the Justices of the Supreme Court hostage and force a trial against President Belisario Betancur. What happened instead was one of the deadliest attacks in Colombia’s […]
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Meadowlarks Review: TIFF 2025 | That Shelf
In Canada, we like to think of ourselves as progressive and inclusive and, relative to other nations today, we most likely are. That hasn’t always been true; our history is littered with heinous events and policies that persecuted the Indigenous peoples of this country. One of the main efforts to erase Indigenous identity and culture […]
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“Burning” and the Art of Captivating Storytelling | ForReel
Storytelling has been a part of the human experience since the dawn of time. From cave paintings to campfire stories to novels to film, at our core, we want and need to tell stories, and our memory is key to the process. What we write is informed by our remembered experiences, as is how we […]
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Spike Lee Retrospective: “Inside Man” | ForReel
Spike Lee is best known for racially and politically charged dramas like Do the Right Thing, He Got Game, Da 5 Bloods, and BlacKkKlansman. While these are some of the films that he might be best remembered for, he was not above more studio-friendly fare. In 2006, he also made one of the slickest heist […]
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Eenie Meanie Is a Perfect Work Night Movie | Awesome Friday!
Heist movies are fun. There are few things as satisfying in cinema as a well-executed plan coming to fruition, and the thieves that execute said plan making their getaway into the sunset. It’s even better if they’re driving a cool car, and get to do a bunch of cool stunts. Eenie Meanie, the directorial debut […]
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DEVO Are Fearlessly Unique, but Their Netflix Documentary Isn’t | Exclaim!
The story of DEVO is one of art and protest. For many, it doesn’t feel this way; the band’s one enduring hit seems to be, on its surface, one of their silliest. An uptempo hit with nonsense lyrics encouraging people to solve their issues by “whipping it,” it also satirizes late-’70s and early-’80s American optimism and commercialism. […]
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East of Wall: An Endearing Story of Loss and Redemption | KeithLovesMovies
The old west was a place of wonder and possibility, where one could hop on a horse with little more than the clothes on their back and a few supplies and head out to find their destiny. The new West has lost this. Now a land of established farms and ranches, one might head there […]
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Weapons Review: Zach Cregger Weaves a Horrifying, Hilarious, Human Story of Trauma and Grief | Awesome Friday!
Weapons is not a subtle film. It is not difficult to draw a line from its premise -that one night at 2.17 in the morning, 17 children from the same elementary school class woke up, got out of bed, walked out the front door of their homes, and vanished into the darkness like a squadron […]
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Foreigner Review: A Slick, Bubblegum Horror About Immigrant Experiences | That Shelf
Starting a new life in a new city is difficult. Moving takes time, money, and effort. You leave your support circle behind, and start fresh in a new place with few—if any—friends. It is a challenge, to say the least. Then consider that younger people also have to go to a new school in a new culture. […]
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July 2025 First Time Watches | Patreon
Hey friends, thanks for being here. As per usual, I watched a lot of movies in July, and here are the highlights of the ones that I saw for the first time. Link: https://www.patreon.com/posts/july-2025-first-136182066
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The Naked Gun | The LAMBCast
Comedy films seem to be a rarity on the big screen these days, so when one comes along that works, it is a reason fro celebration. Celebrating is mostly what we do on this episode because all the guests were enthusiastic about this film Those who remember the Leslie Nelson films from Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker, will be […]
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Lurker Review: Théodore Pellerin and Archie Madekwe Shine in an Exploration of Obsession | Awesome Friday!
Obsession is one of the great literary themes. One person in a position of power, another aspiring to attain it, a relationship between them evolving from fascination to camaraderie and into something else. Alex Russell, writer on such series as The Bear, Interior Chinatown, and Beef, takes on this classic setup in his first feature film, Lurker. In […]
I am a Rotten Tomatoes-approved, freelance film & television critic and podcast host from Vancouver, Canada! I am a co-founder of the Cascadia Film & Television Critics Association and a voting member of the International Film Society Critics, Pandora International Critics, and the Online Film & Television Association.
I maintain bylines at Exclaim!, Awesome Friday!, That Shelf, ForReel, Movies We Texted About, KeithLovesMovies, and I can be heard regularly on the Contra Zoom Podcast and The LAMBCast.
