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The Best Films of the Decade (So Far), Part 2 | Contra Zoom
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[L]et’s look back at the best films that came out from 2020-2024. We sent out a poll to critics and made a list of the 50 best films of the decade so far. Last week on Part 1, we revealed picks 50-26. Now here is Part 2 where we count down picks 25 through number…
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Young Werther Review: A Delightful Modernization of Its Source Material | That Shelf
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Love can happen at any time or place and to anyone. Sometimes there’s a long, slow period of courtship and sometimes there’s an immediate attraction, a lightning bolt that strikes a person to let them know that they’ve just met their one person. But does the lighting always strike both people? This is the…
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Marvel’s What If…? Season 3 | That Shelf
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What If…?, the long-running Marvel comic book series, is one of the most fun titles in the company’s entire repertoire. Each issue places one of their characters in some new context, either by examining a different pivotal choice they could have made or by shifting them into another universe entirely. The streaming adaptation from…
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Cascadia Film & Television Critics Association 5 Best Television Series of 2024
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This year the Cascadia Film & Television Critics Association membership lived up to its name and voted on our top television series of the year. It was an excellent year for television and this list reflects that. I had the privilege of writing up our number 2 pick, Shrinking Season 2: … The entire…
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2025 Pandora International Critics Awards
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The 2025 Pandora International Critics Awards are my fourth as a voting member, and as in previous years, the winners are an exciting assortment of films and performers! Payal Kapadia’s acclaimed All We Imagine As Light took the top prize International Motion Picture. Coralie Fargeat continues to shake up the awards season with a Directing prize…
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On Her Majesty’s Secret Service | The LAMBCast
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This was the first James Bond without Sean Connery, and it is the only 007 film that George Lazenby made. Often looked upon as the red-headed step child of the franchise, it has grown in stature but it is still not without some faults. Matthew Simpson of the “Awesome Friday Podcast” joins in as…
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‘Carry-On’ Movie Review: Jaume Collet-Serra Returns to Form | Movies We Texted About
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We’re well past the golden age of Die Hard knockoffs but the formula remains a very reliable onefor making high-grade B-movies if you can assemble the right team to make it. Jaume Collet-Serra has a long history of being one of the best at exactly this kind of movie. He has a knack, a gift you might even say, for taking this kind…
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Cascadia Film & Television Critics Association 10 Best Films of 2024 | Cascadia Critics
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The membership of the Cascadia Film & Television Critics Association –the group I co-founded– has voted and our top ten films of the year list is now live! Once again the list is full of excellent films, including at least one or two you may not be expecting. Check the list here: https://www.cascadiacritics.com/2024/12/cascadia-critics-ten-best-films-of-2024/
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Better Know a Contributor: Matthew Simpson | Contra Zoom
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On this episode of Contra Zoom, the subject is me! In lieu of a full episode this week, we bring you the ninth in our series of bonus episodes, , where we ask frequent guests of the show 10 Contra Zoom Pod movie questions so you can learn more about your favourite voices. On this…
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The 10 Best Films You Didn’t See in 2024 | Exclaim!
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As part of Exclaim!’s 2024 year-end coverage, I contributed to this year’s 10 Best You Didn’t See list, writing about the Canadian gem The King Tide. The King Tide delivers a striking exploration of community, faith and the lengths people will go to in the name of faith. Set in a remote Newfoundland village, the…
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Exclaim!’s 10 Best TV Series of 2024 | Exclaim!
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As part of Exclaim!’s 2204 year end coverage, I contributed to the ten best television series of 2024 list, writing up the #6 entry: Mr & Mrs Smith: Balancing explosive action with sharp humour and tender moments, the series explores compatibility, trust and the challenges of partnership while on a mission and at home.…
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Exclaim!’s 20 Best Films of 2024 | Exclaim!
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As part of Exclaim’s 2024 year-end coverage, I was invited to participate in their 20 best films of 2024 list, contributing the write-up for the #3 pick: Civil War. Upon this movie’s release in the springtime, it felt like a warning; now, it feels like condemnation. Its plot feels scarily and potentially prescient, and…
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The Classics Shelf: Billy Wilder | That Shelf
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The Classics Shelf is an ongoing retrospective of classic cinema produced monthly by writer Bil Antoniou in collaboration with other writers in the That Shelf stable. This months edition is a celebration of the work of the great Billy Wilder, a director who made more than his share of outright classics. I contributed short…
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Brotherly Love Is a Balm in ‘A Real Pain’ | Exclaim!
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Everyone has someone in their life they oscillate wildly back and forth on whether they love or hate them. That person’s their complete opposite, but someone they’re inextricably connected to because, in some perverse way, they complete one another. The strengths of one are the weaknesses of the other and vice versa — and…
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Giallo! | Contra Zoom
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For our Halloween special this year we decided to fill in some horror blind spots and check out the Giallo collection that is available to stream on the Criterion Channel. We review Blood and Black Lace, Don’t Torture a Duckling and Deep Red. Joining the show is Matthew Simpson, one half of the Awesome Friday podcast. Listening Links