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‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’ Stands Alongside Animated Superhero Classics | Exclaim!
Spider-Man endures as one of the most iconic and relatable superheroes. He starts his journey when he’s just a kid, learning hard lessons early about the nature of responsibility — everyone knows the quote — and he spends his time trying to balance his normal life with his superhero life, to varying degrees of success. Peter Parker, in many ways, reflects us. He’s constantly pulled in different directions, sacrificing the life he wants for the aforementioned responsibility he feels to help the people of New York. We’ve all felt this push-pull of different obligations, wants and needs, and while his…
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Possession | The LAMBCast
Famous for it’s disturbing scene set in a subway station, “Possession” is the 1981 film from Polish Director Andrzej Żuławski. Is it a horror film, a psychological drama, or an autobiographical cry for help from a man going through a painful breakup? Whatever answer you come up with, you will still have to say it is one weird film. Mark is a spy, returning from an assignment that seems to have been in East Berlin. He is greeted by his wife Anna, who is looking to end their marriage when he returns to her and their young son in West…
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Star Trek: Section 31 Review: Fun characters and dazzling tech aren’t enough to save this uneven entry | That Shelf
Star Trek is one of the greatest pop culture franchises on the planet. It has been running for nearly 60 years, spanning more than 700 television episodes across ten series and thirteen—now fourteen—movies. It is a ubiquitous cultural touchstone that many people hold dear, this critic included. The beauty of the franchise is that it works as a framework for nearly any kind of story in any genre. We have seen Westerns, courtroom dramas, fantasy adventures, horror stories, musicals, and action movies, and they all work within the framework of a crew on a ship, exploring the galaxy and the furthest reaches…
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The Best Films of the Decade (So Far), Part 2 | Contra Zoom
[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 1! Huge thank you to the following people for sending in voicemails on behalf of films that made the list: Calum Macnab, Bryan Loomis, Brodie Cotnam, Daniel Grant, Matthew Simpson, Alex Watson, Martyn Strange, Matt Schmidt, Aria, Nathan Sizemore, Todd Pengelly, John Richards, Sean Wilson, Bil Antoniou, Jeff Bulmer, Harper Thompson, Rachel Ho and Nate Storring. Listening Links:
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Young Werther Review: A Delightful Modernization of Its Source Material | That Shelf
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 conflict at the centre of Young Werther—a film about a manic pixie dream boy who arrives in Toronto, meets a girl, and falls in immediate, unrequited love. Douglas Booth stars as Werther, a free-spirited and mildly narcissistic young man who arrives in Toronto to procure a sculpture for…
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Marvel’s What If…? Season 3 | That Shelf
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 Marvel Animation, now in its third season, continues this storytelling style with your favourite characters from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, delivering multiverse shenanigans with mixed—but mostly fun—results. Link: https://thatshelf.com/marvels-what-if-season-3-review/
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Cascadia Film & Television Critics Association 5 Best Television Series of 2024
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 cast is excellent, but it’s Harrison Ford who will reduce you to tears this year, giving a new career-best performance as a man facing down a debilitating disease and recognizing he needs to make the most of the time he has. Shrinking will make you laugh and cry…
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2025 Pandora International Critics Awards
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 for The Substance, which also snagged the Hair & Make-Up award. Also with two awards were The Brutalist, taking English-Language Film and Acting Lead for Adrien Brody; and RaMell Ross a double winner for Screenwriting Adapted and Breakthrough Filmmaking for Nickel Boys. They were not the highest tallies on…
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On Her Majesty’s Secret Service | The LAMBCast
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 he usually does for the MOTM and he is not shy about his opinions at all. So put on your Christmas Onesies, pour a martini (or a cup of cocoa) and get ready for some 007 Delights. If you don’t listen, there will be coal in…
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‘Carry-On’ Movie Review: Jaume Collet-Serra Returns to Form | Movies We Texted About
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 of trope-y, mildly silly, slightly convoluted movies and reliably turning them into fun, compelling thrillers that are better than anyone would ever expect them to be. But then Collet-Serra spent the last few years making big-budget movies with The Rock whicheach ended up being… not bad exactly but definitely not the kind of work…
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Cascadia Film & Television Critics Association 10 Best Films of 2024 | Cascadia Critics
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
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 show is Matthew Simpson, one half of the podcast. Dakota and Matthew discuss how to market a film podcast, how you can still discover Airplane! jokes even after dozens of viewings, what makes Sam Raimi so special and more! Listening Links:
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The 10 Best Films You Didn’t See in 2024 | Exclaim!
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 film follows the fallout when a child with the power to physically heal people is otherwise occupied when a fatal accident occurs, dividing the community between those who realize they should no longer exploit her and those who wish to continue no matter the cost. Link:…
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Exclaim!’s 10 Best TV Series of 2024 | Exclaim!
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. The writing is clever, the leads are dynamic and this re-imagining brings real emotional depth in one of the years biggest and most entertaining surprises. Link: https://exclaim.ca/film/article/exclaim-10-best-tv-series-of-2024
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Exclaim!’s 20 Best Films of 2024 | Exclaim!
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 its main themes — the role of a free press in a functioning society and what a civil war would actually look like in today’s America — have never been more important. This is even before we talk about the four incredible performances, the razor-sharp script,…
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.
