This is an expanded rewrite of the review originally published as part of our coverage of TIFF 2024 A has-been actress uses an experimental drug to become a better version of herself in The Substance. Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) is a once-popular actress who has now been reduced to hosting the aerobics program Sparkle Your […]

A has-been actress uses an experimental drug to become a better version of herself in The Substance. Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) is a once-popular actress now reduced to hosting the aerobics program Sparkle Your Life. However, Elisabeth ends up being fired, on her birthday, by her chauvinistic boss Harvey (Dennis Quaid), who begins looking for […]

Yorgos Lanthimos directs a triptych fable in Kinds of Kindness. In The Death of R.M.F., Robert (Jesse Plemons) refuses to do a task for his friend and benefactor Raymond (Willem Dafoe) and his wife Vivian (Margaret Qualley). This results in Raymond cutting off Robert, resulting in his life falling apart, including losing his wife Sarah […]

Two lesbian friends on a road trip accidentally take an important package wanted by a group of criminals in Drive-Away Dolls. A group of criminals led by The Cheif (Colman Domingo), intercepts a very important briefcase from nervous collector Santos (Pedro Pascal) and prepares to have his goons Arliss (Joey Slotnick) and Flint (C.J. Wilson) […]

A hotel heir’s attempt to fire his dominatrix leads to a vicious battle of the sexes in Sanctuary. Hal Porterfield (Christopher Abbott) is on the cusp of taking over his late father’s hotel empire. He has one final session with his regular dominatrix Rebecca (Margaret Qualley), before letting her know that he will no longer […]

Quentin Tarantino brings us back to 1969 Los Angeles in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. In February 1969, fading 1950s television star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) is struggling to find work for himself and his stuntman best friend Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), other than the various villain of the week roles on TV pilots. […]

A private investigator and enforcer reluctantly team up to locate a missing woman in The Nice Guys. Holland March (Ryan Gosling) is a private investigator in 1977 Los Angeles, who is currently looking for a missing girl named Amelia Kutner (Margaret Qualley). However, Amelia doesn’t want to be found and hires Jackson Healy (Russell Crowe) to tell […]

It’s time once again for my monthly look at independent film. This month, I went to see the Irish film Once. This film can be classified as a romantic musical. However, unlike most musicals, where singing starts for no apparent reason, this is a more realistic type of musical. The romantic part of the film […]