Matthew McConaughey

  • Review: ‘Sing 2’ aims for a high note

    ‘Sing 2’ takes the group to the next level as they head to a bigger stage and attempt to impress a cutthroat showrunner with their impressive covers.

  • Review: ‘The Gentlemen’ elevates the criminal element (Includes first-hand account)

    The world learned Guy Ritchie‘s name when he casted Brad Pitt in Snatch as a gypsy boxer whose accent was so heavy and English so contorted, he needed subtitles. Though it was only his second feature film, it put him on the map. In addition, that movie and his debut, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, proved he had a talent for gangster pictures and their dialogue. Then he made a bunch of other movies over the next 20 years, branching off into similar genres and adapting his skills while refining his penchant for action. Now, he’s returned to write, direct and produce a new, original gangster film, The Gentlemen.

  • Review: ‘Serenity’ is working towards the unexpected (and unnecessary?) (Includes first-hand account)

    Living in a small town is great – except when it’s not. With fewer people populating the area, you’re more likely to know your neighbours but must also be more careful not to make too many enemies. It can be annoying when everyone knows everyone else’s business… but occasionally beneficial. On the one hand, busybodies inquire about things that don’t concern them; on the other, news travels so fast you can act on an opportunity or avoid something harmful before it’s even decided. Serenity is about a fisherman who’s been looking for peace for a long time, but a carefully watched series of events is about to push him further from its embrace.

  • Review: TIFF 2018: ‘White Boy Rick’ makes a lot of poor decisions (Includes first-hand account)

    Regardless of where or how one grows up, they will be presented with many options throughout their lives that will inform the direction of their immediate and distant futures. Naturally, one’s environment and socio-economic class will influence the types of choices available, but the decision-maker is still responsible for the consequences of their actions — good or bad. The people one is surrounded by also impacts how they choose to live their lives, whether it’s to follow the herd or carve their own path. In White Boy Rick, an adolescent is faced with some difficult decisions with potentially extensive consequences.

  • Review: ‘The Dark Tower’ is on another path (Includes first-hand account)

    For as long as filmmakers have been adapting books for the screen, there have been a number of works deemed not filmable either due to their length, complexity or demands on the imagination. Then a visionary arrives who sees a way, often through modern techniques, to achieve the impossible. There have been many instances in which the ability to do something has not equated to the ability to do it well, but we still award these creators an A+ for effort. Of course sometimes the answer is to simply do it differently. More than a decade after the last book in the series was written, The Dark Tower is making its big screen debut.

  • ‘The Dark Tower’ trailer is a bit of a conundrum for book fans (Includes first-hand account)

    There was a time when turning a lengthy book or series into a film was considered a challenge and a risk that was often only accepted by television studios in favour of a miniseries. The fear of cutting out too much and engaging the wrath of fans was too great. But then in 2001, Peter Jackson demonstrated there was a right — and profitable — way to adapt a book series for multiple theatrical films, beginning with The Lord of the Rings. Since then innumerable stories have been adapted for the screen, the latest being Stephen King‘s The Dark Tower series, which released its first trailer.

  • Review: ‘Gold’ is filled with riches and rocks (Includes first-hand account)

    During the Gold Rush, most lands were untouched and anyone could strike it rich with a little luck. But the more metal deposits they found, the harder it became to find new ones. Now trained geologists study the composition of certain areas and try to predict the location of new resources, but it’s not an exact science and there’s more misses than there are hits. In Gold, two guys who’ve experienced significant misses in recent years may have finally found the target.

  • Review: Can’t take your eyes off ‘Kubo and the Two Strings’ (Includes first-hand account)

    Storytelling has taken many forms over time. While many now rely on movies and TV to deliver their narratives, before that books were key sources of entertainment. But even before the inventions of ink and paper that allowed for any of these tales to be recorded, they were passed on through word-of-mouth. Sharing ancient stories between generations was a favoured pastime and encouraged everyone to use their imaginations. With a touch of magic, Kubo and the Two Strings revives this tradition in Laika‘s latest stop-motion animated film.