Author: Derrick Murray

Let’s get all of the disclosure out of the way so we can discuss this latest adaption of “Kiss of The Spider Woman” on its own merits. I have never read the original novel by Manuel Puig, nor have I seen the original film 1986 film adaption or seen the 1992 stage production. This latest iteration is my one and only version, so I have no frame of reference of anything that came before it and this review will be absent of commentary on what was changed and what was better or worse in any of the previous works. I…

There’s a collection of films that I’d count as a one and done, the kind that leave you so unnerved and unsettled that even if you walk away feeling like you’ve just watched a masterpiece you never want to sit through the experience again. “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” is that kind of experience, a near two our panic attack in film form that runs its viewers through a gamut of emotional turmoil and leaves you exhausted in the end. I’ll be honest, it took some reflection to come around on the film’s undeniable staying power. There’s nothing…

Safdie’s final product feels more self indulgent than self reflective, and approaches the material at arms length and a sort of meandering disinterest in his subject. At no point in “The Smashing Machine” does it feel like the director personally connects to his story or work, leaving the film to be a rather pedestrian sports biopic dressed up as an auteur’s vision.

“Eternity” is the perfect date night film, one you should see with the one you love, the one you can cherish now until the end and beyond. It will make you want to hold a lover close and remind you why you fell in love in the first place.

“Roofman” is a heartfelt showcase for Tatum and a light watch whose safe play and sticking to convention ends up serving as a compliment to its charm

As Boys II Men would say, we’ve come to the end of the road for our time at the Toronto International Film Festival. After nearly 90 films (yes, really) the wide array of films are still being processed in my over stimulated brain. An official Best Of list is still being compiled, as I will have to start digging through the very long Letterboxd log and really ordering the vast catalog. But as many of them are still fresh, I thought it would be fun to begin to at least start putting films into unique categories and recapping the overall…

“My Father’s Shadow” is a profound piece of cinema, a wondrous triumph and one of the best films of the year.

We are 7 days into the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and full disclosure: I am absolutely crashing out. I have crossed the 70 festival film mark with a steady average of 5-6 films a day on the ground, so you can imagine how mushy my brain is after consuming so much cinema in such a short period of time. But there are more films to see, and some true standouts among the wreckage of my mind, so here are 6 under the radar films that we highly recommend putting on your must-see list immediately. “The Furious” One of the…

With everyone arriving in Toronto for the 50th anniversary of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) which kicks off September 4th, we’ve been hard at work covering as many films as possible ahead of time. Probably TOO many if we’re being honest. But nevertheless, we are dedicated to bringing you plenty of coverage for the next two weeks by covering as many films as possible. While the big titles won’t kick off until deeper into the festival, but we’ve seen plenty of the smaller titles that we want to highlight! So here are 10 more films we’ve seen at TIFF!…

Adapting the works of Stephen King into feature films has been common practice for many years. Not only is he quite prolific and admired across decades of work, but he tends to write in a cinematic formula that often feels like they were always meant to be movies. Of course, King’s film adaptions have been met with varying degrees of success, even some of his championed work being all but disowned by King himself (ie “The Shining”). Hollywood has started to dig a little deeper into his the works, and”The Long Walk” proves that that deep dive is the right…