Monthly Archives: September 2016

Angie Dickinson was TV’s first top female cop

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Angie Dickinson, who turns 85 today, claimed many a young man’s heart in 1959 when, as a woman named Feathers, she squared off in only corset and tights against John Wayne in the great Howard … Continue reading

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TIFF2016: Women lead the way at Toronto fest

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – The big talking point at the 41st annual Toronto International Film Festival, which ended Sunday, was the sheer number of films that featured high-profile performances by women. Around 400 titles were screened at the shindig, … Continue reading

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TIFF FILM REVIEW: Rob Reiner’s ‘LBJ’

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – Rob Reiner’s “LBJ” is an absorbing drama about President Lyndon Baines Johnson’s first days in office that is made memorable by a skillful and insightful performance by Woody Harrelson. The film had its World Premiere … Continue reading

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TIFF FILM REVIEW: Gemma Arterton in ‘Their Finest’

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – Lone Scherfig’s “Their Finest” is a crowd-pleasing British World War II comedy that tells of a hapless group of filmmakers at work on a morale-boosting movie with outstanding performances by Gemma Arterton and Bill Nighy … Continue reading

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Breaking even with Nicol Williamson

By Ray Bennett One afternoon in 2004 or so, I was in one of my local London pubs, The Cock and Bottle in Notting Hill. The saloon bar was empty except for me and the actor Nicol Williamson. We sat … Continue reading

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TIFF FILM REVIEW: Mick Jackson’s ‘Denial’

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – Mick Jackson’s “Denial” tells of a loudmouth who calls himself an outsider and makes offensively racist comments that he claims are jokes. No, it’s not Donald J. Trump, it’s a British writer named David Irving, … Continue reading

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TIFF FILM REVIEW: Natalie Portman in ‘Jackie’

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – Chilean director Pablo Larrain’s “Jackie” purports to tell what Jacqueline Kennedy did in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. If the film is to be believed, the answer is: not … Continue reading

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TIFF FILM REVIEW: Amma Asante’s ‘A United Kingdom’

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – Amma Asante’s “A United Kingdom” tells with wit and relish the true story of the Forties romance between a black African Prince and a white English typist and the perils they face in both their … Continue reading

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TIFF FILM REVIEW: Tom Ford’s ‘Nocturnal Animals’

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – Tom Ford’s “Nocturnal Animals”, starring Amy Adams and Jake Gylenhaal, is a handsome but fragmented drama about a woman in her 40s who feels alienated from life until a novel written by a former husband … Continue reading

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TIFF FILM REVIEW: Garth Davis’s ‘Lion’

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – “Lion” tells the incredible true story of a 5 year-old Indian boy named Saroo who gets lost and ends up 1000 miles away from his impoverished family, lands in an orphanage and is adopted by … Continue reading

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