Author Archives: admin

TIFF FILM REVIEW: Guillermo del Toro’s ‘The Shape of Water’

Posted on September 14, 2017 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water” is a dazzling piece of cinema, a fairy tale for grownups that celebrates the joys of life amid every day banality with the occasional touch of horror. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews | Tagged 'The Shape of Water', Dan Laustsen, Doug Jones, Guillermo del Toro, Lula Sequoia, Michael Shannon, Michael Stuhlberg, Octavia Spencer, Paul D. Austerberry, Richard Jenkins, Sally Hawkins, TIFF, Toronto International Film Festival, Vanessa Taylor | Comments Off

TIFF FILM REVIEW: ‘Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool’

Posted on September 13, 2017 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool” is a disappointingly dismal film about a has-been Hollywood actress who has an affair with an on-the-make young British actor while she deals with her fading career and a … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews, TIFF Toronto International Film Festival | Comments Off

TIFF FILM REVIEW: Alexander Payne’s ‘Downsizing’

Posted on September 10, 2017 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – Alexander Payne’s “Downsizing” is a science-fiction tale that mixes whimsy with social commentary in constantly surprising ways but with ideas so scattershot that they never adhere as a satisfying drama. His filmmaking is so imaginative, … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews, TIFF Toronto International Film Festival | Tagged 'Downsizing', Alexander Payne, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau, Jason Sudeikas, Jim Taylor, Kristen Wiig, Matt Damon, TIFF, Toronto International Film Festival | Comments Off

TIFF FILM REVIEW: Stephen Frears’s ‘Victoria and Abdul’

Posted on September 10, 2017 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – That Judy Dench stars as the venerable English queen in “Victoria and Albert” tells you all you need to know about what to expect from another tale of one of the widowed monarch’s odd friendships.

Posted in Film, Reviews, TIFF Toronto International Film Festival | Tagged 'Victoria and Abdul', Adeel Akhtar, Ali Fazal; Olivia Williams, Eddie Izzard, Fenella Woolgar, Judi Dench, Lee Hall, Michael Gambon, Simon Callow, Stephen Frears, Thomas Newman, TIFF, Tim Pigott-Smith, Toronto International Film Festival, Working Title Films | Comments Off

TIFF FILM REVIEW: George Clooney’s ‘Suburbicon’

Posted on September 9, 2017 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – Joyless, witless and pointless, “Suburbicon” is a would-be black comedy that is simply murky and not in the least comic. It boasts some big names – director George Clooney, stars Matt Damon and Julianne Moore … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews, TIFF Toronto International Film Festival | Tagged 'Suburbicon', Alexandre Desplat, Ethan Coen, George Clooney, Joel Coen, Julianne Moore, Matt Damon, Oscar Isaac, TIFF, Toronto Inernational Film Festival | 1 Comment

TIFF FILM REVIEW: Dee Rees’s ‘Mudbound’

Posted on September 7, 2017 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO: “Mudbound” is set in the Mississippi Delta in the 1940s but with torrential rain, deeply ingrained racial hostility and changes wrought by World War II, it’s no treat to beat your feet. Two poor families – … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews, TIFF Toronto International Film Festival | Tagged 'Mud bound', Carey Mulligan, David Bomba, Dee Rees, Garrett Hedlund, Jason Mitchell, Jonathan Banks, Mary J. Blige, Rachel Morrison, Rob Morgan, Tamar-kali, TIFF, Toronto International Film Festival | 1 Comment

Drinking wine in the sunshine with Patrick Swayze

Posted on August 18, 2017 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Patrick Swayze jumped menacingly from the corral fence to the dusty ground of his ranch in the flats next to the Angeles Forest in La Canada. “Steve McQueen said what?” he said. “There’s nothing tough … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Interviews, Memory Lane, Music | Tagged 'Dirty Dancing', 'North and South', Jennifer Grey, Lesley Anne Down, Lisa Niemi, Patrick Swayze, Patsy Swayze, Steve McQueen | Comments Off

FILM REVIEW: Taylor Sheridan’s ‘Wind River’

Posted on August 4, 2017 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – The bleak but beautiful frozen wilds of Utah substitute readily for Montana in Taylor Sheridan’s taut, violent and gripping crime drama “Wind River” in which Jeremy Renner is both cool and moving as a troubled … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews | Tagged 'Wind River', Ben Richardson, Elizabeth Olsen, Graham Greene, Jeremy Renner, Jon Bernthal, Nick Cave, Tantoo Cardinal, Taylor Sheridan, The Weinstein Company, Warren Ellis | Comments Off

The night Jeanne Moreau and I had square bottoms

Posted on July 31, 2017 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Standing alone in the middle of the stalls before a concert in Ghent, I saw the petite figure of a woman enter the hall and stroll to the seat directly in front of me. She … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Memory Lane | Tagged Burt Lancaster, Flanders International Film Festival, Jeanne Moreau, Orson Welles, Tony Curtis | Comments Off

FILM REVIEW: Christopher Nolan’s ‘Dunkirk’

Posted on July 22, 2017 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” is a spectacular fireworks show filled with exciting action but as a record of an iconic World War II event it falls short and as human drama it’s a damp squib. When … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews | Tagged 'Dunkirk', Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy, Fionn Whitehead, Hans Nejrno, Hans Zimmer, IMAX, Jack Lowdon, Joe Wright, Keith Park, Kenneth Brannagh, Mark Rylace, Operation Dynamo, Science Museum, Seamus McGarvey, Tom Hardy, Warner Bros. | Comments Off