Category Archives: Reviews

TIFF FILM REVIEW: Hilary Swank in ‘Conviction’

Posted on September 14, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – Tony Goldwyn’s “Conviction” is a soundly constructed tale of an individual fighting against a travesty of justice with Hilary Swank as a high school dropout who devotes her life to becoming a lawyer in order … Continue reading →

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TIFF FILM REVIEW: Mickey Rourke in ‘Passion Play’

Posted on September 14, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – Screenwriter Mitch Glazer’s first directorial effort, “Passion Play” starring Mickey Rourke and Megan Fox is a sentimental noir fable aimed at movie buffs with a soft spot for tough guys with tender hearts. Rourke in … Continue reading →

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TIFF FILM REVIEW: Clive Owen in ‘Trust’

Posted on September 13, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – The title of David Schwimmer’s understated drama “Trust” derives from children and parents who have too much of it when dealing with the potential perils of internet chat rooms. Clive Owen provides a wrenching study … Continue reading →

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TIFF FILM REVIEW: Jeanne Labrune’s ‘Special Treatment’

Posted on September 13, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – Parisian sophistication is hard work in Jeanne Labrune’s ineffectual “Special Treatment,” which attempts to explore the similarities between prostitution and psychoanalysis. Isabelle Huppert plays a 40-ish uptown hooker bored with her chosen career path who … Continue reading →

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TIFF FILM REVIEW: ‘Made in Dagenham’

Posted on September 12, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – The real-life tale of a group of female machinists who took on the Ford Motor Company in England and earned equal pay for women gets a rousing and entertaining telling in Nigel Cole’s crowd-pleasing “Made … Continue reading →

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TIFF FILM REVIEW: Khalo Matabane’s ‘State of Violence’

Posted on September 12, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – Khalo Matabane’s South Africa-set “State of Violence” is a sturdy and straightforward parable about the way violence becomes an endless cycle unless someone is prepared to put a stop to it. Its linear story is … Continue reading →

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TIFF FILM REVIEW: ‘Behind Blue Skies’

Posted on September 11, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – Swedish filmmaker Hannes Holm turns a jaundiced eye on 1970s idealism and nostalgia in “Behind Blue Skies” but its discordant elements leave it not as funny and penetrating as it was no doubt intended to … Continue reading →

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TIFF FILM REVIEW: Kristian Petri’s ‘Bad Faith’

Posted on September 11, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – The banality of evil takes a hammering in Kristian Petri’s “Bad Faith,” a stylish but illogical tale of ordinary people with an appetite for murder. Thrillers don’t necessarily need to be plausible but the coincidences … Continue reading →

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LOCARNO FILM REVIEW: Tayfun Pirselimoglu’s ‘Hair’

Posted on August 13, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett LOCARNO, Switzerland – Turkish director Tayfun Pirselimoglu’s “Hair” is a dreary and dispiriting tale of a wig seller dying of cancer who becomes obsessed with a woman married to a man who washes corpses for a living. … Continue reading →

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LOCARNO FILM REVIEW: Hongqui Li’s ‘Winter Vacation’

Posted on August 12, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett LOCARNO, Switzerland – There are many slow and uneventful scenes in Hongqi Li’s labored comedy “Winter Vacation” that are intended to show how slow and uneventful a break from school can be for teenagers in a snowbound … Continue reading →

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