Category Archives: Reviews

THEATRE REVIEW: Ugly Lies the Bone

Posted on March 3, 2017 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – Mind over matter is refined in Lindsey Ferrentino’s absorbing new play “Ugly Lies the Bone” at the National Theatre to the application of virtual reality to deal with physical and emotional pain.

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Sixty years a film critic … how it all started

Posted on February 23, 2017 by admin

By Ray Bennett LONDON – My life as film critic began 60 years ago with a log of movies I saw along with my verdict on each one. I was 11. The first movie image I recall seeing was of … Continue reading →

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FILM REVIEW: Damien Chazelle’s ‘La La Land’

Posted on December 12, 2016 by admin

By Ray Bennett Damien Chazell’s musical fantasy “La La Land” starts badly but evolves into a sweet little film for romantics thanks largely to winning performances by Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling. A tale of two dreamers whose ambitions in … Continue reading →

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TIFF FILM REVIEW: Rob Reiner’s ‘LBJ’

Posted on September 15, 2016 by admin

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’

Posted on September 14, 2016 by admin

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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TIFF FILM REVIEW: Mick Jackson’s ‘Denial’

Posted on September 13, 2016 by admin

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’

Posted on September 13, 2016 by admin

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’

Posted on September 12, 2016 by admin

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’

Posted on September 12, 2016 by admin

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: Oliver Stone’s ‘Snowden’

Posted on September 10, 2016 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – Oliver Stone’s docudrama “Snowden”, with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden, is a typically well-crafted Stone film that combines biography with a passionate defense of the man’s actions. Snowden is a hero in Stone’s … Continue reading →

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