Category Archives: Film

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 →

Posted in Film, Reviews | Tagged Brent Bailey, Jennifer Jason Leigh, John F. Kennedy, Lydon Baines Johnson, Marc Shaiman, Michael Stall-David, Richard Jenkins, Rob Reiner, Robert Kennedy, Toronto International Film Festival. 'LBJ', Woody Harrelson | Comments Off

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 →

Posted in Film, Reviews, TIFF Toronto International Film Festival | Tagged 'Their Finest', Amanda Posey, Bill Nighy, Eddie Manson, Gaby Chiappe, Gemma Arterton, Helen McCrory, Henry Goodman, Jack Huston, Jeremy Irons, Lionsgate, Lissa Evans, Lone Scherfig, Rachael Sterling, Rachel Portman, Richard E. Grant, Sam Claflin, Stephen Woolley, Toronto International Film Festival | Comments Off

Breaking even with Nicol Williamson

Posted on September 14, 2016 by admin

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 →

Posted in Film, Memory Lane | Tagged 'Rex', 'Robin and Marian', Audrey Hepburn, Nicole Williamson, Richard Lester, Richard Rodgers, Sean Connery, The Cock and Bottle | 1 Comment

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 →

Posted in Film, Reviews, TIFF Toronto International Film Festival | Tagged 'Denial', Andrew Scott, David Irving, Deborah Lipstadt, Mick Jackson, Rachel Weisz, Timothy Spall, Tom Wilkinson, Toronto International Film Festival | Comments Off

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 →

Posted in Film, Reviews, TIFF Toronto International Film Festival | Tagged 'Camelot', 'Jackie', Billy Crudup, Greta Gerwig, Jacqueline Kennedy, John Carroll Lynch, John Hurt, Natalie Portman, Pablo Larrain, Peter Sarsgaard, Richard Burton, Richard E. Grant | Comments Off

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 →

Posted in Film, Reviews, TIFF Toronto International Film Festival | Tagged 'A United Kingdom', Amma Assante, David Oyelowo, Jack Davenport, Patrick Doyle, Rosamund Pike, Tom Felton, Toronto International Film Festival | Comments Off

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 →

Posted in Film, Reviews, TIFF Toronto International Film Festival | Tagged 'Nocturnal Animals', Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Abel Korzeniowski, Amy Adams, Andrea Riseborough, Armie Hammer, Focus Pictures, Jake Gyllenhaal, Laura Linney, Michael Shannon, Michael Sheen, Tom Ford, Universal Pictures | Comments Off

TIFF FILM REVIEW: Garth Davis’s ‘Lion’

Posted on September 11, 2016 by admin

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 →

Posted in Film, TIFF Toronto International Film Festival | Tagged 'Lion', Dev Patel, Garth Davis, Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara, Sunny Pawer, Toronto International Film Festival | Comments Off

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 →

Posted in Film, Reviews, TIFF Toronto International Film Festival | Tagged 'Snowden', Craig Armstrong, Edward Snowden, Joely Richardson, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Melissa Leo, Nicolas Cage, Oliver Stone, Peter Gabriel, Rhys Ifans, Shailene Woodley, The Guardian, Timothy Olyphant, Tom Wilkinson, Zachary Quinto | Comments Off

TIFF FILM REVIEW: Denis Villeneuve’s ‘Arrival’

Posted on September 9, 2016 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – Science-fiction movies that threaten to depict creatures from outer-space generally leave me cold but Denis Villeneuve’s “Arrival” presents a plausible “what if?” grounded in a contemplative question for humankind with another standout performance by Amy … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Reviews, TIFF Toronto International Film Festival | Tagged 'Arrival', Amy Adams, Anthony Weeden, Denis Villeneuve, Forest Whitaker, Jeremy Renner, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Michael Stuhlberg, Toronto International Film Festival | Comments Off