In this Meet me at the Movies/Screen Scene spotlight interview, Noel T. Manning II talks with Oscar nominee Wagner Moura about his acclaimed performance as Marcelo/Armando in The Secret Agent. Moura discusses the atmospheric impact of this 1970’s infused international… Read More ›
Elevation Pictures
“Tuner” expertly uses all the right tools to fine-tune a pitch-perfect crime-thriller rom-com. [TIFF]
What does one expect when a documentarian partners with a co-writer to write and direct his first feature? If you guessed a riveting, pulse-setting, sensational thriller about a heist and love and the chaos that unfolds, then you’d be right… Read More ›
“Steal Away” with actors Mallori Johnson and Angourie Rice. [TIFF]
Clement Virgo (Brother) is back with another powerful drama while, again, pulling double duty as director and as part of the co-writing team with newcomer Tamara Berger. Steal Away balances a multitude of themes, ensuring that the film cannot get… Read More ›
Chandler Levack’s “Mile End Kicks” tangles with the struggles of early adulthood against the Montreal grunge scene of the 2010s. [TIFF]
Chandler Levack (I Like Movies) is back with her sophomore feature and Mile End Kicks makes one wonder what horrible tragedies and injustices Chandler went through herself or if there are a lot of creative liberties being taken in her… Read More ›
Filmmakers Dusty Mancinelli and Madeleine Sims-Fewer invite audiences to experience psychotic drama “Honey Bunch.” [TIFF]
Writers and directors Dusty Mancinelli and Madeline Sims-Fewer are back with another movie entrenched in trauma and decision-making. After their last outing, Violation (2020), which is a much more difficult watch content-wise, they deliver Honey Bunch which focuses on the… Read More ›
Wagner Moura gives an outstanding performance in “The Secret Agent,” an otherwise bogged-down thriller. [TIFF]
Writer/director Kleber Mendonça Filho (Bacurau) is back with The Secret Agent (O Agente Secreto) starring Wagner Moura (Civil War). A harrowing story of escape and refugee sanctuary, it feels more like a less comedic version of a serious take on… Read More ›
Gail Maurice, Dana Solomon, and Derica Lafrance make their marks with “Blood Lines.” [TIFF]
Family dramas are always difficult subjects and can either be rewarding or miss the mark entirely. Thankfully, Gail Maurice (Rosie) pulls off quadruple duty as writer, director, producer, and actor well, and leads Dana Solomon and Derica Lafrance (in their… Read More ›
“Sentimental Value (Affeksjonsverdi)” drops audiences into the middle of a complex daughters/father relationship complete with Hollywood drama. [TIFF]
Audiences connected with the last outing by Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt as writers and Renate Reinsve (The Worst Person in the World) in a lead role in a meaningful way. Back again in the same roles, the trio brings… Read More ›
The web series turned tv show now turned feature film “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie” brings the familiar chaos of Johnson and McCarrol to the big screen. [TIFF]
Have you ever heard of the incredibly Canadian television show Nirvanna the Band the Show? No? It premiered on Vice in 2016 after being a web series in 2007. The show was about two friends who create a band called… Read More ›
Open Dialogue with “Conclave” actor Carlos Diehz.
In Episode 581 of Meet Me at the Movies, Thomas Manning sits down with breakout star Carlos Diehz, who portrays Cardinal Benítez in Edward Berger’s gripping drama Conclave. From the soul of his performance to the spiritual undercurrents of the… Read More ›
The “Conclave” home release on 4K has unanimous support.
The sin Cardinal Lawrence fears may be “certainty,” but Conclave (2024) is a film forged with it, and the 4K UHD home release is no different. The extras include a featurette on the making of the film and a director’s… Read More ›
Edward Berger’s captivating and politically relevant thriller, “Conclave,” arrives on digital.
Directed by Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front) and based on a 2016 novel of the same name, Conclave is a tense drama that pits progress, ethics, coexistence, and empathy against corruption and abuses of power, a battle… Read More ›
A full pew of talent on all sides of the pulpit delivers a flawless thriller in “Conclave.” [TIFF]
How does one, specifically Edward Berger, follow up All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)? With one of the most interesting and captivating stories about selecting a new Pope and the events that happen during the conclave. For a task… Read More ›
“Anora” writer/director Sean Baker does what he does best in bringing out incredible performances from his cast. [TIFF]
I want to preface this with the fact that I am a fan of Sean Baker (writer, director, producer, editor). I think his last three movies (Tangerine (2015), Florida Project (2017), and Red Rocket (2021)) are all incredible pieces of… Read More ›
Apocalyptic musical “The End” is both chaotic and balanced to mixed results. [TIFF]
Musicals about the apocalypse or the end of the world are certainly not new territory, but they all succeed to various mileage. While there is no world where a Mad Max-type movie is going to put to song, Joshua Oppenheimer’s… Read More ›
Caitlin Cronenberg’s “Humane” mixes the battle royale genre with a reverse whodunnit, creating an uncomfortably real-feeling fictional future.
The word on everyone’s lips in the entertainment industry these days is “nepotism,” and in turn, the term “nepo baby,” used to describe those with immense parental connections within the industry which give them a springboard into their own careers,… Read More ›
A Conversation with directors David Darg and Price James. [Fantasia Film Festival]
In this interview, Thomas Manning sits down with directors David Darg and Price James, the filmmakers behind the Fantasia Film Festival selection documentary, You Cannot Kill David Arquette. Branded as the most hated man in wrestling after winning a highly… Read More ›