Bradley Cooper’s feature directorial debut, A Star Is Born, knocks it out of the park thanks to a stellar performance from Lady Gaga. Following a performance, country rock star Jackson Maine (Bradley Cooper) hits up whatever establishment he can find for alcohol. It just so happens that he lands up one bar’s drag performance night. A former employee, Ally (Lady Gaga) just happens to grace the stage that night. When Jackson sees her perform, he…
"TIFF 2018: A Star Is Born – A Home Run"Month: September 2018
The late Swedish filmmaker Ingmar Bergman’s 100th birthday is celebrated with a new documentary, Searching for Ingmar Bergman. In honor of what would be the Oscar nominee’s centennial birthday, director Margarethe von Trotta speaks with family members, Bergman’s actors, and Swedish filmmakers on the rise. In doing so, we get a better idea of who Bergman was as a person and why he made the films he did. What von Trotta seeks to examine are those…
"TIFF 2018: Searching for Ingmar Bergman"
Rosie takes us through 36 hours of a couple and their children upon becoming homeless and learning how to survive without losing their dignity. The film starts as Rosie Davis (Sarah Greene) and partner John Paul (Moe Dunford) find themselves in a tricky situation. Kicked out of their home with nowhere to go, Rosie has a list of numbers provided by the Social Welfare Housing list. All she wants is to find a place for her…
"TIFF 2018: Rosie"
For a romantic comedy, Kingsway certainly does get funny at times but the film’s content delves into dark comedy territory. After semiotics professor Matt Horvat (Jeff Gladstone) spots his wife’s motorcycle at a hotel, he rushes to tell his car mechanic sister, Jess Horvat (Camille Sullivan), and mother, Marion Horvat (Gabrielle Rose). The two of them immediately jump to the conclusion that Jeff’s wife, Lori (Colleen Rennison), must be having an affair. Whether she is…
"TIFF 2018: Kingsway – This Comedy Gets Dark"
Black 47 offers a Western vibe as the film takes us back to 1847 when the country of Ireland was two years into their battle with the Great Famine. Feeney (James Frecheville) returns to his home in Ireland after deciding to leave the British Army. Nothing prepares him for the horrible conditions he’s about to face. Despite having seen the conditions that war provides, the famine provides for some sights he wasn’t ready for. Feeney discovers…
"TIFF 2018: Black 47 – An Irish Western"
Being billed as Robert Redford’s final acting performance, the actor delivers quite possibly for the last time in The Old Man & The Gun. We’re taken back in time to 1981 when Forrest Tucker (Robert Redford) was planning so many bank robberies. What’s so perplexing about it was that this old man couldn’t have been nicer to the bank tellers. In the words of many of them, he was pretty much almost a perfect gentleman! …
"TIFF 2018: The Old Man & The Gun"
Working Woman director Michal Aviad joined Solzy at the Movies to discuss the Israeli film ahead of the international premiere at TIFF. Congrats on Working Woman holding its International Premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival. Films such as this one couldn’t be more relevant given everything in the news over the last year. How much did the rise of the #MeToo movement help in getting the film completed? Michal Aviad: #Metoo for me…
"TIFF 2018: Michal Aviad talks Working Woman"
Phil Donlon spoke to Solzy at the Movies ahead of High & Outside: A Baseball Noir‘s limited run at the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago. Congrats on the upcoming limited release of High & Outside: A Baseball Noir. Phil Donlon: Thank you. While the baseball aspect is what drew me to cover the film in the first place, this film is more than just the sport alone. I see it as a film about…
"Phil Donlon talks High & Outside"
Led by a truly remarkable performance from Cobie Smulders, Alright Now is an improvisational feat. American-born rock musician Joanne Skye decides to enroll in college after ending a relationship with her boyfriend. Her band was unable to attract an audience on tour. This leads to the Filthy Dukes quickly collapsing. It’s foolish decision after foolish decision leading to Joanne enrolling in a coastal college during one drunken night. Yep, there’s a meet-cute with admissions clerk,…
"Alright Now: Improvised In 5 Days"
With Labor Day weekend marking the end of the summer and official Awards Season kickoff, I’m going to take a look at some of this year’s summer winners and losers. The definition of what a summer movie has changed over the years. Instead of the first Friday of May kicking summer off at the box office, the season started at the end of April. Winner: Documentaries With films such as RBG, Won’t You Be My…
"Summer Movie Season: 2018 Winners and Losers"