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Sophie Okonedo stars in Skin.
Better
Things
Rating: ****
Loosely related stories of love, loss and loneliness are brought together in Duane Hopkins’ powerful, impeccably paced first full-length feature, Better Things. With very minimal dialogue, the film is compelled to communicate primarily through visual expression, a task performed impressively by a cast of mostly first-time actors.
Characters act or sometimes just exist to a limited supporting soundtrack that emphasizes natural sounds and silence to build a realist drama. It’s not for mainstream audiences, but for modern artistic cinema buffs, it doesn’t get much better than Better Things.
– Brian Coulton/for Metro Toronto
Happy-Go-Lucky
Rating: *** 1/2
Happy-Go-Lucky quite aptly describes the mood and spirit of director Mike Leigh’s (Topsy-Turvy, Vera Drake) new picture — although the quiet desperation of contemporary London still manages to lurk under the surface. Poppy (Sally Hawkins) is a 30-year-old London schoolteacher who always looks on the bright side of life. She loves her job, adores her friends — and she especially cherishes her personal freedom.
When her bike gets stolen, Poppy casually decides to take driving lessons. However, she gets saddled with a terminally angry and bitter instructor (Eddie Marsan), who slowly becomes obsessed with her. While not much comes of the rest of the story, Happy-Go-Lucky still basks in Sally Hawkins’ eccentrically charming and spirited performance.
– Kevin Courrier/for Metro Toronto
Che: Part 1
Rating: ****
Split into two films after a mixed reception at Cannes, the first part of Steven Soderbergh’s epic bio-pic of Che Guevara is the movie audiences would expect. The film is about the revolutionary’s triumphant victory in Cuba told in the hyper-realist aesthetic that the director first employed in Traffic.
The movie combines the harsh realities of fighting in the Cuban jungles with a 16mm recreation of Guevara’s infamous speech to the UN.
It’s a powerful ode to the cultural icon with a stunning lead performance by Benicio Del Toro that is enriched by the more pessimistic second film.
– Phil Brown/for Metro Toronto
Che: Part 2
Rating: ****
This second chapter of Steven Soderbergh’s ode to Che Guevara is an indispensable companion piece to the first ...[next page]
Rating: ****
Loosely related stories of love, loss and loneliness are brought together in Duane Hopkins’ powerful, impeccably paced first full-length feature, Better Things. With very minimal dialogue, the film is compelled to communicate primarily through visual expression, a task performed impressively by a cast of mostly first-time actors.
Characters act or sometimes just exist to a limited supporting soundtrack that emphasizes natural sounds and silence to build a realist drama. It’s not for mainstream audiences, but for modern artistic cinema buffs, it doesn’t get much better than Better Things.
– Brian Coulton/for Metro Toronto
Happy-Go-Lucky
Rating: *** 1/2
Happy-Go-Lucky quite aptly describes the mood and spirit of director Mike Leigh’s (Topsy-Turvy, Vera Drake) new picture — although the quiet desperation of contemporary London still manages to lurk under the surface. Poppy (Sally Hawkins) is a 30-year-old London schoolteacher who always looks on the bright side of life. She loves her job, adores her friends — and she especially cherishes her personal freedom.
When her bike gets stolen, Poppy casually decides to take driving lessons. However, she gets saddled with a terminally angry and bitter instructor (Eddie Marsan), who slowly becomes obsessed with her. While not much comes of the rest of the story, Happy-Go-Lucky still basks in Sally Hawkins’ eccentrically charming and spirited performance.
– Kevin Courrier/for Metro Toronto
Che: Part 1
Rating: ****
Split into two films after a mixed reception at Cannes, the first part of Steven Soderbergh’s epic bio-pic of Che Guevara is the movie audiences would expect. The film is about the revolutionary’s triumphant victory in Cuba told in the hyper-realist aesthetic that the director first employed in Traffic.
The movie combines the harsh realities of fighting in the Cuban jungles with a 16mm recreation of Guevara’s infamous speech to the UN.
It’s a powerful ode to the cultural icon with a stunning lead performance by Benicio Del Toro that is enriched by the more pessimistic second film.
– Phil Brown/for Metro Toronto
Che: Part 2
Rating: ****
This second chapter of Steven Soderbergh’s ode to Che Guevara is an indispensable companion piece to the first ...[next page]
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