![[VIFF 2021] REVIEW: 'The Electrical Life of Louis Wain' is low voltage drama](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5856d460197aea66c1dc96bf/1634316671821-1H1DZQVK89WAG2O9SGYR/The+Electrical+Life+1.jpg)
Even an A-list cast can’t save the film from becoming a cliched fable about an eccentric polymath, which glosses over some of the issues that plagued the life and legacy of the real Louis Wain.
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![[VIFF 2021] REVIEW: A droning 'Benediction'](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5856d460197aea66c1dc96bf/1634316133783-2KWOKJDFYMRG5GMIYWMV/Benediction+1.jpeg)
Benediction escapes most of the traps in a straightforward biopic – we don’t really see the events that turn Sassoon into a vocal critic of the war, nor do we see many scenes of him writing out poems. That can be a good thing, but what’s left behind are a smattering of sometimes incoherent scenes and little connective tissue.
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No Time to Die proves to be one of the most surprising turns for the franchise since Casino Royale itself. And while it deconstructs and redefines the Bond character in notable ways, it also retains many of the touchstones we crave.
Read More![[VIFF 2021] REVIEW: 'Red Rocket' takes off quickly but fizzles at the end](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5856d460197aea66c1dc96bf/1634096956600-DRJTYR52YPVY2IWB4HO0/Red+Rocket+.jpg)
It’s pretty amazing how Baker manages to find all these local people to act in his projects. Rex, a former adult film actor and all-round thespian, is perfectly cast in this role, and without his manic hand waving and fast talking, Red Rocket barely gets off the ground.
Read More![[VIFF 2021] REVIEW: 'One Second' demands your time](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5856d460197aea66c1dc96bf/1633697091056-Y3A68S6SE972KNN1ATNP/One+Second.jpeg)
It’s nice to get a reprieve from some of China’s big-budget films laden with special effects. Zhang’s films had grown to be more commercial than ever, reaching an unforgettable low point with The Great Wall (2016), but One Second is definitely worth your time
Read More![[VIFF 2021] REVIEW: 'Official Competition' produces a worthy competitor but not a winner](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5856d460197aea66c1dc96bf/1633638905825-5NY8V0FO05CV1TZP2NT3/Official-Competition+1.jpg)
Sometimes, a film executes its message so flawlessly it works against itself. The film becomes an example of what it is trying to satirize, and I think that’s what ultimately makes Official Competition grating when the credits roll.
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Copshop is a cops-and-criminals thriller with a funny streak that features a number of recognizable talents: Gerard Butler and Frank Grillo onscreen, and Joe Carnahan behind the camera. But more than anyone, it’s co-lead Alexis Louder who grabs your attention.
Read More![[TIFF 2021] REVIEW: ‘7 Prisoners’ slides into the underbelly of Brazil](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5856d460197aea66c1dc96bf/1632093768137-PAJ407YFHVS1MDVUFX9T/7+Prisoners+2.jpg)
A young man must find a way out of a human trafficking operation in São Paulo, in the new film by Brazilian-American filmmaker Alexandre Moratto.
Read More![[TIFF 2021] REVIEW: ‘France’ is bad news](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5856d460197aea66c1dc96bf/1631910858096-FXLZ49PMEPPCGNPBULKP/France+1.jpg)
Try as he might, Dumont’s film rarely feels like anything other than a perfume commercial grafted to an “old man yells at cloud” essay.
Read More![[TIFF 2021] REVIEW: ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’ is missing its sparkle](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5856d460197aea66c1dc96bf/1631653631739-JDGKI4SZYR6DYVG17QEV/Tammy+Faye+2.jpg)
The new film, despite featuring a higher budget, a recognizable cast, and the buzz of the 2021 festival circuit, fails to add meaningful value to the original telling of the story. Chastain and her co-star Andrew Garfield (as Jim Bakker) put in awards-calibre performances, but the screenplay and direction feel sloppy and overburdened by biopic clichés.
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The movie obviously revels in depicting the mayhem of a GTA-style game, and constructs elaborate set pieces around game physics, ridiculous weapons and items, and the grinding that some players undertake to level up. But there’s roughly a 80/20 accuracy split; the bulk of the observations line up, but every so often there’s a painfully awkward trope.
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The Green Knight is undoubtedly a slow-moving film. It sweeps over Gawain as he traverses the misty, almost post-apocalyptic landscape. There are frequent suggestions of bloody battles happening around him, though we don’t see them on screen. It’s as though Gawain is always too late for the action, and that he’s running out of time to become a real knight before the world forgets about chivalry and epic quests.
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It took Scarlett Johansson seven appearances in other MCU films before her titular character received her own standalone film – through no fault of her own – and while we should applaud it because it’s a well-acted and well-produced film, know that it also doesn’t quite live up to the rest of the library.
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Steven Soderbergh’s latest film, available on HBO Max, feels like the product of the filmmaker getting together with some frequent collaborators to knock out a film just because they enjoy it, not unlike a jam session. The result isn’t particularly cutting-edge or fresh, but there’s something to be said for when creatives meet up to bounce ideas around.
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Muscular, many-limbed and possessing tentacles that eject bullet-like spines, the so-called Whitespikes are instantly believable as a species that could overrun the Earth. So it’s a shame that the movie that introduces them feels distinctly familiar, as if constructed from pieces of other, better sci-fi movies.
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