The Power of the Dog: Movie Review

The shifting of power and evil.

A 1920s Montana-set western, The Power of the Dog starts with the focus on two rancher brothers, George (Jesse Plemons) and Phil (Benedict Cumberbatch), who couldn't be more different. George is the quiet soft-spoken one and Phil is the mean one calling George fat and stupid and insults everyone in his path. The next people in his path are mother and son, Rose (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter (Kodi Smit-McPhee).		2021 Directed by: Jane Campion Screenplay by: Jane Campion Based on the novel by Thomas Savage Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Kodi Smit-McPhee

Together Together: Movie Review

A simple but hilarious examination of a relationship.

Stripped of all extraneous immateriality, Together Together gets down to the bare necessities ripe for humour. Matt (Ed Helms) is a man in his 40s and has decided he wants a baby and is interviewing surrogates. He has his questions organized and is surprised when Anna (Patti Harrison) responds with bluntness and her own questions. She's just doing it for the money but it's the honesty that brings them together.		2021 Directed by: Nikole Beckwith Screenplay by: Nikole Beckwith Starring: Ed Helms, Patti Harrison

Pig: Movie Review

An unrelenting and compelling tale of a missing pig and decades-old depression.

You would be forgiven if you weren’t expecting a movie about Nicolas Cage looking for his lost pig to be one of the best movies of the year. The sheer power of this movie sneaks up on you and leaves an indelible mark. So slowly and subtly it transforms a story of a gruff man and his truffle-hunting pig into a compelling story of grief, acceptance of loss and the ugly underbelly of the Portland restaurant scene.		2021 Directed by: Michael Sarnoski Screenplay by: Vanessa Block, Michael Sarnoski Starring: Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff

Tick, Tick... Boom! : Movie Review

Not your typical biography-musical.

Thanks to the pandemic pushing back In the Heights, we get two Lin-Manuel Miranda musicals in one year. Miranda’s over-prevalence has dropped his popularity and musicals are barely popular in the first place. Tick, tick… Boom! is going to be a tough sell on so many levels. Not the least of which is the fact that this is a low-key musical with no spectacular productions like In the Heights or Spielberg’s upcoming West Side Story.		2021 Directed by: Lin-Manuel Miranda Screenplay by: Steven Levenson Based on the musical by Jonathan Larson Starring: Andrew Garfield

Single All the Way: Movie Review

Funny and sweet.

Michael Urie (from Ugly Betty and Younger) has finally landed himself a lead role, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Netflix has just started to realize it needs to step up its game with gay rom-coms while its most recent heterosexual offering A Castle for Christmas is hitting rock bottom. Single All the Way is a really silly title, but the comedy is well-earned especially with Urie shining throughout all the well-meaning hijinks.		2021 Directed by: Michael Mayer Screenplay by: Chad Hodge Starring: Michael Urie, Philemon Chambers