Spectre once again finds James Bond sneaking away from MI6 to wage a personal war on international evil. This time around, the trail leads to a secret organization that’s been pulling the strings all along, lurking behind every corner and waging a very personal war against Bond himself. (Read full review here).
Opens November 6. See listings.
Rating: NNN
Theeb impeccably captures a historical moment – the impact of the railroad on traditional Bedouin societies in 1916 – but it’s the powerful emotions that drive it. Two brothers, the boy Theeb (Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat) and older Hussein (Hussein Salameh Al-Sweilhiyeen), escort a British soldier and his guide through the desert to a secret destination with tragic results, forcing Theeb to make some life-changing decisions. (Read full review here).
Opens November 6. See listings.
Rating: NNNN
Difret, a modest and compelling film brought to North American screens with Angelina Jolie’s help, adapts the story of the landmark court case in which Bekele was tried for murdering her captor. The film is right in Jolie’s wheelhouse: the former UNHCR goodwill ambassador continues to shed light on human rights violations we often choose to ignore. (Read full review here).
Opens November 6. See listings.
Rating: NNN
Miss You Already is a cheesy, pandering weepie about two lifelong friends living in England. American-born transplant Jess (Drew Barrymore) and native Londoner Milly (Toni Collette) have shared lots of experiences – except motherhood. When Milly is diagnosed with breast cancer, Jess is supportive. (Read full review here).
Opens November 6. See listings.
Rating: NN
Ally Was Screaming plays out the moral quandary of two Calgary friends (Giacomo Baessato, Charlie Carrick) who find a $30 million lottery ticket in the effects of their dead bestie Ally, only to learn that the deceased’s grieving sister (Camille Sullivan) is committed to honouring her duty as executor. (Read full review here).
Opens November 6. See listings.
Rating: NNN
The Peanuts Movie is a computer-animated facelift of Charles M. Schulz’s comic strips. Director Martino and a writing team that includes the late Schulz’s son and grandson stick dutifully, perhaps lazily, to the serial-style source material about the same old grade-school calamities. (Read full review here).
Opens November 6. See listings.
Rating: NNN
Reel Asian Film Festival
Driving With Selvi is an inspirational look at a young Indian woman who fled an abusive marriage to reinvent herself as the first female taxi driver in the city of Karnataka – a hard-won achievement that opened the doors to further opportunities. (Read full review here).
Opens November 6. See listings.
Rating: NNNN
Mina Walking is a vérité drama about a 12-year-old girl (Farzana Nawabi) caring for her disintegrating family in present-day Kabul. Except for her occasional visits to school, life is a constant hustle as she attempts to earn money and avoid those who would do her harm. (Read full review here).
Opens November 6. See listings.
Rating: NNN
Off The Menu: Asian America shows how Chinese food mixes with Tex-Mex flavours in Houston, for instance, and how emerging chef Jonathan Wu, trained in the European school, uses techniques taught him by his Chinese grandparents at his trendy NYC restaurant Fung Tu. (Read full review here).
Opens November 6. See listings.
Rating: NNN
