'The Amateur' Review

In The Amateur, Rami Malek plays a nerdy CIA analyst who has to go out in the field to avenge his wife, who was killed by terrorists. Will he succeed? Will I like the movie? My review is up at Screen International.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Raving About 'Passing,' Meh on 'Belfast'

Completely forgot to post this week's episode of the podcast. And it's a good one, too, tackling three very different films: Passing, Red Notice and Belfast.

Hear the whole thing down below.

My Interview With Caitriona Balfe

One of the perks of my job is having the excuse to dive into different pieces of art I might not have had a chance to sample otherwise. I had quite loved the reboot of Battlestar Galactica -- the first few seasons, anyway -- and I was curious how Ronald D. Moore's new show, Outlander, was. Well, I got a chance to catch up on the series when Backstage asked me to interview its star, Caitriona Balfe.

Like Battlestar, Outlander is a genre show that transcends the potentially tacky elements of its genre, proving to be smarter, more moving and more intriguing than you might expect. So it was a pleasure to sit down with Balfe and talk about the show, her career, and what her life was like when she was a successful model desperately hoping to return to her real love: acting. You can read my interview here.

(Photo: Luc-Richard Elie for Backstage.)