'Nothing Compares' Knows the World Owes Sinead O'Connor an Apology

For Slate, I wrote about a new documentary that looks back at Sinead O'Connor's troubled stardom, and how terribly the media treated her. Here are my thoughts on Nothing Compares.

Gorillaz (featuring Thundercat) - "Cracker Island"

The other day, I went down a Gorillaz rabbit hole on YouTube, realizing how much I've sorta taken Damon Albarn's "cartoon band" for granted. Just a ton of great songs over the last 20 years, not to mention a bunch of terrific videos. And they're still cranking them out: I've been grooving to "Cracker Island" for weeks now.

Hamburg 2022: 'Viking' Review

I saw Viking on the last day of my trip to Toronto, where I was quite taken by it. Now this deadpan, melancholy sci-fi comedy has made its way to Filmfest Hamburg, which was as good a reason as any to rave about it for Screen International.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'Moonage Daydream' and Disagreeing About 'Athena'

Three new movies on this week's podcast. Not a surprise, we both disliked Don't Worry Darling (although we have lots nice to say about Florence Pugh). But the more interesting conversations revolved around the new David Bowie documentary and the divisive Athena. Hear the whole episode down below.

'Amsterdam' Review

When David O. Russell's latest wasn't featured at any of the fall film festivals, there was concern that it was a stinker. To be fair, 20th Century Studios is in such a weird limbo with its new parent company Disney that it's hard to know exactly what's going on with any of its movies. Still, I'm here to say that Amsterdam is a misfire.

Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Lodi"

Do I have a favorite Creedence song? Probably not. But at the moment, this is the one I want to hear.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'Confess, Fletch,' 'Barbarian' and Recapping Toronto

After a week off for Toronto, I'm back on the podcast, and we're reviewing four new movies: The Woman King, Barbarian, Pinocchio and Confess, Fletch. Plus, I offer some observations about the festival. Hear the whole thing down below.

Venice/Telluride/Toronto 2022: The Wrap-Up and the Rankings

Does it feel like awards season? Like it or not, we've entered fall, when the more serious, prestigious (or, at the very least, the ones that pretend to be prestigious) movies start taking center stage. And I was very happy to back in the thick of it: For the first time in three years, I attended the Toronto Film Festival, which along with Venice and Telluride kick-start the annual Oscar conversation. I had very much missed Toronto, and while it's premature to say that any festival is all the way "back" after the pandemic, TIFF did its best to create a reasonable facsimile of its pre-Covid editions.

But because Toronto doesn't encompass everything that screened at other fall fests, I decided to put together the below rankings by including movies I've seen that premiered at Toronto or Telluride or Venice. (To further complicate things, I opted not to rank any films screened in Toronto that had bowed at Cannes back in May. You can see my rankings for Cannes 2022 right here.)

There were several strong movies near the top of my list, and no clear-cut "best," but for No. 1, I went with a bit of a surprise. Coming out of Venice, the reviews for Joanna Hogg's continuation of The Souvenir were polite but not exactly rapturous. So imagine my shock when I attended a 9am press screening of The Eternal Daughter and was fairly knocked out. The less one knows about this third chapter the better, but suffice it to say Tilda Swinton is remarkable. In a fair world, she and Cate Blanchett would be battling it out for acting prizes this awards season. But in life as in the movies, "fair" rarely factors into the equation.

Links lead to individual reviews. And, yes, The Greatest Beer Run Ever is as awful as you've heard.

31. The Greatest Beer Run Ever
30. Don't Worry Darling
29. Dalíland
28. My Policeman
27. Wendell & Wild
26. Butcher's Crossing
25. Blueback
24. Catherine Called Birdy
23. My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock
22. Athena
21. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
20. Good Night Oppy
19. The Inspection
18. The Wonder
17. Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues
16. A Compassionate Spy
15. The Woman King
14. Pearl
13. Bros
12. Other People's Children
11. Viking
10. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
9. Women Talking
8. Unruly
7. The Banshees of Inisherin
6. All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
5. Saint Omer
4. Tár
3. No Bears
2. The Fabelmans
1. The Eternal Daughter

Toronto 2022: 'Daliland' Review

You know what they say about closing-night films: They tend to be stinkers. Sadly, that proves true again with Toronto's final offering, Daliland, in which Ben Kingsley plays Salvador Dali near the end of his life. My review is up at Screen International.

Toronto 2022: 'Blueback' Review

At some point in my life, perhaps I will stop thinking of George Costanza whenever a movie character is a marine biologist. But not yet: Blueback stars Mia Wasikowska as one, and she must return home after she learns that her mother has had a debilitating stroke. The film is about these two women, with flashbacks interwoven throughout the story. It's a movie I found touching but not very substantial. My review is here. 

Ramsey Lewis - "Wade in the Water"

Happy Friday, everybody.

Toronto 2022: 'Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues' Review

Can you encapsulate the magnitude of Louis Armstrong's life and career in a 100-minute documentary? Probably not. But I appreciated Black & Blues nonetheless. Here's my review.

Remembering Roberto Benigni's 'Pinocchio' 20 Years Later

Robert Zemeckis got terrible reviews for his new Pinocchio, deservedly so, which inspired me to revisit another disastrous Pinocchio. That would be the one Roberto Benigni made as his follow-up to Life Is Beautiful. For Decider, I wrote about how it all went so wrong.

Toronto 2022: 'The Wonder' Review

Florence Pugh's other movie this awards season is the superior one. For Screen International, I reviewed the 19th-century psychological drama The Wonder.

'Press Play With Madeleine Brand': Talking About Jean-Luc Godard

Very appreciative of Madeleine to have me on yesterday to discuss the passing of a legend. (I recorded my segment at the TIFF headquarters, but I did my best to find a relatively quiet spot.) The segment is down below.

Toronto 2022: 'Unruly' Review

Festivals are especially fun when you make little discoveries. One of mine for this year's Toronto is Unruly, a superb drama about a young woman in Copenhagen in the 1930s who's sent away because of her "immoral tendencies." I reviewed the film for Screen International.

Toronto 2022: 'The Greatest Beer Run Ever' Review

Four years ago, Green Book premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. Now, Peter Farrelly is back at the festival with his follow-up film, which I think is a lot worse. Yes, really.

Toronto 2022: 'Butcher's Crossing' Review

It is, perhaps, an indication of the merits of Butcher's Crossing that it's a Nicolas Cage movie that nobody is talking about. This western stars the Oscar-winner as a buffalo hunter who leads an expedition, leading to disastrous results. My review of this existential drama is here.

Toronto 2022: 'Wendell & Wild' Review

Henry Selick hasn't made a film since Coraline. Is Wendell & Wild worth the wait? My Screen International review has the answer.

Jean-Luc Godard, 1930-2022

One of the true titans of cinema has died. For Rolling Stone, I wrote the obituary for the great Jean-Luc Godard.

'See How They Run' Review

Who doesn't love a good whodunit? The 1950s-set See How They Run actively calls out the cliches and conventions of the genre, resulting in a film that's way too proud of its own cleverness. My review is up at Screen International.

Toronto 2022: 'Catherine Called Birdy' Review

Catherine Called Birdy is Lena Dunham's second film this year, following the recently released Sharp Stick. In this medieval comedy, Bella Ramsey plays a young woman in 13th-century England who's not ready to be married off, so she takes matters into her own hands. My review is up at Screen International.

Toronto 2022: 'My Policeman' Review

Harry Styles got a lot of press for Don't Worry Darling and that whole "Did he spit on Chris Pine?" nonsense. But that's not the only film he has premiering at the fall film festivals. For Screen International, I reviewed My Policeman. (Leans over to date: "He's the policeman.")

Toronto 2022: 'The Fabelmans' Review

Finally, the Meek's Cutoff reunion of Michelle Williams and Paul Dano we've all been waiting for!

(For Screen International, I reviewed Steven Spielberg's great new movie.)

Toronto 2022: 'The Inspection' Review

It's 2005 and French (Jeremy Pope), a young gay homeless man, decides to join the Marines, deciding he has nowhere else to go. The Inspection is based on filmmaker Elegance Bratton's own experiences; I reviewed this boot-camp drama for Screen International.

Toronto 2022: 'Weird: The Al Yankovic Story' Review

Who doesn't love "Weird Al" Yankovic? So why didn't I love the spoof biopic he co-wrote about himself that stars Daniel Radcliffe? I work through my mixed feelings about the film over at Screen International.

Toronto 2022: 'The Woman King' Review

When I interviewed Viola Davis for Widows, she talked about how hard it was to train to carry those big, heavy bags for that film's heist scenes. I can't even imagine the workout that went into preparing for The Woman King, where she plays the leader of a formidable all-woman army in 1820s West Africa. The film starts slow, but it really gets cooking in its final stretches. I reviewed The Woman King for Screen International.

Toronto 2022: 'Bros' Review

Judd Apatow often makes (or produces) comedies about smart, somewhat cynical people who need to get over themselves in order to find love. That trend continues with Bros, which follows a sarcastic New Yorker (co-writer Billy Eichner) who lets down his guard when he meets a cute lawyer (Luke Macfarlane). Apatow only produced the film, Nicholas Stoller directed, but you can see the template at work. It doesn't matter when it's this charming, funny and touching. My review is now live.

Drugdealer - "Madison"

Enjoy the feel-good 1970s vibes.

'Pinocchio' Review

What a colossal disappointment the new Pinocchio is. This Robert Zemeckis live-action remake stinks in all kinds of ways.

'Barbarian' Review

What a pleasant surprise Barbarian is. This horror movie doesn't have big stars and may be a little under the radar, but it's a damn good (and damn clever) genre piece. I reviewed the film for Screen International.

Toronto 2022: 'Women Talking' Review

Greetings from Canada. My first review from the Toronto Film Festival is a biggie: It's Sarah Polley's first movie in 10 years, the somber drama Women Talking. You can read my thoughts over at Screen International.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: Previewing the 2022 Toronto Film Festival

Guess where I am? On this week's episode, I offered a preview of some of the movies I'm curious to see here in Toronto. Hear the conversation down below.

Telluride 2022: 'My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock' Review

If Alfred Hitchcock was alive today, what would he say? That's the intriguing premise of Mark Cousins' new documentary, which I don't think entirely works. I explain why over at Screen International.

Venice 2022: 'Don't Worry Darling' Review

Before its Venice premiere, Don't Worry Darling had to deal with a lot of bad buzz, which all started in earnest after I saw the film a few weeks ago. I bring that up only to mention that my review doesn't take any of that into account. Over at Screen International, I lament a fairly disappointing sophomore effort from director Olivia Wilde.

Venice 2022: 'Pearl' Review

I wasn't sure if I needed a prequel to X, which I liked quite a lot, but Pearl proves to be a very satisfying origin story. My review is up at Screen International.

Telluride 2022: 'Good Night Oppy' Review

Good Night Oppy is a pretty straightforward documentary about the launch of two Mars rovers, Opportunity and Spirit, that NASA sent to the Red Planet in the early 2000s. But despite the film's cutesy, rah-rah tone, I found it entertaining enough, and also surprisingly moving. My review is up at Screen International.

Venice 2022: 'Athena' Review

The murder of a young man in France by the police provokes riots in the streets in Athena, a film that incorporates ambitious single-shot sequences. I found this thriller stunning in terms of its technical skill. But emotionally and narratively, I think it's a bit lacking. My Screen International review is here.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: George Miller's Latest, 'Funny Pages' and 'Samaritan'

Dog days of August, folks. We review three new movies on the podcast, and only one of them is worthy your time -- and it's not Three Thousand Years of Longing. Hear the whole episode down below.

Venice 2022: 'A Compassionate Spy' Review

Ted Hall was the youngest physicist working on the Manhattan Project. But he felt that no one nation should own the designs on making nuclear weapons, so he did something radical: He shared that intel with the Soviets. Steve James' new documentary is about Hall, his wife Joan, and the life they led -- and the secret they kept. Here's my review of A Compassionate Spy.

Mac Ayres - "Nothing Else"

Have a good Labor Day weekend. The Toronto Film Festival awaits.

Venice 2022: 'Tar' Review

I have no clue how others feel about Tar, but I think it comes very close to being remarkable. I get into that, and my reservations, over at Screen International.