Original CIN

When teenage school slacker and Green Day fan Tommy (Mason Thames) gets pranked by his brother Wayne (Keen Ruffalo) into thinking that his band Analog Dogs are opening for Green Day on New Year’s Eve in L.A., a quest is born. Stealing his brother’s used yellow cab, Tommy and his bandmates embark on a cross-country road trip of epic proportions, from Kansas City to California to play alongside their idols. It’s not like Tommy and his fellow slacker Fred (Kylr Coffman) have many options.

Holmes is at Oxford, though not in the way that fans would expect. It’s a clever introduction to the character as he is more optimistic than the traditionally dour presentation fans are used to in the novels and other cinematic representations. Holmes is studying, but he studies people. He observes, he questions and we see the embryonic development of his super-power of deductive reasoning. What adds more depth to this origin story is the introduction of his family.

By John Kirk Be he Buccaneer or Bounty Hunter, whatever the role, Temuera Morrison plays men of honour – or at least a code. Original-Cinsat down with Temuera to chat about his role as Quartermaster Lee, the first officer and right-hand man to Pirate Captain Francisco Connor (Karl Urban) in Prime Video’sepic pirate film, The Bluff. As Lee, Morrison joins the notorious buccaneer in his revenge-filled pursuit of Ercell Bodden (Priyanka Chopra Jonas).

That gives way to another sterling attribute of the film: the rich backstories of all the characters and the curiosity it inspires. What did Ercell do to earn the vengeance of Captain Connor? Who makes up Connor’s crew and why do they follow them? It’s a film with complex and dynamic characters who are either endearing or intimidating. Take Quartermaster Lee (Temuera Morrison). His own brutality is carefully governed by a strong sense of pragmatism and the code of the buccaneer.

Ah, but then there’s Perfectly a Strangeness, by Canada’s Alison McAlpine, leading off the quintet and making another wonderful addition to the “donkumentary” category, a genre that includes Robert Bresson’s Au Hasard Balthasar, its spiritual successor EO, the road movie Donkeyote, and the Willem Dafoe-narrated Do Donkeys Act?

By Chris Knight Rating: A If you’re a fan of the 2008 mockumentary web sitcom Nirvana the Band the Show, or its 2017 spiritual successor, Viceland’s Nirvanna the Band the Show — both about a couple of guys who just want to play a show at Toronto’s Rivoli — then prepare to fall in love with 2025’s big-screen version, Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie.

Then there’s Ingrid (Haley Lu Richardson), who is allergic to cellphones and Wi-Fi. As someone notes in the film, might as well be sensitive to the air. What they have in common is the coincidence of all being in the same diner when Sam Rockwell walks in. Listed in the credits only as The Man from the Future, he looks deranged and homeless as he barks at the startled customers that their future is on the cusp of disaster, and only they can save it. Or rather, only some of them can.

By John Kirk Rating: A The story of Bram Stoker’s Dracula is so well-known that it’s hard to find a new angle. That is, unless you’re Luc Besson and you go back to the book’s inspiration, and present Dracula as a lost soul in need of forgiveness and redemption. And, refreshingly, that’s exactly what you get in this film. Previous versions of Dracula have included the history of the prince’s lost love, and his reason for cursing God for his loss, and for his curse.

Not to say Slattery is without his own secrets, the draw is the friendship between the two actors and how they delicately manage their relationship despite the confidences they are keeping from each other. This is the show’s major strength. The performances skillfully squeeze sympathy from the viewer. The friendship is genuine in its portrayal and Kinglsey and Abdul-Mateen are on their respective games. But, the pacing in this series is its own worst enemy.

By John Kirk Yeah – That IS Your Trek. The release of a new iteration of Star Trek is never free of angst. The fans with an axe to grind come in various flavours. You have gatekeepers, Nu-Trekkers, right-wing, left-wing, all with the dog-whistle refrain of “that’s not MY Star Trek” that never fails to find a fight among fans. It never changes, to be frank. When Star Trek: Enterprise came out, there were criticisms that the technology and stories were too basic to satisfy diehard fans.