Previous Next July 7, 2025 After the colossal disappointment that was Jurassic World Dominion , it's time to bring back the dinosaurs and try again. Find out if we think Jurassic World Rebirth has what it takes to restart this franchise. Click HERE to subscribe to our YouTube channel for all of our latest video content including our interviews, and be sure to give us a thumbs up and comment your thoughts!

Previous Next November 4, 2022 WRITTEN BY: NICK, QUENTIN, AND ADRIANO Bitesize Breakdown’s mission is to bring you multiple viewpoints for every movie we review. That is why, as you may have noticed, you’ll never find a movie review with fewer than two reviews (television is a different story). That said, in sending three writers to TIFF, there are several movies where our viewership didn't overlap. Sure, we all saw Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery , but we also broke off individually to discover some smaller titles on our own. While full reviews for the major titles, like Glass Onion , will arrive closer to their official release date, we don’t know when, if ever, many of the following films will be made available for you to watch. So, in an effort to prevent these titles from falling through the cracks, the following reviews are our TIFF Solo Shots: individual reviews of TIFF films that only one of Nick, Quentin, or Adriano was able to see. We encourage you to keep an eye out for them in theaters or on streaming in the coming months because some of them definitely deserve your attention. BLACK ICE Starring: Akim Aliu, Wayne Simmonds, Matt Dumba, Sarah Nurse, Anthony Duclair, Saroya Tinker, and P.K. Subban Director: Hubert Davis Stylistically, Black Ice is a well-shot documentary. The player interviews taking place on the ice of an empty rink adds to the message of the feature, and there are a wide array of voices featured, including Willie O'Ree, the first black NHLer. Just the fact that the first black NHLer is a lively 86 year old man in 2022 tells you why this documentary exists. Unfortunately, as a hockey fan, most of the information presented is fairly common knowledge, making this a documentary made more for the common fan. That said, the message is the important thing: Hockey needs to change. - Nick WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT? Starring: Lily James, Emma Thompson, Shazad Latif, Shabana Azmi, Sajal Aly, Asim Chaudhry and Jeff Mirza Director: Shekhar Kapur I’m just gonna get this out of the way: What’s Love Got To Do With It? is obscenely predictable. You know what’s gonna happen from the opening scene, and the ending came as a shock to absolutely nobody. Honestly, it’s predictable to the point where I’m not totally sure they weren’t trying to be predictable. All that said, it certainly entertained the rom-com lover inside of me. It has laughs, it has some interesting perspectives not usually addressed in rom-coms, and our two leads, Shazad Latif and the always lovely Lily James, have fantastic chemistry together. So, despite the predictability, it’s still worthwhile. - Adriano SUSIE SEARCHES Starring: Kiersey Clemons, Alex Wolff, Jim Gaffigan, and Ken Marino Director: Sophie Kargman When watching Susie Searches , it’s very easy to see that this feature-length movie is based on a short film. It’s 105 minutes long, but the entire thing can be reduced to 3-4 “moments,” and the story and character development connecting those moments is either weak or entirely unnecessary. Everything else is well done, from the acting to the sometimes-too-quirky direction, and I admit the aforementioned moments add some genuine intrigue, but Susie Searches is the movie equivalent of a meeting that could have been an email. - Quentin THE COLOUR OF INK Starring: Jason Logan Director: Brian D. Johnson I can’t say I ever wondered what can be used to create ink or how it connects to the Earth, but upon watching, I’ve learned the process is fascinating. The documentary itself is well-shot, while Jason Logan makes for a solid narrator; however, the film branches out to too many side stories. It would have been far better served sticking with just Logan and a few of the artists he provides ink to (or, honestly, even just Koji Kakinuma). The imagery of the ink is nothing less than serene, but, unfortunately, the repetitive nature of the story caused me to lose my focus. - Nick FIXATION Starring: Maddie Hasson, Genesis Rodriguez, and Atticus Mitchell Director: Mercedes Bryce Morgan Fixation does what it wants to do – at least, what I think it wants to do – very well. It puts you in the mindset of a potentially crazy woman undergoing experimental treatment in an institution. She has no idea what is happening, and neither do you. You are on the same ride she is on. However, you still need to tell a story. Fixation is just 99 minutes of intense and trippy imagery that makes you feel as exhausted and insane as she may or may not be. So, if that was the goal, then A+, but that’s also a dumb goal for narrative fiction. - Quentin THE LOST KING Starring: Sally Hawkins, Steve Coogan, and Harry Lloyd Director: Stephen Frears I’m sad to say that I was not into The Lost King . It’s definitely not without its funny moments, mainly courtesy of Steve Coogan’s hilariously dry delivery and Sally Hawkins being as wonderful as always, but the plot was never engaging enough for me. I never really cared about this woman’s goal, nor did they give me much of a reason to. So, as a result, the movie just kinda drags, which is the last thing I want a movie to do. - Adriano PROJECT WOLF HUNTING Starring: Seo In-Guk, Dong-Yoon Jang, and Dong-il Sung Director: Hongsun Kim Fair warning, if you don’t like subtitles, this movie maybe isn’t for you. I’m not a huge fan either, and Project Wolf Hunting has them in abundance. At times, there were so many characters speaking that I couldn’t tell which sub went to which person, leaving me somewhat lost in the story. That said, the story takes a massive backseat to the extremely violent carnage on screen. You know in Morbius , when Jared Leto changes for the first time and kills everyone on the boat? This movie is basically that for two wild and bloody hours. With that action, who needs story? - Quentin LIVING Starring: Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood, Alex Sharp, Tom Burke Director: Oliver Hermanus Living is certainly not bad, and Bill Nighy’s fantastic and heartbreaking performance makes this film super watchable as it features a lot of British charm, humor, and a decent amount of heart. That said, the film can feel like it’s rushing at times, but merely spinning its wheels at others. It’s a weird combo, but by the one hour mark, I was shocked at how quickly they got to a certain plot point and by just how much more movie was left. Overall, I’m more mixed on this than outright like or disliked. - Adriano DALILAND Starring: Ben Kingsley, Barbara Sukowa, Christopher Briney, Rupert Graves, Alexander Beyer, Andreja Pejic, Suki Waterhouse, Avital Lvova, and Ezra Miller Director: Mary Harron Given Salvador Dali’s eccentricities, it’s disappointing this semi-biopic is so damn flat. I say semi-biopic because it’s presented similarly to A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood , where Dali (Ben Kingsley) isn’t the focal point. Instead, the story is told through the experiences of his assistant (Christopher Briney, who lacks the charisma to carry the movie as the lead). Kingsley, of course, handles himself well, but in what feels like a heavily cut role resulting in minimal screen time, Ezra Miller (as young Dali) is the only actor bringing any life and allure to the screen. Even for the painter’s most ardent fans, this is a bore. - Quentin THE SWIMMERS Starring: Manal Issa, Nathalie Issa, Ahmed Malek, Matthias Schweighöfer, Ali Suliman, Kinda Alloush and James Krishna Floyd Director: Sally El Hosaini The Swimmers is a crowd pleaser for sure, but it’s definitely a bumpy one. The first two acts, I was locked in. An extremely engaging and harrowing thriller that teaches us the horrors of the crisis in Syria. There is one sequence involving a life boat that’s amongst the year’s most terrifying, and the two leads, Nathalie Issa and Manal Issa, do an incredible job. The third act, though, just suddenly becomes a formulaic sports biopic. Kind of a completely different tone, I’d say. I’m sure others will enjoy it, but I wasn’t too impressed. - Adriano BROKER Starring: Song Kang-ho, Gang Dong-won, Bae Doona, Lee Ji-eun, and Lee Joo-young Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda Broker is amazing. Writer/director Hirokazu Kore-eda returns to similar themes that he has visited in the past, and while the results may not be as strong as his previous efforts, they're still effective and heartfelt. The cast works wonders in a story that is consistently warm and welcome yet never overly sentimental in its approach to finding the joy in the messiness of life. Some moments can teeter on melodrama, but those moments are small nitpicks in the grand scheme of this film. - Adriano WILDFLOWER Starring: Kiernan Shipka, Dash Mihok, Charlie Plummer, Alexandra Daddario, Brad Garrett, Reid Scott, Erika Alexander, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Samantha Hyde, Jacki Weaver, and Jean Smart Director: Matt Smukler If you love small indie movies about finding your place in an unconventional family, Wildflower should definitely be on your radar. It doesn’t break a ton of new ground, sitting comfortably on the shelf next to movies like CODA and Lady Bird , but it’s full of incredible heart and delightful charm. The all-star cast of proven role players (Jean Smart, Jacki Weaver, and Dash Mihok, especially) seem to give relative newcomer Kiernan Shipka the confidence to really dig into this character. I could go on, but the biggest compliment I can give is that I, a 41-year-old cynical male, really enjoyed this sweet, female-driven, coming-of-age tale. - Quentin Photo Credits: TIFF

Previous Next March 12, 2026 With the Oscars coming up, we're once again going to launch an episode for each film the Academy Awards have nominated for Best Picture. Each day leading to the ceremony, we will release an episode, and next up is the surprising Best Picture nominee, F1 ! Director Joseph Kosinski attempts to recreate the magic of Top Gun: Maverick , but instead of planes, he's shooting from the driver’s seat of a Formula 1 race car. ScreenFish's Steve Norton joins the Bitesize crew to discuss Brad Pitt and Damson Idris in the dad movie of all dad movies and its inclusion among this year’s best. Click HERE to subscribe to our YouTube channel for all of our latest video content including our interviews, and be sure to give us a thumbs up and comment your thoughts!

Previous Next March 22, 2026 After overwhelming critical and commercial praise, Project Hail Mary is being dubbed a new sci-fi epic for the ages. Is this latest Andy Weir adaptation all amaze, amaze, amaze though? Join Matt, Nick, Amarú, and guest Nathaniel Ahart as they talk about Ryan Gosling’s space odyssey and its potential to survive until awards season. Click HERE to subscribe to our YouTube channel for all of our latest video content including our interviews, and be sure to give us a thumbs up and comment your thoughts!

THE STUDIO: SEASON ONE Starring: Seth Rogen, Catherine O’Hara, Kathryn Hahn, Ike Barinholtz, and Chase Sui Wonders Creators: Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck, Alex Gregory, and Frida Perez QUENTIN As someone who loves movies and stories about making movies, I can say that The Studio is very much my shit. The often hilarious, often cringey, exaggerated-but-probably-true-to-life behind-the-scenes machinations of running a movie studio are colorfully brought to life through a stellar cast of comedic stalwarts and a never-ending string of meta cameos. Plus, the frenetic score and almost Paul Greengrass-inspired direction place the viewer squarely in the headspace of Seth Rogen’s frazzled studio head. Admittedly, a lot of the jokes require some inside baseball Hollywood knowledge to work, but it’s still one of Apple’s best shows, just more so for movie fans. AMARÚ The Studio is every movie lover’s panic-inducing fever dream or anxiety-ridden nightmare. Either way, it’s a blast. I constantly held my head in my hands in embarrassment and hilarity, both of which are made extravagantly potent by the outstanding direction. Nearly every scene is a 45+ second tracking shot that, flubs and all, adds a chaotic grandeur to the breakneck script. The only thing more fun than the self-referential satirization of the industry that the series creators clearly love is the dozens of A-list (much more than) cameos. The Studio is a gut-busting love letter to this crazy, ridiculous, magical thing we call cinema. ADRIANO I seriously enjoyed The Studio . For one, it's sharp and expertly crafted, and I love the use of incredibly long tracking shots to contribute to the stressful and intoxicating atmosphere. The principal cast is excellent, and its slew of celebrity cameos are fun too. However, while I was thoroughly entertained throughout, laughing basically the whole time, it can go a bit in circles with its baseline premise of mocking artless industry heads. Also, Episodes Six and Seven weren't my favourites. Still, I quite like this show, and I hope to see it come back. NICK As someone who works in the film industry, The Studio creates the same level of anxiety The Bear does for those in the culinary world. Also like The Bear , it’s exceptionally well done and frighteningly authentic. Apple and Seth Rogen continue to be an ideal match, and this is their top collaboration. Bolstered by wonderful supporting performances from Ike Barinholtz and Chase Sui Wonders, as well as out-of-character guest spots from the likes of Bryan Cranston and Ron Howard, this is a series that deserves all the accolades it is bound to get. Want to hear even more of our thoughts? Amarú, Nick and guest Geoff Alterman join Matt to take A Bigger Bite out of The Studio: Season One HERE .

Previous Next November 13, 2024 WRITTEN BY: ADRIANO In an era of superheroes and studio-mandated nostalgia baiting, directors getting the free range to fully realize a vision is rare these days, especially when it comes to studio films. Thankfully, we have indie studios like A24 and Neon allowing for grander risks while understanding that too much studio interference could result in disaster. As a result, there are a plethora of filmmakers coming in to exploit this freedom of expression, which has been wonderful to witness. While it is a true blessing to still get films from masters like Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, even they will openly admit to the influence and lessons learned from this new era of filmmakers. You can even find videos where they cite some of the directors I'm about to mention. Now, without further ado, here are the best new-age directors that are rewriting the rules of filmmaking. ROBERT EGGERS When it comes to craft alone, Robert Eggers is unmatched. I get the sense he's truly a perfectionist, as all three of his films are so meticulously put together and constructed in a way that feels very true to either the mythology or the period that each film revolves around. On top of that, Eggers is just incredible at tone and world-building. While you can watch an Eggers movie and decipher it based on its commitment to lore and dialogue, each film does something very unique with its atmosphere, whether that be the impending dread of The Witch , the slow descent into madness in The Lighthouse , or the gruesome carnage of The Northman . Eggers just nails it every time. Up next, he has his remake of Nosferatu , and one can only imagine what nightmares he has in store for us. BARRY JENKINS While I'm not thrilled that his next project is a Disney prequel to one of my least favourite movies, 2019’s “live-action” The Lion King remake, there's no denying the outstanding masterworks he has created after he made a name for himself with his Best Picture-winning Moonlight . That film, alongside If Beale Street Could Talk and The Underground Railroad , are genuinely some of the most visually stunning works of art in the past decade. All of Jenkins' films — in some way, shape, or form — deal with identity, isolation, and independence in relation to being black in America. While his films can deal with heavy subjects, Jenkins powerfully avoids black trauma porn, constantly opting for a more hopeful tone, making him a truly sincere filmmaker. JORDAN PEELE I never in a billion years thought that one of the most respected modern horror auteurs would be Ozamataz Buckshank from Stanford University, but here we are. In 2017, sketch-comedy icon Jordan Peele debuted his sensibilities in the horror genre with Get Out . Since its release, Peele received an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for the film, which has had arguably the greatest modern influence on the genre due to its themes and creativity. While Peele has yet to clear the extremely high bar of Get Out , he continues to dominate studio horror, with his follow-up film, Us , garnering acclaim and study, and Nope following suit. Peele seems to be in a dream position for a filmmaker, being that he seemingly has full creative freedom with his partnership at Universal, and he's the rare director who can sell a movie just because he directed it. An impressive accomplishment from someone who has only made three films. GRETA GERWIG Although not her first film (that would be the 2008’s Nights and Weekends ), Lady Bird put the talents of Greta Gerwig on an extremely high pedestal, and she's yet to disappoint. Her films all seem to be personal to her as she deals with familial dynamics (specifically mother-daughter relationships) and womanhood in all her films. However, she does it in very different forms. Lady Bird is a coming-of-age film, her adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel Little Women is a period drama, and, of course, Barbie is an absurdist dramedy that made $1.4 billion. Each film struck a chord with audiences and critics in very unique ways, with all three receiving Best Picture nominations. Gerwig also was nominated for all three screenplays, which leaves me to believe that Gerwig will undoubtedly be a force going forward. JOSH & BENNY SAFDIE Full disclosure, we're reportedly not getting a film from these two as a duo for a while, which is sad, but it was a blast to watch The Safdie Brothers shine bright together. From their early days, they established themselves as true indie auteurs with their fascinating first film Daddy Longlegs , as well as the harrowing drama Heaven Knows What . However, they didn't hit the mainstream until the tense thriller Good Time , which helped give them some notoriety before the stressful masterpiece Uncut Gems shot them into the stratosphere. Uncut Gems has cemented itself as a modern classic, mostly due to the high-octane and nail-biting anxiety that the Safdies poured into nearly every scene. Somewhat unfortunately for fans, they've started doing solo projects. Benny co-created the critically acclaimed surrealist drama series The Curse with Nathan Fielder, and both brothers have separate sports dramas dropping next year (Josh has Marty Supreme with Timothée Chalamet, Benny has The Smashing Machine with Dwayne Johnson). I can't wait to see what they pull off in their respective solo careers, but I sure wouldn't be upset to hear they decided to make another film together. JANE SCHOENBRUN Truth be told, of everyone on this list…and honestly any new-age director, for that matter…there is nobody I'm more excited by than Jane Schoenbrun. In their two narrative features, Schoenbrun has seemingly found themselves a brilliant knack for surreal psychological horror dramas with We're All Going to the World's Fair and I Saw the TV Glow . Their key themes include identity, self-affirmation, and relationship to media, all mainly regarding queer and trans individuals. In both of their films, the use of the camera and colour is fascinating, and the way they decide to implement horror in their own way is successfully chill inducing. In whatever way you may connect to Schoenbrun's filmography, it's hard to deny just how incredibly unique they are. DANIEL KWAN & DANIEL SCHEINERT If you were to tell me the duo that directed Lil Jon’s “Turn Down for What” music video would become three-time Oscar winners, I'd cry foul, for sure. Yet, that is where we find ourselves after Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, also known as The Daniels, launched themselves onto the scene with their debut film, Swiss Army Man , introducing us to their wild sense of humour, surreal sensibilities, and soft touch when it comes to storytelling. One movie later, they were greeted with universal acclaim for their life-affirming, absurdist, martial arts sci-fi comedy, Everything Everywhere All at Once , a film that will likely remain one of the defining films of the 2020s. Not only did it win seven Academy Awards, when adding up every award that has been bestowed upon the film, it's currently projected to be the most awarded film in cinema history. And that was just The Daniels' second movie. God only knows what these two mad men have in store for us next. SEAN BAKER Whenever I sit down to watch a Sean Baker film for the first time, I can always rely on him to offer me something truly one of a kind. Whether it's Tangerine, The Florida Project, Red Rocket , or his recent Palme d'Or-winning film Anora , which is currently a big Oscar hopeful, there are some similarities you can expect but they always come in their own packaging. Each film of his is a grounded, character-driven, raunch comedy that covers themes of class and sex work in a very judgment-free manner. Even at his film's wildest moments, everything about Sean Baker's direction feels authentic and lived in, creating experiences that'll entertain you and make you laugh, but also make you stop for a minute to realize you just witnessed something incredibly special. DAMIEN CHAZELLE The prowess of Damien Chazelle is remarkable. From his debut film, Whiplash , Chazelle constantly pushes the envelope with a deft hand that makes it clear that he is a master behind the camera. This is showcased even further with his second feature, La La Land , an astonishing feat of filmmaking that he pulled off at just 32 years old. While I admit that Babylon is not my cup of tea, that film (alongside his Neil Armstrong biopic First Man) shows Chazelle is willing to experiment with music and editing, unlike most working directors. Even if his most recent film may have not been the best chapter of his career thus far, I have no doubt that he can bounce back. RYAN COOGLER As simplistic as this may sound, Ryan Coogler is one of those directors that just "gets it." After his outstanding, gut-turning debut, Fruitvale Station , Coogler has changed his tune to become a very important figure in the studio blockbuster game. His Rocky spinoff Creed was a massive surprise that, in my opinion, set the bar really high for the recent glut of legacy sequels. He then dipped his toes into the Marvel machine with Black Panther and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever , two films that were so critically acclaimed that even Marvel deniers like me had to concede to their excellence. Even at his highest scales, Coogler never loses sight of the emotional stakes that guide his films to give them more meaning than just blockbuster thrills, and I, for one, cannot wait for his next offering, Sinners, with Coogler-muse Michael B. Jordan in dual roles.

THE BEAR: SEASON FIVE Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Lionel Boyce, Liza Colón-Zayas, Abby Elliott, Matty Matheson, Ricky Staffieri, Corey Hendrix, Will Poulter, Oliver Platt, and Jamie Lee Curtis Creator: Christopher Storer PAIGE The Bear : Season Five is chef's kiss, serving up a menu with all the right dishes to end the series on a high note. It puts the power and love of a dysfunctional chosen family on display perfectly. After seasons filled with chaos, stress, and humor in the kitchen, creator Christopher Storer strips everything away to showcase what we've loved most about The Bear from the very beginning: its characters. Each performance allows for every emotional beat to feel earned and authentic. In the end, while I’m sad the series has come to an end, I’m happy to report that this season let it rip! QUENTIN In its final season, The Bear almost copies The Pitt 's approach by occurring over the course of one extremely stressful evening. Though slow to start, it soon settles into its special brand of oddly soothing chaos, with the restaurant taking center stage over the characters. It surprisingly works because we’ve already spent so much time with this crew that we understand their dynamics and the stakes, both personal and professional. Think of the first four seasons as being told, at length, how your favorite dish will be prepared. Season Five is finally getting to taste how those ingredients come together so perfectly, with compliments to the chef. AMARÚ The Bear takes the artistic swings of its past two seasons and infuses them with the intense simplicity we initially fell in love with to deliver a picture-perfect final season. Emphasized by the beautiful performances that started and are now ending the series, stripping this final service down to the restaurant and its employees allows each cast member to have multiple moments, wraps up stories with ultimate satisfaction, and cranks the anxiety levels back up to 100, just as it should be. Landing the final episodes of a beloved (possible all-timer) television show is a huge feat, and this landing was beautiful. Check out our reviews for Season Four HERE .

THE BEAST IN ME Starring: Claire Danes, Matthew Rhys, Brittany Snow, Natalie Morales, David Lyons, Tim Guinee, Hettienne Park, Aleyse Shannon, and Jonathan Banks Creator: Gabe Rotter QUENTIN Though overstuffed and a tad convoluted, Netflix’s The Beast in Me is an extremely bingeable thriller that thrives on the cat-and-mouse interplay between Aggie (Claire Danes, leaning fully into her patented “cry face”) and Nile (a charmingly slimy Matthew Rhys). It can, admittedly, get a little silly, but the tension and cliffhangers play into the basest appetites of murder mystery fans. One can’t help to click “play next episode” to get much needed answers about the latest reveal. It’s not exactly prestige television, of course, but it remains entertaining as a slightly more upscale version of a Harlan Coben miniseries.

A MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD Starring: Emma Corrin, Brit Marling, Clive Owen, Harris Dickinson, Alice Braga, Joan Chen, Raúl Esparza, Jermaine Fowler, Ryan J. Haddad, Pegah Ferydoni, Javed Khan, Louis Cancelmi, and Edoardo Ballerini Creators: Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij PAIGE To creators Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij’s credit, A Murder at the End of the World provides a software update to the crime thriller genre. Thanks to the sincere performances of Emma Corrin and Harris Dickinson, this stylish and atmospheric whodunnit manages to be both compelling and unsettling. Overall, I quite enjoyed this The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo- type of murder mystery despite its flaws, including lackluster pacing due to the time jumps and a final product that maybe wasn’t entirely gratifying. QUENTIN Buried somewhere in A Murder at the End of the World , a sort of Knives Out meets True Detective murder mystery, is a good show. In fact, there are two good shows. However, the two storylines (one told in present day, the other in flashbacks) are constantly fighting with each other for screen time. This results in two half-hearted mysteries that are poorly developed, a problem that is exacerbated by the fact that the series is oddly just seven episodes. Also, I’m not sure I’d call it predictable, per se, but I guessed the murderer pretty early on; do with that what you will.

Previous December 31, 2024 Next A BITESIZE CHAT WITH JAY BARUCHEL Jay Baruchel (Goon , She's Outta My League , How to Train Your Dragon ) is here to discuss his first foray into horror filmmaking, Random Acts of Violence . BB: First off, I'll say that I really enjoyed your approach to this film and how you tried to set it apart from other horror films. I know you’ve been vocal about the current state of horror being stagnant, and I was wondering if you could elaborate a bit more on that. JB: Oh gosh, yeah, fair… I guess as a fan of the genre, I find myself rarely scared by anything that I see. Rare is the horror film that is a good movie and actually scares me, and I just also kind of developed a bit of a personal distaste for this idea of what a horror film had to be. It's basically like 10-15 years ago, a bunch of investors realized that they could put a little money into something that would make them a bunch, and then, all of a sudden, we had this whole rash of contained-genre films, which are very transparent in why they were created. For me, it's an art form that is terribly important to me and I cannot separate my love of cinema from my love of horror movies; and I think, when it's at its best, it's a very pure, very direct art form and it lends itself to some pretty special stuff. So I went out and tried to make the movie that I wished was out there. BB: Actors are often asked who they want to act alongside, but they don't really give the director's standpoint a lot of focus. So, now that you’re making a name for yourself behind the camera, who are some of the actors you’d like to work with as a director? JB: Oh wow, what a cool question! They’re all too cool for me, I suspect, but, if I ever got the chance to direct Val Kilmer, I would be able to die a happy man. And, obviously, you could do a lot worse than Daniel Day-Lewis. I’ve gotten to act alongside Gary Oldman; getting to direct him would be a dream. So those would be my guys, I think. BB: You mentioned earlier not being able to separate love of cinema from love of the horror genre, but it's often a fine line between comedy and horror. Your film enters all the way into some pretty gory territory. How do you go from movies like the How to Train Your Dragon series and Tropic Thunder to something as dark as [Random Acts of Violence ]? JB: It comes down to… I’m very, very proud of, and honored to have, the acting career that I’ve had, but that’s like, you know, what I do for a living; and I hate saying that because it inherently sounds like I'm sort of dismissing it to a degree, which I really am not. I have been lucky enough to live off of my acting for quite some time, and, as a result, I’ve gotten to be a part of some pretty special films; but the movies I was watching at home and the stuff I was reading - everything I was sort of interested in myself - has been pretty consistent the whole time. I was always interested in, and a fan of, horror movies and action movies, and was always reading a shitload of true crime. So, for whatever reason, I was just always interested more in “strong medicine” as an audience member. So I knew that if ever I was lucky enough to get the chance to create an articulated vision in a movie, it would probably be something like that. So it’s like the movies that I’m in and the movies that I watch are sometimes different. BB: One of the things that comes up in the film is the idea of the balance between horror as an art form and fetishizing evil. What do you think the difference is between those? JB: That’s a very good question… Now, I think it’s a question that we don’t necessarily provide a clear answer to, which is deliberate, because I think there is some stuff which the film kind of takes a specific moral philosophy and standpoint on; but there’s other stuff that is more… kind of contributing to a debate in a conversation that I feel should happen. That being said, there are movies that I watch, and I know in my heart of hearts when something feels truthful and something feels kind of, yeah, fetishistic. And I’d point to a Quebecoise movie called, in English - 7 Days ; and in French - Les 7 Jours du Talion ; by Podz, and that movie is really harsh. It’s just one guy torturing another guy in a room for a whole fucking movie, and a great degree of realism and verisimilitude. It’s a fucking hard watch, but never once does it feel cheap or false; and never once does it feel like a love letter to violence; and it doesn’t seem to be sort of wallowing in it. So I think to answer the question, I think that’s kind of hard. It’s this almost amorphous thing that we call truth. I think that you can tell when something warrants its aesthetic and you can tell when something is ugly for the sake of ugly. I think you can; I can, anyway. But again, I think it’s a terribly relative thing, because every single one of us watches the same movie and we’re each going to have some different reaction to it, so that would be my kind of instinct is that it speaks to more the truth behind it. Why is Seven important, and a lot of other movies about a serial killer aren’t? BB: I saw a lot of influence from 70s Italian horror, I just wanted to know what other influences you put into the direction of this? JB: I definitely think there is some degree of giallo in the movie’s DNA. I think that when you see that, you’re seeing a lot of Karim Hussain’s influence because that’s an era and genre that’s really important to him. You know, for me, I think there’s some really important and beautiful stuff to be taken from it, but I’d be lying if I said it was my go-to. However, I saw ways that aspects of it would work pretty well in our flick. But for me the other kind of big influences would be The Red Shoes by [Michael] Powell & [Emeric] Pressburger, a British film from the 40s about a belly dancer, which is like not remotely scary - well not scary in a horror sense, scary in a different sense - I mean, most people don’t call that film scary, but there’s just a sort of a weird energy to it that I can’t put my finger on, but anyway, it was right for this movie. And then I say the two films that informed the energy of the violence in our movie the most would be Irreversible and David Fincher's Zodiac . They kind of both approached violence in a super honest, realistic way that allowed it to be kinda clumsy and stoppy and sort of really, really, you know, gritty as a result. So, those would be our big inspirations. BB: You adapted this one from a comic book. I was wondering if you could talk to me about the idea of bringing a comic book to screen. How you did it, using the art in the movie? And how your experience with Captain Canuck leant to that? JB: Oh awesome! It really starts from there being a really interesting story, an interesting kind of starting off viewpoint in the comic book and it just kind of got stuck in Jesse [Chabot]’s head, and in my head... Then, at a certain point, it becomes the only thing that matters is serving the story as well as we can, and so we allow the document we’re creating to start to live its own life, which means it’s beholden to its source material, but only to a certain point. There lives a moment where the movie starts to want to be something of its own, and you have to kind of decide is this thing it wants to be, that is different than the comic, is it worth doing? And then in terms of the aesthetic, I think maybe subconsciously we wanted it to look like that, but I think more than anything our way in with our camera, and our lighting, and our colour pallets was more just, kind of, arch. We wanted really strong arch colours in light and shadow, and that happens to be how a lot of comics are kind of created, so it ends up looking like that. Now, in terms of what did my experience with Chapter House and Captain Canuck lend to it? I knew exactly what it would be like to be on a Comic-Con tour and the kind of headaches that the owner has to look forward to arriving at a venue. So there is, I think, there is some bit in the movie where I’m yelling at the guy who owns the comic book shop about a fucking box that he can’t find that we sent and that’s shit that seems to happen at every Comic-Con. So that seems to be a bit of a comic industry banality that could be something funny and real. So, I definitely took some of my years in admin in that world [to inform the] vibes in this movie. BB: There are two scenes in the film that stand out for me, in that they’re kind of like opposites of each other. One is the autograph signing that features fans that are a little too into the Slasherman comic and then later in the film the police interrogation where the officer is expressing great disdain towards the comic. How do you feel these scenes comment on horror culture as a whole? JB: Yes, that’s an awesome question! That’s the thing I think I wanted to show… We’re trying to talk about, you know… It’s an inherently kind of relative experience as an audience member consuming a work of art, but we also… I was trying my best to show every bad thing that can come from this. It’s more about this idea that one can divorce oneself from responsibility for anything one puts out into the world, which I think is as absurd as the concept that video games and comics make people kill people. I think those are both are very facile, silly, absurd, philosophes... So, basically, how those two scenes compliment each other, it’s like this is what it could look like. It’s like when you’re caught in something that you looked the other way on. When Todd has made a Faustian bargain and even if he thinks he’s ultimately… that his book is victimized by critics, he still, part of him as a rational man has to agree with at least part of what they’re saying. He knows, ultimately, that even if he believes his work has more merit than people seem to believe it does, he knows what his fan base looks like and he knows ultimately how it will come across in the cold light of day. So it’s about the specter of responsibility that he was able to keep at arms length, kind of getting closer and closer to him until the end. BB: With this film, along with Man Seeking Woman and Goon , you film in Canada often. I know Georges St. Pierre always said that he enjoys fighting in Canada for a comfort level. What exactly is the thing that draws you towards shooting in Canada, and is it particularly important to you? JB: It’s two things. I think one of them is what he said, you know, this is my home; this is where I’m from and this is where I’m most comfortable. The other piece of it is, I feel, what many could call a silly obligation to English-Canadian cinema. I want to know that, for better or worse, I contributed to the cinematic language of my country, and I want to know that I added something to our cultural tapestry. You know, this is sort of part of why… it would be more convenient, I think, for me to have gone elsewhere, potentially, but I know that at the end of the day, even if I got to create some really special stuff, I would have contributed to another country’s culture. And this is… for me, my great shame is that I never joined the army, if I’m being perfectly frank. That’s not a joke, that’s like something I will always… it’s haunted me since I was a kid, that I didn’t do what a lot of my uncles and my granddad and my cousins did. Now, please, I don’t mean to say that I am comparing this movie to what any of my uncles or granddad or cousin did in joining the army, but it is in some way, a way that I can kind of contribute and help. Because listen, countries come and go, but art sticks around, and I would like to add to this country as best as I can. BB: You touched on working in the comic industry a bit, and then you mentioned that your taste in films has pretty much stayed the same throughout the years. Can you tell me what are some of your major comic book and horror film influences? JB: Alan Moore's From Hell, I think, is as good a use of the comic book medium as has ever been created. I would also put Preacher , everything Garth Ennis did in Preacher up there. Everything Garth Ennis did for The Punisher - for the years that he wrote The Punisher - really, really, really important to me. And then I would have to say for horror flicks, it would be The Exorcist , the original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre by Toby Hooper, and John Carpenter’s The Thing . And to be honest, I still think The Exorcist , probably the scariest movie ever made... But, I think, what might be neck and neck with it is a movie people don’t think of as a horror movie, but I think I would argue that 2001: A Space Odyssey is probably the scariest movie ever made. So, you know, I will spend my life trying to recreate even a moment from that film. BB: You mentioned Preacher and The Exorcist. , and there is a ton of religious imagery used in this film. I was wondering why you chose to use that and why do you hate Christmas? JB: Hahaha, no fair! That’s a very good question. So I’m kind of a child of two cultures to a degree. My dad is Sephardic Jewish, first generation. My mom is sort of dyed-in-the-wool Irish, English, Scottish, Canadian, and deeply Catholic. And some of the most impactful, not necessarily best, but most impactful moments in my childhood are tied to religion and Catholicism, specifically. I was in Catholic school from grades 1-6 and have hated myself the entire time as a result of it. I’d like to tell people that I was raised with two different, but very potent, forms of guilt from Jewish culture and Catholic culture. But, it all kind of seems to stem from like… This is the best way I can say it: I remember my mom reading me the Bible when I was a kid and she got to the story about Noah, and I started bawling my eyes out uncontrollably. Three years old, bawling my eyes out, like “why would God want to do this?” And then you know, Catholicism has a lot of really beautiful stuff in it, but it is very, very deeply viled. You grow up going to church, and class, and seeing Christ, you know, eviscerated, brutalized and you know it’s it drilled into you. So there’s kind of… It’s impossible for me to kind of separate blood from awe because it was drilled into me from childhood and from years, and years, and years in church. And you know, my relationship with the church is still kind of like a weird, tenuous one. I reject most of it, and yet I still feel a degree of safety and comfort when I’m in one, and so there’s a sort of push and pull in me that kind of finds its way out and manifests itself in this movie. BB: Lastly, this film seemed like you wanted to subvert some horror tropes. I’m not sure if that’s something that you added organically or if that came from the source material. Can you chat a bit about your approach to horror tropes and why you were kind of kicking them a bit? JB: Yeah, for sure… Your work should reflect what you actually believe, you know? And even if we enjoy kind of, on a surface level, you know, your kind of standard type of slasher films sometimes, even if that scratches a certain itch for us, we’re also able to discuss and talk about why this is maybe not the best and is potentially irresponsible and all this different shit. And it’s just like the point of something is a conversation that Jesse [Chabot] and I always seem to get into, and I think we were lucky enough to have known each other since high school, but also the high school we went to was a fine arts high school. So, this concept of “what is the point?” and “why does one do this?” and “what does this mean?” - this is just shit that was drilled into us. Of course, when we started writing this thing, you know… our intellects were commensurate with our age and, in sort of time passing, we evolve. Ideally, that document should evolve along with us. So, every year that the movie didn’t happen, we go back to the document, open the hood up and be like “ok, how can we make this better?” and we’d [discover] “well I don’t fucking think that way anymore” and “holy shit, this is a bit fucking exploitative!” or “this is kinda thin,” or “this is kind of shitty.” And so, the dielectric in the film is a conversation that Jesse and I had about our script over the course of a decade, and we realized that that would be the most honest, truthful way to do it - to actually not let that conversation inform how we write the thing, but to actually put it into the movie and almost build the movie a bit around it. Make sure to check out Random Acts of Violence now on VOD and Shudder. Interview conducted on July 24th, 2020 by Nick van Dinther. Photo Credits: Banner - The Montrealer; Photo 1 - Elevation Pictures; Photo 2 - Entertainment One

WELCOME TO CHIPPENDALES Starring: Kumail Nanjiani, Murray Bartlett, Annaleigh Ashford, and Juliette Lewis Creator: Robert Siegel ADRIANO There is something of a missed opportunity in Welcome To Chippendales . The story itself is engaging, compelling me to return every week, not to mention Kumail Nanjiani’s engrossing performance and Murray Bartlett stealing every scene he’s in. However, I wish the show wasn’t so lacking in style, which is especially noticeable for a tale of glamour and intrigue. Unfortunately, any grit present is only there because of the nature of the true crime story, not because of any conscious decision in the direction. It has enough entertainment value that I would recommend it, but it left a lot to be desired. QUENTIN Welcome to Chippendales , Hulu’s latest true corporate crime story, boasts enough sleaze and neon to make the darkly sordid tale quite a bit of fun (think of it as The Dropout through the lens of Netflix’s GLOW ). Admittedly, I’m not a huge Kumail Nanjiani fan, but he does good dramatic work here; however, he is greatly overshadowed by Murray Bartlett. The series’ only real flaw is that it covers 20+ years in eight episodes, so seemingly important plot points and characters are glossed over or forgotten quickly. And while there is clear character development, it comes at whiplash-inducing speeds. Still, I never lost interest.

BATMAN: CAPED CRUSADER: SEASON TWO Starring: Hamish Linklater, Jason Watkins, Krystal Joy Brown, Eric Morgan Stuart, Gary Anthony Williams, John DiMaggio, Matthew Needham, Michelle C. Bonilla, and Cedric Yarbrough Creators: Bob Kane and Bruce Timm AMARÚ When you say something has upped its game, it usually means the predecessor wasn’t great. But with Batman: Caped Crusader , this second season elevates a great show to an exceptional one. Hamish Linklater now deserves mention in the annals of recognized Dark Knights, homaging Kevin Conroy while still stamping his own voice. The noir setting is gritty, humorous at the exact right moments, and brings a fresh take to the best rogues gallery in comics. More than anything, though, I’ve never seen such an unedited representation of the brutality Batman brings to Gotham. It’s surprisingly violent and damn near flawless. QUENTIN You know, it’s funny. I recently reviewed X-Men ’97 , theorizing the two-year break between seasons might have killed my interest in that series. But here comes Caped Crusader , which also had a two-year break, and my thoughts couldn’t be more different. The surprisingly brutal action, noirish animation, and art deco design remain top-notch (X-Men ’s technicals also remained strong, to be fair), but the story is far more engrossing and cohesive, merging crime-of-the-week tales featuring both favorites and deep cuts from Batman’s (Hamish Linklater) rogues gallery with the slow-burn introduction of Joker (Matthew Needham). If nothing else, Caped Crusader ’s excellence has solidified my apathy towards X-Men . Check out our reviews for Season One HERE .