You’re used to hearing the sound of “Bruce! Bruuuce! Broooooooooose!” in giant, rock-friendly arenas all over the world. The echo of fans screaming out Bruce Springsteen‘s name in the Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, however, feels weird — the 2,600 capacity venue is pretty intimate compared to most places the …
Read More »'The Brutalist' Is a New Great American Masterpiece
Imagine a film archivist scouring an underground vault in Burbank or a cave in Butte, Montana, and discovering a few dozen dusty film canisters tucked away in a corner. Reels of some long-lost project from Francis Ford Coppola, or Bernardo Bertolucci, or Michael Cimino circa the mid-1970s reside in these …
Read More »Big Suits, Lost Tapes, and Dancing Heads: Inside A24's Incredible 'Stop Making Sense' Restoration
Let’s say you’re a band — a famous and well-regarded one — and you are deep into a tour that’s ambitious, theatrical, and almost triples the number of musicians you normally have onstage. Once upon a time, you played stark post-punk songs and Al Green covers at CBGB. Now your …
Read More »Talking Heads Appear Together for the First Time in 21 Years at TIFF
It usually starts around “Burning Down the House.” That’s six numbers into Stop Making Sense, the 1984 Talking Heads concert film, and the first number to feature not just the central quartet — David Byrne, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth, and Chris Frantz — but the whole expanded band they were …
Read More »Ethan Hawke's Flight to 'Wildcat' TIFF Premiere Was Canceled, So He Took a Greyhound Bus
No canceled flights were going to stop Ethan Hawke from making it to the Toronto International Film Festival premiere of his latest film, Wildcat. The actor’s daughter Maya Hawke, who stars in the film, received clearance to support the film during the SAG-AFTRA strike, which lit more of a fire …
Read More »A New Louis C.K. Doc Explores Why the Comedian Wasn't Canceled for Sexual Harassment
The thing about “open secrets” is: Everyone knows what the secret is, but no one wants to acknowledge or talk about it. Not really, at least — if somebody’s peers and colleagues are all privy to some forbidden or socially unacceptable facts, and bringing it up forces them to reckon …
Read More »Spike Lee Calls Out Film Critics for Speculating 'Do the Right Thing' Would Incite Riots
Spike Lee called out film critics who suggested thatDo the Right Thingwould spark riots when it opened in 1989, while expressing his gratitude for late reviewer Roger Ebert, who praised the film after its Cannes debut. “He was very crucial in my career,” said Lee as he received the Ebert …
Read More »'Dream Scenario' Is Bald Nicolas Cage's Cancel-Culture Nightmare
Think about some of the weirdest dreams you’ve ever had. Maybe you were perched on a dining room table while hungry alligators slithered toward you. Or the one where you’re sitting by a swimming pool as various objects fall from the sky. Or that nightmare where a tall, terrifying man …
Read More »Lil Nas X's Documentary Premiere Briefly Delayed by Bomb Threat at Toronto Film Festival
The premiere of Lil Nas X’s documentary at the Toronto Film Festival was briefly delayed Saturday after someone called in a bomb threat. However, after the threat was deemed not credible, the screening — which the rapper attended — continued as planned, albeit after a “slight delay.” Lil Nas X: …
Read More »Nickelback Doc 'Hate to Love' Is the Nickelback of Rock Docs
It is easy to shit on Nickelback. Too easy, some might say. The question is really: Why? What, exactly, is it about this Canadian group that inspires such ill will? Their overwhelming success? Lots of bands are successful, for all of the right and wrong reasons. Their hits? No one’s …
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