alcoholism

TIFF 2020: ANOTHER ROUND - Mads Mikkelsen Soars in This Utterly Pissed Pissing Contest
TIFF 2020: ANOTHER ROUND – Mads Mikkelsen Soars in This Utterly Pissed Pissing Contest

Reteaming with star Mads Mikkelsen, Thomas Vinterberg’s Another Round probes and explicates the psychological toll liquor can bear on us.

EL FATHER PLAYS HIMSELF: A Raw and Vulnerable Documentary that is Not to Be Missed
EL FATHER PLAYS HIMSELF: A Raw & Vulnerable Documentary That Is Not To Be Missed

There is a catharsis In El Father Plays Himself that is achieved through witnessing truth, witnessing the process – one that is not easily forgotten.

TATER TOT AND PATTON: Comfort In Catharsis
TATER TOT & PATTON: Comfort In Catharsis

Tater Tot & Patton doesn’t play by those rules. Instead, we are given an odd, slow burn with endearing performances and a lesson to be learned.

We're Far From The Shallow Now: How A Star Is Born Depicts Life With Addiction
We’re Far From The Shallow Now: How A STAR IS BORN Depicts Life With Addiction

Bradley Cooper’s take on A Star is Born is more than a tragic love story: it’s a powerful depiction of being the person next to an addict.

SHAMELESS "Black-Haired Ginger" (S9E5): The Beginning Of The End?
SHAMELESS “Black-Haired Ginger” (S9E5): The Beginning Of The End?

With William H. Macy taking the director reins this week, episode five of Shamless gives viewers glimmers of the familial ties that keep this show from going off the deep end.

SHAMELESS “Weirdo Gallagher Vortex”(S9E3): Politics, Gallagher Style
SHAMELESS “Weirdo Gallagher Vortex”(S9E3): Politics, Gallagher Style

While providing some fun, the “Weirdo Gallagher Vortex” will keep your attention, though it doesn’t really feel like a step forward, leaving viewers waiting for the Shameless we’ve come to love.

SHAMELESS "Mo White!" (S9E2): They Grow Up So Fast
SHAMELESS “Mo White!” (S9E2): They Grow Up So Fast

Even though this week’s episode goes a bit downhill, Shameless has plenty of laughs as the Gallaghers try to navigate life, with plenty of room for the cast to shine.

SHAMELESS “Are You There Shim? It’s Me, Ian” (S9E1): Testing The Bonds
SHAMELESS “Are You There Shim? It’s Me, Ian” (S9E1): Testing The Bonds

“Are You There Shim? It’s Me, Ian” doesn’t deliver the sort of Shameless panache that the earlier seasons had, but it bodes promising.

DOUBTFUL: A Heartfelt & Earnest Debut
DOUBTFUL: A Heartfelt & Earnest Debut

Doubtful proves to be an intelligent, intimate, and potent first feature for Israelian director Eliran Elya.

Urban and The Shed Crew: Another Win for Female Filmmakers
URBAN AND THE SHED CREW: Another Win For Female Filmmakers

With 30% of British children living in poverty, director Candida Brady’s film couldn’t be timelier, depicting the harsh realities of young Britons’ lives with an unapologetic sincerity.

PARADISE: Unfortunately, It’s Anything But
PARADISE: Unfortunately, It’s Anything But

Diablo Cody’s directorial debut was made back in 2013, yet got buried so deep it’s easy to not know it even existed. After watching Paradise, it became clear why it never got a proper release five years ago.

CHAVELA: A Warm Portrait Of An Extraordinary Woman
CHAVELA: A Warm Portrait Of An Extraordinary Woman

Chavela is a documentary that is an introduction to the legendary ranchera singer as well as a fond remembrance for those who knew her well.

Nine Lives: The One Where Kevin Spacey Plays A Cat
NINE LIVES: The One Where Kevin Spacey Plays A Cat

At times brimming with invention and at other moments leaving you confused as to who this is for, Nine Lives doesn’t fully deliver.

10 CLOVERFIELD LANE: A Hitchc*ckian Thriller For The 21st Century

The inner urge for survival is the most primitive of all impulses. For the longest time, sex was believed to be the driving force that pushes people, unconsciously and fully-cognizant, towards certain results in life. But after WWII especially, psychologists and holocaust survivors began to revisit the idea, and psychoanalysts took the obvious cue from Darwin:

Krisha
KRISHA: A Deeply Personal Story About Addiction

The opening of Trey Edward Shults’ Krisha is intense. A few seconds in, we are staring eye to eye with Krisha, the titular character (Krisha Fairchild). She is looking at us, and we are looking right back.