Thom Ernst

Featured in: Favicon

cbc.ca

thestar.com Favicon

metacritic.com Favicon

wellandtribune.ca Favicon

jazz.fm

original-cin.ca

Articles

TIFF ’24: What to See at This Year’s Fest, Sept. 13 — Original Cin

Sep 10, 2024 | original-cin.ca | Thom Ernst

By Jim Slotek, Liz Braun, Thom Ernst, Karen Gordon, Kim Hughes, John Kirk, Chris Knight, and Liam LaceyWell, this is it. Our final roundup of capsule reviews of films playing the Toronto International Film Festival, which wraps its 49th edition Sunday with a full slate of weekend screenings. As well, we also offer a deeply considered response to the controversial documentary Russians at War, written by our own Thom Ernst, who has particular insight into the film’s backstory. It’s below.
Alien: Romulus - In Space, No One Cares That It's An Homage — Original Cin

Aug 16, 2024 | original-cin.ca | Thom Ernst

The significant difference between Alvarez's film and other Alien movies is that in this outing, the gnarly, working-class space jockeys are a group of renegade teens instead of the hardened crew of convicts, astronauts, and cosmic trash collectors. The young cast doesn't disappoint, but Romulus lacks something of the artistry prevalent in the first Alien—artistry that benefited from actors like Yaphet Kotto, John Hurt, Tom Skerritt and Veronica Cartwright.
Kneecap: If 'A Hard Days Night' had Drugs, Nudity, Anarchy and Gaelic Profanity — Original Cin

Jul 29, 2024 | original-cin.ca | Thom Ernst

But when the film delves into their rambunctious antics involving drugs, sex, and acts of anarchy — likely based on some truth — don’t trust every word the film says. This is an easy enough task if you don’t speak Gaelic, considering much of the dialogue can’t be understood anyway. The untruth in Kneecap is substantial enough to label the film as fiction.
Freydís and Gudrid

Jul 2, 2024 | metacritic.com | Jeffrey Leiser |Thom Ernst

July 2024 Movie Preview Keith Kimbell The month ahead will bring a team-up between Deadpool and Wolverine, belated sequels to Twister and Beverly Hills Cop, a Sundance winner, and more. To help you plan your moviegoing options, our editors have selected the most notable films releasing in July 2024.
Imaginary: Unimaginative Imaginary Friends Make for Dull Company — Original Cin

Mar 8, 2024 | original-cin.ca | Thom Ernst

By Thom ErnstRating: CThe unacknowledged thing about Imaginary (as far as I know) is how much the just-released horror movie owes to the maligned Winnie the Pooh: Blood & Honey—part of a trend of public-domain characters ripped from the pages of beloved children's books. In Winnie the Pooh: Blood & Honey, a feral Pooh and his equally savage sidekick, Piglet, go on a murderous spree after their friend Christopher Robin abandons them in the Hundred Acre Wood.
Molly McGlynn Fitting In

Feb 5, 2024 | northernstars.ca | Thom Ernst

Molly McGlynn Fitting Inby Thom Ernst – Film Correspondent (February 5, 2024 – Toronto, ON) I had no reason to doubt that Mayer-Rokitansky-Kuster-Hauser syndrome was a real thing. I Googled it anyway—in case you doubted it. Yes, it is accurate.
Cynara: The Crime, The Drama

Nov 30, 2023 | northernstars.ca | Thom Ernst

Cynara: The Crime, The Dramaby Thom Ernst – Film Correspondent(November 30, 2023 – Toronto, ON) One of the most influential films to come out of this year’s Hot Docs, and a story currently being played out in the Ontario courts, is director Sherien Barsoum’s Cynara.
Fallen Leaves: Kaurismäki’s Latest Dry Comedy is 'Chaplin-esque,' But Not The Way You Might Think — Original Cin

Nov 20, 2023 | original-cin.ca | Thom Ernst

It’s so droll that you might have missed the joke until Chaplin’s name is dropped in the final moment of the final frame. This would be the Chaplin where charm supersedes slapstick, and the dynamics of the working class is a character in and of itself. Such is the precise use of Kaurismäki’s instrument for language that he’s capable of conveying a revelation with a single word. But if Chaplin is droll, then Kaurismäki is droller.
Hands that Bind - A Review

Nov 1, 2023 | northernstars.ca | Thom Ernst

Hands that Bind – A Reviewby Thom Ernst – Film Correspondent(Noveber 1, 2023 – Toronto, ON) A scene near the opening of director Kyle Armstrong’s haunting drama Hand that Binds shows a tractor stopped in a field, black smoke rising out of the engine like a demon escaping the machinery.
TIFF #48 - It’s a Wrap

Sep 17, 2023 | northernstars.ca | Thom Ernst

TIFF #48 – It’s a Wrapby Thom Ernst – Film Correspondent(September 17, 2023 – Toronto, ON) The last day of the festival is also the day you can see films for free, at least the TIFF2023 People’s Choice Award (yet to be announced). On the Canadian film front (and who’s to say the People’s Choice Award won’t go to a Canadian film) there is one more screening of Quiz Lady. Sandra Oh and Awkwafina star as sisters, Jenny (Oh) and Anne (Awkwafina).