That Shelf

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His Father's Son Review: A Culinary and Cinematic Delight

1 week ago | thatshelf.com | Colin Biggs

Meelad Moaphi’s feature film debut, His Father’s Son, premiered at the Canadian Film Festival (CFF), drawing praise for its authentic portrait of an Iranian-Canadian family and their struggles after an unexpected inheritance arrives. Moaphi’s film also won the Best Direction in a Feature and the Audience Award at the Reel Asian Film Festival. The film hasn’t gotten much press since, but this week’s theatrical release should rectify that.
28 Years Later: Reinventing the Zombie Movie...Again

1 week ago | thatshelf.com | Rachel West

Just like any worthwhile zombie, this franchise is born to survive. With their latest offering, 28 Years Later, Oscar winner Danny Boyle and co-writer Alex Garland reinvent the zombie genre once more and manage to revitalize a 22-year-old franchise. Like 28 Weeks Later was to 28 Days Later, the story isn’t a direct continuation of the familiar characters and plot. Set in the same world as the first two films, Great Britain remains under quarantine while life as usual has continued abroad.
Four Mothers Review: A Charming Tale of Love and Aging

2 weeks ago | thatshelf.com | Emma Badame

Darren Thornton’s Four Mothers, a remake of the Italian film Mid-August Lunch, is a very easy film to fall in love with. With a charming script, an excellent ensemble cast, and a whole lot of heart, the comedy covers everything from aging to loneliness to Pride to caregiving to trauma and family relationships, and does it all without tipping into full-blown schmaltz or resorting to emotional manipulation.
How to Train Your Dragon Review: Toothless Soars Again

2 weeks ago | thatshelf.com | Rachel West

Live-action remakes of beloved animated movies can be a challenge. For every Cinderella and The Lion King, there’s a Snow White or The Little Mermaid. Thankfully, Canadian director Dean DeBlois’ live-action remake of his own animated film gracefully soars above its contemporaries, even if it doesn’t quite reach the same heights as the original. The heartwarming adventure about a young man and his dragon is tailor-made for a family-oriented live-action fantasy flick.
The LEGO Shelf: Father’s Day Gift Guide

2 weeks ago | thatshelf.com | Courtney Small

What do you get the dad who has everything? This is a question that many will be asking themselves as they scramble for last minute Father’s Day gift ideas. As tempting as it might be to fall back to the classic standbys of ties, socks, and underwear, dads really don’t want more of those things.
Aontas Review: A Pitch-Perfect Cinematic Puzzle

2 weeks ago | thatshelf.com | Emma Badame

Every once in a while, a film comes along that feels like a complete breath of fresh air. Irish-language thriller Aontas is one of those films. Though there are elements here that we’ve seen before, there’s something about the way director-writer Damian McCann and co-writer Sarah Gordon fit the puzzle pieces together that makes it feel completely original. Told in reverse chronology, the story begins at its end–with the aftermath of the heist gone horribly wrong. Or so it seems.
Cannes 2025: Festival Review Round-Up

3 weeks ago | thatshelf.com | Emma Badame

That Shelf’s Editor-in-Chief Jason Gorber hit “La Croisette” to take in a huge selection of features both in and out of competition at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. Tune in below as he provides us with 12 different reviews, including a look at Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme, Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague, Ethan Cohen’s Honey Don’t!, Ari Aster’s Eddington, Scarlett Johansson’s Eleanor the Great, and many, many more. andGet more from Cannes 2025 here.
Ballerina Review: En Pointe But Not Always On Point

3 weeks ago | thatshelf.com | Deirdre Crimmins

For the past 11 years, and through four films, John Wick has had a stranglehold on gentlemanly action films. The world’s decade-long infatuation with James Bond and the more recent embrace of the Kingsman franchise, alongside John Wick, reinforces the notion that sometimes we just want to watch a guy in a well-tailored suit kill a whole bunch of people. It’s stylish, exciting, and escapist. All the elements of a fun night at the cinema.
Predator: Killer of Killers Review: A Blood-Soaked, No-Brakes Animated Thrill Ride

3 weeks ago | thatshelf.com | Victor Stiff

The ’80s gave us a cornucopia of pop culture treasures: MTV, The Simpsons, and Super Mario Bros. But its greatest gift to society is the rise of testosterone-fuelled action flicks. And when it comes to big, explosive, roided-out mayhem, Predator remains the gold standard. With its airtight premise, Arnold Schwarzenegger at his musclebound peak, and one of cinema’s all-time great monsters, Predator‘s masterpiece status is unassailable.
The Ritual Review: A Ghastly Failure

3 weeks ago | thatshelf.com | Colin Biggs

David Midell, known for more humanist fare like NightLights and The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain, is a surprising choice to helm an exorcism movie. With no films of that type to his name, one assumes he must have had a great pitch. Unfortunately, what Midell lacks in experience, he makes up by referencing other (better) films. William Friedkin’s The Exorcist is the gold standard for the genre.