Barry Hertz
@hertzbarry.bsky.social
Film Editor, The Globe and Mail (Toronto, Canada). Author of Welcome to the Family: The Explosive Story Behind Fast & Furious. https://linktr.ee/barryhertz
Inside the years-long odyssey to reopen the IMAX Cinesphere at Ontario Place, a tragic and embarrassing state of affairs that not even the gods could forgive. www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/film...
The long odyssey to reopen the Imax Cinesphere at Ontario Place is tragic and embarrassing
Thanks to the province, an iconic theatre continues to gather dust just as demand for the technology soars
theglobeandmail.com
One crucial thing BRAND NEW DAY flubs is neglecting to depict Peter’s dire economic straits, which made his NYC struggles so relatable. He’s not hustling photo assignments at the Bugle, struggling to make rent. He’s just somehow got an unlimited tech and Uber Eats budget.
IMAX 70mm > IMAX laser > 70mm > VIP (Yonge Eglinton only) > AVX > Regular > 4DX > DBOX > Punch to the head > ScreenX* (*Lie-MAX doesn’t exist for me)
Matt Johnson's TONY, a portrait of when insecure ambition meets the cold splash of reality, works tremendously whether or not you know the arc of Bourdain's career — just as it can neatly double as a mirror of its director's own filmography. www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/film...
Tony, the new Anthony Bourdain biopic, is a movable feast
Canadian director Matt Johnson delivers a standout film about voracious ambition, bolstered by a tremendous lead performance from Dominic Sessa
theglobeandmail.com
Hirokazu Kore-eda isn’t afraid of AI – because he knows that cinema has no need for it. www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/film...
Japanese sci-fi drama Sheep in the Box gets lost in the melodramatic flock
A couple adopts an AI-assisted robot resembling their dead son in this unoriginal misstep from director Hirokazu Kore-eda
theglobeandmail.com
UPDATE from Canadian Heritage on percentages pursued from US streamers under the Online Streaming Act:
Barry Hertz@hertzbarry.bsky.social · last wk.June 14: Heritage Minister Miller says Ottawa will pursue undefined contribution of US streamers under Online Streaming Act. "My colleagues in Bloc assume that it will go down to zero. That isn't the case" July 17: AG letter says Ottawa's "intention is to eliminate the base contribution requirement"
June 14: Heritage Minister Miller says Ottawa will pursue undefined contribution of US streamers under Online Streaming Act. "My colleagues in Bloc assume that it will go down to zero. That isn't the case" July 17: AG letter says Ottawa's "intention is to eliminate the base contribution requirement"
11. Amazing Spider-Man 2 10. Amazing Spider-Man 9. Spider-Man 3 8. Spider-Man: Brand New Day 7. Spider-Man: Homecoming 6. Spider-Man: No Way Home 5. Spider-Man: Far From Home 4. Spider-Man 3. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2. Spider-Man 2 1. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Is he (SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY) strong? Listen, bud: no. Full review: www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/film...
Is Spider-Man: Brand New Day strong? Listen, bud: no
The latest installment starts with a fresh take but then crashes and burns, with stiff dialogue and unappealing action
theglobeandmail.com
SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY starts solid (I'm a sucker for a TV on the Radio needle-drop), but then you realize there are still 127 mins left. More incumbered by the MCU mothership than any entry before, this drags like a sack of The Punisher's balls (even if Bernthal is innocent).
COYOTE VS. ACME: Accidentally the most important movie of year in its searing indictment of corporate greed above all else. Also: very funny, resting somewhere between ROGER RABBIT on speed and the greatest 12:50 am SNL sketch of all time. Will Forte for U.S. Attorney-General.
Had the pleasure of sitting down with William Fichtner to talk about his new Canadian sci-fi movie THE OUTER THREAT, blindfolding himself for Robert Zemeckis during CONTACT, and the fate of HEAT's Roger Van Zant, among other things. www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/film...
William Fichtner trades the intensity of Hollywood for the sensitivity of Canada
Known for playing difficult men, he is one of the film industry’s most sought-after character actors
theglobeandmail.com
Hollywood isn't going to rid itself of empty IP and slop-bucket aesthetics overnight. But we need to recognize, savor, and genuinely reflect on the appointment-viewing moviegoing moment that THE ODYSSEY has created before it's doomsday all over again. www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/film...
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey is the future of filmgoing – if we want it to be
The sheer act of going to see the Matt Damon-led epic has become an act of cultural significance
theglobeandmail.com
One-and-done Nolan collaborators who deserve a reunion, ranked: 1. Guy Pearce 2. Tom Berenger 3. Rebecca Hall 4. William Fichtner 5. William Devane 6. Mark Rylance 7. Callum Keith Rennie *Leo and McConaughey will be fine
Especially good news for me, Barry, as my two favourite worlds — TIFF and FAST & FURIOUS — finally collide with #TIFF26 set to host world premiere of Sung Kang's directorial debut DRIFTER. One of 24 titles announced today as part of @TIFF_NET's Discovery program.
If Canada was a real country, the Vaughan Cineplex would have round-the-clock screenings of THE ODYSSEY.
Refn's HER PRIVATE HELL would all be so masturbatory if it weren’t so embarrassingly flaccid. Not even God could forgive. www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/film...
Nicholas Winding Refn’s starry thriller Her Private Hell is our collective misery
The film carries an infuriating pride in its own incoherence and the otherwise compelling actors that it smears into lifeless shells
theglobeandmail.com
NEW: Starting Friday, two Viceland seasons of NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW plus movie will stream on Disney+/Hulu in U.S., marking first time show has ever been available on American streamer. On Aug. 7, show will stream on Disney+/Hulu in Canada. (Movie will remain on Crave here.)
NEW: Canada's Competition Bureau has concluded its review of Paramount Skydance's proposed acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery and ... issued a "No Action Letter," meaning the bureau has no intention of challenging the merger. California, we are not.
NEW: TIFF reveals Gala & Special Presentations slates, including obvious titles (I PLAY ROCKY, Dowse’s THE STUNT DRIVER), surprises (new Lee Chang-dong, second Kore-eda for 2026), curious absences (no KLARA AND THE SUN, PRIMETIME, SOCIAL RECKONING … yet). www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/film...
TIFF to premiere films featuring Hollywood heavyweights, including champ Rocky Balboa
Programmers unveiled about three dozen new titles set to play the festival’s high-profile Gala and Special Presentation programs
theglobeandmail.com
The last movie ever made should star Tom Cruise and be directed by Christopher Nolan.
My horse? Trojan My Helen? Of Troy My Agamemnon? Benny Odysseus home in 20!
Notes re: THE ODYSSEY at Cineplex Vaughan IMAX 70mm: -No pre-show except DUNE: PART 3 sequence (similar to, but not exactly, CinemaCon footage — and minus new trailer) -Small scratch or dirt on print for few mins about hour in -Staff cruelly turn on house lights when end credits start rolling
THE ODYSSEY is the first Christopher Nolan movie since THE DARK KNIGHT to not feature a cast member from THE DARK KNIGHT.
Either WestJet's in-flight magazine — including the letter from its CEO — is written entirely by ChatGPT, or its copywriters need to be put on a no-fly list.
NEW: Ahead of TIFF's Special Presentations and Gala reveal Monday, #TIFF26 announces five new titles: Zellner Bros' ALPHA GANG, Bejamín Naishtat’s GLAXO, Rachel Morrison’s LOVE OF YOUR LIFE, Ben Shirinian’s THE HOUSEWIFE, and Bassam Tariq’s YOUR MOTHER YOUR MOTHER YOUR MOTHER
