FILM REVIEWS:
GOOD BOY (USA 2025) ***
Directed by Ben Leonberg
GOOD BOY is Todd’s pet dog, Indy. GOOD BOY is a horror film told from a dog’s perspective.
The canine hero, Indy, finds himself on a new adventure with his human owner—and best friend—Todd (Shane Jensen), leaving city life for a long-vacant family home in the country. From the start, two things are abundantly clear: Indy is wary of the creepy old house, and his affection for Todd is unwavering. After moving in, Indy is immediately vexed by empty corners, tracks an invisible presence only he can see, perceives phantasmagoric warnings from a long-dead dog, and is haunted by visions of the previous occupant’s grim death. When Todd begins succumbing to the dark forces swirling around the house, Indy must battle a malevolence intent on dragging his beloved Todd into the afterlife.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA), 45.5% of U.S. households own at least one dog. And in Canada, around 35% of people own dogs (i.e., 35% of households or individuals, depending on the study). The film will undoubtedly attract dog owners, and as listed in the statistics, that is a good share of the target audience that will show interest in viewing the film.
The film shows different stages in Indy’s life, likely from the director’s own photos and old videos. Indy is indeed a cute puppy and even as a full-grown dog at 35 pounds. There are shots of Indy getting his tummy rubbed, playing as a puppy, and just goofing around as dogs do. The film is obviously aimed at dog lovers, myself included, a Rhodesian Ridgeback owner.
From Indy’s point of view, the audience sees the dog reuniting with his owner, Todd, as he is discharged from the hospital. Indy is also given the brush off (poor dog!) when Todd is ill in bed. But the sickness in that Todd has is not explained or given any details. The only thing the audience sees is the blood he coughs out. Those in the medical field would know that the symptoms could be due to: Tuberculosis (TB) – one of the classic causes, especially untreated or advanced cases; Bronchiectasis – damaged and widened airways that bleed easily or Lung cancer – tumours can erode into blood vessels. But the film also hints at, but never makes sure that there might be a supernatural element involved, as there is always black glue around.
The audience also observes a dog’s life, and it is often not pretty. Indy loves his master but has to succumb to his burst of anger due to his illness.
Todd’s health causes his sister, Vera, concern. Vera is occasionally seen calling Todd on his cell phone, as observed by Indy.
Unfortunately, there is not much story or plot that goes into the story. The premise of filming at dog eye level from a dog’s point of view is a novel idea, and the film benefits primarily from being a curiosity piece. Despite the short running time of under 90 minutes, the film lags in the middle, and many plot points are left unexplained.
GOOD BOY opens in theatres on October 3rd. (Revue Cinema in Toronto)
Trailer:
KILLING FAITH (USA 2025) ***
Directed by Ned Crawley
KILLING FAITH combines several different film genres like the western, supernatural religious thriller, mystery, slavery, and horror in a film where everything goes, and where twists and turns can appear as surprisingly as new characters do.
The setting is the American West in 1849, as the credits inform. The frontier region, which is the Arizona Territory (the film is shot around Santa Fe, New Mexico), is ravaged by plague, superstition, but mostly feared are the Indians (the awful description of the scalping process is described in the dialogue) and worse, the white man who can do far worse than the Indians.
Arriving into the story is an African American just freed salve black woman named Sarah (DeWanda Wise) and her white daughter, who is feared as everything she touches dies. The girl is first seen touching a horse. Sarah shouted to her: ‘Don’t! ' But she does, and the horse collapses. Apparently, the story of the girl has reached far and wide and the girl is both feared and sought. In the town, Sarah and her daughter are warned never to enter the town again. In the town, Sarah seeks the services of a protector/escort as she and her daughter want to travel to see a preacher whom she hopes can cure her daughter of what she believes is possession. Sarah meets a doctor, Dr. Bender (Guy Pearce), who agrees to be paid to accompany them. He thinks what is happening could be due to a sickness rather than a possession. The girl wears gloves so that she does not touch any living creature.
The mystery that pervades the film is whether the girl is ill or possessed. The answer is only revealed in the final frame, and not to be revealed in this review.
The majority of the film is a road adventure of the three as they venture for 5 days to reach their destination, where they encounter different characters, some stealing the girl in the process, with disastrous results when the girl unleashes the fury within her.
The film concludes with them meeting a preacher, called Preacher Ross, in a wheelchair, played by Bill Pullman in a performance he had never delivered before with such evil and wicked relish. Pullman is having great fun overdoing his performance,e and it works as his character brings much life into the story.
The film contains a few very gory scenes, like the one segment where the doctor has to free himself from handcuffs by breaking his hands. There is also more violent content that includes sexual assault and other grisly images, not to mention strong language in the dialogue. There is also drug use as the doctor frequently sniffs ether, which, as a doctor, he can get hold of.
The film also plays with the underlying conflict between belief, fear, superstition, and science, while not taking sides.
KILLING FAITH is as entertaining as it is strange, with actor Guy Pearce in another strange starring role. Pearce seems to be attracted to portraying odd characters lately.
KILLING FAITH opens in theatres on October 3rd.
Trailer:
MONSTERS WITHIN (USA 2025) **
Directed by Devin Montgomery
MONSTERS WITHIN is a moody piece of male brooding, a directorial feature debut by Devin Montgomery, who also stars as the troubled war veteran who returns to his small American town. Montgomery must think he is the new James Dean, but he is as bad an actor as a director and scriptwriter.
The premise is that whoever looks interesting enough on paper.
Life brings Luke Wolf (Montgomery), a war veteran, back to his hometown, where his sister, Ellie (Daniella Montgomery), is, who has Down Syndrome. Luke had an affectionate bond with his sister before she passed. She had given him a glass angel to protect him, something that he always carries around. Things are different as Luke faces his monsters.
There is some truth to the story and the actors on screen. The character of "Elle," who is the main character's sister and the heart and soul of the movie, is played by Devin Montgomery's actual sister, Daniella Montgomery. She has performed at several events for the Down Syndrome Associations and Special Needs choir in Oklahoma. The story of the bond between a brother and sister, with one having special needs, being portrayed as authentically and real as possible, was very important to both Devin and Daniella Montgomery.
Montgomery has no shame in writing long monologues where he speaks his mind, forcing the audience to listen often to some bad writing. The word shit punctuates the dialogue ever so often, and if Luke runs out of things to say, he will scream at the top of his voice to depict aggression and frustration. Montgomery, as director, fares not much better in his role. Luke meets a girl at the local bar and chats her up. The scene is intercut with another scene of the two having hot sex. The film then moves to the end of the night when the bar closes and Luke brings her home for sex, which the audience has already witnessed. There is no point in the intercut segments. The music mixing also leaves far to be desired with long bout of soundtrack dragged along in order for a scene to properly end. But the one segment that is the worst to watch is the one in which Montgomery, the director, gives Montgomery, the actor, a whole 5 minutes to cry on screen,
The film also shifts in the last 30 minutes into a slasher/horror film after Luke’s girl is kidnapped by her ex-lover, who seems to have tracked her down forthe money he had gotten from him.
It is surprising thoug,h that MONSTERS WITHIN has gone on to win awards in several film festivals.
MONSTERS WITHIN has the release date of October 3rd, 2025, on @primevideo and @fandango at Home.
Trailer:
ORWELL: 2+2 = 5 (USA/France 2025) ***
Directed by Raoul Peck
ORWELL: 2+2 = 5 is high high-profile documentary produced by heavyweights Alex Gibney (TAXI TO THE DARK SIDE; ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM) and Raoul Peck (I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO; ERNEST COLE: LOST AND FOUND), who also directs the doc.
George Orwell, born George Blair, is an English writer famous for 1984 and ANIMAL FARM. He started to write 1984 on the Scottish isle of Jura in 1948. This doc is a blend of Orwell: his life and works with current events that include Trump’s fascist rule, the Ukraine invasion by Russia and the Palestinian/Israel War.
The doc includes old photos of Orwell as a baby and as a boy in school. He belonged to the poorer end of the middle class. His father, having the same status, assumed a higher status by taking a military post in the British colonized countries. Orwell hated those in authoritarian power, as evident in his two most famous works, 1984 and ANIMAL FARM. Orwell’s writing drew from his personal experience of poverty in Down and Out in Paris and London, of colonialism in Burmese Days, and of revolutionary uprising in Homage to Catalonia. Most notable: At age 46, nearing death from tuberculosis, the last sentence he wrote was: “All that matters has already been written.”
The doc is most entertaining with clips of related movies, particularly Michael Radford’s 1984, which starred John Hurt as Orwell. More than a dozen films are featured, particularly from multiple different adaptations of 1984 and ANIMAL FARM
The doc, totally from director Peck’s point of view, which is both a little bit much and personal, evokes a very depressing look at today’s world, at what it has become. The doc concludes with a solution for what can be done. This is reflected in organized protests by the people, like the Black Lives Matter walk. But these solutions are difficult to come by and take lots of time and dedication from the people involved.
ROCKSTAR: DUKI FROM THE END OF THE WORLD (Rockstar: DUKI desde el fin del mundo)(Argentina 2025) ***
Directed by Alejandro Hartmann
The documentary offers an intimate and unfiltered portrait of Duki’s personal life and career. It traces his evolution from a freestyler in Buenos Aires (competing in rap battles) to becoming an internationally recognized hitmaker. The film also examines the duality of his identity — who is Mauro (the person) vs. who is DUKI (the stage persona) — and explores how fame and artistic expectations impact him.
The documentary begins with Duki (Mauro Lombardo) reflecting on his childhood in Buenos Aires. Old home videos and interviews with family show a shy kid who found escape in music. His teenage years are portrayed through the rise of freestyle rap battles in Argentina, particularly El Quinto Escalón, the underground competition that launched him into the spotlight.
The doc is a mix of his interviews, archive footage of his life, and his concert performances.
The main difference between this documentary and other biopic documentaries, such as those about Elton John or Elvis Presley, and many others, is that this one features the artist at the age of 27. Duki himself says,” At 27, I have it all.” The audience sees all his ups and downs, concert performances, and quiet moments all condensed into 27 years. Though the name might not be familiar, he is an internationally famous artist; his story is familiar. An Ok doc, on a reflection on life and concert performances.
The doc opens on Netflix (streaming) on October 2, 2025
THE SMASHING MACHINE (USA 20225) ****
Directed by Benny Safdie
Arguably one of the best sports dramas ever made since RAGING BULL, THE SMASHING MACHINE from director Benny Safdie (GOOD TIME and UNCUT GEMS) plays pagans the typical Hollywood feel-good sports boxing romantic action drama, Sylvester Stallone’s ROCKY. THE SMASHING MACHINE charts the downfall of the couple’s romance rather than the buildup and happy ending of Rocky’s romance. The film is based on the 2002 documentary The Smashing Machine: The Life and Times of Extreme Fighter Mark Kerr. Both film works in different ways.
THE SMASHING MACHINE is the powerful story of pioneering mixed martial arts/UFC fighter Mark Kerr (Dwayne Johnson). Kerr helped grow the sport’s popularity in its early days, but the fights’ brutal demands took a toll, eventually leading to painkiller addiction. The constant need to travel, since the most lucrative early matches were always in Japan, didn’t help either.
The film begins wth a voiceover by Mark Kerr as he enters the ring for his first UFC fight. Kerr pins his opponent to the floor and delivers multiple violent blows to his head, beating his opponent’s face to a bloody pulp, hence the film’s title, THE SMASHING MACHINE. “Is he all right?” Kerr asks ironically. Of course, there are also segments when Kerr gets punishment as well. Boxing sports films are often bloody, like RAGING BULL and ROCKY, and THE SMASHING MACHINE is no different.
Dwayne Johnson, best known for his countless action-comedy roles, plays drama and sports here. Johnson has hair in this film, just like Mark Kerr, the character he plays. With his hair, Johnson is totally unrecognizable here with his different look. It is only when he shaves his head in the last 30 minutes of the film that Johnson looks like ‘The Rock’, his usual self. Johnson undoubtedly delivers the best of his career and does his co-star Emily Blunt.
The film contains one of the best argumentative confrontational scenes between the couple, Mark and Dawn. The couple’s fight scene works well because both deliver realistic and valid argument points. The best couples' confrontational scenes are: Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver in MARRIAGE STORY; Diane Ketin and Al Pacino in THE GODFATHER: PART II, and Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio in REVOLUTION ROAD. Johnson and Blunt now add to the list.
THE SMASHING MACHINE, a fictionalized story of Mark Kerr, is shot quasi-documentary style, with his romance with Dawn Staples dramatized. The film is aided by superb performances by both Johnson and Blunt, who might just win Academy Award nominations for their roles. Entertaining, dramatic and and engrossing watch, THE SMASHING MACHINE is yet another of director Benny Safdie’s successes.
The film ends with a 5- minute sequence of the real Mark Kerr on screen as opposed to just the customary image comparisons in other sports biopics.
THE SMASHING MACHINE premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, where it won the Silver Lion. It was also screened having its North American Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. It opens in theatres October 3rd, Friday.
Trailer:
STEVE (UK/Ireland 2025) ***** Top10
Directed by Tim Mielants
Reminiscent of the French classroom drama and Cesar Award Winning Best Picture, ENTRE LES MURS (THE CLASS), done cinema-verite/doc style, or a more maverick styled TO SIR WITH LOVE, the film follows a head teacher STEVE (Cillian Murphy) working in troubled school of boys, somewhat before they become residents in a borstal, s in the film SCUM.
Steve (Murphy) is the passionate head of a crumbling “last chance” reform school for teenage boys. With meagre resources, overstretched staff, and a mounting sense of futility, Steve must navigate one pivotal and precarious day made more tense by the arrival of a documentary news crew profiling the school, and the result may prove to be more exposé than commendation. The school is part institution and part last-ditch social experiment conducted in a shoddy rural manor house run by tired yet dedicated adults who believe their students still have something to offer the world. How the students and staff feel and go through are highlighted by both the incidents on screen as well as their own words as they talk to interviewers on camera, for a film. In one of the emotional scenes in the film, the vice head school teacher says of the students that she is a warden, teacher, and mother to them, and that they are simply adorable.
The boys, meanwhile, navigate an uneasy border between volatility and vulnerability. Mielants' score top marks in his storytelling technique using a combo of flashbacks and forwards, added by Murphy’s and Emily Watson’s stunning performances. He films the incidents that sequentially as they appear on screen so that the actors know exactly how the film should unfold.
Despite the mixed reviews this film’s scored, STEVE is still one of my favourite and most emotional films that I have seen at the Toronto International Film Festival. A definite must-see, and the film ranks as one of my Top 10 of 2025.
Trailer:
WAYWARD (Canada 2025) ***½
Directed Various directors, including Mae Martin
WAYWARD is a Canadian-made limited series from Netflix.
At the Toronto International Film Festival in the Primetime (TV) Section, the first 2 episodes of an 8-episode limited series were premiered, introduced by Mae Martin and Ryan Scott. Martin acted as the show runner on the series alongside Ryan Scott, serving as executive producer. And the two episodes were entertaining as they were thrilling and impressive.
WAYWARD follows rebellious teens Abby (Sydney Topliffe) and Leila (Alyvia Alyn Lind) in their early teens as they skip classes, get high, and listen to their Disk-mans, unaware that their parents are scheming to remedy their “bad” behaviour by involuntarily admitting them to a mysterious correctional school. As Abby and Leila innocently enjoy their final days of slacker freedom, detective Alex Dempsey (Martin) arrives in the town of Tall Pines with their wife, Laura (Sarah Gadon), who grew up there and feels drawn to return in her final months of pregnancy.
Tall Pines (the title of the first episode) is the kind of place where everyone knows your name, and homemade preserves are left on your front porch by neighbours, a gesture Laura finds comforting and Alex finds jarring. It is a creepy place, and the film has an exciting mystery air reminiscent of THE STEPFORD WIVES and the recent WEAPONS. In case one is wondering, Martin is non-binary, playing a husband. The first two episodes are nothing but excellent, making one eager to watch the rest of the series. The third episode, titled ESCAPE, has the two on an escape from Tall Pines Academy.
Besides the well-known name Mae Martin, the series features Toni Collette as Evelyn Wade, head teacher at Tall Pines Academy, and Sarah Gadon as Laura Redman, Alex's pregnant wife, a former Tall Pines student, a fact that Alex is unaware of. Of the supporting cast, Byron Mann as Brian, Abbie's strict father, and Jenny Raven as Carla, Abbie's mother, stand out.
Choice dialogue lines punctuate the series:
“I can’t wait for you to meet the new you.”
“Children go in. Something else comes out!”
“Something is not right in this town.”
“The only way out of this place is through that door.”
“She is one of them.”
The most intense is Episode 5 - the sex shocking sex scene and the Academy shutdown. The sex scene might be the reason the public gave a below 50% rating to the series, whereas critics awarded a higher over 70%.
WAYWARD is an impressive, well-paced, mysterious Canadian thriller filmed largely in Ontario with new twists and turns appearing in each of the 8 excellent episodes.
All 8 episodes are currently running on Netflix beginning this week, and one can binge-watch the entire series or watch them at one’s discretion.
Trailer:
