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film review: Supernova
Directed by Harry MacqueenWritten by Harry MacqueenChinoKino score: B+Review by Allan TongThe hard reality is that dementia is increasing as our population ages. Supernova addresses how one couple...
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What to watch tonight on Netflix, Prime & Crave
reviews by Allan Tong THE CROWN (on Netflix)ChinoKino score: A+ A dramatic series about a rich English family who live in big houses with servants, and they can't stand each other's spouses. The...
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What to watch this week: Pelé, Tokyo Girl, Creem magazine
Tokyo Girlreviews by Allan Tong TOKYO GIRL (on Prime)ChinoKino score: ATokyo Girl would kick Emily in Paris'ass in a Superbowl game.Tokyo Girl isa Prime series about a smalltown girl who finds her...
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film review: The End of the Storm
Directed by James ErskineWritten by James ErskineChinoKino score: DReview by Allan TongThe End of the Storm plays like one of those glossy mini-hagiographies that sports networks run during...
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film review: Chinatown Rising
Directed by Harry Chuck & Josh ChuckChinoKino score: AReview by Allan TongThough it was completed before Covid struck, Chinatown Rising couldn't be more timely. Racist attacks against Asians,...
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film review: Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street
Directed by Marilyn AgreloChinoKino score: AReview by Allan TongChances are you grew up watching Sesame Street and/or your children watch it now. Its blend of entertainment and education charms...
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film review: Riders of Justice
Directed by Anders Thomas JensenWritten by Anders Thomas Jensen & Nikolaj ArcelChinoKino score: B+Review by Allan TongDenmark has a population of only 5.8 million, but it produces a lot of good...
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TIFF film review: Belfast
Written & directed by Kenneth BranaghChinoKino score: BReview by Allan TongTIFF's audience award winners (formally, the Grolsch People's Choice Award) inevitably go on to capture awards in the...
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TV review: In The Line of Duty: season 6
Created and written by Jed MercurioChinoKino score: B+Review by Allan TongChances are you're reading this because you've watched the previous five seasons of this hit U.K. cop serial, but if you...
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film review: Tom Petty: Somewhere You Feel Free: The Making of Wildflowers
Directed by Mary WhartonChinoKino score: B Review by Allan TongThis new documentary unearths the sessions of Tom Petty's Wildflowers album, based on 16mm footage shot by a friend in 1993-5. It amounts...
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film review: The Beatles: Get Back (sneak preview)
Directed by Peter JacksonChinoKino score: B+Review by Allan TongDelayed by the Covid pandemic for 18 months, and hidden by the band itself for decades since its 1970 theatrical release, the...
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film review: Brian Wilson: Long Promised Road
Directed by Brent WilsonChinoKino score: B+Review by Allan TongFive minutes into this new documentary about Brian Wilson, I thought, Oh, no, not another Brian bio. The opening sings the praises of the...
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film review: Ennio
Directed by Giuseppe TornatoreChinoKino score:AReview by Allan TongIf you don't know the name Ennio Morricone, you have heard his music in films such as Malena, The Mission, In The Line of Fire, The...
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ICFF film reviews: The Treadmill & On Our Watch
The Treadmill (Tapirulàn)Directed by Claudia GeriniWritten by Fabio Morici with Claudia Gerini and Antonio Baioccio (story)ChinoKino score: A- On Our Watch (E Noi Come Stronzi Rimanemmo A...
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film review: Dreaming Walls: Inside The Chelsea Hotel
Directed by Maya Duverdier & Amélie van ElmbtChinoKino score: BReviewed by Allan TongYou may have heard of the Chelsea Hotel. It's that Gothic hotel-apartment that towers over 23rd street in...
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The Prism Prize returns in person
by Allan TongThe Prism Prize for Canadian music videos returned to a live audience at the TIFF Bell Lightbox last week in downtown Toronto after two years of virtual presentations during the pandemic....
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film review: Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Song, A Journey
Directed by Dan Geller & Dayna GoldfineChinoKino score: A-Review by Allan TongThere are many songs, but only a few become hits, and one or two endure as anthems. Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah is an...
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art review: In The Wake of Progress
Directed and photographed by Edward BurtynskyChinoKino score: A-Review by Allan TongEdward Burtynsky's giant photographs of strip mines, garbage dumps and high-rise jungles warn us of environmental...
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film review: Studio 17: The Lost Reggae Tapes
Directed by Mark JamesReview by Allan TongChinoKino score: A-Peter Tosh, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Dennis Brown, Alton Ellis, Lord Creator and Bob Marley are some of the reggae greats who graced Studio 17...
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Fan Expo returns to Toronto
Story and photos by Allan TongLife should be fun. When it isn't, we escape into better worlds, worlds where we possess strength and magic. That's why we watch movies, and that's why there's Fan Expo...
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