My Courses

Alexander Payne has been accused of looking down on his characters in films like “Election,” “Citizen Ruth,” and “Nebraska.” I’ve often found this criticism a little shallow but understandable, given the goofy personalities dominating those films and the line between finding people entertaining and mocking them. I bring this up because his latest, “The Holdovers,”…

There are several good starting points but little imaginative execution in “Satanic Hispanics,” a generic horror anthology whose title promises more than its individual creators deliver. Four Latinx-themed horror segments of variable quality are sandwiched between a modestly amusing wrap-around story about a haunted traveler, simply called “The Traveler.” It’s not enough, despite some amusing…

Colman Domingo was the center of attention at this year’s festivities. His performances in “If Beale Street Could Talk,” “Candyman,” “Zola,” “Euphoria,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”—along with his illustrious stage career—garnered him the TIFF Tribute Award for performance. And the actor had two new films screened. One he hopes will finally be his Oscar nomination,…