Chris Knight
Tomatometer-approved critic
Movies reviews only
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Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023) |
For all its fantastic-looking robot transformations, Rise of the Beasts is a lengthy, leaden tale, barely brought to life by the spark of its fortunately lively and expressive human co-stars. - National Post
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| Posted Jun 07, 2023
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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023) |
The film is beautiful to behold, with swooping camerawork that would be nigh impossible in a non-animated environment, and scenes so gorgeous I wanted to hit pause to enjoy their painterly composition. - National Post
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| Posted Jun 01, 2023
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Fast X (2023) |
Fast X offers such giddy, goofball enjoyment, I’d gladly return for two more if they can keep the energy flowing. - National Post
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| Posted May 18, 2023
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BlackBerry (2023) |
It’s clever and backed up by enough tech-speak to give viewers a sense of the nuts and bolts of things without wandering into the weeds. - Original Cin
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| Posted May 11, 2023
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Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) |
Rocket’s backstory, though often overshadowed by exploding spaceships, space stations and planets, is actually kind of sweet. As an urban Canadian, I have to say that anything that makes me feel sympathy for a raccoon is clearly doing something right. - National Post
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| Posted May 05, 2023
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Renfield (2023) |
It’s gruesome, but so cartoonish and unrealistic that you can probably stop being squeamish and just enjoy the humour. Or the sight of blood, if you’re into that. - National Post
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| Posted Apr 14, 2023
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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) |
[Ford] does a convincing job as an ageing adventurer not quite ready to join the museum-worthy objects he collects. - National Post
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| Posted Apr 12, 2023
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Simulant (2023) |
It’s an intriguing universe with a lot of potential directions to explore. The trouble is the screenplay wants to explore all of them. With so many threads and only 95 minutes, it’s too much slick surface, not enough philosophical underpinning. - Original Cin
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| Posted Apr 06, 2023
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The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) |
Despite its gruel-thin plot and lack of character development or motivation, The Super Mario Bros. Movie may still appeal to fans looking to play spot-the-reference, of which there are many. - Original Cin
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| Posted Apr 04, 2023
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John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) |
The film succeeds mightily... by virtue of leaning into its lunacy. There are some wicked stunts that will take your breath away – and should by all the laws of physics and biology take Wick’s breath away permanently, but whatever. - National Post
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| Posted Mar 24, 2023
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You Can Live Forever (2022) |
Powerful first feature examines lesbian love in a Jehovah’s Witness community, with a respectful depiction of both its characters and their beliefs. - Original Cin
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| Posted Mar 22, 2023
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Champions (2023) |
The film’s narrative arc is as calculated and predictable as a ball in flight. Even a heart-warming story can leave you cold if it’s poorly told. - Original Cin
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| Posted Mar 09, 2023
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Unseen Skies (2021) |
Will leave you with a great many questions and concerns about the place of surveillance in our lives, the ways that open-source artificial intelligence is getting in on the act, and what it might mean to the future of privacy and civil liberties. - Globe and Mail
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| Posted Mar 02, 2023
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Guitar Lessons (2022) |
Its episodic nature isn’t enough to derail the film’s charm, which consistently shines through and carries it over any rough transitions. - National Post
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| Posted Feb 24, 2023
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Jesus Revolution (2023) |
It’s an uplifting story with some fine music, though it does file off a few rough edges and sanitize some of its characters’ human frailties, to the point where the movie itself seems to be trying to proselytize. - National Post
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| Posted Feb 24, 2023
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Cocaine Bear (2023) |
Fortunately there’s more going on here than just a bear killing people while out of its tree. Not a whole lot more, but enough that Cocaine Bear passes muster as a piece of comedic art and not just a fictional snuff film. - National Post
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| Posted Feb 23, 2023
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2023 Oscar Nominated Shorts - Animation (2023) |
The animated short lineup is notable for marking the third year in a row without a Disney or Pixar offering, which used to be the standard start of the list of nominees. - National Post
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| Posted Feb 17, 2023
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2023 Oscar Nominated Shorts - Live Action (2023) |
The live-action shorts are a real mixed bag, emotionally speaking. - National Post
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| Posted Feb 17, 2023
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2023 Oscar Nominated Shorts - Documentary (2023) |
The most effective of the five might also be one of the shortest. Haulout [is] terrifyingly real. The others will certainly pluck at your heartstrings. - National Post
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| Posted Feb 17, 2023
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Of an Age (2022) |
If Of An Age took place in the age in which it’s set, it would dovetail nicely with such Australian musical-romantic-comedy classics as Strictly Ballroom, Muriel’s Wedding and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. - National Post
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| Posted Feb 17, 2023
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Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (2023) |
Come for the scenery, and settle in for the next two hours trying to make sense of it. There’s no guarantee that you’ll love it, but what’s the quantum realm without a little uncertainty? - National Post
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| Posted Feb 15, 2023
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Marlowe (2022) |
Elegantly cast, impeccably shot, and dull as dishwater. - National Post
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| Posted Feb 15, 2023
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One Fine Morning (2022) |
A lovely, simple drama from French writer/director Mia Hansen-Love. - National Post
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| Posted Feb 10, 2023
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The Outwaters (2022) |
A quarter-century after The Blair Witch Project and a week and a half since Skinamarink comes The Outwaters, a found-footage horror film that manages to combine the worst elements of both. - National Post
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| Posted Feb 10, 2023
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Alice, Darling (2022) |
Alice, Darling isn’t fun, but it is intensely interesting. And the reason is Anna Kendrick. - National Post
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| Posted Feb 03, 2023
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Erin's Guide to Kissing Girls (2022) |
Simple, straightforward and unapologetically fun. - National Post
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| Posted Feb 03, 2023
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Close (2022) |
That draft you feel in the cinema while watching Close may be your own sighs, perhaps even sobs. No matter. Close may feature an ill wind, but it ultimately does its viewers good. - National Post
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| Posted Feb 03, 2023
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Knock at the Cabin (2023) |
Sorry to have to take a knock at this Cabin, but M. Night Shyamlan’s latest is mediocre and missable – not especially scary, less thought-provoking than it wants to be, and pretty much devoid of anything that might qualify as a “twist.” - National Post
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| Posted Feb 03, 2023
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Million Dollar Pigeons (2022) |
I can’t wait for the crowd-pleasing, based-on-a-true-story retelling that I’m half-certain is already in the works somewhere. - National Post
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| Posted Feb 02, 2023
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80 for Brady (2023) |
You probably won’t be surprised by the news that Fonda et al can still deliver comic and heartfelt moments in equal measure. Unlike pro sports, acting is an endeavour where it’s possible to just keep getting better with age. - National Post
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| Posted Feb 01, 2023
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When You Finish Saving the World (2022) |
The film’s charms rest squarely on the shoulders of Moore and Wolfhard, who are thankfully up to the task. - National Post
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| Posted Jan 27, 2023
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Infinity Pool (2023) |
Infinity Pool will engage your mind even as it turns your stomach. I found it a fair tradeoff. - National Post
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| Posted Jan 27, 2023
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The Son (2022) |
The Father has me convinced [Zeller is] capable of incredible things. The Son? Well, nobody's perfect. - National Post
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| Posted Jan 20, 2023
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Ever Deadly (2022) |
Everything ties together. When Tagaq is interviewed on a barren, rocky and mosquito-infested shore, her love of this place in the Far North shines through in everything she says. - National Post
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| Posted Jan 20, 2023
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Turn Every Page: The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb (2022) |
Both Caro and Gottlieb remember epic editing battles, sometimes over the use of semi-colons... But the prevailing mood is one of mutual respect, admiration, even consonance. - National Post
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| Posted Jan 20, 2023
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Saint Omer (2022) |
You can look up the results of the trial, though I’d recommend holding off until you watch this remarkable film, which ends with the final remarks by the defense. That, too, is a layer worth exploring. - National Post
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| Posted Jan 20, 2023
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Living (2022) |
There is much overlap between the characters of Stevens the butler in Remains and Nighy's bureaucrat in Living, though ultimately the newer film finds a more upbeat note on which to end, while losing nothing of its beautiful, melodious melancholy. - National Post
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| Posted Jan 20, 2023
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Adult Adoption (2022) |
There is still much to admire, most particularly in Moon’s committed performance. And as far as subject matter goes, Adult Adoption is very much in a creative category all its own. - National Post
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| Posted Jan 13, 2023
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Backlash: Misogyny in the Digital Age (2022) |
Backlash: Misogyny in the Digital Age, is a disturbing yet vitally important documentary that examines several real-life cases of online bullying, in enough depth to make your stomach churn, and your blood boil. - National Post
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| Posted Jan 13, 2023
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Plane (2023) |
Plane isn’t a great movie, but it knows what it wants to be. And it’s not letting anything get in its way. - National Post
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| Posted Jan 13, 2023
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Broker (2022) |
Not only are the actors all excellent, but Kore-eda has shown time and again that, from the moment of birth, no one flies or fails completely on their own. - National Post
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| Posted Jan 06, 2023
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A Man Called Otto (2022) |
Even if you don’t know A Man Called Ove, you can probably guess where A Man Called Otto is headed. But that doesn’t make the journey less enjoyable. - National Post
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| Posted Jan 06, 2023
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M3GAN (2022) |
It’s not the second coming of motion pictures, to be sure. But look at the scrawled remarks in my notebook. “After Yang not Child’s Play.” “Spielberg’s A.I. but in reverse.” “Cheesy Ex Machina.” “Blonde HAL.” “Tiny Terminator.” - National Post
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| Posted Jan 06, 2023
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No Bears (2022) |
A fascinating, multi-layered fable in which the storytelling techniques of film butt up against the realities of the world. - National Post
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| Posted Dec 27, 2022
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Women Talking (2022) |
Writer/director Sarah Polley has adapted fellow Canadian Miriam Toews’s 2018 novel into a thoughtful, thought-provoking study of faith, forgiveness and fighting for what is right, and against what is wrong. - National Post
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| Posted Dec 27, 2022
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The Pale Blue Eye (2022) |
Clocking in at more than two hours, The Pale Blue Eye (the title is from a line in one of Poe’s works) lumbers when it should lunge. - National Post
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| Posted Dec 27, 2022
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Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022) |
While the plot may not be quite up to early-Shrek standards, it’s still a fun romp and also one of the few children’s movies in theatres this season. - National Post
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| Posted Dec 27, 2022
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The Whale (2022) |
Fraser wrings more pathos out of his eyes and mouth than many actors manage with their entire bodies, delivering deep reserves of sensitivity and vulnerability. - National Post
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| Posted Dec 27, 2022
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Dear Future Children (2021) |
Böhm splits his time between his three subjects, exploring the topics that inspire them, but also looking at the personal costs. - National Post
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| Posted Dec 22, 2022
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Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) |
Say what you will about the filmmaker, but he excels at world building. The aquatic life forms in this new movie look and feel like they could actually exist, although I did find the idea of living scuba tanks a little convenient. - National Post
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| Posted Dec 13, 2022
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