The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)

The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia) is not a Tomatometer-approved publication. Reviews from this publication only count toward the Tomatometer® when written by the following Tomatometer-approved critic(s): Mark Palermo, Tara Thorne
Rating Title/Year Author
Late Night (2019) Tara Thorne That this film was made at all-let alone caused a money-throwing frenzy-is shocking. That anyone gets to see it is a gift and a privilege, so get to it. EDIT
Posted Jun 20, 2019
The Biggest Little Farm (2018) Tara Thorne In a time when technology and stuff are measures of success, The Biggest Little Farm offers up a more traditional view of life, existing from what the earth is able to give, in whatever form it may come. EDIT
Posted May 30, 2019
Ordinary Days (2017) Tara Thorne Its concept-the same story told from three perspectives, each segment handled by a different director-could've played as pointless schtick, but here it's deployed deftly enough to keep you guessing until nearly the final shot. EDIT
Posted May 20, 2019
The Hustle (2019) Tara Thorne The Hustle doesn't have a grand message and it doesn't need one. It's two top-notch comedians trying to steal the movie from one another. They both win. EDIT
Posted May 17, 2019
Birds of Passage (2018) Tara Thorne The directors coax layered, duplicitous performances out of their actors, a lot of whom are performing for the first time, including the formidable Carmiña Martínez as Wayuu matriarch Ursula. EDIT
Posted Apr 12, 2019
Gloria Bell (2018) Tara Thorne Julianne Moore's brightest spot in ages. EDIT
Posted Apr 1, 2019
The Hummingbird Project (2018) Tara Thorne Eisenberg does his usual, but Skarsgård gets a lot of notes to play with Anton, whose quiet genius is offset by great bursts of energy in the form of screaming or running. EDIT
Posted Apr 1, 2019
Neither Wolf Nor Dog (2016) Tara Thorne It's a gentle, educational ride, and Canadians will see the parallels in the two countries' treatment of its Indigenous citizens. EDIT
Posted Apr 1, 2019
Captain Marvel (2019) Tara Thorne Anyone who saw Larson's finely wrought work in The United States of Tara knows she is equally adept at drama and comedy and Carol Danvers is allowed both, a rarity in this universe. EDIT
Posted Mar 14, 2019
Arctic (2018) Tara Thorne You're on board with this sort of thing or you're not-in this case Arctic is incredibly captivating, made with care and wholly entertaining, plus it's got an ending that leaves you with a discussion. EDIT
Posted Feb 22, 2019
On the Basis of Sex (2018) Tara Thorne Even if - despite the fact - men still feel the need to point out the obvious in 2019, Bader Ginsburg and [director Mimi] Leder are much-appreciated proof that change takes time, is arduous and worth it. EDIT
Posted Jan 24, 2019
If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) Tara Thorne But this is less a movie than an actual experience, built to wash over you, leaving bits behind - of race and justice - for you to look at and think about long afterward. EDIT
Posted Jan 3, 2019
Clara (2018) Tara Thorne It does gain traction in its final 20 minutes, when Clara's big reveal appears and pays off most of the previous hour, but that sacrifices actual emotion for dutifully plotted emotional beats. EDIT
Posted Nov 30, 2018
The Front Runner (2018) Tara Thorne It's not thrilling, exactly, but it is engaging and ultimately-surprisingly?-wistful, especially if you went to wikipedia before the movie. EDIT
Posted Nov 30, 2018
Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018) Tara Thorne It's a heartbreaker of a performance. EDIT
Posted Nov 30, 2018
Widows (2018) Tara Thorne It won't get the awards attention of 12 Years a Slave, but it should. EDIT
Posted Nov 30, 2018
Waiting for Superman (2010) Tara Thorne Guggenheim's heartbreaking film, a Best Documentary contender that did not even get nominated---he won for An Inconvenient Truth---opens with an admission of white liberal guilt. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Mother and Child (2009) Tara Thorne There are powerful moments and the cast is note-perfect. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Whip It (2009) Tara Thorne Though it's got first-timer mistakes (too long, too many food fights) its indie-rock girl-power charms are, like co-star Kristen Wiig, undeniable. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (2009) Tara Thorne Precious is a hard but worthy journey. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Oceans (2009) Tara Thorne There's surprisingly small amount of eco finger-wagging and a touch too many suspicious reaction shots... but Oceans is marvellously, fantastically shot (very little blood, parents) and foleyed, heavy-handed soundtrack aside. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Please Give (2010) Tara Thorne The most underrated American director this side of Richard Linklater, Nicole Holofcener, continues to be a master of The Moment: a tiny but meaningful exchange or look or gesture that conveys more emotion than any awards-bait monologue could. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Toy Story 3 (2010) Tara Thorne Leave it to Pixar to subvert the Hollywood rule of sequels, which states that each subsequent film must have eyes full of dollar signs at the expense of quality. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Childstar (2004) Tara Thorne Mike Goldbach wrote Childstar in 2004; this is his first feature as writer-director, and it's nimble and full of visual tricks, funny and sexy, yet somehow a suspenseful thriller. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Passion Play (2010) Tara Thorne Terribly shot and written, Glazer's got Rourke facing death so many times that an hour in you're hoping someone will just shoot him already, or at least you, and end this awful experiment. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Everything Must Go (2010) Tara Thorne The film is not quite there somehow-like Punch Drunk Love-level Adam Sandler, Ferrell needs a scene in which he busts out his signature belligerent yelling, or some kind of outburst, but he's just flat and defeated, and not in the Oscar-winning way. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Virginia (2010) Tara Thorne It's not funny, it's not charming and it's only clear it's set in modern day when a character mentions the internet. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Jack Goes Boating (2010) Tara Thorne It's tonally uncomfortable, which was probably Hoffman's intent, and though it's not a home run, there's great acting on display-another common theme in films adapted from plays. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Girlfriend (2010) Tara Thorne Understated, well-acted and likely never to be heard from again, Girlfriend is the kind of movie you come to film festivals to see. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Tabloid (2010) Tara Thorne It's a well-told story without any consequence or larger meaning, and it's the first round of applause I've witnessed at press screenings this year. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Tamara Drewe (2010) Tara Thorne It's fun but overlong, not a waste of regular time, but probably of festival time. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010) Tara Thorne Allen has forgotten how to write like people talk, and the muted yellows of upper-class London are as boring as the script, which contains a Viagra joke, in 2010. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Heartbeats (2010) Tara Thorne [Director Xavier Dolan's] got an unquestionably terrific eye but a bit of a tin ear for dialogue, and continues to shoot himself in loving close-up, a detriment. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Beautiful Boy (2010) Tara Thorne The best scenes take place in a motel room, mostly hand-held, and Bello absolutely goes for it, and it's admirable that they hold themselves back a little bit in a story that's begging for histrionics. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Mother of Rock Lillian Roxon (2010) Tara Thorne Featuring talking head interviews... it also contains great archival photos and excerpts from Roxon's writings, which at the time were progressive in feminism and music journalism. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Peep World (2010) Tara Thorne A strong ensemble led by narrator Lewis Black, Peep World is reasonably funny but never overly so, and the climactic dinner doesn't feel long enough to support the preceding hourish before it. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Janie Jones (2010) Tara Thorne It reminds me of one of those Disney movies about sports. I liked it. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Somewhere (2010) Tara Thorne More tone poem than film, Somewhere finds Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation) at her most untethered and experimental. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Tara Thorne It is a masterclass of acting, directing, writing and cinematography, of tonality, of pacing and of emotion. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
How Do You Know (2010) Tara Thorne Brooks wants to make a contemporary relationship film and a topical one about the financial crisis and winds up failing on both sides. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Kaboom (2010) Tara Thorne Watch with friends. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Public Speaking (2010) Tara Thorne Nonetheless, this is high-brow entertainment of the wittiest order---a little cold, but so what? EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Hysteria (2011) Tara Thorne The movie, directed by Tanya Wexler, is a pretty conventional British run at something fun, like when Stephen Frears does a funny one. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (2011) Tara Thorne Metallica aside - Berlinger also directed Some Kind of Monster - Purgatory is beautifully framed, critical but not judgmental of the law enforcement official... and even-handed with the jailed men who are somehow not bitter or beaten by their ordeal. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Page Eight (2011) Tara Thorne For a "spy thriller" there is zero violence, zero running, zero screaming and only minimal double crossing-the whole thing is rather civilized and zingy. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
The Future (2011) Tara Thorne Miranda July is a divisive force and a rare, vital talent. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Damsels in Distress (2011) Tara Thorne It's completely absurd, and though overlong, completely hilarious. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Jennifer's Body (2009) Tara Thorne Jennifer's Body assures that Cody is not a one-hit wonder - not that she needed to prove it. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Pariah (2011) Tara Thorne Pariah is a fine debut---it's all been done, but rarely with performances this raw and real. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018
Celeste and Jesse Forever (2012) Tara Thorne Many points also to director Lee Toland Krieger, DP David Lanzenberg and editor Yana Gorskaya for crafting an intimate, cool, interestingly assembled picture, hard to do with a talky feelings indie. EDIT
Posted Nov 16, 2018