Peter Howell
TorontoStar
Canada
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Recent articles by Peter:
Highlights from Cannes where they’re ready to party, once again
After two years of being nearly silenced by the pandemic, the Cannes Film Festival is rebounding with some great movies. → Read More
‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ is like writing an exam at Geek University
Benedict Cumberbatch’s dyspeptic mystic returns in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and it’s a head-rattling mess. → Read More
12 films that are good bets at Hot Docs 2022
With topics covering a gamut of themes, Hot Docs runs April 28 to May 8 with the goal to show the best docs the world has to offer. → Read More
‘The Northman,’ with Alexander Skarsgård as a furious Viking prince, is positively volcanic
Robert Eggers’ new movie, which strips Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” back to its Icelandic and Scandinavian folklore roots, is a payback tale for the ages. → Read More
‘CODA’ looks likely to send ‘The Power of the Dog’ to the kennel on Oscar night
In his annual Oscar predictions, movie critic Peter Howell says “CODA” has gained Best Picture momentum over most nominated film “The Power of the Dog,” but look for “Dog” director Jane Campion to be rewarded. → Read More
New Pixar film ‘Turning Red’ is delightful panda-monium
Feature debut by Toronto writer/director Domee Shi is the blast of creativity Pixar needs, Peter Howell says. → Read More
Robert Pattinson makes a grim and magnificent Batman
There’s nothing funny about “The Batman,” Matt Reeves’ spellbinding reboot of the Dark Knight saga, with Robert Pattinson as the haunted vigilante justice seeker. → Read More
What the devil has gotten into Dave Grohl? ‘Studio 666’ a movie of quips, riffs and stiffs
There’s an upside to being possessed by demonic forces, as Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl discovered while making the movie “Studio 666,” the band’s new horror comedy. → Read More
‘Aline’ is the weirdest movie of 2022, without doubt
“Aline,” the contrived biopic of a fictional Quebec singer who’s “freely inspired” by Céline Dion, may not be the worst movie of 2022. But it will surely be the year’s weirdest one. → Read More
A maker of lowbrow films for the world, Toronto-raised Ivan Reitman also advanced highbrow cinema in this city
Beloved for movies such as “Animal House” and “Ghostbusters,” Reitman and his family donated the land for the TIFF Bell Lightbox, the Toronto International Film Festival’s headquarters. → Read More
Quebec’s Jean-Marc Vallée was an impactful filmmaker who swung his sledgehammer softly
Quebec’s Jean-Marc Vallée, a giant of Canadian and international film and TV who died Sunday at the untimely age of 58, could make a blow from a sledgehammer feel like a touch from a magic wand. → Read More
‘The Power of the Dog’ and ‘Licorice Pizza’ top the year’s 10 best movies
Peter Howell picks the 10 best films of 2021 along with the three worst. Hello “Eternals,” “House of Gucci” and “The French Dispatch.” → Read More
IMAX documentary ‘Asteroid Hunters’ sheds light on how to keep bothersome space boulders at bay
Playing at the Ontario Science Centre’s Omnimax Theatre, the film seeks to inform and excite viewers about asteroid strike prevention. → Read More
Steven Spielberg’s finger-snapping magic doesn’t fail him with West Side Story remake
Audacious “reimagining” for film and stage classic doesn’t mess with success, movie critic Peter Howell says. → Read More
‘House of Gucci’ and Lady Gaga stumble on the runway
Ridley Scott’s mechanical take on a real-life tale of betrayal and homicide is dry and suffers from an unfathomable lack of style, writes Peter Howell... → Read More
Will Smith gives Oscar-worthy performance in Venus and Serena Williams biopic
“King Richard” is the inspiring and involving story of Richard Williams, the father and first coach of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams. Ju... → Read More
Thanks to Jane Campion, Benedict Cumberbatch and a superb supporting cast, ‘The Power of the Dog’ is one of the best films of 2021
Benedict Cumberbatch simmers and boils brilliantly as Phil, the Marlboro Man from Hell, a cattle rancher in 1920s Montana who is determined to wreck t... → Read More
‘Belfast’ is crowd-pleasing vanity project, focusing on Kenneth Branagh’s boyhood anxieties and reveries at the expense of a larger drama
Kenneth Branagh hopes to charm his way to an Oscar with “Belfast,” a film of his childhood memories and feelings growing up in Ireland during the sect... → Read More
An organic and resonant vision of ‘Dune,’ ripe for modern times
Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic 1965 sci-fi novel of interstellar colonization and environmental exploitat... → Read More
In ‘No Time to Die’ Daniel Craig elevates the Bond franchise in a way it hasn’t always deserved
“No Time to Die,” the 25th official James Bond movie, has all manner of vexations. But it also has the essential Daniel Craig, who gives a magnificent... → Read More