In his Frankenstein film review, Chris Harrison calls Guillermo del Toro’s take on Mary Shelley’s classic a “visual spectacle” that still falls short. Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is a re-imagining of the iconic story, shot with the same level of painstaking care that Dr. Frankenstein lavishes upon his laboratory work. However, it’s a bit too long, and is held back by a script that lacks subtlety and at times doesn’t seem to trust its audience. The film opens with Frankenstein’s monster ripping through an expedition to the North Pole as he hunts down his creator, shrugging off bullets and tossing…
Author: Chris Harrison
Though a stressful film to watch at times, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You boasts excellent acting from Byrne, great cast, and a tight script. Linda (Rose Byrne) is a working therapist and a mother dealing with all manner of crises all at once. Her daughter requires special medical attention and sleeps hooked up to a machine via a (comically long) tube, her husband’s away on a work trip, her clients are, let’s just say, difficult, oh, and an enormous hole has opened up in her ceiling, flooding her entire home, forcing her to move into a nearby motel.…
In his Ballad of a Small Player review, Christ Harrison praises its “gorgeous cinematography” and calls it “dark but also deeply funny”, Ballad of a Small Player is ostensibly about a debt-ridden gambler with a false identity on the run from a wily detective (played with a dry wit by Tilda Swinton), but the real mystery (and the thing he’s running from) is something else altogether, something more existential, and the film is all the better for it. In Ballad, Collin Ferrell plays a man who calls himself Lord Doyle, the self-proclaimed best card player in the world, who is…
In his The Wizard of the Kremlin review, Chris Harrison says it’s “sharply-written”, but “its weaknesses ultimately hold it back from greatness.” Olivier Assayas’ adaptation of the novel The Wizard of the Kremlin is an uneven but generally good film bolstered by some excellent individual performances from a star-studded cast and some occasionally sharp dialogue. Paul Dano is in the lead role as Vadim Baranov (based loosely on real-life Russian politician Vladislav Surkov), a former theater student who winds up becoming one of Vladimir Putin’s right-hand men thanks to his own creativity and cunning, always two steps ahead, and whose…
Chris Harrison says that Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery thrills, surprises, and is a rare sequel that lives up to its predecessors. Director Rian Johson is back with another entry in the Knives Out series, once again dropping private detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) into a world of larger-than-life characters as he solves a murder where everyone has a motive. While the previous two entries were set in mansions and parodied the ultra rich, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery focuses its lens on another source of power in a case that revolves around a…
In his Under The Same Sun review, Chris Harrison says the film’s messaging about colonialism, racism, and exploitation are still relevant today. If 1819 HIspaniola feels familiar to you while watching Under the Same Sun, that’s no mistake. The film’s messaging about colonialism, racism, and exploitation feel especially relevant today. The film follows a beleaguered Spanish colonizer named Lázaro, who is accompanied by Mei, a woman from China, as he looks to carry out a mission given to him by his late father. The two are in Hispaniola at a time of political upheaval, dodging French patrols, as they look…
In his Lucky Lu film review, Chris Harrison calls the Lloyd Lee Choi one of his “pleasant surprises” from TIFF 2025. Lucky Lu tells the story of Lu Jia Cheng (Chang Chen), a New York delivery driver who’s struggling with money issues as his wife and daughter fly out from China to join him. Lu may have arrived as an immigrant with grand ideas of running a successful restaurant, but this film is not a tale of bright lights in the big city and the “American Dream.” Canadian director Lloyd Lee Choi trades the typical aerial shots of the city’s…
The new FX series The Lowdown “could be one of the best new shows of the fall” says SHIFTER’s Chris Harrison who recently watched the pilot at the Toronto International Film Festival. FX might have a hit on their hands with their new series The Lowdown. The new series, created by Sterlin Harjo (of the critically acclaimed Reservation Dogs), stars Ethan Hawke as a man obsessed with digging up the truth. Set in Tulsa Oklahoma, Hawke’s Lee Raybon runs a store specializing in rare books, and has a particular interest in the corruption in the city around him, which gets…
In his Dinner With Friends film review, Chris Harrison calls it a “must-see” and “a great showcase for upcoming Canadian talent.” In Dinner With Friends, there are no exposition dumps explaining how the group of friends at the center of the story came together, no dramatic retellings of past misadventures, and no flashbacks. The film, directed by Sasha Leigh Henry, creator of Bria Mack Gets A Life, drops the audience into the friends’ lives in their most joyous and vulnerable moments, and it trusts the audience to follow along as their relationships ebb and flow. It’s a task made easier…
The Toronto International Film Festival is celebrating 50 years and is featuring an absolutely packed lineup. Here are seven films to keep an eye on at TIFF 2025. The buzz is in the air once again as the Toronto International Film Festival takes over Canada’s largest city. SHIFTER’s Chris Harrison previews seven films to keep an eye on when the festival opens on September 4th. TIFF 2025 must see films Frankenstein – Guillermo del Toro Longtime TIFF regular, Guillermo del Toro’s take on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is one of the most hotly anticipated films at this year’s festival. The acclaimed…
