Steve Pond
Steve Pond
Steve Pond’s inside look at the artistry and insanity of the awards race, drawn from more than three decades of obsessively chronicling the Oscars and the entertainment industry.
-
Toronto So Far: Fewer Stars, Fewer Studios Make for a Muted Festival
Four days in, the theme that ties together the 2023 TIFF experience is the inescapable scarcity of stars
-
‘Knox Goes Away’ Review: Michael Keaton Turns Another Hitman Film Into a Fascinating Character Study
Toronto 2023: Keaton directs and stars in the drama about an assassin with dementia
-
‘Sing Sing’ Review: Colman Domingo’s Prison-Set Drama Packs a Punch
Toronto 2023: In addition to “Rustin,” Domingo stars alongside real prisoner actors in this behind-bars drama
-
‘Flipside’ Review: Record Store Documentary Spins a Delightful Mass of Loose Ends and False Starts
Toronto 2023: Chris Wilcha’s film is a midlife meditation that keeps losing its train of thought, which is kind of perfect
-
‘In Restless Dreams’ Review: Intimate Paul Simon Documentary Embraces the Mystery
Toronto 2023: Alex Gibney’s three-and-a-half-hour film juxtaposes Simon’s soul-searching new album with his seven-decade career
-
‘Quiz Lady’ Review: Awkwafina and Sandra Oh Square Off in Broad, Silly Comedy
Toronto 2023: Director Jessica Yu’s energetic (or frantic) film features Will Ferrell, Tony Hale and Jason Schwartzman
-
‘The Teacher’ Review: Palestinian Drama Paints a Portrait of Futility and Rage
Toronto 2023: Director Farah Nabulsi returns to the West Bank for the follow-up to her Oscar-nominated short “The Present”
-
‘American Fiction’ Review: Jeffrey Wright Shines in Beautiful, Jazzy Comedy
Toronto Film Festival: Cord Jefferson’s directorial debut makes serious points about Black representation but does so with a wonderfully light touch
-
‘Reptile’ Review: Not Even Benicio del Toro Can Save Showy, Tiresome Thriller
Toronto Film Festival: Grant Singer’s feature directorial debut spends two hours teasing the audience, but its overheated density just gets annoying
-
‘The Dead Don’t Hurt’ Review: Viggo Mortensen Puts a Subversive Spin on the Western Genre
Toronto Film Festival: Mortensen and Vicky Krieps star in a Western peopled with principled immigrants and powerful bad guys
-
‘Silver Dollar Road’ Review: Raoul Peck Gives Racial Injustice a Face and Heart in Latest Doc
Toronto Film Festival: The director of “I Am Not Your Negro” turns his cameras to the case of a North Carolina family that lost their land and their freedom
-
‘Woman of the Hour’ Review: Anna Kendrick Puts Humor and Horror Side by Side
Toronto 2023: The actress makes her directorial debut with the strange true story of a serial killer who appeared on “The Dating Game”
-
‘Les Indésirables’ Review: Ladj Ly Unleashes Another Scorching Drama About French Corruption and Brutality
Toronto Film Festival: The director of the Oscar-nominated French thriller “Les Misérables” returns with a charged look at systemic injustice
-
‘The Contestant’ Review: 1998 Japanese Reality Show Makes for Absurd Entertainment
Toronto Film Festival: The wild story in Clair Titley’s documentary about “A Life in Prizes” is also infuriating and baffling
-
‘Unicorns’ Review: Queer Romance Meets Culture Clash in Quiet Drama
Toronto Film Festival: The relationship between an auto mechanic and an Asian drag queen could be played for melodrama, but the film finds its tone in gentler moments
