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.
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‘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”
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‘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
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‘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
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‘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
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‘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
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‘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”
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‘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
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‘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
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‘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
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‘Gonzo Girl’ Review: Patricia Arquette Finds Fear and Loving in Fictionalized Hunter S. Thompson Story
Toronto Film Festival: The actress makes her directorial debut with a wild tale starring Willem Dafoe and Camila Morrone
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‘Copa 71’ Review: Women’s Soccer Documentary Uncovers Lost Tournament
Toronto 2023: The chronicle of a big event that took place more than 50 years ago and was then forgotten
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‘The Pigeon Tunnel’ Review: Errol Morris Explores a World of Betrayal in John le Carré Documentary
Telluride Film Festival: Morris creates a personal portrait that goes as deep as his subject wants it to go but never feels as if the late author is getting away with anything
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‘The Promised Land’ Review: Mads Mikkelsen Needs a Little Help in Bold Danish Drama
Venice Film Festival: The “Another Round” actor is central to Nikolaj Arcel’s 18th century story, but actress Amanda Collin is a quiet MVP
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‘American Symphony’ Review: Documentary Captures Jon Batiste’s Personal and Professional Struggles
Telluride Film Festival: Matthew Heineman’s doc jumps between uplift and heartbreak, between Batiste’s career pressures and his wife’s fight for survival
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Fall Film Festivals Kick Off an Awards Season Without Actors – For Now?
The Venice, Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals will introduce lots of awards contenders, but the red carpets won’t have much star power
