Film critic | Peter Howell Night Vision

"New Order" is a dystopian shocker that dares us not to look away

Michel Franco's harrowing thriller realistically depicts class warfare in modern Mexico.

"Akilla's Escape" is not your average crime story

Terrific performances by Saul Williams and Thamela Mpumlwana make this saga special.

"In the Heights" turns the pursuit of life dreams into a song-and-dance summer spectacle

Think of the movie as a series of vibrant short stories, constantly in motion.

Myth cute in Christian Petzold's "Undine" as two slippery people dive headfirst into love

What should we make of the mysterious giant catfish that keeps swimming past?

"Cinema is not dead!" Cannes director Thierry Frémaux declares, as the show goes on

Cannes Film Festival unveils its 2021 Official Selection as it carries on despite pandemic.

Hollywood North Film Awards show celebrates Canadian movies that push boundaries

The most indie of Canadian film awards salutes innovative Canuck films.

Sympathy for the "Cruella" de Vil in Disney's latest origin story

Emma Stone and Emma Thompson make engagingly evil rivals in fashionista prequel to "101 Dalmations"

On the cusp of 95, Norman Jewison is still a filmmaker for all reasons

Book celebrates "In the Heat of the Night," "Fiddler on the Roof" & "Moonstruck" director.

Angelina Jolie leaps back into the action game with "Those Who Wish Me Dead"

Survival thriller offers escapism, because its many onscreen dangers aren’t viral.

Life sucks and then you sigh in "About Endlessness"

"About Endlessness," the latest exercise in artful gloom by Sweden's Roy Andersson, makes mundanity special.

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Movies I can't live without

Toronto Star movie critic Peter Howell has written a book about his 25 favourite movies, with highly personal reviews from Apocalypse Now to The Wizard of Oz.

Here's a sample of his review of 2001: A Space Odyssey, his all-time favourite film:

"It was billed as The Ultimate Trip and the hyperbole was justified, then as now.

Stanley Kubrick's space opus still seems like the future, 52 years after its release and 19 years after its significant title year. It never gets old and I never tire of seeing it, even after 50-plus viewings..."