Why is the Toronto Star printing fake news articles to impact two Ontario political races?

The Toronto Star’s campaign against one local Liberal is a clear attempt to mislead voters and impact on the provincial party’s leadership race

Re-posted from my Substack

OPEN LETTER SUBMITTED TO THE TORONTO STAR’S PUBLIC EDITOR

April 6, 2026:

Dear Public Editor --

I’m writing to complain about the lack of professionalism / borderline yellow journalism / clear and unfair bias being committed by your small Queen’s Park bureau members against a possible candidate for the Ontario Liberal leadership. As this could impact the results of the next election and Ontario’s future, this is a huge deal that needs addressing.

The most recent example of what appears to be their biased and fact-challenged campaign was published today (Monday April 6) by Martin Regg Cohn, who seems to have a personal vendetta he is working out against Nate Erskine-Smith (NES), the Liberal MP for Beaches-East York and possible Ontario Liberal leadership candidate / candidate for the OLP nomination in Scarborough Southwest. In it, Regg Cohn reports NES has “lost his mind”, which is utter nonsense and blatantly false, and beneath any serious commentator.

In it, the “opinion” columnist used this previous fake news article on March 28 by the Star by Rob Ferguson and Robert Benzie about Nate Erksine-Smith as a means to attack him further. Why is this article and headline a lie? Because Nate Erskine-Smith is on record saying he supports his nomination opponents staying in the local nomination race. Period. As made clear in this March 17 TVO article by a reporter who doesn’t write fake news like Ferguson and Benzie do.

Did Rob Ferguson or Robert Benzie re-interview NES after the TVO piece and ask him if he supports his opponents staying in the race or not? It would appear they did not ask this question at all and instead chose to spin NES’s public comments into a fake news story about him calling for his opponents to support his “juggernaut” and drop out.

“Juggernaut” is a word NES never spoke it seems, but was just made up by the Toronto Star reporters to create a very false impression, inflame the situation on the ground and cause political trouble for NES. Why are Toronto Star reporters writing fake news stories to try to influence an internal party race???

Now Regg Cohn is taking the fake news story and running with it. It’s like the Star reporters are in cahoots to take down Nate Erskine-Smith! Are they getting kickbacks from Doug Ford or something, or maybe from Marit Stiles? And lambasting NES with criticism, like questioning his comments on another nomination candidate who’s lived in London, Ontario for decades until buying another home in Scarborough Southwest last fall. Regg Cohn says because he was personally born in Montreal but moved to Toronto decades ago, that is the same thing as someone else buying a house in Toronto a few months ago and claiming a longtime connection here. What kind of nonsensical comparison is that? Regg Cohn is reaching for reasons to continue his attack on NES!

This follows a clear pattern by Regg Cohn in all of his recent coverage of NES I would describe as petty, overly critical, ridiculous to any fair-minded reader, like in this article.

The snarky, uncalled for, clearly biased language Regg Cohn always uses on every occasion to describe Erskine-Smith, is truly unprofessional and damaging to the Ontario body politic. Because it denies us fair coverage of this important political leadership race. Here’s another example, where Regg Cohn decides NES is “sullenly silent”, another description Regg Cohn pulled out of his own ass.

This article misled readers with Regg Cohn’s odd description of NES that “he lurked conspicuously outside the voting area on the weekend to waylay delegates,” at the September OLP AGM.

Lurked? For those who witnessed it (had Regg Cohn bothered to speak to anyone besides his own biased mind) one would say NES was “present, smiling, shaking hands, talking to people.” Is that what Regg Cohn thinks is “lurking”? Then we’re all guilty of “lurking” all the time. Also “lurking” at that AGM outside the voting area was Bonnie Crombie herself, who was also shaking hands and smiling with delegates as they went in to decide her fate. What a crime! Yet Regg Cohn ignored Crombie’s “lurking” but reported NES’s “lurking.” By what standard was Regg Cohn justified to say NES was “lurking” but Crombie was not? What is a reader to believe? His bias is clear and deeply wrong.

Using this standard, one could say anything they wanted with descriptive language that bares no resemblance to the truth and print it in the Toronto Star, creating a false impression.

The public deserves a modicum of truth when it comes to their political coverage. I am simply sick and tired of this irresponsible behaviour and yellow journalism from the Star.

To make matters worse, when I dared to question the Star’s editorial slant and biases on the public comments section of your site last night, pointing out these facts, including the fact NES said he welcomes his opponents staying in the local race, your editorial folks deleted all of my comments to silence any criticism of their yellow journalism. Pathetic! I deserve an apology for that clear attempt by the Star to silence justified criticism. I was up late and added one more reasonable comment, and miraculously it’s still there today. Perhaps your evening censor was off shift by then - or perhaps my email last night has caused a re-think of the Star’s practise of silencing / deleting any comments they don’t like.

Ontarians need better coverage of provincial politics than this. One can criticize anyone including NES. No one is perfect. I like NES, but I also like other possible Liberal leadership candidates. I have no bias against Qadira Jackson, one of those also running in Scarborough Southwest for the OLP nomination - I even donated to her 2025 campaign. I don’t know any of the other candidates running for the nomination. I have no connection to NES’s nomination or leadership campaign.

I am just a concerned citizen simply calling the Star out on their clear bias and lack of professionalism for their coverage.

Doesn’t the Star need to print “news” articles or opinion pieces that have some semblance of truth?

If I were a candidate running for office in our democracy and said that my opponents should stay in the race with me if they choose, shouldn’t a news article by the Toronto Star make that clear? Or is it okay for the Star to print I said my opponents “must get out of the race and support my powerful juggernaut” and leave out the fact I said “my opponents should stay in the race”? And mislead voters?????

You tell me, please. The Toronto Star’s campaign against one local Liberal is a clear attempt to mislead voters and impact on a provincial party’s race.

If your office doesn’t admonish or warn Mr. Regg Cohn about his yellow journalism, and the rest of the tiny Queen’s Park team that they have an obligation to report truth and actual facts, and not tweak articles against Mr. Erskine-Smith or anyone else, then I will simply have to doubt every word your paper prints on NES and all of your news coverage.

The Star needs to do much better than this!

Sincerely,

Matt Guerin

 

Today's tonic: "How the numbers undermine Doug Ford’s flight of fancy on Billy Bishop and jets"

Before everyone jumps on Doug Ford's bandwagon (like doing that got us anywhere good in the past!?) about bringing "jets" to the Toronto Island airport, give this piece by the Toronto Star's Matt Elliott a read: 

"The report lists around a billion dollars worth of changes that would need to be made at the airport to get jets flying, including $50 million to somehow add 1,000 parking spaces. (“This is probably quite conservative,” the report warns.)

The final assessment of the report is blunt. Billy Bishop, the report says, “is not physically capable of serving as a Pearson on the lake. It cannot and need not become a full-service airport.”

Whatever you think of the idea of expanding the airport, it seems reasonable to demand that proponents provide evidence that they have a plan to address these business and infrastructure issues. Show us projections. Show us a business case. Show us any indication that the rationale for this change goes beyond “jets are cool.” There’s a hell of a lot on the preflight checklist before this flight of fancy gets cleared for takeoff."

“Why Sinners should win the best picture Oscar"

Michael B. Jordan as twins in Sinners

As many already know, I'm a bit of a film nut.   

My favourite film of 2025 was Ryan Coogler's Sinners, a great masterpiece that should be remembered for years to come.   It moved me in ways I haven't felt from a feature film in years.  Its complex and layered storytelling, exquisite acting and the out of this world directing was an astonishing accomplishment, the best of the year, in my opinion.  

It received an historic 16 Oscar nominations earlier this year, the most ever for one film.  Every branch of the Academy honored its greatness, so thorough was its artistic achievements.  

Yes, it's a scary horror movie.  But it's SO MUCH MORE than that.  It's a penetrating social commentary on the history of racism in America, placing its story in 1932 Mississippi where we meet unforgettable characters, mostly Black, trying to make their lives better.  The invasion of vampires is an allegory for the  Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and its destructive impact on Black lives.  The symbolism bites, pun intended, and leaves the viewer with aching sympathy as the story explores issues of subjugation, violence, and cultural appropriation.  The vampires don't just want to kill everyone; they want to steal their lives, their music, everything that is good about them, and leave them captured in an evil system from which they can never escape.    

That's their plan anyway, however the humans fight back, led by Michael B. Jordan, who plays twin brothers Smoke and Stack, the owners of the juke joint where the survivors keep refuge, refusing the invite the vampires inside.  The tension builds to a stunning conclusion that ties together the elements with pathos, exhilaration, relief and satisfaction.  

When you watch it (please say you're going to watch it), stay for the end credits and the incredibly poignant final scene.   

No other films meant this much to me last year, although Hamnet came close.  I don't get the support for One Battle After Another, an entertaining film that doesn't quite ring true for me on many levels.  I appreciated the touching relationship between adoptive father and teenage daughter as they run from a racist, psychotic cop trying to destroy the last proof of his dalliance with a black woman years ago.  It's fascinating with some truly incredible cinematography (particularly the final car chase scene across the desert).  

But a second viewing of One Battle left me irritated and feeling empty.  I just think there are so many vivid examples of racism in America, the writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson didn't need to concoct this heavy-handed, far-fetched story about a guy trying to kill his own mixed race daughter so he can join the fictitious Christmas Adventurers Club.  The director mostly played it all straight, as if this story was some truth-telling commentary on real life America (unlike the obviously supernatural storytelling of Sinners).  The banter back and forth between Leonardo Di Caprio and the unseen revolutionary phone operator, for example, about the secret rendezvous points was amusing in the first viewing, but let's face it, just plain dumb and concocted to merely show off acting and writing skills.  I've never liked Paul Thomas Anderson's films much - perhaps There Will Be Blood was the most memorable, but the rest were just not my cup of tea.  He hasn't won an Academy Award before because he just didn't deserve one before, in my humble opinion.  He'll probably take the Oscar on March 15th for Best Adapted Screenplay for his script.  But I hope that is it for him.  

Nah, I think it's time for Ryan Coogler to take Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Picture.  And many more for Sinners.

The precursors leading up to the Oscars have first favoured One Battle After Another, but lately with the BAFTAs and last weekend's SAG Actor Awards, the tide seems to be turning in favour of the film most people truly love, Sinners, over the film they respect, One Battle.  

I've had a spidey sense that Sinners would pull this out and take the top prize for weeks.  I think a lot of people did too.  16 nominations was always going to mean something.  

Please don't take my word for it, give this article by Guardian writer Steve Rose a read too.    

 

Today's tonic from Lloyd Axworthy: "Canada once rejected America’s aggressive, unlawful foreign policy. Today Mark Carney embraced it"

If you are one of those Canadians who supported former Prime Minister Jean Chretien's rejection of America's illegal and immoral military aggression based on lies of WMD in Iraq in 2003, but today support Mark Carney's kowtowing to Joker Maniac President Donald Trump's latest attempt to distract from the Epstein files with his illegal and hypocritical military attack on Iran (dubbed Operation Epic Fury, which sounds like a teenager's video game fantasy), then you are a hypocrite, plain and simple.  

There was no imminent threat of Iran completing nuclear weapons (that threat may now be strengthened by these attacks which will fortify extremist power in Iran under new leadership and hand that horrible regime much moral authority).  In fact, it was Trump who tore up the anti-nuclear agreement that his predecessor had signed with Iran, refused to negotiate seriously to replace it, and chose once again the option of might over right.  Even if this regime is toppled after months or years of war, does anyone who’s not a crazy conservative actually believe this will lead to something stable and peaceful in the region?  How can we forget so easily the extremist Islamic State that eventually replaced Saddam Hussein leading to years of more conflict paid for by U.S. tax dollars?

Today, I'm happy to share some brutal honesty from former Liberal Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy with this column published in the Toronto Star this weekend:   

"Canada’s response to the U.S.–Israeli strikes on Iran exposes a fault line at the heart of our foreign policy.

"We invoke international law and the “rules based international order” when adversaries engage in unlawful actions, but abandon those same rules entirely when it’s the Americans — whose current government 60 per cent of Canadians now see as a threat — doing the bombing. For a country that depends on law more than force for its own security, that is not realism; it is recklessness...

"We have been here before, and once knew better. In 2003, Canada refused to join the American invasion of Iraq because there was no Security Council resolution, and the case for war rested on preventing a hypothetical future WMD threat. Today, by endorsing preventive strikes on Iran during ongoing diplomacy and after Washington itself shredded the previous agreement, we are embracing the very doctrine we used to reject...

"The contrast with our language on Ukraine is stark. For four years, Canadian officials have rightly called Russia’s invasion an “unprovoked,” “unjustifiable,” “illegal” violation of the UN Charter and of Ukrainian sovereignty. Yet when the United States and Israel launch large scale strikes without UN authorization, Ottawa drops the legal vocabulary entirely. No talk of aggression, no warning about Charter erosion, no insistence on emergency debate in New York. The double standard is obvious: when Russia uses force without lawful grounds, it is condemned as an outlaw; when the U.S. does something legally analogous, we kowtow in an effort to curry favour." 

Today's tonic: Jon Ossoff: "The President posting about the Obamas like a Klansman" | Full Speech

I’ve been scouring U.S. Democratic politics since November 2024 desperately looking for hope.

Hope in the human form of some decent, talented, progressive Democrat who can challenge the MAGA hellhole that the U.S.A. has become, rise to the Democratic Party’s presidential ticket and take back that country in 2028.

Assuming there will still be a democracy in that country to run in and a country to save.

So far, the usual list of prospects - from Gavin Newsom to Pete Buttigieg to Kamala Harris to Josh Shapiro - has left me feeling hopeless and anxious. None inspire much confidence in me. AOC is promising but it's probably too early for her.

I hadn’t given Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff much consideration before watching this speech he gave yesterday in Atlanta. Ossoff won his Senate seat in a political nail biter in 2021 the evening before Trump’s January 6th coup.  Now in his late 30s, he oozes intelligence, decency, and dare I say it some hot charisma. He reminds me a bit of JFK.

Have a watch of this great speech. Watching it reminds me of Barack Obama’s electrifying 2004 speech to the Democratic convention which awakened much excitement that would eventually lead to his presidential election in 2008.

After this speech, Ossoff definitely jumps into major consideration, assuming he can hang on to win re-election this year in Georgia. Let’s hope! 

 

Special thanks to the Rational National for his post today for alerting me to this great speech.  

Public Interest or Private Profit? Liberal Insider Mike Crawley Plots to Take the Ontario Liberal Party Leadership

I've never been some well-connected, business-card-waving, lobbyist-registry-joining insider willing to sell access to people I know in the Ontario Liberal Party.  

Sure, I could've taken that route after 2003 when the Ontario Liberals first came to power.  I was a staffer back then - a big believer in the cause of defeating the Mike Harris PCs and fixing our healthcare and education systems.  While I hoped the McGuinty government would succeed in its progressive goals (and they certainly did on many files), I never dreamed of using my connections to stick it to ratepayers and get rich.  I was in politics for the right reasons.  

Liberal insider Mike Crawley

But longtime Liberal Party insider Mike Crawley clearly thought differently.  While many Liberals were working for the public good, Crawley was setting himself up to become the multi-millionaire he is today.  Now he wants to be the next Ontario Liberal Party leader, succeeding Bonnie Crombie.  I have some thoughts to share on this:

The "business record" Crawley now touts as his leadership credential is built on a foundation of insider access.  In November 2004, while Crawley was President of the Ontario wing of the federal Liberal Party, his company, AIM PowerGen, was awarded a $475 million, 20-year contract for the Erie Shores Wind Farm.

The optics were, frankly, gross.  While his company was bidding on that massive contract, Crawley was actively participating in Liberal Party policy meetings with industry figures and, according to Hansard records, encouraging attendance at a fundraiser for Energy Minister Dwight Duncan.  It was the beginning of a "pay-to-play" culture that would eventually haunt the Ontario Liberal Party.   

This wasn't just about one wind farm; it was about a systemic dismantling of oversight.  Crawley's companies - first AIM PowerGen and later Northland Power - benefited from the Global Adjustment (GA) system.  This mechanism guaranteed high, above-market rates for green energy companies for 20 years, regardless of market demand.  

• Skyrocketing Rates: Between 2006 and 2014 alone, the GA cost Ontario ratepayers $37 billion. 
• The Taxpayer Subsidy: In 2018, Doug Ford's PCs couldn't cancel these lucrative contracts without massive lawsuits, so they shifted the costs from hydro bills to the general tax base. 
• The Result: Today, in 2026, every single Ontario taxpayer is still on the hook for billions of dollars a year to subsidize the legacy contracts Crawley helped establish. 

How did this happen?  The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) is supposed to ensure new projects are needed and prices are fair.  But for Crawley and his peers, the OEB was an obstacle. 

Liberal Energy Ministers Dwight Duncan and George Smitherman simply removed the OEB's teeth.  Between 2004 and 2011, they and other Liberal energy ministers issued almost 100 Ministerial Directives - marching orders that forced the system to bypass competitive bidding and cost-benefit analysis.

In 2004, Dwight Duncan didn't wait for a market need; he issued directives that "picked winners."  Mike Crawley was at the front of that line.  Because it was done via directive, there was no OEB hearing to ask if his 8 cents/kWh rate (60% above market value) was a good deal for the public.  It was a political decision, made for a political insider.  

When George Smitherman took the reins, he doubled down with the Green Energy Act - the ultimate "insider's charter."  He used these powers to sign infamous "Take-or-Pay" contracts.  Companies like Crawley's were paid guaranteed rates even if Ontario had a surplus of power and had to pay other jurisdictions to take it off our hands.   

Before the public realized our hydro bills were being treated like an insider's ATM, Crawley had already cashed out.  He sold AIM PowerGen in 2009 for an enterprise value of $241 million - a value no doubt inflated by those OEB-exempt contracts.  He then moved to Northland Power, where the cycle of lucrative procurement continued. 

This was a sad and soul-crushing moment in Ontario Liberal history and remains a stain on their record:  How Liberals converted the promise of green energy into a lucrative bonanza for party insiders.  

Now, in 2026, Mike Crawley is plotting to win the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party.  He presents himself as a "successful businessman," but Crawley didn't succeed in a free market.  He succeeded in a rigged system where his friends in the party used Directives to bypass the watchdogs.  

He didn't build a business; he built a wealth-transfer machine.  

Ontario Liberals need to think carefully about who we are and whether or not we will finally turn the page on the corruption of the past and become the honest, decent, progressive, innovative leaders that Ontario needs.    

The province is growing tired of the new corruption they're seeing under current PC Premier Doug Ford, including the same insider tricks and deal-making behind closed doors they came to hate under the Liberals.  

But if the Liberals are led by their own insider who got rich from previous Liberal corruption, who are they to criticize Ford for any of this?  Any why would Ontarians turn to the Ontario Liberal Party to get a better government?    

 ****UPDATE March 10, 2026****

Thankfully, Crawley announced earlier this month that he was dropping his plans to seek the leadership of the Ontario Liberals.  While his "campaign" claimed preliminary support, he announced March 5th he would not run for leader for family reasons. 

But this report by Policorner noted that "several sources say Crawley’s team became aware that reporters were pursuing a potential story tied to court documents related to sediment released into two creeks near Cochrane by Northland Power, where he served as a vice-president at the time. It wasn’t clear to these sources what the scope of that reporting might be...

"Though they insist it wasn’t the only factor, the sources say the prospect of such a story was privately discussed by those close to Crawley as a factor in his decision to pull out...

“How much more weight does a vote in Cochrane carry compared to one in Mississauga?” one source asked..."

Ummm, wow! It figures that someone supporting Crawley would be so detached from reality that they would say something as stupid as that.  As if people in Mississauga or Toronto or anywhere in Ontario would love the idea of Crawley's previous company's involvement in damaging Ontario's waterways.    

"A second senior Grit blamed “our friends across the aisle” — the Progressive Conservatives — for the “negative campaign” they would unleash, adding Crawley “didn’t want to subject his family” to it...

"A third wasn’t convinced. “Say what you want, but he had the talent to weather whatever story might’ve come out..”

Based on what data?  What he actually did dropping out before even starting?  Talk about delusional.  

Please, Ontario Liberals, let's do a better job finding and supporting decent leadership candidates with actual political skills and experience with a background that can inspire and unite Ontarians.   

 

My Favourite Films of 2025!

Sinners, starring Michael B. Jordan and Miles Caton

UPDATED JANUARY 11, 2025:  I think 2025 was a horrible year in many ways - politically, socially, environmentally, economically - but when it comes to film art, it was an exceptional year.   My top favourites list below is packed with movies that deeply moved me and/or entertained me.  I have been cramming during this holiday season to watch as many as I can get to.   As I watch more from my list in the days or weeks to come, additional films may jump into my top 15, knocking out other ones.  F1 has jumped into my top ten, and KPop Demon Hunters has made its way into my Top 15.  

Without further adieu, here is my list of Favourite Films of 2025:   

1) Sinners - Any way you slice it, this is one perfect and super entertaining movie by director Ryan Coogler.  Everything about this period horror/vampire flick - from the directing to the acting to the writing to the cinematography to the special effects to the amazing music - is firing on all cylinders.  Upon first viewing this masterpiece, I found myself so engrossed in the amazing characters' lives including twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both played by ever-hot Michael B. Jordan) trying to forge better lives in 1932 Mississippi that I actually forgot that vampires were on the way!  Needless to say, as the nasty night crawlers start their attacks, the complex story gets an adrenaline rush.  I was gripped until the final scenes as characters struggle to keep the beasts out and save themselves, but the horror and gore is never gross or too over the top.  The music and dance numbers (yes, the dance numbers) in this are mesmerizing, including the big, hilarious Irish jig led by head vampire Remmick (played to sexy creepy perfection by Jack O'Connell).  Miles Caton's performance as the young blues musician getting his first break is the soul of the film, and his story arc sets up the surprisingly moving conclusion.  Stay for the end credits!  

2) Hamnet - One of two great movies this year about male artists unable to communicate or be meaningfully present for their families who ultimately find a way to express and heal their wounded hearts and families through their art (the other film being Sentimental Value), this is the greater accomplishment as it was far more ambitious.  The sweet, powerful catharsis and closure at the end of this gem of a movie  brought tears to my eyes thanks to the heartfelt and fully realized performance of Jessie Buckley as William Shakespeare's wife Agnes.  She very much deserves the Best Actress Oscar this year.  This film has much beautiful to say about human loss and it's likely to move most people to tears in its final scenes.  You can't help but be reminded of your own lost loved ones when watching the stunning ghostly image of young Hamnet walking into the darkness on stage.  I struggled to pick my favourite film this year and Hamnet almost took it.  However, the sheer fun and utter perfection of Sinners wins the day as no doubt I'll rewatch it more frequently.  

3) Marty Supreme - Timothee Chalamet's energy levels are through the roof (even as his bathtub collapses through the floor) in this epic, hilarious story about a young man's drive to succeed at almost any cost.  Loved it, it was funny and moving, so many memorable moments that continue to resonate days after watching.  

4) Twinless - Surprisingly gripping and moving story about two young men who form a friendship after meeting at a grieving twin support group, this quickly and beautifully evolves into a deeply meaningful exploration of betrayal and love.  For me, this is the queer film of the year. 

5) Train Dreams - This starts very slowly and might even bore the average viewer at first, but as the story unfurls and we witness the main logger character's struggles and tragedies, brought to life by the never-better Joel Edgerton, we are drawn in and hooked.  

6) One Battle After Another - Super energetic and fast-moving, I enjoyed this movie immensely as director Paul Thomas Anderson adeptly mixes genres like thriller / comedy / adventure / satire.  The story, though, is quite ridiculous and far-fetched, which sort of undermines the film's attempts to thrill.  There are no American revolutionary types as depicted here in the real world, at least not since the 1960s.  I also found Sean Penn's character's motivations to join the ridiculous Christmas Adventurers Club, or whatever they were called, to be nuts.  But when viewed strictly as a ridiculous satire, it works.  This is also a touching story about an adoptive father (Leonardo Di Caprio) trying to save his teenage daughter.  Yes, this is yet another "damsel in distress" film, but with some very nice twists that make this well worth the watch.   

7) Sentimental Value - This is the second great 2025 movie about a male artist who can't communicate with his family, so he turns to art (in this case, a screenplay he wrote and wants to direct) to help heal his family's wounds.  This one is less ambitious than Hamnet as no children tragically die from the plague in the late 1500s here.  But in a sense, this is an easier watch because of that.  Stellan Skarsgard is wonderful, as are the other stars in this gem.   

8) Frankenstein - Yes, Guillermo del Toro has done it again with a great adaptation of the classic novel, as relevant today as it was 200 years ago.  The film is mesmerizing and very true to the original novel's structure.  I do hope Jacob Elordi gets an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his sensational work here as the Creature.   

9) F1 - Brad Pitt leads a celebration of Formula One racing and competition (educating we non-fans with lots of exposition so we know what's going on), portraying fictional hero Sonny Hayes as he makes a comeback to mentor a young hotshot rookie (played by the adorable Damson Idris) and lead a struggling underdog F1 team (APXGP) for one last shot of glory.  It's easy to get caught up in the excitement and the racing scenes are incredible to watch particularly because of that exposition.  Kerry Condon gets her moment in the sheets with Mr. Pitt, but also impresses as a female racecar engineer / technical director.  Javier Bardem is awesome as the team's owner who recruits Pitt.  Very deserving of the hype.  

10) Palestine 36 - Various Palestinians from different social classes and backgrounds living in Ramallah or nearby are drawn into the anti-colonial struggle against the British Mandate in 1936 as the encroaching Zionist threat to their lives becomes increasingly clear.   It's refreshing to see the dignity and humanity of non-Jewish folks in the region get some historical acknowledgement.   

11) Parade: Queer Acts of Love & Resistance - A super strong documentary about the history of Canada's Pride and LGBTQ+ liberation movement.  

12) The Secret Agent

13) KPop Demon Hunters

14) Blue Moon

15) The History of Sound

16) Thunderbolts 

17) Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery 

 

Films I haven't seen yet but hoping to soon (and some of these could find their way into my Top 15) in order of preference/priority:

The Long Walk

It Was Just An Accident 

The Naked Gun 

The Testament of Ann Lee 

Nuremberg 

The Voice of Hind Rajab 

Nouvelle Vague 

Warfare 

Die My Love 

Orwell: 2 + 2 = 5

The Mastermind 

Bring Her Back 

The Perfect Neighbor 

The Running Man 

Hedda 

Him 

Roofman 

Rental Family 

Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning 

The Amateur

Jurassic Park: Rebirth 

Is This Thing On? 

A House of Dynamite 

John Candy: I Like Me 

The Conjuring: Last Rites 

Spinal Tap II: The End Continues

 

Over-rated / Disappointing: 

I have some additional thoughts to share about these films below which have been getting some positive ink, but quite disappointed me:   

Jay Kelly - Sorry, but the mid-late life crisis of George Clooney's Jay Kelly depicted here was not particularly interesting or well-written, especially when compared to other heavy hitter movies this awards season.  Clooney has talent playing himself, but there weren't many new insights here about the emptiness of super stardom, at least that I appreciated much.  Plus every 15 minutes or so, we get these fake, pointless moments of drama - like the bizarre post-train chase scene of a purse snatcher.  Not deserving of much awards attention, if you ask me.  

Weapons - A nasty witch (Why is she nasty? Why is she here? Who cares?  She's just a witch) does bad things causing big mystery around town, but not including a great payoff.  I have no idea what other people saw in this, and after all the hype about Amy Madigan's performance as Aunt Gladys, that too was a letdown.  Although I will admit Madigan is amazingly creepy and effective in the unforgettable role.  It's just that the story around her left me wanting.  Sure, it's creatively structured, but I can't say I got much out of it.    

Mickey 17 - I loved Parasite, but director Bong Joon-ho's follow-up here was a mostly unsatisfying creature feature that the lovely Robert Pattinson in multiple incarnations couldn't save. 

Wicked: For Good - Act Two was nowhere near as good as Act One.  

Bugonia - A total piece of garbage ruined by one of the least earned endings in my memory.  We are led to believe most of the movie that the two kidnappers are crazy, misguided conspiracy theorists who think Emma Stone's character is an alien trying to destroy Earth.  SPOILER ALERT: Then suddenly with ten minutes left we get a cheesy and inexplicable ending where the conspiracy nutters are proven right, and all of humanity dies.  Real cheerful.  I've never felt so intellectually insulted by a filmmaker.  Yorgos Lanthimos is in the dog house. 

 

Haven't seen and not planning to: 

Avatar: Fire and Ash - Part One was beautiful but completely unoriginal.  I couldn't muster the energy to see Part Two, so I'm going to take a pass on this Part Three.  

The Smashing Machine - The Rock aims for an Oscar nod, but apparently the movie sucks.  Not interested.

Eternity  - Oh, what a bad idea for a movie! 

Ballad of a Small Player 

The Housemaid 

Now You See Me, Now You Don't 

Anemone 

28 Years Later - I just don't like zombie movies, even if they're well done.  28 Weeks Later was misanthropic garbage, a big letdown from the original and truly great 28 Days Later.  I don't need to see more.  

Anaconda - I hate snakes. 

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale - I never watched much of the series so can't really watch this. 

The Roses - Just not interested. 

Snow White - Heard bad things about this.  

The Materialists - Same, just not interested. 

The Toxic Avenger Unrated