June 26, 2026

Welcome to the TFCA weekly, a round-up of reviews and coverage by members of the Toronto Film Critics Association.

In case you missed it: The TFCA proudly welcomed four critics to the membership this week – Prabhjot Bains, Daniel Garber, Sarah Gopaul, and Steve Norton.

In Release this Week

Blood Lines (dir. Gail Maurice)

“Blood Lines is a rare film that gives a sense of what life is like in a Métis community. It has charm, wit, romance and—yes—more than a touch of melodrama,” notes Marc Glassman at Classical FM. “It’s hardly perfect—perhaps the plot is too dramatic—but the film offers an opportunity to enjoy a depiction of lives that are different from urban dwellers in Canada and elsewhere. Featuring fine performances from Maurice, Solomon and Lafrance as the three leads, it’s a film that should be seen and enjoyed.”

“Director Maurice’s tale is also full of humour that lifts the dramatic tale up several notches.  Entertaining while making a point with an important message,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto.

Chris & Martina: The Final Set (dir. Rebecca Gitlitz)

“Chris & Martina: The Final Set might not play the high stakes game of a title match, but the stars volley memories amicably,” says Pat Mullen at POV Magazine. “Whoever won more Wimbledon titles or Grand Slams doesn’t ultimately matter by the end. As the women sit together and watch these old games, one sees little evidence of bitterness. Rather, there’s a kinship fuelled by their serve-and-return relationship: one doesn’t spend over a decade facing someone on the court without developing a bond. That mutual respect resonates as they know in their later years not to let another person determine their sense of worth.”

Couture (dir. Alice Winocour)

“Director Winocour’s film, at best, shows the ins and outs of the assembly of fashion week, from the workers’ points of view, in this case, a filmmaker, a makeup artist, and a model,” observes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “But each story with each of the characters’ personal problems looks terribly forced, resulting in more melodrama than needed in this fashion drama,  Wincour sacrifices subtlety with the glamour seen onscreen.  The script also appears disjointed, with the film not detailed enough in each of the topics brought up.”

“The situation confronting Maxine could hardly have been lost on Jolie, who is one of the film’s producers. Both she and Winocour are so committed to the success of Couture that they have allowed the genuine story of Jolie, a star who has undergone several major surgeries for cancer to become the key driver in the film,” says Marc Glassman at Classical FM. “It must be said that Jolie is extraordinary in Couture; her performance is mesmerizing throughout. Whether she’s showing her vulnerable side to Lindon’s Dr. Hanson or her powerful one during a shoot with Garrel, Jolie is always the dominating presence in the scene. This is a film that lives or dies on Jolie’s work—and she does make you care about her life and work.”

“Couture benefits from committed performances, its pretty Paris location and from director Winocour’s rarefied access, shooting inside Atelier Chanel. The director is also typically adept at distilling and framing feminist perspective, perhaps most notably in Mustang from 2015 which she co-wrote, and Proxima from 2019, which she co-wrote and directed,” adds Kim Hughes at Original Cin. “Not so much here. A small but engaging subplot concerns exhausted seamstress Christine (Garance Marillier), who meets a sympathetic Maxine early on and ends up working on a lynchpin garment modelled by Ada but gets none of the glory, only pinpricked fingers.”

“Jolie gives a natural, understated performance as Maxine confronts the gravity of her diagnosis. Caressing a wig in the dressing room assumes new meaning, as does the art of seduction and revealing one’s body before it’s cut like a fabric to fit a bodice,” writes Pat Mullen at That Shelf. “The veteran actress finds striking vulnerability by acting in French as Maxine’s clear, if intermittently cautious, use of language illustrates her discomfort in the world of haute couture. She’s not a fashionista, either, as all her clothes are black. But unlike the style mavens who come to fashion week to see and be seen, Maxine interests herself in the bodies that sell the high-end garments.”

In the Hand of Dante (dir. Julian Schnabel)

“The script co-written by director Schnabel and Louise Kugelberg is at times uneven and unpredictable, which in this case, works more positively for the film that runs a lengthy 150 minutes,” notes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “It is a slow-moving film, never boring, primarily for the film’s performances.”

jackass: best and last (dir. Jeff Tremaine)

“Stunts range from the truly dangerous to the merely doltish. Early on in the film we see Knoxville’s first official act of Jackassery from 1998, when he demonstrated on camera how to stop a bullet fired at point-blank range at his chest, using only a bulletproof vest and a stack of porn mags as protection,” says Toronto Star critic Peter Howell at Night Vision. “More recent acts of insanity include the Poo Cocktail: strapping a player inside a portable toilet and then launching it into the air like a rocket, whereupon it flips its nasty contents all over the unlucky rider.”

Little Brother (dir. Matt Spicer)

“The film hits its lowest point when Little Brother the story progresses, the comedy gives way to a more emotional exploration of guilt, responsibility, and the lasting impact of abandoning someone who depended on you,” writes Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “The change of tone in providing a message to the audience causes the film to sink into silly melodrama and sentimentality.”

Supergirl (dir. Craig Gillespie)

“The latest chapter in the slowly growing DC Universe has critics comparing it to Guardians of the Galaxy for its multi-planetary setting, and also Mad Max for its post-apocalyptic vibe and its dark, human trafficking subplot. But I’m convinced it’s a lost Star Wars film, thanks to its many weird-headed alien creatures, a Babu Frik-like entity seemingly voiced by Seth Rogen, and not one but two full-on cantina scenes, complete with live music,” says Chris Knight at the National Post. “Supergirl’s action setpieces are so choppy as to be almost unwatchable. What I wouldn’t give for the director to shoot conversations as if they were fight scenes, and fight scenes as if they were conversations.”

“Despite the tech heavy CGI film, there performances of both Milly Alcock as super girl and Matthias Schoenaerts as the main villain demand mention,” adds Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “But the film is more CGI special effects and makeup and costume than anything else. The predictable storyline with two female protagonists does not help either.  Despite the under 2-hour running time, the film is a boring and often dull watch.”

Unidentified (dir. Haifaa Al-Mansour)

“But if it appears all too convenient that Nawal eventually finds all the clues and solves the case, there is more than meets the eye in a clever twist that one would never expect, lifting the film from what one would think is the typical murder mystery,” says Gilbert Seah at Afro Toronto. “Well-plotted and delivered in a seldom-seen setting, Unidentified is a surprise gem.”

“[R]esembles a generic television series about an underestimated woman crime solver who has social skills and notices details that men overlook. American broadcast TV series such as Elsbeth, Matlock, and High Potential come to mind,” notes Liam Lacey at Original Cin. “But beneath its formulaic surface, Noelle’s obsession with the case is somehow related to flashbacks about the relatively recent death of infant daughter and a bitter divorce. Though the hard twist of the ending fuses the two narrative strands, the effect feels artificially forced, and downright illogical.”

File Under Miscellaneous

At That Shelf, Pat Mullen, Victor Stiff, and Sarah Gopaul join other local writers in picking the best films of the year so far. For Mullen, it’s the documentary Nuisance Bear (“smartly captures the link between environmental disasters and colonial violence”). For Stiff, it’s the action flick The Furious (“some of this decade’s most exhilarating action sequences”). And for Gopaul, it’s 28 Years Late: The Bone Temple (“Nia DaCosta brings a fresh perspective to the series”).