Shane McNeil
About Shane McNeil
Shane McNeil is a cinematic robot programmed to like things that are awesome and hate anything associated with Nicholas Sparks. "He" loves the films of Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson and Akira Kurosawa. "He" has never cried in a movie because "he" was not programmed to do so, however, the ending of "It's a Wonderful Life" causes one mysterious spark to fly off "his" motherboard. "His" auto-programmed cinematic diatribes have appeared online and in print for such outlets as Playback Magazine, Dose Magazine, Mondo Magazine, Zip.ca and now, finally, the Toronto Film Scene, which "he" promises "he" has not been programmed to destroy.
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Last entries by Shane McNeil
  • 08 Mar 2012
    Predictions for the 32nd Genie Awards
    Now that we’ve gotten past the formality of those “other awards” it’s time to get down to business on some meaningful trophies. Canada has never cranked out as many films at such a high level as it has over the past few years, and the ability of the most successful of...
    Archived in Articles Other Articles
  • 13 Jan 2012
    Review: The Iron Lady
    How far would you be willing to go to display a truly brilliant performance? That is bound to be the question on the minds of anyone wandering out of a screening of  The Iron Lady. Make no bones about it, Meryl Streep’s performance is brilliant. It cuts much deeper than...
    Archived in Major Theatrical Reviews
  • 25 Dec 2011
    Review: War Horse
    Any review of Steven Spielberg’s latest offering,  War Horse,  needs to begin with the following information: it is a perfectly fine film. There really isn’t anything wrong with the movie. It’s technically sound, emotionally uplifting and has your usual smattering of stunning visuals and exciting action sequences. That said, the...
    Archived in Major Theatrical Reviews
  • 16 Dec 2011
    Roman Polanski, TIFF unleash Carnage
    Roman Polanski has always been kind of a funny guy. Maybe he’s not always funny in the conventional making-everyone-laugh sense, but at the very least funny in the odd, off-the-map, Fargo-descriptive kind of way....
    Archived in Articles TIFF Programming
  • 09 Dec 2011
    Review: The Artist
    If ever a film were custom-designed to charm the pants off a Toronto audience, The Artist – Michel Hazanavicius’ mostly-silent ode to the death of silent film ““ is it. But that’s in no way a bad thing. The Artist treads on familiar territory. It’s a requiem for a by-gone...
    Archived in Major Theatrical Reviews
  • 18 Nov 2011
    Review: Cafe de Flore
    Jean-Marc Vallee tells a story like a broken record. Or, perhaps it would be more accurate to classify the Canadian director’s latest effort Café de Flore as a record that’s just kinda scratched....
    Archived in Independent & Repertory Reviews
  • 09 Nov 2011
    Beyond Europa: TIFF does von Trier
    Now this might get uncomfortable Anyone who’s ever seen the films of Lars von Trier knows the feeling all too well. The film starts out normally enough we’re introduced to a young hero, heroine, couple, whatever and their lives seem to be your normal workaday routine. Then something catastrophic happens...
    Archived in Articles TIFF Programming
  • 23 Sep 2011
    Review: Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame
    Remember your childhood days when you would walk into your local video store and see the “Action/Adventure” section? The former genre seems to have swallowed up the latter, but Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame might have something to say about that....
    Archived in Independent & Repertory Reviews
  • 23 Sep 2011
    Review: Sarah Palin. You Betcha! – TIFF 2011
    The funny thing about hunting is that it’s always a sport, no matter how easy the target. Naturally, whenever one discusses Sarah Palin, hunting is bound to come up. Both are central tenets to Nick Broomfield and Joan Churchill’s Sarah Palin, You Betcha!...
    Archived in Festivals TIFF TIFF 2011
  • 23 Sep 2011
    Review: Himizu – TIFF 2011
    It’s not the subtlest point Sion Sono is trying to make with Himizu, but it’s a very valid one nonetheless. As the opening shot of the film surveys the rubble left in the wake of this year’s 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami, Sono makes it blatant everything has changed....
    Archived in Festivals TIFF TIFF 2011
  • 23 Sep 2011
    Review: Take Shelter – TIFF 2011
    “There’s a storm coming and none of you are ready for it!” The preceding line of dialogue has been brought to you by Michael Shannon’s entrancing, relentless performance as Curtis in Jeff Nichols’ mind-trip Take Shelter....
    Archived in Festivals TIFF TIFF 2011
  • 22 Sep 2011
    Review: Juan of the Dead – TIFF 2011
    There comes a certain point over the course of any Toronto International Film Festival where the film-goer must ask exactly what it is they expect out of the film they’re about to see. Obviously, among the 300-plus films that run over the course of 11 days, not every single one...
    Archived in Festivals TIFF TIFF 2011
  • 22 Sep 2011
    Review: Generation P – TIFF 2011
    Not every generation gets as distinct a genesis as the one the new Russia got when communism finally fell in 1989. Physically one wall fell. But ideologically, it took the entire world down with it for the former U.S.S.R....
    Archived in Festivals TIFF TIFF 2011
  • 22 Sep 2011
    Review: Alois Nebel – TIFF 2011
    Alois Nebel is one of the prettiest animated films I’ve seen in a while. But man, do I wish it hadn’t been animated. That may seem an odd statement, both both the advantage and detriment to rotoscope animation is that one can envision what the film would have looked like...
    Archived in Festivals TIFF TIFF 2011
  • 16 Sep 2011
    Review: The Lion King 3D
    Naaaaaaaaaaants ingonyaaaaaaama bagiiiiiithi babaaa!! Yes, it’s back. In what seems to be the most recent upgrade of Disney’s one-time “˜from the vaults’ home video release strategy, the Mouse House is ready to roll out The Lion King 3D to a theatre near you....
    Archived in Major Theatrical Reviews
  • 15 Sep 2011
    Review: I Wish – TIFF 2011
    Sometimes it’s just that simple. Turn the camera on, trust your script, trust your actors, and just let fly....
    Archived in Festivals TIFF TIFF 2011
  • 15 Sep 2011
    Review: Cafe de Flore - TIFF 2011
    Jean-Marc Vallee tells a story like a broken record. Or, perhaps it would be more accurate to classify the Canadian director’s latest effort Café de Flore as a record that’s just kinda scratched....
    Archived in Festivals TIFF TIFF 2011
  • 15 Sep 2011
    Review: Beloved – TIFF 2011
    Just because people are singing, doesn’t mean they’re happy. Nowhere is this fact better on display than in Beloved, the latest bittersweet musical from filmmaker Christophe Honore....
    Archived in Festivals TIFF TIFF 2011
  • 14 Sep 2011
    Review: The Descendants – TIFF 2011
    Nobody does pain like Alexander. The Descendants, the fourth feature from Alexander Payne, finds us in familiar territory for the veteran writer/director....
    Archived in Festivals TIFF TIFF 2011
  • 12 Sep 2011
    Review: Sons of Norway – TIFF 2011
    I honestly went into Sons of Norway expecting little more than a handful of Sex Pistols references and a healthy dose of Scandinavian awkwardness. What I got was a loving film that celebrates the imperfections in everyone with a playful snarl....
    Archived in Festivals TIFF TIFF 2011
Last Comments by Shane McNeil

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