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John Semley

John Semley lives and works in Toronto. He is a books columnist at the Globe & Mail newspaper and the author of “This Is A Book About The Kids In The Hall” (ECW Press).

Heath Ledger as the Joker in "The Dark Knight;" Joaquin Phoenix; Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman in "The Dark Knight" (Warner Bros. Pictures/AP/Joel Ryan)

We don’t need a prestige Joker movie, but “The Dark Knight” made one inevitable

John Semley
Peter Sarsgaard in "The Looming Tower" (Hulu)

“The Looming Tower”: A pre-9/11 thriller for the post-facts world

John Semley
Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill "Darkest Hour" (Focus Features/Jack English)

The long shadow of Churchill looms over Oscar night

John Semley
Salon logo

Berlinale 2018: “U – July 22” is a mass shooting movie that’s as horrifying as it has to be

John Semley
Bill Murray as Boss in "Isle of Dogs" (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

Wes Anderson’s animated fable “Isle of Dogs” premiered at Berlin and everything is as it should be

John Semley
Cynthia Nixon in "A Quiet Passion" (Music Box Films)

The utility of snobbery

John Semley
Bruce Willis in "Die Hard with a Vengeance" (20th Century Fox)

What to watch while you’re nursing your New Year’s Day hangover

John Semley
Sherwan Haji and Niroz Haji in "The Other Side of Hope" (Pandora Film)

Finnish master Aki Kaurismäki discusses his unsentimental refugee drama “The Other Side of Hope”

John Semley
Hong Chau and Matt Damon in "Downsizing" (Paramount Pictures)

Claims of racism dog a Golden Globe-nominated performance, revealing the bias of the accusers

John Semley
Jason Momoa in "Justice League" (Warner Bros. Picture)

No room for softness: Director Zack Snyder delivers “Justice League,” the heroes we deserve

John Semley
Chris Hemsworth in "Thor: Ragnarok" (Marvel)

“Thor: Ragnarok” is a hammer in the face to the alt-right

John Semley
Ryan Gosling in "Blade Runner 2049" (Warner Bros. Pictures/Stephen Vaughan)

Does the score of “Blade Runner 2049” have ambitions to rival Vangelis’ original?

John Semley
Morrissey (Getty/Kevin Winter)

How the ever-bigmouthed crooner has spun criticism into martyrdom

John Semley
Jennifer Lawrence in "Mother!" (Paramount Pictures)

The mythic maximalism of Darren Aronofsky’s “Mother!”

John Semley
Paths of Glory; Gallipoli; All Quiet on the Western Front (United Artists/Paramount Pictures/Universal Pictures)

The success of “Dunkirk” is proof that the World War II myth machine is still alive and well

John Semley
"Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!" (Adult Swim)

Celebrating a decade of disgust with Tim and Eric

John Semley
Ezra Miller, Henry Cavill, Ray Fisher, Gal Gadot, Ben Affleck, and Jason Momoa in "Justice League" (DC Films)

What does the director switch on “Justice League” mean for the auteur theory?

John Semley
Stalker (The Criterion Collection)

Why Andrei Tarkovsky’s interminably dull 1979 sci-fi masterpiece “Stalker” is the movie we need right now

John Semley
(Warner Bros. Entertainment)

How to re-watch “Entourage”

John Semley
The Nineties (CNN)

CNN’s “The Nineties”: Empty nostalgia for a decade we should let die

John Semley
Peter Weller as RoboCop in "RoboCop" (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios)

Fascism for liberals: “RoboCop” at 30 and the problem with prescience

John Semley
Naomi Watts and Kyle MacLachlan in "Twin Peaks" (Showtime/Suzanne Tenner)

Enough with your “Twin Peaks” theories already, you’re ruining it

John Semley
Long Strange Trip (Sundance Institute)

I hate myself for loving the Dead movie

John Semley
(AP/Dennis Van Tine)

I f**king hate science

John Semley
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