Author Archives
My escape has been a movie theatre for as long as I can quite frankly remember. My dad swears by the fact that I saw Aladdin in theatres (despite it being in theatres 13 months before I was born, but hey movie magic I guess?). Growing up I was incredibly fortunate to have a projector room in my childhood home with surround sound where I would spend my formative years, watching absolutely anything I could get my eyes on. There was never a movie that I didn't at least try to watch, as being young only certain things captured my attention. I would get lost in that room for hours, sometimes even days. As well I lived down the street from my local multiplex so anytime a new movie would come out whether it be the newest superhero movie, James Bond movie, Scary Movie or anything that captured my interest I was there Friday at 5pm seeing the newest thing and if it was good, most likely revisiting with friends that weekend. I grew up in front of the silver screen, graduated University from the film studies program, and have been writing for numerous publications for the past decade. I look forward to continuing to write, explore new films, and indulge in all the offerings the movies have to bring to us. As Vin Diesel said in the welcome back advertisement, "For more than a hundred years there's one place where we all came together to be entertained, to escape, to escape, to go somewhere new -- the movies"
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Romantic mystery “Darkest Miriam” may leave stones unturned but captivates with Britt Lower’s performance. [Tribeca Film Festival]
The first thing that I learned about Naomi Jaye’s (The Pin) newest feature, Darkest Miriam, was that it was executive produced by Charlie Kaufman (I’m thinking of ending things), and that automatically adds a level of intrigue and suspense to… Read More ›
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Strong performances never give the game away in dramatic thriller “The Weekend.” [Tribeca Film Festival]
We’ve seen nearly every iteration of meeting one’s parents that could possibly exist from Meet the Parents (2000) to Ready or Not (2019) and Get Out (2017), so when audiences get another family-gathering thriller, they typically know what they’re getting… Read More ›
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“The Devil’s Bath” is drawn with great performances but too much time between horrors. [Tribeca Film Festival]
There are movies that are slow-paced terrifying watches, and then there are terrifying slow-paced watches that just miss the mark and create a world of unease that just doesn’t deliver upon the promise until its too late. Unfortunately for Severin… Read More ›
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“Restless” does not let the characters or audience know a moment of peace. [Tribeca Film Festival]
If you’ve ever lived somewhere that wasn’t remote farmland in the midst of nowhere, you’ve most likely hated a neighbor. I adamantly refuse to believe at some point in one’s life there hasn’t been a neighbor that hasn’t driven you… Read More ›
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“She Loved Blossoms More” is a welcomed head trip about grief. [Tribeca Film Festival]
Yannis Veslemes’s (The Field Guide to Evil) newest film, She Loved Blossoms More, has the aesthetic of what I assume being on acid would be like, however the come down from it is devastating and beautiful, making this psychedelic journey… Read More ›
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Two juxtaposed performances deliver the terror and dread in Roxy Shih’s “Beacon.” [Tribeca Film Festival]
If anything is apparent after watching Roxy Shih’s (List of a Lifetime) newest feature, it must be that she is a fan of Robert Eggers’s The Lighthouse as Beacon feels like an eerily possible sequel/prequel to said movie. There’s a… Read More ›
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“Oh, Christmas Tree” may be short but its boughs hold insight aplenty. [Tribeca Film Festival]
The Duplass family have a way with creating something special and emotional and heartfelt. Whether it be 11 minutes or 90 minutes long, when they want to make something spectacular, their collective foot is on the gas, and they know… Read More ›
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“McVeigh” takes audiences inside the events that lead to the event that seared this name into U.S. history. [Tribeca Film Festival]
Slow burn movies have a time and place in the world, and when they focus on absolute tragedy and devastation, they have to be handled with class and taste. Thankfully, Mike Ott (California Dreams) and co-writer Alex Gioulakis (Unemployable) handle… Read More ›
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The first episode of the Tim Burton-centric docuseries provides its own deep dive while priming the audience for three more installments. [Tribeca Film Festival]
Tara Wood is certainly not shy when it comes to making documentaries on some of Hollywood’s more popular or polarizing voices as her two previous directorial outings have presented themselves (co-director of 21 Years: Richard Linklater and QT8: The First… Read More ›
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“Adult Best Friends” utilizes real-life best friends for an authentic look at growing apart. [Tribeca Film Festival]
There is always something daunting about writing or directing one’s first feature, but Delaney Buffett decided to write, direct, and star in her feature debut. Adult Best Friends stems from her real life and also stars her real-life best friend,… Read More ›
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The site and sounds of horror thriller “A Desert” will chill you to your bones. [Tribeca Film Festival]
Joshua Erkman (director and co-writer) and Bossi Baker (co-writer) are certainly going to be names to look out for in the future. Both of them have teamed together to direct and co-write their first feature, A Desert, which focuses on… Read More ›
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“The Damned” fully delivers on its genre promises of mystery, drama, and horror. [Tribeca Film Festival]
Genuinely speaking, I don’t want to condone a movie, but the trance, anxiety, and dread that Thordur Palsson creates with his directorial debut, The Damned, needs to be studied as A Clockwork Orange-style of torture. This movie is the one… Read More ›
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A stunning Blu-ray, “La Chimera” lives up to its name leaving the audience chasing absent special features
If you have been following my writing and my thoughts on things when it comes to media, it should be apparent that my stance is, and always will be, physical media is king. It is really hard to make the… Read More ›
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The Criterion Collection puts the shine on the 1-2 punch of Karyn Kusama and Michelle Rodriguez in 2000’s “Girlfight.”
In the year 2000, no one knew of the name Karyn Kusama, and no one knew of her star Michelle Rodriguez either. However, after they both debuted with 2000’s Girlfight, they’d go on to make some incredibly intriguing pieces of… Read More ›
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“In a Violent Nature” delivers on its name.
When you see a movie is a sponsorship of IFC Midnight and Shudder, there is a certain expectation for the film, an expectation that it is going to be something uneasy, disturbing, f-ked up, and downright gross. Now, with all… Read More ›
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Don’t put this steelbook in the science oven! “American Hustle” is out now in 4K UHD.
The year was 2013, and David O. Russell continued to prove that he was the director that was going to change things. No matter what one thought of his films, there was no denying they had something special about them…. Read More ›
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“Narc” keeps its noir essence in high definition thanks to Arrow Video.
When reviewing a label release for something I have never seen, it is always interesting to see how the movie looks and what the restoration does to it as there are no nostalgia/rose-colored glasses towards the project itself. The only… Read More ›
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“Mean Girls” on 4K UHD is so fetch.
It is hard to believe that it has been 20 years (what???) since we learned about the daughter of the inventor of Toaster Strudel, and, more importantly, about how learning to not be a mean girl/queen B or you’ll get… Read More ›
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With an amazing transfer and a ton of extra features, Arrow’s 4K UHD restoration of “Basket Case” is a must-own for horror fans.
Having only seen one Frank Henenlotter film, Brain Damage, prior, there was some idea of what to possibly expect from his directorial debut, Basket Case. However, even having seen Brain Damage, I don’t think anything could have properly prepared me… Read More ›
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“The Scarface Mob” never had better looking mugshots than in Arrow’s Blu-ray release.
For a “movie” that is 65 years old and was originally a two-part series premiere pilot, never in my wildest dreams would I have thought this would look as clean and crisp as it possibly does. It is truly so… Read More ›