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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Brock Bodell’s “Hellcat” twists and turns itself into a solid feature debut. [Fantasia]
While there is something inherently engaging about a fast-paced action piece that is enshrouded in mystery, it gets even more interesting when it’s a directors first time at the plate. Brock Bodell’s first feature Hellcat excels at not pretending the… Read More ›
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“The School Duel” ditches gun laws for a popularity contest in independent Florida. [Fantasia]
Politics is never an easy conversation to have, and it’s even a more difficult topic to bring up in film as people try to attend fictionalized narrative stories to escape the reality of every day. That is not to say… Read More ›
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“Buffet Infinity” is the full experience, pulling you in with curiosity and excitement and leaving you feeling over-stuffed. [Fantasia]
Trigger Warning: Viewers with audiovisual sensitivities may find elements of the film disconcerting or triggering due to various auditory elements. If you’ve seen some of the more recent V/H/S anthology movies, then you know their stories focus around a central… Read More ›
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Meta movie “I Fell in Love with a Z-Grade Director in Brooklyn” is the rare one that hits you in the feels. [Fantasia]
There is something special about movies that are love letters to filmmaking, genres, and low-budget movies — it is just such a niche topic to touch upon but, when done right, it can be a cinephile’s perfect movie. Thankfully, Kenichi… Read More ›
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Julie Pacino’s psychological thriller “I Live Here Now” draws you in and never lets you escape. [Fantasia]
Thinking you cannot get have a child conventionally due to something out of your control leads to making different choices, but when you’re proven wrong, everything turns your world upside down. However, in Julie Pacino’s feature debut, I Live Here… Read More ›
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Comedic short “Shrimp Fried Rice” may not contain shrimp (it totally does). [Fantasia]
Sometimes filmed content needs 90+ minutes to tell its story effectively. Other times, it needs less. It all depends on the story that is being told, the ability of the actors in the project to convey the story in the… Read More ›
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“Oh, Hi!” utilizes its cringe and charm well for a generation-defining rom-com.
Sophie Brooks (writer, story, producer, director) and Molly Gordon (lead, producer, story) took on several roles to bring arguably the most millennial/Gen Z movie imaginable. The film works so flawlessly well but is sure to get under the skin of… Read More ›
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“Terrestrial” is tethered too tightly to elevate to the heights it aspires to reach. [Fantasia]
When you hear that the director of one of the most absurdist and out-there comedies that shouldn’t work but does is making a genre-bending science fiction comedy horror-esque movie, curiosity definitely peaks. However, there has to be something more to… Read More ›
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Cosmatos and Stallone’s “Cobra” gets an ideal 4K transfer via Arrow Video.
Sometimes movies fly under the radar for viewers, and some of those movies get branded as favorites or classics. When one of those movies has escaped my viewing experience one way or another and the 4K gets announced, my curiosity… Read More ›
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The Criterion Collection restores Mike Nichols’s “Carnal Knowledge” in 4K UHD and Blu-ray.
Mike Nichols can be described as one of the best 21st century directors with titles under his belt like Who’s Afraid of Virgina Woolf? (1966), The Graduate (1967), Working Girl (1988), Charlie Wilson’s War (2007), and Carnal Knowledge (1971), so… Read More ›
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Crime drama thriller “Sovereign” will haunt you.
Have you seen Justin Kurzel’s highly under the radar crime thriller, The Order (2024)? Did you see it and immediately think to yourself that you wanted to see more of this? If you haven’t, have you seen some of Dick… Read More ›
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“Law Abiding Citizen” gets a second 4K release, this time as a steelbook.
If you’ve never seen F. Gary Gray’s Law Abiding Citizen, then stop reading this right now, go find a copy (this new snazzy steelbook is now available), and sit down and watch it (preferably the unrated cut as it has… Read More ›
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“Re-Creation” poses a judicial what-if of a well-known cold case. [Tribeca]
I am not going to pretend that the name Sophie Toscan du Plantier means anything to me outside of the context of the film as I do not follow famous deaths or cold cases. However, maybe if I was older… Read More ›
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Charles Williams’s “Inside” examines a messy family-like dynamic within a high security prison. [Tribeca]
There is something inherently interesting and thought-provoking from Charles Williams’s first time feature, Inside (not to be confused with the Willem Dafoe movie from a few years back), but the longform execution of this seems to be where it slightly… Read More ›
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“Horsegirls” prances into your heart and lands each aspect of its mashed genres of comedy and drama. [Tribeca]
Writer and director Lauren Meyering swings for the fences with a difficult yet captivating story that is surely going to resonate with certain viewers, certain parents, and make for a compelling career moving forward in the feature industry with her… Read More ›
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“A Tree Fell in the Woods” blends realism with surrealism in an examination of perception. [Tribeca]
When writing a comedy about couples where everything and anything can go wrong, there is a lot of territory that has already been covered. Entries into the genre consistently feel like they’re beating a dead horse. Trying to find something… Read More ›
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Comedy thriller “Birthright” leaves you laughing hysterically in the darkest of corners. [Tribeca]
If you’re a fan of the most insane over-the-top, completely plausible, uncomfortable comedies of all time, then Zoe Pepper is a name to look out for and her newest feature, Birthright, is an absolute must-see. While the film is not… Read More ›
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“Lemonade Blessing” will have you doing spit takes both cringe and comical. [Tribeca]
Without having ever met or talked to writer/director Chris Merola (The Stall), I think it’s fair to say and even assume that the inspiration behind Lemonade Blessing may have come from an episode of The Simpsons. This isn’t a dig… Read More ›

