Some people would rather test a universe-threatening hypothesis than go to therapy and it shows. But that’s the commonality with so many stories throughout humanity, isn’t it? Instead of facing the real, internal problem, humankind manufactures a greater dilemma that,… Read More ›
Before writer/director Naoko Yamada created The Colors Within (2024), she released Garden of Remembrance, a 2022 short film in which remembrance gives way to healing from grief, the presentation of which involved toying with colors, specifically the way in which… Read More ›
They may not be the draw that they once were, but never discount the Looney Tunes. Those who think the general population has forgotten the kooky cartoons will find themselves on the wrong end of public opinion, whether it’s by… Read More ›
Bethany: Having beliefs isn’t good? Rufus: I think it’s better to have ideas. You can change an idea. Changing a belief is trickier… — Dogma (1999) There are some directors whose work influences you in surprising ways. Of the many… Read More ›
Trigger Warning: Fountain of Youth contains scenes of flashing lights and patterns in the final act that may disturb photosensitive viewers. At this point in his extensive career, it seems fair to boil down filmmaker Guy Ritchie’s films into two… Read More ›
Content Warning: Themroc includes implied incest and cannibalism, which may be disturbing to some viewers. One of the best human experiences is discovery; that feeling of coming across something you’ve never heard of, seen, or discussed. Opportunities abound like this… Read More ›
Of the many things that filmmaker Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s Eleven trilogy; Logan Lucky; Presence) can be described as, an actor’s director is among them. He knows what he wants regarding a shot, he knows how he wants the production design… Read More ›
What is it that gives life meaning? Is it the brevity? Is it what you do with it? Who you meet along the way? Is it the service you provide or the service provided to you? On the one hand,… Read More ›
Trigger Warning: Better Man features several sequences involving flashing lights that may be troubling to photosensitive viewers and the narrative explores depression, substance abuse, and suicidal ideation that may be hard for some viewers. You may not be immediately familiar… Read More ›
The hot titles seared into my memory from 2016 include 10 Cloverfield Lane, Keanu, Everybody Wants Some!!, Kubo and the Two Strings, and The Accountant. At the time, I praised director Gavin O’Connor and writer Bill Dubuque’s film, saying it… Read More ›
Films may endure for a number of reasons. Maybe there was a stacked cast of actors in parts large and small, each making their mark. Maybe the script was highly quotable. Or maybe it was run so often on cable… Read More ›
The Wedding Banquet (2025) is one of those rare films that functions more as another swing at bat than as a remake, and returning screenwriter James Schamus (The Wedding Banquet (1993); Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) scores at least a double… Read More ›
In the popular children’s story Cinderella, the protagonist lives a miserable existence, mistreated by her evil stepmother and wicked stepsisters, but ultimately ends up living an enchanted life with Prince Charming, with a little help from her fairy godmother. Written… Read More ›
In a landscape of recycled IPs, a never-ending torrent of superhero fever, and films that are made for adults being shoved to the wayside, original high-concept films (strong examples being Inception (2010) and The Matrix (1999)) seem to be a… Read More ›
“What If …” is not a question reserved for Marvel Comics; rather, it’s a question that’s been asked by philosophers, scientists, and more for the bulk of humanity’s existence. Within that question lives innumerable possibilities that no amount of planning… Read More ›
Discovery itself is at risk. Last week I bought the 2-disc special edition of Sam Rami’s Drag Me to Hell (2009) at Eides Entertainment in Pittsburgh because I was scanning for Spike Lee’s Clockers (1995), and scanning titles with your… Read More ›
Clocking in at a whopping 215 minutes and being filmed in VistaVision (a high-resolution format once used for classic films such as Vertigo (1958) and The Ten Commandments (1956)), it is not hard to understand why someone would be quick… Read More ›
Christopher Nolan’s Insomnia is one of those rare thriller movies that defies convention by substituting the disquiet of night with the unrelenting brightness of an Alaskan summer — a choice that paradoxically amplifies the film’s sense of terror. The movie… Read More ›
True crime stories are nothing new in terms of being a source for adaptive works. Law & Order consistently takes their inspiration from real crime tales, as do a variety of films. The four-film deep Crime City series led by… Read More ›
What would you do to make amends with your past? For some, it means rolling up your sleeves and doing the hard work to atone; while, for others, it means living a life of abstinence. Both can be viewed as… Read More ›