Films can be more than just the latest sci-fi/superhero blockbuster or summer comedy. Some films aspire to teach audiences lessons and history. I Am Cuba (Soy Cuba), a 1964 political propaganda film, is one such story. Its historical richness and… Read More ›
Photosensitivity Warning: The opening sequence and several throughout the film include either flashes of light or strobing that may be triggering for photosensitive viewers. There are certain phrases, certain references, one can make that will elicit a specific response within… Read More ›
Photosensitivity Warning: There are multiple scenes in which either a character is using a camera with flash or a strobe is used (often at length). Proceed with absolute caution. In the realm of action fantasy, John Milius’s 1982 sword and… Read More ›
Remakes are almost always met with the same reaction upon announcement: “why?”. To many, remakes are a sign of laziness on the part of studios, opting to lean-in on what audiences know or have a relationship with rather than taking… Read More ›
It’s been stated before, but it bears reminding: expectations can ruin an experience. This is equally true when the hype ahead of something implies one thing when the truth is something very different. In the real world, it can look… Read More ›
Nothing in the 1991 film Dogfight is black and white, no matter what the greyscale filter on the box’s cover art and poster may imply. Or maybe, everything is. A cable classic that found its audience after release, Dogfight couldn’t… Read More ›
The original Mean Girls starring Lindsay Lohan (Freaky Friday), Rachel McAdams (Game Night), Amanda Seyfried (Jennifer’s Body), and Lacey Chabert (Not Another Teen Movie), was released almost exactly 20 years ago on April 30, 2004. Inspired by Queen Bees and… Read More ›
Adaptations are growing in number more and more these days in entertainment. If there’s not a cinematic version of a book, show, or comic, there’s a television one. Often times, these tales involve beings of incredible strength or speed, of… Read More ›
Event storylines in comics are not unusual. It’s a way to take on something that doesn’t quite fit in the everyday narratives, while also providing a means of both bringing characters together and altering their trajectory. In the world of… Read More ›
Trigger Warning: The Shape of Night contains an exploration of sex work, the narrative of which may prove difficult to endure for those who’ve suffered sexual assault. In 1929, Japanese film studio Shochiku was established, transitioning from the theatrical arts… Read More ›
When one thinks of the filmography of actor Jason Statham, films typically feature him in one of two roles: quiet badass or loudmouth badass. He’s certainly done more with turns in Snatch (2000) and London (2005) demonstrating his versatility, but… Read More ›
Despite living in an age where thousands of films are available at the touch of a button, there’re still far too many films that are either difficult-bordering-on-impossible to stream, thereby making physical media the best way to access what you… Read More ›
Despite the push in the United States to regulate it in order to promote a very specific agenda tied to faith, sex is not a bad thing. It can be awkward, messy, and silly, but when it’s between consenting adults,… Read More ›
When movies come out in January, there is an inherent idea about the quality of the movie, unless it’s a late release of an Oscar title. These are sometimes unfair assumptions, especially when it comes to horror movies — horror… Read More ›
1980s American cinema included some of the most influential teen comedies in cinema. So much so that filmmakers continue to take inspiration from them. The thing is that, while significant for their time, the majority of these films focused on… Read More ›
Monster (2023) was one of the best films of last year that no one saw, as is typical of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s (Shoplifters; Nobody Knows) films as of late. It’s also part of a worrying trend and aftershock of American politics… Read More ›
2023 provided a proper glut of delicious action flicks. In addition to the obvious theatrical blockbusters like John Wick: Chapter 4, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and Teenage Mutant Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, we also got Sisu,… Read More ›
The slacker comedy comes in many shapes and varieties. You’ve got rom-com Mallrats (1995), straight comedy Friday (1995), dramedy Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), and comedic thriller The Big Lebowski (1998). Each one uses the slackers at their center to… Read More ›
April 2023, director/co-writer Liu Xiaoshi’s Born To Fly soared into U.S. theaters, bringing with it an energy from China that American audiences recognized from the Top Gun series: big attitudes, fast planes, and a desire to be the best there… Read More ›
The lone wolf archetype is a figure that has lived on in many samurai and action spectacles — the man who walks alone and walks a fine line of morals and principles, fighting for the common good, and the common… Read More ›