Trigger Warnings: The film contains (1) depictions of violence against animals (some quite real) and (2) a sequence at a club involving flashing lights. Art always reflects the times. What the artist is feeling, what inspires them, what terrifies them… Read More ›
Writer/director Kelly Reichardt’s latest film, The Mastermind, was one of my biggest surprises of 2025. That’s not only coming from a fan of her work but also from the way The Mastermind subverts expectations. Set in the 1970s against the… Read More ›
Sunset (1988) isn’t a bad movie, but it isn’t a great one either. It comes early in Bruce Willis’s career and is often forgotten about while discussing his filmography. Most people immediately bring up films like Die Hard (1988), The… Read More ›
Ignored upon initial release and later championed by supporters like director Martin Scorsese (Cape Fear) and rock artist Nick Cave, Ted Kotcheff’s 1971 Australian horror film Wake in Fright arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Arrow Video. Before he gifted the… Read More ›
The year is 2006, and audiences have noticed Adam Sandler is trying to do more than just his usual brand of comedy, branching into projects like Punch-Drunk Love (2002), Spanglish (2004), and, to an extent, Big Daddy (1999). So when… Read More ›
Writer/director Kirill Sokolov made the leap from shorts to features with the 2018 darkly comic actioner Why Don’t You Just Die! in which an idiot is convinced by his girlfriend to kill her police detective father. A spin on several… Read More ›
The Blu-ray release of White Palace from Mill Creek Entertainment’s Retro VHS/Rewind Collection offers us a hidden gem within a fascinating point in the filmographies of James Spader (Secretary) and Susan Sarandon (Bull Durham). Spader was coming off a string of memorable performances… Read More ›
It begins as it always does: someone alone receives a menacing phone call, has their life threatened, and then ends up on the wrong end of a blade held by a killer wearing a Ghostface mask. By the third entry… Read More ›
It’s not unusual for an actor to write and direct, a director to write and act, or some other configuration of the three (and sometimes all at once on the same project). Being versatile not only permits someone to find… Read More ›
One of the earliest Criterion films, spine #57, Stanley Donen’s Charade (1963), is finally is getting a 4K upgrade and has never looked better. While we will go in depth on how this new 4K restoration looks, special features, and… Read More ›
“Burn it all down.” The tagline for the Kevin Williamson-directed seventh entry in the Scream series is apt both for what it seeks to accomplish thematically but also for the entry itself. Rather than make another film that continues the… Read More ›
Eleanor Coppola, Polly Platt (The Last Picture Show; Targets), and Marsha Lucas (Taxi Driver; Star Wars), the Producer Wives of New Hollywood, were members of a generation of artists whose levels of talent we have not seen repeated until recently… Read More ›
I like Saturday Night Live, but I wouldn’t say I’m a die-hard fan by any stretch. However, it is an enjoyable program and I do try to watch it as much as I can when the host and/or musical guest… Read More ›
“Funny thing is, you’re about 10 times more likely to get killed by a falling airplane-part than by a shark.” -Gi in Captain Planet and the Planeteers Things could be simpler if we wanted them to be. Folks could have… Read More ›
Photosensitivity Warning: The opening title sequences includes repeated flashing for the duration. This may be triggering for photosensitive individuals. “This is your life, good to the last drop Doesn’t get any better than this This is your life and it’s… Read More ›
Since its release at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, Dylan O’Brien’s film Twinless has been a topic of conversation. That conversation involves a celebration of the performances and of the narrative’s numerous twists and turns. With a film this surprising,… Read More ›
There are some films which come together and seem like a slam dunk yet fail to connect with audiences, while others are this mysterious combination of magic that, against all odds, finds its way both into audience’s hearts but also… Read More ›
In Islamic scripture, the word “Sirāt” means a bridge or pathway that connects paradise and hell that only the righteous can cross. In the opening credits of director Oliver Laxe’s (Mimosas; Fire Will Come) film Sirāt, he tells us that… Read More ›
There are those among us who proudly describe themselves as “Amblin kids.” Sure, it’s a descriptor I’ve just made up, but if you grew up in the era of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Gremlins (1984), The Goonies (1985), Back to… Read More ›
When word came down that Jessica Chastain (Crimson Peak) was making an erotic thriller, it was an announcement that felt both intriguing and out of left field. An acclaimed character actress taking on a risky role that requires both physical… Read More ›