In the opinion of this writer, we don’t thank Guillermo del Toro enough for his contributions to cinema. From his beautiful tribute to creature features via The Shape of Water (2017) to his dedication to animation with his Pinocchio (2022),… Read More ›
Janus Contemporaries’s newest unnumbered entry into the Criterion Collection is priced just right at $20.99. The Beast, the latest film from Bertrand Bonello (House of Tolerance; Saint Laurent), is a surreal tale starring two of the best actors working today,… Read More ›
In our new world where big budget blockbusters dominate the theatrical landscape, Crust, the 2024 indie horror-comedy written and directed by Sean Whalen (Twister), stands out as a delightful anomaly. Featuring a cast of relatively unknown actors and a limited… Read More ›
It’s very common for members of Hong Kong (HK) cinema to take on multiple career paths through their lifetime. Many start as stunt people, working their way up to actor and then, often, to the position of writing and/or directing,… Read More ›
Whether literally or metaphorically, nostalgia is always for sale. By tapping into your rose-colored memories, companies have you ready to buy anything under the guise of it helping you escape the hardships of the present for even a moment. Doesn’t… Read More ›
The Alien franchise has become a staple in horror and science fiction genres. Granted, after 1979’s Alien and 1986’s Aliens, the series had a rocky track record. Films like Prometheus (2012) and Alien Covenant (2017) had some hoping they could… Read More ›
Remakes and adaptations are constants in entertainment. For one, they offer safety for skittish executives worried more about their bottom line and upsetting stockholders than taking risks with an unvetted intellectual property (IP). For two, sometimes there are stories that… Read More ›
When done right and a movie captures the time period in which it’s set pitch-perfectly, it is a reflection of its audience and resonates so much deeper and more personally with those of that era. Some movies that come to… Read More ›
When a new director arrives on the Hollywood scene, they often come in one of two distinct flavors: they’re either a fresh “voice” in the industry or someone who can be molded to be a studio darling. The second category… Read More ›
Trigger Warning: It Ends with Us explores domestic abuse and includes an instance of attempted sexual assault. In 2024, a film released in theaters in which a woman has a meet-cute with a man, finds herself falling love, struggles to… Read More ›
There are fables that challenge children (The NeverEnding Story), that push children (Labyrinth), and that are not safe for children (Pan’s Labyrinth). In each instance, no matter their differences, the perspective of the child is the focal point through their… Read More ›
Artificial Intelligence, more commonly referred to as A.I., is a staple of science fiction. The incorporation of it within novels, television programs, film, and video games is often in a supportive role toward humanity. Batman uses it to help solve… Read More ›
Whether the films work for you or not, there’s no denying that an M. Night Shyamalan film is going to provoke a reaction; we’re not talking heavily divisive so much as generating conversation with audiences heralding the best parts and… Read More ›
I stand by that title. Reagan (2024) is an astonishingly incompetent and cynical attempt to pass off pseudo-religious myth as history. Written by Howard Klausner (Space Cowboys) based on the book The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism… Read More ›
In the history of cinema, there are more stories of the films not made than of the ones made — the stories deemed uninteresting or lacking an audience; the stories deemed unsellable or absent in creativity. Sometimes there’s a happy… Read More ›
By this point in 2024, there’ve been three M. Night Shyamalan projects released in theaters or on streaming. In August, serial killer thriller Trap starring Josh Hartnett (Oppenheimer; The Faculty) and Shyamalan’s daughter, Saleka Shyamalan, landed in theaters and comes… Read More ›
In 2002, two-time Academy Award nominated writer and director M. Night Shyamalan was still trying to live up to the hype from The Sixth Sense (1999), a massive success and guarantor for a career that would become one of the… Read More ›
Board book, hard cover, or soft — chances are, at some point in your life, you encountered author Crockett Johnson’s children’s book Harold and the Purple Crayon. A tale of wonder, the brief adventure features a toddler/little kid-aged boy in… Read More ›
Originally created by Bryan Woods (65; Heretic) and Scott Beck (65; Heretic), under the vision of actor/writer/director John Krasinski (IF; A Quiet Place), the A Quiet Place film series is a creature feature with a character-driven heart. The first film,… Read More ›
Trigger Warning: Kinds of Kindness is a darkly comic film that features murder, maiming, and sexual assault. Some elements, even handled with thought and care, may be troubling for some audiences. Growing up in the South you learn very quickly… Read More ›