Walt Disney Studio’s 60th animated film released in November with the same promise of any of its predecessors: 90-ish minutes of adventure, magic, and wonder. Directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard (Zootopia) and co-director Charise Castro Smith (who shares co-writing… Read More ›
There are some films that one sees in their youth and then remembers nothing about them (save for a few pieces here and there) in their adulthood. It could be a film they saw on home video or cable. It… Read More ›
Wes Anderson’s 10th film is about as Wes Andersony as it gets. To this point in his career, I’d argue that it’s also the *most* Wes Andersony, for good or for bad. This has delighted his fans (many of whom… Read More ›
“The more things change, the more they stay the same.” No matter how much we rely on technology to do things for us, we often lose a little piece of ourselves in the process. Sure, we may remember things more… Read More ›
Allow me, first, to share a memory: November 2006. EoM editor Crystal Davidson and I journeyed to the Magic Johnson Capital Center 12 to see the latest James Bond film, Casino Royale. I was fan of the films (had even… Read More ›
In 2020, the first feature-length film from the manga-adapted anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Mugen Train, released in Japanese theaters and absolutely dominated to the point where it was the highest-grossing film of the year. After some time, Mugen… Read More ›
In September 2021, Warner Bros. dropped Malignant rather unceremoniously into theaters and on its streaming service HBO Max. I say “unceremoniously” because its story is co-developed by director James Wan who’s the co-writer of Saw (2004), who crafted the story… Read More ›
Cultural legends and myths have been fodder for storytelling (books, music, video games, movies) since the birth of each of them. Why not take something that audiences are already familiar with and either retell or reform it in a way… Read More ›
Stories that depict a road trip tend to connect with most audience members considering that we all commonly share in the ultimate extended road trip — that is, the journey of life. Sure, this is a clichéd metaphor that has… Read More ›
Sailor Suit and Machine Gun is a film built on dichotomy. The lead character, Izumi (Hiroko Yakushimaru), is a high school teen, suggesting innocence or, at the least, a touch of naiveté. She’s not old enough to have been touched… Read More ›
Artist Charles Addams is most widely known for his cartoon series “The Addams Family” which ran in The New Yorker, which then became the even more popular ABC television program which ran for two seasons between 1964 and 1966. While… Read More ›
Ideas are often one thing, whereas execution is entirely another. There are plenty of films which sound incredible, but the finished product seems entirely devoid of the potential. This is the best way to describe the frustration that comes from… Read More ›
Written and directed by Abel Ferrara, Zeros and Ones opens with a video message directly from lead actor Ethan Hawke, even before the actual narrative of the film gets going. This video from Hawke looks to have been shot on… Read More ›
Great performers like Aretha Franklin are remembered for much more than their God-given talents. They’re also remembered for their ability to connect with their audience. A good performer will practice and train for years to master their craft, but a… Read More ›
The war film genre is a strange beast. Many of the films are entirely propaganda, pontificating on the successes of the old made by the sacrifices of young, celebrating the loss of life by infusing it with self-aggrandizing nationalism. Weird… Read More ›
One of the most underrated horror/thrillers of the past decade was easily Fede Álvarez’s Don’t Breathe. The tense, heart-pounding suspense and brutal, but surprisingly pared back (at least compared to the absolute bloodbath that was Álvarez’s first feature 2013’s Evil… Read More ›
There’s an interesting line in writer/director Lisa Joy’s Reminiscence, which suggests that our past doesn’t haunt us. It’s gone. We, however, through our memories, haunt it by revisiting moments in our mind over and over. There’s psychological proof of this… Read More ›
It’s been a long road to go from the first iteration of “America’s Moveable Fighting Man” G.I. Joe to the latest live-action cinematic rendition of the characters from that universe. In that time, the Hasbro toyline has gone from a… Read More ›
Escape Room was a cute little Saw-esque surprise of January of 2019, and while there were certainly some struggles with the screenplay, as well as its PG-13 rating feeling as if it was holding itself back from its pure potential,… Read More ›
Truth and fiction can be a matter of perspective. Because of this, one’s guilt or innocence can shift more to one side than another based on who’s doing the judging. In family squabbles, it’s often harder to identify the guilty… Read More ›