Of all the video game adaptations made (and there are several folks may not even realize are adaptations), none have met or exceeded expectations like director Jeff Fowler’s Sonic the Hedgehog trilogy. Each one is an entertaining family film with… Read More ›
In a time where sequels, prequels, and legacy-quels run rampant, one hopes — even begs — for something different. A prequel to the live action The Lion King (2019) that revolves around Mufasa and his humbling, noble rise to power… Read More ›
In the featurette “I Feel, Therefore I Am,” writer/director Drew Hancock (Fred 3: Camp Fred) talks about how sometimes, in relationships, there are those who are more invested than another. Personally, in the right circumstances, imbalance in one area can… Read More ›
It’s a tale as old as time. Actor gets work with not one, but multiple top-tier directors, and then finds themselves struggling to get work. Most times, those actors fade into obscurity if they can’t pivot. One such actor, Ke… Read More ›
During the featurette “Dream Team,” first-time feature director Lawrence Lamont (Rap Sh!t) describes to producer Issa Rae (Insecure; The Lovebirds) the homages within One of Them Days, referring to both Friday (1995) and Superbad (2007). Each of these comes from… Read More ›
“This is the nature of war: By protecting others, you save yourselves. If you only think of yourself, you’ll only destroy yourself.” – Seven Samurai (1954) One never knows what their introduction to a filmmaker’s filmography will be. Someone could… Read More ›
Actor, writer, director Lau Kar-Leung is a staple of the Shaw Brothers Studio as evidenced by projects like The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978), The Shadow Boxing (1979), The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter (1984), and Disciples of the 36th Chamber… Read More ›
A staple of cinema is the horror story: possession, corruption, soul-trading. You name it and horror is going to give it to you. For his first feature film, writer/director Hyun Moon-seop utilizes the well-worn path of demon possession in his… Read More ›
The New Hollywood movement (or “period”, depending on who you ask) was a defining moment in cinema where the film director was the “end-all/be-all” authority rather than the film studio. It’s a movement (generally from the mid-‘60s to early ‘80s)… Read More ›
In Keishi Kondo’s 2022 directorial debut New Religion, communal memory and grief intertwine in photographs to illustrate a haunted post-COVID world. The surrealist Japanese art house thriller follows Kaho Seto (My Identity; Beyond the Blue) as Miyabi, a prostitute trying… Read More ›
Whether you’ve been a fan of the kaiju-destroying Godzilla from its initial creation in 1954 from Toho, or your first introduction to the gigantic destructive beast was Legendary’s Godzilla from 2014 or 2023’s spectacular Godzilla Minus One, there is one… Read More ›
In another reality, modern audiences would be elbow-deep in the modern monsterverse Universal Pictures dubbed the “Dark Universe,” which kicked off with the release of 2017’s The Mummy. It was all in place with cast and concept, but the failed… Read More ›
Trigger Warning: There are several sequences involving flashing lights (especially in the climax) which may be difficult for photosensitive viewers. One cannot deny the infectious nature of co-director John Musker and Ron Clements’s 2016 animated adventure Moana. Between the culturally-specific-yet-universal… Read More ›
We are gathered here, today, to acknowledge the end of the Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU) with the home release of the J.C. Chandor-directed Kraven the Hunter (2024), the latest attempt of taking an absolute bastard villain and turning him into… Read More ›
By 2000, actor Russell Crowe had made a name for himself in the U.S. through work in The Quick and the Dead (1994), Virtuosity (1995), L.A. Confidential (1997), and The Insider (1999). It would be his turn as Maximus Decimus… Read More ›
“I don’t understand you. But I love you.” These are key words said towards the climax of Mike Leigh’s Hard Truths, a somber slice-of-life film about two disparate sisters in a Black British family. Mike Leigh, a veteran indie darling… Read More ›
The ‘80s were a decade of decadence. Whimsical fashion, music, and media reigned pop culture. This was especially true with the films of the era. The year 1984 saw Warner Bros. release both Purple Rain, a semi-biographical concert film starring… Read More ›
Content Warning: This film contains sexual violence and semi-explicit sex acts that may be unnerving for sensitive viewers. Mermaid Legend (1984) is the prize film in Third Window Film’s newest wave of their Blu-ray releases of The Directors Company movies…. Read More ›
When creating a film about the morality and ethics of journalism, centering a story around the Munich massacre of 1972 is an inspired choice. September 5 (2024), co-written and directed by Tim Fehlbaum (The Colony), is a film about an… Read More ›
Trigger Warning: There are several sequences involving protracted strobing or flashing lights, so photosensitive viewers should take precautions before queuing up the film. According to Kenta Fukasaku, son of Kinji Fukasaku, the filmmaker’s 1983 action fantasy Legend of the Eight… Read More ›