Not since the 1962 film King Kong vs. Godzilla have the mighty titans faced each other in combat on the silver screen. It was the third film for both and, in keeping with the traditions of perceived heroism, Kong won… Read More ›
In Theaters
“Nobody” brings comfort like family.
Audience expectations are killer. They will ruin you every time, which is often why the marketing has to work so hard to manage them. A little tease here, a little explanation there — just enough to get folks interested without… Read More ›
Bonkers B-Movie gore fest “Jakob’s Wife” is brimming with bloodlust. [SXSW Film Festival]
Immediately after I finished watching Jakob’s Wife, I sat there in a state of confusion, perplexed by the madness of what I just witnessed. A jumbled mess of incohesive thoughts and emotions floated around in my mind as I tried… Read More ›
“Sound of Violence” fails to deliver on promising concept by sliding into familiar horror territory. [SXSW Film Festival]
On paper, Alex Noyer’s Sound of Violence has all the building blocks needed to succeed as a dark and twisted indie horror. The concept and synopsis sound fascinating, and the film expands upon themes Noyer has already explored for years…. Read More ›
Watch “The Feast” for a well-crafted cautionary tale rooted in Welsh folklore. [SXSW Film Festival]
The dinner table is a universal symbol of community, nourishment, and respite, but directors of horror movies often repurpose the place where people come together for a meal to create some of the most awkward and unsettling cinematic moments of… Read More ›
As long as the patriarchy exists, there will always be a “Witch Hunt.” [SXSW Film Festival]
Three years after her directorial debut Head Count, Elle Callahan returns with the allegorical Witch Hunt. A mixture of YA tropes, fantasy, and horror, Witch Hunt imagines an alternate Earth wherein witch craft is illegal in America to the point… Read More ›
Effulgent and joyous, “Mr. Soul!” is a celebration of one man’s work.
In 1968, you couldn’t turn on the television, listen to the radio, or read something in print without seeing a White face. Even during the Civil Rights Movement, any presentation of the Black experience was almost always presented through a… Read More ›
Action/adventure flick “Burn It All” trips and stumbles over its stiff dialogue, making it difficult to take the story seriously.
Like a well-choreographed action sequence, movies have a lot of moving parts. While certain aspects of a film might not fall into place, the film may do so well in other areas that it turns out alright in the end…. Read More ›
The exploration of social trust in Southeast Asian-inspired fantasy “Raya and the Last Dragon” hits close to home.
The latest Walt Disney Animation project, Raya and the Last Dragon, could not be coming at a more appropriate time. After years in development, the final version slated for theaters and Disney+ Premier Access on March 5th, 2021, is an… Read More ›
Keith Thomas’s phantasmagorical “The Vigil” explores the destructive terror of generational trauma.
When it comes to those who identify as Jewish, theirs is a life of constant reminders of threat, peril, and near-extinction several times over. Trying to explain holidays, for instance, to my eldest but still-quite-young son, is to find a… Read More ›
Despite some muddled aspects, Lu Yang’s “A Writer’s Odyssey” will make you a believer.
A good marketing campaign will make clear what the product is about so that consumers won’t feel flummoxed about how to engage with the object. It’s partly why marketing happens, so that there’s a sense of familiarity. When it comes… Read More ›
Have a killer time at “Willy’s Wonderland.”
A silent lead. A gang of teenagers. A house of horrific animatronic monsters. With this trifecta, Willy’s Wonderland is either going to be the stuff of legends or nightmares. If you’re a fan of small budget horror films like Evil… Read More ›
“Prisoners of the Ghostland” brings new meaning to the phrase “balls out” in its post-apocalyptic action/adventure tale. [Sundance Film Festival]
A nameless stranger. A damsel in distress. A suicide mission that no one but the best can handle. These three requirements appear in countless stories, from gunslinger westerns of the East to the samurai tales of the West, each possessing… Read More ›
If you want to know “How It Ends,” begin with yourself. [Sundance Film Festival]
The latest project from Mister Lister Films is at once existential and profound, while completely self-indulgent. In their balance, both of these can be true, combining into a film that’s as heartbreaking as it is hilarious. Conceived, developed, and shot… Read More ›
Documentarian Rodney Ascher’s “A Glitch in the Matrix” explores the mystery of Simulation Theory. [Sundance Film Festival]
It is no longer a question of imitation, nor duplication, nor even parody. It is a question of substituting the signs of the real for the real, that is to say of an operation of deterring every real process via… Read More ›
“The Wanting Mare” is a paradox: breathtaking and rich, yet hollow and vacant.
To quote Keanu Reeves, “I love movies.” While he has the joy of making them and watching them, I love them for their transportive abilities. They can move you through time to see a version of what has been, expel… Read More ›
Writer/director Ben Hozie’s “PVT Chat” demonstrates admirable skill, creativity, and resourcefulness despite other shortcomings.
From writer and director Ben Hozie, PVT Chat is a story of urban loneliness and isolation along with lust and obsession. Peter Vack acts in the role of Jack, an online gambler who feels internally empty and without any clear… Read More ›
Sorry, Studio Ghibli fans, “Earwig and the Witch” is terribly off key.
Studio Ghibli’s Earwig and the Witch marks their 22nd feature film and their first 3D animated feature. Adapted from the 2011 novel by Diana Wynne Jones (the second film of theirs adapted from her books, the first being Howl’s Moving… Read More ›
Outside of a few unfortunate parallels to current events, “Rams” is a quaint comedy/drama with a delightful cast.
Director Jeremy Sims brings together the talents of Sam Neill, Michael Caton, and Miranda Richardson in Rams, his English-language remake of the 2015 Icelandic film, Hrútar. Rams centers around feuding brothers Colin and Les Grimurson (Neill and Caton, respectively), who… Read More ›
Saban Films’s “Wrong Turn” is a thrilling and absolutely gnarly horror film.
Believe it or not, not including this reboot, there are six entries in the Wrong Turn series of films. Predictably, aside from its initial 2003 original, every film in the series was a casualty of the late-2000s boom of direct-to-DVD… Read More ›