There are so many ways that a film can get under an audience’s skin, whether that be intentional or not, but beating the proverbial dead horse with a children’s bat is certainly not the way to get things going in… Read More ›
In Theaters
Ariane Louis-Seize’s “Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person” blends melancholic drama and teenage angst in an exploration of the human condition through a vampiric lens. [The Overlook Film Festival]
Photosensitivity Warning: In several key sequences, flickering lights are used to convey enhanced emotions which may prove problematic for sensitive viewers. In undergrad at UNC at Asheville, during a lower-level English course, Bram Stoker’s Dracula was read and discussed as… Read More ›
Based-on-a-true-story dramedy “Wicked Little Letters” entraps with humor and mystery.
“This is more true than you’d think.” Truth, it’s said, is often stranger than fiction. It’s why so many stories are inspired by or adapted from real incidents. Such is the case here with the new project from director Thea… Read More ›
Director Raymond St-Jean tackles the story of Canadian hitman Donald Lavoie in “Dusk for a Hitman (Crépuscule pour un tueur).”
Real life is often fodder for storytelling. Typically, one will take an experience or emotion and transcribe that into something unique. However, fiction isn’t always as compelling as reality, which is why we get stories like Dumb Money (2023) detailing… Read More ›
The play’s the thing when it comes to comedic documentary “Grand Theft Hamlet.” [SXSW]
The pandemic did a lot of things to the citizens of the world in the early years, the least of which was take thousands of lives. Those who remained in those initial months and years dealt with physical isolation, financial… Read More ›
More than sew-sew, comedic thriller “Sew Torn” will leave you in stitches. [SXSW]
“For want of a nail …” Choices upon choices upon choices are what bring you to this review at this moment in your life. Maybe you signed up for notices when a new one publishes from EoM, maybe you follow… Read More ›
“Cold Wallet” is a home invasion thriller that lacks any strength in the teeth it tries to bare. [SXSW]
Capitalism is great when you’re rich and the worst when you’re poor. Or, in the case of current economic insecurities in the U.S., middle class. Capitalism functions off the premise that trade and industry are better off when private owners… Read More ›
Take to the skies with the new home release edition of Liu Xiaoshi’s aviation drama “Born To Fly.”
April 2023, director/co-writer Liu Xiaoshi’s Born To Fly soared into U.S. theaters, bringing with it an energy from China that American audiences recognized from the Top Gun series: big attitudes, fast planes, and a desire to be the best there… Read More ›
Documentary “Resynator” builds on itself to a worthy crescendo and conclusion. [SXSW]
“We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams.” – Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971). All families have myths and legends — sometimes it’s stories that seem generational (“walked… Read More ›
Horror blockbuster “Exhuma (파묘)” unleashes stateside thanks to Well Go USA.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from horror films over the years, it’s to be cremated. I’m simply too tired and lazy to be an effective zombie, and I’m simply too apathetic to want to haunt anyone after my death…. Read More ›
Fresh out of the oven, “Riddle of Fire” serves up a unique, grand adventure.
There is something inherently special about writing and directing your first feature film, I would have to assume. Having never crossed that bridge myself, but consuming a plethora of films throughout my life, there is always something special, at least… Read More ›
Broadcasting live in theaters and coming to Shudder this Spring in a battle for your soul, it’s “Late Night with the Devil.”
If you are a fan of the horror genre, then you are probably very familiar with the name, David Dastmalchian. In the last year alone, he’s exploded off the screen in films like The Last Voyage of the Demeter, The… Read More ›
Documentary “We Can Be Heroes” reminds us that imagination is a constructive force for community-building and individual healing. [SXSW]
Like the David Bowie song from which filmmakers Carina Mia Wong and Alex Simmons (Buddymoon) drew inspiration for the title of their documentary, We Can Be Heroes is a bit of a melancholic tale of individuals who recognize that they… Read More ›
Ned Benson’s time travel rom-com “The Greatest Hits” is profound in its use of grief and trauma. [SXSW]
Photosensitivity Warning: The visual elements used to convey transitions appear as an anamorphic lens-like flare similar to refraction of light that may prove trigging to photosensitive individuals. Memory is greatly tied to our senses. Tastes, sights, smells, and sounds all… Read More ›
Doc “The Antisocial Network” demonstrates the devastating repercussions of focusing on the lulz and forgetting to touch grass. [SXSW]
“I reject your reality and I substitute my own!” – From the film The Dungeonmaster (1984) and *not* Adam Savage There’s a fairly popular video and text meme which starts with a reminder that it costs nothing to be kind… Read More ›
Despite elements which reduce the effectiveness, the poignantly crafted “The Animal Kingdom (Le Règne Animal)” remains an affecting watch.
With the Oscars now firmly behind us, for better or for worse, one might technically believe that the season of awards films are also behind us, too, at least for the next few months before Cannes gives us some early… Read More ›
Filmmaker Michael Felker’s sci-fi thriller “Things Will Be Different” shakes up the time travel genre for the better. [SXSW]
There’s the world we know — the one we can see, hear, smell, and touch — and there is the world in between. It exists around us, within the spaces within spaces. Overlapping and overlapping, like a Venn diagram wherein… Read More ›
“The Bleacher” takes audiences on a wild eight-minute adventure in a laundromat [SXSW]
After a world premiere at Sundance 2024, co-directors and operators of Magic Society Pictures, Nicole Daddona and Adam Wilder (Sexy Furby; The Mundanes) bring their animated horror short The Bleacher to SXSW for its Texas premiere. Looking like stop motion… Read More ›
Filmmaker Shannon Triplett’s directorial debut “Desert Road” utilizes the loop thriller to profound effect. [SXSW]
“… no one can never see past the choice they don’t understand… ” The Oracle, The Matrix Revolutions (2003) Loop films are, by their nature, a sci-fi fantasy tool utilized to get a protagonist to confront some aspect of themselves…. Read More ›
No matter snow, rain, heat, or gloom, “Dead Mail” delivers. [SXSW]
There’re directors who go things alone and then there’re directors who operate with someone else as a team. You’ve got the Coen brothers (Miller’s Crossing), the Wachowskis (The Matrix trilogy), the Russo brothers (several MCU films), the Farrelly brothers (Dumb… Read More ›