In 1995, Pixar’s first film, Toy Story, tapped into the imaginations of filmgoers young and old through an adventurous animated story of friendship told from the perspective of toys, specifically, a group of toys owned by a young boy, Andy… Read More ›
In Theaters
When one realizes that there’s always a “Next Exit,” life becomes an unending journey, not a quest with a hard stop. [Tribeca Film Festival]
**Trigger Warning: Next Exit explores concepts of life and death, which involves discussion/examination of self-harm, suicidal ideation, and euthanasia.** “On this bridge,” Lorca warns, “life is not a dream. Beware. And beware. And beware.” And so many think because Then… Read More ›
“The Walk” refuses to hold back its punches, determined to highlights the horrors of the past alive in our present.
There is always a time and a place for politically driven movies to hit more succinctly with audiences and create a stronger emotional reaction due to current climates or personal experience with the subject matter at hand. There is no… Read More ›
Phil Tippett’s “Mad God” is a gem…an oozing, ugly, horrid gem.
As much as I find amazement in the animation work of studios like Pixar and DreamWorks and feel the warmth of a hug in the hand-drawn animation of Studio Ghibli and Folimage, stop-motion always has felt like the pinnacle of… Read More ›
Say hello to a future niche classic with “The Prey: Legend Of Karnoctus.”
I am not one to usually criticize a movie for the way it is marketed, but sometimes we all have to break the unspoken rules we have laid out for ourselves. If you’re going to market a movie that looks… Read More ›
For joy, for the love of music, for the Foo Fighters: “We Are The Thousand.”
July 30th, 2015: With little more than hope and a prayer, Fabio Zaffagnini uploaded a 7:28 minute video he and his friends had made to YouTube in hopes of getting the attention of rock band Foo Fighters. What did he… Read More ›
“Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” with lots of love, and that’s all you need.
Author Kanako Nishi has written 22 novels, as well as assorted illustrated and nonfiction works. Five of her novels have been adapted for theaters with her 2011 novel, Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko, being the fifth. This adaption, a collaboration between… Read More ›
Meditative drama “Montana Story” offers provocative material to chew on, even if not totally satisfying in the conclusion. [SFFILM Festival]
After a nine year break from directing, filmmaking partners Scott McGehee and David Seigel (What Maisie Knew) return with family drama Montana Story, screening during SFFILM Festival 2022 and releasing in select theaters on May 13th courtesy of Bleecker Street…. Read More ›
Strap in, Ghostrider. “Top Gun: Maverick” is a blockbuster film in every fiber of its being.
I would like to make an illicit confession to you, dear reader: I do not particularly care for Tony Scott’s 1986 film Top Gun. I don’t hate it, or even actively dislike it, but I certainly view the film in… Read More ›
“The Bob’s Burgers Movie” is a savory self-contained story, creating no onion-tended consequences for future episodes.
After 12 seasons to the tune of 237 episodes, the Loren Bouchard-created animated family comedy Bob’s Burgers jumps from the small screen to theaters worldwide (no one tell Bob). The long-running series has already released four-albums-worth of music from its… Read More ›
Discover the missing minutes of the Nixon tapes in historical fiction comedy/thriller “18 ½.”
18 and a half minutes. A lot can happen in that time. Depending on where you live, you can get to the store, purchase accoutrements, get home, and make a meal. Or perhaps you can work in some exercise, jogging… Read More ›
Remarkable performances and unique direction will wrap you up in Gaspar Noé’s “Vortex.”
Gaspar Noé is known for making films that sit with audiences for a very long time, and not in the conventional way one would think. His films are downright gruesome, disturbing, and, more often than not, hard to watch, almost… Read More ›
“Sylvie of the Sunshine State” highlights how struggles are universal even in isolation.
In the late months of 2019, there were rumblings of a virus with the potential to grow catastrophic. There had been instances like this previously with outbreaks of H1N1 in 2009 and Ebola from 2014-2016, but it always been contained… Read More ›
No matter the tools, this “Firestarter” won’t ignite.
Here’s the thing with making adaptations of Stephen King’s written works: there’re so many that haven’t been made yet! King is still at his apex of churning out quality genre content regularly, and to this day, he continues to write… Read More ›
Get a backstage pass to the inner workings of the theatre in “Tankhouse.”
It is very important to state that if you do not love the theatre, and no I don’t mean the movie theatre, then Tankhouse is absolutely not for you. However, if you love live theatre, everything from Broadway to your… Read More ›
The kids are so incredibly not alright in Eskil Vogt’s “The Innocents (De uskyldige).”
“I believe the children are our future Teach them well and let them lead the way” – Whitney Houston Is there anything more innocent than the joy of a child’s summer vacation? Playing with friends in the sun all day… Read More ›
With trademark winking humor amongst the terror, “Lux Æterna” is a Gaspar Noé vehicle through-and-through.
How does one describe Gaspar Noé and his films to the uninitiated? “Unconventional” barely scratches the surface of what covers the vast swath of aggressive, assaulting, psychedelic, hypersexual, ultra-violent, anxiety-ridden, nihilistic, and overwhelming trademarks that pervade Noé’s body of work…. Read More ›
Delightfully shocking and surprisingly gruesome, “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” is decidedly a Sam Raimi MCU movie.
After 27 films, there exists roughly three factions of people: those who are stupid excited for any new Marvel project, those who are exhausted, and those who don’t particularly care. Some of the malaise stems from the fact that, like… Read More ›
With its intensity in storytelling and direction, Russell Owen’s “Shepherd” is not to be missed.
Relatively new director Russell Owen has managed to do something that very few directors can do even when they’re tenured, let alone at the beginning of their career. Only one other director comes to mind who can create this kind… Read More ›
Be transported back to the bittersweet moments of adolescence in Sophia Silver’s “Over/Under.” [SFFILM Festival]
Summer 1996 — I was 15 and spent several days with a childhood friend, Glen, his sister and her friend, and his father at a beach house on the Outer Banks. To this day, I remember the days we spent… Read More ›