Originally released in 1999, writer/director Jim Jarmusch’s Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is the latest film to receive the Criterion treatment. The film is a rare oddity in that is very much of its period, yet is absolutely… Read More ›
Reviews
“Chick Fight” is the female version of “Fight Club” that we never thought would happen.
It’s always great when a comedy tries to innovate itself. Sometimes you get an action comedy (The Rundown, Rush Hour, or Bad Boys) where, it definitely has heart, but it expands the potential of what a comedy has by displaying… Read More ›
Paramount Pictures releases a special steelbook edition of “It’s a Wonderful Life” just in time for the holidays.
By this point in cinema and television history, everyone knows the fictional story of George Bailey, or someone like him. An individual so aggrieved by their circumstances that they wish with all their might for a change. But as Oscar… Read More ›
The good intentions of dramatic thriller “Choir Girl” fall flat as the story devolves into a questionable savior fantasy.
Choir Girl sets up a story that begs to be told through pictures. Its protagonist, Eugene (Peter Flaherty), is a shy street photographer who hopes that his pictures will expose the hardships of everyday life in his neighborhood and, eventually,… Read More ›
Propelled by grief, haunted by loss, Johannes Nyholm’s repetitious “Koko-di Koko-da” is an unexpected ear worm of horror.
There is, in nature, an expectation of form and function. The seasons bring about growth and change as Earth undergoes a period of refreshment and blossoming before wilting and decaying, only to start it over again with the return of… Read More ›
15 years later director James McTeigue’s “V for Vendetta” remains a prescient exploration of the cost of fear.
It’s been 15 years since James McTeigue’s V for Vendetta hit theaters. Adapted from the Alan Moore/David Lloyd comic book miniseries, V for Vendetta took the Margaret Thatcher-era conservative versus anarchism themes and made them more contemporary for American audiences… Read More ›
“Come Play” is a great starter for those looking to dip their toes in the horror genre, but not much else.
Think back in the recesses of your mind, what was your first horror film? Mine was Poltergeist, a film that I assumed was safe because it carried a PG rating but soon learned, with my sister and her friends, that… Read More ›
Indie drama “Take Out Girl” delivers a thoughtful meal, not a dissatisfying snack. [Indie Memphis Film Festival]
There are many paths to success. Even one generation ago, that meant going to school, getting a job, and working there until retirement. On that path at that time, a single income was typically enough to provide for an average… Read More ›
Director Tali Yankelevich’s “My Darling Supermarket (Meu Querido Supermercado)” explores the macro and micro elements of a fractal existence. [Indie Memphis Film Festival]
Much of our lives are mundane. We wake, we eat, we work, we eat, we sleep, we wake. In a way, life is a recursive action, predictable and endless. Where many would see a paralyzing dread, director Tali Yankelevich sees… Read More ›
“Spell” lacks that special something to conjure a proper incantation.
Horror films about religion and spirituality are not hard to find, with films like The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby, and The Omen being some of the highest-regarded horror films of all time. The issue with many of them is that they… Read More ›
Director Ja’Tovia Gary’s “The Giverny Document (Single Channel)” challenges its audience to consider the emotional weight of ignorance. [Indie Memphis Film Festival]
Artist Ja’Tovia Gary is a provocateur, a demonstrator, and a rebel. She uses her art as a means of proclaiming her space, her ideas, and her life as something of incredible value. None of this should be necessary, which appears… Read More ›
“The Craft: Legacy” breaches the generational divide with aplomb. Blessed be.
I’m not sure anyone has the patience to listen to my list of all the reasons that The Craft is one of the most iconic films of the 1990s, but if you know, you just know. Focusing more on the… Read More ›
In the mood for something nasty? Discover an old-fashioned gore-fest in new home release “Haunt.”
I love horror movies. I love my subscription to Shudder. I love Halloween. However, in recent years, I can’t say that I haven’t been drawn to the realm of “elevated horror” more and more. The term “elevated horror” in and… Read More ›
Chloé Hung’s sci-fi short film “Signal” possesses eerie parallels to now. [Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival]
The symbiotic relationship between art and reality continues to prove itself as an essential component of our society and culture. The concept of post-apocalyptic storytelling has been delivered in various forms with creativity ebbing and flowing. With the turbulent events… Read More ›
The Atlantic’s documentary “White Noise” shines a spotlight on white supremacy.
Documentaries are tricky to make, but they’re also a bit more challenging to review than your standard and more conventional type of movie. That’s due to the fact that you really don’t have characters, performances, or anything else to really… Read More ›
Horror thriller comic adaptation “The Owners” reminds that maybe it’s best to leave well-enough alone.
The horror genre is all about taking what terrifies you and giving it life so you can explore that terror in relative safety. Scared of the dark? Let’s personify it. Unnerved by the unknown? Let’s give it physical form. Chilled… Read More ›
Joining the Paramount Presents collection is the peculiar, yet absolutely charming Jan de Bont film “The Haunting.”
I love me some Shirley Jackson, and, more specifically, I love her 1959 novel The Haunting of Hill House and have since I first started getting into horror early in my adolescence. Jackson’s novel was one of the first horror… Read More ›
Time is but a conduit for an examination of self in creative duo Moorhead and Benson’s unique sci-fi thriller “Synchronic.”
Creative team Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson have an obsession with time: how it moves, how it operates, how it functions in relation to the space we occupy. This curiosity has given rise to three films — Resolution (2012), Spring… Read More ›
RZA continues to up his directorial game with crime drama “Cut Throat City.”
There’s a brief line said by T.I.’s Lorenzo “Cousin” Bass that contains more than just a slight meaning to the context of the moment in which it’s said. Cousin is speaking to the four leads — Blink (Shameik Moore), Miracle… Read More ›
Stephen Frears’s genre-bending crime story “The Hit” offers a philosopher’s tongue amid a road movie structure.
It’s difficult to say what qualifies a film for the “Criterion treatment.” They’ve restored a variety of films believed lost like Brute Force, produced updated versions of award-winning stories like Taste of Cherry, and they’ve produced first-run (or as close… Read More ›